Disclaimer: Rose are Red, Thorn is Blue, I still don't own. So please don't sue. This is merely the work of a deranged mind. Pay no attention to the lunatic behind the currents.
A/N: Many thanks to all my readers, and welcome to the newest readers who have decided to follow and favor this story. It means so much and it makes me so happy to know that so many are enjoying. I know I say this every week, but I never want anyone to think that I don't appreciate the time they take out to read this, to leave me a review or to do something as simple as click the "Favorite" button.
Thank you.
And now... on with the show!
Once More With Feeling
Chapter 37: Zombies, Aliens, Blobs, oh my!
There were bad days.
Then there were bad days.
Or in this case, nights. Last four hours of life. Whatever you want to call it, it was turning out worse than Rose Tyler had ever imagined whatever this situation had been could even possibly become. It was like nearly every horror movie she had ever watched with Mickey or video game he played, plus their missions with Torchwood all rolled into one terribly bad night. And the worst part of all this?
She didn't even have a gun or a weapon that was effective against zombies on her!
For the first time in her rather lengthy existence, Rose was in agreement with Jack over the effectiveness of a sonic screwdriver.
Then there was the icing on the cake, of course. Due to some kind of interference in the atmosphere, Rose couldn't even contact Thorn or anyone else for help. Of course, this happened. And whenever she attempted to contact the Doctor, it was like she was bouncing off a wall of some nature. Which really irriated her.
So, now Rose Tyler, Defender of Earth and former Torchwood Field Commander, Captain to the infamous Monster Squad, was driving a beat up, old jeep as fast as it could go, in heavy fog, through a dense woods, while attempting to stay ahead of a broken, murderous zombie that was named Sofia Barinska. All while trying to figure out what the hell the crazy woman was ranting about, what in the name of the TARDIS was that blue light thing she saw in the foggy woods, and where the life sucking stone circle played into the whole situation. Well, in retrospect, Rose did not know if Barinska was a zombie or just really, really fucking resistant.
After all, Rose not only threw her off the hood of the Jeep at high speeds, the blonde also ran the woman over while fleeing to get back to the institution where the Doctor was.
Gripping the hand brake, Rose pulled up sharply as she jerked the wheel, sending the Jeep into a drift around a corner, gravel flying as the tires grip the ground. As soon as she was through the turn, with expert movements, she sent the car flying forward through the fog. Her mind was a whirlwind, going over everything that happened since she and Barinska and her reached the town. They had to tell the boy, Pavel, father that his son was found dead. Then they stopped at the police station which doubled as the crazy woman's home, before they headed to the Inn. No other name, just the Inn. The warmest place in town, according to Barinska.
There Rose met the town, literally, everyone with the exception of the girl they found still alive but drained so completely that she was mindless' parents and Pavel's parents. Doing what Rose Tyler does best, she started drinking with them and asking questions. She learned that death was nothing new to these hard people and while they would mourn the life of one so young, it would not faze them in the end. They would continue to move and go about life because that was all there was for them. When she Rose started asking a few more pointed questions about the nature of the death and the stones, she was taken to speak with a man named Geogri.
Taking another dangerous curve in the dark fog at high speeds, Rose thought back to the old man. The blind old man who could see things as they happened far away from the village, and it was him that was the first to mention that they were not alone on this peninsula. Oh what Rose would have given at that moment to get a hold of the Doctor to warn him, she mused as she through the hand grip as she went into another skip, drifting the tired old vehicle in ways it had never been driven. The worst part of it all was the fact it was only the first of many deaths she knew. How many of Levin's team was already dead at the hands of whatever was making that wet scraping sound with the blue light she saw, Rose thought as she tightened her lips.
The old Jeep groaned to a stop as it stopped around the back of the Police Station. Something in her gut told the blonde Gallifreyan that she would likely find a few, if not most of her answers here. And having learned a long time ago to trust her gut, here she was, climbing out of the Jeep into the cold Russian night and walking to the house of the woman who, not twenty minutes ago, had tried to kill her. A smirk graced full lips as Rose kicked the locked door open. Barinska had certainly been surprised when the quartz stones had all but rejected Rose's life force.
