Chapter 18

The Doctor walked into the warehouse and towards the nearest pod occupied by three clones. As he moved he looked around, trying to absorb everything that he was seeing and immediately noticed similarities to what he had seen the Daleks do before. He had to find out exactly what was going on.

Fortunately, the scientists surrounding the chambers were too engrossed in what they were doing to notice the Doctor approaching them and looking over their shoulders as they worked. He moved around them, careful not to disturb them. He looked at the clones and saw that they were humanoid in form like Dalek Sec had been but now it seemed like they were being grown instead of recycled from captured prisoners.

Suddenly a voice spoke from behind them, making the Doctor spin around.

"Can I help you?" asked a squat man in a white coat, apparently one of the scientists.

"Oh, hello," grinned the Doctor, "sorry I was miles away. I was just taking a look at your cloning chambers. Brilliant by the way. Inspired," he added, taking off his glasses and placing them into his jacket pocket.

"And, you are?" asked the scientist, looking at him suspiciously.

"I'm the Doctor, hello," replied the Doctor, proffering his hand towards the scientist, but quickly withdrew it when the scientist didn't reciprocate.

"Doctor? Doctor Who?" replied the scientist

"Yup,"

"And what exactly are you doing here?"

"I was told to come down here and help out with everything," replied the Doctor, brandishing his psychic paper at the scientist, "you see I'm an expert in genetics," he added. The scientist took the Doctors wallet away from him and inspected it closely. He then looked up at the Doctor, instantly receiving a huge dazzling grin. He looked back down then handed it back to him.

"So who actually sent you down here, Doctor?"

"The Dalek did," replied the Doctor, instantly seeing the scientist bristle

"Well you can go back and tell the Dalek that we don't need any help. We are doing fine here and anyway we already have a geneticist so we don't need another one," replied the scientist, angrily

"Really, where is he?" asked the Doctor

"He, who?"

"The other geneticist. I would love to meet him," grinned the Doctor, using his disarming smile.

"You can't, he's very busy," explained the Professor

"I'm sure he is but I'm sure a little chat would be a welcome break. Oh come on, I won't take no for an answer," grinned the Doctor

Knowing there was no other way but to comply with this stranger, the professor sighed, turned and walked back towards the lift.

"Follow me," he said, over his shoulder.

The Doctor obediently followed and was lead towards the lift and for one moment, he thought they were going back into the lift and his cover could have been blown but fortunately the professor moved left and towards a small lab in the corner.

Through the small window a man in a white coat was bent over away from them, obviously working on new genetic material for the Daleks experiment.

The professor opened the door to the lab and entered, the Doctor following behind. Immediately, the Doctor looked around, taking in everything.

"Love what you've done with the place," he smiled, turning to the scientist who had been bent over his work but now had turned to see who had come into the lab.

"Did you decorate?" grinned the Doctor, looking directly at the scientist. The scientist said nothing but looked at the Doctor and then at the professor.

"Who is this man?" he asked

"He's a new scientist. Said he is an expert in genetics," said the Professor

"Aren't we all?" replied the scientist, turning back to the sample he was looking at

"We most definitely are. I like to think of myself as student of all sciences…a jack of all trades but fabulous in all of them," grinned the Doctor

"My names the Doctor by the way," added the Doctor, proffering his hand" I didn't catch yours,"

"You didn't catch it because I didn't give it," retorted the scientist.

"Oh, you're a moody one aren't you," teased the Doctor, lowering his hand.

"I'm sorry but I don't have time for games Doctor. I am on a deadline and I need to finish these experiments and get the batch underway," snapped the scientist, motioning at the array of equipment on the table.

"What batch? You mean those genetic things in those pods?" asked the Doctor, "how many of those things are there?"

"I'm sorry but that's classified information, Doctor," interjected the Professor

"Oh, come on you can tell me. Scientist to scientist?" replied the Doctor, pleadingly

"I'm sorry I can't. I'm sorry Dr Marshall, for disturbing you", he nodded to Dr Marshall who just stared back at him in a look of annoyance, and turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, come with me please," he looked up and saw the Doctor had moved. He looked around and saw the Doctor was wandering around the lab, using some kind of wand device in his hand.

