Chapter 2

Laura leaned on the console as she looked through the viewing port at the sight of the devastated research facility.

"I can't believe they're all gone," she said quietly, "And it happened so fast..."

"As these things often do," the Doctor replied with a sigh, "A fraction of a second can change the world. I wish I'd seen this coming so I could have stopped it."

And he kept his gaze on the screen on the console, searching for a trace of the Cyber ship, but saw none. And then a thought hit him and he looked up.

"Laura..."

She turned from the viewing port and met his gaze.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"Did Professor Travis know how dangerous the power core was?"

"Of course. We all did. I can't believe he's still alive! He's been lucky."

"Lucky?"

She looked at him in confusion.

"Well he's okay, he's still alive. I thought that thing was supposed to be fatal if it was tampered with."

And then it hit him:

Yes, Travis knew...that was why he had asked if he could help him. But Laura, being security and not scientific staff, had no way of knowing what had happened when the Professor had shattered the radioactive seal.

Devon Travis was hoping he could use the Tardis to take him somewhere that could cure the radiation poisoning.

But the truth was, there was no known cure in existence for the kind of radiation that had protected that core. He was a dying man, and he knew it – but Laura didn't know that yet and neither did Ace...

The Doctor made a silent decision that he would do all he could to help Devon, but he suspected little could really be achieved. And he would not be breaking the news of his condition to Ace or Laura – it was Devon's business, and breaking that kind of news would have to come from him, if he chose to share it, when he eventually realised no cure could be found.

The Doctor felt heavy in his hearts at the thought that it seemed there was little he could do, he didn't want to give up on the man who had just saved Earth from destruction, but as far as he was aware, there was no cure for Xaygrolium radiation poisoning. It was a slow and painful way to die. The Doctor didn't know how much time he had – probably much longer than he imagined, if he could receive treatment. But there was no cure. Devon Travis was a dying man, and he knew it, and he was desperately clinging to hope of a cure that most likely did not exist...

"He's been really lucky," Laura said again, and the Doctor nodded.

"I'm sure he has," he replied quietly, keeping the dying man's secret, "Although he will probably feel quite unwell to begin with. I'd expect those effects to wear off in a few days."

And then he fell silent again, omitting the fact that after the initial exposure, it would take several days for the true effects of the poisoning to become known.

And he still wanted to save him. The man had saved a world – the least he felt he ought to do was try and save his life in return...

And then the scanner flashed and the Doctor gave a heavy sigh.

"The Cyber ship is still around," he said, indicating to a faint, ghostly outline just above the Earth, "It's heavily cloaked, but definitely still there."

Laura looked down at the screen and then as she met the Doctor's gaze he caught that look in her eyes again and wanted to hold her tightly and make a promise that all would be well, but he held back.

"Why is it just waiting there?"

"I don't know," he replied, "Maybe its looking for the Tardis, or perhaps scanning for the power core – that nuclear device has made them nervous – well, as concerned as emotionless pieces of metal can be – they know they almost destroyed themselves and the mother ship when they triggered the count down. I think they fear tripping it again. They don't know it's permanently turned off. And that's a good thing..."

"In what way?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not sure yet. I won't know more until they make a move. But we need to get away from here – I need to find a place where Devon can get some treatment, and sooner rather than later."

"But he's okay."

The Doctor looked at her sadly, and then forced a brief smile.

"I'm sure he is," he replied, "But we still need to get out of here, I can't relax knowing the Cybermen could turn up at any minute."

And he looked at Laura and she smiled.

"Getting out of here sounds like a good idea," she agreed, and he smiled too, and it was there again, that warmth, a connection that made him wish for more, and under better circumstances.

"Are you and Ace -"

"Together?" he wondered, "No, not in that sense. Friends, yes, very close. But not together."

"Okay, I was just asking..." she avoided his gaze for a moment, and as she looked back at him, the Doctor was still looking at her thoughtfully.

"It's perfectly okay to ask, Laura," he said warmly, and then he threw a switch on the console.

The Tardis wheezed and groaned and wheezed again – and failed to take off.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he looked down at the controls.

"No... NO!" he said urgently, and tried the controls again.

As the Tardis failed to take off a second time, he shut down the take off mode as he stared in disbelief at the ghostly image on the scanner.

"We're locked in!" he exclaimed, "The Cyber ship has locked down the whole area! That's why no help came after the attack on the research base! They've thrown a shield around it!"