"At least I know who killed that poor kid," Rose muttered to no one as she walked into the dark kitchen.
Looking around, Rose frowned at how empty ultimately the area was. It was barely furnished. No table, no chairs. It reminded her of John's flat. Moving from the kitchen into the living room, once again, Rose was struck at how sparsely the area was furnished. But the layer of dust and thick curtains told the story of someone who lived here, for a very long time. Someone who just couldn't be bothered with the things needed for day to day living. Which to the field agent in Rose spoke volumes of the type of woman Barinska is, again finding it odd the parallels to John from the other universe and time. As Rose made her way as quietly as possible, the old wooden floor creaking under her boots, she found herself ideally wondering two things: One being, why she didn't just sonic the door open instead of breaking it, and two, whether or not she would be meeting John in this timeline again.
Honestly, the first question was a bit of a rhetorical one. She knew exactly why she kicked it, because she hadn't been able to land a damn blow in her brief scuffle on Barinska.
Heading up a darkened staircase tucked neatly into the corner of the room, near what looked to be the door that led into the main station that was on the front of the house. Stopping a moment, Rose pulled out her sonic and messed with the locks, jamming them. Just in case, she told herself. She highly doubted that Sofia Barinska was still alive after being hit with a car twice and in contact with the stones. Still, no reason to take any chances, Jack would say.
She wondered whatever became of Jack and the two soldiers that had been with him. Last she saw the con man, he had come running after she screamed again. Twice in less than six hours, she thought in disgust at herself. They found another body, but this man was dead like Pavel had been. That was when the trouble really set in. Moving up the stairs, Rose cringed every time there step under her foot creaked loudly. The second floor of the house was not much better than the first. No additional furniture in the short hallway that had three doors and a window at the end.
Checking the first two doors, Rose found a bedroom that at least looked lived in, no dust in there. And she located the loo. The third door lead to a spare bedroom that made Rose Tyler stop dead in her tracks. The room itself was completely bare except for what looked like a frankensteined piece of machinery that was a cross between a dentist chair, a dome hair dryer and pipes everywhere. Whatever this was for, Rose was certain it was not a good thing. Easing out of the room, she noticed the pipes that ran to the machine in question came out into the hall through a cutting in the wall before traveling downstairs.
Following the pipes, determined to find where they went, she headed back downstairs. Frowning, the pipes seemed to run to the kitchen before vanishing under the stairs. Looking around, she found a hidden door, thanks to the sonic. Taking a deep breath, Rose turned and grabbed a knife from the kitchen block, one of the only things in that barren house before turning back to the hidden door. Lifting the pink tipped sonic, she popped the hidden door open and sighs.
A dark passage way that led downwards. Of course, it was. Now all she needed was a zombie or two and this whole situation would just be pear shaped, she thought with a growl. She really was going to slap Jack over this, if they lived through this. Stepping inside, she froze at the sound of someone trying to open the front door. Turning, wide brown eyes flashed gold a moment before she ducked into the passage and soniced the door close behind her. Backing up down the stairs to the bottom, she gripped the knife tightly in one hand, sonic screwdriver in the other as she listened as someone kicked the door open with a groan of pain. Idly, Rose reflected, hiding in the basement from a potential killer was something she used to laugh at the movies able. And yet, here she was, listening as someone limped heavily into the living room.
Breath held, she listened as the limping heaving steps traveled to the kitchen.
"So, she has been here," breathed the muffle voice at the top of the stairs of Sofia Barinska. How was that even possible!?
Rose listened as Barinska limped to the open back door and closed it before moving back to the secret door. A loud thump sounded and Rose saw the door swing open and the shadow of her possible killer peeked in.
"Are you down there, Rose? Have you seen it already?" Barinska called out in a weary voice. "Stay put. I'll be right with you as soon as I'm finished repairing the damage you did, you little fucking bitch."
