MISSING PERSONS

Chapter III

"The self-destruct?" said Rose in a panicky voice. "Well, shouldn't we get out of here?"

"That would be the best idea, yes," said the Doctor moving to the hatch. He pressed a button on the hatch's control panel with no results. He the tried the sonic screwdriver on the panel, also with no results. "Time for some percussive maintenance," said the Doctor. He picked up the disabled engrammatic generator from the corner and balanced it over the control panel. "Won't be needing this any more!" After applying his screwdriver to it, he stepped back and waved Rose back as well as the generator whined and then exploded, causing the hatch to open slightly.

The ship's alarms were becoming more frantic now, building up to self-destruct, as the Doctor prised open the hatch and ushered Rose out, closely following her.

Rose ran for cover and ducked behind a nearby rock. The Doctor simply walked a few paces clear of the ship and turned back to watch.

"Doctor, get down! It's gonna blow!" shouted Rose as the alarms became a steady, ear-piercing thrum.

The ship flashed and the Doctor put his hand in front of his eyes. When the flash faded, the ship had gone. Rose tentatively stood.

"You… Y'mean, it wasn't gonna explode?"

"No, course not. Self-destruct by vaporisation. Much cheaper and less mess to clear up." He shook his head. "You humans and your explosions." His face drew into a frown. "Only question is - Who set it off?"

"I thought you did. When you turned off the memory thing."

The Doctor, deep in thought, shook his head. "The engrammatic generator can't link up with other technology. It's too complex. Someone knew we were in there and wanted rid of us…"

Rose took a breath to say something, but the Doctor clicked his fingers, interrupting her. "Signal! Someone had to send a signal to the ship, like a remote." He took off into the woods, Rose running behind.

"Doctor!" she shouted ahead. "What is it?"

"I can use the TARDIS to track the signal!" he shouted back.

By the time Rose reached the TARDIS, the Doctor was already inside, franticly pressing buttons on the console and glaring at the small screen. "Got it!" he declared as she entered.

"You traced the signal?"

"Yup," said the Doctor, folding his arms, "and you'll never guess where it came from."

"Where?"

"Old Mrs. Waters' house."

Rose thought for a moment. "The old lady who first went missing."

"That's right. Hold on!" He threw a switch on the console and the central time rotor began moving as the familiar grinding noise started up.

"We going to her house?" asked Rose.

The Doctor nodded. "Don't think she'll mind if we just let ourselves in, do you?"

They materialised in Mrs. Waters' back garden. It was very spacious, like most American back-yards. She even had a gazebo right at the back, in which the TARDIS decided to appear.

The Doctor unlocked the back door with the sonic screwdriver and they cautiously entered.

"Shouldn't we have knocked first?" whispered Rose.

"Whoever tried to vaporise us is in this house, I don't wanna give us away," he replied.

The house was a typical elderly American women's home. Filled with nostalgic photographs, various brick-a-brack, and altogether too clean, yet musty.

They searched every room in the house but found no one. They met up in the front hallway.

"Find anything?" asked Rose.

"Not yet," said the Doctor, "but there's definitely something here. I can feel it." His eye caught something and he stormed into the kitchen. "What's this…?" he said crouching by the fridge.

"What is it?" asked Rose.

The Doctor held up the fridge's plug. "It wasn't plugged in."

"Maybe someone unplugged it once she went missing," offered Rose.

"I doubt it. Everything else is still plugged in," said the Doctor as he stood. "I think someone's moved this fridge recently." With that he grabbed the fridge and hauled it across the kitchen floor. He dragged it into the middle of the room then gave Rose a glare. "Thanks for your help," he said sarcastically.

Rose shrugged. "You looked like you were managing fine."

The Doctor crouched over the floor where the fridge had been. "Ah!" he proclaimed. "Look at this."

Rose bent down next to him and looked where he was pointing. There was a key-shaped space in the dust. "A key," said Rose. "There used to be a key under the fridge…"

"But now someone's taken it," said the Doctor.

"What d'you think it was the key to?" asked Rose.

Like a flash, the Doctor bolted upright. "I know," he said and then ran back into the hall. Rose followed him and saw him standing by the staircase.

"The cupboard under the stairs," he said. "How could I have missed it?"

"Your 900 odd years must be catching up on you," said Rose teasingly.

The Doctor gave her a look before withdrawing his sonic screwdriver again. He used it on the door and it unlocked. He opened the door to reveal a staircase leading down. "What do we have here?" said the Doctor.

"How do you know that's the key for this cupboard?" said Rose.

"I don't," said the Doctor with a grin. He bent low to get through the small door and they descended the small staircase.

They were in total darkness at the bottom. "Doctor," said Rose, "I can't see anything."

"Really?" said the Doctor. "That's odd…"

"What?"

"Neither can I."

"Just find a lightswitch, Doctor."

"Found one!" he said and there was a click followed by a hum as several fluorescent lights turned on.

"Oh my god…" said Rose as she looked over the now illuminated room.

The basement was filled with disturbingly coffin-sized capsules. The Doctor walked over to one and rubbed his hand across the frosted glass window. The eyes of an elderly woman looked back at him.

"There's people in them!" said Rose, horrified.

"This is Mrs. Waters!" said the Doctor. He walked over to another pod and looked through its screen. "There's people in all of them." They checked one after another, there was about twenty capsules there, then the Doctor looked up. "Donny Philips is here too. I recognise him from photographs in the Sheriff's office. The others must all be people who've gone missing."

"Doctor…" said Rose, looking through one capsule's window.

The Doctor walked over and peered in. His eyes met Rose's as he realised what she had. "It's Sheriff Anderson."

"Very good, Doctor," came a voice from behind them. They both turned to see Anderson - or at least, another Anderson - on the stairs. He had a gun in his hand. "I didn't think you'd get this far. But I'm afraid it's as far as you'll get." He pointed the gun straight at them.

To be continued...