Wanderer of Time: Darkness Within

by Tinker16

The powers within have been steadily growing, buying time until the moment of remembrance. The moment swiftly approaches. Wanda's fears are coming to a head as she realizes what has been living inside her has only one purpose in the universe. And it holds no qualms in destroying any who gets in its way, even those who Wanda loves. (Part Three of the Wanderer of Time trilogy)

51. Ch 51: A Wanderer's Memories (Part One)

Hello, everyone and welcome back to a new chapter!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day/night recently. I know I have. :) This chapter will be a little different than what the rest of the story has been like. Mostly with the point of view of the character.

Warning: Dark themes ahead in this chapter. There is child abuse/death and mentioning of suicide. Please read with caution if these topics are difficult for you. Though I will say all of this is still in the rated T range, so nothing too hard to read or graphic. I tripled checked to make certain this chapter and the next still counted in the T rating by fellow writers. That way there did not have to be a rating change. :)

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Chapter 51: A Wanderer's Memories (Part One)

I was scared. I was so scared. I've never been so scared before in my life. I did not know what to do. I was at a loss. There was so much destruction and chaos all around me. The screams of my neighbors made me shake and cry even more. The sounds of the gun fire made me quake where I was sitting curled up. I wanted my mummy. I wanted my daddy. I was scared. I wanted my parents to comfort me.

"Mummy! Daddy!" I wept as I sat there on the ground, holding my knees to my chest, hugging myself as tears rolled down my face. I kept screaming over the shouting, calling out to my parents.

The Daleks . . . they had done a surprise attack on the small outskirts of where we lived. My parents had fled in a panic with me in my mother's arms from our small home. I watched the house burn down from over my mother's shoulder as she ran. Then, I really did not remember what happened. Maybe the Daleks had hit my parents? Maybe mother grew tired and had dropped me on accident? Maybe my father had tried grabbing me when mother dropped me? I do not know. All I know is that one minute I was with them. Then the next I was on the ground, fallen as people rushed around or over me, leaving me in the middle of the streets, surrounded by fire and fallen buildings. There were also dead people on the ground around me. Lifeless eyes staring back at me in a glaze. I cried harder as I scooted away from the dead soldiers, men, women, and children. They were all dead.

I stood up and ran over to a broken stone building, ducking around the crumbling wall. I hid there, balling myself up to keep myself low and unseen by the Daleks passing by. Some flew. Most rolled down the streets, chanting their battle cry.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" they repeated over and over again. I winced every time they called their horrid word. The way they yelled out in their high-pitched voices . . . it sent chills down my spine.

I was so scared.

The gunfire seemed to last forever. I did not know what to do as it went on. Then, as I sat there shivering in the cold night, wrapping my small red cloak around me and scoot my feet under my long scarlet dress, the noises finally died down. Sniffling, I rubbed my cold nose. Everything was just so cold. I wanted my mummy. Where was my mummy? My daddy? Why were they not coming to get me? Should I wait here for them? No, they might not see me in this dark place. I needed to find them. What if they were hurt? I needed to help them.

Standing up slowly, I walked around the broken stone wall edgily. Poking my head out, I saw no Daleks around. Good. I did not like those metal things. I did not like how they yelled. They were scary. They hurt people. Why did they hurt people? I did not understand. I knew that mother and father had been worried for a while now in the Daleks coming to Gallifrey. They talked about it in tense conversations almost every night in the family room. I did not understand much of it. I was never as bright as other children my age. But I knew that if my parents were scared and worried, then I needed to be as well.

Walking through the rubble of the destroyed buildings, scooting around the fires, I stumbled into an open area lay flattened by the Daleks. My eyes watered as I stared at the sight. Our small marble park, built similar to the one I had visited once at the Capital, had been destroyed. Bodies lay around the crushed flowers. The fountains were spraying a stream of water out as half had been ripped apart. No, not the fountain! That was mummy's favorite. I ran over, crouching down next to a broken statue, staring at its face. Why would the Daleks do this? The park had always been a fun place to play. Why hurt a place that was for fun?

I gasped and spun around as I heard whirling of machinery coming through the thick smoke of the fires around me. I backed up into the crumbling fountain, shivering and whimpering as I saw a Dalek coming towards me. It was different than the bronze ones I had seen earlier. It was black and much sleeker looking. It rolled right up to me as I sat hunched in fear. It was going to kill me! I'm going to die without mother or father knowing where I was! I closed my eyes tightly, whimpering as it pointed its eyestalk at me.

"Follow!" barked the Dalek in a deep voice. I opened my eyes, blinking in confusion at it.

"W-what?" I replied with unease.

"You will follow! Follow!" the Dalek boomed at me in order.

"But—but where's my mum and dad?" I responded, shaking as tears began to spring up in my eyes. "I want my mummy and daddy!"

"They are meaningless! You will follow or you will die!" retorted the Dalek.

I sniffled as I reluctantly stood up, shivering in fright. I did not want to die. I wanted to stay alive to find mum and dad. Maybe the Dalek would lead me to them? So, I followed the Dalek as it wanted. I shuffled my feet through the broken glass, stones, plant life, and such, going with the Dalek that whirled right through the area. It turned its head every so often, staring at me with its bright, blue eyestalk. It made me wince each time it looked at me.

Soon, I noticed a group gathered up ahead. It was about forty children with two other normal looking Daleks surrounding them. All the children huddled together, staring at the Daleks in fright. I thought it strange in how all of the children were around my age, through a mixture of boys and girls. I stopped when the Dalek with black armour halted, turning to look at me with its eyestalk. I gulped as it just stared at me. Why was it staring at me? Did . . . did it want me to join the group of kids? Where were mum and dad? Were they okay? My head was so wrapped in fear and shock that I could not think straight. I did not know what to do, so I shuffled forward towards the group. I just wanted to find some kind of comfort from others. Just being there, up close with the other children, eased me in knowing that at least there were others of my kind there with me. We all sort of pressed together, not really touching, but close enough that we could feel each other's warmth. I glanced at the others around me, wishing that I knew some of the faces. A familiar face would have been welcomed. But I never went outside my home before. My parents had been too worried lately to let me venture, and I was still considered too young to go anywhere on my own. And now . . . I was without my parents for the first time in my life.

"Are all children present?" the dark Dalek with the deep voice asked one of the Daleks.

"All children of this location have been located and acquired!" responded the Dalek in the normal high-pitched voice.

"Commence transmission to Station Alpha!" ordered the black armoured Dalek. The Daleks circled the children, pressing in on us to make us into a tighter group. Soon, the Daleks began to glow, turning fuzzy in sight. Then, I noticed it was my vision. Looking down, I was confused in seeing my body sort of fading away. Was I dying now? Were they killing us? What was going on? I felt funny, lightheaded.

Then, next thing I knew, the burning town disappeared and was replaced by a dark brick place. All the children muttered in shock in seeing how we had been transported into another place. It was just as cold as it had been outside. Even darker than the night as there was no more fire to light the way. Only dim light was given by slim light fixtures placed with the ceiling above. Though the fixtures were spaced out so far apart from each other that it made it hard to see even with that small amount of light. I blinked, trying to get my eyes adjusted to the darkness as the Daleks suddenly had us moving again. The one darker Dalek lead the way down the hall while the others pushed at us from the rear. I shuffled my feet along, glancing at open doorways whenever we passed them. I saw rooms with strange tables, tubes, sharp tools, and other frightening objects within, with some adults walking around inside each room. I was shocked to see adults here. Were they captured like us? Were some from my town? Were my mum and dad here, too? But when I saw one of the tall adults in better light, I realized right away that they were nothing like the adults from where I lived. They were part machine. The one I could see clearly had patches of skin missing, showing the metal underneath. It had an eye missing, leaving a hollow socket left with a blue eye glowing instead. It wore ragged, tan clothing that looked like the washrags my mother used to clean the kitchen up.

I was not sure what these strange adults were doing here. Maybe they were the keepers of this place? It looked like it from the way each one bowed from the rooms as the Daleks passed. Like respecting their elders. Or . . . what had daddy said before? In the past, people would have bowed to their masters? Yeah, that was it. They were bowing to their masters.

I and the other children ended up shuffling into a large circular room where many more strange machines, bubbling tubes, tubes of liquid were at. It was brighter in this room as there was a giant glass globe in the middle of the room, whirling with massive golden swirling light from within. It was weird as the light seemed to pulse like hearts beating the more I looked at it. Like . . . the energy was alive. Could light be alive? It seemed silly, but it felt like it was. Then, the more I stared at the light, the more I recognized it. It was just like the light from the holographic stories mum always read me at night. The fairy tales where a Time Lady princess would get caught in the light by mistake, turned wicked by the bad light, and then was saved in the end by amazing a Time Lord prince. What had mum called the light? Time Vortex energy?

"Dalek Thay, prepare the energy insertion!" barked the black armour Dalek.

"I obey," said one of the Daleks that stood behind the group. It whirled around us, going over to the massive globe of golden light. It used its manipulator arm and began messing with the machines and equipment around the globe. The light within began to swirl massively, as though boiling away in excitement.

