The two of them made their way down the hallway, though neither of them had any clue where they should be headed. River's newly acquired gun belt clunked and jangled as she ran, her high heels clicking against the metal. The Doctor sprung along beside her, shoes still making that horrible screeching sound as he did. His movements were made even more uncoordinated by his recent stunning, and having been strapped to a metal chair for an unknown amount of time. He nearly stumbled over his own feet as he ran, his gangly legs flailing awkwardly. He reminded River slightly of a newborn deer trying its hand at running for the very first time; oversized head and skinny limbs, lumbering forward gawkily and with little to no agility.
If anybody was in the rooms they passed as they sprinted down the hallway, they would've come out, for the two of them weren't exactly moving stealthily. Their footsteps were making a colossal racket, which would've attracted any nearby guards in an instant. The Doctor frowned at the lack of life, stopping dead in the middle of the hall.
"Where is everybody?" The Doctor demanded to no one in particular, looking around him in search of something, anything, to lead him to whoever was behind the gas "Where are all the guards?" He strode over to the nearest door, giving the handle a yank. It didn't budge and, not missing a beat, the Doctor put his sonic screwdriver to it.
"C'mon River, let's see what they've got locked away in these rooms." He said, hauling on the handle once again. To his confusion, it refused him entry, causing him to nearly loose his balance in surprise, completely taken aback by the fact. "What in the name of - give me a second."
Still a bit disoriented, the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver, scanning the doorway with a perplexed look still on his face. Finished, he brought the sonic screwdriver up to his face, peering at its side.
He smiled, but not the regular kind of smile people did when they were happy. River recognized it as the grin that came to his lips when he was utterly impressed by something, but still baffled as to how he was going to overcome it. It was the expression that came to his face when his enemies unveiled their next brilliant plan. Though absolutely terrifying and undoubtedly life-threatening, very impressive nonetheless.
"Wow, wonder when they put this in?" the Doctor marveled, fascinated by whatever his scan had shown him about the seemingly ordinary door. He turned to River, still in awe, only to meet her confused, though uninterested, expression. He grinned, still impressed.
"It seems that these doors are sealed, obviously, but not by your regular everyday lock," he explained, running his fingers gently along the door's edges "Remember when they locked me in that unescapable prison back in 1969?" River nodded.
"Well, I was otherwise occupied at the time," she answered, recalling the time she had jumped out of window to escape the government in their attempt to rebel against the Silence "But you explained it to me afterward. Nothing could escape, right? Not even…"
"Sound, yes." The Doctor completed her thought, pressing his ear against the door "These doors are shielded similarly. Not the same technology, but the same result. These doors are locked by a barrier that nothing can escape from, not even sound. So, my guess it that the guards are hiding out in there, completely protected from anything outside the room."
"So, the gas, then?" River concluded, as the Doctor knelt on the floor trying to peer under the door without success "They're under lockdown because of the gas?" The Doctor shot up, standing promptly with a grin.
"Exactly!" he exclaimed, appearing to be excited by the fact "Even though the hatch up here was shielded from it, they went even further and sealed themselves up. It's like they were expecting it to happen, like a region prone to flooding already having multiple walls of sandbags in place to keep the water back."
"Well, you did say that guard back there spoke as if it had been intentional," River pointed out, as the Doctor still hovered around the door, examining it "Though, why they would decide to hunker down and kill off all the prisoners is still a mystery." The Doctor nodded in agreement, though still admiring the shielded door.
"So, our next step would be to find out how to take the shields down," the Doctor thought aloud, twirling his screwdriver around absently "Or, we could wait until they removed automatically when the downstairs is smoke free. Though, all the guards emerging all at once could be problematic, I suppose." He stood there silently, mulling over the situation quietly in his head.
"Wait," River said suddenly, causing the Doctor to lose his train of thought "How did you run into that guard that had you all tied up?" He thought back, the memory slightly fuzzy after being electrocuted.
"I was walking down the hallway, heard two of them talking, and just couldn't bring myself to keep out of it," he recalled, his eyebrows drawing together as he said it "Which, is weird now that I think about it. What about the shields? Unless…" he trailed off, lost in thought.
"Unless...?" pressed River after a long pause, the Doctor thinking it over in silence "Unless, what?" The Doctor gave a short, quick shake of his head, pulled back into the real world by the impatient voice of his wife.
"Well, what if they were in the control room, taking down the shield for their own room so they could leave?" He answered upon River's request, though he had obviously figured that part out a while ago "That's what they were doing when I ran into them, they were on their way out. I was listening at the door when it opened." He disappeared back into mind again, thinking about it.
"So, do you think that guard I knocked out was in charge?" asked River, the Doctor shaken out his mental world again "I mean, that can't be good for my record, can it?" Her voice seemed oddly indifferent as she said it though, completely at ease.
"Oh, I think you did more than just knock him out," muttered the Doctor, though his real attention was still focused on the problem at hand "I think you murdered the poor fellow, managing to smash even his thick skull to pieces." River brushed it off, rolling her eyes as she did so.
"Well, what was I supposed to do? He did have you all tied up." River said as casually as ever "That's my job." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. He hoped she was referring to saving him from enemies, but he knew she was probably had tying him up in mind. Now really wasn't the time for that. The Doctor tried his best to ignore her last comment, but it was extremely difficult with the look she was sending his way.
"Let's say he was in charge," the Doctor continued, turning away to pace in circles around River "And let's assume that he was the only one who knew how to operate the shields. A long shot, I know, but it's the best hope we've got at this point." River thought about what he was suggesting.
"So, if you're right, the control room should still be open," she concluded, to which the Doctor nodded "Well, let's not waste any time, then. Lead the way, sweetie." The Doctor smiled, pulling out his sonic screwdriver.
"The hallway is pretty much a large circle, like downstairs," he explained as he took off down the hall, River following close behind on his heels "It's on the outer side, if I'm not mistaken, which I rarely am." River gave a short laugh under her breath at that, but said nothing.
The Doctor made his way along the outer wall, passing his sonic screwdriver over every lock, trying the handle, then moving on when he was refused entry time and time again. He moved quickly, strangely proficient and focused as he did.
"Keep an ear out," the Doctor reminded River as he moved onto yet another door that remained barred to him "There was another guy in the room with him, but he was fairly young. Don't think he'd have the foggiest idea how to lower the shields, so he ought to be there still." River nodded, observing as the Doctor tried another handle, but without any luck. He mumbled something under his breath in frustration, swiftly moving along down the corridor.
He tried another two dozen doors, his brow furrowed, wrinkles forming on his forehead in frustration. He hauled on door after door, moving down the hallway as quickly as he could, though it was still not nearly fast enough. He knew the poisonous gas below had almost completely gone, and that the guards hiding silently behind every single door he passed would soon come out in a wave. It wouldn't normally be an issue, but with an escaped prisoner trailing right behind him and a dead guard lying lifelessly in one of the rooms, he could see how they'd get the wrong idea.
As he failed to open yet another door, he sighed audibly, fighting the urge to chuck his screwdriver at the wall. "Oh, what's the use of you?" he complained, hopping over to the next door with a scowl "Oh, and that was rhetorical, I know perfectly well every single function of this damned thing. Good thing these doors aren't wooden…" His grumbling was cut off as he heard the faintest noise from behind the door, the sound of a soft click as he tried the handle. He flashed River an ecstatic grin, slowly pushing the door inwards, revealing the contents of the room.