"Zoey, you okay?"
I opened up my eyes and saw the Doctor. We were in a room. A very small room.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"I don't know." He answered.
We walked out, but I tripped on a rug and it sent me and the Doctor to the ground.
"Oh, my god. I don't believe it! Why did they put you two in there? They never said you were coming." A young woman with pig tails said, helping us up. "You two alright? What's your names?"
"The Doctor, I think. And this is Zoey. What happened?" The Doctor answered.
"You got chosen." She answered.
"Chosen for what?" I asked.
"You two are housemates. You're in the House. Isn't that brilliant?" She replied.
"That's not fair! We've got eviction in five minutes." A man said from a couch. "I've been here for all nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning, then they come swanning in."
"If they keep changing the rules, I'm gonna protest, I am." An african-american woman said from next to him, "You watch me. I'm gonna paint the walls."
"Would the Doctor and Zoey please come to the diary room?" A robotic voice asked.
The Doctor grabbed my hand and we walked to the door with an eye on it. The Doctor sat on the chair while I sat on the arm of it.
"You are live on channel 44000. Please do not swear."
"You have got to be kidding." The Doctor and I said at the same time.
We left the room quickly and the Doctor went to the door. It wouldn't open, so he tried sonicing it, "I can't open it."
"It's got a deadlock seal." The woman from earlier said. "Ever since Big Brother 504, when they all walked out. You must remember that."
The Doctor and I then walked to the mirror, "What about this?"
"Oh, that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through." She answered.
"Don't tempt me."
"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me?" She asked. "Lynda. Lynda with a 'Y', not Linda with an 'I'. She got forcibly evicted 'cause she damaged the camera. Am I popular?"
"I don't remember." The Doctor answered.
"Oh, does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this just 'cause they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?" Lynda asked.
"No, you're nice. Sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet." The Doctor answered.
"Oh, is that right? Is that what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"
"Yeah. Dead sweet." He replied.
"Thank you."
The Doctor looked over his shoulder, "It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"
"Don't be daft. No one's got a garden anymore." Lynda answered as we walked over to the wall, "Who's got a garden?" She gasped, "Don't tell me you've got a garden."
"No, I've just got the TARDIS." He spun around, "I remember."
"That's the amnesia. So what happened? Where did they get you?" Lynda asked.
The Doctor looked at me, "We just left Raxacoricofallapatorius, and then we went to Kyoto. That's right, Japan in 1336. And we only just escaped."
"We were together, we were laughing about how much trouble you got us in, and then..." I continued.
"There was this light. This white light coming through the walls, and then... we woke up here." The Doctor finished.
"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda said.
"Oh, Lynda-with-a-Y. Sweet little Lynda. It's worse than that. Zoey and I aren't just some passing travelers. No stupid little transmat gets inside my ship. That beam was 15 million times more powerful, which means... this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." The Doctor walked over to the mirror, "Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother House. Zoey and I are getting out. We're gonna find our friends, and then I'm gonna find you."
An announcement rang throughout the room saying that the housemates had to be ready for eviction. But the Doctor and I didn't listen.
The other housemates and Lynda sat on the sofa, "Doctor, they said all housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to."
"Busy getting out, thanks." The Doctor replied.
"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates gets punished." Lynda begged.
I sighed and put my hands on the Doctor's lowering his screwdriver, "Well, maybe I'll get voted out, then."
I grabbed his hand and we walked over to the sofa. I sat against the Doctor's legs on the ground,
"How stupid are you? You've only just joined. You're not eligible." The man said.
"And don't try anything clever, or we all get it in the neck." Lynda added.
"Big Brother House, this is Davina Droid." The robot said and all the housemates grabbed hands, including the Doctor's, "Crosbie, Lynda, and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction. And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is... Crosbie."
"Sorry. I'm sorry." Lynda cried and they all hugged while the Doctor leaned back on the sofa.
"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!"
The three got up from the sofa and went over to the door, telling Crosbie sorry and how much they were gonna miss her. I sat next to the Doctor,
"They're making it a bit dramatic, aren't they?" I asked and he nodded.
"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House."
Crosbie went into the room, "I can't believe it. Poor Crosbie."
"It's only a game show. She'll make a fortune on the outside, sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that. She'll be laughing." The Doctor replied.
"What do you mean, 'on the outside'?" Lynda asked.
"Here we go."
Crosbie appeared on the telly in the white room and Strood and Lynda sat beside me on the sofa.
'Well, what are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?" I questioned.
"Stop it, it's not funny." Lynda replied.
"Eviction in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." A beam appeared and Crosbie disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"What was that?" The Doctor asked, sitting up.
