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The adventure was over. Everyone was safe, fed, rested, and back in the TARDIS. The Doctor had replaced Rose’s smashed phone, and the bark on Jabe’s left knee would regrow in time. The Doctor’s shirt was a complete loss, but the TARDIS wardrobe room was very obliging about providing another.
Sporting the new navy-blue jumper under his jacket, the Doctor made his way to the Console Room. He stood in front of his companions, one hand resting lightly on the console.
“Now that that’s been sorted, where to next? Ladies’ choice.”
Rose and Jabe shared a knowing smile.
“Is the lady choosing us, or the spirit which guides your ship?” Jabe asked.
“I’m certain she’ll take your choices into consideration,” the Doctor said.
“Which is his way saying he can’t drive,” Rose said.
The Doctor did a poor pantomime of sadness. “That hurts.”
“I’m certain it does,” Rose said.
"I am also a poor pilot," Jabe said. "My people leave such things to the metal minds."
The Doctor flipped a few switched in preparation for dematerialization. “Where do you want to go then, so I can prove my skills and defend my wounded honour.”
“A forest,” Jabe said.
“That’s not very specific.”
“I thought that would make the request easier to fulfill.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Rose?”
“A forest, and can you make it a warm one?”
“A jungle then.”
The Doctor pressed several buttons and the darted around the backside of the console to pull down on a lever. The Time Rotor started churning and the TARDIS wheezed into flight.
The landing was comparably smooth. The Doctor stroked the TARDIS console and then motioned towards the door.
“My ladies, your forest awaits.”
“You seem very certain,” Jabe said.
“I am certain.”
“Shouldn’t we check the scanner?” Rose asked.
“You don’t trust me?”
Jabe shook her head. “Come, Rose, we will see where he has brought us.”
She joined arms with Rose, and, giggling, they both made their way over to the doors.
“Well?” the Doctor asked, after they had opened the doors.
“It is… a forest,” Jabe said.
“Not a warm one,” Rose said, rubbing her hands together.
The TARDIS had landed in a forest of huge, black-barked trees. Their branches were spikey, leafless, and hung with deformed rust-tinted icicles and a strange, brown, cobweb-like material. Snow coated the ground and it had the same reddish tinge as the icicles. It was impossible to tell if the colour was inherent in the snow or a reflection of the weird, dim light illuminating the landscape. The sky was matte black, and while it was full of stars, there didn’t seem to be any trace of a sun or moon.
“It’s a bit nippy, that’s all,” the Doctor said, pushing past Jabe and Rose to step outside, seemingly obviously to both the temperature and the uncanniness of the forest. The snow crunched under his feet. “Wait and see. I’m sure it’ll warm up as the sun rises.” He turned to his companions. “Are you coming?”
“It’s a bit more than nippy,” Rose said, lingering on the threshold of the TARDIS.
The Doctor transferred his sonic from jacket to trouser pocket before shrugging his jacket off and handing it to Rose. She hastily accepted it.
“How are you?” the Doctor asked Jabe.
“The cold doesn’t bother me the same way it does flesh-forms. I am apt to get sleepy if we stay here too long.”
The Doctor nodded. “Don’t worry, it will warm up before that can happen..”
“You said that before,” Jabe said.
The Doctor grinned at this chance to finally explain the wonder of the place the TARDIS had brought them. “This is a long-rotation planet. A single rotation takes almost a month by Earth’s calendar. During the night it’s cold and dark, and for most species the surface is completely uninhabitable, but, lucky for us, we’ve arrived in the wee hours of the morning, or during the spring, if you prefer.”
“Doesn’t look very spring-like to me,” Rose said.
“Oh yea of little faith. Just be a bit patient, you’ll get your warm, sunny jungle.”
Rose sidled up next to Jabe and loudly whispered to her. “Want to bet he got the timing wrong?”
“Oi. My timing was perfect. There’s no point in visiting a long-rotation planet if you don’t experience the dawn – And where do you think you’re going?” The Doctor shouted towards Rose who had started walking away from him
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m moving around to stay warm.”
“Well, don’t move too far.” He looked over at Jabe. “And you, stay awake!”
“I’m not sleeping,” Jabe said, opening her eyes. “It will take some time at this temperature for my metabolic processes to go into dormancy. I was communing.”
“Communing with… ah. So, what do the locals say?”
“You are correct about the seasons. The forest is excited about the arrival of spring. I can hear the sap starting to rush up from their roots. They are excited because the sun is returning.” She frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“The trees are asking if I am prepared for the sacrifice.”
