Well. I've finally started college. Sorry for the wait on this. Inspiration was hard to find.
Zero reviews from last chapter and only 113 people even looked at it. *sigh* I only own the plot and Rachel. That's it.
~.*§Found§*.~
Chapter 9: This is War
Jack grabbed Rachel's shoulders in concern as her entire body shuddered from the pain of the mental onslaught. The Doctor glanced back at them in worry, his blue eyes meeting Rose's. The fear in her eyes seemed to solidify the Doctor's resolve because he turned purposefully to the advancing patients, eyes hard and fists clenched. He pointed his finger at the zombies and said loudly and sternly, "Go to your room!"
The creatures hesitated, swaying a bit on their feet. Rachel gasped as the pressure on her mind paused, giving her the energy to stand slightly. The three humans stared at the Doctor in confusion, but he ignored them and glared even harder at the patients. "Go to your room!"
The gas-mask people tilted their heads to the side like puppies that didn't understand. Jack glanced at Rose over Rachel's head and the blonde just shrugged. They continued to hold on to Rachel as the Doctor kept rebuking the people. "I mean it! I am very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross ! Go... to... your... ROOM!"
He violently pointed off to a random direction and paused, breath held. Suddenly, slowly, the patients hung their heads like scolded children and walked back to their beds.
After a second, the Doctor let all his breath out and the stern look melted into relief as he turned to his companions. A goofy grin split his face. "I'm really glad that worked. Those would've been TERRIBLE last words."
Rachel let out a breathy laugh that turned into hysterical sobs as she slid to the floor, clutching her head in her hands and not caring that her friends were watching.
~.*§Found§*.~
It took a little while to calm Rachel down; The Doctor had to put temporary shields around her mind for her, expression concerned. "I'm so sorry. I should have put these up for you earlier when I realized it was broadcasting so strongly." he muttered. Rachel eventually just grabbed him in a hug and whispered, "S'not your fault."
Rose, who was sitting by a bed examining one of the patients, quietly asked, "Why are they all wearing gas masks?"
From his chair by the door, Jack answered, "They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone."
The Doctor glared at him from over Rachel's head. "How was your con supposed to work?"
The Captain shrugged. "Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space-junk... let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth. Convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% up front, oops ! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."
The Time Lord snorted. "Yeah. Perfect."
Jack rolled his eyes and continued. "The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners, though Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it. But you've got to set your alarm for volcano day."
Rachel blinked, hearing a strange voice. "There IS no volcano. If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history. It's me. I make it happen. Push this lever and it's over. 20,000 people."
She was suddenly snapped back to the present by Jack laughing at his own joke. The man's smiles died as the Doctor gave him a stern stare.
"Getting a hint of disapproval." Jack muttered, eying the older man.
The Time Lord gently extracted himself from Rachel and gestured at the ward. "Take a look around the room. This is what your "harmless piece of space-junk" did."
Jack growled. "It was a burnt-out medical transporter, it was empty!"
The Doctor looks darkly at him and walks off. "Come on, Rose, Rachel." He called as he left the room.
"We getting out of here?" Rose asked as Rachel followed with a glare in Jack's direction.
"We're going upstairs." The Time Lord called back.
Jack got to his feet quickly and followed the three out, calling after them. "I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living, I harmed no-one ! I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."
The Doctor turned on his heel to face the con man, all the fury of the Oncoming Storm directed down at him. "I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day."
A siren started to wail in the distance, causing them to turn and look around. "What's that?" Rose whispered, eyes searching for the source.
"The all-clear." Jack said, taking a breath.
The Doctor snorted. "I wish." He quickly turned and dashed up the stairs, leaving the other three to follow.
The three humans ran after the Time Lord, trying to keep up with him, but to no avail. "Mr Smith?"
"Doctor?" Rose yelled.
Rachel listened and heard a pair of boots tapping up the stairs. "This way!" She called, grabbing the others by their wrists and pulling them up the stairs. They skidded to a halt as the Doctor suddenly popped his head over the banister and looked at Jack. "Have you got a blaster?"
"Sure!" The con man said, eager to show off his stuff.
They quickly ran up the stairs to find a thick metal door, locked tight.
"The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken." The Doctor explained, gesturing at the entrance.
"What happened?" Rose asked, glancing at her two friends.
"Let's find out." He said grimly. Turning to Jack he jerked his head at the door. "Get it open."
The ex Time Agent grinned and pointed his blaster at the door while the Time Lord stood back with his companions. Rose leaned over to whisper, "What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rachel smirked and the Doctor grinned. "Nothing." He said smugly.
They watched as Jack's blaster shot a blue beam and cut a perfectly square hole around the lock of the door. When it was done, the door squeaked open slowly. Rachel gave a wry chuckle. "All who enter, beware." Rose laughed and put an arm around the younger teens shoulders, giving her a squeeze.
The Doctor grinned at his companions before turning to Jack. "Sonic blaster, 51st century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?"
"You've been to the factories?" The younger man looked surprised. The Doctor took the blaster and turned it over, examining the weapon. "Once."
