Short Trips - The Doctor Who Audio Dramas

The Doctor nodded with satisfaction, selected a large green bottle and poured
himself another glass. The fluid tasted sharp and clear. ‘Ah, good,’ he confirmed,
wiping his hand across his mouth, ‘this stuff really hits the spot.’
The Time Lord looked about at the food but he didn’t feel hungry just yet. On
the contrary, a terrific drowsiness came over him. He crossed to the wide array of
cushions. ‘I’m just going to take a nap,’ he slurred. ‘Don’t bother to waken me
until the world comes to an end.’
Dara smiled knowingly at the Doctor. He lay flat on his back, feeling on top of
the world. It was as if this was everything he had ever dreamed of, but why
should it be happening now?
A deep, deep sleep overcame him before he could rationalize the situation.
‘Doctor? Doctor? Doctor!’ shouted a terrified female voice nearby.
The Doctor felt an excruciating pain as his skin tightened around his body.
‘Doctor --- you still live!’
The Doctor awoke with a jolt. His eyes at first saw nothing except blackness then,
as they became accustomed to the gloom, he saw the recumbent figure of Mark
close by on the cushions.
Then, a hand reached and touched his shoulder. ‘What’s the matter, Doctor?’
asked Dara sleepily. ‘Having a bad dream?’
‘Er... yes, you could say that,’ said the Time Lord wiping his clammy brow. ‘At
least I thought it was a dream.’ The Doctor reached to feel his temples. When his
fingers touched a certain spot there came a familiar shooting pain. ‘I... I didn’t
dream it,’ he realized, stammered.
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Dara, her voice muffled against a cushion.
‘My body... something’s happening to it...’
Dara was immediately awake. She looked hard at the Doctor, her eyes seeming
to stare into his very soul. She stood up, moved to waken Mark who, without a
word, followed Dara’s gaze.
For the first time the Doctor noticed how pale and drawn his companions
were. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
The others looked first at him then each other. They stood up.
The Doctor blinked as they began to fade before his eyes.
‘No! Wait,’ he yelled. For an instant the images seemed to hover between
reality and nothingness then were gone.
A brilliant, blinding light filled the Doctor’s vision. Suddenly the pain in his body
was all too real. It was so powerful it almost masked the other duller pain in his
head. Just out of his vision a figure moved in slow motion. Fighting to focus his
eyes, the Doctor thought he saw something golden.
‘What is happening? What is happening?’
‘Chris,’ the Doctor tried to say but nothing came out. ‘Christine!’ The words
rattled round his throat but not a sound came out.
It was too late.