Authors Note: Hi all, I'm back writing this story. Sorry for the delay but my dear beta doctorsdiva could not continue due to bad health and it took me a while to get moving and find a new one. Big thanks to naughtybunny23 for her help. Thank you to all my readers for your patience. I promise I won't go so long without updating again.
Since it's been over two months here's a little recap: Doctor has taken rose to a market place on the planet Gwilgoloth to enjoy the sites, banana milkshakes and to say thank you for being with him. There are also rumours of slave trade which they plan on investigating. During all this Rose is kidnapped and the Doctor is frantic. He meets Darcia, a fledgling reporter who saw it all happen and the Doctor asks her to help him find Rose.
Chapter four summary: Darcia helps the Doctor but what has happened to Rose?
The minute the Doctor stopped speaking Darcia eagerly stated her willingness to help find Rose.
"Count me in, Doctor. What do we do first?"
"Need you to draw that sketch of the two men. While you're creating your masterpiece, I'm going back into the amenities building to trace that transmat beam."
"The what?" queried Darcia.
"Transmat beam," repeated the Doctor. "It's that bright light you saw that brought the two men and then took them away again with Rose."
"So, how are you going to trace it, Doctor?" asked Darcia, extremely intrigued.
"With this, my sonic screwdriver," he exclaimed, holding it up proudly. "Never leave home without it, but …" seeing the questioning look in Darcia's eyes, "save your questions for later because I don't have time to explain it all now. Just trust me, it works."
"Actually, Doctor," giggled Darcia, "I was going to say that you might want to let the cafe owners in on the plan so they know to keep patrons away from the ladies toilets for the moment. I don't need you getting yourself arrested on suspicions of being a public pervert." The incredulous look on the Doctor's face at her words nearly sent her into fits of laughter. It was obvious that such a situation had never crossed his mind. Just as well I'm around and already proving my worth, she thought proudly to herself.
"Ah," voiced the Doctor sheepishly. "Yes … you're right … um, better go and speak to them. You start that drawing," he stated as he backed away from her towards the cafe doors.
"Consider it done," replied Darcia cheekily. Once the Doctor was gone she quickly took out her sketching tools and set to work on the promised picture, thankful that she had taken art as an elective subject at the Lythirian University. Her fingers moved skilfully as she sketched the outlines of her humanoid subjects. Seeing their faces glare up at her from her workbook rekindled a little of her earlier fears but they were quashed rapidly by intense excitement as she remembered the adventure she was now part of. She was just smoothing and blending in the finishing touches when the Doctor returned, his wide smile a clear indication that he had found what he was after. Time to do some planning.
Rose was drifting in and out of consciousness. Strange thoughts and feelings crossed her mind; things half remembered, strange visions, silly dreams that sought to torment her. Slowly the fog lifted from her addled brain and she remembered the marketplace. With the spark of that first memory all the others came crashing back. Her eyes shot open and there was but one word gasped from her lips: "Doctor!"
She sat up quickly, promptly realising the mistake as dizziness consumed her and she was forced to lie back down again, noting the comfort of the bed and pillow on which she laid. When her mind cleared, she glanced around the well-furnished room, taking in the tasteful décor. Several minutes passed before she attempted to sit up again, this time moving slowly, until she was perched on the side of the bed with her feet on the floor. From this position she observed her surroundings again, likening them very much to being inside an upmarket hotel room.
Rose eventually managed to rise from the bed and further explore the room. There were only two doors; one door led to a rather nice bathroom, which in better circumstances she was sure she would have taken full advantage of. There were no windows in the bathroom but in the bedroom there were two; both were shaded with thick, heavy, blood-red drapes that blocked out the outside world. Rose drew the drapes aside and found the window panes so darkly tinted one could not easily see in or out. Finally she moved towards the other door and was not at all surprised to find it locked. Rose sighed and then smiled. She had been in many prison cells since meeting the Doctor but this one was perhaps the strangest of them all. Too bad he's not here to share it with me.
She could feel her heart melt as she thought of the Doctor. Even prison cells were easy to cope with when she had his hand to hold or was folded against his chest in those hugs that always promised she would be alright. Rose wondered what he would be thinking right now. I bet he's frantic that I'm gone. Their conversation this morning told her he cared a great deal about her and it saddened her greatly to think that her disappearance would be causing him such pain. There was one thought though that brightened her and boosted her sagging courage – he would never give up looking for her.
