The Hungry Earth
Evy stood at the monitor, garbed in black with a green shirt, looking at the coordinates for their latest trip as the Doctor gathered Rory and Amy by the doors of the TARDIS. Amy had been begging them to go to Rio and the Doctor finally agreed to take them…oh they were all going to be in for a surprise when they realized they were actually still in England…
"Behold..." the Doctor shouted, throwing the doors open, "Rio!"
They stepped out, looking around to see a cemetery as Evy came to join them.
"Nuh uh," Amy shook her head.
"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe," Rory added.
"No," the Doctor stepped forward, "Ooh, feel that, though?" he turned back, holding a hand out to Evy as she stepped out of the TARDIS.
As soon as her feet touched the ground she frowned, "What is that?" she looked down.
The Doctor started bouncing in place, "Ground does feel strange doesn't it?"
Evy looked up to tell him to stop bouncing when something caught her eye, "Now that's weird…" she walked away, pulling the Doctor with her.
"What's weird?" Rory frowned.
"Blue grass," Evy replied, eyeing the small patches around them.
"Stop trying to distract us," Amy rolled her eyes, "We're in the wrong place…" she sighed, following after the duo as they walked towards a church, "Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio. We are not stopping here," the Doctor and Evy knelt down and pulled a bit of the grass up, examining it, "Evy not you too! Are either of you listening to me? It's a graveyard! You promised me a beach."
"There's patches of it all over the place," Evy remarked, looking around.
"So, Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot," the Doctor defended quickly as Amy and Rory walked over.
"Why are those people waving at us?" Amy asked, seeing two people in the distance waving widely at them.
The Doctor and Evy looked over their shoulders at the people before jumping up and stepping forward, "Can't be…" the Doctor breathed, pulling out a pair of binoculars and looking through them.
A moment later Evy smiled, "It is!" she laughed, looking over at Amy and Rory, "It's you."
"No, we're here," Rory shook his head, "How can we be up there?"
"Ten years in your future," Evy told them, nodding over at the other them.
"Come to relive past glories, I'd imagine," the Doctor agreed, "Humans, you're so nostalgic."
"We're still together in ten years?" Amy's eyes widened.
"No need to sound so surprised!" Rory frowned at her, just the tiniest bit offended.
"Hey, let's go and talk to them!" Amy turned to Rory, "We can say hi to Future Us! How cool is that?" she grabbed his arm and started off towards themselves.
"No, best not, really best not," the Doctor began, stopping them, "These things get complicated very quickly, and...oh, look!" he pointed towards a large drill in the distance, "Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing," he turned to grin at Evy before looking over at Amy and Rory, "See, way better than Rio! Rio doesn't have a big mining thing."
"We're not going to have a look, are we?"
"Knowing him?" Evy nodded over at the Doctor.
"Let's go and have a look!" he took Evy's hand and began to lead her down a hill towards the drill.
Evy laughed, calling back over to Amy and Rory, "Come on, we'd best see what's going on."
They rushed off down the hills, just getting down to the bottom when they heard Amy calling after them, "Doctor! Evy!"
They turned around to see her running down the hill, but without Rory, "Where's Rory gone to?" Evy frowned, trying to look behind her to spot him.
Amy rolled her eyes, "He's gone back to the TARDIS to put my ring there, says I might lose it."
"Should we wait?" the Doctor looked over at Amy.
"Nah," she waved him off, "He said he'd catch up."
She stepped past them and continued walking on, leaving them no choice but to follow after her.
They reached the drilling station rather quickly, only to find the gates locked. Evy looked up at the signs attached to the front, "'Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel…'" she glanced over at the Doctor and grinned, pulling out her sonic and flashing the lock, causing it to spark and break, "Oh," the Doctor laughed and pulled her into a hug from behind.
"That is breaking and entering!" Amy gasped.
"What did she break?" he retorted, stepping up and pulling the lock off, "Sonicing and entering, totally different."
He pushed the gate open as Amy stepped through, "Come on, then."
Evy hesitated, looking back, "You're sure Rory'll catch us up?"
"Yes!" Amy shouted.
Evy sighed, still worried, till the Doctor walked up and put his arm around her waist, "I'm sure he's fine."
She looked up at him and nodded, the two of them walking in after Amy.
~8~
They walked through a couple halls trying to find the main control room or monitoring station but had no luck so far.
"What about now, can you feel it now?" the Doctor asked Amy. He and Evy had been trying to figure out why the ground felt so off, but so far they were the only ones who could tell.
"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about," Amy replied.
"The ground feels wrong," Evy told her, "Not like it should feel."
"It's ten years in the future, maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels."
"Good thought!" the Doctor smiled, "But no. It doesn't. Hear that?"
There was a whirring sound above them, "That's a drill in start-up mode," Evy commented, "There's after waves of a recent seismological shift."
"And blue grass," the Doctor added, pulling some of the blue grass he'd plucked out of his pocket and…
"Oh don't!" Evy cried, but the Doctor had already stuffed a few pieces in his mouth.
He made a face and began pulling them off his tongue, disgusted.
"Oh, please!" Amy grimaced, "Have you always been this disgusting?"
"No, that's recent," he replied quickly.
"Not true!" Evy laughed at him, "You did that before."
"Did not!"
She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms, "Dead sand?"
