Chapter 11

The group walked silently through the dark forest, winding their way closer to the facility where Josh's mother lied in wait. The Doctor was still uneasy about this plan, but he trusted Rose fully. If Rose believed this was the right thing to do, and if Rose believed that they'd get themselves out, then he trusted her judgement. The lights from the facility shone through the edges of the woods and they knew they were close.

Their plan was to trigger an alarm and wait for the guards. Once the guards approached, they'd let themselves be captured. Hopefully, Vatra had given the order for the group to be kept alive.

Tiptoeing onto the private property, everyone was tense. A building showed up in the distance, and all five of them kept their eyes scanning for danger as they approached. As Rose explained on the way, ideally they'd get all the way to Vatra before being found. Though nobody brought it up, they all knew the chances of that happening were impossibly thin.

The lights in the distance started blinking red, and the quintet knew they were in trouble. Everyone picked up their speed and kept a sharp lookout for anything or anyone suspicious. Several times, Josh pointed out traps that nobody else knew were there; he explained he had helped his mother design the security system.

Some security guards started flooding out of the doors, hustled into their formation, and approached the area where the intruders had crossed the property line. Skirting to the side and wrapping around the building, Josh led the group to an entrance free of the flood of guards. With this hopeful opportunity, Rose and Josh led the way to the door. As Rose passed Josh and got to it, she pulled on the handle, finding that the door was locked with a code. "Oh bollocks!" she said in frustration. "The door is locked."

Josh stepped to her side and typed in a code, causing the light to light up red. He looked grumpy. "Mom changed the code?" He exclaimed. "She never changes it! Now what?" He turned to Rose and the Doctor.

Without hesitation, the Doctor reached into his inner jacket pocket and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. "Not a problem!" He replied happily. In reaction to the strange frequencies, the door granted access to them. He handed the sonic to Rose while she held the door open. Amy, Rory, Josh, and the Doctor rushed inside. She pulled it shut behind them and locked it back with the sonic in case the guards came by this way.

Turning around, a long white corridor sprawled in front of them, completely free of guards. Josh began to rush forward, but the Doctor pulled him back, hesitating. "Something isn't right here…" He muttered, examining the lack of cameras. The security at this external door was just too thin to be normal.

Slowly, with a nod from the Doctor, Amy and Rory led them warily down the corridor, ready to react at any sign of a trap. As they neared the split at the end, a door fell shut behind them and Vatra appeared from around the corner with several guards at her heels.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" She laughed. "You all got away, only to come running back into our arms. Is it really that nice here?" She teased. "You should have just…" She trailed off, noticing the boy next to Rose. "J…Josh?" She said quietly, suddenly unsure of herself. "What is this?" She turned to the Doctor.

"Why is he with you?" She suddenly got angry.

Josh stepped forward and tried to explain. "Mom, they didn't do anything. Don't overreact."

She continued, as if she didn't hear him. "You kidnapped him didn't you?"

Josh tried again in desperation, knowing his mother acted irrationally in her anger. "Mom! It was your fault!" He screamed this at her and got her attention. She shifted back into a baffled mood.

"What? No it wasn't." She denied. "They obviously took you, then came back to wreak more havoc." She glared at the group as she said this.

Josh insisted again. "No mom. Your experiment did this. It turned me into a dog and sent me to Earth. They were just trying to bring me back here."

Vatra ignored him. "I don't believe you. Guards, seize them. Josh, you're coming with me." She grabbed him firmly by the arm and pulled him away. The guards rushed towards the other four, who backed against the door.

"Mom! Stop! They're friends!" Josh tried to reason with her. As he struggled against his mother, a guard came over and seized him too. Following Vatra, that guard carried Josh off.

