Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, yet really should. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have updated sooner and this one is probably shorter than you would like so look for Gridlock to be in four parts, which I promise to do quicker than the next installments. Remember the rough week I mentioned last time? Well, what happened was that I had found out my twelve year old dog had lung cancer. So, the next week as I was starting on the next installment of Gridlock, she died at home. In my head I linked the two things and didn't want to go back to this story as opposed to my others, which I know must sound irrational but all I can say is that's what happened. I'm sorry. So, let's make a date for a new installment, no later than Sunday because I work well with deadlines. That's US, though, so sorry Australians and I think a few people in Japan and New Zealand if the stats are to be believed. Thanks for the reads and reviews on the last one. I hope this decidedly short installment is not a disappointment for reasons other than its length. Sorry about the emotional baggage and happy reading!
Rose stirred awake, her vision blurry as she heard her captors talking.
"They say the air smells like apple grass," the woman said dreamily. "Can you imagine?"
"They say the houses are made of wood," the man added. "There are jobs going in the foundries. Everyone says so!"
Rose pulled the sticker or whatever it was from her neck and her vision focused. She gazed across the car at stacks of pills and supplies as the couple chatted. She spotted the gun they had brandished while they kidnapped her. Rose regained her strength, stood quickly and grabbed the gun. She turned and pointed it at her captors in the front of the car.
"Okay, take me back to the Doctor, that's all I want. Do that and I won't hurt you."
They didn't seem all that scared.
"Sorry," said the woman, "but that's not a real gun."
"You're trying to trick me," said Rose.
"Where do you get a gun from these days?," she asked. "I wouldn't even know how to fire."
"I would." Rose made an attempt to shoot at the ceiling, suddenly finding that the gun felt very plastic-y. "It's a toy! You kidnapped me with a toy! Why would you do that?"
"Well, we needed three passengers," said the man. "You looked easier to kidnap than that other woman."
"She's not that great," Rose said shaking her head.
"What's your name?," the woman asked trying to be cheerful.
"Rose."
"Well, I'm Cheen, and this is Milo. And I swear we're sorry. We're really, really sorry. We just needed access to the fast lane, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off and you can go back and find your friends."
"Well, you had better take me back now because the Doctor will be coming after me," asked Rose. She looked out the windscreen. "Where are we?"
"We're on the motorway," said Milo.
"Is that fog?"
"No, that's the exhaust fumes," said Cheen.
"We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, because…"
"I'm pregnant," Cheen said proudly. "We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."
"Oh. Great," said Rose.
"This'll be as fast as we can. We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's gonna take a while, because then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct," Milo explained.
"It's only ten miles," said Cheen.
"So, what? This'll take an hour or something?," asked Rose.
Milo and Cheen looked each other confused, unsure of what to do next.
In the end, they burst out laughing.
"What's the joke then?," asked Rose.
"An hour!," said Milo. "What do you think this is?"
"Well, how long will it take?," asked Rose.
"Six years," said Milo.
"Just in time for him to start school," cooed Cheen.
"Six years! I can't be locked up six years with you two! I've got places to go, things to see! What's the Doctor going to do without me for six years? I'm all he has!"
"Well, he still has that ginger woman to keep him company, doesn't he?," asked Cheen.
"They are not a couple!," Rose shouted.
Cheen and Milo looked at each other, wondering if they'd chosen the wrong person to be third in the car.
Donna followed the Doctor up the seemingly endless maze of walkways and tunnels that connected the undercity of New New York to the overcity.
"Almost there," announced the Doctor. He motioned at what looked like a futuristic manhole cover. "I just need to unlock this and get us access into the overcity."
Donna furrowed her brow. "They lock off the overcity? Why? So only the right sort can get in?"
The Doctor stiffened. "I try not to judge the civilizations I come into contact with."
"How's that going?," asked Donna. "Does the not judging start now or was it back when you were threatening all of Pharmacytown? I just want to be sure to not miss it."
The Doctor stopped using the sonic screwdriver long enough to look at Donna. "You don't ease up ever, do you?"
"Neither do you," she said.
The Doctor returned to the task of opening the cover. Trying a few more settings, the cover popped open and an alarm went off.
"Uh, I think I may have alerted the police," said the Doctor.
"That simplifies things," said Donna. "We don't even have to find them."
They waited a few more moments with the sound blaring, then heard a pop as if a circuit blew and the lights went out and the sound stopped.
Donna looked at the Doctor. "Great. You broke something."
"It's not as if I meant to. I can mend it," he insisted, pointing the sonic at the circuit panel. The power flickered and died again.
"Something's wrong, this circuit isn't getting any power," he announced. "Nothing's coming down the grid."
"So, we've arrived in the middle of a blackout?," asked Donna.
The Doctor looked around suspiciously. "Something's wrong here. Come on."
Donna followed him as he ascended the final staircase and they walked out into one of the overcity's concrete and steel canyons. The setting sun glimmered against the glass.
The streets were empty, though. Not a soul. Not a sound except for the breeze rustling an errant piece of rubbish.
Donna looked at the Doctor. "Where is everyone?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe it's tea time."
"That's your brilliant explanation?," she snapped.
The Doctor looked at Donna. She was really starting to look like she wasn't enjoying herself.
Really not enjoying herself.
"Are you alright, Donna?," he asked.
"It's just, do you know what this is starting to look like?," she asked.
He looked around. "No."
"It's starting to remind me of one of those films where everyone has died and it's the end of the world and then there's zombies or something roaming the streets-"
"What films?"
"I don't know! Films! Post apocalyptic end of the world films! 28 Days Later! I hate films like that! I didn't sleep for three weeks!"
"28 Days Later?," asked the Doctor.
"You know, the one where the bloke wakes up in hospital and everyone is rabid and they have to go to Manchester and there's a bunch of army blokes and their commander is the one who stabs Ewan McGregor in Shallow Grave and he's gone all Lord of the Flies?"
The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yeah, I think I remember him. Why did you watch 28 Days Later?"
"I thought it was the one with Sandrs Bullock," Donna said sharply.
"Oh," said the Doctor, "Well, this isn't 28 Days Later."
"Fine, it's The Stand, then. Or that one episode of The Twilight Zone where the bloke breaks his glasses!"
"Oh, that's a good one," said the Doctor. "You're actually frightened, aren't you?"
"What? I'm not allowed to have any fears?"
"No, I just didn't see apocalypse as one of them."
"What? Would you like it better if I were afraid of snakes or something?"
"No, no, have whatever fear you like," said the Doctor.
"I don't like it, that's the point," said Donna.
"This isn't like those films," said the Doctor. He held out his hand. "Come on. I'll protect you from the zombies."
"Not funny," Donna muttered as she grudgingly took his hand.
They strode further down the street and found one of New New York's police stations. He and Donna walked inside.
The lights were out.
"Hello?," called the Doctor. He used the hand not holding Donna's to sonic a lamp and revealed the true nature of the problem.
The floor was littered with skeletons. Other skeletons sat in repose in chairs, next to empty, dusty mugs. The place didn't look as if it had been touched in ages.
Donna squeezed the Doctor's hand tighter. "You were saying about this not being like one of those films?"
"Yeah," said the Doctor, licking his lips, "might have been a bit premature on that."