"Oh right…" he trailed, before grinning widely and pulling her to him, "You said you wouldn't kiss me, but you did…" he tapped her nose.
"Well I wasn't about to let Christina do it!"
"Who?" Amy frowned, confused.
"It's a long story," Evy shook her head. She stepped away from the Doctor, sliding her hand down his arm to take his hand in hers and pull him along, "Now, what's in here…"
They stepped through a door to see a monitoring room with an Indian woman standing at a computer.
"Hello!" the Doctor called.
"Who are you?" the woman looked up, "What're you doing here?" she frowned at Amy, "And what're you wearing?"
"I dressed for Rio!" Amy replied.
The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and held it up at the woman, "Ministry of Drills, Earth, and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged, lot of responsibility on our shoulders, don't like to talk about it…"
"What're you doing?" Evy cut in, walking over to the monitors, saving the woman from another Doctor ramble.
"None of your business," the woman told her.
"Where are these readings coming from?" she asked, eyeing the monitor as Amy walked past to lean against a piece of machinery and the Doctor walked over to a hole in the ground in the middle of the room.
"Under the soil," the woman replied, moving a bit of equipment away from the Doctor.
"The drill's up and running again," an older man called, walking into the room, stopping short when he saw the three other people standing around, "What's going on? Who are these people?"
"Amy, Evy, the Doctor," Amy introduced, "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?"
"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" the Doctor asked, looking up from the hole where he was testing the soil, letting it pass through his fingers.
"We don't know, it just appeared overnight," the woman shrugged.
'Doctor,' Evy said to him silently so as not to alarm the others, 'These readings…they're not normal…there's something else…' she frowned, tapping a few keys as the Doctor got up to join her, Amy taking his spot at the hole.
"You need to get out of here, fast," Evy called over to them, her eyes widening as she read the readings.
"Why?" the woman asked.
"Sorry, what's your name?"
"Nasreen Chaudhry."
"Look at the readings on the screen, Nasreen," she pointed to the monitor, "It's moving."
"Hey, that's specialized equipment!" the other man called as he stormed over to them, "Get away from it."
"What is?" Nasreen asked.
"This steam," Amy called, "Is that a good thing?"
The Doctor looked over his shoulder at Amy, kneeling by the now smoking hole, "Shouldn't think so…" he glanced at Evy before walking over to it, "It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting."
"What shouldn't?" Nasreen frowned but then the ground began to shake.
"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving, but how?" the Doctor looked over at Evy, "Why?"
"Earthquake?" Amy suggested.
"What's going on?" the other man asked.
"I don't think so," Evy called back to Amy, she looked over at the Doctor, "This is the only room being affected," the room shook violently as more holes began to appear around the floor, the ground underneath it subsiding, "It knows we're here!"
"The ground's attacking us," the Doctor agreed, narrowly missing a hole.
"No, that's not possible!" Nasreen cried.
"Under the circumstances, I suggest...RUN!" the Doctor said. He grabbed Nasreen's hand and pulled her to the door. Reaching out for Evy as well, taking her hand and pulling her away from the holes. Amy ran towards them as well, doing a great job at avoiding the holes that sprung up…the man was not as lucky.
"Tony!" Nasreen shouted as the man became trapped.
"Stay back, Amy!" the Doctor shouted, "Stay away from the earth!"
Amy looked between them and Tony before leaping over a hole and over to his side, "It's ok," she reassured him, trying to help him up when the ground underneath her opened and her feet fell through, "It's pulling me down!"
"Amy!" Evy shouted as she and the Doctor ran over to her.
"Doctor, help me!" she shouted, "Evy something's got me!" they fell to their stomachs, reaching out to her, "The ground's got my legs!" she began to sink, now up to her waist.
"We've got you," the Doctor gasped as he and Evy grabbed one of her hands.
"Ok," she nodded, "Don't let go."
"Never," Evy promised, leaning in more to grab Amy around the waist as well.
"What is it, why is it doing this?"
"Stay calm, keep hold of our hands, don't let go," the Doctor told her.
"That drill," Evy shouted back at Nasreen and Tony, who had now been freed, "Shut it down! Go! Quick!" they ran from the room to do as ordered.
"Can you get me out?" Amy asked them.
"Amy, try and stay calm," the Doctor told her again, "If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of our hands."
"We're not about to let you go," Evy turned back to her.
She sunk more in to the ground, up to her chest as her arm slipped from the Doctor's grip, but sucking Evy forward with her as she refused to let too much of Amy's waist go, "It's pulling me down, something's pulling me!"
"Stay calm," he repeated, grabbing her hand with both of his, "Hold on, if they can just shut down the drill..."
"I can't hold on!" she cried as she was pulled down more, only her head and arms visible. The Doctor strained to hold on to her, Evy's arms were buried in the soil as she'd held onto Amy, "What's pulling me? What is under the earth? I don't want to suffocate under there."
"Amy, concentrate!"
"Don't you dare give up!" Evy added.
"Tell Rory..." Amy began but she was pulled under.
"No!" Evy cried, tightening her grip, "Amy!"
The Doctor watched in horror as Amy sunk lower…and then the worst thing that could happen happened…Amy was forcefully pulled into the earth, swallowed by it…but that wasn't all, Evy, who refused to let up on her grip, was pulled straight down with her too fast for the Doctor to grab her.
