Chapter 8
After changing (to my surprise the clothes fitted fine) I go off in search of the Doctor. I find him fixing the door with Jade and Harry. He's laying sideways, his jacket slung over a box and he's fixing the hinges with the sonic screwdriver. I clear my throat and he jerks his head upwards, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on a metal pipe. I also note with little interest that the Dalek has been moved.
"Hey. How are you feeling now?"
"I told you. I'm fine. How are you guys getting on with the door?" I ask. Jade stops drilling for a minute.
"It's a bloody tough door. I don't know what keeps it shut but it sure as hell don't wanna work now" she mutters. I laugh and ruffle her hair. She glares at me and I think she is about to make a remark when the great metal door clangs shut, making us jump about ten feet backwards. The Doctor jumps up, screwdriver in hand and looking very pleased with himself.
"But... how did you... grrr" Jade splutters.
"Simple hydraulics system. Magnetises the door shut. Drills won't work" the Doctor says. I grin and shake my head.
"60"
The Doctor spins around and looks at me.
"What did you just say?" he asks. I frown.
"Nothing" I mutter.
"You said 60" he says. I frown again.
"No, I didn't. What are you on about?" I say, annoyed.
"Sophie, you did say 60. I heard you" Jade murmurs.
"I did not say 60!" I shout.
"Hey, ok. Just let me look quickly" the Doctor mutters before placing his hands either side of my head. I expect to see his mind but I can't. I'm met with an annoying emptiness.
"Doctor, why can't I see into your mind? I've always been able to do that, why can't I do it now?"I whisper.
"It's the collision. The merging of the two sets of DNA inside you. All that stuff you heard while you were sort of asleep. It's stopped you being able to see into my mind... but it's also on a countdown of some sorts. Now you're up and active, the process has sped up" he mutters quickly.
"But how? My head doesn't hurt" I murmur, worried.
"I don't know but what I do know is that we've got 60, well, 59 minutes and 30 seconds until the collision completes itself and you die..." the Doctor trails off, his words hanging in the air like a big, ugly cloud. He takes his hands away and I open my eyes.
"Don't worry. We'll defeat the Daleks, get back to the Tardis and I'll get you sorted. Rose!" he calls. Rose pokes her head out of the sitting room.
"Stay with Sophie. The collision has sped up. If she counts down randomly, don't worry too much. It's a warning to let us know how long she's got left. If it starts to get low and we're not off this ship, let me know" the Doctor says, exasperated. I huff a little at the fact I now seem to be just an issue and from out of nowhere, I hear a voice.
Do it. Show him you are angry.
I frown but suddenly, a huge overwhelming sensation overtakes me. Possessed and unknowing of my actions, I grab the sonic screwdriver out of the Doctor's hand and turn it up high. I point it at the lock and hold down the button until there's a small shower of sparks and the door slides open again. I throw the screwdriver on to the box and storm off down the corridor, the image of the Doctor's shocked face still fresh in my mind. I run through the ship until I come to a new corridor. The Dalek is in an open storage container, it's arms and body chained to the wall... and its eyestalk is missing. I want to run back to the Doctor but I'm still a little mad. I rush past the Dalek and curl up on top of another large box that's under some pipes. I close my eyes and fall asleep.
"Sophie? Sophie where are you? Sophie!"
I open my eyes and Rose is standing next to me.
"42" I mutter, then my eyes spring open.
"Did you just say 42?" Rose whispers, her eyes wide.
"I think so. Never mind about that. The Dalek, it's chained up down there. Did you see it?" I ask. Rose shakes her head.
"I came the other way. If it's chained up, it's fine. You didn't touch it did you?" she asks.
"No but listen..." I plead but Rose cuts me off.
"The Doctor sent me to look for you. Wanted to know if you were feeling ok, you know, emotionally. That was quite an outburst you had back there. He's currently fixing the door again" she says with a slight laugh. I frown.
"What outburst? Did I have an outburst? I just remember finding the Dalek and then waking up here. Why's he fixing the door again? Did something happen?" I say. Rose frowns at me.
"Don't you remember? You got angry and broke the door using the sonic screwdriver" she says quietly. I shake my head.
"I never did that Rose... anyway; we've got to tell the Doctor about the Dalek. I don't know when or who but someone took the eyestalk off"
Rose's eyes widen and that's when we hear it. A faint, grating voice coming from the hallway.
"Doc...tor"
Rose and I rush down the hallway to the Dalek.
"Doc...tor!" The Dalek says, this time stronger and the lights on its dome flashing.
"41" I mutter under my breath. Rose looks at me but shakes her head.
"Come on. We need the Doctor" She grabs my hand and suddenly we're rushing through the corridors to the Doctor.
We find him in the sitting area with Jack and Jade.
"Doctor, we..." Rose starts but he silences her quickly.
"What was that?" he asks me quietly. I frown.
"What was what?" I say. His eyes narrow in confusion.
"Doctor, she doesn't remember breaking the door" Rose whispers. The Doctor regards me almost suspiciously before turning to Rose.
"What's wrong?" he says gently.
"We found the Dalek. It's chained up in another corridor, in some sort of storage room... and its eyestalk is gone. It's also waking up. It said your name twice. Also..." Rose rushes.
"40" I murmur. The Doctor looks at me in alarm.
"Sophie's countdown is near 40" Rose finishes her sentence.
"Ok, ok, right. We've got forty minutes. So, if the Dalek is awake, let's talk to it. Come on" the Doctor mutters and turns around on his heel... right into the path of Major Luke Shipman.
