Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas. (Applies to all chapters)
Daleks in Manhattan
Jolene wiped the sweat from her face, ignoring the feel of the grease caked to her hands. She had been working all day on the tower on an empty stomach; and all she wanted was a bite of bread and a full night's sleep. It had been days since she had slept through the night, either kept awake by odd jobs or her insomnia preying on her unoccupied mind.
On the nights where her mind wouldn't sleep, a thousand thoughts racing through her, she sat outside her small tent and stared at the stars. Her heart yearned for more than endless hours of working, she was made for more than this.
"You thieving lowlife!" Someone yelled from the middle of the shanty town. Another fight, one of the few Hooverville had. Pushing her aching body, Jo ran towards the raised voices; if the police were sent down again they were going to break up the town and send everyone to "work camps".
"Cut it out!" Pushing past the tall man in the trench coat, she threw herself into the middle of the two men. "Calm down!" A quick fist brushed by her temple, before the two men stopped.
"Jo...I didn't mean to." Alans voice was deep as he backed away, "I didn't know it was you." One of the few perks that came with working all the time, respect. The people in this town knew that without Jolene running herself into the ground, half of them would have starved a long time ago.
"Walk it off, the both of you." Jo growled, pointing in opposite directions, her eyes on fire. "If I see either of you again today it better be to shake hands." The men followed her orders, thankfully two of the more calm residents.
"You sure put them in their place." The tall man in the trench coat laughed behind her, his companion standing slightly behind him, hand over her mouth.
"There something I can do for yall?" My body was getting heavier by the second and I still had to make my way around to the older people in town.
"Actually, yes. Were looking for your leader." Jo gave a small smile at how absurd his accent was as she waved Solomon over. "I figured you were a bit to young to be in charge."
Jolene decided to ignore his comment on her age, if this man in his fancy jacket and uppity accent was here to offer jobs, she wasn't about to blow her shot at a couple extra dollars by smarting off.
"The boss man up top only gave me eight dollars today" Solomon took the money with a sad smile as usual, his hand gripping her own. "With the ten from yesterday do you think there would be enough to get a stew going tomorrow?"
"There should be but you've got to eat tonight." His hand left her own and gripped her shoulder. "...and some sleep. Promise me."
"On my way to my tent now, boss man. Just going to run by Gertrude and Ronnie's place and say hi to everyone there." Solomon gave her a small smile as she walked away, his attention then belonging to the strange couple. The way Solomon cared for her was something that always managed to brighten her day. The man genuinely cared for his people, knowing each name and birthday; he gave her hope for the future.
"You know when I helped you jump that train back in Tennessee I never thought you would be such a hassle." Frank laughed coming up behind her with a small piece of bread in his hands.
"If I remember it right, it was the other way around." Toasting their breads together the two laughed. When they had met three years ago Frank had been running after the train, his long legs carrying him fast enough to catch it; but not allowing him to jump high enough to hitch a ride. Jo had been fifteen at the time; both her parents dead in a riot and left to fend for herself. She had heard a couple men talking about jobs in New York looking for any able-bodied men. They'd made her mind up for her. If she was going to eat, to live, she would have to get to New York and make her own way. Tennessee held nothing for her, she couldn't farm, and the only people hiring biracial employees were racist overweight white men who had mean streaks a mile wide.
She met Frank two days later, his heavy breathing and hard footfalls echoing through her cart. She never regretted looking out the cargo door that day and finding him. He had become one of her best friends. Taking care of her as she did him.
Posing as a seventeen-year-old boy was harder than it used to be. She had developed into a striking young woman; her baby fat having melted away with the hard labor; her breast filling in more as her waist sunk in. Every morning she had to rewrap the cloth hiding her ample chest. There were times the pressure made her dizzy, but it was worth it. Building the tower paid more than any job on the ground, no matter the risk. It helped keep everyone fed in the small community and that's what she cared about.
One day she would be free to explore and have a little fun, one day she wouldn't have people counting on her to keep them alive. One day she might even be in charge but right now; she had people who needed her to be strong, to be there for them and she wouldn't let them down.
Even if it killed her.
"Hey boy. Gather everyone up. I have a new job." Diagoras yelled to her as he bumped her shoulder and headed towards the center of town.
"Ain't no rest for the wicked it seems. Go on and get Solomon, I'll get everyone else."
"I don't know about wicked. An angel is more like it." Frank blushed beet red as he ran off. Jo knew he was sweet one her. The way he seemed to hover, to the way he always tried to give her a share of his food, but she also knew it wouldn't work between the two of them.