"Prepare the children!" ordered the dark Dalek.

"Yes, my Master," came the monotone of robotic voices. I looked over quickly, seeing a female and male android servant coming out of the shadows. They each grabbed two children, holding each by the arms as they began to drag kids away. The kids around me began to panic, staring at each other wildly, terrified of what was going to be done to us. I felt the same fear, backing away from the group as the urge to run heightened. A older, taller boy from the back of the group bumped into me, pushing past me as he stormed up to the front of the rest.

"You can't do this to us!" he began shouting at the leader Dalek, pointing a finger at the metal creature. "You've destroyed our homes, our families! Haven't you done enough?"

"What do you want from us?" whimpered another kid. A girl this time. The dark Dalek wheeled up closer to the tall boy, making me worried that it might kill him.

"You will be silent!" barked the Dalek. It looked at us. I shivered as its eyestalk gazed over me. "You are necessary for the experiments. You are now under our control."

"Like hell we are!" shouted the tall boy. "You're not doing anything to us. We won't let you!"

"Silence! Obey or be exterminated!" cried another Dalek, coming around from the rear and facing the boy aggressively.

At that point, I began to grow nervous when other older children began yelling at the Daleks, refusing to do as the metal creatures demanded. Then, the black armoured Dalek aimed its weapon right at the tall boy and fired. The older boy let out a scream of pain before collapsing onto the ground, killed in an instant by the Dalek. Panic set as other kids screamed, pushing past me to run away down the halls. I let out a terrified yelp when the Daleks shot their beams right around me, killing those trying to run away. One kid who had been unmoving and standing beside me was hit by one of the deadly Dalek beams, letting out a piercing scream before falling to the ground. I shook as I stared at the dead kid, seeing how they gazed back at me blankly. All of the rest of us in the group huddled together, tightening up after this and grew absolutely silent.

"Let this be a lesson. You all will obey, or face extermination," barked the dark Dalek as it rolled up in front of us, staring us down. "I am Dalek Sec."

"Dalek Thay," barked another Dalek.

"Dalek Caan," spoke another.

"Dalek Jast," said the last.

"We are your new masters," stated Dalek Sec sharply with full authority. "Our words are final. None shall disobey us." The Dalek looked at each one of us, eyeing the large group (about thirty kids now) slowly. As though searching to see if any more of us would act out like the taller boy and others had. None of us made a move. I dare not even breath with just how terrified I felt. I watched, tense in what the Daleks would do to us next when they all began to move. The three bronze Daleks moved to the machines, seeming to set up their work. Dalek Sec moved over to the other half-machine adults standing at attention at the wall next to us. "Continue with preparing the children for beginning transfusion."

"Yes, Master," said the adults in unison.

The large group of robotic servants then turned and marched over to us. I scooted back, eyes wide as one at a time kids around me were snatched out of the trembling group and yanked away. Ice cold hands suddenly gripped my arm, jolting me in just how stiff and chilling the hand on me felt. I cried out a little when I saw an adult woman staring back at me with hollow eyes. No, I did not want to go with her! Whatever they were going to do . . . I was so scared of what was happening. I wanted my mummy. I wanted my daddy.

"Please, I don't want to!" I cried, holding my arm and trying to pull it out of the adult's grip. But they kept dragging me along, not even bothering to look back at me as I cried. Other androids with crying children were in front and behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing a stoic face of a girl with dark-blonde hair. I noticed how she appeared to be the same age as me. With her round face sprinkled with light-brown freckles. Her hair hung around her face in a mess, and she stared back at me with brown-hazel eyes that were calm and collected. I felt strange, as I knew she just had to be as scared as I felt. What kid would not be? But at the same time, she seemed so brave in the way she showed no fear. She even marched right along with the android, not pulling back at all. I swallowed heavily, envying the girl as I wish I could be that brave, too. She must be someone special to be so brave. Daddy always said that brave people were special. Just like the soldiers who stood up to the Daleks.

I gasped when I was jerked forward into a room with the half-machine woman. Looking over my shoulder quickly, I saw other children were being placed in rooms around the halls as well. What was going on? What were the androids doing to us?

"Move," ordered the android. "The Masters are waiting." She shoved me towards the weird table that was in the middle of the room.

It was made out of gray metal, that looked cold to the touch. Looking back at the female robot and the table in front of me, I gulped as I reluctantly climbed onto the metal table. It was hard for me as the table was taller than me. But I managed to get onto it and sit in the middle of the large table. Instantly the android shoved me to lay back on the table. It hurt my back in just how forceful she pushed me down. I let out a startled cry when leather straps suddenly came up from below the table and wrapped around me. Breathing in and out quickly, I pulled at the straps that lay across my chest, wrists, legs, and ankles. But they tightened the more I struggled, making it hard for me to breath. It hurt!

"Your name will be 'Alpha' now," said the android female. She came over to me, pressing a sharp metal stamp into the palm of my hand. I cringed as it cut straight into me, making me bleed, marking me with a strange letter. I recognized it from some of my books. It was the first letter in one of the foreign alphabets my father used to read to me.

"B-but—but my name's—," I tried correcting her. But she suddenly hit me forcefully on my face, making me cry out in alarm and pain.

"Your name is Alpha. As deemed by your masters," barked the android.

"That's not my name!" I yelled back in a cry. She smacked me even more harshly that time. Then jabbed her fingers into my temple, sending an electric shock in my system. She leaned over her, baring her metal teeth.

"Alpha, you will learn to respect your masters," she said darkly in a graveling, robotic voice. I felt the information in my head scrambling. Like my mind was being forced to learn this new name I was being told. She then backed up from the table, leaving me there sniffling as I felt my face swelling from where she had hit me.

Metal arms with sharp knives and needles, glowing ends, and tubing came down from the ceiling right towards me. There were eight different, strange angled, silver arms that seemed to look me over. One shone a light right into my face, making me wince from the bright light. All of the arms looked deadly to me, making me even more frightened than before.

"What are these? What are they doing?" I asked the robotic woman, who stood by the wall in dull observation. My voice came out high-pitched in just how terrified I felt. I shook as the arms began to hover around at different angles around me. I tried lifting my head to follow the movements when one went over where I could not see it, and another two beside my head. But then a leather strap came up and slammed my head back down onto the table, strapping across my forehead. My breathing increased. I trembled as I could only see the two hands from the corner of my eyes now, watching in horror as they got closer to me with their needles. Something pierced my neck on either side.

"Aaahh!" I tried keeping in my scream from the pain of the long needles entering my neck. But it just hurt so much. I felt weird right after the pain. I felt . . . really dizzy. I blinked as the room swayed around my vision. I felt relief when the needles exited my neck. Then I felt my left hand being let go of its strap. Only to be turned over to have my wrist face up and to be held down by sharp leather once more. I blinked as I tried shifting my eyes to see what was happening next. A metal arm, bigger than the rest of the skinny ones, had a large needle in place with a thick tubing connecting to the ceiling. Before I could react, it jabbed me right into the crook of my arm. I let out another cry of pain from how deeply the needle went into me. I knew it was going into my vein that would go directly to my hearts. My mother told me all about my biology once. I learn all kinds of things like that. All kids like me did. But why was the arm sending a needle like that into my vein?

My eyes widened as I saw bright golden swirling light, that almost moved and appear like liquid, came down the tubing of the needle. The closer it got to me, the more my hearts raced. I could sense the power the light had. I could sense what the energy was. The energy of the Time Vortex from a TARDIS. And I could sense how wrong it was. It was not something I needed to be around. It was dangerous. My mind screamed of danger and to run away. Like an . . . instinct in me, knowing deep down that this was something that was never supposed to happen to me for what I was, a Time Lord.

I jerked at my restraints when the energy flowed down where the needle was injected into my skin. My breaths came out rapidly as I heard horrible screams and screeches erupting from other rooms. Cries that were bloodcurdling, echoing all along the black walls of the torturous place we were in. What was happening to the other kids? Was . . . was the same thing going to happen to me? Tears began to leak out of the corner of my eyes and down into my chestnut hair. I . . . I was so terrified. I shook and whimpered as my veins suddenly felt like they were on fire. No, not on fire. It was lava running through me. My vision turned blurry, hazy in gold as I knew the energy had reached my hearts as my chest felt ready to burst from how fast they were beating. Then, it was like a thousand long, harsh needles were stabbing me in all directions as I slammed my eyes shut and I felt pain like I never experienced before.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

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I wanted to pretend that I was back home, in my bed, with my mummy and daddy talking out in the family room as they normally do. I wanted to pretend that the cold floor I was laying on was instead my warm, soft bed. I wanted to pretend that the whimpers, cries, and distant muffled screams were nonexistent. I wanted to drift away and to be anywhere but where I was now. But I knew I could not. I was somewhere far away from where I had grown up. Away from my home world. Away from my parents, who were probably worried sick about me. Just as much as I was worried about them.