Rose didn't even wait. She suddenly knew what the damned machine was for. Turning, the blonde time traveler fled further down the stairs as the door swung shut behind her. She didn't need to see to hear the machine start humming, it seemed to echo in the caves as Rose made her way blindly further down. Somehow, she expected to hit a dead end by now, and yet, she was still going. Ahead of her, she smelled something off. Not Earthen, like she would expect in the obvious tunnel she was now in, that was the basement of Barinska's home. No, it was like the stones on the hill. There was something else, she thought as she ran forward. A whispering in her mind, yet it was unintelligible and she couldn't make any sense from it.
Something down here was mildly telepathic, she surmised as she paused a moment. Something was talking. It was ebbing and flowing, strong then soft. There was a sharp spike at one point that made her a little dizzy before she blocked it out completely. She had gotten so used to the Doctor and the TARDIS in her mind, she forgot what it was like around other telepaths. Reaching out, she felt what seemed like a light switch. Figuring that Barinska already knew she was down here, Rose flipped the light one and the breath caught in her throat.
She was in a massive cavern of some kind.
Just ahead, she noted an opening so she ventured forward. Was this all under the village, she half wondered as she moved through the arch into another cavernous room, but unlike the one she had come from, this was bright. A little shiny almost with other arched ways into other rooms. Frowning again, Rose lifted her sonic and took readings. She almost couldn't believe what it was she was getting. Moving forward into another room, she closed her eyes. It was like a control room of some nature. Complete with captain's chair and skeletal dead body. Around the room, she noted at least four other bodies, likely the original crew, and same race as the poor captain.
Walking into another room, Rose was brought up short at the sight of a different sized and origin body. It was humanoid, like the ones in the other room, but different. And unlike the crew, these six bodies, were covered in sheets, laying out in a neat row on the floor.
"How I wish I could say this is impossible," Rose breathed out softly.
"Would be nice," a female voice behind her said smugly. "Wouldn't it?"
Spinning around, Rose had almost no time to react to a freshly healed and fully revived Barinska lunging at her with a serrated bread knife in her hand. Once again the Russian woman underestimated the blonde as Rose reaction purely on muscle memory. Ducking her head, she caught Barinska in the stomach and flipped her over. Not even waiting, Rose took off running out of the room.
She had been joking about the zombies!
Jack Harkness was having a really bad time of it.
He had had some whoppers. Hell, he had been sentenced to death at least five different times. He thought a bad night was when he was stuck on a Chula warship with a World War II German bomb on board about to explode.
This. Was. Worse.
How the Hell was he suppose to know about murderous seaweed blob monster that apparently hunted down people and stripped them of their lives, turning their very bodies into a gelatinous mess? And the fact there was more than one!?
Oh yes, this was much worse.
To make matters worse, he lost track of Rosie, which Jack was almost certain was a death sentence on its own somehow. The two soldiers he had ventured into the last running diesel sub to fix so the town could have heat had turned out to be a trap but the two blobby seaweed things. One of the two men were caught by the monsters, Jack was certain that man's screams would haunt him for a long time to come. He and the other soldier, a man called Sergeyev, had managed to get away from the blobs for a moment while they had been… occupied.
As Jack swam through the black ice water of the waters surrounding the subs, heading towards a light, he was convinced he was dying. The water was leeching all his warmth, his life, and all Rosie and the Doctor will find is a good looking, blue lipped corpse of Captain Jack Harkness, trapped under the ice. All because he had to act the hero without thinking! All because he wanted to save Sergeyev's life from those things that killed his friend, killed Pavel, and nearly killed Valerie. But to swim out a torpedo tube to escape them and the sub? Not likely his best thought through plan.
Breaking the surface of the water, his lungs burning from the strain of how long he had been holding his breath. Gasping and swallowing down as much air as he could get, he struggled to the shore and the light while shaking like a leaf in the wind. Holy shit, he was cold. Someone was shouting at him as he slumped against hard stone.
"Jack!"
It was official, Rose Tyler was his personal goddess, angel, savor, whatever you wanted to call the blonde bombshell. A warm jacket wrapped around his shoulders, followed by her trying to lift him up and lean him against her body for added warmth. Oh yes, she was his favorite girl of all time and space, now until eternity, he thought sluggishly.
