"Enough of this! Do as I command!"
"No." A switch was flipped and electricity coursed through her body. She grimaced but remained silent. This wasn't the first time she had gone through this treatment.
"Everyone you love is dead. He has left you."
"I'd rather die."
"So be it."
The man came over and grabbed the girl by her neck and lifted her up. She struggled in his grip, kicking and clawing at him, but he only squeezed tighter. Just as she began to lose consciousness, he dropped her. Looking up at him, she saw a maniacal grin on his face. She tried to inch away but he grabbed her, placing his heavy figure atop her.
"Let me go." His grip on her tightened.
"You've been a loose end for far too long. It is time you are dealt with."
"Let me go! Please just let me go!" He ignored her cries. Removing the rags she had for clothing, he took what belonged to her soul mate, defiling her until she was just a shell. He had won. He'd finally broken her.
I screamed as I awoke, feeling the pain the girl had. Throwing my hand over my mouth to quiet myself, I rocked back and forth, holding my legs to my chest. She had been tortured into submission by men who seemed to be in charge wherever she lived. I held back another sob. The man knew what he was doing, that she had given her soul to another man and yet he continued. There was a sense of dread that overwhelmed me, that told the ending was not a happy one.
When the crying had stopped, I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water onto my face. I ignored the red splotches on my forehead and the dark circles under my eyes. Leaving the bathroom and putting on a pair of Chuck Taylors, I went out to the library.
Finding a book, I sat in my usual spot. Try as I might, I was unable to concentrate and ended reading the same page four times. I couldn't stop thinking about the girl. I wanted to ask the Doctor about her but after what I had said to him, I was somewhat surprised he hadn't told me to leave. It must have hurt him to hear me say that, just as it hurt me to say those words. I couldn't deny the way I felt, even with the tiffs we had. It would be my fault if he asked me to leave, just like it was my fault he died.
I placed the book off to the side and laid down, allowing the thoughts to envelope me. It was my fault; everything bad that involved me was my fault. More tears poured from my eyes. Maybe that girl should be here and I gone. He would probably like that. It was probably a mistake, me coming along. Maybe if I had been left behind with Jackie, things would be different. Standing up, I walked the console room. I was going to become an observer again, something I was good at. I didn't want to upset anyone further and no one would really care about what I had to say.
Rose and the Doctor were talking about where to go next when I entered the room. The Doctor looked over but hastily returned his gaze to Rose, who didn't even acknowledge me. I went and sat in the captain's chair, feeling the tension that surrounded us. Looking everywhere but at them, I thought of how much I missed Jack's ability to ease the friction that arose between us; actually, I missed Jack in general.
Deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice the Tardis had landed until I heard the door close and an angry hum from the Tardis. Getting up, I left the ship, ignoring the hurt that came from being overlooked. Once outside, I leaned against the Tardis as the Doctor explained where we were. "…Five billion and twenty three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this? This is New Earth."
"That's just. That's just…"
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
"That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet," Rose jumped up and down, "different sky. What's that smell?"
He bent down, snatching up some blades of grass. "Apple grass."
Rose smiled inhaling the sweet scent that wafted around us. "Apple grass."
"Yeah, yeah."
"It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, travelling with you, I love it."
"Me too. Come on." I watched as they ran off, and the Doctor took off his coat. They both sat on it, relaxing and watching the cars flying around the city. "So, the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."
"That was our first date," Rose said. I grimaced at her statement but took a breath, not understanding why I was upset. He wasn't mine and he wouldn't be.
The Doctor leaned his head back, his eyes on me. "We had chips." He looked away, turning his attention back to Rose. "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but then find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."
"What's the city called?"
"New New York."
"Oh, come on."
"It is. It's the city of New New York. Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." I managed a small smile as I stared at the city. He was different from his previous self, a more relaxed and somewhat carefree. It was nice to see him that way. "What?" I looked at them, dropping my smile. It took me a second to realize he was talking to Rose.
"You're so different."
"New New Doctor."
"Can we go and visit New New York, so good they named it twice?"
