The thing came out of nowhere. One moment Clara had been walking along the jungle path, the Doctor just a few steps ahead of her, explaining to her the nature and origin of this planet and then it had attacked her, jumped at her from out of the bushes and before Clara could react she was lying on the ground. It was enormous and heavy and its carapace offered her no chance to defend herself against the creature. Clara could hear the Doctor calling her name, she must have screamed when it had attacked. When the creature opened its mouth, showing a row of very sharp teeth Clara cried out for help, desperately trying to push the thing off. It was stronger and the Doctor didn't come to her aid. This would be the end of her, Clara was certain, so she closed her eyes right as the creature buried its teeth in her arms. She cried out in pain and fright.
And suddenly it was over.
“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked her, “It's okay, Clara. The Apolloch is gone.”
His hands grabbed her shoulders tightly and only then did Clara dare to open her eyes again. She blinked a few times, but the view didn't change.
“Doctor, what's going on?” she asked him, her hands darting forward to where she assumed the Doctor must be and found the fabric of jacket.
“What do you mean?” There was something odd in his voice that she couldn't place.
“Why is everything dark? Where's the sun gone?” Clara demanded to know. She cocked her head in his direction so as to not miss his answer. But there never was one. At first she was only suspicious, then Clara could feel a knot slowly tighten inside her stomach and it was growing worse with every second the Doctor failed to say something.
She squeezed his arm and pulled herself into a sitting position, her heart pounding quickly now. The horrible realisation of it had finally struck her. The world hadn't suddenly gone dark. She couldn't see.
“Doctor, answer me! Why can't I see?” she almost yelled at him, her voice suddenly panic-fuelled. She was blind and he knew something.
“Clara,” he said quietly, his hands on her shoulders shifting slightly, “Stay calm.”
She struggled free from his grip, slapping his arms out of the way.
“Talk to me! Tell me what's wrong! Why can't I see?!”
Nausea started to creep up inside her. She felt sick and her eyes were beginning to water and she just wanted to scream and cry and kick him until the Doctor finally told her the truth. She had been so sure that he was still the Doctor. At first she had doubted him but he had proven that he would never truly abandon her, especially not after