Rose's thoughts were interrupted by voices coming from outside her door and a key being turned in the lock. She dashed back over to the bed, laid down on her side and pretended to still be unconscious, all the while praying desperately that whoever it was might be fooled and go away again.
The door opened and into the room came the two humanoid men that had abducted Rose earlier. One of them spoke in hushed tones to the other.
"She should be awake by now. Did we overdo the dose?"
The other man shook his head. "No, the drug's effects can vary depending on species. She should come around in a few minutes, if not we'll make her wake up," he threatened. He looked leeringly over at Rose before continuing. "It's a pity the boss picked up on her for his little business. We could have had some fun with her; I'm half tempted to say to hell with it …" He trailed off roughly, not needing to finish the sentence for his accomplice to pick up a similar thought.
Rose viewed them through slitted eyes, fear creeping into her body at the lewd expressions on their faces..She would fight with everything she had if they decided to act on their fantasies, but she knew it would not be enough against two attackers intent on violating her. To her relief they maintained their distance from her bedside and continued talking.
"Come on, Ert, you know it's just a pipe dream," simpered his work partner. "She'll get sold to the richest bidder just like all the other so called 'class' that we procure for his nibs … although, he was pretty excited about this one. I think for a moment he seemed to recognise her."
"Yeah, well Griff, you and I both know we don't get paid to think so let's just get on with the job. Time to wake up our little beauty queen. No doubt she'll mouth off and want to know what the hell's going on just like all the others and won't like the answers when she gets them," said Ert sarcastically.
With that they strode across the room to Rose's bedside. Ert poked her roughly in the middle of her shoulder blades. "Hey you! Wakey wakey princess, beauty sleep is over. Time to face the dragon."
Rose pretended to stretch as she would do any other time upon awakening and opened her eyes. She was thankful that her limited acting skills combined with her very real fear had them fooled into thinking that she really had just woken up to a horrid nightmare. She gave a small scream and followed it up with "Who the hell are you?" in a very frightened voice.
It was with some relief that the smaller of the two aliens answered her. Griff did not leer at her like the larger male.
"It's alright, Miss. We won't hurt you unless you do something stupid, like try to escape, okay?" he assured her in a soft calming voice.
"Okay," agreed Rose nervously. "Where … where am I? What is this place? What do you want with me?" she pleaded breathlessly.
This time Ert answered her questions. "You're here because the boss considers you to be beautiful and therefore a sure money maker. This whole room here -" He stopped momentarily to wave his arm around the room. "- doubles as a viewing room with hidden cameras all around us. Tonight you will be listed on an auction website, to be won by the highest bidder who will decide your future as they see fit. Although ..." The lust was clear in his eyes as he swept his gaze up and down her trembling form. "With a body like yours, I am sure the bidder will be after one thing … "
Rose was relieved when Griff took over the conversation. "Look, Miss, this auction house deals only with very high class clientele. Each and every bidder no matter their race or species is checked out and only the best are allowed to participate. Whoever buys you will ensure you are well treated. It's part of the sale contract."
"Oh," broke in Rose, "that makes me feel so much better about the whole thing." The idea that she should simply accept this pushed away any fear that Rose had previously felt. Now she was angry. "SO, let me get this straight! You drug and abduct me. You take me away from my friend who I am sure is frantically searching for me right now. I'm a prisoner, an item to be sold at auction like on eBay or something? ..."
Suddenly another voice echoed through the room and interrupted her tirade. It seemed to come from a panel near a door that Rose had missed earlier. The voice sounded familiar but she could not place it right now, and it chilled her to the bone.
"EBAY," boomed the voice. "EBAY? Oh, Miss Tyler, that little site is nothing compared to what you are part of now. This auction house caters to bidders from galaxies far beyond your comprehension … but then again perhaps not since you travel with the Doctor, hmm? A pity my boys couldn't take him as well but you'll do. Your face will be shown to beings too numerous to count and I am expecting the final bid for you to be practically priceless. Oh yes, I think you will make me very rich indeed." The voice gave one final laugh and then silence enveloped the room.
