A/N: This is a very short chapter, but I felt bad that I hadn't posted anything in a while. I felt that I should let you guys know that I haven't abandoned this story.


Well, perhaps chaos wasn't the right word. But something was definitely wrong. The lights were on, everything was neat and tidy, but there was nobody there.

"Hullo," the Doctor called out uncertainly as they exited the lift. He glanced nervously around the floor they had just arrived on before making his way to the nearest computer terminal behind the receptionist's desk.

Slipping on his glasses, he accessed the terminal. After a moment his features turned grim. "Oh, this is not good," he said. "Not good at all."

"What?" Donna asked. "What's not good?"

The Doctor continued looking at the screen for another moment before he looked at Donna and Red. "We have to go to floor 28," He said.

"Floor 28!" Red exclaimed. "But I thought you said this floor was the emergency trauma center. That Steven could get help here." He paused as he glanced around the deserted hallway. "Where is everyone anyway!" he asked.

"On floor 28," the Doctor replied. "In the isolation ward."

"What, the whole hospital?" Red asked incredulously.

"Apparently," the Doctor nodded.

"So then let's get the hell out of here," Red said. "If there's nobody here to help us, then we'll have to go someplace else. Surely in all of time and space there's another hospital that's properly equipped to help Steven?"

"Yeah," Donna agreed. "Besides, if everyone is in isolation, why would we want to risk going there and getting exposed ourselves?"

"No, you misunderstand me," the Doctor stated. "It's the rest of the hospital that's been contaminated. The isolation ward is the only place left in the whole building that's safe."

"Safe from what?" Donna asked, suddenly scared, glancing about as if something menacing might jump out at her at any second.

The Doctor ignored the question as he put his glasses away.

"Well why don't we just leave?" Red demanded again.

The Doctor still refused to speak as he walked past Red into the lift.

"Hey buddy, I'm talking to you," Red said angrily as he put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder and spun him around.

"We're not leaving," the Doctor shouted, "because Donna's infected."


Red and Donna just stared at the Doctor for a long moment. "What do you mean I'm infected?" Donna finally gasped.

"The computer said that the infection is spread by contact with an organism that has the appearance of a brownish goo," the Doctor said.

Donna's hand automatically reached for her hair, where a bit of the goo was still stuck in it. Her normally flush complexion had gone ghostly pale. "What's going to happen to me?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor admitted. "That's why we have to go to the isolation ward. We need to find someone who can give us some more information." He pressed the button for the proper floor and the lift began to descend.

"Dammit Donna," Red yelled, although he was more troubled than angry. "I told you you should have stayed back home. Now look what's happened."

Donna slumped against the wall, tears starting to leak from her eyes. "Thanks Red," she said bitterly. "It's not as if I don't feel bad enough as it is."

Red looked wounded by her words and started to move in to pat her reassuringly on the back, then remembered that she was infected, and let his hand drop impotently to his side.

The three of them stood around Hyde's frozen body in silence as the lift continued it descent.

A moment later the doors opened up on floor 28. The lift disgorged them into an empty corridor that abruptly terminated at an imposing steel door a few feet in front of them. A harsh red light came from a bulb over the door and a small electronic box, clearly an intercom, was built into the wall beside the door.

"I guess we should see if anyone's home," the Doctor said as he reached for the intercom.