She was talking at him rapidly, unfortunately his iced over brain was struggling to keep up with him. He felt her hands moving at his waist band and for half a second a stupid grin lit up his handsome face, thinking he was about to get lucky with the Doctor's… girl. Oh, that's a bad thought, he groan internally. All that changed the second he felt her remove something from his waist band and the sharp crack of a gunshot snapped his out of his hypothermia induced daze. Rose had released him slightly, one arms supporting him with surprising strength. The other arm was extended and Jack had to blink as two more sharp cracks of the gun in her hand fired.
Rose Tyler did not blink once as she fired three shots into the shoulders and leg of a knife wielding Sofia Barinska.
"Next shot goes between the eyes, bitch," Rose warned in perfect Russian. "Wonder how well you will recover with your brains on the wall behind you."
This was not the Rose Tyler he knew. Not even a little bit. The Rosie he knew didn't use a gun and didn't causally threaten to kill someone with eyes like molten gold and a voice colder than the ice that covered the bay outside the underground cavern he just now realized he was in.
His Rosie also did have mild cuts on her face or a butcher knife tucked into her belt, like she had been in a rather nasty knife fight before now. Looking over at Barinska, Jack couldn't help but grin as he noted the multiple stabs and cuts on the other woman, who was still moving around like it was just a series of paper cuts. But Rosie's warning, and with it confirming his silent suspicions about her, Barinska seemed to rethink her plan of attack. Slowly the Russian woman spat out a string of curses at Rose before backing away. All too soon, the bleeding woman was gone and they were alone…
Alone with an alien fucking spacecraft made of quartz!?
"Are you fucking serious?" Jack gaped up at the ship.
Rose just grinned. "As the dead," she laughed a little. "Come on. Let's get you warmed up."
"Warmed up, good plan, like it," Jack grinned back at her, his teeth chattering as his body reminded him he was on the verge of freezing to death.
"Were you trying to kill yourself?" Rose asked as she sat him down in the captain's chair.
The look he gave her after watching her just push the body out of the way made her lips twitch. "I did give it a good try, Rosie," Jack tried to rally back, the shaking worse than before.
Disappearing from the room a moment, she returned with what almost looked like a massive alien first aid kit. Opening it up, she rummaged through it while explaining to Jack what she learned up in the village and what happened between her and Barinska. As she talked, she stood and took her jacket off him before shoving two packets into his hands and a blanket around him. She resettled the jacket over his shoulders and turned back to the box.
"Can you read that?" Jack asked, the shivering subsiding by this time. And oh the packets were warming very nicely. "Heating packs?"
"Yes, and yes," Rose murmured softly, repacking the case up and turning to Jack. "Have you heard from the Doctor?"
Shaking his head, Jack sighed "Tried and nothing at all. Hell I couldn't even contact the rest of Levin's guys that were checking the subs with me."
"Likely they are dead," Rose sighed, leaning a hip against the control panel. "There is something that is causing massive amounts of interference. I just can't tell what is causing it. Any guesses?"
Jack watched Rose as she kept a scan of the room up. She seemed so at home amongst the tech here, and yet she was completely human, 21st century Earth if he was right, something was off here. This was a different side of her he was seeing, collected and in charge. Not the woman he rescued from a barrage balloon during the London Blitz.
"I think you would likely know better than me," he leaned back in the chair, handing her jacket back over to her. Wordlessly, she waited for him to continue as she slipped back into it. He looked much better now, so she wasn't going to complain. "I think you are more than you seem. I thought so before, the way you carry yourself, the way you look at things. You aren't just a 'shop girl' are you, Rose Tyler?"
His answer was a tongue touched grin and a brief flash of golden eyes. "Spoilers, Jack."
For a moment, he thought to push the issue. Then he saw the gun still easily in her reach. How effortlessly she had fired off three rounds at Barinska then spoke like she was talking about the weather. With a little chuckle, he thought about himself and what he still hadn't shared, nor would he if it could be avoided. If he had an option, the Doctor and Rose would never learn about that.