Ace was in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed and not minding at all that someone else was in it, beneath soft covers that belonged to her. She had helped Devon to take off his clothing and now he was resting, but not easily as he continued to sweat and suffer pains that shot through his bones.

"I don't know what to do to help you," she said to him, "How long will this last? Is there anything you can take for it?"

Devon drew in a slow breath as another wave of pain passed through him and then faded out. He looked into the eyes of the young woman who sat beside him and felt grateful for her company. She was looking at him so kindly, and she was so blissfully unaware of a truth he was not prepared to face up to, at least, not until he knew all hopes of a cure had been exhausted...

"The pain should ease off soon," he told her, "It won't last long, it's just an initial reaction to the exposure."

"So you're going to be okay?"

"Yes, of course I will," he replied, "I'm a scientist, I didn't go in there without protective clothing."

And every word he had spoken about protection had been a lie and he felt bad for lying to a sweet and beautiful woman who he knew he could easily fall in love with, and then he wondered how he could even think about falling in love at a time like this – but when was the right time for anything to happen in life?

Ace smiled.

"You don't look like a Professor," she said, "You're too -"

"Young?" he wondered, and she laughed.

"Too good looking!"

And then he blushed.

"Thanks for that, Ace – but I don't feel too attractive at the moment!"

She looked into his eyes and as he didn't look away she caught a flicker of warmth there and she reached over and swept his damp hair off his face.

"You'll soon feel better," she promised him, and he wished it could be true.

"I'm sure I will," he replied quietly.

And Ace allowed her gaze to briefly wander over his firm body, but then he caught his breath as he fought another wave of pain and she took hold of his hand and grasped it tightly.

"Devon?" her voice raised slightly as panic took her over as she watched his face pale as he fought for air, then just as quickly the pain faded away, leaving him to slump back against his pillow as he slowly got his breath back.

"I'll be fine," he said quietly, "Don't worry about me."

Ace was still holding his hand.

"But I do," she said gently, and as she looked into his eyes her heart beat a little faster.

"You saved the world. How cool is that! You're the bravest man on Earth."

"Thank you, Ace," he replied quietly, and then he thought about the true cost of that bravery and fell silent as he waited, dreading the next wave of pain. As it overtook him he grabbed hard at her hand, and Ace gave a gasp as he crushed her hand in his grip.

As the pain faded away once more he let go.

"I'm sorry...I felt like my bones were melting. I need something for this...I don't know what can take for it, I don't know..."

He gave a frightened sob and as Ace put her arms around him, his body tensed and he gave another cry of pain.

Ace held him gently, waiting for the pain to pass and as his gaze came back into focus she spoke quietly to him.

"I'll get the Professor, he'll be able to help!"

And then she left the room, leaving him alone with pain that he feared more than he cared to admit.

As Ace ran into the console room, the Doctor was working on the console. He looked up at her and caught the look in her eyes and for a moment forget the problems of the shields.

"What's wrong, Ace?"

"It's Devon, he's in pain, really bad pain, I don't know what to do!"

"And the Cybermen have thrown a shield system around the whole area – must have happened after we landed, and it's stopping the Tardis from taking off," he said to her," We can't do anything to help him unless we can get out of here!"

"He's tried everything," Laura added as she stood beside the Doctor, "But the shields are sealing us in."

"But Professor, he's in agony!"

The Doctor glared at Ace.

"There is nothing I can do, I have to crack their shield system, the combinations run into thousands! I may never crack it, do you understand me?"

And then he saw hurt in her eyes and instantly regretted speaking so harshly.

"Yes," Ace said quietly as she blinked away tears, "But I just want to help Devon. You haven't seen what he's like, what the pain is like, its so hard to watch!"

And the Doctor thought again about the effects of the poisoning, and as he spoke again, his voice had softened.

"Let me break their code so we can get out of here. Then I can find him some proper help."

And then Laura spoke up.

"The facility has a sick bay. It's not very big but it's equipped for emergencies. I could go back see if I can find some pain killers."

The Doctor gave a heavy sigh as lights flashed on the control panel, indicating another code he had put in had just been rejected.

"Pain killers? No, Laura. He's experiencing chronic pain, he needs morphine for that."

"Morphine?" Ace exclaimed, "That's a bit much for a few minor burns."

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"Minor?"

"Yeah, he told me while I was helping him into bed, he had these red marks on his arm, he said it was minor burns, but they hurt a lot. He said the burns will fade in a few days."

"Yes, they will," the Doctor said quietly, recalling that the initial stage of the poisoning would indeed fade – as it sunk lower into his bones...