He was a stream, calm and gentle and she was a raging fire. She knew she was meant for more than this. She wasn't meant to stay one place for too long and she wouldn't break the poor boys heart when it came time.
"I need volunteers. I've got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money." Diagoras said from his step, looking down on them as if he was better than them in his pressed suit and shined shoes. "There is a collapsed tunnel in the sewers, we'll need you to clear the debris while my men get the place stable."
"Yeah? What is the money?" Jo asked finishing off the last crumb of her bread.
"Dollar a day."
"Dollar a day for a collapsed tunnel?" Solomon asked unconvinced. His dark face growing worried at the description of the job at hand. A dollar a day for a collapsed tunnel, as he put it, was a slaves wage.
"Accidents happen which causes things to break." Diagoras brushed his concern off.
"What do you mean? What sort of accidents?" The tall man from earlier asked, his hand raised slightly.
"You don't need the work? That's fine. Anybody else?" The man raised his hand higher, the female at his side raising hers as well a moment later. "Enough with the questions."
"Oh. No, no, no. We're volunteering, we'll go." Some of the men in the group started grumbling, I would have to watch out for her when we got back. Hooverville may be mostly peaceful but when these men got to drinking tonight and see her when we got back; thing may start to get ugly.
Her race would not help matters.
"Ill go as well."
"Jo, you just got back from up top. You're gonna kill yourself." Solomon said grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards the crowed.
"Not before these people starve to death. Someone's gotta do it, Solomon, and I don't see their lazy asses jumping at the chance." Pulling her hat lower onto her head and her jacket tighter around her chest she took off after the boss man; hoping tonight went by faster than the others had.
The man called himself The Doctor, when asked of what, he simply laughed and said of everything. Jo didn't know what annoyed her more, the fact that he was so cocky about it or the fact that when she looked into his eyes she believed him. Her father once told her that the eyes were the window to the soul; and when she looked into his she knew he was lying.
"You dont know half of what you pretend to." She had said, walking ahead of him. His laughed followed after her, bringing a small smile to her face.
They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes, their flashlights swinging in a hypnotic rhythm against the stone walls. Martha and Frank had been chatting since they had gotten down here, and Jo secretly wished something more would spark between them. Frank deserved someone to care about him, but Jo saw the way she looked at the Doctor; she also saw the way he looked at her. They loved each other, just in different ways.
"You're pretty small for someone your age." The Doctor said from beside her, his head craning to get a better look.
"You're one to talk." She grunted, pulling her hat lower on her head, before checking to see if any of her hair had escaped its hold.
"Well, I guess you got me there." He laughed, clapping her on the back. "WHOA!" He yelled, racing to the front of the group, Jolene not far behind.
"Is it radioactive or something? It's gone off, whatever it is. And …you've got to pick it up." Martha said, as if this was something that happened usually.
"Shine your torch through it... Composite organic matter. Martha? Medical opinion?"
"It's not human." Jo said squatting beside the Doctor her fingers moving out to touch the slime. "It looks like… some sort of brain but it's to flat. Turn it over for me?" When she looked over at the Doctor an awed smile played on his lips and his eyes lit with fascination.
"You're smarter than I gave you credit for."
"Seeing as you've only just met me I'm more offended than you could imagine." She smiled looking at Martha once the woman gave a loud obvious cough.
"It's not human?" She asked, trying to catch the Doctors eye.
"No. She was right, it's not. We must be at least half a mile in. I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Mister Diagoras send us down here?" He asked, standing up.
"Where are we now? What's above us?" Martha asked looking around as if there was a window she could look for. "How can you even navigate down here?"
"Well, we're right underneath Manhattan." Jo brushed off her damp knees and continued walking down the sewer. She was tired and her body ached; and she wanted to get this done and over with. "You just think about where you started and map the distance and turns in your head." Jo knew she was being a bit more cranky than needed, but she couldn't help it.
"What's his deal?" The Doctor heard Martha whisper, slowing down slightly; his curiosity getting the better of him.
"What do ya mean?" Frank asked.
"He seems kind of off. What do you know about him?"
"Jo keeps to himself, always working; if it's not up top on the tower than he's taking an odd job here and there." Solomon answered.
"We saw the way he handled that fight earlier; how does someone so small have so much power? Why is everyone afraid of a kid?" Martha asked, her hushed voice echoing off the stone.
"If it wasn't for Jo working himself near death I'd say half of us would have starved to death already. That wasn't fear you saw, ma'am, it was respect."
"Why does he do it?" The Doctor asked, coming into their conversation. His curiosity was spiked by the small boy in front of them and the unwavering loyalty in the way Solomon spoke about him.
