EATER OF SOULS
Chapter Seventeen “Where are you going again?” Ahmose asked the Doctor. “Um…it’s called the TARDIS, it’s my…tent.” “You named your tent?” “Yeah, I’m very fond of it. My tent has been with me many years and served me well. But, anyway, we’ll be there for awhile. I have some special ointments that will heal my back, and we want to make sure it hasn’t been disturbed. Rose and I will be back before sundown.” He put an arm around her and they both headed for the front door. “Wait!” They looked back. Ahmose was giving them a confused look. “You are going out without makeup on?” The Doctor frowned. “Why, am I bit pale? Might meet some sexy Egyptian babe and want to look my best?” he deadpanned. Ahmose didn’t quite know how to answer that. So, he ignored it. “I’m not sure how you barbarians go about it, but here in Khemet, we smear kohl paint around our eyes to protect us from the sun.” The Doctor’s eyes widened while Rose squealed. “Oh, yes, I want to see the Doctor looking all Egyptian, please put it on him!” she said. The Doctor shot her a dirty look. “That won’t be necessary. We can get along without it,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Nonsense, you need to put it on. It’s a must in the desert. Now, go see Amisi and she’ll apply it. I won’t let you leave this house until you do so.” Rose giggled while the Doctor grumbled under his breath and headed back into the house. “Oh my God, you look so cute!” Rose squealed, when she saw the Doctor’s face. The Doctor rolled his eyes. “You even have the little line of makeup going out away from the eyes like you see in the movies. You just look adorable!” The Doctor looked at her. He smirked at her makeup job. “Yeah, well, you look like a raccoon,” he teased. “A sexy raccoon though.” The Doctor smiled and kissed her on the lips. “That you are.” He had to admit, with the sheer linen dress, the eye makeup, and her hair pulled back away from her face, she looked beautiful. He had met Egyptian royalty in his time, and she could give any one of them a run for their money. He, on the other hand, wanting nothing more than to get back to the TARDIS before anyone saw him. He didn’t fancy going around ancient Egypt looking like Jackie Tyler. Still, anything to please Ahmose, so they could leave and get back to the TARDIS. He wouldn’t admit it to Rose, but his back was aching and he wanted to get his wounds taken care of as soon as possible. They were about to leave when Amisi grabbed hold of his arm. “Yes?” the Doctor said. Amisi looked over at Ahmose and pointed at the hair on his head. “Shouldn’t they shave their hair too? Just as a precaution?” The Doctor’s eyes bulged out of his head. “Oh no!” he said, clamping his hands down on his hair, “eye makeup is one thing, but shaving me bald is quite another. You will not be touching mine or Rose’s hair, thank you.” “But, my friend, you could get fleas or lice in there,” Ahmose said, pointing to his hair. “Um, no, we won’t. Rose and I are very clean. We take five or six baths every day. There is no need for us to have our hair shorn off.” “Actually, it might be interesting to see what you look like bald,” Rose said. He slammed his hand over her mouth. “Excuse me, Miss You’re Not Helping, but I think right now, silence is golden, especially when it comes to your gob. So zip it!” She giggled when he took his hand away from her mouth. “Companions,” he muttered. He sighed. “Look, Ahmose, it’s nice of you to offer us the Telly Savalas special, but Rose and I will pass. Where we come from, everyone keeps most of their body hair, and we’d like to do the same.” Ahmose shrugged. “If that is what you wish, then I will not stop you. I was mainly concerned about your eyes, especially if you are journeying into Deshret. The light from Amun-Re can make it hard to see out there without protection.” The Doctor nodded. “I appreciate that you are concerned about us. You and your family have been more than generous, and Rose and I hope to repay that in equal measure by finding what’s become of your daughter. Now, if you don’t mind, um…Amun-Re is rising higher in the sky, and my friend and I have a ways to go until we reach my…tent.” Ahmose nodded. He stepped aside. The Doctor took Rose’s hand, and the two of them left the house. After a half hour of walking through the punishing heat of the desert, the Doctor and Rose finally reached the TARDIS. The Doctor let out a cry of joy and ran to it. He threw his arms around the side and laid his head against the wood. “Oh, I missed you, girl. You are a sight for sore eyes,” he said. He patted the wood and went to the front door. He unlocked it and they stepped inside. Rose sighed with relief when she felt the air-conditioned air hit her skin. “Oh yes, thank god for modern conveniences,” she said. “I thought I was gonna burn up out there.” “Nah, I’ve been in much hotter places, doesn’t bother me a bit. Besides, you need to get used to walking around in Deshret since we’re probably gonna be spending a whole lot of time out here.” “That’s what they call the desert?” Rose said. “Yup, in