"I thought the Doctor was against killing?" Jack asked as he stood now, shoving the packets into his jacket pockets and putting it back on.
"He does," Rose answered, walking towards another room. "Me? Not as much. Depends on the situation. Everyone deserves a chance, Jack."
Jack followed Rose into the other room and stopped, blinking. She looked back at him and sighed.
"Any ideas here? I am fresh out," she ran a hand through her thick hair and sighed. "Humanoid, mostly, from the look of the bodies, but there are two different species at least here. And I have no idea the origin of the ship."
"Not familiar with crystal tech myself," Jack mumbled as he squatted to get a look at the six bodies under the blankets. "Most races that use it are really gun shy that are known. And are you sure about the species thing, Rosie? Look at this."
Moving around to the other side, she looked over the body. To hear, it looked like something that was patched together from at least three different things. Shaking her head, she stood up straight. "We need to get to the Doctor and tell him what we found."
"Know where he is?"
"Last I saw him he was at the institution with Levin," Rose nodded.
The sharp crack of a gunshot, made her an Jack roll away from the bodies and take cover.
"Still in here, little kitten?" Barinska's voice rang out. "Have you figured it out yet? If not, no matter. You and that man will die like the rest. And we will live forever!"
"Bitch!" Rose spat out, looking over at Jack as she lifted the gun.
Jack shook his head and motioned for Rose to keep talking, while he peeked out. So Rose started taunted Barinska, asking her questions and in general annoying the other woman in a way she learned when she was younger by a certain former Time Agent she knew then. Jack was able to see where Barinska had seated herself. He was counting the bullets she kept firing in his blonde companion's direction. Mentally, he was grinned at the little jabs Rose was getting in.
Click.
Click, click.
Barinska's gun was finally out of bullets. Jack motioned for Rose and the two rushed the Russian woman, who was still bloody and wounded from the three shots she took from Rose's gun earlier. She dropped the gun and pulled the knife. Rose dropped suddenly and slide across the floor, distracting Barinska long enough to Jack to get his hands on her and literally throw the woman across the threshold and into the room with the six odd bodies. Rose flipped to her feet and ran back over to Jack, having slide between Barinska's legs, and helped him shut the door, locking it with the sonic in her pocket.
"Seriously? You too?" Jack groaned, seeing the little tool.
"Not all of us rely on Blaster, you know," she teased.
Banging on the door stopped the rest of the banter as the two raced out of the ship.
Thorn was not amused.
Snow was one thing. But fog as well?
Could this planet get any worse, he thought with a growl. He has spent nearly an hour trying to raise Rose on the communication device he had made her. It fit with her watch and was mostly hidden. It allowed him and her to have a direct link. He had made it shortly before the trip to the Blitz, which was much better on telly he would like to point out, but hadn't been able to make sure his charge had it before that bloody Harkness man landed them here. Here, in likely the worst place in the universe, Thorn fumed as he hovered over the snow, following a signal that was faint, but TARDIS said it was the Doctor.
And Thorn knew, find the Doctor, find Rose Tyler.
Unless she got herself into some kind of trouble.
Or they were separated. Again. Because the Doctor got into some kind of trouble.
Or they were in jail again, which was still a possibility.
For the past four hours, Thorn had watched the signal fluctuate, getting steadily stronger. Then the interference started, and as the signal became stronger, so did the interference. Which meant that the signal was the one causing the interference, which meant it was coming from the ship that scans said was directly under the village. Having this information in hand, so to speak, the TARDIS and Thorn tried to see if they could disrupt it with no success.
So of course, now here he was, moving through this Bad Wolf forbidden land, in fog that was like soup, towards a building Thorn was starting to think didn't exist, to find the Doctor and Rose Tyler and tell them what he found. All while hoping Rose Tyler had not found trouble and he would not be forced to ask permission to shoot things.
The sound of something wet and heavy caused the Dalek to pause his internal ranting and listen.
Inside the armor, Thorn was taking in the readings of the immediate area.
