The Doctor's Daughter (Doctor Who FanFic) #Wattys2016

Chapter 73- Living in the Dark

A/N Apologies for the late, late, late chapter! <3 I have been busy studying for school and other stuff. The next chapter, not this one, is one that i am so excited to write! You'll see why when I post it. :)

Calvin's POV

My head swims from the hit over my head, darkness filling my mind. As weight seems to be pressed upon me, I fight and attempt to claw my way out, but with every movement or hope of escape, something presses me back and I am rewarded with a searing pain.

I feel my lips scream and my body convulses, but I am no longer am to feel, I am no longer able to think. All that I want is to see the light once more. To see Danielle once more.

Silence falls and I become relaxed, my muscles no longer tensed in agony, my fists no longer clenched. I release the breath I did not know I was holding, taking deep gulps of air while the lack of light lingers.

Then, I feel as though I am being lifted from a pit, the dark swirling in arms and vines and screeching ringing in my ears. I am thrown into consciousness and my mind spins again. I blink several times, a dull light shining over me. Despite the feelings only moments ago, I am at peace and immediately fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

Danielle's POV

I hold onto my mother's arm, my hands shaking uncontrollably. Whether it is from fear or from adrenaline, I cannot tell. "Have you found which way he is yet, Doctor?" River Song sounds both impatient and worried at the same time, and I know that she has the same sick feeling in her stomach as I do.

"Yes, yes, yes. Hush for a moment!"

Melody retorts quietly and it causes me to smile a bit. Again, there is shuddering from nearby, eerie whispers fill our ears. The Doctor spins on his heel a few times, and by the light of his sonic, I can see his smile.

"Hello, hello, hello! Whom am I speaking to?"

There is hissing and the Lithorans flash through my mind, making me shiver, but I know it is not them. It cannot be them. River Song reaches into her coat pocket, her screwdriver pulled out and held quietly at the side.

As the voice speaks, it is low and drawled out, "We are the Luxacruors."

"Ahhh," my father responds. His footsteps click against the floor and he spins his hand, lights immediately switching on and blinding me. There is a loud growl and hiss, a figure retreating into the darkness. "Well, I am the Doctor and that is my wife River Song! There's my daughter Danielle. We are all Time Lords, but she comes from human parents and I am from the planet Gallifrey." He talks with alarming speed, but then, his voice slows. "The Luxacruors... Who might you be?"

"We are the Luxacruors!"

"I know, you said that already. What planet are you from? Why are you here?" The Doctor pauses, "Why do you stay out of the light?"

There is breathy laughter from only a few feet by me and River, her hand taking mine once again. "We prefer to stay in the shadows... Our victims run if they see us."

"Hmm... And who are your victims?"

"Humans. Animals. Blood. We feast in the darkness."

The Doctor hums quietly, thinking to himself. "But that's not all, is it? You, Luxacruors, you feed on something other than blood. I can tell." The Luxacruor hisses, "How!?"

"My sonic, of course! Lovely little gadget this is. There is a very unusual reading I am getting from around here... But more of that later!" He waves a hand. "Are there more, or just you?"

"There once were many. I was separated from my group a long, long time ago. I have not seen them for lifetimes... I am... alone."

For a second, a rush of pity floods me. He is like my father was. The Doctor had been alone before, just like this Luxacruor.

"We can help you. We can bring you back to your planet, but only if you promise to leave Earth alone and return our friend to us."

The Luxacruor laughs again, stepping forward, into the light. I am not the only one who gasps in shock, the alien before me looking as though he stepped from a nightmare.

The Luxacruor has long arms that reach to the floor, his legs over four feet tall on their own. He is thin and pale, his skin the color of milk and teeth. He wears a simple black suit, his hands curved into claws, his nails sharp as knives. I notice that his skin is not soft. It has cracks and lines in it, like the ground in the desert.

As he watches my reaction he smiles, tainted red teeth show, jagged and long.

"Are you afraid of me, Danielle?"

I shake my head carefully.

"No? Good." He purrs, "Because I can make your dream turn to nightmares." He steps forward, graceful for someone his height, and tilts his head to the side, the Doctor careful to step aside. "I feed on strength, Doctor. I feed on what drives a person to live and I make them change. The people they love, the friends whom they would die for..." He turns back to my father. "I make them into monsters. I twist them to doom themselves."

"What have you done to Calvin?" I ask quietly, forcing my voice not to shake.

"See for yourself."

He moves with alarming speed, opening the door on the opposite of the room and letting the light stream through to allow us to see inside. I can hear Calvin giggle insanely, but his breathing is even and I do not see him get up. I rush past and into the room, the Doctor and River calling out as one, "Danny!"

It is too late.

The door is locked behind me.