"Doctor! What are you doing? You must leave now!"

"Not at the moment, Professor, just having a quick look around," replied Doctor, bending over some samples that were being incubated in a pristine white glass case, his glasses perched on his nose.

"Get away from them!" cried Dr Marshall, rushing towards the Doctor, "those samples are very fragile," he added, pushing the Doctor away roughly.

"Woah, ok ok," protested the Doctor as he landed on the side of the nearest table, directly onto his hip, the pain was excruciating, "Oww," he cried, rubbing his hip, staring at Dr Marshall, who was standing in front of the glass case his arms draped protectively over it.

The Doctor regained his composure and stood at his full height.

"Tell me Dr Marshall, how did you do it?" asked the Doctor in a quiet voice

"Do what?" replied Dr Marshall, puzzled, his arms still outstretched.

"How did you overcome the cloning problems?" asked the Doctor

"Cloning problems? There were no cloning problems," replied Dr Marshall, letting his arms fall to his side.

"Really?" said the Doctor, intrigued, "then how did you do it? How did you grow those Dalek clones you have in those pods out there?" he said pointing towards the door and out to the warehouse sized lab.

"How do you know they're Dalek clones?" gasped Dr Marshall and the Professor together.

"I've seen it before," replied the Doctor quietly

"How have you seen it before?" they asked

"Doesn't matter," replied the Doctor, more urgently.

"Yes it does. Who are you, Doctor?" asked the Professor

"Its not important," replied the Doctor, "but what is," he added, cutting off the protests from Dr Marshall and the Professor before they got started, "is why you are growing Dalek clones, how you're doing it and what is it all for?"

Donna stood staring at the closed TARDIS doors, stunned at being left behind in the TARDIS. She knew the Doctor meant well but she still felt the need to go and help him and that's what she would do. They'd been through many difficult scraps in their short time together and they always seemed to do alright and this time would be no different. The Master wouldn't be going anywhere as he was stuck inside the cell and the Doctor needed her help. So, she moved towards the door, slowly opening it to check the Doctor had gone and when she saw he had, she walked out into the dark alleyway, closing the door behind her.

Immediately, she knew that when he found out what she was doing, the Doctor would kill her and would no doubt end up rescuing her but that was a risk that she was willing to take; had to take.

As she walked up the alley, she had seen the body of the poor soldier that she and the Doctor had found on their return to the TARDIS. Now the body had a grey tinge that was quickly growing to a pale white. He looked so at peace, even with the huge hole in his chest. She wished she could give him a proper burial, whatever was proper for him, and maybe after everything was sorted she and the Doctor would do it. For now, the soldier would have to lie where he was. Poor bugger, she thought.

Trying to focus on what she was doing, Donna moved further up the alley in pursuit of the Doctor but halfway up she heard someone coming towards her. In the darkness of the alley she couldn't fully see who it was. She quickly looked around but she saw there was nowhere to hide. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves that were steadily growing inside her, she stopped and stood her ground waiting for whoever was coming towards her. Every second it came closer and closer.

"Hello?" it suddenly called.

Donna instantly knew the voice. She let out a gasp.

"Xenafa?"

Xenafa continued to work inside the ward but she was becoming increasingly weary. Ever since that doctor had come into the ward unrepentantly looking for Donna and Donna suddenly disappearing, she had been on edge, worried that either they had found out that she was a secret spy or more seriously, they had suspected her being involved in Donna's disappearance.

The latter was probably more true. So, if they did then no doubt they would come and arrest her. Fear suddenly gripped her. She had to get out of there. She looked about her. There was no one around but her. She moved towards the window. The square was empty, or it was. A man with brown hair and a long brown coat moved from an alleyway to the right of the square. He quickly moved across the square and into the hospital, vanishing from view.

Xenafa felt her heart quicken. She had to go now because she knew that they would come for her and soon. She had to go and find help.

She turned away from the window and moved towards the double doors of the ward but before she ventured out into the hallway, she checked to see if anyone was in the corridor. That moment, someone did move but they were walking in the opposite direction, disappearing round a corner and out of her view. Satisfied that no one else was around she walked out of the ward and down the hall. If anyone did try to stop her, then she would tell them she was running an errand to another ward or something. That should work, or she hoped.