No life forms were being detected. So what the blazes was that sound? It was like a clump of seaweed being dragged over gravel. It was all… splush-y sounding. Turning the eye stalk, Thorn looked around his immediate area. Nothing to see. No duh, it was foggy, he grumbled in his casing.
"AAAAARRRHHH!" Thorn yelled out as something suddenly slapped over the eye talked.
The sensors inside the armor were going crazy as something, like tendrils of some nature, were wrapping themselves around the outer shell. There was a little creaking sound as whatever it was started to squeeze. Then, as sudden as it started, it stopped. The vine like wrappings fell away and that was when Thorn got a look at what it was that attacked him.
To call it a blob might be generous. It was tall, taller than most men, and the Doctor, Thorn had to throw in there. There was a light blue light that seem to serve as an eye and the whole of the creature looked like to had been dragging through a kelp forest before it made land fall.
Thorn could only guess at how bad the thing smelled.
Oddly, as it moved away from him, there was still no signs of life in the area. So whatever that thing was, it wasn't alive. Which ment….
"EXTERMINATE!" Thorn couldn't help himself from yelling that out as he fired at the thing.
It lit up for a moment before melting. It literally melted.
"TAKE THAT," Thorn huffed before turning away and continuing on his trek, never once looking back at the jelly like goo that was once his attack. "NOOB."
Much to Thorn disappointment, nothing else attempted to attack him and do whatever that blob thing with the blue light had tried to do. It made the remaining trek through the soup like fog even more boring and horrible than it needed to be. When he did get to the main gates, he had to then deal with stupid humans and their guns.
"I AM THE… CONSTRUCT OF ROSE TYLER," Thorn informed them, disgust in his voice going right over the soldiers' head. "I SEEK THE DOCTOR. HE IS HERE. LET ME IN."
The soldiers literally started talking it out amongst themselves. If Thorn had feet, he knew he would be tapping one impatiently.
"LOOK, DISCUSSIONS CAN WAIT," Thorn told them. "INSIDE. WHERE IT IS WARMER. AND THE DOCTOR IS. OR I CAN JUST GO IN AND YOU TWO CAN KEEP CHATTING AWAY LIKE NAGGING NANCYS."
That apparently was the wrong thing to say as the two men started shouting orders at him. Really? Shouting orders at a Dalek? Thorn was now convinced that intelligence was not a requirement for soldiers here.
A sound behind him caused Thorn to turn. A light was coming up the road to the gate. Because the color of the light was a sick yellow, Thorn did not feel worried. Until he saw the grave digger. Then he was a bit worried.
"WHY IS A GRAVE DIGGER NEEDED?" He asked loudly. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
Moving aside, the Dalek watched as it just kept right on going pass. And sitting on the side of the morbid machine was the Doctor. And some other man that Thorn did not know, nor really care to know. The Doctor arched a brow at the sight of the Dalek in all his TARDIS blue glory resting next to the gate. Giving the two soldiers a wide grin that made Thorn groan, knowing that expression all too well, the grave digger, it's three passengers, Thorn trailing behind, made their way through the main gate.
And the secondary security gate.
What were they trying to keep in? Or out?
Thorn kept his scans up, not really sure what to make of the scientists he was introduced to. Something about them seemed off to him. Not in the normal 'it's a human, therefore it is broken' kind of off. It was something else. Something was throwing his readings all off the charts and he didn't like it.
He equally was not happy when the Doctor admitted to him that he had no idea where Rose was right now.
"WE ARE NOT AMUSED, DUMBO," Thorn sniffed and glided by a glaring Doctor.
"What is with you and the ears, mate?" the Time Lord grumbled, following into the designated meeting room.
The Doctor was fairly certain this situation could not get worse.
But this was the Doctor and he knew better. If he actually thought that, he just knew the Universe would smile at him and say "Hold my beer."
As it stood, the situation was getting there faster than even the Time Lord extraordinary every thought it would. Thorn's presence only confirmed much of what he already suspected. However, he was unable to make a move quite yet as all players on the board had yet to reveal themselves. The Doctor watched as Thorn stared in the direction of the strange center of the complex. The Doctor had noticed when he first got there how the center of the institution was completely blocked off from all directions. It was like there was a solid cement block they build around.
