HIDDEN

Swim

"Now you're on the right track, Clara! See, just because you're tired and grumpy, doesn't mean you can't be just as efficient!" the Doctor said with a chuckle, flipping switches around the Tardis.

"Wait," I began, "tired and grumpy, what's that supposed to-"

"We're at the bottom of the ocean, Clara," the Doctor said, changing the subject. "Humans don't come down here often, and only a few creatures can withstand lving at this depth, and those that do are usually like that squid: large and with a powerful hunting tool. It's quiet down here and there isn't much life inhabiting this place. In other words, the perfect hiding place.

"Have you ever wondered why fish sleep with their eyes open?" he continued, "Is it an evolutionary trait, or something else? Are they even sleeping at all, or like our theory, something is recharching them?"

The Doctor continued to press buttons and make calculations with a wide grin on his face.

"Imagine this Clara, a creature, much like the squid, that camoflauges among the fish, hiding at the bottom of the ocean, giving them the energy they need to function. The fish move on as if they've rested, when in reality, they too were staring at empty space for no reason.

"Now what if the same thing's been happening on the surface? What if this creature that can camoflauge and blend in like it does underwater, wanders the surface, undetectable, untracable, people unaware of what it's doing?"

The Doctor flipped one more switch, the doors of the Tardis closed, and the screens by and above the control panels began to make calulations in Gallifreyan.

"So, you're saying that fish don't actually sleep, the only recharge since there's an invisible creature that lives down in the ocean that does that, and it's the same thing happening on the surface?" I asked with the you've got to be kidding me tone, but with the Doctor, as often as you did use that tone, he usually ended up being correct.

"Perhaps an experiment?" the Doctor continued, "The process worked on fish, but not on humans, as it does have physical and behavioral side affects. Maybe whatever the creature is has been doing this for generations, right under our nose-"

"Okay, Doctor I think the lack of sleep has finally gotten to you," I had to interrupt. Even for the Doctor, this theory was getting a bit out of hand. Invisible underwater creatures stopping people from sleeping? And what for?

"Why can't the explanation be as simple as people are having a hard time sleeping? It happens, Doctor. People have work and coffee- it keeps them awake."

"Oh, Clara," the Doctor said, "when you're as old as me, you'll realize that when facts like these allign so perfectly, it isn't out of the water to assume that there's more at work than just coincidence. The bottom of the ocean is the perfet place to hide your experiment where you are conducting interruption of the sleep cycle of every living creature of the planet. Now if there is something doing this, the question is why hide? If this is so beneficial to humanity and every creature on this planet, why keep it a secret?"

"If there is something? So you do admit you are unsure?" I asked.

There was a small ding that came from the screen above the Tardis console. The calculations had been completed.

The Doctor's eyebrows became even more fierce than they already were, after reading what was on the screen.

"Anything I was unsure about is gone now," the Doctor said dryly, turning the screen towards me.

"High levels of energy detected-Multiple unknown life forms detected" the screen read, and right below it were infrared scans of what looked like a herd of creatures huddled together. The scans indicated that those creatures were resting on the ocean floor, nearly three and half kilometers below us.

"One thing's for certain- you can't get rid of or spontaneously create energy," the Doctor began, "With that said, I was able to get the Tardis to scan for any places where giant bursts or crowds of energy are where they shouldn't be. And here's what she picked up," the Doctor pointed at the screen.

"Whatever these creatures are, they're getting their energy that they feed into other life forms in place of sleep from somewhere. Now the question is, where are they getting it? And do they have good intentions with it? I mean look at you lot, the human race, this wouldn't be the first time you-"

The Doctor paused as he looked at the screen in surprise and horror.

"NO! NO! NO!" he screamed, beginning to flip switches to start the Tardis.

"What?! What is it?!" I yelled back, confused as to what could cause the Doctor to react like that.

I looked at the screen. One by one, the infrared scans of the creatures began disappearing; the herd of creatures huddled together was getting smaller and smaller.

"They've spotted us!" the Doctor screamed in distress, "They're using some kind of teleport to get away, no living creature could just dissapear like that without technology."

The Doctor began to twist and turn knobs and buttons all over the console.

"Oh! That's brilliant! They are advanced creatures after all!" the Doctor said, his distress becoming a laugh; the laugh that you would hear a mad scientist have after he's figured out the solution to his problem, which suited the Doctor well.

"Now, if I can only get the Tardis to lock onto their energy signal-"

The Doctor flipped a lever and pushed a button and in an instant the Tardis was swinging us around like fruit in a blender.

The sound of the Tardis' engines whooshed passed my ears, as it continued to throw the Doctor and me around; I grabbed onto the railings in the hopes of staying still and not getting dizzy, while the Doctor ran around the console, trying to control the Tardis.

In a few moments, the Doctor flipped another lever, and the Tardis halted.

As I regained my focus from the shaking of the Tardis, I could see the Doctor was unaffected by our surprise ride that felt very much like a roller coaster.

The Doctor's expression was grim and serious, as he looked at the screen above the control console, completing the calculations.

As he finished, light filled up his face, and that grin of adventure once again returned to his face.

"The Tardis has followed the creatures' energy trace and has brought us to their well...base."

The Doctor approached the door, with me following closely behind him, still a bit dizzy and regaining my balance.

The Doctor opened the door, turned back to me, that eager grin overtaking his face.

"Are you ready to discover one of the human race's, no not just the humans, but the entire Earth's oldest and greatest secrets?" he asked, his tone matching his eager attitude.

"As I'll ever be," I responded with a grin of my own.

And after him, I stepped out of the Tardis to find something that could change the human race forever.

Just another day with the Doctor.