Rose leapt off the bed and raced over to the panel. "Who are you?" she called in vain. "How do you know about me and the Doctor?" Silence greeted her questioning outburst, and she turned her anger once more towards her kidnappers.
"I won't do this. If you think I'm just going to sit here and play nice, you've another thing coming. If the bidders want a show. I'll give them one. No one will want me once I'm done. I'll mark myself, make myself ugly to their eyes. I'll rip this place apart with my bare hands if I have to so no one will want me!"
Griff looked set to say something but it was Ert who responded first. He firmly took hold of Rose's chin in his hand forcing her to meet his lust - filled gaze. "Yeah, you do that girl. Go ahead, by all means. At least that would give me a chance to have you instead."
He loosened his grip on her face and Rose pulled away in disgust. She turned to Griff. "What does he mean by that?" she asked shakily.
"If you're not sold here at auction then you get re-listed," answered Griff quietly
"AND …"
"You will be sold as a common slave to the lower classes. Many are sold as sacrificial offerings to soothe some tribe's pagan God. Others are sold to ..."
Griff did not get to finish as once more Ert interrupted. "You get sold to satisfy the appetites of someone like me," he finished, ogling her once more. "SO ... go on, girl, I'm rather hoping you do behave like a little hellcat. I'd take pleasure in breaking you."
"Ert," admonished Griff. "That's enough. You've had your fun." He watched Ert walk away from Rose with obviously regretful steps. "In the cupboard in the bathroom you will find a white robe. You will remove all clothing apart from your underwear and put that on." Rose opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it.
Griff ignored her attempt at protest and continued talking. "As you can see, you've been provided with a comfortable room. Decent meals will be served to you at appropriate times and you may rest if you need to. The online auction starts in approximately 2 hours and will run for 24 hours. We will only disturb you again if there is a local buyer who wants to inspect … um … the goods, so to speak and buy you outright." He finished, looking at her a little nervously.
"WHAT?" bellowed Rose, her eyes burning in rage again. What do you mean inspect the goods? If you think I'm getting my kit off so some pervert can get an eyeful ..."
"You'll have to do it when they buy you," broke in Ert rudely from the door.
"Shut up, Ert," yelled Griff. He turned back to Rose, bearing a somewhat impatient expression on his face. "Look there's no point in getting upset about this. There will be some touching but not in inappropriate places and I assure you no one will be allowed to take advantage of you. That's of course assuming you do have anyone come to inspect. It rarely happens. Now be a good girl and do what you're told. We're going now and you'll probably not see us again." Griff's face softened for a moment. "Good luck, Miss," he murmured before following Ert out of the room.
Rose did not move. She heard the lock turn and knew there was no escape. They were still talking outside her room and she strove to listen in case it should be something important.
"Sometimes Ert, you are just too much. I wonder why I keep working with you?" growled Griff, obviously exasperated.
"Aww come on; I was just having some fun. Look let's go back to that cafe and have a drink to say sorry, hey?" said Ert trying to wiggle his way back into Griff's good graces.
"Do you think that's a good idea, Ert? What if that guy she was with is still around or that woman that you hit? I always tell you 'no violence' but you never listen."
Ert whined. "She hit me first, remember? Look they won't be there. They would have gone off screaming to law enforcement by now, who would have done a search, found nothing like usual and taken them down to the station to file a missing persons report. Besides you know no one can see us if we transmat to the storage cupboard. We can nick the ingredients for the milkshakes and be back here in no time. Come on, Griff, we've done it heaps of times after a job goes down and never had a problem.
"Yeah, alright," agreed Griff not very convincingly. He had this gut feeling that something was going to go wrong.
Rose heard them go before wearily sinking down onto the carpeted floor. Now she knew the worst of it. The familiar voice from earlier still tormented her but she tried not to let her fears overwhelm her. She had two things on her side. For the moment she had time. Over 24 hours probably, barring any local bidders buying her outright. The other thing that was by far the most important was that the Doctor would be searching for her and when faced with a challenge such as this, nothing and no one would stop him.
Find me Doctor, please find me.
She prayed that by some miracle he might hear her.