DOCTOR WHO: THE FINAL STOP
Chapter 3
Una was still in an uncontrollable state as both Rory and the Doctor held her trying to calm her down and then suddenly she stopped moving altogether once more. It was as if she'd died in that moment and her body froze into its final position.
"She's still alive..." said the Doctor thankfully as he frantically checked her over. "Just unconscious again..."
"What the hell happened though?" asked Rory.
"Possessed...probably..." replied the Doctor. "Something got a hold of her though..."
"Pah!" cut in Derek. "She's loopy in the mind! Nothing special about her, just take her away..." The Doctor simply couldn't take anymore of Derek's thoughtless remarks and immediately made his point clear to him.
"Mr Roughly, I don't care what you think but without a doubt something strange is happening here...something not from here. Una was possessed, fact – and I think that while this place is closed, UN.I.T are in control, not you..." he spouted towards Derek who just simply stared back menacingly.
"But what would be 'possessing' her exactly?" quizzed the Colonel. "Spike readings didn't increase at all when she was possessed. So, what is it?"
"I think we need to look a little closer at the rails themselves..." answered the Doctor. "Come along!"
The Doctor, Rory, Colonel Jorgensen and Captain Albatross soon stepped down onto the rails. Power had been switched off and the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver ensured that for atleast half an hour. It was certainly enough time to have a good look around.
"So, what are we looking for?" asked Captain Albatross. "Alien technology?"
"Well, anything that isn't usual..." replied the Doctor as he scanned the area with his Sonic. Colonel Jorgensen took out her Spike reading analyser and continued on looking around. Rory just looked closely at the ballast between the rails to find anything that didn't tally up. To him, it was the best he could do around such professionals.
"This is going to be harder then we thought..." he muttered to himself before reaching into his jacket pocket and taking out a pair of glasses. The Doctor immediately noticed and couldn't help but laugh.
"You wear glasses?" he said smiling widely. "I mean more than just that once in America..."
"Only from time to time..." said Rory. "Just thought they might help the search..." he added raising an eyebrow to the Doctor. Moments later it appeared that Rory's glassed did indeed help. Rory noticed that between the ballast there were the odd glistening specks of something. It looked like little Diamonds, but he couldn't be sure. "Doctor...is this anything unusual?" he asked. The Doctor came over and took a very close look. Colonel Jorgensen and her Spike analyser went off the scale when she pointed it towards the Diamonds and this immediately raised questions.
"I imagine that's a good clue to who's doing this?" she asked to the Doctor. He was looking very closely at the Diamonds and even borrowed Rory's glasses for an even finer look at the detail. Rory just sighed knowing he'd get them back but probably not in as good a condition as when he had them moments earlier.
"It's a Landrossos Crystal..." began the Doctor. "Found in the Everglades of Landrosk Delta Region itself..."
"Right, and what would have these Landrossos Crystals then?" asked Rory. "Does it give away who it is?"
"No..." said the Doctor. He carried on speaking but was being drowned out by a humming noise. It got progressively louder and louder and then suddenly it dawned on everyone where it was coming from.
"Oh my God...the rails are back in action!" cried Colonel Jorgensen. The Doctor immediately tried his Sonic to disable them again, but it didn't work.
"Everyone get back up!" he then cried and everyone complied. Frantically they rushed up as quick as they could and hauled themselves back onto the station platform just as another train thundered through. Everyone could only look on in horror as the second train just smashed into the first train which was still where it had stopped. Glass shattered everywhere and bits of Underground trains flew all around. Again, like the first train, there appeared to be no-one in control of the second train and the puzzling situation wasn't helped when Captain Albatross decided to look around the wreckage.
"Julian, stay back!" commanded Felicity but the Captain ignored her. Despite all the damage the trains had suffered the automatic doors opened of their own accord and now with a torch in hand, the Captain walked around the smoking wreckage. The Doctor was determined to stop Julian, but both the Colonel and Rory stopped him.
"We need you here..." said Rory.
"He's not safe in there..." protested the Doctor. "You just can't leave him...you don't know what's in there..."
"Captain Albatross is a trustworthy man..." said Colonel Jorgensen. "He is more than capable to survey a train carriage on his own...although I'd rather he didn't." but as the Colonel spoke, the carriage door suddenly closed shut. Captain Albatross turned round and was a little spooked by it.
"Ok, a little odd..." he said to himself. "Julian, its nothing to worry about...its just an automatic door...they close on their own...that's normal..." but again something strange was happening. The lights in the carriage began to switch on and Julian couldn't work out what was happening. Outside of the carriage though, Una was giving everyone else a clue.
"The final stop is coming for the beast of the rails..."she muttered to herself as she suddenly sat upright with her eyes yet again as pale as before. Derek, who was watching her closely couldn't contend with another moment of her supposed 'madness' and just ran for his office.
"Get away you mad woman!" he cried before vanishing from sight.
Meanwhile, the Doctor began to work out what was happening with Captain Albatross and the empty Underground train.
"Oh dear..." he said. "He won't stand a chance."
"Why, what's happening?" asked Rory, but the Doctor didn't need to answer as suddenly the humming noise of the rails and that of the train began to roar back into life. The train was about to move. Colonel Jorgensen had worked out what was happening and immediately rushed over. She tried to prise open the doors, but they wouldn't budge.
"JULIAN!" she cried as he frantically tried to get out, but he couldn't. Nothing would give way and the Doctor knew that, and Rory could sense it aswell. Behind them, Una was just repeating herself endlessly and couldn't stop, but the main focus was now on Julian.
"Tell everyone I'll be alright..." said Julian to Felicity but she could barely hear him as the humming noise of the train drowned him out. Suddenly it moved forward pulling along itself and pushing the first train down the line all on its own. No-one dared follow the train as the lines were fizzing and crackling with energy that sent the Colonel's Spike analyser off the scale.
"Keep back!" called the Doctor as he then pulled Felicity away. She was quite clearly emotional from it all and simply couldn't hold back on a little weep. All of this was happening way too soon in her UN.I.T career and nothing had ever prepared her for instances like this.
"What's going to happen to him, Doctor?" she eventually managed to ask.
"I don't know..." he replied. "He's probably just going along to the next station...whichever that is..."
"Farringdon..." filled in Felicity. "Are you sure he'll be ok?"
"Definitely..." said the Doctor but as he looked upto Rory, his face told a different story, one of uncertainty. The noise of the trains had now long gone, and Una had again fallen back into an unconscious state, but Rory thought he could hear the train once more. So, he ventured towards the platform and was shocked to see the train edging back towards where it had stopped.
"Doctor!" he called. "You've got to see this..." The Doctor and Felicity soon rushed over and saw the train Julian had got trapped in had now returned. Julian though wasn't there. The only thing that was there was his UN.I.T hat.
"Oh my God..." said Felicity before breaking down into a sob once more at what she seemingly thought was what was left of Julian. Things weren't helped by a sudden flash of what appeared to be lightning further down the line and then came a scream, a scream that could only belong to Julian himself.
"The final stop is coming for the beast of the rails..." muttered the Doctor to himself.
"Indeed..." hissed Una. Everyone turned round to see Una now standing and making her way towards them. "...and it will rise and terminate all life that needn't exist!" she carried on before she seemingly vanished in a flash of lightning...