Chapter 5: Run
Run.
Run, run, run, run. The word was a mantra for her pace. Run, run, run. Footstep after stumbling footstep, she scrambled down the pyramid. She did not dare look back; she knew that just behind Jack it was coming.
Run.
Her side burned from the exertion, but she could not stop. She must not stop until she reached the TARDIS. She had to make it. Jack had to make it. They had to make it to the ship and once there they could come up with another plan. They had to rescue the Doctor, but she couldn't. Not now. Not when the monsters were coming.
Run.
She heard the crackle of twigs in her wake as something large followed after her. It wasn't Jack - he didn't growl, he didn't make a hissing noise, he didn't...
She dodged to the side as a red lance of something shot past her to impact nosily against a tree. Rose put on an additional amount of speed. She could see the tantalizing hint of blue through the foliage. She just had to go a little bit further and she'd be safe.
"STOP!" a voice commanded, but she ignored it. She had to run.
The TARDIS. It was there. She fumbled for the key around her neck, cursing as it caught in her clothes. There was no time. No time.
"Come on, come on, come on," she chanted to herself.
Another beam shot past her, and she danced to the side. No time.
There, she had it. Key into the lock. There was no time. Turn the key. She heard the crashing of the creature through the brush. It was coming.
No time.
She opened the door and dodged inside. "JACK! C'mon!" she shouted. However, when she turned, he was not there.
The Silurian was.
No time. She couldn't look for Jack. She couldn't do anything.
The creature's third eye began to glow a brilliant red. No time.
She slammed the doors shut.
And the fear was gone. Just like that, a switch had been flipped in her mind and she could think again. She darted to the console, her inexperienced fingers bumping clumsily against the controls. "C'mon, old girl, show me the outside. Show me." A vision of Jack's body crumpled somewhere, in pain or - even worse - dead danced in her head. No. She would not think like that.
Jack was alive.
The Doctor was alive.
And she had to do something to make sure it remained that way.
The TARDIS groaned in protest, but a moment later, the screen on the console changed to an exterior view rather than the incomprehensible geometric designs that were the Doctor's native language. She peered at the image as it moved, pausing as she found the Silurian - still shooting angrily at the TARDIS. From the safety of the interior, her earlier fear seemed silly and juvenile.
This was not helping her find Jack. She continued to scan the area, but she could find no indication that he had followed her. He must've stayed in the temple to cover her escape. The silly, stubborn, idiot had done the noble thing and stayed. She was going to kill him.
The mobile chose that instant to ring again. The number was unknown, but it was the same one that had contacted her earlier. The same one that, had she not been an idiot and left her phone on 'normal,' had revealed their hiding spot. She thumbed the 'talk' key angrily as she put the phone to her ear. "Do you have any idea of what you've just done?"
The familiar gravelly tones of the Brigadier responded, "I beg your pardon?"
"Brigadier?" she asked incredulously. "Is that you?"
"Of course," he replied, before his gruff voice turned concerned. "Rose, are you all right?"
Something about the question just set her off. The words poured out of her. She told him about the stelae, the Doctor's reaction to the hieroglyphics, him sending her and Jack back to the TARDIS and disappearing while they were gone, that Jack detected alien lifeforms in the area and that she'd heard the Doctor scream. And then the mobile ringing in the temple, the creature finding their hiding spot, and her frantic escape to the TARDIS. All of it, an unstoppable stream of words, until she came to an abrupt halt.
The Brigadier was silent for a long moment before he asked, "Can you describe them? The aliens that you encountered - what did they look like?"
"Like fishy lizards, with fins about their face. Or maybe ridges. An' they have, I guess, a third eye that's sort of reddish. Jack said that they can make you scared or somethin' and it's true. It's true 'cause I wouldn't have left him otherwise. I wouldn't have left Jack. An' now I don't know if he's even...he's even..." She couldn't complete the words. She wouldn't let herself do so. He was alive. He had to be.
"Rose, I know it's difficult, but I need you to pull yourself together. The Doctor needs you. Jack needs you. And I need you to tell me exactly what day it is and what year."
This wasn't like her. She wasn't like this. She could pull herself together. She had to. Just like it wasn't like her to run away from anything. Especially not tall alien lizard-men. But she did. Just like a frightened little girl she had. No. She had to answer the Brigadier. For Jack. For the Doctor. She had to answer.
"It's 2007. Jack said so, but I don't know what day it is. Jus' a sec." She put the phone down and stared blankly at the controls. There had to be something she could use, something she could do to tell her what day it was. The Doctor always turned the notched dials when he was talking about what day it was going to be. Yes. That had to be where she could find out what day it was.
She picked up the mobile and read off the controls, "March…27th."
To her surprise, the Brigadier laughed. "Ah, that's perfect. Rose, it's the 26th in England. That gives me time to prepare a squad. You said you were at the ruins at Naachtun, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'm coming, Rose. Just stay there. I'm coming." With a click, he was gone.