"Professor?"

Ace sounded worried.

"I was just thinking," he replied, "Morphine would be best if the pain is chronic."

And he turned to Laura.

"You know that building inside out – I have no concerns sending you back in – but be careful. That Cybership is still up there and they could send a patrol back down at any time, so be ready to run at the first sign of trouble. Don't stand and fight, just run. Get back to the Tardis, have you got that?"

Laura nodded.

"Go now, " he told her, "And if they do send a patrol down, I may be able to trace the signal – that will put me halfway towards cracking through their shield's coding system. Be quick, Laura – we don't have much time."

"I'll be back soon," she promised, and she hurried out of the Tardis.

As the door closed behind her the Doctor turned to Ace and saw a look in her eyes that made his twin hearts ache, and gave him an awful sense of dread:

Ace was showing a great deal of concern for Devon, it went beyond her normal concern for an injured stranger. She was becoming fond of him, and he was dying – and there was nothing the Doctor could do to stop her heart from ultimately breaking – and that thought struck terror into his own hearts, because that was a pain he could not protect her from...

"Please tell me we can help him," she said and she looked at him with such desperation in her eyes that he hated himself as he lied to her.

"Of course we can," he promised her, "We just need to solve this shield problem first."

And then she left the console room, returning to Devon's bedside, while the Doctor worked on the shield problem and tried and failed over and over to cut the Tardis loose from the Cyber ship's lock down.

Laura ran across the lawn and went up the steps, then into the main building.

By now the stink of the gas had left the air, and was slowly being replaced by the rising odour of dead bodies.

She stepped over the dead carefully, at the same time not looking too closely for fear of recognising familiar faces of colleagues as she made her way towards the lift. The doors were open and she stepped inside, and then the doors slid shut and the lift began to climb.

And a patrolling Cyberman entered the building and listened as the Cyber controller's metallic voice came through the communication device fixed to his arm:

"Activate the test subjects."

The Cyberman turned over a metal hand and held out a small device, then keyed in a sequence, and stood back to watch the effect.

The dead bodies on the floor began to stir, then rise slowly, staggering, eyes blank as they struggled to their feet, faces pale and movement jarring as the reanimated dead began to move about, stumbling against one another at first, and then looking around the room, searching for signs of the living humans whose blood they craved...

Devon was still sweating heavily. He was shaking as he clutched at the sheets and looked up at Ace with fear in his eyes.

"I...can't take the pain...please help me!"

Ace sat beside him once more and clasped his hand.

"Laura's gone back to get some morphine. She won't be long."

He struggled to hold back tears as he looked into her eyes.

"Morphine?"

"I know it sounds serious but the Doctor said it would be best for your pain.,"

Devon blinked away tears as he thought of the truth he had held back. Of course he needed morphine, he was dying from that alien radiation...

But he still clung to the hope of a cure and as he looked into the eyes of Ace, he wondered what might be if he was cured, if there was a chance of happiness in the future – maybe, with Ace?

He had to hope for something...

"When I'm better," he said, "I'll take you to my house...it's a lovely place, a cottage... it's not far from here, I'd like you to see it, the summer's almost here and the garden is lovely in summer..."

Then he gripped her hand a little tighter as more pain shot through his body.

He drew in a sharp breath and continued:

"It's been in my family for three generations, beautiful place... would you like that, Ace? I'd love us to have dinner together...maybe you could stay for a few days?"

Ace smiled.

"I think that would be perfect," she replied, "I'd love to do that."

"I wish I'd met you under better circumstances," he said honestly, "I'd really like to get to know you, Ace."

"And you will!" she promised him, "Devon, I like you too – and you saved the world. That's pretty awesome!"

And Devon laughed weakly. His face was pale but the sparkle had come back into his eyes.

"I'm no one special, I'm just an ordinary man," he told her, "An ordinary man who was in difficult circumstances and had to make a decision."

"As most heroes are," Ace replied, "And you made the right choice. You stopped the count down."

He smiled.

"So I'm awesome?"

She smiled too.

"Yes, you are," she said fondly, and for a moment their eyes locked and warmth passed between them, until another bolt of pain shot through his body and he grabbed at her hand, fighting for breath as he struggled to get through pain that was sinking deep into bone. Ace was talking softly to him as she stroked his hair, but he barely heard her as he sank back against the pillow, weakened by agony.

As the lift doors opened, Laura stepped out at the top floor and glanced left and right, saw no one and hurried down the corridor, following the signs that led to the sick bay. When she reached the door she found it locked, so she stood back and with a single blast of her laser pistol the lock was obliterated and the door swung open.