I lay there on the cold floor, having woken up to find myself in a different place than what I remember last. I guess I must have passed out after I screamed from the pain I had experienced. The machine lady in the room with me must have taken me away after whatever it was that she had been doing to me. What had been done to me? I was so confused and at a loss. All I knew, with me refusing to open my eyes to see where I might be now, that I was hurting all over. My whole body felt weak, heavy, and worn out. I never felt like this before, so I had no clue on how to react to my tired body. All I wanted to do was lay there and try not to cause myself anymore pain. All I wanted to do was lay there, with my eyes closed, and imagine myself away.

But, sadly, I could only hide away for so long.

"Hey, we got some new ones in," I heard a whisper. A girl's voice. Older by the sounds of it.

"Are they dead?" I heard a younger boy ask.

"They could be," an older boy noted. "It wouldn't be the first time them dumb Golems threw in bodies that they assumed survived the process."

"No, this one's breathing. See?" offered the voice I heard from earlier. I heard someone walking over to me. They turned me over from where I lay on my stomach, making me groan and cry out a little as my body screamed in protest to being moved. "Yep, she's alive. Hey there, sweetie, I need you to open your eyes. I know it hurts, but I need to see if your eyes are okay."

Doing as the gentle voice told me to, I blinked open my eyes slowly to see a kind face staring back at me through the very dimly lit dark room. She was definitely older. Had to be a teen from how tall she was compared to me. She had pretty skin, with a deep, rich chocolate colour, big, frizzy hair that stuck out everywhere, and warm brown eyes. The girl's smile was wide, beaming at me when she saw my own hazel eyes staring back at her.

"There's your pretty eyes. You seeing everything okay, sweetie?" the girl said to me kindly.

"Yes. I think so," I replied hoarsely. My throat hurt, burning when I swallowed. I must have hurt it with how much I had been screaming.

"That's good. Many go blind after their first time if they get too strong of a dose," the older girl told me, patting my arm lightly, making me wince from the pain. The girl gave me a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, your body is going to feel like a giant bruise for a while."

"Not just a while. Every single bloody time they give us more doses," I heard the older boy from before say angrily. "I'm tired of being in pain. Can't they give us a break just once?"

"Ssshhh. Don't let them hear you," the younger boy from earlier say, sounding nervous by the idea of either the androids or Daleks would hear them.

"Do you think I give a damn? Let them hear me!" shouted the older boy. "Hey! Dirty Daleks! You hear that! You all go die and burn in—!"

"Shut it! Geez, Boogie, can you get any more thick?" snapped the older girl, glaring at the boys after seeing me shivering the more the older boy yelled. She stared warmly at me again. "Don't mind Boogie. He's got himself a big mouth. Now up you get. You can't just go laying there. You have to push through the pain or else your joints will lock up." I nodded, slowly pushing myself up. The girl helped me by letting me lean my back against her as I panted in pain. My body shook as the stabbing needle feeling hit me over again. I must have let out a whimper for the girl behind me hushed and gently rubbed circles into my shoulders. "I know it hurts sweetie. You just gotta fight through the pain. Pain lets you know you're alive, you know."

"Ha. That's a bunch of bull," grumbled the older boy, Boogie.

I looked over to the older boy, trying to see him through the weak light that was provided by a white lamp, hanging from the ceiling in a corner. The boy, Boogie, was large, bulky, looking to be maybe about as old as the girl who was currently helping me. He had a sharp chin, tan skin, and rich, brown eyes that peeked through his long dark hair. Next to him was a boy that looked very similar to him, making me believe that maybe they were brothers. The boy was close to my age in appearance and was very thin. The ragged red clothes he wore were like tents on him from how small he was.

"Could you show some decency for once?" the older girl barked at Boogie. The older boy rolled his eyes, tugging at the small boy at his side by the hand.

"Come on, Zig. Let's leave Tina to do her usually mushy, mummy stuff," Boogie gnashed, stomping away with his seemingly little brother, Zig, following right behind farther away from me and the older girl, Tina.

Tina chuckled and shook her head, muttering, "Big-headed like always." She then smiled at me. "As you heard, I'm Tina. And, well . . . here's our 'home' I guess."

Blinking, I looked around the room, getting a better view of it. It was a massive room, large enough to hold many with the walls built out of the same black bricks I as I saw before. I could see brown straw had been thrown all over the place, in large piles in some locations for a place to rest. There were others in the room that I did not notice before. Many children from a variety of ages, wearing just as ragged red clothing as the others I met. Some of the children, that I could see clearly, had such vacant looks in their eyes. As though the life had been drained out of them as they merely sat there on the cold ground, slumping in their posture. Others were more mobile, either sitting on the ground rocking back and forth, or pacing around, twitching and muttering manically to themselves.

"Where are we?" I asked Tina, turning to look at her again.

"We're in Station Alpha. The home base and research facility to the Cult of Skaro," Tina explained, her voice monotone as she spoke. Her eyes dimming as she seemed to grow sad and desolate upon talking of where we were at. "The Cult of Skaro, those are the Daleks you met. The ones that picked you up. They experiment on countless of things, testing to see what they can use against our people in this war. We're . . . we're chosen as one of those experiments." Tina glanced around, staring distantly at all of the children in the room. "I guess you could say we're the perfect molds to work with."

"W-we're experiments?" I breathed in horror. I stared at Tina, in pure disbelief, feeling my stomach twist as I felt nauseous.

"I'm afraid so. We're the leftovers, the orphans the Daleks find after a battle, which they then bring us here and begin their work," Tina said calmly, staring at me in remorse. She blinked as I began to shake in the waking horror I realized what I was now in. Tina hastily patted my shoulder, giving me an awkward smile. "Hey, now, don't worry about it. It's going to be fine. You'll see, sweetie. I have faith that one day, the Time Lords still out there will find out what's happening and will save the rest of us." She smiled in encouragement as I sniffled, wiping away my tears. "Let's talk about something else for now. How old are you?"

"Eight," I mumbled weakly, staring down at the dark floor as I felt heavy, at a loss on what to feel at the moment in knowing what kind of place I had been brought to.

"Ah, same age as me when I got here. I'm about twenty now. Few more decades and I'll finally be a teen," she laughed, smiling brightly at me. Her smiled then dropped suddenly as I saw she wanted to ask something else that made her look as though she hated to question me on it. "And . . . what's your name?"

"My name's . . ." I winced as abrupt pain went through my head. I felt the same harsh electrical feeling going through my mind as it had when the female android forced her fingers on my temples. "My name's . . .," I tried again but failed as more pain went through my head. The more I tried saying the name my parents gave me, the more my head hurt. Finally, I gave in and said the name given to me earlier. "My name's Alpha," I sighed.

Tina nodded slowly, gently rubbing my shoulder. "Yeah. We can't say our old names, either. It's something the Golems do to us in the beginning, as ordered by the Daleks. We're numbered by what use the Daleks see use as, and by how many. There . . . was another Alpha here once. But he died, so . . . I guess they gave you that name by chance."

I blinked as I stared at Tina. "Golems?"

"It's the androids you saw before. The ones that—." Tina was cut off as the large door of the room we were in slammed open. She stood up quickly, bringing me with her. It hurt, a lot. But I held in my pain as I stared warily at the open door. Two androids, one dragging in an unconscious girl, and the other pulling in a large sack. Both threw in what they were carrying into the room, letting the sack and girl hit the floor with a thunk. Then the two robotic adults left, slamming the door behind them, leaving us in the dark room once more.

Kids began swarming towards the large sack, attacking rapidly for whatever was inside of it. They even started yelling at each other as they pulled at the bag between each other. I stared at the sight in shock while Tina hurriedly left my side.

"Hey! You all have to share! I have a system for a reason, you know!" she shouted at them, seeming to push her way into the mess. All the while, I stood there, blankly staring at the sight. What the heck was up with those kids? I glanced around, seeing how quite a few others made no movement at all. Just staying where they were, continuously rocking on the floor or pacing. Blinking, I looked back at the girl laying on the floor that the androids had brought in. With my breath catching in my throat, I recognized her. Yeah . . . she was the one that had been marched along behind me from before. The girl who was so calm and brave. I wonder if she is okay.

I moved stiffly, trying to fight through my sore, aching body as I walked over to her. Crouching down slowly, I hesitated as I looked at her unconscious form. I could tell that the androids had been rough with her. She looked really hurt from all the marks on her. Maybe she tried fighting them off? I was afraid to touch her. I wanted to check up on her, but . . . what if she was . . . dead? I swallowed heavily, slowly reaching forward to grab the girl's shoulder. I turned her over, making her lay on her back. She let out a small moan of pain, but I felt happy that she was alive. Frowning, I began shaking her, hoping that she might wake up. I wanted to talk to her. Like Tina talked to me. Maybe check up on her while Tina was busy.

"Hey . . . Are you okay?" I asked the sleeping girl quietly.

"I'll be fine if you stop shaking me," retorted the girl in a grumble. I quickly let go of her, seeing how she peeked open an eye at me. I blinked, staring at her nervously. I did not say anything to her. Even though I wanted to, I . . . just did not know what to say. Maybe trying to wake her up had been a bad idea. I saw how she frowned at me. Was she annoyed with me? She might be. I meekly stared back at her, really unsure of what to say or do now. Tina was still fighting the children over what seemed to be a large sack of food and water. So . . . what should I do?

