{"id":37374,"date":"2011-11-18T00:25:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-18T00:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2011\/11\/18\/the-doctors-madness\/"},"modified":"2011-11-18T00:25:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-18T00:25:00","slug":"the-doctors-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2011\/11\/18\/the-doctors-madness\/","title":{"rendered":"The Doctor’s Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Word Count: 703<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by August, a.k.a. brittathinksyoureedible<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

all characters © BBC<\/em><\/p>\n

—-<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0But science, spurred on by its energetic notions, approaches irresistibly those outer limits where the optimism in its logic must collapse… \u2013 Friedrich Nietzsche<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The wasteland makes her lips dry and her hair fall limp on her shoulders.\u00a0 She tightens the plaid jacket at her chest, buffeted by the wasteland wind, so hollow and full of ghosts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0She can\u2019t bear to watch him, not directly.\u00a0 She perches on a sprawling plank and listens to him ramble under his breath, and she tries not to cry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0All the vortexes of time and the suicide runs and the obliterated homeworld never drove him to madness like this.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him whirl in circles, creating little dust devils that crawl up his tattered tweed pants.\u00a0 The sonic screwdriver sputters on and off.\u00a0 The long fingers of his left hand search the grain of the factory\u2019s charred walls.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s something about the polarity, something-something-something-aHA! No, no, that\u2019s not it at all<\/em>, it\u2019s rather a larger problem\u2014perhaps they\u2019ve all been abducted.\u00a0 Abducted!\u00a0 Of course!\u00a0 Burned and abducted!\u00a0 Amy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He bounds out of what used to be the lunch room, kicking a can in front of him like a soccer ball.\u00a0 Planting his hands on either side of her, he blinks too close into her face.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cNow, what could have abducted the Earth\u2019s entire population at once.\u00a0 Riddle me that, Amelia Pond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cDoctor\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Her voice cracks.\u00a0 She claws at her throat.\u00a0 \u201cI need water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course.\u00a0 Of course<\/em>.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019m so\u2014\u201d\u00a0 He frowns, opens his cracked lips as if tasting the words.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d\u00a0 He tosses his head.\u00a0 Amy can almost see the dangerous thought catch on the wind and carry away.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a bottle in the TARDIS on the\u2026the thing.\u00a0 The blue thing, the light-up thing, the\u2014oh, never mind, I\u2019ll show you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He takes her hand.\u00a0 She recoils.\u00a0 His skin is cold and rough; it isn\u2019t him at all.\u00a0 She sees him calculate her hesitation, cogs and wires behind his eyes.\u00a0 There is a blue fire in his gaze.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cAmy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cDoctor,\u201d she can just whisper.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cGet up.\u00a0 Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0She has heard that tone before\u2014commanding her to stay when the Angels surrounded her; challenging a sky full of his century-old enemies; making Rory decide between his woman and his wife.\u00a0 She cringes, and he sees it, and the madness goes somewhere deeper to lurk and wait.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He crouches down in front of her and crooks his finger under her chin.\u00a0 \u201cOh, look at you\u2014beautiful Amy, look what this place has done to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cLook what it\u2019s done to you<\/em>,\u201d she croaks back.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He stumbles back and sits down, hard, patting his face, his hair, his chest.\u00a0 He stares at her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve gone mad, haven\u2019t I,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0She doesn\u2019t nod.\u00a0 She looks away, shivering and hugging herself.\u00a0 Scudding clouds gather, arranging a thunderstorm.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0They are quiet for a while, listening to their own heartbeats, to the wind, to anything but their thoughts.\u00a0 The purr of rain on metal rooftops starts in the distance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey\u2019re gone.\u00a0 They\u2019re all gone,\u201d the Doctor says at last.\u00a0 \u201cThe human race, burned before their time, and I got here a moment too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe<\/em> did,\u201d Amy says, swinging herself off her board.\u00a0 Her anger tingles in the tips of her fingers, and she flings her arms into the air.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to circle the Singing Forests one last time.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t want to yell at River to get out of the pool.\u00a0 And now\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She takes a deep breath; the air scorches her insides.\u00a0 \u201cNow we\u2019ve lost them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s killing me.\u201d\u00a0 He stares at the ash slowly covering the sonic as the wind piles it, obscuring the silver gleam.\u00a0 \u201cThis madness.\u00a0 I can feel my hearts\u2026well, I suppose they\u2019re breaking.\u201d\u00a0 Clutching at his chest, he heaves himself onto his feet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Amy gazes up into his face as he comes to stand beside her, and she leans against him when he drapes an arm over her shoulder.\u00a0 His is the only warmth as they take a step forward, then two.\u00a0 Then the rain hits them, and they are soaked through, holding on to one another because there is no one else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Word Count: 703 by August, a.k.a. brittathinksyoureedible all characters © BBC —- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0But science, spurred on by its energetic notions, approaches irresistibly those outer limits where the optimism in its logic must collapse… \u2013 Friedrich Nietzsche \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The wasteland makes her lips dry and her hair … <\/p>\n

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