She continued to walk towards the lift. She wanted to run there but she knew that would look odd so she made her body move normally, taking another deep breath in order to calm her nerves. As she got near the lift door, she pressed the 'CALL' button and waited for the doors to open. But nothing happened. This heightened her growing fear and anxiety and she took another deep breath to calm herself as well as trying to keep an eye on anyone that could be coming towards her or watching her. But the hallway was quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only real background noise that could be heard was the air-conditioning in the ceiling.

Anxiety was quickly giving way to anger and frustration and she pressed the 'CALL' button several more times, "Oh, come on you damn thing!" she sighed. Still nothing. So much for a quick exit, she thought. She quickly looked around for a nearby stairwell. Then she saw a doorway, facing towards the corridor where the lab technician had headed down a few minutes ago. She moved towards it, always looking behind her and around her; her fear rising in her chest. When she got to the door, she could instantly see a flight of stairs beyond it. She rushed through the door and down the stairs.

As she rushed down the stairs, Xenafa wondered if she should take this opportunity to find her mother, sister and brother; to rescue them from the clutches of whoever really controlled the hospital. Then the realisation of the dangerous situation came to her. She didn't know where they were being kept. She couldn't just go searching the hospital because then they would find her, capture her and then she may suffer the same fate they did and what was the point of that. The only thing that would come out of it would be more heartbreak for her father when he eventually found out and she couldn't bring herself to do it. No, she had to find help and quickly.

The lobby was deserted when she eventually reached it. Not even a guard on the door. The door to the stairs silently shut behind her. She turned towards the lift and looked up at floor indicator. It didn't appear to be moving, which came as a relief and an indicator that no one had seen her. It seemed to be stuck on the basement area, whatever was down there. It didn't matter. She turned away and headed towards the main entrance of the hospital and into the bright sunshine illuminating the public square outside.

As she walked into the empty square, she suddenly felt lost. She didn't know which way to go. She remembered seeing that strange man coming from the right hand alley. Maybe he had a ship, or somewhere she could be protected, hidden and waiting down there. Well, she had no other plan of action so she turned and headed for the alleyway and disappeared from sight.

The alley seemed to go on forever. It seemed to be bathed in darkness, even though the sun was sitting high in the sky. Only little pools of sunlight remained, like spotlights on a stage. When her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, she began her search for any sign of a ship or hide out.

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming from ahead of her. Something was walking quickly towards her. Her breath caught in her throat as the panic of being caught rose inside her. As they drew nearer, she called out to them.

"Hello?"

The figure stopped instantly, apparently surprised. It moved like it was trying to get a better idea of the person that had interrupted them. It let out a gasp.

"Xenafa?"

"Donna?" replied Xenafa, as she instantly recognised the familiar accent, "Is that you?"

"Yes," the figure replied, as it walked towards her and into a nearby pool of light, highlighting its red hair.

Donna looked on in surprise at what she saw. She never expected Xenafa, the nurse she had met earlier, to be walking towards her. For a moment, she had thought it was someone like the soldier behind her or even the Doctor returning from his investigation of the hospital. But, he couldn't have finished that quickly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked

"Trying to find help," replied Xenafa

"Why? What's happened?" asked Donna, concerned

"They know that you escaped. They came to take a blood sample from you and noticed you had gone. I think they believe I had something to do with it so I escaped and came looking for help. Thank god I found you," exclaimed Xenafa.

"How did you know I was down here?" asked Donna,

"I didn't," replied Xenafa, "I saw a tall man, with a long coat come out of here and I thought that maybe he had a ship down here and to be honest I had nowhere else to go so I came down here."

Donna instantly knew from the description that Xenafa had seen the Doctor coming out the alley heading for the hospital and was glad Xenafa had escaped and was safe. Well for now. She could also see the fear of what was going on in her eyes and face. Maybe it was a good idea to take her back to the TARDIS and wait for the Doctor to come back. He would know what to do about this.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright," soothed Donna, as she moved towards Xenafa, "I have a place where we can hide and be safe. Follow me," said Donna as she turned and led Xenafa back down the alley, towards the TARDIS.