"I—I like your hair," I finally said, meekly staring back at her as she stared intently at me. "I . . . I like blonde hair." I mumbled out the last part, gazing away as she only stared at me as though I were mad.

"Okay, now that I've gotten the animals settled, here's your portion for the day."

I looked up to see Tina holding out a small portion of bread. She smiled as she held it out to me.

"They only give us a bag of this stuff a couple times a week, so I have a system in sharing. Which people tend to forget about around here," Tina shot a glare at some of the passing children. They paid her no mind, simply going over to their isolated spots in the room with their share of bread to eat. Tina smiled at me and the other girl. "If you get thirsty, there's a dripping pipe in the corner of this place. And in the other corner is where there's a hole where, well," she cleared her throat lightly in embarrassment, "where you can do your business." Tina sat down next to me and where the blonde girl lay. Munching on her own piece of bread, Tina nodded at the one piece in my hand. "Well? Aren't you going to share?"

"Oh," I mumbled, glancing down at the piece in my hand. Carefully, I ripped it in half, handing it to the one girl, who now sat up in place. I smiled the best I could at her. "Here."

The girl sort of just stared at me for a bit, then at the piece of bread. She huffed, snatching it away from me before getting up and storming away from me and Tina. I stared at the girl in confusion. I felt hurt by what she did. Why was she acting mean? Did I do something wrong? Tina tapped me on the shoulder, making me look to see her smiling kindly.

"Don't worry. Everyone handles being here the first day differently, so don't hold it against her," Tina told me, biting into her bread piece. "Once people get used to this place, they come around." I looked back down at my piece of bread, staring at the crusty, overcooked, surface. The more I sat there in silence, staring at the bread, the more I knew this was real. I was really . . . here. I sniffled as my bottom lip trembled. Then, I began to weep as I held my one piece of comfort food at my chest.

"I-I want my m-mummy and da-daddy," I cried as the tears poured down my face. I felt Tina hold me close as I knew that, even though I wanted to see them so badly again, my parents were long gone. And I would never see them again.

XxXxXxXx

Three Months Later

I learned later that only I and the one other girl were the only survivors from the first process of the Vortex Experiment. Forty children were taken from my village. Ten died from the Daleks in the refusal of being experimented on. The rest died from the experiment itself. It was normal, from what Tina explained. Many could not live from the energy. And the few that deemed as high priority in being kept alive to continue with the experiments.

The experiments continued on after this. There were many children in the room I had been placed into, with many more in other rooms throughout the facility. Each of us placed through the Vortex experiments in different ways. Every day the Golems (people who were once normal Time Lords now turned into lifeless, robotic zombies) would drag each of us out into the testing chambers. Pumping us more with chemicals, shocking our minds with more information and forced thoughts of their choosing, and a little bit of Vortex energy each day. As well as having the Daleks come to observe us every once and a while to see what effects would happen. Sometimes they would do things to us just out of curiosity. As though they just wanted to see how far they could push our bodies up to death. Many did die. Every day two, six, or maybe ten children died. Unable to live after the stress their bodies are put through. Every day I was forced into the chair for more needles to go into me, I think 'Is this it? Is this the day I'm going to die?' I hated every moment of the experiments, hearing the other children's screams and howls echoing around the place, and being placed through such torture. I tried fighting back during some moments when I became too scared. But, just like the first female Golem had done to me, they forced electric shocks through my mind, rewriting my brain into obedience.

Tina told me it was a way to 'program' us. A way to get us to do what the Daleks wanted us to do. Our minds were made to focus on what the Daleks, 'our new masters', wanted. It hurt too much to fight the programming. We all had to do as the Daleks and Golems said. But that does not mean that the other kids were not smart in finding other ways of fighting back. I actually could not help but snicker every time the others would figure out ways to get back at the Golems. Not the Daleks. They were too frightening to fight back against. But the Golems were fun to mess with.

Names were the biggest way to fight back. Each kid gave themselves their own new names after our original ones were lost to us. Since our brains hurt whenever we tried saying our old names, we each gave ourselves new nicknames as a way to rebel against the Daleks and Golems. In secret, though. The nicknames were never said out loud in front of the Golems and Daleks in case of more trouble was made. And . . . and I was too afraid to give myself a nickname, either. What if the Golems and Daleks hurt me even more? No, I just kept the new name they gave me. 'Alpha.' It was not so bad, is what I told Tina when she tried getting me to nickname myself. Alpha was fine for me. Tina explained to me that she chose her nickname from a reference to a river she once lived by. She always loved that river.

The one girl that I met on the same day when I arrived, she did not follow along with the name they forced onto her. She immediately called herself 'Shelly.' A name that apparently was important to her that had been passed down in her family. Shelly . . . she was so brave. I wished I could be like her. She always fought against the Golems and Daleks. Not so much to get herself killed, but enough to make them punish her at times. And she would laugh right at them afterward and say in retort 'You're all still a bunch of idiots!'

I would repeatedly try to talk to Shelly after these times, trying to give me and her a chance to get to know her better. But she would ignore me every time, refusing to look at me while I sat there talking, trying to share bread with her. She would take the pieces I would give her, but she never said anything in return. She would just munch on the pieces, stare at the wall across from us, and not say a single thing while I talked.

One day, when she came back into the holding room, thrown in by the Golems, I just sat where I was, licking my own wounds from the day and trying to push through the effects of the experiments and Vortex energy on my body. Shelly went over to her usual spot, sitting down in a huff. I sat there, staring distantly at the ground, waiting for Tina to come back from her own tests for the day as I wanted to cuddle with her as I normally did after I was hurting. I blinked as something hit me lightly on the shoulder, making me look down next to me to see a small rock roll by my side. Frowning in confusion, I looked up towards where it would have come from, seeing Shelly staring at me in bewilderment.

"Well? Aren't you going to come over and talk with me, idiot?" she huffed at me, giving me a curt nod before looking at the wall across from her. She held out a hunk of cheese and large bread. "Snatch these from the Golems when they weren't looking. Come share it with me. I ain't gonna eat this all by myself you know." I could not help but smile brightly, scooting over to sit next to her. She passed me a piece of less moldy cheese and bread chunk, staring at the wall as she munched and I chatted away. I would catch her smiling every so often, and I would beam away in happiness.

From that day on, we became good friends.

XxXxXxXx

Six Months Later

Tina was always on top of things. Being the oldest, and the one who had been here the longest, she knew exactly how to handle situations that unfolded. I guess that was why Tina became sort of the leader/mother of everyone here. Everyone listened to her . . . for the most part. There might be a few who would be troublemakers and fight back, like Boogie and a few others who were almost as old as Tina. But in the end, all would come around and follow along with Tina's instructions. After all, her word was what kept us alive. Without her around, I do not think anyone would last as long as we did.

I was constantly around Tina and Shelly. I was too scared to be away from them. Everything about Station Alpha . . . it was terrifying. Especially as my body was subjected to the experiments of the Daleks. But Tina and Shelly, I felt safe around them. I felt brave. And hopeful, too. Hopeful that we might finally get out of this place and that I could find my family again.

"Ha! Find your family? What a joke! Your parents are long dead!" Boogie laughed at me with a bark after I said this out loud in a joyful exclamation to the other kids around me. Boogie was one of the other oldest here in Station Alpha. The one who would make fun of other kids and mess around against Tina most often. He was very strong from the types of experiments the Daleks did on him. The same chemicals that the rest of us got, too. But he got a much higher rate. They gave him extra doses of the muscle-enhancing chemicals each time, trying to see just how strong they could make him. But with that strength, came the raging temperaments from him. Sometimes, he would hit around other kids and slam his fist into the walls. He was also really mean-spirited against everyone. Everyone, except his little brother, Zig, of course. Only Zig, the small, shy, quiet boy, held any sort of control and calm over Boogie. Which was a good thing of certain as it helped Tina be able to manage Boogie's temper. For the most part, anyway.

I stomped my foot as I glared at him. "Cut it out, Boogie! They are not dead!" I yelled at him. "You'll see! I bet the High Council of the Time Lords around going to save us. Just like they saved those other worlds. Mum and dad told me all about it." I grinned proudly, just knowing that we would be rescued. Any day now, as the war outside the facility grew and the more children were taken, I knew the High Council would see what the Cult of Skaro was up to. The Time Lords would see, know what was going on, and would stop it, saving us all.

"Hahahaha! You think they give a damn about anyone?" Boogie snapped angrily at me.

"Shut it, Boogie!" Shelly snapped at Boogie when I was about to retort back, getting upset by the idea of all of us never being able to leave. Shelly came up beside me, placing an arm around my shoulders. "Just because you don't have faith, Boogie, doesn't mean the rest of us haven't given up yet. I bet they will come, too. Then we can all kick some Dalek butt afterward." She winked at me, making me smile lightly.