The Doctor sighed. “Just when I was starting to get comfortable.”
“They say that the children of the soil must be given their due. They are using a word I don’t understand. They say that the children of the soil want blood.”
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a scream.
“Rose,” he shouted, dashing towards the direction of the cry with Jabe by his side.
*
Rose landed in a deep pile of something coarse and oily, like sheep wool. She looked up and saw the hole she’d fallen through. It was at least twenty feet up. The thin, red light shining down from it didn’t do much to light her surroundings. It was warmer than the forest on the surface. She moved her hands through the substance that broke her fall. It had a strong, musky animal smell. Rose thought it was fur. For a moment she panicked, thinking she’d fallen onto the back of some giant burrowing animal, but a deeper probing revealed that the fur wasn’t attached to a body; it was just piled up. She hoped she hadn't fallen into a nest.
“Hello?” Rose said, her voice echoing back at her from the darkness. “Can anyone hear me?”
She became aware of two sets of glowing red eyes hovering about ten feet away and getting steadily closer.
“Do I want anyone to hear me?” she asked quietly.
Suddenly, there was light. Rose blinked, momentarily blinded. When her vision cleared, she was able to see that she had fallen into a caged-off section of underground tunnel. On the other side of the bars there were two small, fluffy aliens standing in front of her. The were about waist height and looked like sentient gerbils.
“That is not a Woviin, Fleeker,” one of the gerbil aliens said. Its voice was so small and squeaky it took Rose a moment to realize that it was speaking.
“I think that’s obvious,” said the other fluffy alien, Fleeker, apparently, as he slide open the cage door.
“You talk,” said Rose.
“Another obvious observation,” Fleeker said, “I seem to be beset with them today.”
The gerbil aliens twitched their noses. Rose looked at them closer and realized that they both were carrying futuristic ray-gun type things. She bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t just offended them enough for them to get trigger-happy.
“Without being… rude,” Fleeker said. “What species are you?”
“I’m a human,” Rose said. “What are you?”
“We are Hamiforms. My name is Fleeker,” Fleeker said, bowing slightly and holstering his ray-guy, “That is my littermate, Ippyskuuquekwhisk.”
Fleeker’s companion bowed, also putting away his weapon. “You may call me Whisker. Are you here for the ceremony?”
“Something like that,” Rose said, scrambling off the pile of fur.
“Did you become lost or have some malfunction of your space craft?” Whisker asked “You are very early and nowhere near the landing dock. You were lucky to fall into an empty trap. It would not have gone so well if you’d found your way into one with a Wolviin in it.”
“Or if you’d met one on the surface,” Fleeker said, giving a full-bodied shudder. ‘This isn’t a good hour to leave one’s burrow.”
“Our pilot is a bit… eccentric,” Rose said.
“Goodness,” Whisker squeaked. “You don’t mean to say that there are others of your party still up there?”
“Two, are they in danger?” Rose asked.
“The light triggers a feeding frenzy in the Wolviin,” Fleeker said. “That is why we use drop traps on them. They only calm once they’re brought back into darkness. If your friends are up there, then yes, they are in very grave danger.”
“Then I’ve got to get back up there!” Rose said, looking up at the hole she fell though. “I have to warn them!”
“You will not get back to the surface that way,” Fleeker said. He sighed and motioned with his paw to the tunnel behind him. “Come.”
Rose exited the trap. Whisker relocked the cage behind her.
“Do a lot of people come here for the ceremony?” Rose asked as she followed Fleeker and Whisker down the tunnel. The farther they went, the warmer it became.
“Oh, thousands, at least,” Whisker said. “It’s especially popular with the Citizens of the Confederation of Binding Light, but we get all sorts. Never a human before, though. And the first ships weren’t scheduled to arrive for another hour.”
“Is that why the ceiling’s so high here? For the tourists?” Rose had noticed that there were a good four feet of clearance above her head, which meant that the tunnel roof was palatially tall for the Hamiforms.
Whisker and Fleeker chittered.
“No, no, it’s very unusually for our guests to see the winter tunnels,” Fleeker said. “The ceilings are high because all of this is Wolviin dug and they like a bit of extra room to turn. As long as you feed them well and keep them blinkered they’re very tractable, but at the end of their winter foraging – “ he waved his paw in the air. “Well, as I said, that is why we use drop traps.”
“So, they’re what… domesticated?” Rose said.
