Chapter 11

The Doctor kept staring at the empty space, where the TARDIS had been.

"It's gone," he whispered as the reality of the situation hit him. Who could've take it? No one except him, and possibly, Donna knew how to fly it. Well, no one alive anyway.

"Doctor? What happened to the TARDIS? Where's it gone?" asked Donna, as she stopped beside him, shock flowing through her.

"I don't know, Donna," he replied, frantically looking about, his hand running through his hair.

His mind whizzed through the many possibilities of what may have happened. Could he have left the break off even when it was stationary and it flew away by itself? Nah, he thought, he'd have realised. No, it had to be something else. He tasted the air looking for the tang of a transporter but came up with nothing. He stuck his hand into his pocket looking for his sonic screwdriver. It wasn't there either.

"No, no no no no! It's got to be here!" he exclaimed, checking every pocket of his coat. It had to be here. It just had to be! What the hell was going on? Was he beginning to really lose it?

"Doctor?" asked Donna, panicked as she watched the Doctor, patting himself down like he was being attack by invisible mites.

"My sonic screwdriver's gone," replied the Doctor, panicked, "it must have fallen out or something."

"No it hasn't, its right here," she replied, holding out her hand containing the device.

"What?" he exclaimed, wildly spinning around to face her.

He looked over towards her, then to her outstretched hand and saw his sonic screwdriver resting inside it.

"Where did you find it?" he asked, stunned but relieved. He moved over to her and took the silver device from her hand and examined it.

"In the lift. You dropped it when you fell. I saw it and picked it up."

He smiled, "Oh, what would I do without you!," he cried, as he engulfed her into a huge hug. Donna laughed.

Holding out the silver device, in front of him, he proceeded to check for any sign of foul play, hoping it would lead to the disappearance of his beloved time-ship. But still he found nothing. An ugly thought wondered into his head. What if the pain he felt was the result of the TARDIS being destroyed?

He checked for any sign of an explosion but still found nothing. But anyway if there was an explosion there would be damage everywhere and there was nothing unless it flew off and then blew up? Or, it could have been destroyed while in the time vortex? But, how would have that happened? He would know instantly. No, something was definitely wrong. The TARDIS couldn't just fly off by itself. Well not 'officially' anyway, although she did have her tendencies. No, something was up but the answer definitely didn't want to reveal itself.

"Found anything yet?" asked Donna, from behind him.

"No, nothing… absolutely nothing," he replied, miserably.

He replaced the device back into his pocket, defeated. He stood silently in the middle to the alleyway for a few moments looking around again but not really seeing anything, then walked over to the nearest wall and slumped down with his back resting against it.

Donna watched as the Doctor frantically paced up and down the alleyway, scanning for any clues to what may have happened to the TARDIS. But finally, he had given up after finding nothing and slumped against the nearby wall. She hadn't seen him like this before and it saddened her even frightened her. How could anyone just take the TARDIS? The Doctor was the only one, who could fly the TARDIS, wasn't he? Well, by the looks of things, the answer would be a no. So who then?

Things didn't add up. Even from the first minute they had arrived, it'd looked odd. The alley itself didn't look like it belonged; then there was the phone-like transport device that took her to the hospital where those pig-men were. Then the pepper pot shaped creature that the Doctor called a Dalek. Oh, and not forgetting all those people suddenly going missing and never coming back. It all felt very wrong and somehow intertwined. It was definitely connected with this.

The Doctor was still leaning against the wall. He looked defeated. She hoped that she could say or do something that would bring him out of his sombre mood and somehow spur him on.

"Doctor? You alright?" she whispered as she moved and knelt beside him.

"Hmmm?…I'm fine," he mumbled not looking up but staring into space.

Donna looked on worryingly. 'I'm fine' was always his answer to everything, even when he wasn't. She was quickly realising that he always kept his fears and doubts to himself like he always wanted to keep a brave face on things. Always trying to protect his friends even when there was nothing to protect them from. Always trying to keep things fun and happy.