"Not everyone can fend for themselves." Solomon answered simply hurrying to catch up with Jo. Her step had started to slow, her shoulder jumping against the wall every few steps; exhaustion evident in every step. The two talked in hushed voices for a moment, before the sound of a pig squealing echoed down the tunnel.
"Solomon I think its time you took these three back. I'll be much quicker on my own." They were getting close to whatever brought his TARDIS here, and he didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt by whatever was down here.
"Hello?" Frank yelled, earning him a harsh look from Jo who snapped her fingers hard in the air, before pointing around the corner.
"Shush." Jo growled, crouching low to the ground, Solomon following suite. "What if it's one of the folk gone missing? You'd be scared and half mad down here on your own."
"Last time I checked, people don't squeal." Jo said.
"Do you think they're still alive?" The Doctor questioned them. "The people that have gone missing?"
"Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost." Solomon said, followed by more squeals. The Doctor and Solomon argued about where the sounds were coming from, Jo attempted to tell them it was coming to their right, but neither listened.
"Hey, are you lost?" Jo asked, slowly stepping towards the huddled figure. "Can you understand me?"
"It's alright Jo, just stay back. Let me have a look. He's got a point, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us..." His voice trailed off as he got closer. The man seemed to have… the face of a pig.
The Doctor looked at the man in wonder, the face of a pig but the eyes of a human. Something had changed the mans DNA, but before they could figure anything out more of the pigmen came down the tunnel their grunts and squeals blending together; wild and angry.
"Doctor! I think you better get back here." Martha yelled as Jo was pushing Frank and Solomon behind her. "They're following you."
"Yeah, I noticed that, thanks. Well then, Martha, Jo, Frank, Solomon. "
"What?" Jo asked, pulling Martha's arm until the woman to was safely behind her another thing the Doctor noticed about the boy. In the face of danger he was willing to put himself in harm's way; even if the people he was protecting were twice his size, or a complete stranger.
"Eh? Er. Basically, run." The Doctor grabbed Jo's hand and took off down the tunnel. The two of them bringing up the rear. "This way, It's a ladder. Come on!"
Jo skidded to a stop, grabbing the nearest thing to her, a t-bar, ready to fight the pigmen off as her friends climbed to safety. A buzzing sounded behind her as the men came around the corner in front.
"Hurry up back there." She yelled, swinging at the first of the pigmen.
"Jo! Come on!" The Doctor yelled. Throwing the t-bar at the nearest pigman, Jo ran towards the ladder, climbing to the top just as a hand wrapped tightly around her ankle.
"I've got you. C'mon. COME ON!" The Doctor's heart was pounding, genuine fear echoing in both of his heart's as the boy looked in his eyes. "You can make it." Another hard jerk on his leg almost sent the Doctor over the edge.
"Keep running, Doctor. Don't look back." Jo whispered, as she let go of his hands and fell into the tunnel taking the pig men with her.
"NO!" The Doctor yelled trying to climb down before Martha pulled him and the cover thrown over the hole. "I had him there is still time!". He beat his hands against the metal until his skin split, desperate to try and open it.
He didn't want to lose this one, he deserved to live. What good is being a time lord if you couldn't save the ones who deserved it.
"Frank no! Listen, she's gone and we can't go after her." Solomon gruffed, shaking the crying man in his arms. "I ain't losing no one else."
"We have to go after him...her?" The Doctor jumbled, thinking back to every moment he had seen Jo. He had dismissed Jo's small size and fair skin as youth, but now all the little ticks made sense; he wasn't a nervous young man just a scared woman.
No, not scared. There hadn't been an ounce of fear in her eyes since the moment he met her; even as those pig-men pulled her down. She hadn't slipped from his fingers but let go to save their lives. The Doctor wasn't going to let that go in vain and if at the end of this she was still alive, he had half a mind to show her a small blue box.
Fighting them didn't help, they didn't shy away from hitting her if she resisted. When she had let go of the Doctor's hand, she had accepted death; instead she was being dragged back down the sewers. It had been a long time since she had actually cried, but the unknown of the situation tore at her.
There wasn't any use fighting them, so in a last act of defiance, she went completely limp and smiled wickedly through her tears as they had to half carry, half drag her to wherever they were taking her. Slowly the fear and dread of the situation faded as she began to understand her situation.
"I'm about to be eaten alive by a bunch of sewer mutants!" She laughed before a fist slammed into the side of her face. "You hit like a …" The fist came down again heavier than the first.