"You're both delusional," Boogie barked at us. "Wake up! We're never going to get out of here. We're going to die right here, in this stupid damp lab, pumped full of whatever radioactive chemicals the Daleks and Golems feel like, and waste away into nothing, thrown out like the trash they see us as." I lowered my head, wincing as Boogie said all of this. I began fearing this might actually be true. Would we become like that? Nothing more than throwaways for the Daleks?

"You want me to pop you in the mouth for being a jerk?" Shelly yelled in retort, stepping up towards Boogie with her fist up.

"I'd like to see you try," Boogie sneered, taking his own step aggressively towards Shelly. I whimpered, backing up in fear. Why did these two always have to fight? I hated fighting. Whenever people yelled, it reminded me of the yelling voices of the Daleks.

"Shelly, that's enough," Tina ordered as she came over to where we were standing. Tina had been over in a different corner of the room, helping some children out in dealing with the normal pains of the daily experiments. She would often get onto Shelly about the girl's temper. If anyone had a temper as bad as Boogie, it was Shelly.

"He started it!" Shelly yelled, stomping her foot in frustration as Tina began dragging her away. I hurried along after them.

"Boogie starts a lot of things. Doesn't mean you need to get down to his level of being a moron," Tina sighed in exasperation. She pushed Shelly into a corner to sit. Shelly made a loud humph before sitting on the floor, crossing her arms in an angered pout. I scooted down next to Shelly, crossing my legs as I sat there looking up towards a disappointed Tina.

"Sorry, Tina. It was my fault," I said, trying to make it so Tina was not too mad at Shelly. I stared down sadly at my feet. "I just want to keep hoping that mum and dad will come get me."

"Of course they will," Tina said softly, smiling as she crouched down in front of me. "We have to always have hope living in here. Without hope, what do we have?" I gave Tina a big smile. She was always full of hope and strength. Without Tina here for us all, keeping our spirits up, I do not know what we would do.

"Inspection! Stand at attention for your masters!"

We all immediately jumped to our feet, standing at attention. A female Golem stood in the doorway, standing straight as she stared us all down after barking her order. I began to shiver as I heard the whirring machinery of the Daleks coming towards the room from outside the open doorway. Every time I heard that sound of the Daleks, or heard the voice of Dalek Sec or Caan or Thay or Jast, I grew frightened. We children did not see the Daleks much. Maybe a few times during the week. But once a month . . . there were inspections.

These were the times Dalek Sec, or maybe one of the others, would come in and take note of all the progress of us. Of the progress the experiments were doing to us. They would do scans, see what the energy being placed inside of us was doing to our bodies, and if we were growing into the weapons the Daleks wanted us to be. I was not sure when the Daleks were ever going to be satisfied enough with anyone's progress to finally stop the experiments. It almost made me wonder if the Daleks never were going to be satisfied and were only going to continue until they had used every last drop of the Time Vortex energy they had stored up from the old TARDIS they had stolen.

I shivered even more as I heard the Daleks getting closer. I felt Tina bump lightly against me, making me look up at her. She smiled, holding up her thumb to show her pinching it. Then mouthed the words 'breath to three.' It was something she taught me in how to control my fears. She had said how by pinching my thumb, I could hold onto something would help make me feel grounded. And counting to three would help calm my mind. So, taking a deep breath, I nodded to her, grabbing my thumb between my fingers to give it a good pinch as she showed me, and slowly counted to three. I smiled at her when I did feel calmer, knowing I could face the Daleks now without shivering at least.

"Prepare for scanning," Dalek Sec barked at us as soon as he entered the room. We all straightened even more, standing absolutely still. If any of us moved, we would be in trouble. The Daleks wanted nothing more than absolute obedience.

I continued to pinch my thumb as the Dalek moved from each of the children one by one. There were not many of us in the room. About forty or so. There had been more than that when I arrived, but . . . many passed on since then. I closed my eyes tightly when the Daleks finally wheeled up to me, scanning me with its one arm. I held my breath until it passed onto the next person to scan. I glanced over, seeing Dalek Sec move down the line, reaching past Boogie and was now scanning Zig. The boy was shaking even worse than I. I felt bad for him. Zig was always such a shy and quiet boy. Very polite as well. He did not deserve to be in this kind of place. None of us did.

I, and everyone else around me, tensed when we heard the beeping from Dalek Sec's scan. The Dalek scooted back slightly from the boy, eyeing him closely with the blue eyestalk.

"Oh, no," I heard Tina breath in horror next to me.

"Not again," Shelly whispered on my other side. She looked at me, shaking her head rapidly. "Why Zig?" I bit my lip, keeping myself quiet. Too afraid to even whisper of my horrified state.

"You are weak. You will be processed," Dalek Sec ordered at the terrified looking Zig.

"What?!" Boogie yelled in alarm as he watched in horror as his brother was swiftly dragged off by two Golems. He swiftly pushed past Dalek Sec and went after his frightened little brother. "You can't! He's fine! There's nothing wrong with him! He doesn't need to be processed!"

"You will stay back in line!" ordered the Dalek. A Golem came up, pushing Boogie back to the wall while Zig cried for his brother down the hall, dragged away to a chamber for processing.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the shouts, thinking on the poor fate of Zig. This happened every so often. When the Daleks came in to scan us for progress, if they saw that the experiments were not making us stronger, then they would send us back for 'processing.' Basically, it was a harsh dose of chemicals and Vortex energy pumped into our bodies, force feeding us at a much faster rate than normal. The Daleks were trying to speed up the process of the Vortex energy binding with our bodies if they deemed us as too weak from the normal daily doses. And every time someone was sent back to be processed . . . they never came back.

Boogie continued to yell even after Dalek Sec and the Golems had left. He slammed himself into the steel, deadlocked door of the room, screaming at the top of his lungs in rage.

"Boogie, you've got to calm down. They'll come back and get you, too, if you keep it up," Tina tried saying soothingly to him after the other children had scattered back into the room, hiding away from the world around them. Only Shelly and I remained close to Boogie in concern.

"I don't care! They took my brother!" Boogie screamed in anger at Tina.

"I know. I'm so sorry," Tina whispered solemnly. Boogie pushed her away when she tried to give him a hug. Storming over to a dark corner of the room, he sat there, fuming away, crying as he knew his brother would never come back. Zig had been the only thing left for Boogie. And now . . .

"We've got to do something," Shelly said quickly to Tina.

"There's nothing we can do," Tina responded, shaking her head sadly. "I've been here too long to know what comes from processing."

After a few moments of solemn silence, the three of us walked over to the far wall, sitting down to think about what was happening to poor Zig. I did not know much of what exactly was done with the forceful processing. Tina knew. But she never told us what exactly happens. I guess she just did not want us to think about it. I, and others, looked up in shock when suddenly, after an hour of nothing, the door to our cell block was opened. Two Golems came in carrying . . .

"Zig!" Boogie exclaimed in relief as his brother was tossed into the room. I stared at the small boy, shocked beyond all belief that they had brought him back. Did they not go through with the processing? Zig looked fine enough. Sure, they tossed him to the ground quite harshly, but other than that . . . No, something was wrong from what I could see it. While Boogie hovered around his brother worry, I could see Zig having horrible shakes throughout his whole body. He was drenched in sweat. His tattered red clothing stuck to his body, completely soaked. He gripped at his head as though he was experiencing the worst headache in his life. He moaned, whimpering in pleas to his brother.

"Boogie," Zig cried as he gripped his head harder, "I don't feel good."

"Hey, it's all right. You're alive, that's all that matters," Boogie tried to say in reassurance. I snapped out of my daze in watching the brothers when I heard Tina's sharp intake of breath. Looking over, I saw the wide eyes of horror on her face.

"We need to get out of here," I heard her breath.

"Tina?" I asked in concern, nervous on why she seemed frightened. Shelly scooted closer to me, grabbing my hand.

"Guys . . . look at Zig," she whispered, pointing at the boy on the floor. I was stunned when I stared at the boy, seeing the slowly strengthening glow hue expanding from him. I could feel a strange sensation going through the air. Like heated light from the sun.

"We all need to get out of here, now!" Tina suddenly barked loudly, full of authority. She rushed over to the door of the room, banging her hand on it rapidly. Fortunately for us, the Golems had only just left seconds ago. So they immediately opened the door when Tina began to scream, "He's destabilizing!"

They seemed to know what exactly had Tina so alarmed, for they hurriedly opened the door wide as possible, standing at attention and waving a hand towards us children.

"Evacuation is in order!" barked one of the male Golems. Children, who had been living in the facility for a long while, hurriedly, in swift motion, ran right out of the room as Tina waved them out. Other children, who had been brought later than even Shelly and I, lingered behind in confusion. They seemed to feel the same bewilderment as I and Shelly felt. What was going on? What was happening to Zig?

"Tina, what's happening?" Shelly asked when Tina rushed back over to us. The older girl yanked on both of our arms, dragging us out of the room.

"We have to go. He's going to fall apart and take everyone with him!" Tina said in a panic. I looked back over my shoulder, seeing Zig cry out while his body became consumed by the golden light.