She went inside and started opening cabinets and drawers, but found no morphine.

Then she saw a large bag marked first aid kit, and grabbed it and set it down on a table. She unzipped the bag and looked inside and found dressings and creams and lotions and syringes, but again, no morphine.

"Where is it?" she said aloud, and then as she turned her head, she caught sight of a locked glass cabinet.

She went over to it and then she saw glass vials clearly marked, and she tried to door, but the lock was firm.

Laura grabbed a chair from a nearby computer console, and turned her head away as the metal base connected with the glass. It shattered, sending shards across the lab floor.

Laura put the chair down and reached in, grabbing the morphine, then she placed it in the medical bag, zipped it shut and used the strap on the bag to carry it over her shoulder, leaving her hands free to reach for her gun if she needed it.

She left the lab and made her way back up the corridor. As she headed for the lift she slowed her pace.

A woman in a lab coat staggered towards the lift, then she stopped and slowly raised her head, her face framed by long fair hair.

"Hello?" Laura said quickly, "Are you all right? I'm security, are you hurt?"

She was running towards her.

"I said, are you hurt -"

And then Laura froze, staring in horror as the woman looked up, met her gaze with dead white eyes, and then opened a mouth that emitted a gush of black slime. From the back of her throat a low growl sounded, and she reached for her with curled, rigid fingers, taking shaky steps in her direction.

"No way!" she exclaimed, and aimed the gun, sending a laser shot blasting out that slammed into the woman, who staggered back, then continued to walk towards her.

And then a clambering, clattering sound came from the stairway:

She turned her head to see more of them making their way up...

Laura ducked into a lab, shut the door and locked it and then kept her weapon trained, sweeping the room – but this one was empty...

"Now what?" she said aloud, as scratching began to sound from the other side of the locked door as the reanimated dead tried to claw through the wood.

Then she climbed up on to a work surface and opened the window.

Looking down, it was a short jump to the flat roof below...

She scrambled out of the window and jumped, landing safely on the roof.

Then she ran, took a jump passing a narrow gap she didn't want to think about that she could have easily slipped through, and landed on the next roof.

She paused to catch her breath, looking down and seeing the dead staggering out of the building. Then she looked over at the Tardis, a short distance away across the other side of the wide lawn.

Laura didn't think, because she knew if she did she would fall and those things...no, she didn't want to think about those things, either...

Instead she scrambled from the roof, did not look down and began to climb, guttering, window ledges, more guttering, slipping and then holding on and continuing the climb, thinking only of reaching the ground.

As she passed the first floor she lowered herself, then grabbed the pipe and slid, landing heavily with a jolt that jarred her bones, but she jumped up as the dead began to round the corner, and ran away from the building, making a dash for the Tardis.

Something large and silver caught her eye as she ran, there was a Cyberman standing guard but she had passed him now...

Laura didn't look back as the Doctor's words burned bright in her mind:

Do not stand and fight, just run!

She crossed the lawn and reached the Tardis and hammered on the door.

It opened and she dashed inside, and the Doctor, who was still working on the console with his back to the viewing screen, reached for a switch, and the Tardis doors closed again.

"Did you get the morphine?" he asked, still concentrating on his attempt to break through the Cyber ship's shield system.

"Yeah...I did..." Laura was breathless.

He turned and looked at her.

"What happened?"

"I think I saw a Cyberman -"

"I picked up nothing on the radar – but that would make sense if they only sent down one to monitor the immediate area -"

"Doctor..."

The Doctor's hat was off and perched on the hat stand, and his umbrella was hung beside it. He paused to run his fingers through dark hair and then he scratched his head.

"Yes...I suppose my systems wouldn't pick up one Cyberman - that would be a drop in the ocean compared to the vast power they've got going to keep this shield in place...perhaps if they'd sent through a whole unit I may have detected it -"

"Doctor!"

He caught a look of fear in her eyes.

"What is it, Laura?"

She drew in a deep breath and pointed to the screen.

"The Cybermen... I don't know how they did it, but those dead people, those people they killed...are walking around again, they're dead and they're walking around and they were trying to hunt me down like prey!"

The Doctor turned to the screen, and his eyes widened in shock to see the reanimated corpses staggering about the grounds of the research facility.

He was still staring in horror at the sight of it as she spoke again:

"They're all dead, Doctor – but the Cybermen brought them back, they've brought the dead back to life!"