Mae and The Doctor

9 - Multae ab Umbra

After running for a long while, the Doctor and I arrive at the TARDIS. Hastily, he jams the key into the door and turns it, flinging it open.

"Researching?" I say breathlessly.

"Yup," he exclaims. I watch excitedly as he types things into a typewriter. Walking up to the center of the room, I wipe my palms on my skirt and move to his side. We look up at the screen he has swiveled around.He had typed in "multae ab umbra". The screen shows a picture of a wisp of black smoke - tall and in the faint shape of a human, appearing veiled - and information beside it; the name is shown, of course, along with where it originated (Unknown), where they dwell (the Euhna Galaxy), sex (All Female), and an assortment of other things that I didn't bother reading. I didn't read the rest, because beside all of the other categories was "unknown".

The Doctor sighs; I sigh. "I thought the TARDIS was supposed to know everything," I say. The Doctor glares at me, clearly offended. "Sorry," I mutter and go to sit down.

A moment of thoughtful silence passes, and the Doctor stands up straight from leaning on the console. "I'm starting to think," he says, "that you were right about them not being on the surface."

"Do you think we could drill down to see?" I ask, looking up to him hopefully.

He just shakes his head and says, "Too risky. We could harm the creature or something. Plus, we'd need permission, and that's too much trouble."

I nod, understanding. My eyes staring hard at my shoes, I begin deducing. Their name, Latin for "women of/from shadows", implies that the creatures could be shadows; this was proven from the picture the TARDIS showed us. Not much is known about these creatures, most likely due to the fact that they don't live on the surface. That still has yet to be confirmed. However, if I was correct, the TARDIS would be able to go to their dwelling - which also has yet to be proven. I stand up and begin to pace, my thoughts coming faster than ever, my mind working furiously; somewhere outside of my head, I hear the Doctor say something, but I stay stuck in my thoughts. They suck energy and live below the surface; the entire species also happens to be women. What would a clan of female creatures be doing beneath the crust of the earth with a ton of energy?

"Breeding," I whisper. Then I turn to look at the Doctor, who's staring at me.

"Pardon?"

"Breeding," I repeat louder. "They're using a bunch of energy to breed and stuff because there aren't any men to help them do it."

"But," the Doctor starts, knitting his eyebrows in confusion, "how?"

I shrug and say, "You'll have to ask them that."

"But how?!" he repeats again. I raise my eyebrows, astounded that he hasn't figured it out yet. Then I gesture to the console.

"Take us there."

The Doctor stares around as if he were looking for the sense in all of this. "Wait a second," he says firmly, "it isn't that easy, Mae. I can't just wish myself in there! I have to put in a location and time and such. The TARDIS isn't a genie."

I let out a great huff and drop myself into the chair behind me. "Then how are we going to get down there, Doctor?"

Silently, I wait for him to respond. "We have to take this risk," I say quietly. He seems to be adding things up, trying to figure out for himself if it actually isworth the risk.

He mumbles a word and turns toward the console.

"What was that? Did you just say 'fine'? Did you just give in to the Amazing Mae Wenbridge, Doctor?" I smirk as I walk closer to him.

"Don't flatter yourself," he says, flipping switches and jabbing at buttons. I grin still, and he turns around to face me. He sighs, and it seems that with his sigh went all of his worries.

The Doctor takes a wide step over to a lever. "Ready?"

Nodding happily, I quickly ram myself into one of the chairs just as he pulls the lever. My hand grips the railing behind my seat tightly as the Doctor stumbles over to the same railing. We smile and giggle to each other. The TARDIS tosses and turns, and I watch as the Doctor's feet struggle on the floor. There's a loud thump, and the shaking stops. Our eyes widen, and a corner of my lip curls as if to say "told you so".

He snatches my hand, and we run as fast as we can out the door. Slamming it shut behind me, I stop beside him. We're staring into a... a nursery?