"Disintegrator beam." Strood answered.
"She's been evicted... from life." Lynda said.
The Doctor stood up and started pacing in front of the sofa before stopping and looking at Lynda and Strood, "Are you insane? You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"
Lynda stood up, "You're talking like we've got a choice!"
"But I thought you had to apply." I said.
"Don't be so stupid." Strood replied, "That's how they played it centuries back."
"You get chosen whether you like it or not." Lynda said. "Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant! The transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's nonstop. There are 60 Big Brother Houses, all running at once."
"How many, 60?" The Doctor asked.
"They've had to cut back. It's not what it was." Strood commented.
"It's a charnel house!" I yelled.
"What about the winners? What do they get?" The Doctor asked.
"They get to live." Lynda asked.
"Is that it?"
"Well, isn't that enough?" Lynda replied.
I stomped towards the door, "Rose is out there. So is Jack. They got caught in the transmat. They're a contestant." I looked at the camera and then to the Doctor, who followed me to the door, "It's time we got out. That other contestant, Linda-with-an-I, she was forcibly evicted for what?"
"Damaged property." Lynda answered.
"Like this?" I asked, taking a picture and smashing it against the fake cactus next to me.
The Doctor smiled at me before using his screwdriver on the camera.
"The Doctor, Zoey, you've broken the house rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict the both of you." The Doctor and I high-fived, "You have 10 seconds to make your farewells. And then we're gonna get you!"
"More like it!" The Doctor grabbed my hand and we went over to the door, "Come on, then. Open up."
"You're mad, the both of you! It's like you want to die!" Lynda exclaimed.
"I reckon they're plants." Strood said. "They were brought in to stir things up."
The door opened and we both went inside, "The Doctor, Zoey, please leave the Big Brother House."
"My pleasure." I said and I squeezed the Doctor's hand and the door closed,
"Come on, then, disintegrate us." The Doctor said. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Disintegrate us."
"Eviction in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
When we weren't killed, the Doctor laughed, "Ha ha! I knew it. You see? Someone brought us into this game. If they wanted us dead, they could've transmatted us into a volcano. They want us alive." He took out his screwdriver, "Maybe the security isn't as tight on this end." He turned to look at the camera, "You following this? We're getting out."
The door opened and I turned and saw Lynda,
"Come with me." The Doctor said.
"We're not allowed." Strood told Lynda.
"Stay in there, you've got a 50-50 chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I'll get you out alive. Come on." The Doctor continued.
"No, I can't. I can't."
"Lynda, you're sweet. From what I've seen from you world, do you think anybody votes for sweet?" The Doctor asked before holding out his hand.
The three of us exited the game and looked around the empty hallway with other doors like the one we just came out of.
"Hold on. I've been here before." The Doctor said.
"Where are we?" I asked, not recognizing the place.
"This is Satellite Five." The Doctor answered.
"The place you went with Rose and Adam?"
"Yeah. This is the place." The Doctor replied before going over to a door and it opened and he took out his screwdriver again, "No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth."
"No one's called it Satellite Five in ages. It's game station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years." Lynda replied.
"Hundred years exactly." The Doctor responded as he worked. "It's the year 200100. I was here before. Floor 139. Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then. Had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious. Easy. Gave them a hand, home in time for tea."
"100 years ago?" Lynda questioned. "What, you were here 100 years ago?"
"He's older than he looks." I told Lynda and the Doctor nudged me.
"I moisturize." He then looked at his screwdriver, "Funny sorts of readings. All kinds of energy. Place is humming. It's weird. This goes beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?"
"I don't know." Lynda answered. "I think we're the first-ever contestants to get outside."
"We have to other friends travelling with me." The Doctor said as we went from door to door, "They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?"
"I don't know. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."
"Like what?" I asked Lynda.
"Well, there's 10 floors of 'Big Brother'. There's a different house behind each of those doors. And then, beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's nonstop. There's, um, 'Call My Bluff' with real guns. 'Countdown' where you've got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. 'Ground Force' which is a nasty one, you get turned into compost. 'Wipeout', speaks for itself. Oh! And 'Stars in their Eyes'. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded."
"And you watch this stuff?" The Doctor asked.
"Everyone does. How come you two don't?" Lynda questioned.
"Never paid for our license." The Doctor answered.
"Oh, my god. You get executed for that!" Lynda exclaimed.
"Let them try." The Doctor replied, holding up his screwdriver.
"You keep saying things that don't make sense. But who are you, thought, Doctor, really?" Lynda asked.
"Doesn't matter." The Doctor answered.
'Well, it does for me." Lynda responded, "I've just put my life into your hands."