"No!" he shouted, reaching for Evy, only for her to disappear as well, "No!" he began to dig desperately through the dirt, needing to get them back, get her back, "No! No! No! No. No! No! No!" he slapped the ground and stood up, pulling out his sonic, "No! No!" he flashed the ground but nothing happened, "No!" he screamed, "You can't have her!"
But it was no use…she was gone.
He sunk to his knees, breathing heavily.
"Where are they?" Nasreen asked as she and Tony ran back into the room, the drill shut down.
"She's gone," he whispered, "They're gone. The ground took them," he let out a shuddering breath, "She's gone…"
'Not ever,' Evy spoke in his mind.
His eyes widened, 'Evy!'
'I'm fine…' she replied, sending him reassurance.
'Where are you?'
'Under the ground obviously.'
'Are you alright? Is Amy?'
'I'm fine. I can see Amy, she seems ok, knocked out though. I'll keep an eye on her, I'll let you know what's happening as soon as I can.'
'Right,' he nodded to himself, standing, his hearts slowing with relief that she was ok for now, 'I'll try and figure out what's going on from up here as well.'
"Is that what happened to Mo?" Tony asked, "Are they dead?"
"No, they're not dead," the Doctor said, beginning to pace around, trying to think quickly. The sooner he could figure this out, the sooner he could get Evy back, and Amy, "It's not quicksand. They didn't just sink, something pulled them in, it wanted Amy…but it got so much more than it bargained for…"
"What do you mean?" Tony frowned.
"They got Evy as well," he glanced up at them, "They have my Link, which means they've got me after them," he rubbed his head, "You said the ground was dormant, just a patch of earth, when you first saw it this morning. And the drill had been stopped."
"That's right," Nasreen nodded.
"But when you restarted the drill, the ground fought back."
"So what, the ground wants to stop us drilling?" Nasreen laughed, "Doctor, that is ridiculous."
The Doctor turned and aimed the sonic at the hole that had taken Amy and Evy and flashed it across, making the ground vibrate, "I'm not saying that, and it's not ridiculous, I just...don't think it's right."
'The ground isn't conscious. I got enough of a sense of that being pulled down, it wasn't the one pulling us, but it had all the signs of being programmed in parts.'
"Oh!" he smiled at her bit of information, "Of course! It's bio-programming!"
"What?" Nasreen shook her head.
"Bio-programming!" he clapped, "Oh, clever. You use bio-signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects! It's mainly used in engineering and construction, mostly jungle planets, but that's way in the future, and not here. What's it doing here?"
"Sorry, did you just say jungle planets?"
"You're not making any sense, man!" Tony exclaimed.
"'Scuse me, I'm making perfect sense, you're just not keeping up," he told them, "Evy understands it perfectly, I'll have you know…" he could feel her agreement, "The earth, the ground beneath our feet, was bio-programmed to attack."
"Yeah, even if that were possible, which, by the way, it's not, why?" Nasreen asked.
"Stop you drilling! We find what's doing the bio-programming, find Evy and Amy, get them back…"
'Doctor, can you hear that?' Evy asked.
"Shh, shh, ssh!" he hushed Tony and Nasreen, listening intently to what Evy was hearing…but it couldn't be…
"Doctor," Nasreen began.
"Shh, shh!" he hissed, closing his eyes to listen, "Silence! Absolute silence!" his eyes snapped open, that was the sound alright, "You stopped the drill, right?"
"Yes!" Nasreen rolled her eyes.
"And you've only got the one drill?"
"Yes."
"You're sure about that?"
"Yes!" Tony shouted this time.
He dropped down onto the ground, lying on his stomach next to the hole and pressing his ear to the floor, he could even hear it from here too, "So, if you shut the drill down...why can I still hear drilling? It's under the ground."
"That's not possible."
'Doctor, the map of the drill, I caught a blip of tunnels around the drill, while it burrowed down, someone was digging up around it…they had to be…finish the program and scan for tunnel systems.'
He ran over to the computer, flashing his sonic back and forth across it.
"Oh, no, what…what are you doing?" Tony asked.
"Hacking into your records," he replied, "Evy was going to get the reports, samples, sensors, everything you had and unite the data, make it all one big conversation, let's have a look. So…" he pointed out the drill, "We are here and this is your drill hole. 21.009 kilometers. Well done!"
"Thank you," Nasreen smiled, "It's taken us a long time."
'But why here?' Evy asked.
He nodded, it was a good question, "Why here, though? Why drill on this site?"
"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for 20 million years."
"The blue grass?" he asked, before shaking his head at Nasreen, "Oh, Nasreen, those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying dig here. They were a warning. Stay away. 'Cos while you've been drilling down...somebody else has been drilling up," he pulled up a screen, showing a series of vertical tunnel networks surrounding the drill, "Oh, beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down."
"No, no, we've surveyed that area," Tony shook his head.
"You only saw what you went looking for."
"What are they?" Nasreen asked, pointing a small cluster of three flashing lights.
"Heat signals," he said, "Wait, dual readings, hot and cold…"
'Hot and cold?'
"I know, doesn't make sense," he said, out loud, "And now they're moving. Fast. How many people live nearby?"
"Just my daughter and her family," Tony replied, "The rest of the staff travel in."