"Boogie, help me!" Zig screamed out one last time before his voice became too gurgled. Boogie stayed by his younger brother's side, trying to comfort him. A few other children remained in the room as well. Either out of confusion as to where to go or what was going on or because they too were too far gone from their minds to understand the dangerous situation that was occurring. The Golems slammed the door right behind me, seconds after I had escaped with Tina and Shelly. Just seconds as I heard the most horrible, bloodcurdling screams coming from within the room. A bright, blinding light could be seen coming from the crack of the door, making me wince from the harsh nature of the light. I clung to Tina's arm, terrified by what was happening, even though I had no idea of what exactly was going on. All I knew was the screams made shivers go down my spine. It would be a sound I would never forget.

Soon, the golden light disappeared from the door crack, leaving us in a seemingly deep darkness in comparison. After a tense minute of dead silence, all of us children jumped, startled when one of the Golems gruffly spoke up.

"Evacuation has ceased. Return to your sleeping courters," ordered the Golem. All of us children glanced at each other, surprised and shocked that the Golems would want us to return back into the room after what happened. And better yet, most of us were still confused on what had happened. I worried over the fate of Boogie, Zig, and all the others who had been trapped within.

The fate of those became quite clear once the Golems opened the door for us. Peeking in, I, and a few others, gasped when we saw the black pile of ash where Zig had been, and the piles of gray dust what would have been Boogie and the other children. I felt horrified and sick to my stomach as it churned at the sight in the dark room. What . . . what happened?

"You bastards," I heard Tina mutter darkly under her breath. I was surprised by this as I never heard Tina sound so . . . enraged before. I glanced at her, seeing how much she shook in place in her fury.

"Tina?" I asked quietly, my voice coming out weak from just how terrified I was of what I saw within the room. My voice begged for answers as to what had happened, wanting to know if Tina was going to be okay with how furious she appeared to be, but . . .

I tensed when I heard the whirring machinery of the Daleks coming towards us. I and all others scooted back in an automatic submission when Dalek Sec and Dalek Thay came over to inspect what we were staring at. The Daleks observed the scene for a moment, taking in the sight.

"We ordered for experiment Delta to be placed in holding cell Thirty for observations. Who is responsible for allowing Delta to expire and exterminate the other experiments?" barked Dalek Sec, turning to stare at the Golems around us. A male Golem stepped forward, staring at his master with the same dead look as all other Golems had.

"I placed Delta into the experiment chambers. I miscalculated his processing," droned the Golem.

"You will be exterminated for your mistakes," responded Dalek Sec harshly.

"Yes, my Master," said the male Golem, bowing to his master. With a quick fire from a Dalek beam, the Golem was killed right in front of us. Us children flinched while the Golems stared on, unfazed. A couple Golems came over, picking up their dead fellow and dragging him down the hall while the two Daleks started to move down the opposite direction towards the main laboratory.

"Processing unsuccessful. We must adjust formulas for future experiments," Dalek Sec began talking with Dalek Thay. Not even giving any of us children a second glance. It made my stomach twist in knowing just how little they thought of us all. Even the Golems.

"Bastards!"

I jumped when Tina suddenly screamed next to me. Looking at her in fright, I shook my head at her in warning, pleading for her to get back in line with us as she stomped right out of the group and towards the Daleks.

"Don't you even care?! You heartless bastards! How could you?! He was only a child! And you killed him!" she screamed at the metal creatures, shaking from head to toe as she stood in the hall, raging at the Daleks. "It's never going to work! Can't you see that?! Don't you realize that we're all going to die?!" Dalek Thay ignored her, moving right along. Dalek Sec turned back around, staring at Tina with its sharp blue, glowing eyestalk.

"Death is necessary for our goals. For our triumph against the Time Lords," retorted Dalek Sec. "You should feel honoured to serve the Daleks, to be our weapons." Dalek Sec turned back around, continuing on as though the conversation at ended. Tina, however, had other ideas.

"We are not your weapons! We will never serve you Daleks! You hear me! The Time Lords will win! The Gallifrey will never fall to the likes of you!" Tina screamed with all her might at the Daleks in her hatred for them.

"Tina!" Shelly shouted, running over to the older girl. Shelly tugged on Tina's hand, trying to get her to join the group again. "Come on, it's not worth it. We can't lose you, too." Tina continued to glare darkly at the retreating backs of the Daleks. Eventually, she looked back at the group of children and the hard-staring Golems. She looked at me after a moment. I stared back, frightened by seeing her anger. I understood why she was angry, it was just . . . I did not want her to die because of it.

"Back to your chamber," barked at Golem to us children, jabbing a finger in the direction of the doorway. The kids did not hesitate, rushing back into the room in fear of what would happen next. Even though I was sure all of us felt the same revulsion in seeing what was inside the room. A Golem actually went in, gathering up what remained of Zig and stomping back out, taking him who knows where to. My heart went out to Zig, wishing this day could have gone differently. I flinched and backed away when the Golem walked by me. My stomach did flips. What happened on this day was something I hoped to never see again.

"Come on, Alpha."

I jumped, startled when I realized I had been staring at nothing for a while and that Shelly had been calling me. She patted my shoulder, staring at me in concern. I wondered what my face looked like in this moment. It made me question if whether or not I was pale from the way my friend seemed ready to catch me at any moment. I felt ready to fall at any second, so I ended up holding onto her as we walked back into the room together. I heard the Golems sending Tina a few harsh words before she too joined everyone in the room scattered with gray dust and straw.

"Tina?" I called to my friend, my sister. Tina shook her head, not even glancing towards me and Shelly.

"Not now," Tina said gruffly, her voice wavering in thick emotion. She walked over to a bare corner of the room, sitting down to curl up into herself. I held onto Shelly even tighter after that, only wishing for comfort from my big sister and best friend.

XxXxXxXx

Tina explained to us on what exactly happened to Zig and the others a few days later after that. After she had been in a silent mourning for the loss of life. Boogie and Zig had been one of the very first to arrive here in the Dalek's lab with Tina. The two boys had been here since day one of the experiments, and it had really rocked Tina to the core in losing two people that she knew so well in such a way. And after she explained it all to me and Shelly, it truly was such a horrific way.

Apparently, the kind of processing the Daleks would put one of the children through when deemed too 'weak' was ten times more violent and overwhelming then the first insertion that everyone went through in the beginning. The Golems and Daleks would overpower the person's system with large doses of Time Vortex energy and who knows what else kind of chemicals. Then they would force electricity down us, trying to get a reaction. Usually, then, the experimented child would be thrown into a cell and held there for observation by the Daleks. None had ever survived the process for the Vortex in such large doses into a body, of any species, even Time Lords, was too much. The body would literally combust from the energy. They would burn up as the energy acted violently, bursting out of them in a blast that would kill anyone and anything around them, turning all into dust in mere seconds.

This was why it was so strange that the Golems had even brought Zig back to the chambers in the first place. Maybe the Golems wanted to see people burn? Or maybe sometimes, there were even glitches in the Golems minds from the way they had been created in the first place? Whatever the reason, Tina said it did happen sometimes. A child brought back from such experiments. It would always lead to the child destabilizing. And when I asked Tina why the Daleks would keep doing such experiments when they knew it never worked, she merely replied, 'I guess they just don't know when to give up.'

Now, it had been several years since I have first arrived here. I felt much older now. The experiments were still rough as ever. But with Shelly and Tina around, I learned to handle them. Shelly grew to become the support for when things got too rough for us, cracking jokes like no tomorrow and putting up a tough act to keep our spirits up. Tina was still the mother figure to us all. She kept a smile on her face through thick and thin. Though, as more and more children around us died, I noticed the smile starting to waver. I felt bad for Tina as I knew that with each death, she would blame herself in some ways. It would just break her hearts every time. So I tried to follow in Shelly's lead in keeping spirits up as well. I did not want Tina to feel as though she had to carry any burdens of what was happening to us. I wanted her just as happy as she made me and Shelly.

Currently, Tina, Shelly, and I lay on the cold floor, staring out a very small window towards the starry sky overhead. It was the only window in the new chamber the Golems had moved us children into a few months ago. They had done so when the numbers of the experimented children had become so small lately. Only twenty or so now throughout the entire Station. Now, in the new room that was closer to the main lab of the Daleks, they had better control over us. There was constant monitoring, with no real privacy for us kids, and the experiments grew even worse than before. Pushing our bodies to limits that I never thought possible. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. It hurt to live. But we all pushed on. Or, at least, the ones that were determined to push on. Others simply gave up and wasted away. I felt like doing the same, but . . . Shelly and Tina kept me going. Without them . . . I did not know what I would do.

I think the same went for each of them as well. We kept each other going as a family. Doing little things that would brighten our days through the thick gloom of darkness in our lives. Like now, for instances. We sat there in the bed of straw, cuddled up next to each other like we would do at night to sleep. It was the only way to keep each other warm from cold. It was comforting. And while we laid there, staring up at the always night sky, we played a game of guessing constellations in the stars. There were not many that we could pick from since it was such a small opening to stare out from. But it was fun nonetheless. Plus, the longer we laid staring, the more the stars would shift as the planet we were on rotated. Which gave us different stars to look at.

