The TimeLord Who Changed

2

   I shine the flashlight all around, but still I'm alone. "Doctor!" I cry. Where did everything go? How can the whole of a population just disappear? Once again, I scream, "Doctor!" Nothing.

   I walk around, becoming more worried with each passing second. As I start to panic, I hear a grinding noise. I turn around, and aim my flashlight at the source. A large hole occupies the space a few feet behind me. "What the--," I say, when a pair of hands shove me. I fall into the hole. I scream for about 15 seconds before I finally hit ground. I light up the room, and see a ring of rope surrounding me. I don't register what's going on until the rope lashes around my ankles, and I'm pulled upward. All of a sudden, I'm blinded.

   The whole room is illuminated. Next to me is the Doctor, a rope tied around his ankles as well. Below us is a whole crowd of Seers. A robed Seer steps forward. "You two have trespassed on Seerian soil. Complete the trials or die trying. If you complete, you will get your space vehicle back, and we will set you free. If you die, well...you're dead. The trials begin now," he announces. He slashes the ropes.

We fall to the ground. The man presses a button, and a wall slices the platform in half, separating the Doctor and I. "No!" I scream. The ground below me starts descending further into the planet. Everyone gets smaller and smaller as I get deeper and deeper. As we descend, I see a huge maze. The trial.

   My half of the round platform lands, and I step off. I look around me, when suddenly the ceiling lights up yellow. Four numbers and a colon, lit in purple, appear in the middle. It reads 20:00, and I know a timer's about to start. I hear a shrill, ear-drum killing beep, and the timer starts counting down.

"Doctor!" I yell. Or, attempt to yell. Because no sound comes out of my mouth. All sound has been taken away from me.

I start running. Need to get out, need to get out, I think. I won't see the Doctor again unless I get out. I start running faster. I run even faster...I run at lightning speed...I run...into a hole. "Really?!" I scream. "How much more cliche can you get?"

I try jumping, but the hole is too deep. I groan. Thirty feet into a maze, and I'm stopped by some ditch. I sit down, and all of a sudden, a spike impales the wall where my head was only a second ago. I slowly stand up, but another spike shoots between my legs and into the wall. "Okay, that's it!" I growl. I put my left foot on the spike by my legs, then grab the spike above it. I pull myself up so that both foot are on the bottom spike.

A third spike shoots out from in between my knees. I hoist myself up again so that I'm higher than before. A fourth spike comes out three inches above the used-to-be top spike. I reach for it, and, after climbing several more, pull myself out of the ditch. The ceiling timer reads 14:56. I still have time! I start to take off again. I only make it another two yards before nearly thirty darts shoot out of the maze walls. I roll my eyes. "I stand corrected. That is the most cliche thing ever."

I take a step forward... And that's when the last blow dart finds its way into my arm. I pluck it out, but not before the dizziness kicks in. I lean against the wall, the world starting to spin. I fall to the ground. "Need...to...get...out of system," I whisper. I shove my hand into my throat, and vomit the stuff out. My barf, disgustingly, is tinged red with blood. "Yeah, just great."

I slowly slide back up the wall to continue my journey. Twelve minutes and sixteen seconds to get out of the maze. I drag myself away from the darts and down the corridor. I start to get suspicious when nothing bothers me for a while. Until the trench. "Oh, just what I need. A large, godforsaken trench!" I growl. I peer down into the trench. Nothing but empty space and darkness. Wait...no. There's an ultra-small white speck at the upper left corner. An exit? Maybe. A shortcut to death? Probably.

I take off my long-sleeve shirt and tie it around my waist, leaving my sports bra exposed. I back away from the ledge, calculating how fast and far I should jump. I narrow my eyes, and finish my mental calculations. I run, and soon enough, my feet leave the ground. I spin in the air like a ballerina, my head aimed at the speck. I then take my shirt off my waist, and hold the sleeves over my head. I parachute downward toward the exit. I land, ending with a somersault to the exit. I throw my shirt back on.

I step into the lit exit. Directly in front of me is a sign that says: Congratulations! You lived! Proceed to the real exit on your left!

I sigh. This planet needs an update on modern times. Seriously. I do as the sign says. Eventually, I reach the cavern where the Doctor and I were originally tied up in, which I don't understand at all, considering the exit was deeper into the planet than the maze, and the cavern was above the maze. Anyway, the Doctor is waiting for me when I reach the middle of the cavern. I run into his arms. "Doctor!" I cry.

He hugs me back just as the TARDIS rises to ground level on another platform. The Doctor lets go of me, and rushes to his time machine. He kisses the PULL TO OPEN sign several times. I run over to him. "Can we get out of here now?" I ask.

The Doctor looks at the leader of the planet and raises his eyebrows. The leader waves at us dismissively, letting us know we can go. I fling open the doors, push past the Doctor, and leap to the console. The Doctor joins me a second later, then snaps his fingers to close the doors. Next thing I know, the time machine is whooshing away from Planet Crazy.