"Grab this equipment and follow me," he ordered, grabbing a computer and heading for the door.
"Why?" Nasreen asked, "What're we doing?"
He stopped and turned around, "That noise isn't a drill. It's transport. Three of them, 30 kilometers down, rate of speed looks about 150 kilometers an hour. Should be here in..."
'12 minutes.'
"12 minutes," he nodded, "Whatever bio-programmed the earth is on its way up, now."
He turned and walked out of the room, 'You alright? What's happening?'
'Nothing so far. It's too dark for me to see, I can barely make out Amy…I don't want to risk trying to move and get trapped or get her hurt…'
'Right,' he nodded, walking out of the building entirely, 'Just stay there, I'll get you out as soon as I can, I promise.'
He could almost feel her smile, 'You don't have to tell me, I believe in you.'
'I love you.'
'I love you too.'
"How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" Tony called as he and Nasreen caught up to him, Tony carrying the other computer and Nasreen leading a wheelbarrow full of equipment.
"You saw the readings!" he told them.
"Who are you, anyway?" Nasreen demanded, "How can you know all this?" there was a whirring sound and red lights struck across the sky, "Whoa, did you see that?"
"No, no, no!" he shouted, pulling out a slingshot from his pocket and shot a rock up at the sky…hitting a red force field. He pulled out his sonic and aimed it, flashing it at the barrier, making it momentarily visible as covering the entire little village and the drill site, "Energy signal originating from under the Earth. We're trapped."
"Doctor!" Rory shouted, running up to them with a woman and a young boy, "Something weird's going on here, the graves are eating people."
"Not now, Rory!" he said, before muttering half to himself and half to Evy, "Energy barricade. Invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in."
"What? Ok, what about the TARDIS?"
"The what?" Nasreen asked.
'It would fry the circuits.'
"No, those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits," the Doctor agreed, "With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes."
"Nine and a half minutes to what?" Rory frowned.
"We're trapped," Nasreen said, "And something's burrowing towards the surface."
"Where's Amy?" Rory asked, looking around.
"Get everyone inside the church!" the Doctor ordered, picking up the computer, "Rory, I'll get her back."
"What d'you mean, get her back? Where's she gone?"
"She was taken. Into the Earth."
"How? Why didn't you stop it?!"
"I tried," he snapped, "I promise, I tried."
"Well, you should've tried harder!"
"I'll find Amy," he told Rory, "And I promise you, she's safe."
"Oh yeah? How do you know?"
"'Cos they've got Evy too," he replied quietly. Rory looked around, as though just realizing Evy wasn't there either, "And I know her, she'll keep Amy safe," he took a breath, "I'll keep you all safe. I promise. Come on, please. I need you alongside me," but Rory looked at him warily before taking a step back, "What?"
"You um…tend to lash out whenever Evy's in danger…" Rory reminded him, thinking of the last time when he'd been shoved into a wall by the Doctor due to Evy being threatened.
"Oh, yes," he nodded, serious, "But you're not the reason she's in danger, and believe me, they better return her to me safe or things will not be pretty."
~8~
Evy tensed as she watched a figure approach her and Amy in the dark. They held out a small glowing device, waving it over Amy…a scanner. She watched closely as the figure seemed pleased with the results, which she knew meant Amy was alive, and then turned to her…she could see if stiffen as it realized she was awake. It quickly put the scanner away and turned, hissing in the darkness, and soon Evy could see more of the figures appearing...
~8~
Inside the church was almost as dangerous as outside would be. It was in a severe state of disrepair and disuse, with boxes, crates, and just junk scattered everywhere. The Doctor was leading Nasreen and Tony in, setting up the equipment while the woman, Ambrose, and the child, Elliot, stood by with Rory.
"So we can't get out, we can't contact anyone," Ambrose said, "And something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the earth?"
"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "If we move quickly enough, we can be ready."
"No, stop," she shook her head, "This has gone far enough. What is this?"
"He's telling the truth, love," Tony told her gently.
"Come on! It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish."
"Look, Ambrose, we saw the Doctor's friends get taken, ok?" Nasreen said, "You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it, for me, is the Doctor."
"Him?" Ambrose shot back incredulously.
"Me," the Doctor agreed.
"Can you get my dad back?" Elliot asked.
Everyone turned to look at the Doctor, "Yes," he walked over to him and Ambrose, focusing on the woman, "But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards because we're running out of time."
"So tell us what to do," she swallowed.
"Thank you," he smiled, before turning to the rest of the group, "We have eight minutes to set up a line of defense. Bring me every phone, camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find," the group immediately got to work, the Doctor having Rory and Ambrose set up all the cameras they had around the perimeter of the church while he soniced them to work together, "Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light. I want the whole area covered with sensors," he ran over to the monitors and looked to see the heat signatures getting closer, "Right, we need to be ready for whatever's coming up…" he looked over at Elliot, "I need a map of the village, marking where the cameras are going."
"I can't do the words," Elliot replied, "I'm dyslexic."
'Never stopped DaVinci,' Evy's voice came to him, a bit strained. He frowned. She'd told him that she and Amy had been moved, she'd been tied up and blindfolded by more of the creatures when whoever was down there realized she was awake. So far, they were still alright. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that there was something else going on.
