To Have Faith

Chapter 16 : One Hectic Day

There's a clatter as the broomstick falls to the ground, I barely hear it over the ringing in my ears. Instinctively I try to take in a breath, only to gag. No air able to pass the hand strangling me.

I can't think. Panicking blindly. a blank white hum replacing thought. I need to get this thing off me. Someone else rushes over, yanking too; the Doctor.

"Honestly, you two are just as bad as Mickey!" I just barely register Rose striding in with two mugs. The rest of her rant fading into a pounding ring.

No, that's the sound of my heartbeat.

Blindly clawing at the plastic on my neck, feeling tears prickle at my eyes. Choking on the pain, my lungs trying to do what they're made for. My vision going spotty... lungs aching, there's another hard yank from the Doctor, the arm won't budge.

I'm going to pass out.

There's a buzz. The sonic? I can't tell.

The sound gets louder, changing frequencies.

Blackness and stars seeping across my eyes. Strength leaving my muscles.

The next second the hand lets go and I fall to my knees coughing and spluttering, wheezing in air. My watery eyes aimed on the ground in front of me but not seeing it. Hearing a scream and crash next to me, but not registering it. Stars still swimming across my vision like fireflies. I don't know who it's strangling now. I just know it's not me.

I'm alive.

There's another bang. I suck in a deep breath-only to start hacking again. My throat already feeling raw with the action.

Another shattering crash. Glass going everywhere, including the spot of floor right in front of me. I blink dazedly over at the glass remains of the coffee table, then over at the two now struggling towards the couch, the hand covering Rose's face and muffling her screams to vague noises of distress.

There's another buzz of the sonic and the hand releases Rose, still moving though- aiming for the Doctor now. It's fingers staining towards his throat. His sonic buzzing at it's palm to find the right frequency, and once it hits that frequency the hand stops, freezing in place like it wasn't just trying to kill us all.

a pregnant pause, all of us breathing hard, the sound of Jackie's hairdryer turning off seconds later from the hallway beyond.

Now that timing's just not fair...

...Not that I want a hysteric Jackie Tyler in here.

"are-" I clear my throat, but that doesn't help it to sound any less like a broken lawnmower. "Are you guys ok?"

"Yep!" He answers with a smile that's just a little too wide "There you go, ya see?" holding up the evil appendage, he grins, "Armless!" He finishes, still smiling at his own pun.

There's half a second of stunned silence before it registers, and I let out a breathy laugh of relief.

the sheer audacity of that pun-we almost just died for goodness sakes!

Pain stops my giggling before it can even start- causing me to clear my throat again... just as the Doctor's eyes flicker over to mine. There's something about those eyes; a question? how can they be so expressive?

"Armless? Ya think?" Rose glares, snatching the arm and whacking him with it, cutting off whatever was just between us.

"Ow! What'd you do that for!" He whines, dramatically cradling the spot on his arm like she just maimed him... though I doubt that actually hurt him at all.