"Why isn't there a monkey star system?" Shelly blurted out after Tina picked out a funny shaped constellation that looked like a bird.

"Maybe there is for those living on different planets," Tina replied, shrugging.

"What are 'monkeys'?" I asked curiously, lifting my head up a bit from where it had been laying on Shelly's chest.

"Oh, right. I forgot you never had a chance to go to school or explore around to different planets with your parents," Tina responded, frowning as she tried to ponder over a way to explain the term to me. She rubbed a hand through my hair lightly where her hand was resting, the same that she would occasionally do for Shelly as well. "Well, they're these strange creatures who walk on all fours, but sometimes on two legs . . . and they have fur all over . . . have tails, unless they're apes, which apes are like monkeys but without tails, but they all look like apes . . . they're pretty smart . . . You know, sweetie, I really can't explain them unless I could show you. What I can say is that most species of monkey live on a planet called 'Earth.' It's the planet where beings called 'humans' live. They look a lot like us."

"There's a lot of worlds where people look like us," Shelly remarked, sounding bored by the sort of 'lesson' Tina was giving. "Humans are nothing special for that."

"Really?" I replied, amazed by this information. Other places with Time Lord-like people? That sounded weird. Whenever I thought of other worlds, I always just imagined robots like the Daleks or something. "Have you guys seen 'humans'?"

"Sure. I've seen them in encyclopedias that my parents had. They were professors at the Academy before it closed down because of the war," Shelly said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"And I've seen humans once during a day trip me and my family took for fun," Tina added, smiling at me when I gave her a look of awe. "Earth is a nice place. Really far from this side of the universe. They don't really have to worry about wars between other planets and such like we do."

"Yeah. They just have to worry about not killing each other all the damn time," Shelly laughed sourly. "What a bunch of dummies."

"Shelly," Tina scolded, smacking Shelly in the back of the head smartly, "it's not nice to make fun of lower developed worlds. They don't know any better yet, but they'll get there one day." Shelly only laughed, pushing Tina's hand away as she gave the older girl a grin of humour.

I gave Tina a curious expression, stating, "So you've been to other worlds before? What was it like travelling?"

"Oh, it's wonderful," Tina sighed in remembrance. "The first time I got to step onto a new planet . . . it was like magic. I couldn't stop smiling the whole day. My parents kept laughing at me about it."

I smiled along with Tina as she told me and Shelly stories of different worlds she had been to. Not many worlds. But still, enough to give Tina such happy memories. But then, the more Tina talked over her wishes to continue on in travelling, the more I noticed her expression saddening. Another thing that been happening a lot lately was Tina's moods suddenly going from happiness to sadness in an instant. It made me worried . . . but I figured that it was just her still being upset by the deaths that were going on around us. If it was anything serious, Tina would have come to me and Shelly about it by now.

"So . . . do any of you have dreams of travelling, too?" she finally ended her stories in asking us this question.

"Sure! I'd love to see that planet you were talking about. Earth sounds fun," Shelly responded enthusiastically. "I would definitely like to see different planets in the past, though. Learning history in those encyclopedias was always fun. But seeing history firsthand would be amazing!" Shelly began poking me when she realized I was staying quiet. "What about you, Alpha?"

"Um . . . I don't know," I answered with a shrug. "I guess that sounds nice. But I'd rather just stay somewhere quiet like where I used to live."

"Psh. Boring," Shelly said in a sing-song voice, poking me in the side. "You're such a dork. Why be normal in just living in one place all the time?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging again as I stared thoughtfully out towards the starry sky. "I guess I just don't really want to travel. Living in one place for a relaxing life sounds perfect to me."

We all sat up when the door of the chamber opened quickly. In walked a few Golems, dragging in a limp child by his arms. They just dropped him on the cold floor, marching back out and slamming the door behind them. I glanced at Tina, waiting for her to get up and go over to the child in comfort like she always did. But she merely sat there, staring at the lying child with unnerved eyes. As if becoming unsettled and unhinged by the sight. I had never seen her so disturbed before. She was always so strong through everything. But now . . .

"Tina? Sh-should we check up on them?" I asked her quietly, shaking her shoulder to get her out of her daze. She blinked, looking at me as if she wanted to beg for me to do it instead. But then she swallowed heavily, getting up from the ground with me and Shelly following. Walking over, we all crouched next to the fallen child, turning them over to see if they were all right. Sadly, it was too late for any help. They were gone. The Golems had brought back a dead child by mistake once again.

"I . . . I can't take this anymore," I heard Tina say in a weak, tearful voice. Looking over, I was shocked to see her clutching her head, tears leaking down her face as she gazed at the dead child before us. "Why? Why won't they stop? Why can't they just let us go? I want—want to g-go home." She began to sob, breaking down completely. I sat there frozen, unsure of what to do. I had always seen Tina as strong. I never once believed she would ever cry. And now . . . What could I possibly do for her?

"Hey, now, don't . . . don't talk like that," Shelly said quickly after glancing at me briefly, seeing how the sight of Tina crying had me anxious and afraid. Shelly scooted over to Tina, patting her on the back awkwardly in hopes to comfort the teen. "You're always saying it yourself. We'll get out of this mess. You'll see." Shelly gave a crooked smile in hopes to cheer up the older girl. But Tina merely continued to cry.

"Let's face it. They're never coming. We're as good as dead," Tina spat out while she cried, her voice thick from the tears. She let her hands drop limply onto her lap, staring at the dead child with a blank gaze. "I can't stop any of this. I'm useless. I'm no good to anyone. I'm no good anymore. Why do I even bother anymore?" Both me and Shelly glanced at each other in urgency, disturbed by what Tina was saying. But before we could comfort the older girl, the door opened swiftly with Golems coming in for a routine programming. Both Shelly and I were called for testing with some other children as it was our scheduled turn for the day. Standing up reluctantly, both Shelly and I said bye to Tina, assuring her we would be back later to play more stargazing games. I hoped that by giving Tina the promise for something relaxing to do later, that maybe she would be at ease. But as I walked out of the room with the others, seeing the broken, distressed expression on Tina's face, I felt . . . troubled and worried for her. Would she be okay until Shelly and I came back?

It was a few hours later before the Golems and Daleks deemed me worthy enough to be finished with the programming and tests for the day. I noticed how Dalek Caan, who had been observing me, seemed very satisfied by something or another. Apparently, my progress was doing very well compared with the other children. Weird. I did not feel any different. I mean, sure, I had been . . . developing some weird abilities lately. Like I could seemingly control atomic structures of objects around me, such as bend them into new forms and such. But I knew there were other children who could do that already. So why were they interested in me progression?

I ended up being the last child back into the chamber for the night because of how long Dalek Caan held me back. I stumbled into the room as the Golem pushed me harshly from behind. The door slammed just behind my back. I glanced towards the ground, nervous to see if the child from before were still on the ground. I let out a breath of relief when seeing the dead child had indeed been taken away. Good. I was glad that we did not have to look at that sight any longer.

Walking forward to go find Tina, I frowned in confusion when seeing all the children from the chamber were gathered around a certain corner of the room. All seemed to be huddled up, surrounding something or another. Each one had either a blank stare or were crying in sadness. I saw Shelly's back, shaking on the spot as she too stared at what everyone was observing.

"What's happened?" I asked loudly, quickening in my pace to get over to the group. I worried for a moment that maybe another small child had passed on in a horrible way again. It happened more often than any of us wished to see. Shelly turned around quickly, facing me with such sorrowful eyes and demeanour of mourning.

"Alpha . . . it's Tina," Shelly said, her voice wavering, thick with tears. Her bottom lip even trembled as she tried holding in sobs. I stopped in my tracks, staring at her in utter confusion.

"What about Tina? Did—," I stopped speaking, eyes growing wide as I feared the worse. Swallowing, I spoke again, "Did they take her away for more testing?" I tried peeking over her shoulder to see what was on the ground that all the children were staring at. I noticed how a few had looked away, now staring at me with such pity in their eyes.

Shelly gulped, seeming as though she were about to be sick from what she had to tell me. "I'm sorry, Alpha . . . I don't think she wanted to live anymore."

"What?" I stared at Shelly in alarm, hearts racing by what her words indicated. I began shaking my head lightly at first, then more rapidly as my mind race to denial. "No . . . no, don't say that. . ." My voice broke as I rushed forward, pushing Shelly out of the way for me to see what all had been gazing to. And upon the sight, my world seemed to crash around me. "NO! TINA!"