"Josh!" Rose exclaimed. "Josh!" She tried to run after him, but was quickly grabbed by a guard who swung her over his shoulder. She tried to escape, ineffectively throwing punches into his beefy build. The other two guards went for the men, separating Amy from her husband. The guard with Rose snatched up Amy as well and Rory was quickly apprehended after that. Seeing his entire team had been caught, the Doctor let the third guard lock his arms around him as well. Defeated, the team was dragged down the hall and into three separate rooms- The Doctor in one, Amy and Rory in another, and Rose in the last.

Josh struggled in the arms of the guards, but to no effect. His mother soon got to her destination- the room Josh often referred to as the anti-brainwashing chamber. Anytime Vatra suspected an employee had been brainwashed by an enemy, she always brought them in here. Too many times, Josh hadn't ever seen those people again. His struggling picked up, but he was nothing for the guard who soon threw him into the large empty room. His mother, before closing the door, growled to him, "I'll be back to deal with you later."

Rose watched as Amy was put with her husband, but she was forced from her Doctor. "Doctor!" she cried. The guards locked her in the furthest room from his but she heard his guard speak to him before he left. "Vatra will be back here in a few minutes to handle you."

Rose's heart dropped. That meant the Doctor would have to be in a room alone with her, and Rose would have no idea what was going on. Vatra could do anything to him, and she'd have no idea. Too many times, Rose had been ripped away from him. With this fear growing, Rose curled up in the corner as tears streamed down her eyes.

Amy and Rory hugged each other as the door closed behind them. "Thank God we're together." Rory said to her. He thought about how they had separated Rose and the Doctor, and was immensely grateful he didn't share the same fate. He thought about the Doctor, imagining how it would feel to see Amy locked in a room alone without him. That's how he decided the Doctor must feel right now, and he hoped the Doctor was handling it okay. If Vatra walks in there though, He continued thinking, he'll do anything for her if it means he can get back to Rose.

Amy embraced Rory back, thinking about Rose. Just like Rory, she was imagining how she would feel if she were ripped from Rory and knew Rose felt that way now. She prayed that Rose was alright.

The Doctor stumbled into the room and as he turned around, the guard spoke to him. "Vatra will be back here in a few minutes to handle you." The door clicked shut, and it hit the Doctor that once again, they had separated him from Rose. No, he thought, I will not let Rose be separated from me again. She's been through way too much. Fury filled him, and he couldn't wait for Vatra to walk in that door. The instant she did, he'd make sure he'd get to see Rose again.

While he was waiting, he brooded in the corner, and planned out what to do. He decided that when she opened the door, he would slip past her and run to Rose's door. Then he'd get Rose to sonic open the door and Vatra would follow them. He'd still face Vatra, but at least Rose and him wouldn't be separated.

As soon as he decided this, Vatra burst in the door. Missed my chance! He scolded himself. He leapt up and approached Vatra with hate filling his eyes. The same feelings shone back at him from her, and the two glared for a second. "Time Lord." Vatra growled.

"You disgust me." The Doctor growled back. "I demand to see Rose."

Vatra laughed. "Do you really expect me to let you see her? Do I look like I'm going to do anything FOR you? I'm more of the person who's going to make you hurt." She smiled deviously at him and he scowled.

Rose wiped her face off and pulled out the sonic. I forgot I had this. She thought to herself. She smiled and her bad mood lifted. With the sonic, she could surely get back to the Doctor. Legs shaking, she pushed herself up and walked to the door. This sonic is different. She thought as she twirled it in her fingers and looked for the right controls. Surely, there's something similar to the old one? Her fingers found a button and she pressed it, hoping this was the right one. Next to the button were some other buttons, and she kept pressing things until something seemed familiar. Soon, she figured out the new screwdriver and pointed it at the door. With a smile, she heard the lock pop. Hoping no guards were outside, she poked her head into the hallway. With the coast clear, she left her room and walked a few doors down to where she saw the Doctor get put.

Pointing the sonic at a door again, she hoped Vatra hadn't gotten here yet. The lock popped and Rose rushed into the room where her doctor was waiting.