SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Chapter Fifteen While they walked through the forest, Jack noticed that the Doctor was grumbling under his breath. He hurried his pace and caught up to him and listened. He realized he was cursing the Gamemaster for the loss of life and was vowing to stop him. "First sign of insanity is talking to yourself," Jack quipped. He flinched when the Doctor glowered at him and he held up his hands. "Sorry, I'll let you mutter to yourself in peace then," he said to the Doctor. "The Gamemaster has gone too far," the Doctor said to Jack. "He will pay for what he's done here. He could have dealt with us by ourselves but no, he has to kill people and make sport of it!" "So we go after him?" Jack said. "Yes, except we have to find a way to get past the security measures. If we stepped into the valley, we'll just be teleported into another location. And I don't feel like waiting several hours before we confront him." Jack was about to reply to that when a bright light suddenly surrounded each person and they vanished from the forest. He blinked in shock when he found himself standing ankle deep in snow. He looked around and noticed the Doctor and Amala were nearby but other than that there was nothing except snow, ice and rock. He looked up and noticed a pinkish planet was hanging in the sky along with a distant sun. There was also another bigger sun that was far larger than the first. Jack was puzzled by that. If there were two suns heating the planet, why was it so cold?" "Here." Jack looked at the Doctor and caught the heavy blue coat he threw his way. He examined it and noticed it was insulated with a heavy hood that had brown fur lining it. He took off his rucksack, set it down on the snow and put it on. "Where'd you get this?" Jack said to him. The Doctor pointed to a nearby rock and Jack noticed the coats were spread out on top of it. Amala was putting on a similar coat but her legs and feet were still bare, except for the sandals. "There were only two coats," the Doctor said to Jack. "I'm guessing one for each of us. But Amala got trapped with us when the Gamemaster transmatted us here. I don't need a coat though so she can have it." "But where are we?" Jack said. The Doctor shrugged. "Okay, next question. If there are two suns in the sky, why is this place so cold?" "Because that bigger object isn't a sun, Jack, it's a comet," the Doctor said, pointing to it. "It looks like a sun because you're looking at it straight on." "Wait, if I'm looking at it from the front that means…" "It's heading for this planet," the Doctor said grimly. "Great, just great," Jack said. He looked at the comet and noticed it was slightly bigger than Earth's sun. "How long do we have then?" Jack said, pointing up to it. "Not long," the Doctor replied. "Perhaps less than a day. It's nearer to this planet than the sun is to Earth." "So is this the next phase of the games?" Jack said while Amala walked up to them. "Fight to the death before a comet obliterates the planet?" There was another flash and everyone watched while a man wearing a tweed jacket and dark trousers rolled down a snowy hill. "Is this another competitor?" Jack said, pointing to him as the man stopped at the bottom of the hill and started to get up. "Don't know," the Doctor said. "Perhaps the Gamemaster was lying and he meant to send us here after a few hours." "He looks like a weakling," Amala scoffed. "Yeah, well I wouldn't bet on it," Jack said before he walked over to the man. The man was dusting snow off himself while he stood ankle deep in the snow. He froze when Jack came up to him. "Hi, I'm Jack. Listen, whatever is happening here, we need to fight the Gamemaster instead of each other," Jack said to the man. "By the way, tweed jackets are ugly, maybe you should try another outfit that flatters you more." The man ignored him. He closed his eyes and thought to Ten. Ten's eyes widened and he walked over to him after putting the second rucksack down in the snow beside Jack's pack. "What are you doing here?" Ten said to his older self. "I've always been here. I was captured long before you were," he replied. "And you are?" Jack said while Amala came up between him and Ten. "I'm the Eleventh Doctor," Eleven said. Jack took a step back and examined his snow dusted clothing. "Um…tweed doesn't suit you," Jack said. "Never mind that," Eleven said. "We're in a world of trouble here." "Yeah, there's a huge comet headed this way," Jack said, pointing up. Eleven looked up at the comet for a moment before turning his attention back to his predecessor. "No, there's something far worse than that. The Gamemaster is the Valeyard." Jack frowned but he noticed the horror on the Doctor's face. "Um…I'm guessing from the "Oh, shit" look on your face that the Valeyard is very bad," Jack said to Ten. "Yes, Jack. And now all this is beginning to make sense," Ten said. "What about Rose?" "Rose is with him and a friend of mine called Rory. The Valeyard wants them. He also has two other friends called Amy and…River." He searched his face but saw no recognition when he said her name. "They're in cryostasis. I managed to free Rory before I was captured," Eleven said. He noticed Amala for the first time and asked who she was. The Doctor quickly explained who she was and Eleven nodded and shook her hand. "Sorry, you got caught up in all this," Eleven said to her. "But I'm glad you decided to join us." "Where are Rose and…Rory?" Jack said, looking around. "I don't know. I hope the Valeyard didn't get rid of us by bringing us here so he could do whatever he wanted to them," Eleven said. "But what happens now?" Amala said. "We fight each other?" "Um…I'm immortal and these two change their bodies repeatedly if they're killed. If we fight, you're gonna be at a severe disadvantage," Jack said to her. "No fighting," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "We have to find a way back before the comet crashes into the planet. That's our first priority along with finding Rose and Rory….if they're even here." "Well, come on then, we don't have time to stand around chatting," Eleven said. Jack and Ten retrieved the packs and the four of them walked away.
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