"I'm just a traveler, wandering past. Believe it or not, all I'm after is a quiet life." The Doctor said.
"Yet trouble always seems to find you." I whispered to him.
"So, if we get out of here, what're you gonna do, just wander off again?" Lynda asked.
"Fast as I can."
"'Cause, um... I could come with ya." Lynda said and I froze.
"Maybe you could." The Doctor replied.
"I wouldn't get in the way." Lynda responded.
"I wouldn't mind if you did." The Doctor smiled, "Not a bad idea, Lynda-with-a-Y."
"But first of all, we've got to concentrate on getting out." I piped in and went to the next door.
"Right." The Doctor replied before following me, "And to do that, you've got to know your enemy. Who's controlling it? Who's in charge of the satellite now?"
"Hold on." Lynda said before rushing over and flipping a switch and the lights turned on, "Your lords and masters."
There was a sign near the ceiling. Two words the I wish I would never see,
"Bad Wolf." I whispered, clutching onto my arm.
The Doctor looked at me, "Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" I asked.
"Each time those words reach us you grab your arm. Why?" He questioned as he came over to me.
"Because it hurts." I answered.
"What hurts?"
I lifted my sleeve and showed him my scar that was now red.
"Why didn't you tell me?" The Doctor asked after looking at me arm.
"I've had it for years, Doctor. I didn't think it was important. Never knew why I carved those words into my arm. But I guess it was always meant to be there." I replied.
We eventually walked into another room,
"Blimey!" Lynda exclaimed, "I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit. Planet Earth."
We climbed up a few steps and saw Earth. Or at least, I believe it was.
"What's happened to it?" I asked.
"Well, it's always been like that, ever since I was born. See that there?" She pointed to a spot of gray, "That's the Great Atlantic Smog storm. It's been going 20 years. We get news flashes telling us when it's safe to breathe outside."
"So the population just sits there?" The Doctor asked. "Half the world's too fat, half the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?"
Lynda nodded, "10,000 channels, all beaming down from here."
"The human race, brainless sheep, being fed on a diet of- mind you, have they still got a program where three people have to live with a bear?" The Doctor questioned.
"Oh 'Bear with Me'. I love that one!" Lynda exclaimed.
"And me. The celebrity edition, where the bear-
"Got in the bath." The both said.
"But it's all gone wrong. I mean, history's gone wrong, again. This should be the fourth great and bountiful human empire. I don't understand. Last time I was here, I put it right." The Doctor said.
Are you sure you put it right, Doctor?
"No, but that's when it first went wrong. 100 years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight." Lynda responded.
"But that was me. I did that." The Doctor replied.
"There was nothing left in their place, no information. The whole planet just froze. The Government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. 100 years of Hell." Lynda said.
"Oh, my..." The Doctor looked back at Earth, "I made this world."
The Doctor snapped out of it and went over the computer and started taking it apart when the door opened,
"Hey, Cherry, good to see you." I turned and saw Jack.
"Jack!" I jumped from the platform and hugged him,
"Any sign of Rose?" Jack asked when I pulled back.
"Can't you track her down?" The Doctor asked him.
"No. She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded." Jack answered.
"If we can just get inside this computer. She's got to be here somewhere." The Doctor said.
"You'd better hurry. These games don't have a happy ending." Jack replied.
"Do you think I don't know that?" He snapped.
Jack took off his watch and gave it to him, "Patch that in. It's programmed to find her."
"Thanks."
"Hey, there." Jack smiled and shook Lynda's hand.
"Hello."
"Captain Jack Harkness."
"Lynda Moss."
"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss." Jack said.
"Do you mind flirting outside?" I asked, annoyed.
"I was just saying hello." Jack replied.
"For you, that's flirting." I responded.
"I'm not complaining." Lynda told Jack.
"Muchas gracias." Jack kissed her hand.
"It's not compatible." The Doctor said. "This stupid system doesn't make sense!"
He tossed me the watch and took off the frame to the computer before taking it back, "This place should be a basic broadcaster. The systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulating my entire life." The Doctor answered.
"And mine." I mumbled running my fingers over the scar.
"It's some sort of trap, and Rose is stuck inside it."
After some more typing the Doctor yelled, "Found her! Floor 407."
Lynda gasped, "Oh, my god! She's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get her out of there!"
"Lets not waste any time!" I yelled and we ran to the elevator.
We finally got to floor 407 and we ran out.
"Game room 6. Which is it?" The Doctor asked.
"Over here!" Lynda pointed to the room where we heard a robotic voice speaking from.
"Stand back. Let me blast it open." Jack said when the Doctor started using his screwdriver.
"You can't. It's made of hydra combination." He replied.
"Hurry!" I exclaimed.