It reminded her of one of those holiday reps from Butlins, when it was raining or the park was rubbish and everyone was complaining about it. They always tried to keep everyone happy by saying everything was fine when it wasn't, secretly hoping the people would buy it. Ok, she thought, the Doctor was nothing like a Butlins rep. For one thing he never lied to her, well almost never and they always had a good time together. And now, it was her turn to do something for the Doctor. Her turn to try and bring him out of this dismal mood he was in. Maybe it would be a good time to tell him what happened in the ward before he rescued her. If it didn't then she could console herself with the fact that she had tried.

"Doctor…I forgot to tell you something earlier," she began, breaking the silence once more.

"What?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"Well… when I was still in that ward, I talked to one of the nurses. She told me that there had been many people disappearing ever since the hospital was taken over."

"Really?" said the Doctor as he turned his head towards her, with sudden interest, "What else did she say?"

"Well, she said that when the hospital was taken over, a new emergency service was put in place in the shape of the phone like devices taking people to the hospital. Supposedly to get instant care. But, she told me that those people were never seen again. She said that it had started with only a few people but gradually increased to hundreds, even thousands going missing, leaving the population scared enough to stay in their homes."

The Doctor seemed to process and digest the information.

"No wonder everywhere's deserted," he whispered, more to himself, then suddenly like a jack-in-the-box, he jumped up and started to pace around the alley.

"Oh! How could I have missed that?" shouted the Doctor.

"What?" asked Donna, as she rose to her full height, pleased to see the Doctor focused and back to his old self.

"The connection between the missing people and the device that took you! How could I be so thick!" he slapped his forehead with his hand. He turned to Donna, who seemed to be waiting for a clearer explanation.

"Right, when you went missing, I tried to find out more about the device. But, I couldn't figure out who built it and what for, other than it being some kind of transporter. I tried everything I could think of but found nothing. After a while, I even started to doubt myself. Me… doubt myself?" he exclaimed, gesturing towards himself, with a amazement at the very thought.

"I know strange isn't it!" he continued, at the mock-shocked look on Donna's face which quickly turned to an amused look as the Doctor continued his rant.

"Anyway… I then had an idea and searched on the off chance for other possible missing people. I found that there had been several thousand going missing but still didn't make the connection. And, now we know that there are pig slaves and a Dalek involved equalling a hostile presence but, we still need to know why!" said the Doctor, pacing around the alleyway. He knew he could think of a possible reason or two.

"So you think that the people taken are actually in the hospital being used by that Dalek?" asked Donna.

"Yes, but why though?" replied the Doctor, in thought.

"But, what happened last time?" asked Donna, bringing the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"Last time?" asked the Doctor, looking up, puzzled.

"You said that you had met the Daleks before, in the 1930's or something. What happened then?" asked Donna.

The Doctor's mind took him back to 1930's New York, when the Daleks or the Cult of Skyro was building the Empire State building for use in an experiment to start a new generation of Daleks. Then he was with Martha, before he systematically ruined her life.

"Well… I landed in 1930's New York about the time the Empire State building was being constructed. I was with Martha then," he added.

"While there we heard of the homeless, being taken on some 'jobs' but who never returned. We investigated with some help and found out that Daleks had taken control of the building and were using the homeless as part of their experiment to further their race."

A looked of anger and disgust came over his face, transforming it into a menacing thing to behold. A shiver of fear raced down Donna's spine as she looked at him.

"And do you think that is happening now?" asked Donna, as the fear threatened to seep into her voice.

"Its got a familiar ring to it, don't you think? Well… we won't know for sure until we get back in there and find out," replied the Doctor, distantly. Suddenly, he noticed something lying behind Donna by the far wall. Something very much like a humanoid body.

"But what about the TARDIS? Can't you get it back?" asked Donna, bringing him back to the conversation.

"Sure but I'll have to have a think about it. Before I do though, I wouldn't mind finding out why there is a dead body lying right behind you with smoke coming from his chest," said the Doctor, rushing past her.

"What?" exclaimed Donna, turning around and saw the man lying on the floor, with the Doctor crouching beside him.