fact, that’s where the word desert came from,” the Doctor replied, as they walked back to the med bay. “Deshret means red land and the ancient Egyptian name for Egypt, Khemet, means black land, which refers to the silt the Nile deposits when it floods. It’s how they tell the difference between civilization where they live, and barren desert where they don’t. So, whenever Ahmose is talking about Khemet, he means the part of Egypt they can exist on.” Rose nodded. “Makes sense,” she said. They entered the med bay. The Doctor walked over to the far wall and slid open a metal panel. Behind it was a metal platform that was encased on all sides by Plexiglas. Rose had never seen this machine before. “What does this do?” “This uses concentrated light beams that were developed by scientists on G’lara Nine. The different colors have different wavelengths to them. They’ll pulse all over my body and heal any injuries I have. All I have to do is take my clothes off, step inside, relax, and let the lights do the work. Meanwhile, you can do whatever you want, go take a nap, or just hang out. I’ll let you know when I’m finished. “I can’t watch?” The Doctor frowned. “Watch what? Lights pulsing all over my body?” “Yeah, I’d love to see colored lights all over your naked body.” The Doctor raised his eyebrow when she stuck her tongue between her teeth. “Much as I’d love to look through the healing chamber and see you standing there staring at me with lust in your eyes, I’m afraid I’m going to forbid you from doing that. You had just as rough a time as I did and you need to rest. You complained earlier about waking up early. Well, here’s your chance to catch up on some sleep. Who knows when we might get back here again, so you better make it count.” Rose pouted, but quickly grinned when the Doctor rolled his eyes. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Enjoy the light show,” she said. “I will, since I’ll feel like a million pounds after it. Now go ahead and get some sleep. I’ll come get you when I’m done.” Rose nodded. She squeezed his hand. The Doctor winked and smiled at her in return. He waited until she left the room before he took off his loincloth and stepped into the chamber. “Rose?” Rose slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the Doctor who was gently shaking her awake. “Are you done?” she said. “I’ve been done for a couple of hours now, but I waited, so you could get a proper nap.” “Are you alright?” “Oh, I’m brilliant. I’m completely healed. Look.” He turned and showed her his back. Rose let out a gasp when she saw it. It was almost completely healed. What scars she could see were very faint and indistinct. She rejoiced silently, knowing he wouldn’t carry big ugly welts around on his back for the rest of this life. She reached up, ran her hand down his back, and giggled when she noticed the shiver that ran down his spine. She was sure that shiver didn’t come from her cold hand. The Doctor turned back around. “Are you ready to go?” “I’m ready to go when you are.” “Well, we better get going, it’ll be dark soon, and we don’t want to get lost, not to mention the jackals will be out scavenging.” Rose nodded. She pulled back the covers and got up from the bed. The Doctor took her hand and they headed towards the console room. By the time they got going, the sun was already starting to sink in the sky. Rose thought it was hot before, but now it was broiling. As the sweat rolled down her forehead, she started to wonder if a shaved head wasn’t such a bad idea after all. She looked over at the Doctor and noticed he was barely breaking a sweat. She envied the man and his ability to adapt to temperature changes. As they walked, a strong wind stirred up the sand and blew it into their faces. Rose coughed and threw her hands over her face and nose while the Doctor did the same. She looked all around, but there was nowhere they could go for cover. The Doctor looked at her and jerked his head, indicating that they needed to move on. Rose nodded and tried to follow him, but the mini sandstorm got to them and they both hunkered down, closing their eyes and huddling close to each other until it blew over. After about ten minutes, the wind finally died down and the sand storm ceased. Rose and the Doctor opened their eyes and immediately spied something lying half-buried in the sand several feet away. Rose felt the bile rise to her throat when she noticed it was a body. The Doctor took her hand and both of them walked towards it. Oh God, don’t let this be Femi. Rose thought. They reached the body and Rose’s heart sank when she saw the torn and dirtied linen dress the corpse was wearing. She noticed that the arms and legs had been torn away and something had ripped open the stomach and had fed on the insides. She turned away, on the verge of vomiting. The Doctor knelt down, briefly examined the body, and with a sigh, stood up. “I think we better hurry back to Ahmose’s house and get him. If this is who I think it is, he’ll need to see the body,” he said.
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