"Well, I thought we might go there first." He pointed at two curved skyscrapers that stood on the opposite side of the river. It had a green moon on the side of it, something that spiked my curiosity.
"Why, what is it?"
"Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals. I got this. A message on the psychic paper." He showed it to her. Being too far away, I couldn't see what was written on it. "Someone wants to see me."
The two of them stood and the Doctor picked up his coat and put it on. "Hmm. And I thought we were here just sight-seeing. Come on, then. Let's go and buy some grapes." I silently pushed myself off the Tardis and followed them as they walked towards the hospital.
Once inside, I looked around, taking in the massive area. The Doctor was telling Rose of his aversion to hospitals. "Bit rich coming from you."
"I can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps."
"The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted."
"Very smart. Not exactly NHS."
The Doctor looked around and frowned. "No shop. I like the little shop."
"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything."
I smiled bit after once I saw that all the nurses seemed to be cats. I was a bit suspicious, having nonhuman creatures treating humans, but if they were doing a good job, then who was I to judge. "The human race moves on, but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war."
Rose also seemed to notice their appearance. "They're cats."
"Now, don't stare. Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow." He pointed to an empty spot, his attention shifting from her. "That's where I'd put the shop. Right there." I rolled my eyes and watched them walk off to the lifts. When it opened, they went in. "Ward 26, thanks."
As I walked over, the door started to close. I sighed and pushed the button for the next one. "Ward 26 please and thanks," I said as I walked in. The door closed and almost immediately, I knew something was wrong, my suspicions confirmed when the lift went down instead of up.
"Commence stage one disinfection." I jumped a little as the cold water hit me. Once that was over, came the drying off. As the warm air hit me, I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing I had some anti-frizz and removed my leather jacket and flapped it, allowing the air to dry it off. When the lift opened, a pale man with cheetah spots met me in the corridor.
"The human child is clean."
"I take it this isn't Ward 26."
"This way, Cerys."
I followed the man, walking through a plastic curtain and found a movie playing that showed a party. In it, the main focus was on a woman with shoulder length blonde hair wearing a sparkling silver, floor length gown, and diamond earrings, with a glass of champagne in her hand. "I mean, you never know what your life is going to be like, ever. I'm bored with this drink. Anyway. Oh, hello darling! Now, don't. Stop it."
"Cassandra," I snared as I recognized the voice.
"Peekaboo!"
"You're the one who brought me down here, well your, er, friend."
"Oh, that's Chip. He's my pet."
"Your pet?"
"I worship the mistress."
"Moisturize me, moisturize me." He sprayed her. "He's not even a proper life form. He's a force grown clone. I modelled him on my favourite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs."
"Right. How come you're still alive?"
"After you murdered me-"
"That was your own doing. You killed people." She rolled her eyes.
"The brain of my mistress survived. And her pretty blue eyes were salvaged from the bin."
"So the skin, I'm guessing you're talking out of your-"
"Ask not."
"I wasn't asking. I'm not surprised though."
"The mistress was lucky to survive. Chip secreted m'lady into the hospital."
"Figured they wouldn't know of your presence."
"Chip steals medicine. Helps m'lady. Soothes her, strokes her." He gently caressed Cassandra.
"That's nice but I really don't care."
"But I'm so alone, hidden down here. The last Human in existence."
"Oh, shut up. You are not the last human. That's New Earth out there."
"A vegetable patch."
"There're millions of humans out there."
"Mutant stock."
"Would you really like to get into that again? They've evolved and in the end, it's about the survival of the species. If anything, you're the mutant. You don't even look human. All you've done was remain in the past, preserving yourself."
"Oh, I remember that night. Drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace. That was the last time anyone told me I was beautiful. After that it all became such hard work."
"I'm sure. One thing I will say is that you have a certain knack for survival."
"But I've not been idle, Cerys, tucked away underneath this hospital. I've been listening. The Sisters are hiding something."
"I'm quite sure."
"Oh these cats have secrets. Hush, let me whisper. Come close."
"No way in hell," I said as I backed away. Before I could move any further, energy tendrils latched onto my arms, holding me in my spot."
"Chip, activate the psychograft."