It had been a day since she was taking by the pig-men, even longer since she had eaten anything and she was starting to feel the effects. Every movement was a struggle, some of the other captives said that they sometimes bring in scraps of food for them to fight over but nothing had come through that door since it closed. A large part of her was thankful Frank and Solomon hadn't come after her, but there was still a small part of her that resented it. She knew that without a doubt that she would have jumped in the whole after them, and it hurt to know that they wouldn't do the same for her.
She thought about all the people in Hooverville, the ones she fed and protected; what would they do without her? She let herself imagine that they would rally together to save her and the people stuck in this room; but the more she imagined it the more it broke her heart. Some of those people couldn't get off their ass to save themselves from starving, she doubted they would care passed the fact that they weren't getting free food.
Soon her thoughts shifted to the two new people in camp, the Doctor and his companion Martha. The woman held herself with so much pride that it filled Jo's heart with hope. If a woman of color can stand tall in this world today, then maybe the future wouldn't be so bad; and the Doctor was something else. She had different feelings on him from the moment they met. He gave off an air of power that Jo was instantly concerned about, someone with that much power couldn't be good; but as he was desperately trying to save her she seen something in his eyes that changed everything. This man wasn't just any man, his eyes held a kindness in them but they also held an unmeasurable amount of pain; after she let go, she could hear his screams and his hands beating at the metal cover.
He didn't know her but he was ready to jump down and save her; and for some reason she didn't believe he would stop until these pig-men were dealt with.
"They're coming!" The woman beside the door yelled, scrambling away just as the pig men threw another body into the room.
"Speak of the devil and he doth appear." Jo smiled, reaching down to help the woman up.
"I've never been happier to be in a smelly room, waiting to … to be…" Martha flung her arms around Jo's shoulders. "What are they going to do with us?" A few of the prisoners quickly shushed the two, the pig-men liked to beat the ones who got too loud; Martha huddled against the wall behind Jo just in time as the door opened again.
"Don't worry, the Doctor is coming." Martha whispered to her as the pig-men threw two more bodies in the already cramped room; the new prisoners huddling against the far wall. "He always finds a way." Jo figured Martha needed to hear the words more than she did; so she let her imagine her great escape the same way Jo had imagined her own moments before.
"I can't believe you're a woman." Martha laughed after a moment of silence. "It kinda makes sense though, you're face is too soft to be male."
"Thanks?" Jo wasn't sure what it was about these people that liked to give compliments by insults. "How did you figure it out? It doesn't much matter to keep it a secret now, we're either gonna be eaten alive or starve to death down here." Jo took the hat off her head that kept her safe for so long. She had used a few coins left over from her trip from Tennessee and bought some pins, twenty-three of them held the hat on her head day and night, only taking it off every other day to rebraid her mass of curls. Tonight was the first time she had taken it off in front of someone; it felt good to have her braid brush her shoulder without fear of being found out. "You wouldn't believe the hell you have to go through just to wrap your breast."
Suddenly the door slammed open, pig-men jerking people from the room and throwing them roughly against the sewer wall. When they reached for Martha, Jo acted completely on instinct and batted the pig-man's arm away; once again earning a punch to the head.
"Okay. Okay, Jesus." Throwing her arms up she walked into to the sewer wall and took her place. "You think I would learn."
"You take one heck of a hit." A smooth voice spoke from her left, the Doctor's bright smile greeted her, though quickly falling as he inspected her face. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." The way he said it… the way his fingers softly traced the outline of her cut, she could feel he meant it.
"Ill shoulder the burden so they wont have to." She gripped his fingers, trying to push as much feeling into it as possible. To let him know what I meant when I said that, to let him know how deep those words ran into my soul.
"You...are the most pure human I have ever met." His eyes sparkled with something I couldn't understand, but sent my heart racing. "After this all this is through, I want to show you something amazing."
"More amazing than pig-men?" Jo laughed, a bright smile taking over the Doctor's face.
"Just you wait; i'm going to blow your mind." His fingers squeezed her back, before he turned around to talk to Martha. Jolene had to take a moment to collect herself and all the emotions running around inside of her. Her body was still exhausted and she hadn't eaten in so long there was a constant pain in her stomach now; but in that moment so was content, a feeling she hadn't felt since childhood. The Doctor, in so few words had enraptured her heart and mind; she watched the way he spoke to Martha in rushed whispers. He had this way of pulling you in; so unnaturally.
And he had called me human.
"Doctor, what's that?" Jo asked, pointing to the shadow on the wall.
"What are they doing? What's wrong?" Martha asked, pulling the Doctor's arm. "Whats wrong?" The pig-men were getting nervous, whatever was coming was likely the end of us all.
