Keep the hope

Chapter 7

As the Doctor and James followed the Cyberman, they watched as it approached a large metal door. They hid just around the corner and watched as it got closer.

"Luna and the other prisoners must be in there," The Doctor whispered, "We need to get through there before we loose it."

"But how do we do that without being detected?" James asked.

That's when they heard a low rumble. It sounded like a running crowd. Suddenly the Cyberman they were tailing was pushed against the wall. It stood there dazed as a group of humans came sprinting out of the door.

"Prisoners will stop!" The Cyberman ordered.

"They are the people that were kidnapped!" James gasped.

Suddenly the Doctor jumped out in front them.

"All of you!" He shouted, "This way! Private Cooper will lead the way!"

"Come on!"

The captives all ran past the Doctor as he counted them. It didn't take him long to see that Luna was missing. Where was she? But before he could question more, the Cyberman spotted him.

"You are the Doctor." It stated.

"Oh aren't you clever?" The Doctor retorted.

"Alert! The Doctor has been detected! DELETE!"

Realising he was now the target, the Doctor turned and ran after the prisoners.

James led them all to the ladder out of the sewer. He managed to open the hatch then helped each person up the ladder and out in to the daylight. The Doctor caught up and stood at the bottom of the ladder to ensure that he was the last out. Last to go up was Nicholas and Mary. Mary spotted the Doctor and looked closer. He was tall, slim and very handsome. His face looked so young but his eyes showed experience and wisdom that looked beyond his years. This was the hero Luna had talked of. She smiled at him then followed Nicholas out of the sewer. The Doctor was half way up when the chasing Cyberman appeared.

"The Doctor must be deleted."

Luckily the time lord managed to get out of the sewer in time for James to put the cover back. The Doctor then used to sonic screwdriver to seal it.

"That was close," James breathed, "It nearly got us."

They then stood up and turned to the prisoners. They were all laughing and screaming in elation to be free. It brought a smile to James' face. He then pulled out a radio.

"Colonel Harrison," He called, "This is Private Cooper. The Doctor and I have found the missing people. We request three UNIT jeeps to Tracy Abbott's apartment, over."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Rodger that."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I require every one of you to stay where you are. Transportation will be along shortly to take you to be checked over."

Happy to be freed, the prisoners all stayed where they were.

As they waited, the Doctor stood staring at the cover to the sewer. He knew that Luna was still down there and needed help. He had to get down there and get her back. As he stood deep in thought, Mary walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're the Doctor, aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied, slightly surprised, "how did you know that?"

"I'm Mary Connelly, Luna spoke about you. She said you'd save us."

"Did you see what happened?"

"Yes, she was caught by the Cybermen as we escaped. It was her that helped us escape. She's a lovely girl, an absolute star."

That made the Doctor smile, hearing his companion being praised. Mary assured the Doctor that Luna was ok. It didn't look like the Cybermen had killed her.

They were disturbed by the arrival of the UNIT convoy that James had ordered. Officials stepped out and gathered the prisoners together. However, it wasn't all good. Major Ford jumped out of a jeep and marched over to where the Doctor was stood. His usual cold exterior had changed to absolute fury. Once close enough, he punched the Doctor square in the cheek.

"How dare you go behind our backs?!" He yelled, "This is our mission, not some little adventure for you!"

"I had to find Luna," The Doctor replied, rather calmly, "And you and your troops were doing nothing about it."

"We would've found them ourselves. I don't care what the Colonel says, UNIT doesn't need you! If it was up to me, you'd have been treated as the alien that you are."

Silence fell amongst the soldiers and prisoners watching. The tension between Ford and The Doctor was too obvious to ignore. They both glared at each other. The bulky build of the Major made the Doctor look small but the time lord didn't look at all scared.

But before there was a fight, James stepped in. He signalled for the prisoners to be loaded in to jeeps.

"Doctor," He urged, "This isn't helping. Luna is still down there with the Cybermen. We need to do something."

For a second it looked like the Doctor wasn't listening. Then he turned around, crouched at the sewer cover and pulled out his stethoscope. He used it to see if he could hear the Cyberman who had chased them. But there was no sign. He then opened the cover and started to descend. He stopped a few rungs down.

"James," He called, "Good Luck. And that goes for the prisoners."

"Where are you going?" James asked.

"I'm going to get Luna back, once and for all."

James and Ford looked at each other as the Doctor disappeared in to the sewer.

Meanwhile, the Cybermen had grabbed Luna and brought her to Professor Marshall's laboratory. She fought against the cold metal against her skin. But the Cybermen had a strong grip. She had to stop struggling when she nearly had a shoulder pulled out. It really hurt. They stopped still when they got to the lab but the Cybermen refused to let go of Luna's arms. To be even surer, one of the Cybermen stood behind her.

'Come on,' she thought, 'as if I'm going to run away when being restrained.'

The professor turned to the look straight in Luna's eyes. She glared at him as he scanned her with his eyes. Then, to Luna's shock, he started chuckling. It was a dark, hostile, sinister sounding chuckle that sent chills us Luna's spine.

"W-what is so funny?" She asked.

"I still can't believe that a mere girl managed to believe that she could out wit a genius." He replied.

"I'm sorry. Could you point out the genius? I can't see one."

That wiped the smile off Professor Marshall's face. She was using a sarcastic tone. She was still fully of hope and faith, clearly for this 'Doctor'.

"So, if mean your precious Doctor is a genius…"

"Which he is!"

"How come he couldn't save you from my friends?"

He smirked as Luna's expression fell slightly. She understood how desperate her situation was. The Professor then sat at the edge of the desk.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" Luna asked.

"You will be come part of the upgrade." A Cyberman told.

"What! You can't do that!"

"You are not in a position to argue," The Professor said, "But luckily for you, it takes a while to set up the machine. So while I do that, my companions will make sure you're comfortable."

The Cybermen increased their gripping and forced Luna out of the lab and back to the prison cell.


Will Luna ever be saved? Stay tuned.