"Let go of me, Cassandra. What are you planning?" Light streamed down onto me.
"The lady's moving on. It's goodbye trampoline, and hello gorgeous." There was a whoosh of energy between us and everything turned off. I then collapsed, or at least my body did. It felt strange, being in my body but not being in control of it. I could still hear and see, even if I couldn't access my motor and speech systems.
"Mistress?"
"Moisturise me. How bizarre. Arms, fingers, hair! Let me see! Let me see! Oh my God. I'm a chav!" My hands danced over my body. "Look at me. From class to brass. Although, oh, curves. Oh, baby, it's like living inside a bouncy castle!"
"The mistress is beautiful."
"Absolutement! Oh, but look." I saw that the equipment that had been keeping Cassandra alive was fried.
"Oh, the brain lead expired. My old mistress is gone."
"But safe and sound in here." My finger tapped my head.
"But what of the Cerys child's mind?"
"Oh, tucked away. She can still see and hear though. I can just about access the surface memory. She's... Gosh, she's with Rose Tyler and the Doctor. A man. He's the Doctor. The same Doctor with a new face. That hypocrite! I must get the name of his surgeon. I could do with a little work. Although nice rear bumper. Hmm."
"This Doctor man is dangerous."
"Dangerous and clever. I might need a mind like his. The Sisterhood is up to something. Remember that Old Earth saying, never trust a Nun? Never trust a Nurse. And never trust a cat. Perfume?" She tucked the small glass bottle down the front of my shirt."
Cassandra made her way to ward 26 and walked over to the Doctor. "There you are. Come and look at this patient. I was just telling Rose that it was Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. Two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced. And this one." He pointed to a man who was sheet paper white. "Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine. I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this. Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"
"I can't Adam and Eve it."
"You alright?"
"Yes. Just larking about. New Earth, new me."
"Well, I can talk. New New Doctor." A part of my heart clenched when he didn't realize that I wasn't me.
"Mmm, aren't you just." I watched as I grabbed him and forcefully pressed my lips against his, my hands in his hair. "Terminal's this way. Phew." She walked away, leaving the Doctor and Rose behind.
"Yep, still got it."
We were standing at the computer terminal by the lifts. The Doctor was searching for something. "Nope, nothing odd. Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry. No sign of a shop. They should have a shop."
"No, it's missing something else. When I was downstairs, those Nurse Cat Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?"
"You're right. Well done." I saw Rose roll her eyes at me.
"Why would they hide a whole department? It's got to be there somewhere. Search the sub-frame."
"What if the sub-frame's locked?"
"Try the installation protocol."
"Yeah. Of course. Sorry. Hold on." He used the sonic on the interface. A moment later, a wall slid up and revealed a door. "Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive."
I led the way down the staircase. The walls were lined with cells that emitted a green light. The Doctor randomly opened one to show an extremely ill man. "That's disgusting. What's wrong with him?" If that didn't alert the Doctor that I wasn't me, then it was obvious I meant nothing to him, at least to me, and if that were the case, I'd ask him to bring me home.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Doctor, what's wrong with them?" Rose asked as he closed it and opened another one.
"What disease is that?"
"All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything."
"What about us? Are we safe?"
"The air's sterile. Just don't touch them." He closed the door.
"How many patients are there?"
"They're not patients."
"But they're sick."
"They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm," he explained to Rose.
"Why don't they just die?" Cassandra asked.
"Plague carriers. The last to go."
"It's for the greater cause."
"Novice Hame, when you took your vows, did you agree to this?"
"The Sisterhood has sworn to help."
"What, by killing?"
"But they're not real people. They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."
"What's the turnover, hmm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? How many!"
"Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."
"These people are alive."
"But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us."
"If they live because of this, then life is worthless."
"But who are you to decide that?"
"I'm the Doctor. And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me."
"Just to confirm. None of the humans in the city actually know about this?" Cassandra asked.
"We thought it best not."
"Hold on. I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Cerys?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"And I'm being very, very calm. You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Cery's head, I want it reversed."
"We haven't done anything."
"I'm perfectly fine."