"Oh, that's alright, I can't make a decent meringue," the Doctor told him, "Evy's the real cook between us. So draw like your life depends on it, Elliot," Elliot ran off, "6 minutes 40."
Nasreen and Tony walked back in, armfuls of tech for him to fiddle with. He stationed Nasreen at the countdown and Tony at the computers where he brought up an overlay of the village, "Works in quadrants," Tony said, "Every movement sensor and trip light we've got. If anything moves, we'll know."
"Good lad!" he cried, slapping the man on the back before heading outside to see if there was anything else that could be helpful. Halfway around the church he came across a van for Meals on Wheels.
"Oi!" Ambrose called, walking over, "What're you doing?"
"Resources! Every little helps! Meals on Wheels. What've you got here then, warmer in the front, refrigerated in the back."
"Bit chilly for a hideout, mind," Ambrose shrugged, setting a load of equipment in the front seat.
"What are those?" he frowned, seeing the gardening equipment mixed with what looked like weapons.
"Like you say, every little helps."
"No!" he exclaimed, serious, "No weapons. It's not the way I do things."
"You said we're supposed to defend ourselves!"
"Oh, Ambrose, you're better than this. I'm asking nicely. Put them away."
He left no room for argument as he turned and walked away, back to the church where the countdown was up to 3:23. Elliot ran over to him, holding up his map, "Look at that!" he grinned, "Perfect!" he ruffled the boy's hair, "Evy says dyslexia never stopped Da Vinci…or Einstein for that matter, it's not stopping you."
Elliot beamed at that, "I don't understand what you're going to do though."
"Two phase plan," he said, working on a few more instructions for the computers, "First, the sensors and cameras will tell us when something arrives. Second, if something does arrive, I use this to send a sonic pulse through that network of devices, a pulse which would temporarily incapacitate most things in the Universe."
"Knock 'em out," Elliot nodded, "Cool."
"Lovely place to grow up, round here," the Doctor commented.
"Suppose," he shrugged, "I want to live in a city one day. Soon as I'm old enough, I'll be off."
"I was the same, where I grew up."
"Did you get away?"
"Yeah."
"Do you ever miss it?"
"So much," he breathed sadly, but then a faint smile came to his face, "But I've got Evy, she's like…that little bit of home I can take with me…"
"Who is she? You mentioned her a few times."
"She's…she got taken with our friend Amy. And…I've got to get her back."
"She's important to you," Elliot nodded.
"Very."
"Is it monsters coming? Have you met monsters before?"
"Yeah."
"You scared of them?"
The Doctor leaned down, as if telling him a secret, "They're scared of me…" he looked around as though making sure no one was there, "But they should really be scared of Evy…she can be mad scary when she wants to be."
"Sounds like mum," Elliot remarked. The Doctor laughed as Elliot turned back to him, serious, "Will you really get my dad back?"
"Between me and Evy and these?" he tapped his head, smiling, "No question."
Elliot smiled as the Doctor turned back to the computer, "I left my headphones at home!" he said, before rushing out of the room.
The countdown was up to a minute when the Doctor hit the last command and went out to call everyone back in. He saw Rory finishing up setting up a camera on a gravestone, "How're you doing?"
"It's getting darker," Rory remarked, looking up at the sky to see the light being blocked, "How can it be getting dark so quickly?"
"Shutting out light from within the barricade. Trying to isolate us in the dark. Which means..." there was a rumbling, "It's here!"
They ran back into the church, coming across Ambrose who was trying to get the door open.
"I can't open it!" she shouted, "It keeps sticking! The wood's warped."
The Doctor quickly moved to help, but it wasn't doing much good. He turned to Rory, "Any time you want to help!"
"Can't you sonic it?" he frowned.
"It doesn't do wood!"
"That is rubbish!"
"Oi!" he turned away from the door and stormed up to Rory, "Don't diss the sonic!" he then turned back and the two of them went to help Ambrose, managing to get the door open and into the church just as it slammed shut behind them. They saw Tony and Nasreen standing there as the ground began shaking severely.
'Doctor! Overheard them…energy surge coming your way. They want to knock out the power!'
"See if we can get a fix!" he shouted, running to the computers as items began falling off the shelves. He typed quickly on the keyboard, trying to narrow down the area before the power went…but the computers sparked and it went dark.
"No power," Tony looked around, startled.
"It's deliberate."
"What do we do now?" Rory asked.
"Nothing," the Doctor said as Tony turned on a torch, "We've got nothing! Evy said they sent an energy surge to wreck our systems," he sighed, frustrated, as he tapped the computer once more, "I wish she was here…she's so much better at fixing these things than me…"
"Is everyone ok?" Rory looked around, "Is anyone hurt?"
"I'm fine," Nasreen called.
"I'm good," Tony nodded.
"Me too," Ambrose breathed.
There was another loud rumbling, "Doctor, what was that?" Rory asked.
"It's like the holes at the drill station," Tony remarked.
"Is this how they happened?" Nasreen asked.
The Doctor knelt down and listened to the ground, "It's coming through the final layer of earth."
"What is?"
He stood up quickly as there was silence.
"The banging's stopped," Tony breathed.
Ambrose looked around the room, "Where's Elliot? Has anyone seen Elliot? Did he come in? Was he in when the door was shut? Who counted him back in? Who saw him last?"