XxXxXxXx

I hope the warning helped any be prepared for this chapter. I hope it was not too hard to read. :( Please let me know what you think! I would love to hear all your thoughts in a review. That is if you have time to of course. :)

Reviewers:

normandy1701: I'm so glad that you liked it. :) Oh yes, so many implications. But none for the anniversary adventure. Not yet at least. But don't worry, that adventure will appear sometime in the future. ;) Bad Wolf just sort of comes and goes where she's needed. Sort of like the TARDIS herself. I hope that this chapter was not too painful to read. Until next time! Take care! :)

FictionalBoysAreBetter: haha I love that saying. Not bad at all. I get that way all the time. Especially in releasing a said painful chapter. I feel horrible releasing all that sadness at you readers. But at the same time so excited to see what everyone thinks of it. :D Hope you enjoyed as well! Cannot wait to see from you again. :) Take care!

heroherondaletotherescue: lol So glad you like it! Hope you enjoyed the new chapter just as much. Even if it was heartbreaking to read. Until next time!

Luna M Moon: Yep, I've had this all planned out since day one. Which is very hard to keep track of, so I hope I answer everyone's questions on past mysteries and such. :) Glad that you're liking it so far! Can't wait to see from you again in the future.

Authora97: Woo! I'm just so happy that you like it all! :D

lautaro94: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :) It very much could cause a problem between the two of them. Though I suppose we'll just have to wait and find out how all of that plays along in the coming chapters. I hope that you'll enjoy them either way. :)

Shiboahyello: Yay! I'm just so happy that you like it! Hope you enjoyed the rest of it. :)

swimmjacket: Thank you so much for taking the time to review on both chapters. It always helps me reply to readers later with multiple reviews. :) Glad you enjoyed Wanda's world! That would be neat to see how he would react to all the differences. But sadly, I suppose we don't have time for that. I'm just happy that everyone likes it all so far. I was terrified many would be angry with just how crazy the whole Wanda's world concept was. And the Bad Wolf connection, too. No worries on the review length. No matter what, I always appreciate that you take the time to leave a review. :) It always means the world to me. Hmm. It might be. Or it might not. I suppose we'll just have to find out when Alpha made that promise. ;) Until next time!

Momochan77: My heart is breaking as well. :( I just feel so much for them, it hurts whenever they hurt. Glad you enjoyed Wanda's world. Amy and Rory are indeed amazing parents. :) I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter. Just going to warn you now, it's going to get even more emotional from here. Until we meet again the the future!

TheGirlWhoWept: Yep, we finally get to see and know about everything. I hope part one of her memories was a good read for you. :) Oh yes, the Doctor will be very much furious with the Master. Glad you liked that name! It's a very pretty name. :) Hope the new chapter was a good read! Take care til next time!

AGBreads: Woo! I'm just so happy that you liked it! Sorry for the confusion. I know it's a lot to take in and that I probably did not explain it all well enough. If you have any questions just let me know. :) I will also go back and edit the chapter to fix any problems of mine. Take care!

All The Stories Are True 24601: Glad you enjoyed it! I hope it was not too messy of a chapter, and not confusing to read. Can't wait to see what you think of this chapter. Until next time!

Whovianeverlark17: I'm just so happy that you liked it. I was so stressed about getting us all to this point in the story. I know I couldn't have done it without you and all other readers. :) Your support means everything to me. Hope the new chapter was just as good, and to see you again in the future. :)

mjahappy: Woo! I'm just so overjoyed that you're liking it so much! :D

deadflowerseverymorning: Hello! So good to see you again! :) Yeah, I know I've been having a load of trouble with the site, too. I hope all these issues can be resolved soon. Especially for you. I know I cannot wait to see what you think of the newest chapter. :) Hope to see you again in the future!

alwaystherereading: haha Yep, it was all real. I think they were thinking it was either a assimilation of some kind, or another dream by the Dream Lord. They've been through too much just to assume something is real right off the bat. haha. I'm glad you liked Shelly just from that brief encounter. :) I hope you enjoyed her just as much in this chapter. Wanda is indeed there in the pocket universe. She is being kept safe in her room by Alpha, away from everyone else. I hope that this chapter was a good read for you. :) Until next time! Take care!

N7SpaceHamster: No worries! You're not bad at all. :) If anything I'm a bad writer. haha. So happy to see from you again though! I was starting to worry there for a while thinking something had happened to you. But I'm glad to see that you're okay. :) I know there's been a ton of site problems lately. Here's to hoping that no more late notifications. Haha. Yeah, that chapter title freaked out a lot of people. Which I won't lie, I did that on purpose. I just couldn't help myself. ;) Oh yes, definitely still much more to come. Though we are almost to the end now. I'm so glad you enjoyed the nice time Wanda had with the Ponds! You're right, I really did want to bring a nice quiet moment before . . . well, before these chapters. Which I hope that these chapters are a good read. Also, you are very much correct. Murphy's Law just loves coming after the Doctor and Wanda.
Aww, thank you. I'm just so happy that so many people have enjoyed the story for so long. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. :3 Eh, I think Martha's neighbor is just as she said. 'Eccentric.' Probably an inventor or tinker of some kind. Wanda wasn't really looking into specific details of that day, so the timeline changed on her without her realizing it. She just remembered the bomb from the show, not the possibilities themselves. Could be that. Or it could be that Martha's neighbor just did not really think about it and just placed a note where the bomb had been, as you said a good place to put it. You know, in case the bomb had been Martha's all along and wanted it back. lol ;) Guess we'll just have to wait and see what Jack knows. But he is rather sweet in that chapter. The Master is just someone who hates anyone who gets the upper hand on him or outsmarts him. He's just petty like that, I think. The DNA thing was that way he could manipulate their ages. That way he could target Ember specifically without effecting Wanda, per say. So, essentially . . . it would make Ember regress back to nothing. Like she was never created in the first place. :( Glad you don't hate me for that, though!
I think no one moment in the Doctor and companions' lives would work for this. Only Amy, Rory, and River with Eleven would have ever worked. Well, most likely Jack, Martha, Mickey, and Sara Jane probably saw it. But they probably didn't react to it because . . . well, you'll see what I mean in the future. Glad you liked Wanda's world! It really is a nice place for everyone to have a 'happy ending' of sorts. Yeah, Oswin just took Ember's name to honor the lost child. But she couldn't tell the Doctor that because, well, of him not knowing about that yet. Nope! Like I always told readers in the past, there's a reason to the madness in this story. Everything is said/done for a reason and not everything as it seems. ;)
Thank you! I'm so happy to hear that. That was my biggest fear was the whole world not being believable in being a part of the Whoverse. But I'm glad to see that everyone liked it. :) Had to go into some details as I know there would have been many people wondering how the world managed to exist and survive. Plus, I always like to do what the show itself does in having multiple people doing explaining of things and such. Doctor-Donna really did deserve a happy ending. At least in Wanda's world, she gets one. ;) Actually, that version of Clara showing up was supposed to be sort of an echo of Clara had arrived there because of the Doctor's timeline and such. Her being the impossible girl and all. And Ember did show up when Alpha and Wanda had still been there in the world. She just showed up the day that Wanda and Alpha left, so she never got a chance to meet them personally like the other people had. Happy that you enjoyed the Amy and Rory parent moment there. :) Funny thing, I really don't think anyone did say anything about that. Then again, you're right. There is a lot still left in the shadows to be discovered. ;) Rose truly did love Wanda. It was just sparked much quicker along by Shelly binding herself with Rose to make Bad Wolf. So it's love that would have happened eventually, but it was made to come to the surface quicker through Shelly's influence. But Shelly doesn't really see it that way, as she just thinks Rose was mostly influenced by her emotions when really it was both of them getting influenced. Sorry if that was not conveyed well. It was sort of all implied things, not really set in stone so that way the reader to think of what it all meant. Oh, Alpha is definitely not 100% awful. Just a bit wild. Would love to know how you thought of her from this chapter. :) Can't wait to see from you again! Until next time! Take care and have a brilliant day/night! :D

bored411: Yep, we get to see everything. Which, as you can see here, is really not much Time War, but more of what happened behind the scenes of the war. I hope it was a good read for you. :)

SakuraRcoa: Yeah, that was probably my fault if you felt confused. I'm sure I did not convey things well enough. Something like this really is best told through visual means instead of written words. Wanda can still travel around as she always has. Stuff like this won't affect her physically. It will be more . . . emotionally affected for her. Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!

Cat: I know. I'm the worst. :( I hope that you still enjoy the rest of the chapters though. Also, hope that your day/night will be amazing!

NerdWithAPencil: haha. I'm so happy that you're so excited for the new chapter. I hope it was as good as you were hoping for. :) Aww, thank you so much! You're much more amazing than I'll ever be. ;) Take care! Can't wait to see what you think of the new chapter!

Miss Amarillys Ren Harasakai: Bonjour! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story so much. I hope the enjoyment continues throughout the rest to come. :) Though it might not be as happy as an ending as many would like. I hope that's okay.

Isanxd: Yay! I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. :) Sorry if it was confusing. It's something I think that would have worked better in the actual episode than in a book. But I don't have any say in the show, so . . . I hope it was still a good enough read though. ;) Yep, we'll see the Master again soon. And not that long now until the end. I hope that you'll enjoy it all! :D

All of you, every single one of you, is an absolute star! :3 I hope that you all find pure happiness and joy throughout the rest of time and space!

~Tinker~