“In a manner of speaking.” Whisker shrugged. “Everything in the forest makes small sacrifices for the well-being and mutual benefit of the whole.”
Rose could hear chattering up ahead and a squeaky sort of music, like a high-pitched combination of an accordion and a flute. The tunnel took a turn and then opened up into a wide space. Tables filled with feasting Hamiforms were positioned around the edges. A band and a group of tumblers performed in the centre space.
“This is the expedition party for the first tapping,” Fleeker said. “We’ll accompany them to the surface and they’ll spare us a few guards for safety as we search for your friends.”
Fleeker walked past the tables towards the band. He waited until the song’s finish and began speaking urgently to the lead singer.
Whisker put his paw on Rose’s arm. “We will find them easily.”
A few of the Hamiforms started mumbling as the silence stretched on. One waved Rose over to their table.
“You look like you need a drink,” the Hamiform said, offering Rose a mug of amber liquid.
Rose was thirsty. The heat in the tunnels was oppressive and the weight of the Doctor’s jacket on her shoulders wasn’t helping. Rose took a sip. The liquid was cool and syrupy sweet, like pop with all of the carbonation removed. She took another sip.
“The sacrificial ceremony has been moved up,” Fleeker announced.
There was an outburst of confused murmuring. Hamiforms were asking why they were being expected to risk the dark and the Wolviins ahead of schedule. Fleeker started to give an explanation. Rose started walking to join him, but a sudden wave of dizziness forced her to grab onto a table for support. She tried to call out for help, but her lip had gone numbs. Her fingers were tingling. She looked at the mug in her hand in horror as the world around her started to blur.
*
The Doctor and Jabe followed Rose’s footprints through the frozen forest. It didn’t take them long to find the hole she’d plummeted through.
Jabe plucked at a thatch of coarse, brown hair that had been partially buried in the snow.
“This was intentionally concealed.”
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the hole. Rose wasn't in it. He examined around the edges. Rose’s footprints were the most obvious, but, partially trampled underneath them were tiny boot prints. Fainter still were the remnants of a track-way left by a group of large, four-legged animals.
“She may have been by-catch, and she’s not here now.”
“It seems unlikely she would have been able to climb out,” Jabe said.
The Doctor examined the footprints again.
“Worries about the local wildlife?” Jabe asked.
The Doctor shook his head and pointed to the larger tracks. “No, see how it curves here and here. This was made by a herbivore.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
The Doctor looked over at Jabe. “I suppose it wouldn’t be.”
“There are structures here,” Jabe said, looking up. It was difficult to notice them at first since they were covered in rusty ice and mats of dark hair, but there were a series of small platforms built high in the trees and connected by rope bridges.
“Nice little tree houses. That’s sweet. Doesn’t look like anyone’s home. What do your friends say about them?”
Jabe closed her eyes, and then opened them suddenly. “They say you must run.”
"Why's that?" the Doctor asked.
High in the trees, something shifted. With a thud that shook the ground a huge creature that looked like a cross between a wolf and an orangutan landed on the forest floor in front of the Doctor and Jabe.
The Doctor grinned and took a few steps towards it. "Fantastic."
The Wolviin bared sharp teeth and growled, spraying the Doctor and Jabe with salvia. The Doctor’s enthusiasm was unbowed.
“This animal is not a herbivore,” Jabe said, taking a few steps backwards.
“No, I don’t think it is,” the Doctor said, also walking backwards. “I think you’re safe, Jabe.”
“You should run before it attempts to eat you,” Jabe advised.
“Yes,” the Doctor said. He broke away and ran to the other side of the pit trap Rose had fallen into. The beast rapidly knuckle-walked after him. The Doctor changed directions, moving back and forth, keeping the open hole between himself and the creature. Jabe concentrated on sending roots down into the forest floor, bracing herself. The beast roared and, with a single leap, cleared the pit, landing directly beside the Doctor.
“Ah,” the Doctor said, as the beast snapped at him. He held the sonic screwdriver up and attempted to fend his pursuer off with a burst of ultrasonic noise. The beast cowered for a moment, whimpering, and then struck the sonic from the Doctor’s hand. It tumbled into the pit.
“Bit of help, maybe?” the Doctor asked, darting backwards.
