Never Say Never (TenxRose One-shots)

Love Is a Delicate Thing Part Five: Guilt and a Wolf (The Doctor's P.O.V.)

My back had become numb after about fifty-three repeated hits of the whip, but I continued to scream out in pain. Tears had started to flow rapidly down my cheeks in an uncontrollable wave. The only sound I could hear was the repeating noise of the crack of the whip. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. I knew my breaking point was coming, that I was going to snap and lose all hope. My end was near, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"How did it feel when you obliterated all of those innocent children?" The creature whispered in my ear as the other one whipped me. "Did you count? Tell me, how many children were on Gallifrey that fateful day?"

I didn't respond.

Thwack. The whip hit me in the chest, leaving a bloody and painful gash from one side to the other. I screamed out in agony. I was surprised I hadn't blacked out from the pain that followed. It was so intense, everything went fuzzy for a few seconds before it slowly came back.

"I'll ask again. How many children?"

I closed my eyes as fresh tears continued to fall down my cheeks. "2.47 billion children."

The creature asking the questions leaned forward and asked, "And do you know how many children died the day the Time Lords destroyed our entire civilization?"

I gritted my teeth and shook my head no, but I knew exactly how many children that day. I should know. My father was the one who lead the massacre of these people. He murdered the most out of all of the Time Lords, not caring about any of the blood on his hands.

The creature stood and turned around for a few seconds, then turned back around, swinging his foot, connecting with my jaw. I instantly felt the metallic taste of blood in my mouth, a slight stream slowly dripping down the side of my mouth, but my jaw wasn't broken.

"LIAR!" It shouted at me, causing my skull to vibrate. "Your father alone killed well over 5.2 billion children on this planet!" His walked closer and kicked me in the side, momentarily knocking the wind out of me. More blood spewed from my mouth as I tried to regain my breath. "14.8 billion children total were murdered because of your people! And now you will feel their pain." The creature nodded and the whip cracked again.

Thwack.

Thwack. 

Thwack.

I continued to cried out, a mixture of sweat and blood running down my back, chest, and mouth. I don't deserve this. I thought, wanting all of the pain to stop. What did I do to deserve all of this pain and suffering? What have I done to be ripped from everything I loved and tortured until I either died or regenerated? What have I done?

Then it clicked. I do deserve this. I caused so much suffering the day I burned Gallifrey. All of those innocent lives I look both young and old, big and small, wise and not. I sacrificed their lives for nothing, and now I have to finally pay that price. I hung my head in defeat, no longer rebelling against the blows of the whip.

I could practically hear both creatures smile as they realized my defeat. The whip continued to crack and make contact with my skin, and I continued to shout in agony, but it all seemed like a distant dream. Nothing seemed real anymore. Even when I saw the wall/door ripple in front of me and Rose walk through, I thought it was all a dream. I must be hallucinating. I thought, knowing that Rose couldn't have escaped.

Yet, something was pulling me back to reality. I started to feel the harshness of the whip on my back and chest again. I screamed out with knowledge of why I was screaming. I felt my hearts beat faster with every second I stared at her horrified face, looking to find so much worry and fear in her eyes, it made something inside me click.

Rose was here. She was actually standing right in front of me with my sonic screwdriver in her hand. The creatures stopped torturing me and looked at Rose with surprise, completely shocked that she had escaped and found me without a single scratch on her face.

Her own expression changed from fear to anger. She pointed the sonic screwdriver at the creatures and pushed the button, letting the sound of the screwdriver fill the air. The creatures immediately fell to their knees with their hands over their ears, but it was no use. Rose slowly walked closer to the creatures pointing the screwdriver to each creature on at a time before they exploded into a heap of ash. The whip fell lifelessly to the ground with a thud.

"Don't you ever touch a single hair on his head." She said to the pile of ashes before meeting my gaze with a smile. "Otherwise, you'll get bit by a wolf."