Doctor Who: The Sunken Vessel

3. The drowned room

    Amy kicked out for the surface, clawing swathes of water past her as she reached for air. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath. The roar of rushing water returned as a freezing shower rained down around. Intermingled with the noise of the downpour were electrical cracks and sparks from the console.

She pulled herself beneath one of the side panels of the dais. It offered some small shelter from the icy shower overhead. She looked about, stunned. The open double doors were set high above her. Water was still rushing through the opening, filling up the console room. Flecks of greenish weed bobbed around on top of the pool and a larger glob splattered across the time rotor. Rory resurfaced behind her, spluttering and gasping.

    “Rory, over here!” She cried.

    “Amy – *glub* –“ his head slipped beneath the surface once more. She grabbed his outstretched hand and dragged him towards her. His hair was matted and dripping, his clothes sodden, as were hers. He trod water beneath the panels, clutching his injured arm.

    “Are you alright?” Amy had to shout to be heard.

    “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

    “But your arm?”

    “It’s OK, just bruised,” he rubbed it gingerly, “you?”

    “I’m fine, just shaken really, what the hell is going on?”

    “I don’t know but ... well, at a guess I’d say we’ve materialised underwater.”

    “Oh great thanks, I would never of thought of that myself” She called back sarcastically.

    “Hey you asked!”

    “I guess that damn Doctor should have done an environment check after all” she laughed. Something dawned on her. “Wait a minute ... where is he?” Amy realised in horror the Doctor hadn’t resurfaced – he must still be underwater! “Where is he??”

    “What?”

    “The Doctor – where is he?” she called, louder this time.

    “Oh God ... “said Rory as realisation crossed his face. They cast around, scanning for any sign of him. “There!” Rory pointed after a moments searching. Sure enough, a humanoid shadow rippled beneath the surface some 10 feet to their left.

    “Quick, grab him! He’ll drown!” Amy dived towards him, Rory close behind. They pulled him up and back beneath the panel. Streams wound their course through the Doctor’s hair, plastered over his face. His bowtie was skewed and sodden and his clothes saturated. A bright red bump of angry swelling had risen up above his left temple like an inflamed balloon.His mouth dropped open and water spilled out.

    “He’s not breathing!” said Rory anxiously. “We have to get him out of here, where we can clear his lungs.”

    “Oh come on Doctor!” Amy cried. She thumped him hard on the back multiple times. The Doctor spluttered and coughed and ejected a great volume of water from his lungs. He gasped and heaved his chest in. His eyelids flickered open briefly then closed.

    “Alright, he’s breathing, he’s OK,”

    The plunge pool was almost past their chins now and was deepening with every second they stayed there. She glanced around. The door at the bottom was completely submerged, the one to the side only partly. They hauled the Doctor towards it, up the stairs, now lying on their side. At the top the pool lapped at the sliding door. Amy jabbed the button to open it and the water rushed eagerly past their feet to soak the corridor beyond.

    Rory hauled the Doctor through, but before Amy could follow an eerie shriek resonated through the room, impounding on her ears. Looking up she saw a flash of slick green and a slender tail as something fish or eel-like was sucked through the open doors, closely followed by a dozen more.

    “Amy, come on!” Rory called back. She wasn’t going to hang around long enough to find out more anyway. She turned and helped him drag the stumbling Doctor into the corridor beyond.