The door opened, "Rose!" I screamed as we ran into the game.
'Stop this game! I order you to stop this game!" The Doctor yelled.
"You are the weakest link." The Anne Droid said.
"Look out for the Anne Droid! It's armed!" Rose yelled.
Rose ran for us and I was just about to reach her when a beam shot from the droid and hit her int the back and she disintegrated.
"No!" The Doctor and Jack yelled from behind me.
I fell to me knees and looked at the pile of dust that used to be Rose. I couldn't hear anything around me as I just stated.
"Rosie." I whispered.
My best friend was gone.
I felt someone grab me and I was yanked to my feet,
"Don't touch her!" The Doctor yelled.
The security guard spoke to me, but I didn't listen as I continued to stare at the pile of dust.
We were dragged into a holding cell and searched before locked in. The guard spoke to the Doctor, but he didn't answer back. I slid my hand across the seat without the guard noticing and I squeezed his hand sadly and he squeezed back.
"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial." The Guard said after we got out pictures taken, "You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?"
None of us answered and the guard went to the door, "Let's do it."
Jack and the Doctor took down the guards and grabbed their things before the Doctor took my hand and we walked out of the room. We went into the elevator and started going to floor 500.
"Okay, move away from the desk!" Jack ordered when we got there. "Nobody try anything clever! Everybody clear! Stand to the side and stay there!"
We all walked to the front of the room and the Doctor aimed his weapon to the girl that was connected to the wires, "Who's in charge of this place? This satellites more than a game station. Who killed Rose Tyler?"
"All staff are reminded that Solar Flares occur in Delta 1." The girl said.
"I want an answer!" The Doctor yelled.
"She can't reply." A man said and the Doctor aimed his gun at him, "Don't shoot!"
"Oh, don't be so thick." The Doctor said as he threw the gun to him, "Like I ever was gonna shoot. Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."
"Yes, sir." Jack replied.
The Doctor turned to the man, "You. What were you saying?"
"But I've got your gun."
"Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?" The Doctor asked.
"She's, um, can I put this down?" He questioned.
"If you want. Just hurry up." The Doctor answered.
"Thanks. Sorry." The man put the gun down, "Um, the controller is linked into the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff, so she doesn't recognize your existence."
"What's her name?" The Doctor asked.
"I don't know. She was installed when she was 5 years old. That's the only life she's ever known."
"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about 10 minutes." Jack said from across the room.
"Keep an eye on 'em." The Doctor ordered.
"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the game station. I think you're right. I've kept a log, unauthorized transmats, encrypted signals. It's been going on for years." The man said.
"Show me."
"You're not allowed in there! Archive six is out of bounds!" a woman exclaimed and I turned and saw Jack trying to go into a room.
Jack held up his weapons, "Do I look like an out-of-bounds sort of guy?"
When Jack entered the room I followed and smiled when I saw the TARDIS. I grabbed my key and we both went inside. Jack went to the console and typed on the keyboard and I stopped when I saw Rose's jacket.
"What the hell?" Jack asked.
"What?" I asked and Jack ran up to me.
"Everything is going to be fine." He smiled before kissing my forehead.
"What does that mean?"
"Rose is alive." Jack answered before leaving.
I smiled and sat down. I sat there for a few minutes, taking a few deep breaths.
Rose was alive. My best friend is still alive.
I stood up again and walked back into the main room. There was a ship on the screen and everyone was looking up at it. The screen zoomed out and showed dozens of ships.
"That's impossible." Jack said. "I know those ships. They were destroyed."
"Obviously, they survived." The Doctor replied.
"Who did? Who are they?" Lynda asked.
"200 ships. More than 2,000 on board each one." The Doctor said. "That's just about half a million of them."
"Half a million of what?" I asked, walking up next to the Doctor.
He looked down at me, "Daleks."
Then on the screen Daleks appeared and Rose.
"I will talk to the Doctor!" One Dalek ordered.
"Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello." The Doctor replied.
"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene." The Dalek said.
"Oh, really? Why's that, then?" The Doctor asked.
"We have your associate. You will obey, or she will be exterminated."
I glared at the screen.
"No." The Doctor said and we all looked at him.
"Explain yourself." The Dalek demanded.
"I said no."
"What is the meaning of this negative?" It asked.
"It means no."
"But she will be destroyed!" The Dalek exclaimed.
"No!" The Doctor stood up, "'Cause this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna rescue her. I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of a Dalek fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!"
"But you have no weapons, no defenses, no plan." The Dalek pointed out.
"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death? Rose?"
"Yes, Doctor?" Rose asked.
"I'm coming to get you." The Doctor said before the screen disappeared.