Storm: Time Jump

Silence in the Library 3

As the Doctor stormed into the Rotunda he snarled: "I'm going to need a packed lunch."

"Hang on." River commented as she dug in her bag, and she pulled out her diary in her search.

Teresa pulled away from the Doctor to comfort Donna, and he took the opportunity to kneel beside River and asked darkly: "What's in that book?"

"Spoilers." She replied curtly, and the Doctor asked with narrowed eyes: "Who are you?"

"Professor River Song, University of-" River began and the Doctor cut her off as he snapped: "To me. Who are you to me?"

She closed her eyes and sighed in irritation, and she muttered: "Again, spoilers."

"And Terry?" He demanded, and River just handed him the lunch, saying flatly: "Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment longer before taking the lunch and saying loudly to the group: "Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada."

He flipped his torch with one hand and Teresa sighed. The Doctor leapt to the side and lay down near the shadows, flashing his torch and pointing his sonic into it. He kept Teresa with him, not trusting the shadows and not trusting River. It made Teresa sigh internally- clearly her attempt to pacify him hadn't worked.

River and Donna were talking quietly, and they couldn't hear until Donna asked loudly: "What are you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?"

"Donna!" The Doctor scolded. "Quiet, I'm working."

Teresa shot both Donna and River sympathetic glances, guessing what they were talking about.

"Sorry." Donna muttered, before she and River got back into a quiet conversation.

"Okay, got a live one." The Doctor suddenly called triumphantly, pulling back and keeping Teresa behind him and in the light. He turned to the group and explained: "That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm."

Teresa handed him the lunch and he knelt back down by the shadow. The Doctor picked up a chicken leg and threw it at the shadow, and by the time it hit the ground underneath the chair it was just bone left.

"The piranhas of the air." The Doctor murmured. "The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What do you mean, most planets? Not Earth?" Donna asked incredulously, but the Doctor replied easily: "Mmm. Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

Donna stared at him openmouthed before protesting: "If they were on Earth, we'd know."

"Nah." The Doctor scoffed. "Normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark." He said darkly and Teresa smacked him, feeling tense enough without his lovely stories.

"Every shadow?" River asked shakily as she pointed her torch down a corridor, and the Doctor corrected: "No. But any shadow."

"So what do we do?" River asked tightly and the Doctor listed: "Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada?"

He turned to River and said flatly: "Run. Just run."

"Run?" River repeated incredulously. "Run where?"

The Doctor replied easily as he stood up again: "This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

He and River turned to Lux immediately. The man protested: "Don't look at me, I haven't memorised the schematics."