The Doctor felt a weight settle in his stomach, "I did."
"Where is he?"
"He said he was going to get headphones."
"And you let him go? He was out there on his own?"
"Mum!" they heard Elliot call suddenly, pounding on the door to the church, "Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"
"Elliot!" Ambrose ran to the door.
"Let me in!"
"He's out there!" Ambrose shouted, trying to get the door open but it was stuck again, "Help me."
"Open the door!" Elliot pounded, "Mum! There's something out here!"
Everyone ran to the door, trying to get it open, "Push, Elliot, push, Elliot!" Ambrose shouted to him.
"Mum!" Elliot yelled, sounding frightened.
"Hurry up!"
"Mummy," Elliot whimpered.
"Come on!" Tony shouted, shoving the door open finally.
"Elliot!" Ambrose called, running outside, but Elliot was gone, "Where is he? He was here. He was here! Elliot!" she ran off into the graveyard in search of her son.
"Ambrose, don't go running off!" the Doctor called after her.
"Ambrose!" Tony ran after her.
"Why does no one ever listen," the Doctor mumbled to himself before turning to Nasreen, "Stay here!"
He and Rory ran off after the two, catching up with them, only to see Tony sitting on a headstone, Ambrose tending to him, the man looking very much in pain.
"What happened?" the Doctor asked.
"My dad's hurt," Ambrose told him.
"Get him into the church now!"
"Elliot's gone. They've killed him, haven't they?"
"I don't think so. They've taken three people, when they could've just killed them up here. There's still hope, Ambrose. There is always hope."
"Then why've they taken him?"
"I don't know. I'll find Elliot, I promise. But first I've gotta stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."
Ambrose nodded, moving to help her father, "Come on, dad."
The Doctor and Rory watched as Ambrose helped her father head back to the church.
"So, what now?" Rory asked.
"Now…" the Doctor muttered, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and sonicing them, "I find out what's out there."
'Be careful.'
'I will,' he promised.
He slipped on the glasses and whispered a plan to Rory before walking around. He looked down at his hands, seeing the heat signature there when something rustled in the bushes. He looked over to see something moving but no heat signature, "Cold blood…" he remarked.
'Silurians!' Evy gasped, not sure if she should feel better or worse knowing what was holding Amy and her hostage.
"I know who they are!" the Doctor called out sing-songy. He walked over to the Meals on Wheels van, whistling as he tapped the side of it to signal Rory. He opened the front door, taking out the fire extinguisher from the front seat and shut it. In the window he could see a reflection of a reptilian creature rushing towards him. He quickly spun out of the way as it attacked and released the extinguisher to chill it. The creatures screamed and Rory jumped out of the back, grabbing an arm as he and the Doctor pushed it into the refrigerated back and locked the door.
"We got it!" Rory laughed.
"Defending the planet with Meals on Wheels!" the Doctor agreed, raising his hand to high-five Rory but both of them were distracted by the rumbling that started again.
"What was that?"
"Sounds like they're leaving."
"Without this one?" Rory nodded back at the van as the darkness dissipated and the sun shone though the force field again, "Looks like we scared them off!"
"I don't think so," the Doctor replied grimly, "Now both sides have hostages."
~8~
Amy woke slowly to find herself encased in a clear coffin-like box with streaky, distorting sides. She gasped and began pounding on the glass, "Let me out! Can anybody hear me? I'm alive in here! Let me out! I know you're out there! My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me I am going to kick your backside!" a green, distorted figure appeared over her, leaning down, "Please?"
'Amy,' she heard Evy's voice echoing in her mind, 'You need to stay calm.'
"Shh!" the figure hissed.
"Did you just shush me?" Amy shouted at it, "Did you just shush me?" suddenly a gas started to fill the coffin, "No, no, no, don't do that!"
'Amy!' Evy called, 'Amy! Stay calm, the gas isn't poisonous.'
"No gas!" Amy begged, still scared, "No gas!"
She began to cough as Evy's voice filtered across her mind once more. 'The gas will only knock you out,' she told the girl as she gasped for breath, 'I'll be here when you wake up. I promise. You're not alone!'
And then her world went black.
Evy watched through the glass of her own box as the figure moved away from Amy and over to her.
"Interesting," it commented, tilting its head, "You don't respond to the gas like this one…we'll just have to find a new formula…"
Evy gagged as gas began to pool into the chamber. She scrunched her eyes, trying in vain to keep this from reaching the Doctor…this was the fourth concoction the figure had tried on her…each one was worse than the last, but none had knocked her out yet. She'd heard him mumbling about not having the proper tests done to find the right mixture. The next one would be the last and then the figure would be forced to run his test early. She was torn between faking being unconsious, the risk being that they'd be moved and she couldn't let herself react to anything that might happen, or staying awake and trying to buy some time, however short it was.
~8~
Rory was sitting on a toppled grave marker as the Doctor came around from checking the front of the church for any more creatures, "I've met these creatures before, different branch of the species, but all the same..." he nodded for Rory to follow him as he headed to the basement where they'd kept the creature stored, "Let's see if our friend's thawed out! And then I'll just have a little chat…"
"Are you sure?" Rory asked as they came to the doorway, he glanced at the creature sitting on the floor in the shadows, "By yourself?"
"Very sure."
