DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who. This is a nonprofit fan fiction. All non-Doctor Who characters are mine and so is the plot.

Chapter 9: Deadly Obsession

Dread washes over me like a tidal wave. I can't even begin to imagine what else might happen, or why anyone would even do any of this.

"Organized...All of this is organized, but how are they communicating?" The Doctor asks, seemingly to himself, but then he looks to Ryan for the answer.

A cruel smile tugs on the corners of Ryan's lips, a dark flame igniting in his eyes. That look sends a chill down my spine.

"Oh, of course! There must be a neural implant in every Earth Agent. But where's the transmitter?" The Doctor looks around, his eyes locking on the top of the island's mountain.

"Alongs-y!" He shouts and takes off running towards the mountain, dragging Ryan along with him. Zara and I follow closely behind.

Nueral transmitter, I think to myself, feeling a puzzle piece click into place.

"That's what's blocking his thoughts." The Doctor's voice enters my mind, completing my idea.

We run through the island's dense foliage. The dirt beneath our feet is a thick mud that sucks our feet into the ground, slowing us down but not stopping us. The humidity seems to snake around my body, but instead of feeling like it's constricting me, it's like it's encouraging me. Step by step, I pick up a bit more speed, despite the mud, until I'm running parallel with the Doctor. I decide that I like this planet.

"Doctor, why are you taking Ryan with us? What if he can send a message to the others?" I ask through our telepathic fields.

"That's exactly why we need him."

"But what if he stops us?"

"Madison, he has information that we can use to stop this. We can save so many people."

An image of Caleb comes into my mind. A spark of hope lights up within the ever-present heartache. We can save him. Caleb can be safe from harm. Suddenly, I'm more determined than ever to make sure nothing happens to Ryan. He can be the key to helping Caleb get through this mess.

The Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver, waving it around in front of us. The noise makes me wince.

"Sorry. I have to use it."

I grunt my understanding through the pain splitting my head. My hands clamp over my ears. I find it makes this harder for me to balance with the the mud underneath me. Unhappily, I take my hands away from my ears. Guess I'm just going to have to deal with it.

BOOOM!

Beneath us, the ground trembles with the explosion. We all slide to a halt, looking to the shore below us. A huge cloud of smoke billows up from where the city hall stood only minutes ago. In the distance we can hear the screams of the people. We can only watch as they run around, far enough away that they look like ants.

All I can think about is Caleb and how I hope with all my strength that he wasn't in that building.

"It is envitable. The mother will not lose her children!" Ryan yells maniacally, a strange smile on his face.

That look makes me snap.

"Shut up! Just shut up! You make no sense! Innocent people are going to die because of you!" I scream in his face. That disturbing smile only deepens.

"Innocent people, just like Caleb, huh?" He starts laughing when he sees the pain on my face.

"You were his friend!"

"And I still am."

"Then how could you do this?"

"Madison, he's not alone." The Doctor interrupts. I look over to him, startled.

"What do you mean?" I demand, even though I already know.

"Caleb was part of the plan too."

"Only because of Ryan! Ryan tricked him!" Hot tears well up in my eyes as I feel the betrayal sink it's icy claws into my chest.

At this, Ryan laughs even harder, like a man possessed.

"Ryan did not trick anyone, Ryan only helped a friend with a similar cause." Ryan says in third person.

"No! You're lying!" I screech in his face.

A rough hand grabs my shoulder, turning me away from Ryan and his cruel amusement. I look up at the Doctor though the blur of tears.

"I'm sorry, Madison. I'm so, so sorry, but you have to forget about that right now. We have to stop this before anyone else dies. Do you understand me?"

Forcibly, I swallow the rest of my tears along with the bitter acidity of the betrayal. I nod my head, unable to look into the Doctor's ancient eyes.

We continue running up the mountain, and I continue grating my teeth against the pain the sonic's noise causes me. To my distaste, it begins to grow higher in pitch.

"There!" The Doctor yells, startling both Zara and I. In front of us is a large tree growing out of the side of a cliff.

"What?" I ask, somewhat annoyed.

The Doctor runs up to the tree, waving the sonic. A doorway opens in the tree and he disappears inside. I shove Ryan in front of us, forcing him to go first. Inside the tree is a metal-walled corridor.

Using the screwdriver, the Doctor turns on the emergency lights. The hallway is still dim, but there's enough light to see without running into something or tripping. I'm grateful when the Doctor tucks the sonic device back into one of his pockets.

"Now, we have to look for the controls. If we can tap into the neural transmitters, perhaps we could convince them to stop their attack." He says.

"The Earth's children will never rest! The mother must have her children back!" Ryan declares.

"What does he mean?" We all jump and turn around, staring at Zara. This is the first time she's spoken since we were on the TARDIS.

"He is talking about the Children of Earth. An organization obsessed with preserving the Earth as it has always been. They believe that her people should stay with her until the end. They call it 'honoring the mother'. They believe that the Earth wants to punish those who abandon her for another planet. So, they decided to take it upon themselves to punish everyone that tried to leave." There is no denying the rage and disgust in the Doctor's voice.

"And they shall be punished! They will all burn in the fires of hell!" Ryan cries excitedly.

As if on cue, a bombardment of explosions causes the entire mountain to shudder. Thankfully, we can no longer hear the tortured screams of the people below.