Jack sighed. "Well, they gone now. Destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot." He shook his head in disappointment. A smirking Time Lord handed the gun back. "Like I said, once. There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good." He then walked into the room, followed by a giggling Rose.
Rachel grinned at the horrified expression on Jacks face. Looking at the perfect square hole in the door, the teen commented, "Nice blast pattern."
Blinking back to the present, the former Time Agent glanced at the short girl beside him. "It's digital." he said, a charming grin on his face. Rachel laughed. "You have a squareness gun!" Jack joined her chuckles. "Yeah, I guess I do."
Rachel nodded and followed her friends into the room. "I like it." she said over her shoulder. The con man grinned wider and followed.
The room was pitch dark. The Doctor turning on the lights didn't make the view any better, however. The room was completely vandalized. The window was broken, the furniture was tossed to the side, and large instruments were scattered across the floor. The Doctor slowly walked in, eyes razing the area with a grim gaze. "What d'you think?" He asked the group that came in behind him.
"Something got out of here." Jack said, eyebrows raised, almost sounding impressed at the damage.
The Doctor looked at the desk. "Yeah. And?"
"Something powerful." Jack answered. The Time Lord glanced at him. "Angry." the con man finished.
The Doctor nodded. "Powerful and angry." He muttered.
Jack walked through the door beside the window to see another room. Toys and crayons littered the floor, the tiny bed in the corner had been shoved violently aside, bending the metal legs. Amid it all were hundreds of children's drawings, all depicting a woman, each one different. "A child?" He asked, confused. "I suppose this explains "mummy"."
"How could a child do this?" Rose asked, horrified.
Rachel looked through the window at the room and jumped slightly as Doctor Constantine's voice sounded next to her. "Do you know where you are?" The raven haired teen turned to see the Doctor standing over a cassette player. "Are you my mummy?"
The group in the room listened as the interview continued. "Are you my mummy?"
"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you... see?"
"Are you my mummy?"
"What do you want ? Do you know..."
"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy?"
Rachel's eyes widened as something dawned on her. "All these pictures. They're supposed to be his mom. But their different. Never the same hair or eyes."
"Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"
"Doctor, I've heard this voice before." Rose said, pointing at the cassette player. He looked up at her. "So have we." he whispered, nodding over at Rachel and the teen shuddered at the memory.
"Mummy?"
"Always, "are you my mummy ?". Like he doesn't know." Rose whispered, looking at the pictures around them. "Why doesn't he know?"
Rachel bit her lip. "When in times of war, what do we know but how to survive?" The Doctor glanced at her, a haunted look in his eyes.
"Are you there, mummy? Mummy?"
Rachel picked up a picture from the wall, frowning as a clicking noise started in the background of the recording. "Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?"
The Doctor joined them in the room and began pacing up and down the small space, taking in every detail. Rose watched him, biting her lip as he appeared to become even more anxious. "Doctor?" she called. His head snapped up and he gazed intensely at them. "Can you sense it?"
Jack frowned at the older man. "Sense what?"
"Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?" he said, waving his hands at the room, his jacket scrunching up with the movement.
"Mummy?" Rachel closed her eyes. "He's angry. Alone and scared. Where's his mom?"
The Time Lord nodded at her before looking at Jack and Rose expectantly. He only received blank looks. He tilted his head in slight wonder. "Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?"
Rachel sighed, shaking her head. "Rude, Doctor."
Rose folded her arms and leaned over to Jack. "When he's stressed, he likes to insult species."
"Rose, I'm thinking." The Doctor grumbled, standing next to Rachel and staring at the wall, hand on his chin.
"Cuts himself shaving, does half an hour in life forms he's cleverer than..." Rose smirked.
"There are these children living rough around the bomb site. They come out during air-raids looking for food." The Doctor said out loud, pacing once again.
"Mummy, please?"
"What if they were there when this ship crashed?" Rachel asked him. The Time Lord pointed at her and nodded. "Exactly."
"It was a med-ship. It was harmless." Jack said exasperatedly.
The Doctor glared over at him. "Yes, you keep saying "Harmless". Suppose one of them was affected, altered?"
Rose looked at them, eyes showing how disturbed she was. "Altered how?"
"I'm here!"
Rachel glanced over at her friend. "Psychic powers beyond anything I've ever seen or heard of. Obviously very strong. There could be more, but that's just what we've gathered so far."
The Doctor sighed in frustration. "It's afraid. Terribly afraid, and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do." He froze and stared at them all. A breathy laugh escaped him and a terrified look flashed in his eyes. "It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room."
They all felt a chill run down their back and Rose licked her lips. "Doctor..." she whispered as a crackling noise filled the air.
"I'm here. Can't you see me?"
"What's that noise?" The blonde whispered. When the Time Lord didn't answer, the three humans felt even more apprehensive.
Rachel licked her lips looking at the room through the broken window. "Doctor." she called, voice shaking.
"I'm here. Can't you see me?"