"But the sting..."
"Venom gland takes at least 24 hours to recharge," he reassured him and turned to look at the creatures, "Am I right?" there was no response so he turned back to Rory, "I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine."
'You better be.'
Rory gave him one last look before sighing and leaving the room as the Doctor turned to face the creature. He waited till Rory was gone before walking over to her. It was a female, clearly reptilian, with a metal mask on with large black eyes, wearing some sort of chainmail, clearly of the warrior class. Made him glad he'd bound her hands as she moved closer to him along the floor.
He lifted his hands up slowly, non-threatening, "I'm the Doctor. I've come to talk. I'm going to remove your mask," he squatted down and gently reached out to remove the mask, revealing a humanoid face covered in scales, "You are beautiful. Not as beautiful as my Link though, but still...remnant of a bygone age on planet Earth. And by the way, lovely mode of travel! Geothermal currents, projecting you up through a network of tunnels. Gorgeous! Mind if I sit?" he stood up and moved to grab a folding chair, placing it in front of the creature, sitting down, "Your people have someone very important to me as well as a good friend of mine. I want them back. Why did you come to the surface? What do you want? Oh, I do hate a monologue. Give us a bit back. How many are you?"
"I'm the last of my species," it replied.
"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, "No. 'Last of the species,' the Klempari Defense. As an interrogation defense, it's a bit old hat, I'm afraid."
"I'm the last of my species."
"And again, you're not, want to know why? One of the people you took has been keeping tabs for me…saw another of you, quite a few of you really, while you were stuck in the van."
She glared at him, "Your friend is wrong. I am the last of my species."
"No," he said, his voice growing hard, "You're really not. Because Evy and I are the last of our species and we know how it sits in a heart. So don't insult us. Let's start again. Tell me your name."
"Alaya."
"How long has your tribe been sleeping under the earth, Alaya? It's not difficult to work out. You're 300 million years out of your comfort zone. Question is, what woke you now?"
"We were attacked," she glared.
He nodded, "The drill."
"Our sensors detected a threat to our life support systems. The warrior class was activated to prevent the assault. We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet."
"Do we have to say 'vermin?'" he frowned at her, "They're really very nice."
"Primitive apes," she spat.
"Extraordinary species," he countered, "You attack them, they'll fight back. But, there's a peace to be brokered here. I can help you with that."
"This land is ours," Alaya hissed, "We lived here long before the apes."
"Doesn't give you automatic rights to it now, I'm afraid. Humans won't give up the planet."
"So we destroy them."
"You underestimate them."
"You underestimate us."
"One tribe of homo reptilia against six billion humans, you've got your work cut out."
Alaya stood, glaring down at him, "We did not initiate combat. But we can still win."
"Tell me where the two women you took are. Give us back the people who were taken."
"No," she sneered.
He sighed and stood up, "I'm not going let you provoke a war, Alaya," he folded up the chair and put it away, "There'll be no battle here today."
He turned to head out the door as Alaya called back to him, "The fire of war is already lit. A massacre is due."
He stopped, "Not while Evy and I are here."
"I'll gladly die for my cause. What will you sacrifice for yours?"
He turned to look over his shoulder at her, "You and your people have taken my Link," he informed her, his eyes so cold with rage that Alaya actually took a step back, "There is nothing I wouldn't sacrifice for her."
And with that, he turned and walked out the door.
'I love you,' Evy's voice filtered to him.
'I love you as well,' he told her, 'So much.'
And he was terrified, deeply. He hated that he was up above while Evy was below, unable to help her, protect her, knowing she couldn't exactly do anything while Amy was still unconsious without fear of the Silurians harming Amy in the process. He needed to get to her, find her, get her back...he had to...his just had to.
~8~
The Doctor was sitting before Rory and Tony, Ambrose and Nasreen standing around them as he told them his plan.
"You're going to what?" Rory demanded.
"I'm going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe," he repeated, "To talk to them."
"You're going to negotiate with these aliens?" Ambrose nearly spat.
"They're not aliens! They're Earth...liens! Once known as the Silurian race, or, some would argue, Eocenes, or homo reptilia. Not monsters, not evil," he stood up, "Well, only as evil as you are. The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from their point of view, you're the invaders. Your drill was threatening their settlement. Now, the creature in the crypt. Her name's Alaya. She's one of their warriors and she's my best bargaining chip. I need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot and Mo and Amy and Evy."
"We don't even know if they're alive," Ambrose shuddered, tears in her eyes.
"They are," he assured her, "Trust me."
"How do you know?"
"Because Evy managed to commune with him. She saw them bringing him down and he's alive!"
"Evy?" Ambrose shook her head, not understanding.
"Evy," he nodded, "She's one of the women who was taken, I can hear her in my mind."
"You hear voices?" Ambrose's eyes widened. This was just great, an insane man was going to try and negotiate with aliens over her son.
"No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head, "I just hear Evy…" everyone but Rory stared at him, "Look, it's a complicated explanation that I don't have time to go over. All you need to know is that Evy and I share a mental bond. I can hear her, she can hear me, we can communicate. And if she says your son is fine, he's fine. Ok?"
Ambrose nodded, "Ok."
"Good, now you all need to keep calm because I will find them. They've got Evy, and I will find her, I will find them. But while I'm gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity.