Thorn's fascination in the area only confirmed a few more suspicions.
As Colonel Levin called what was left of his men into the lecture hall of the institution. Several of his soldiers carried out varying boxes, all of them ignoring Thorn as he sat to the side in silence. The Doctor moved to lean against the wall as the humans worked. Levin had been correct, this would be a prime place to gather everyone today to have this conversation. Thankfully, the Time Lord thought, that one of the groups they had sent out earlier in the afternoon to check on the subs had returned once they realized they had lost radio contact.
"DOCTOR," Thorn finally spoke as the scientists were filtering into the lecture hall, followed by the soldiers. "WHERE IS-"
"Not sure," the Doctor interrupted with a frown, moving to sit sideways in a chair.
He hadn't heard from Jack in hours. It wasn't that he was worried, but concerned was starting to rise to the top of the list.
The emptiness in his mind was more worrisome than the lack of contact from his newest companion.
He wasn't sure where Rose was. Or if she was still alive.
Within the Doctor, a certain darkness began to stir at the thought of his brilliant golden girl having been snuffed out. He had killed other races for far less acts against her. What would he do to these people if their actions had gotten her killed? The dark instincts of the ancient Time Lords growled at the thought. The Doctor was forced to shut it way to focus on the group assembled.
"You have taken over my institute, Colonel," raged one of the scientist, a man name called Klebanov. According to the orders, he was the name in charge around here. Had been, the Doctor learned, for longer than any written record that the office man, Alex Minin, had.
"You fill it with your troops," Klebanov continued on a snarl, gaining Thorn's attention, "encouraged Minin of his bureaucratic fantasies, lost contact with you men! And now, I find that you invited some old workman from the village in for drinks!"
The Doctor watched, interested in how Levin would take this bluster from the stupid ape that was no more a scientist than the Doctor was a human male.
"The blackout is a temporary phenomenon caused by the weather," Levin stated calmly with a raised brow at Klebanov. "I have Minin cross-checking the supplies for me. Would be a good idea, I would think, to know what equipment and facilities we have available, don't you agree? As for the old man…"
"That was me," the Doctor chimed in with a charming grin. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Thorn was now focused on Klebanov. "That's Pavel Vahlen's father. You know, the parent of the boy whose body we brought this afternoon. He wanted to see his son and I certainly wasn't about to tell him no because it might give some officious director and ulcer or worse."
"IT IS NOT THE WEATHER," Thorn chimed in suddenly, making the scientists in the room who hadn't met Thorn jump.
"Excuse me?" Levin asked, turning towards Thorn.
"The radio problem," the Doctor grinned more, like a kid with a secret. "Like Thorn said, it's not the weather. It's the stones."
"THEY ARE MADE OF A QUARTZ-LIKE MATERIAL," Thorn offered, ignoring the look of shock that he was able to hold a conversation like this. "THE STONES RESONATE, LIKE CRYSTALS."
One of the scientists, a woman stepped forward nodding.
"That's right," she put in. "The Doctor thinks it's powerful enough to cause transmission issues or interference."
Klebanov snorted, "Rubbish! All of this. Waste of time. If this were the case, we'd have had problems like this before now!"
Slowly, the Doctor and Thorn turned to the irate man.
"You have, though," the Doctor said slowly. "All in the logs, it is. Alex and I found them. Most interesting part is they tend to coincide with the deaths. Oh, yes about that," the Doctor stood and rolled his shoulders under his jacket. "These deaths aren't new either. Now, if we are all done here, I've got some things to do. So's everyone else, I reckon."
"Is that so?" Klebanov sneer.
The Doctor held his hand up, stopped Thorn as the Dalek suddenly started to move forward. With a shake of his head, Thorn backed down. But neither alien looked away from Klebanov.