"'Kay," she told the now-silent mobile. The Brigadier might be coming. He might even have an extra day to prepare his troops. But that did not mean she had to stay where she was. She had to face her fear. She had to rescue the Doctor and Jack. And the only way she could do that would be to go back out there.
A quick glance at the monitor seemed to indicate that her friend had departed. Wonderful, fantastic. That meant she could get back to the temple and try to find her lovers.
She had no plan, but she decided that she would take a page right out of the Doctor's book. She had no plan. But that should frighten the Silurians to no end. If not, well, she would see that it would. But first, she needed a weapon. With that thought in mind, she went deeper into the TARDIS with a goal - Jack's arsenal.
Alistair hung up the phone with a grimace. Silurians. It would have to be Silurians, wouldn't it? All thoughts of warning the Doctor about the Prime Minister's activities were banished in the face of this newest threat. Silurians. The last time he had to deal with them was not an event that he wished to repeat. He had lost a number of good men in that raid.
Right then. He knew what they were dealing with. He even knew where. Now, all he needed was Bambera's authorisation to commandeer the troops and supplies that he would need to travel to Naachtun. He summoned the aide that Bambera had assigned to him with the press of a button. "Corporal, I need you to get research to gather up any and all information that you have on the Mayan ruins of Naachtun. I need an orbital picture if we've got it, a map of the region, the political situation of the country where it's located, the works and I need it yesterday."
The too-young officer nodded. Was he ever that young? Impossible. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir."
When the Corporal did not move quickly enough for his sensibilities, he ordered. "Move it, Corporal!"
He was pleased by the immediate response. Ashton all but ran out of the office. Very good. Now, he needed to gather troops. To do that, he needed Bambera's permission.
Alistair left his office at a brisk pace, tugging at the edge of his uniform tunic in a habitual manner. He was too old for this, but, for the first time since he had been confined to UNIT HQ, he felt alive.
He entered Bambera's office without bothering to announce himself, brushing past her aide without so much as a nod of acknowledgement. "We've got a problem," he told her without preamble.
Winifred set aside the papers she held in her hands with a sigh. "There's always a problem, Alistair. Between alien incursions, odd lights in the sky, and Harriet Jones - that's a fact of life in UNIT."
The Brigadier shook his head. Of course it was a fact of life. This, however, this was different. This was far more urgent than anything Harriet Jones had up her sleeve. This could very well mean yet another threat to the security and safety of the entire human race.
"The Silurians have returned. I spoke with one of the Doctor's current companions - apparently they've taken control of the Mayan ruins of Naachtun. There is also an indication that the Doctor has been captured. I need a squad of your best troops and the use of one of your transports to get to the ruins."
She dropped all pretences and leaned forward on the desk toward him. "You're sure of this?"
"I'm certain," he replied. Of course he was. He knew Rose Tyler, just as he knew the Silurians.
Bambera pinched the bridge of her nose in thought. "Then, if it is the Silurians, we need to brief the troops. If I remember your reports of UNIT's last encounter with these aliens, they can make well-trained soldiers drop their weapons and run."
He nodded. "Yes. I can supply the troop commander with my report from the incident at Wenley Moor. And I will need Geneva's authorization that I will have free rein to deal with this at Naachtun. If necessary I may have to employ the Wenley Moor solution."
She winced. "The archaeologists will not care for that."
Scientists. If they only knew what he did, they would understand his decision. "Whether they care or not is irrelevant. The Silurians must be stopped - no matter what. Protecting this planet must take precedence over concern for historical artefacts."
"Agreed. If there are any repercussions from this, and I'm sure there will be, I will deal with them. I'll contact Geneva. You will, of course, be commanding the UNIT troops for this incident. You are my most experienced commander - and the only one who has experience with the Silurians. Delta and Bravo squadrons - Captains Royce and Harding commanding - will be at your disposal."
He was about to request that he be allowed to command the troops, but apparently Winifred was one step ahead of him. "Excellent. What is our ETD?"
"Three hours from now. I'll contact General Washmore at North American UNIT Command to let her know to expect you in the region. Is there anything else you need?"
He shook his head. "Not at the moment."
"I'll have my aide contact you when your transport's available. How much time do we have, Alistair?"
He smiled. "We were fortunate in this at least. We have until tomorrow - for that's when the danger was or is first detected. Tenses tend to be rather difficult to determine when one deals with the Doctor."
She looked rather confused for which he didn't blame her in the least. Before the Doctor had come into his life, talk of yesterdays and tomorrows would have given him quite a headache. "Right. I'll get this taken care of. And Alistair? Good luck."
The Brigadier smiled faintly. "I'm sure I'll need it. Thank you, Winifred."
As he turned to leave her office, a new thought occurred to him. Despite his age, despite his differences with his current situation in UNIT, he had never felt so young. He had something to do, something useful. And that, he found, made all the difference.
Pain.
It encompassed his entire existence. It left trails of fire through his synapses and pounded to the beat of his hearts in his skull.