"You, form a line. Move. Move." Something buried deep inside of me scream for me to run from this monster, that it was pure evil.
"Do as it says." Jo managed to call out, pushing the Doctor behind her and grabbing onto Martha's arm. "Just obey." She would try to keep them alive for as long as possible.
"The female is wise. Obey."
"Report!" Another of the metal monsters commanded.
"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause."
"Dalek?" Martha whispered to the Doctor. His eyes were hard and angry as he watched the monsters talk; the man I saw before was gone and in his place was someone else. I had seen faces like that before, from someone who has lost it all and is willing to do anything for revenge.
"Intelligence scan, initiate." The pig-men had dragged another of the prisoners to the monster, its plunger stuck to his forehead. "Low intelligence."
"You calling me stupid!" The man shouted.
"Silence! This one will become a pig slave." The Dalek called as a pig-man drug the man away. "NEXT!" The pig-man pulled Martha from the group, dragging her towards the Dalek.
"Intelligence scan, initiate." Martha was rigid as the Dalek scanned her; Jo prayed it wasn't painful. "Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the final experiment."
"You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhuman!" Martha yelled, as one of the Daleks took his plunger off her head.
"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory." As the pig-men were pulling Martha away, another one grabbed Jo.
"Intelligence scan, initiate." The Daleks plunger stuck to her forehead, and in seconds it felt like it was inside her head. A voice whispering into her, finding things that she never knew was there. Teaching her and learning what she knew. All in the span of seconds. She could feel the Dalek inside of her head, could clearly see the connection between them, and decided if the Dalek was going to turn her into a pig-man she was going to at least go out fighting.
Jo grabbed ahold of the Daleks plunger and held on; just like she did inside her head. Pulling at the connection between them, taking from the Dalek instead of giving. What she found inside of the monster was pure hatred and pain. Still she held on, she didn't know what she was doing, or what it would do to her, but she held on until her head was on fire.
"Release me!" The Dalek yelled, as the pig-men detangled her from the metal joint. "Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the final experiment."
Everything inside of Jo's head was buzzing, thoughts and ideas that Jo knew she never would have had; words she now knew the meaning of, that she never would have been able to pronounce before. Yet, the initial panic she had was completely gone, overtaken by understanding.
She had expanded her own intelligence.
They took her to another room, this one brighter than the last and cleaner than anything she thought would be in a sewer. The room itself sparked a moment of deja vu for Jo, she couldn't place where she had seen it.
"At least it doesn't smell like shit in here." Martha said, walking over from the far wall. Martha's hand gripping the back of her shirt, pulling her tight against her; before a hand slipped into her own, giving her a quick squeeze.
"Doctor. I am so glad to see you." Martha whispered.
"Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You too, Jo, if you want."
"I'll might take you up on that offer later Doctor. Right now i'm busy trying to figure a way out of this." She couldn't help but blush at the thought of any intimate contact. "How long do you think they will keep us in here?" Just then her stomach gave a horrible growl, the pain gnawing at her insides.
"When was the last time you ate something, Jo?" Martha asked before digging through the Doctor's pocket and pulling out a banana. "He always carries one on him."
"No thank you, Martha. I'm sure I can last until this experiment."
"Obviously you're hungry, Jo. Why won't you eat?" The Doctor asked, his eyes searching into her own.
"There are seven people in this room with me right now, there maybe more coming through at any moment. Who am I to put my needs and my hunger over theres? I know for a fact that I can go a little while longer, I don't know that about anyone else." Jolene didn't know how else to make her understand how she felt on the subject. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she satisfied her hunger and left everyone else starving.
"The human race…" To Doctor said, trailing off before kissing her forehead. "Saint Jo has a bit of a ring to it." He laughed.
Behind them large metal doors pulled out from the wall, relieving a large room full of wires and screens. As they entered the bright room the Daleks seemed to be worried about the black one in the middle; meanwhile the Doctor and Martha argued about who would confront the monsters.
"Daleks I demand to be told. What is this, Final Experiment?" The Daleks seemed to stare at Martha unwavering, "Report!"
"You will bear witness." One answered.
"To what."
"This is the dawn of a new age."
"What does that even mean?" Martha asked.
"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again" Jo backed up until her back was against the Doctor chest. His hand coming up automatically to rest against her hip as the shell in front of them stopped smoking and the light in, what Jo could only call, its eye went out. The casing opens and out stepped a struggling man. His head held only one eye and his skin was wrinkled.
"I am a human Dalek. I am your future." The thing spoke with Diagoras accent.
To Be Continued.