The Doctor's shaky smile had faded and he quietly answered, "End of the tape. It ran out about 30 seconds ago."
"I'm here, now. Can't you see me?"
"Doctor." Rachel said more forcefully still looking at the window. "You sent it to it's room."
The alien nodded. "Yup. And this is its room."
He spun around quickly and they all stared at the child that stood next to the tape machine.
"Are you my mummy?" He cocked his head to one side and looked at first Rose, then Rachel. "Mummy?"
"Doctor?" Rose called, hoping for a miracle escape like he always had.
It was Jack though, that shifted in front of them, putting his hand to his side. "Okay..." He said, all seriousness on his face. "On my signal... make for the door. NOW!" He yelled, violently pulling a banana from his holster and pointing at the child.
Rachel would have fallen over laughing if she hadn't been worried about the onslaught against the mental shields the Doctor had put up. For the moment they were sound, but the child was relentless. She could still appreciate the joke with a grin, having seen the Doctor's little switcheroo several minutes ago. The Time Lord himself was grinning ear to ear as he pulled out Jack's sonic blaster and put a large square hole in the wall. "Go! Now!" He shouted, leading the charge out into the corridor. "Don't drop the banana!" He yelled at Jack.
"Why not?" the con man screamed back incredulously, jumping through the hole.
"Good source of potassium!" The three time travelers yelled together, laughing as they all exited the room.
As the child approached them, Jack snatched his blaster back from the Time Lord. "Give me that!"
"Are you my mummy?" The child asked, reaching out for them. Jack glared and pointed the gun at him. Rachel was about to protest, when suddenly the wall started to rebuild itself.
"Digital rewind." the man said in explanation. He tossed the banana at the Doctor and gave him a disgruntled look. "Nice switch."
The Doctor smirked. "It's from the Groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."
"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?" Jack asked.
The old Time Lord shrugged. "Bananas are good." He said simply.
They were interrupted by the thumping on the wall that showered them in dust as the plaster began to crack.
"Doctor!" Rose called in warning.
"Come on!" The alien yelled, grabbing the blonde's hand and rushing down the stairs.
They were moving quickly, Rachel ending up in the lead, as they sprinted down another hall. The youngest traveler stuttered to a halt when shouts behind her alerted Rachel to her friends peril. Turning quickly she saw patients bursting from their ward, all calling for their mummy, and separating her from her friends. "Doctor! Rose!" the teen yelled in panic as she was cut off from them. The Doctor pointed at her sternly and said, "Keep going, Rachel, we'll find another way around."
And with that they had left, back the way they had come. Rachel groaned in frustration as half of the zombie patients broke away and started after her. "Brilliant." She hissed, rushing down the stairs. She managed to get to the third floor before another group trapped her.
~.*§Found§*.~
The Doctor silently prayed his youngest companion would be fine as he rushed back up the stairs, hand firmly in Roses'. The three had to hastily backtrack as another group of gas mask people appeared before them, effectively trapping them right back where they started, right in front of the wall the child was breaking down. "It's keeping us here so it can get at us." The Doctor realized out loud.
Jack huffed and pointed his blaster back and forth between the two groups. "It's controlling them?"
"It is them. It's every living thing in this hospital." The Time Lord growled, putting Rose between himself and Jack to keep her safe.
Jack pointed his gun at the patients in front of him and said, "Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?"
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and Rose glanced at him to see his ears turn slightly red. Jack wasn't paying them any attention as he was concentrated on brandishing his own sonic device. "A sonic, er... oh, never mind." The Time Lord mumbled.
"What?" Jack asked, glancing slightly over his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed.
The Doctor switched the sonic on and pointed it toward the group before him. "It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that."
"Disrupter? Cannon? What?" The con man insisted.
"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am sonic-ed up!" The Doctor said forcefully. Rose bit her lip, recognizing the Doctor was slightly embarrassed by his handy device.
"A sonic what?!" Jack yelled.
"SCREWDRIVER!" The alien yelled, whirling around and brandishing the device at Jack, who had spun around and was staring at him incredulously.
Before anything could be said, however, the child suddenly punched a hole right through the wall. He began to clime through, ripping rubble from the opening to widen it. Rose grabbed Jack's wrist and shoved it down, pointing his blaster at the floor. "Going down!" she shouted, pulling the trigger. A square hole opened up below them and they all fell into a messy heap on the floor below.
~.*§Found§*.~
Rachel stared back and forth between the zombie patients as they got closer. A quick glance around showed she'd been trapped away from any doors. The only thing in this little space of corridor was a window. With a groan, the raven haired teen closed her eyes. "I'm so going to regret this." she muttered.
Taking a deep breath, Rachel charged the window and jumped, curling her limbs around her to protect her face from the glass. The panes shattered around her body and then she was falling. The wind whipped past her for just a moment before she landed with a crack, a scream echoing in the cold night air before she fell unconscious.
~.*§Found§*.~
Well, we're almost done with the first book now. Just a few more chapters to go and we'll be saying goodbye to 9. *cries* Hope you'll all stay till the finish line.