This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: The Christmas Tale of Marley the Elf, chapter 4.
"Padra's Run"
7. A Life Not Long Ago
In the TARDIS
Rose would look to the girl, knowing what she knew and what she didn't know, and as much as they needed to know about her situation, she didn't want this to feel like they were interrogating her, like she might be in trouble. So she had to find a softer way for them to make their approach.
"Can you tell us about your home, your family, what are they like? Do you have any brothers and sisters?" She shook her head.
"Just me and my mother and my father… and Toh."
"What do they do, your parents? What's their job?"
"My father is a teacher, my mother works at the hospital," Padra nodded.
"And Toh, you said he's lived with you for a long time?"
"My parents said three years, since I was three, but I always remember him there. He's my friend," she smiled, then grew quiet again. She had to know something had gone wrong with him, but mentioning it out loud would feel too final, so she couldn't, not yet.
"Your best friend?" Rose smiled, but Padra shook her head. "Oh, who's that then?"
"Nira. She lives near us, and sometimes we pretend we're sisters," she smiled.
"I used to do that, too," Rose confided in her, which pleased the girl. "Now what about… that scar?" she asked, and Padra hesitated.
"They came to take me." Rose looked to the Doctor, who'd been keeping quiet and letting her do the talking. "Dad said I had to be brave, and that it would hurt. They had the big thing with the pointy end. It felt hot, and I cried." She paused, remembering and hating that she had to. Rose kept hold of her hand, to ground her and let her know she was safe.
"Do you remember what they said? The people who came to take you?" she asked. Padra's eyes closed, recalling, then opened again.
"They said that I was… the price. They said that they would get what they asked for."
"A trade," the Doctor spoke for the first time.
"Traded for what?" Rose couldn't help but ask.
"A new school. The old one was destroyed."
"One child's future in return for countless others'…" the Doctor wasn't sure how to respond to this.
"But why would her parents let…" again Rose had spoken out of confusion, and this got a rise out of Padra.
"No," she shook her head.
"Padra, I'm sorry, but…"
"But they didn't let me go," she corrected.
"How's that?" Rose asked. Padra closed her eyes.
X
The Mercer Colony – 23 days ago
Padra spent most of her days outside, when she could. She would spend those days with her best friend, Nira, and they would go out exploring. On that day though, her mother had asked that she not go very far, so she had walked the path from her house to Nira's house, and they had gone to the fields. They would run and run until they couldn't run anymore.
She would remember seeing her mother from far away, waving at her, waving so she would return. She didn't want to go and stop playing with her friend, but she had to, so she did, watching Nira run on her way home while she went for her mother. The closer she got to her, the more she could see this look on her face… She was smiling, but she was sad, and worried… She crouched before her, brushing her hair back before taking her hand and leading her back in the house.
There were two men standing with her father. There was something about them that frightened Padra just seeing them, and she'd cowered behind her mother.
"Come forward, child," one of the men had spoken.
"Please, be easy on her," her father had begged.
"Better she get used to taking orders. The transaction is in order, your request granted. Your daughter is the price, if you're not prepared to relinquish her…" the man carried on, completely unmoved. Padra's father looked to her, clinging to her mother's skirts, and he couldn't say a word. "Come forward," the man repeated, and her father had come up to her, gotten down on his knees.
"You have to do as they say now," he nodded, holding his hand to her. After a moment, she had given hers over. "You have to be brave now, alright?" he asked her, looking back, and now she saw the tool in the man's hand, which frightened her again. "I'm not going to lie, it will hurt, but only a moment and it'll be over, okay?" She nodded; she trusted him.
So she had gone up, and he had remained crouched before her, holding her hands as the man swept her hair out of the way and pressed the pointed end at her back. The man had given no warning, and when she felt it, felt it slice like a fine flame, she cried out, squeezing her father's hands. She had briefly collapsed against him, and he had wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry…" he had breathed at her ear. She'd heard her mother's voice then, bringing her back to reality. She'd looked over her shoulder, seeing her there, and she was giving the oddest of looks to the men. There were tears in her eyes, but she was trying to smile.
"Please, can I offer you a drink, I imagine your work is… relentless." The men had shared a look.
"Yes, thank you, much appreciated." Her mother had indicated the table, while her father looked at her, completely baffled. As the men sat, she had made two cups, turning and bringing them over. The effect had been nearly instantaneous, as the men's eyes glazed over, unconscious and yet sitting up in their chairs. As soon as she'd seen this, her mother had moved to retrieve the tool from the man.
"Renna, what are you doing?" her father had stepped up, alarmed.
"What are YOU doing, Peter?" she'd stared back, opening up the thing and pulling out the vial inside. "You know what will happen, how can you even… Please…" she looked to him, begging, and looking to his daughter, her father had needed no further convincing.
"But how are we going to…" he started to ask, while his wife pulled an empty vile and reloaded the tool, presenting it to him.
"Do it," she told him, turning around. He didn't question it, and Padra had trembled to hear her mother's outcry. "Get Toh," she'd told him, taking the tool back and replacing it where she'd found it. The vial with her daughter's DNA had been wrapped in a piece of cloth, which Renna held in her palm, waiting.
"Mom?" Padra had spoken up, for the first time since she'd entered her house with her. Renna had only turned to look at her when Peter returned with Toh.
"Take this," she had handed him the vial. "You need to take Padra away from here, as far as you can, can't let them find her, do you understand? As soon as you get the chance, dispose of the vial."
"I will keep her safe," the alien had vowed, turning to his charge. "Come now, sweet child," he'd picked her up in his arms, and he had taken her from the house without another word. She had panicked, sensing that she wouldn't see her parents for a long time if ever again, but there was nothing to be done against it.
X
As her story had ended, Rose was now sitting with her arm around the girl's shoulders, hoping it brought some sort of comfort. At the very least, to her and the Doctor both, the truth had come to light. Padra's parents had done the right thing when it mattered, and they had sent off their daughter in order to protect her. Now the Doctor had no greater desire than to help her get to where she needed to be. The first step was to return to the place she had called home.
TO BE CONTINUED (NEXT SUNDAY)