"These people are dying, and no matter how upset she was, my Cerys would still care about people. She would have given Novice Hame a mouthful for the things she'd said."
"Oh, all right, clever clogs. Smarty pants. Lady-killer."
"What's happened to you?"
"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out."
"Who are you?"
"The last human."
"Cassandra?" Rose asked in shock.
"Wake up and smell the perfume," she said as she sprayed both Rose and the Doctor. The both fell to the floor, passed out.
"You've hurt him. I don't understand. I'll have to fetch Matron."
"You do that, because I want to see her. Now, run along. Sound the alarm!" Cassandra pulled out a power cable and set off the alarm as Hame ran back to the main hospital as Chip helped me drag Rose and the Doctor into an empty cell.
The Doctor came around first. I watched as he checked on Rose before turning his attention to Cassandra. "Let me out! Let me out!"
"Aren't you lucky there was a spare? Standing room only."
"You've stolen Cerys' body."
"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes left. Enjoy."
"Just let Cerys go, Cassandra."
"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger, and less common, then I'll junk her with the waste."
"She more than common."
"Now, now hushaby. It's show-time."
"Anything we can do to help?"
"Straight to the point, Whiskers. I want money."
"The Sisterhood is a charity. We don't give money. We only accept."
"The humans across the water pay you a fortune, and that's exactly what I need. A one-off payment, that's all I want. Oh, and perhaps a yacht. In return for which, I shall tell the city nothing of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?"
"I'm afraid not."
"I'd really advise you to think about this."
"Oh, there's no need. I have to decline."
"I'll tell them, and you've no way of stopping me. You're not exactly Nuns with Guns. You're not even armed."
"Who needs arms when we have claws?" Matron Casp asked as she unsheathed her claws.
"Well nice try. Chip? Plan B." Chip pulled a lever and all the doors on our level opened. The Doctor and Rose stepped out amongst the dazed and diseased.
"What have you done?" the Doctor barked.
"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up. See you!" I watched as Cassandra brought my legs to a run with Chip following closely behind.
I watched as all the other doors opened. "Oh my God."
"What the hell have you done?"
"It wasn't me."
"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra. We've got to go down."
"But there's thousands of them." It came out as a whine.
"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" I ran down the flight of stairs with the Doctor continuous commands. "Keep going! Go down!" I ran to the lift and pressed the button when we reached the basement. "No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving."
"This way!" Cassandra led the Doctor to where she had hidden with Chip. As we all ran, Chip was separated from us by a wall of infected.
"We have to help him."
"Someone will touch him, Rose."
"Leave him! He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half-life. Come on!"
"Mistress! My mistress!"
"I'm sorry, I can't let her escape."
Yeah, so I definitely made it be Cerys Cassandra invaded. That was mainly due to the fact she was the main one who spoke to the bitchy trampoline in The End of the World. Sorry for not updating yesterday though. I got to Miami and ended up spending a lot of time with family... since it was my first day back and all. But it's now posted, just after I woke up because I just love you guys so much. Uh, that's all I have to say so onto the reviews... which I so very appreciate.
Lizzybug2000: That is just the beginning of it all. And while it is unfortunate, it'll get a lot better. New Earth will definitely be something ;3
dream lighting: Welcome to the story and thanks for commenting. It does suck for Cerys... considering the slightly strained relationship she and the Doctor had and that she's basically starting the new relationship on the wrong foot, but I kind of had to put Rose in as I did. It'll be explained in Tooth and Claw.
I'm-a-Klaus-addict: Aww, I'm sorry but you'll be with your Grandmother, which could be fun. Glad to hear you didn't get caught and that you normally don't. Yeah, I'm actually in university so I've been out for a while. As for the cutting, I understand. I can say the there are a few reasons people cut. Honestly, just being there is a great comfort. :) It was one of the hardest parts to write since I have a history of it and it slightly triggered me. But the kiss was something that will definitely be brought up in a later chapter. The relationship between Rose and Cerys will be rocky for a bit meaning little to no help for Cerys. As for how long Cerys will be with the Doctor... that's a question that'll be answered when the time comes ;] And no problem about the jumping around.