"What if they come back?" Tony asked, "Shouldn't we be examining this creature, dissecting it, finding its weak points?"
"No dissecting!" he nearly shouted, "No examining! We return their hostage, they return ours. Nobody gets harmed. We can land this, together. If you are the best you can be," he looked around at them and sighed, "Evy…" he shook his head, smiling in thought of his Link, "She gave up so much to save you, to save the human race, dozens of times over…she…she lost her brother, she nearly lost her life, nearly got herself blown up to keep you all safe…she did it because she believed you could be better than you are, and so do I. It's why we fight so hard for you. Prove us right," he stared each of them down, "You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?"
They nodded, Nasreen even applauding, only to stop suddenly when no one else joined in.
The Doctor smiled at her before turning and walking out of the room, jogging across the graveyard and back to the TARDIS. He hadn't even noticed Nasreen had followed him till he reached it, "No, sorry, no, what're you doing?"
"Coming with you, of course!" Nasreen smiled, looking at the TARDIS, "What is it, some kind of transport pod?"
"Sort of, but you're not coming with me!" he told her as Tony ran up.
"He's right, you're not," Tony agreed.
"I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet," Nasreen said, "And now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so!"
The Doctor looked at his watch, "I don't have time to argue!"
"I thought we were in a rush."
"It'll be dangerous."
"Oh, so's crossing the road."
'I like her.'
"Oh, for goodness sake, alright, then!" he opened the TARDIS and ran in, "Come on!" a minute or two later he looked over to see Nasreen enter, stopping dead to give the room a double take, "Welcome aboard the TARDIS. Now don't touch anything! Very precious."
"No way!" she breathed, looking around as she slowly made her way over to him, "But that's...this is..." she slapped him on the arm, "Fantastic! What does it do?"
"Everything!" he smiled, "I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere…" the TARDIS pitched violently, forcing them to cling to the console, "Did you touch something?!"
"No! Isn't this what it does?"
"I'm not doing anything!" he called back as they began shaking, "We've been hijacked! I can't stop it! They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field!" he pulled out the monitor to see earth rush past them, "They're pulling the TARDIS down into the Earth!"
They held onto the console as the TARDIS fell, crashing to the floor as it suddenly stopped. Nasreen laughed, snapping one of the Doctor's braces before standing, "Oi!" he called.
"Where are we?" Nasreen asked as he got up as well.
He ran for the door, Nasreen following, stepping past the doors. They were in a cavernous tunnel with roots and fungus covering the walls. Nasreen flinched as water dripped on her. The Doctor whistled in amazement as he looked up at what they'd fallen through, his whistle echoing down the tunnels, "Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system. Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this."
"How far down are we?" Nasreen asked.
"A lot more than 21 kilometers."
"So why aren't we burning alive?"
"Don't know," he smiled, "Interesting, isn't it?"
"It's like this is everyday to you?" Nasreen called as he walked past her.
"Not every day," he stopped and looked at her, "Every other day," he turned and headed down one of the tunnels, Nasreen running along after a stunned delay.
~8~
Amy's eyes fluttered open a moment before snapping wide when she realized she was upright, strapped to an examining board, her arms and legs clasped down. She struggled frantically against them when…
"Don't struggle," someone whispered. She looked over to her right to see a man strapped to a board just like her, "Close your eyes and don't struggle."
"What?" she whispered back, "Where am I? Why can't I move my body?"
"Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me. While I was conscious."
"Ok, you're freaking me out now. Did what? Who did?"
"Dissected me," he looked down at his torso where there was a long, vertical, healing scar.
"No," Amy breathed.
'Amy,' Amy's head snapped up as she heard Evy again, 'You'll be fine.'
"Evy?" Amy whispered, looking to her left to see Evy strapped to a board as well, having not allowed herself to be taken from Amy, not wanting her to be alone.
'You'll be fine, I promise,' Evy said. Amy gasped as she heard Evy speaking, but didn't see her mouth move.
"How?" Amy's eyes widened.
'You won't be dissected. I swear.'
"He's coming," the man whispered, unaware of the small conversation that had just happened, "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you."
They looked over to see a Silurian approaching them slowly, a surgeon's mask over his nose and mouth, wearing a white apron and holding a syringe, walking straight for Amy.
~8~
"We're looking for a small tribal settlement," the Doctor told Nasreen as they walked down the tunnels, so focused on the task that he didn't notice Nasreen stop a small ways away, staring at something golden, "Probably housing around a dozen homo reptilia. Maybe less."
"One small tribe?" Nasreen asked slowly.
He stopped and turned around, heading back to her, "Yeah."
"Maybe a dozen?" she stared at something in the middle of the tunnel.
"Ah…" he breathed, joining her, to see a large city-like community with buildings and monuments staring him in the face, "Maybe more than a dozen. Maybe more like an entire civilization living beneath the earth."
A/N: I have to say...things will be different with Evy being trapped with Amy. The story will turn a bit darker than the episode had it. But still, having two Time Lords running around, one having been taken and one coming to the rescue with make things different. When I wrote this chapter for the Academic Series, I wondered what would happen if the Professor had been down below either with or instead of Amy, here we'll find out :)
Next chapter...something will happen to Evy that didn't to Amy...and the Doctor himself might just cause negotiations to break down because of it.