Jade closed her eyes and dug her roots deep into the frozen ground, calling on the surrounding forest to give her strength. She unleashed her lianas at the beast, grabbing it by its back ankles and dragging it towards the hole. It scrabbled at the edge for a long moment, testing Jabe's strength, before finally giving way to the inevitable and falling into the trap. It let out a low, sorrowful moan. Cautiously, the Doctor and Jabe bent over the side and looked down. Illuminated by the still-glowing sonic at the bottom, the beast paced in a caged off area of tunnel. It jumped at the wall and slid down.
“You are a tree of many talents,” the Doctor said to Jabe.
Hearing a rustle, he turned around, and found that dozens of Hamiforms had emerged from the trees around them. The small, gerbil-like aliens had weapons drawn.
“More local colour,” the Doctor said. “We’re getting quite the welcoming committee. Hello, I’m the Doctor and this is Jabe.”
“Are you Rose’s pilot and companion?” one of the Hamiforms asked.
“Where is she?” the Doctor asked.
The Hamiforms chittered with laughter.
“She is recovering,” the Hamiform who had spoken before said.
“What did you do to her?” the Doctor asked, dropping his voice dangerously.
More chittering laughter. The teeth in their open mouths were small, but very sharp looking.
“Nothing, she had a little too much to drink and may have a sore head tomorrow, but nothing serious. She was worried about your safety, but – “ the Hamiform motioned to the pit trap behind the Doctor before holstering his weapon, “ – it seems that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself.”
Jabe made her way to the Doctor’s side.
“These are the Children of the Soil,” she whispered in his ear, “the trees say they will take their due in blood soon.”
“Excuse me,” the Doctor asked the lead Hamiform. “But I’m getting a few mixed messages at the moment. Your people don’t happen to be of the vampire persuasion, do they?”
The Hamiform twitched his nose in confusion.
“Vampire?” he asked, twitching his nose slowly.
“Blood drinker? Creature of the night? You don’t feel bitey at all, do you? I’ve met at least five different species in my time, but none quite so fluffy.” The Doctor moved his eyes over the crowd of creatures. The ones who weren't armed were carrying metal buckets and sharp metal tubes. If they were to attack him and Jabe, he didn't like their odds, even if the Children of the Soil were half their height. And, just his luck, the sonic screwdriver was sharing a hole with a decidedly nasty room mate.
“Blood drinker?” the Hamiform said, with evident disgust. “We are sugarvores. Fruit, sap. We are on the surface for the spring tapping. The only carnivores in the equatorial forests are insects and Wolviins.”
“Sap,” the Doctor said.
“Blood,” Jabe said.
"I suppose it does depend on your perspective." The Doctor turned to Jabe. “We can stop this. If the trees here are sentient and these people don’t realize that they are hurting them.”
Jabe closed her eyes and communed again. “No,” she said. “Now that I understand better. It is a sacrifice given willingly. The trees sustain them, and they, in turn bring nutrients to their roots in the winter-hours, and manage the Wolviin and the herbivore herds. The forest has its own type of harmony.”
*
An hour later, or a day, depending on how you counted time, the Doctor, Jabe, and Rose sat on a viewing platform in the summer village. Rose felt fine after a dose of extra strength headache pills. The light in the forest was the brightest they had seen so far. The sky was streaked with red and purple and vibrant orange. Many other aliens crowded the viewing platform around them – tourists who had arrived in the correct location, at the proper time. The Doctor had a mug of the tree sap ale. Jabe and Rose both had water.
They watched a herd of Giramoths move by as they waited for sun rise. The huge herbivores had patchy brown coats which they were in the process of shedding. They rubbed up against every available surface to facilitate this. Shaking the viewing platform and leaving clumps of coarse, dark fur dangling off rocks and branches.
A low hum filled the air. It became noticeably warmer. The first flash of golden sunlight crept over the horizon, glittering against the fast melting snow. Mist rose up around them. Golden-winged beetles crawled out of the ground and started flying in lazy circles, sunlight flashing off their backs. Birds awoke and flew out of hollows in the trees in a flash of colours and delighted song. The Giramoths started lowing excitedly. The sun rose higher.
Tiny buds appeared on the barren tree branches, and, like in a time-lapse film, they swelled and uncurled into a riot of green leaves. The last of the snow vanished into melt water, revealing a rich, muddy forest floor with a deep covering of old leaves. The forest floor wasn’t visible for long, because creeping vines quickly colonized across it. Tiny flowers sprouted wherever they could find purchase. The air filled with sweet perfume. Tiny squirrel-like creatures swung from branch to branch, chittering excitedly.
Fleekler raised a glass of tree sap ale into the air.
“To the forest, and to rebirth!”