"This is," the Doctor wasn't smiling now. "Colonel Levin needs to organize patrols. Something nasty is out there, Thorn here saw it and we need to know exactly what it is, and where it is. Boris and Catherine," the Doctor nodded to the two scientists which made up the rest of the institution's staff, "need to continue to analyze the rock sample I brought with me and see if they can reverse the jamming. Alex, Thorn and I have some more investigations to do. And I need to find Rose and Jack."
"AS FOR YOU," Thorn put out there to Klebanov, "YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING TO DO, I AM S'POSE. SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND NOT IN THE WAY."
"Thorn," the Doctor warned.
The rest of the group left quietly, some a little slower to see if the director would say something to the construct or if the Doctor would make it apologize. Seeing no sign of either happened, mostly because Klebanov stomped out in a huff, his face red. Thorn let out a bark of mechanical laughter before being hushed again. After that tension was gone, the Doctor spoke to Alex about the director. A few more suspicions confirmed, learned that Klebanov did not even have a file here.
"He is older than he looks," Alex Minin told the two aliens.
"Aren't we all," the Doctor mumbled, Thorn giving a sound of agreement.
The Doctor listened as Thorn asked a few questions, and got his answers. The Time Lord knew something more was at work, the numbers never lied and they were circling in his mind. The same answer every time. With a frown, he asked the one factor that until now had made no sense to him.
"Alex," the Doctor asked suddenly. "Why do people keep mentioning monkeys around you exactly?"
"Oh, you heard about that?" the old former political officer sighed. "Not surprised. Wish I never asked about that, honestly. Seemed important at the time, though I am not sure why exactly."
"YEAH?" Thorn seemed genuinely interested in this story.
"It was all before I got here, you see," Alex stated, leading the two to the storage room where all the old files were housed. "But there was paperwork, filed away and work orders. Everything for six simians to be shipped out. Papers were signed, dated and stamped. Shipment was signed off on at the docks. Yet no one knew anything about the shipment. Or what happened to them."
"THAT IS JUST WEIRD," Thorn grumped making Alex laugh.
"Don't I know, friend."
Alex spoke at ease with Thorn, which impressed the Doctor. Thorn wasn't the easiest to get on with and he had a lingering hatred of scientists, thanks to Van Statton. Yet, here he was, talking with this human pencil pusher like they were old friends. Alex seemed to find Thorn interesting, asking a few questions in return, amazed at the level of intelligence the Dalek had. The Doctor briefly wondered how the man would handle knowing Thorn wasn't an artificial intelligence but a living breathing alien in an armored suit?
Well, there was a very high chance the Doctor would get to see that answer before too much longer.
Entering the storage room, the Doctor blinked twice.
"WHAT A DUMP," Thorn vocalized the thoughts before they had finished forming.
"I know," Alex chuckled as he moved into the room.
Rows and rows of file boxes, stacked against the walls, on metal rack shelves. All dated and filed away, just waiting to be looked at again by some future person. Thorn snorted loudly as he glided into the room.
The Dalek froze.
The Doctor watched as Thorn turned to look towards a wall. Moving up beside him, the Doctor stared hard with intense blue eyes, trying to see what it was that put the Dalek protector on edge. Alex did not seem to noticed the pair stop as he kept chatting about the paperwork, the based and the number of personnel files that were kept in here from over the years.
A sound stopped him talking.
It was like something scrapping against the ground and squeaky hinges trying to move after having been stationary for too long. Against one of the walls, a stack of boxes budged a little, like something was pushing on it from behind. Thorn did not hesitate as he moved forward. The plunger looking arm started grabbing box after box and moving them. The Doctor and Alex moved over to help him. As the boxes came down, a door was slowly revealed, hidden away behind the stacks.
And someone was trying to push it own from the other side.
A sudden surge in his mind told the Doctor who it was. His movements became a little more frantic as he moved the boxes faster. Grabbing the door that had been opened about two inches, the Time Lord heaved and pulled with all his strength. The door popped open.
And the Doctor hauled an excited, yet exhausted Rose Tyler into his arms.
"You will never believe what we found, Doc, Thorn," Jack grinned at them, a little out of breath.