Hi again, god that's eight updates so far today, I can't believe it.
The Doctor and Ida had sorted everything out so that he could abseil down into the Pit. He was also harnessed up and was walking backwards towards the hole "That should hold it." Ida said, finishing what she was doing. "How's it going?"
"Fine." the Doctor answered "Should work." He continued walking backwards "Doesn't feel like such a good idea now." He climbed on to the ring round the edge of the hole "Hmm." he said "There it is again. That itch. Go down, go down, go down, go down!"
"The urge to jump." Ida said "Do you know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our body's way of testing us, calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch"
"No, that's not it." said the Doctor "That's too kind. It's not the urge to jump. It's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall." He jumped backwards into the Pit.
"Doctor!" Ida shouted as she stopped the cable "You okay?" she shouted
"Not bad, thanks." he replied "The wall of the Pit seems to be the same as the cavern. Just not much of it." He shone his torch downwards and it didn't even make a dent in the darkness below him. "There's a crust about 20feet down. And then…nothing, just the Pit. Okay, then." he said "Lower me down."
"Well, here we go, then." she started the machine again and he was lowered into the pit.
--
The Ood were almost through the door and Rose and the others were preparing to leave "Danny!"
"Hold on, just conforming."
"Danny, we've got to go now." said Jefferson "Come on."
"There!" he said and took something from the computer. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood!"
"We're coming back." Rose told them "We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out."
"Danny, you do first, then you Miss Tyler, then Toby." Jefferson said "I'll go last in defensive position." Danny entered the shaft followed by Rose "Now come on, quick as you can!"
Rose joined Danny in the tunnel "God, it stinks." she said "You all right?"
"Yeah, laughing." Danny answered "Which way do we go?" he asked Zach when the others were in.
"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so."
They began to crawl, with Danny in front and Rose behind him "Not your best angle, Danny." she said
"Oi, stop it." he said
"Don't know, could be worse." said Toby as he was behind Rose
"Oi!" she said
"Straight on till you find junction 7.1. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you."
--
Eventually they reached 7.1. "We're at 7.1, sir." Danny told Zach over the comms.
"okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."
"Getting kind of cramped, sir." Danny complained "Can't you hurry up?"
"I'm working on half-power here."
"Stop complaining." Mr Jefferson said.
"Mr Jefferson said stop complaining." Rose repeated.
"I heard." Danny told her
"He heard." Rose said
"The air's getting a bit thin." said Toby
"He's complaining now." Rose observed
"I heard." said Mr Jefferson.
There was a very bad smell in the area "Danny, is that you?" she asked
"I'm not exactly happy." he answered.
"I'm just moving the air. I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's gonna feel worse."
Suddenly there was a rattling sound as though someone was moving something metal around. Mr Jefferson took out his gun "What was that?" Toby asked"Mr Jefferson, what was that?" Rose asked.
"What was that noise?"
"Captain, what was that?" Jefferson asked.
"The junction in Habitation 5 has been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels."
"Open the gate." Danny told him
"I've got to get the air in!"
"Just open it, sir!"
"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose asked
"I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."
"Whose idea was that?"
"Open the gate!" Danny yelled. The door behind them opened and they crawled on.
"Danny, turn left, immediate left!"
Danny did as he asked and the other's followed."The Ood, sir, can't you trap them?" Jefferson asked "Cut off the air?"
"Not without cutting off yours."
They continued to move through the tunnels."Danny, turn right, go right. Go faster. They're gonna catch up."
"I'll maintain defensive position." said Mr Jefferson stopping.
"You can't stop!" Rose said
"Miss Tyler, that's my job." he told her "You've got your task, now see to it."
"You heard what he said, now shift!" said Toby. They moved on and once they were a little further away from the older man, they heard gun fire. They reached the next door
"8.2, open 8.2!" Danny said. "Zach, open 8.2!"
"I've got to aerate it."
"Open it now!"
"I'm trying!"
Danny started banging on the door "Danny, stop it." Rose said "That's not helping!"
"Zach, get it open!" Toby said
"Jefferson, I've got to open 8.2 by closing 8.1. You've got to get past the junction, now move! That's an order, now move! I'm gonna lose oxygen, Jefferson. I can't stop the automatics!"
8.2 began to open and they sighed in relief "That's it, come on, come on!" said Danny
"Danny, turn left and head for 9.2. That's the last one. Jefferson, you've got to move faster! John! Move! Move!"
"Mr Jefferson!" Rose shouted "Come on!"
"Keep going!" Toby told her.
"I regret to inform you, sir, I was a bit slow. Not so fast these days."
"I can't open 8.1, John. Not without losing air for the others."
"And quite right, too, sir. I think I bought them a little time."
"There's nothing I can do, john. I'm sorry."
"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. Might I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?"
"I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"Well, if I might choose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well…let's say, death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir."
"Godspeed, Mr Jefferson."
"Thank you, sir."
The other's had heard every word spoken between the two men and knew that they wouldn't see the other man again, even to get him out of there after all this was over.
"Report. Officer John Maynard Jefferson, PKD…deceased with honours, 43k 2.1."
"Zach, we're at the final junction." Danny said. "9.2. And, uh, of my respects could be on record, he saved our lives."
"Noted. Opening 9.2."
The door opened, but there was an Ood behind it.
"Lower 9.2!" Rose shouted "Zach, lower it!"
"Back, back, back!" said Danny. The door closed
"We can't go back." Toby said "Look, 8.2's sealed off. We're stuck!"
Rose looked up and saw that there was another way out of there. She pushed the grating up "Come on!" she said "Up!"
She pulled herself out of the hole and Danny followed her. "Come on." she shouted "Toby, come on! Toby, get out of there!"
"Help me." he shouted "Oh, my God! Help me!" He climbed out and Rose and Danny helped him by pulling him up by the shoulders. Unfortunately, there were Ood coming from the other direction.
"It's this way!" Danny said. The three of them ran with the Ood following them.
"Hurry up!"
Zach said over the comms as they entered Ood Habitation. The ran to the computer"Get it in." Rose told him
"Danny, get it done." said Toby.
"Transmit!" Rose said
"I'm trying." Danny said "I'm trying. I'm getting it in…"
"Stop them!" said Toby. The Ood were coming into the room and they were coming up the stairs from where they had been sitting.
"Danny, get that thing transmitting." Danny put the removable storage device into the computer and started to transmit, the levels on the screen went from basic 100 to basic 0. An electronic buzzing sound started and the Ood began to grab their head and collapse.
"You did it!" said Rose "We did it!" she hugged Danny
"Yes!" he shouted "Oh, yes!" then Rose hugged Toby as well. The two men also shared a hug.
"Zach we did it." Rose said "The Ood are down! Now we've got to get the Doctor."
"I'm on my way."
The three of them returned to the room that they had been in before
Okay, that's it for this chapter, the next will be up soon.
TTFN
Julie