The Feeding Ground

Part 4

The patients moved closer to the Doctor as he moved back and shielded Winters. He looked behind them and saw a decontamination chamber.

"The decontamination chamber is it secure?" The Doctor yelled.

"Yes, that door is the only way in or out."

"Get in now. Everyone come this way." The Doctor ordered.

He opened the door and waved everyone in. The patients were almost upon him now. He closed the door behind him and used his sonic screwdriver to lock it. The horde of patients began beating on the door.

"Doctor, what are these Krotons?" Winters was concerned.

"When I first met them they were posing as Gods, draining the neural energy from the smartest children of their followers. I stopped them once, I can do it again."

"Look they're moving away towards the elevator."

"They must have gotten new orders." The Doctor explained.

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"That's a spaceship. Every time the Doctor comes we get invaded by aliens." Mickey said.

"That's not true." Rose yelled.

Mickey glared at her.

"Right, then we need to find the Doctor he'll know what to do."

"You're always running to him. You think maybe one time you'd come to me."

Rose and Mickey went back towards the door but Doctor Matthews appeared in front of them. He grabbed them both and began dragging them down the stairs. Rose and Mickey fought violently and were able to escape once they had reached the foot of the stairs. On the top floor which was under renovation they both ran as fast as they could towards the stairs. As they turned a corner they were stopped by a crowd of people moving towards them. All in hospital gowns they crept closer like living zombies.

"Hey we need help a Doctor is chasing us." Mickey yelled at the crowd.

"I think they are chasing us too. Run!" Rose said.

"I'm getting too old for this." Mickey commented.

Rose and Mickey turned around and headed down the opposite hall only to be stopped again by even more patients moving towards them.

"Yeah, I changed my mind let's find the Doctor." Mickey yelled.

Their only choice now was to head back the way they came. Doctor Matthews was waiting for them. Rose and Mickey stopped dead in their tracks and turned down a hallway right in front of Doctor Matthews.

"I think we lost them." Rose yelled as she looked back behind them.

"Rose, what is that?" Mickey had suddenly come to a stop.

A large metal sliding door was in front of them. It reached from the floor to the ceiling. Rose moved towards it and touched the cold silver door. It felt warm, extremely warm. Moving her hand she could now see her reflection and past her image was the mirror image of the entire group of patients that had been chasing them.

"What do you want from us?" Rose yelled.

The crowd suddenly was motionless but no one answered her question. Doctor Matthews moved towards the doors and pressed his hand up against a hidden control. The doors hissed and slid open. All that lied inside was darkness.

"They want us." The Doctor yelled making his way through the crowd holding the rock of terrellium out in front of him warding off anyone who could stop him.

"Should have done that earlier, it beats hiding in the decontamination chamber it was a bit to sterile in there for my tastes." The Doctor commented to Winters who was standing beside him.

"Doctor, we were coming to get you." Rose said.

"Rose! You're not dead."

"No not yet. What were you saying? Why do they want us?" Rose asked.

"Human beings, most alien races hate the thought of you but there are some that simply love you. Little stupid beings, running around this tiny piece of dirt, using up all your resources, wasting away the planet you lot are. Not to mention all the weapons of mass destruction and I'm not talking about your mother's cooking." The Doctor said as Rose just stared at him.

"Where was I?" The Doctor.

"I don't know, you were just kind of ranting."

"Right, I do tend to do that. Oh, your brains, Slathered in neural energy. Some races can use that energy to power their ships, weapons or to control their hunger."

"But what about all the people, they're just sort of in a daze." Mickey asked.

"It's brain control. The Krotons are using them to prepare this world."

"It's an invasion isn't it?" Rose asked.

"Yes and it's about to begin. But before it does, I want to speak to whoever is in charge here." The Doctor said to Doctor Matthews.

"So where is he or it, maybe a what?" The Doctor yelled.

"I will speak with the one called The Doctor." Doctor Matthews said.

"You're not even going to show yourself; well that's no fun at all." The Doctor was disappointed.

"I am the King of the Krotons you will bow before me."

"Oh yes right then, not going to happen." The Doctor yelled.

"You see these people no matter how small they seem are strong. They will fight you, I'll fight you. Do I really have to do this speech again?" The Doctor turned to Rose.

"These small people are now under my control. The Krotons have infiltrated cities around the world and are preparing for our invasion fleet."

"Why are you here? I mean why travel all this way, waste all that power just to get here. Surely you don't need to power your ship that much." The Doctor questioned.

"It has been nearly 4,000 years since your last meeting with my race. Much has changed in that time."

"Including becoming allergic to your only food terrellium?"

"The Krotons no longer dine on that element. We have found alternative fuel sources and means of sustenance."

"The neural energy, you're actually feeding on their brains."

"The Krotons are a dying race, Doctor. On this planet we will initialize the future of our existence."

"You're creating your own personal feeding ground. That explains the virus. Have to keep the population up. Wouldn't want to run out of food now would we? There's just one problem with your plan."

"What is that, Doctor?"

"I'm going to stop you."

"You are one man, what can you do?"

"Actually I'm one Time Lord and I'm going to offer you a deal. If you leave this planet and never return, I'll give you one thing that you crave."

"I'm listening?"

"I'll give you me. I'm only in my ninth regeneration I still have a while yet. I should have enough neural energy to feed your race for maybe a few thousand years. So what do you say?"

"Your terms are accepted. Step through the doors."

"Doctor you can't!" Rose yelled tearing up.

The Doctor took the rock of Terrellium and broke a piece off of it. He threw it to Winters.

"A little something to remember me by." He said.

"My Rose. It's been fun." The Doctor said as he turned to leave.

"That's what you have to say after all we've been through?" Rose yelled.

"Oh, one more thing, say goodbye to Mr. Heston for me." The Doctor smiled and winked at her.

The Doctor walked in through the doors and was teleported away.

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"He's gone. He's really gone." Rose told Mickey.

"What'd he mean with that Mr. Heston crack?"

"It was a message." Rose yelled as she ran through the crowd back to her mother's floor.

She came to room where her mother was wide awake. Rose ran in and began going through her pack.

"What's going on? Who were all those people walking by?"

"I don't have time to explain Mum, the Doctor needs me."

"I need you." Her mother yelled.

"I'm sorry. He'd do the same for me." Rose said as she finally found the flash grenade.

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The Doctor found himself in what looked like a giant cave. Behind him stood a tank which he assumed contained all the neural energy they had gathered. In front of him was a throne with a hole in the seat.

"Well, where are you then, I'm not a patient man." The Doctor said as he began to hear machinery move.

Suddenly a glass helmet emerged from the throne. Inside was a solid crystalline spike. From the throne emerged two hands. One was a pincer the Doctor had come to expect the other looked like an ordinary human hand.

"Kneel before me." The King commanded.

The Doctor moved down to his knees in front of the throne.

"Now I shall feast!" The King said as an energy wave came out of his hand and engulfed the Doctor's head.

The Doctor cried out in torment.