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.7. The Great Escape
With a melody of bells, a pale morning light filtered through cracks in a window shutter. The rain was still drumming against walls and rustling in a thatched roof. Donna felt as if her head was light and swollen. She could still feel the after-effects of sleep-inducing injection Cuthbert had stuffed her with. She sat up on a straw mattress, instinctively reaching to her neck and to a metal collar clasped around it. Since the circlet wouldn't give, Donna run her fingers through her tousled hair and took several deep breaths, trying to chase away the remains of sleepiness.
Just then a shadow appeared in the streak of light filtering through the window. Donna moved closer, peeking through the crack in the shutter. There was some shuffling, whispers and squeaks outside the window, and after a while a large, blue eye in a little girl's face, looked straight at Donna.
"Don...na?" the girl whispered. "Are you Donna?"
"Yes," Donna whispered back, surprised. "Is the Doctor with you?"
"No. Just Matthew," the girl answered. "What are you sitting there for? Everyone is looking for you, you know?"
"Who's Matthew?"
"He's my brother, silly," the girl said, all airs and graces. "Can't you squeeze through the window?"
Donna carefully assessed the size of a bay in the thick wall. She tried to open the shutter, but to no avail.
"I don't think I can. It's nailed shut."
"Oh, alright, wait then. Matthew will run to the Cooks and tell Michael to tell the Doctor. And you stay here," the girl ordered. "And call me, if anything happens. But quietly; there are some people wandering around here."
"Hey, wait, what's your name?"
"Rosalina. And I can't wait, Matthew's giving me a piggyback ride; this window is really high. But I'll hide behind the corner. I'll answer if you shout."
"Okay. Thank you, Rosalina. A lovely name, by the way." Donna smiled gently. Again she reached to the metal collar on her neck, moving her fingers along, looking for a clasp, but it seemed that there was no clasp at all. A solid metal, probably some alloy, as the circlet was quite light.
Waiting seemed unbearably long. Donna picked straws from her hair and tidied it as much as she could with only her fingers. She smoothed her creased dress, straightened her tunic and tightened her leather belt. Her hand landed on little purses, attached to the belt. She almost smacked her forehead with her hand in annoyance. She had everything she needed there, and she let some underage, medieval girlie order her around. She rummaged through the purse, extracted a little knife, pulled closer to the window and started to gouge at the shutter's wooden frame. Even if it was completely pointless, at least it kept Donna busy, and made the time of waiting seem shorter. After a while she was totally engrossed in work, her tongue in a corner of her mouth, her brow furrowed.
She almost screamed when somebody knocked on the shutter.
"Doctor?" she gasped.
The person outside pushed the shutter once, twice, nails gave way and the window opened wide, nearly catching Donna's nose.
"Doctor?" she repeated.
Allan's face appeared in the bay.
"Quickly," he breathed. "Your brother and Thomas will be waiting by the Cross. Can you squeeze through the window?"
"Why is everybody asking me that?! I've lost a lot of weight recently, if you want to know! Diet and exercises!"
A wave of surprise washed over Allan's face.
"What?"
"Oh!" Donna shrugged. "You probably think fat is beautiful. Move away, I'm coming."
She had to crawl into the bay, push her shoulders through the window and grab Allan's neck, so that he could pull her through the narrow opening. She had lied about the diet and, even more, about exercises – she had lost weight as a result of stress and recent stasis – and none of the above does anything for physical strength. Balancing dangerously on top of a barrel he had placed under the window, Allan managed finally to pull Donna out and carefully lowered her to the ground. Donna brushed off her skirt, tidied her hair again and straightened the metal circlet.
"All right," she said. "Thanks. And where's Rosalina?"
"I told her to skedaddle," Allan answered. "Too many funny people here. C'mon, we have to scoot."
"What is that? Some sort of a monastery?" Donna looked around curiously. They were standing in a small bailey, surrounded by a high, stone wall. Squabby buildings behind the wall seemed neglected and deserted.
"I guess so," Allan answered. "I think that monks used to live here. It used to be an abbey. I don't know Bristol that well, but I can ask Robert. Now let's go, quickly!"
"Why didn't the Doctor come with you?" Donna asked, as they were hurrying towards the yard's exit. "Something kept him?"
"Oh, your brother has been looking for you since the crack of dawn, really," Allan said. "We couldn't persuade him that the kids would find you in no time anyway. I've never seen anybody running that much in my life! Without being chased."
"I know what you mean," Donna grinned at him.
"Thomas and the Doctor rushed to the castle, but the gate was closed. They're not letting anyone in. Have you seen Simon?"
"No. But those people... They spoke about him."
Allan paused for a while. "So he is here? Donna, I have to find him!"
"No," Donna protested instantly, remembering what Kathryn had said about the boy. "Listen, I don't want to worry you, or anything, but Simon is seriously ill. He's contagious."
Oh, Allan wouldn't know what that mean, would he?
"You could catch it yourself and get ill as well," she explained.
The young man stopped suddenly, in the middle of the street.
"Is it a plague?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know," Donna lied.
"This morning... here in the town... I heard rumours about some people who got unwell." Simon rubbed his face in a very Doctor-like gesture. "They're just rumours so far, but people start to panic. They speak about lumps in the armpits and groin, about black spots on the skin, about..."
He shrugged suddenly and looked back over his shoulder.
"What is it? Allan?"
"I can't," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I have to go back to the abbey and find Simon. Listen, just go to the bottom of this alley, and then turn left into Wine Street. You'll see the Cross. It's not far; you'll find your way."
He turned and marched quickly towards the abbey. Donna had to run to catch up with him.
"Allan, they'll catch you! Stop it! You can't do it on your own, wait, we'll be back with the Doctor! If anyone can help you, it's him!"
He paused, only to push her away.
"Simon's ill," he said, "and he's alone. Just... Just tell Thomas where I am. Well, go on, go, your Doctor is at his wits' end."
He jogged towards the abbey. Donna's shoulders sagged. She followed Allan with her eyes for a while, then she turned slowly and went in the opposite direction. The city seemed awfully quiet. Maybe it was a result of a monotonous drizzle, maybe it was caused by an overcast sky; but yesterday's joy, fun, noise and commotion was gone. People were rushing along the walls and wouldn't even stop to look at merchants' stalls. Maybe they were just running away from the rain. Maybe. To Donna it felt like a scythe's blade was hovering over the city, just waiting to swish down and take somebody's life. She thought about Rosalina, the little girl who had made her "great escape" possible. Children and the old ones were the first to die. That was what she remembered from history lessons. The weak are the first to go. Poor Rosalina.
To be continued...