Red.
It was everywhere. He fought against it, tried to deny it purchase within his mind, but it was far too powerful and he was far too weak.
How does it feel, Doctor?
He grimaced as he pushed himself back against the cool stone wall of his cell. "Do you mind? It's hard enough to think without you tap-dancing your way through my skull."
Murderer.
"Isn't that a bit like the pot callin' the kettle black?" He winced as another spike of pain shot through his body. "What do you want from me, Morka?"
To start? Your death would suffice.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm rather fond of the new me and I don't plan on leaving life anytime soon. Anything else? A new tea set? A subscription to Hello! magazine? Or would you prefer National Geographic? I hear they have some lovely articles on dinosaurs."
Through his slightly blurred vision, Morka's expression seemed to darken. HOW DOES IT FEEL? The mental shout rocketed through his mind.
"DO YOU MIND NOT SHOUTING?" he asked, putting as much volume as he could into the words. "I can hear you just fine in a normal speaking tone. Thanks for that."
The Silurian's tone returned to normal, which rather surprised him. Are you curious, Doctor?
"I'm curious about all sorts of things. The price of tea in China, the stock market, bees, trees, water, solar systems, temporal mechanics, knitting, gardening, political science, chess - oh, haven't played chess in a while, I need to pick that up again, painting, singing, walking, exploring, adventuring, prattling - won awards for that, actually - card games, starships, sailing ships... Did I mention that I also like making lists?"
Are you curious how I survived? How the few of us that are left survived your actions?
Of course he was. He just wasn't going to let on to that particular fact. "Oh! For a second there I thought you were curious about me. I'm rather disappointed now. That's what sort of Silurian you are, isn't it? It's all about 'me, me, me' with you. Honestly, it's not that much of a surprise. You always were."
It was a good thing that his mental strength was still - depleted as it was - stronger than Morka's ability to affect him. He spared a brief thought for his companions, hoping against hope that they were still safe. He would not wish an encounter with these Silurians upon anyone. That was especially true of people that he loved.
You tried to kill us all, Doctor. Do not bother to deny it. But we survived. We survived because of the golden wave that protected us, and transferred us here. You tried to kill us, but even the universe knows the truth. The Silurian race must survive and it survives in us. And soon, this world will be the same as the one that you destroyed.
A golden wave? Of course! A temporal disruption could have counteracted the affects of the Time Ram. But how? What could have caused a temporal…oh. Oh. The Time War. His people had used N-forms, Black Hole-Carriers, and Bowships during the greatest battles of the War. Some of the side-effects of their use were temporal disruptions.
Of course.
If anyone was to blame for this, it was himself. His people, perhaps, but mostly himself. He had tried to destroy the alternate Silurian-controlled version of Earth. He'd had the best of reasons, since without its destruction, the universe would end aeons before it was supposed to. But that did not negate what he had done. That did not counteract his actions. That did not help him now.
Enough.
New man. No more guilt. Just dealing with what was happening now. Then was then. Now was now, and now was what was most important.
"Ah. That doesn't explain why you're doing this, Morka. Why are you going to try and re-create the mistakes that you made on your version of Earth?"
The only mistake that I made, Doctor, was letting you live. The short, stick-carrying version of you should have been killed the instant my hunters caught your Time Lord mammalian stench. Just like the white-haired version was killed. Same events, same results. You should never have survived, Doctor.
He grinned. "But I did. I have this annoying habit of doing so. An' you know what? This is not going to be any different. Might be a new exterior, but it's still me. And I'm still as contrary as ever."
That is what you think.
He closed his eyes, blocking out the blurred red of the Silurian's third eye. "Yeah, yeah, it is. I might as well take a page right out of my previous self's book to throw in: And doesn't that just scare you to death?"
Such foolish bravery, Doctor. I am not surprised. And where are your companions, Doctor? I remember Bernice Summerfield, and the violent one - Ace? Do you still show them how to destroy worlds?
"Do you still ask pointless questions? Oh, wait, I see you do. Benny and Ace, haven't seen them in years. They're off doing their own thing now, with my blessing. Why? Feeling like you want to see the old crowd again? Gather some old friends around the fireplace and talk about 'Remember when…' and laugh at the 'kids these days?' I never pegged you as the nostalgic type." He shifted against the stone wall, but he could not find a semi-comfortable position.
"You know, you really could do with some cushioning. A bed, a bench, some colour. Anything, really. This definitely isn't the best example of a cell that I've been in. It doesn't even rate a four on a scale of one to ten. Oh! Déjà vu. I think I've said that before. See what you're making me do? I'm repeating myself. Never did that before, I don't think."
You do go on. Typical mammal. Squeal until someone bothers to listen. Squeal out your pain, your fear, and your worries. Does it help?
It was the perfect opening. He opened his eyes and grinned. "Oh, I don't know. Does it?"
When the red filled his vision once more and the pain spiked to a new crescendo he realised that that was probably not the best choice of words.
To be continued...