Focus, Rose, just focus.
Flexing her wrist and arm slightly, Rose began to try and slip her wrists through the binds holding her in place. She could feel them rubbing against her skin, and she grimaced in irritation, but didn't falter. Escaping from bonds was part of her training, and if she could do it then, she could do it now. The lethargy she was feeling was dulling her senses, and she had an inkling that it had something to do with the metal contraption sat upon her head.
After a few minutes, she had managed to work one wrist free, and grimaced as she twisted her hand around, before she used her tree hand to untie the other bond holding her right wrist too. Her hands reached upwards to feel around her head, and gripped the device that sat atop of her head. It wasn't a helmet, per-say, more like a thick, silver circlet with a large metal band looping over the top of her head. She tried to pull it off, but a choked sound of pain broke out of her.
Something was digging into her skin, keeping the head-wear in place, and it was stuck tight. Clearly whatever this thing was, whoever had put it on her hadn't wanted her to take it off.
"Too bad," she muttered, shifting slightly, before she yanked the device up and off of her head. Pain erupted in her head, and she dropped the circlet, in favour of grasping her pounding skull. When the pain dimmed, she drew her hands away, only to see that some blood had been drawn. Not too much, luckily, so she would deal with that later.
Rose sat up, reaching down to untie her legs, and sighed in relief. Now she just needed to wake up the others, get those helmets off and find a way out of this nightmare. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she tried to stand, but immediately, her legs gave way underneath her, and she hit the floor hard. She let out a surprised grunt of pain, shifting slightly and hitting at her legs in confusion.
She could feel them, could feel the sensation of her fingers tapping against her jeans, and there was no numbness, so why couldn't she move? Had she done something to herself when she pulled the circlet off? Had it damaged something inside of her? Oh God, she hoped not.
Slowly, Rose began to drag herself along the floor by her arms, her legs being pulled along behind her like a dead weight. Each movement was a huge effort, but Rose forced herself to keep moving. She couldn't get caught like this… she'd just be strapped up again, and then she'd have no way of helping her team and getting them out of there.
Behind her, she could hear the quiet sounds of voices approaching, and her eyes widened in alarm, causing her to move as fast as she was able, dragging herself to a boxed off corner to the room. She managed to hide herself, dragging her legs upwards to force them to her chest, and tried to keep her breathing slow and steady, as the voices increased.
"I'm telling you, sssssomething is wrong," One of the voices seemed to growl, and Rose furrowed her eyebrows. Had he… hissed?
"We Ssssshall ssssee," another voice, which was distinctly female this time, replied.
There was a pause for a moment, the only sound being Rose's soft breaths, and the found of footsteps behind her, until finally, the two beings let out a loud, ear-piecing shriek of rage and dismay, causing Rose to reach up and press her hands down over her ears, gritting her teeth together.
"One is missing! Find the human creature! Find her!" The female insisted furiously, and Rose lowered her hands, biting down on her lip as she heard the sound of running, though it sounded as though there were four pairs of feet – yet she'd only heard two voices.
Letting out a breath when silence fell once more, Rose slowly forced her legs down so they were lay out straight before her, and rubbed them. Maybe she'd had something pumped into her body through the machine which caused temporarily paralysis? That was a better option to consider, rather than her damaged neuron-receptor theory.
Reaching her hand to her ear again, she let out a quiet curse as she realized that her communicator was missing. Whoever had taken them had probably removed all of their communication devices as a precaution. However, she still had her own secret weapon.
The Doctor may have bigger-on-the-inside pockets, but Rose had secret pockets lined into her jacket, and as such, she grinned triumphantly as she was able to pull out her phone. That grin faded as she saw that there was no signal, and she pinched the bridge of her nose in dismay. The time caught her attention, however, and she realized that she had been stuck in this place for just over two hours.
Someone had to be getting suspicious, surely.
"Don't breathe in the gas – don't breathe it in!"
"Martha, behind you!"
Rose rubbed her temple, noting with some relief that she seemed to be recalling the memory of what had actually happened, just in bits and pieces. She was feeling remarkably clear-headed now that she was disconnected from the machine, and she had a feeling that had been pumping her with something to leave her dazed and disorientated.
She concentrated, trying to force her legs to respond to what she wanted them to do, and after a few minutes her feet began to wiggle, and Rose smiled widely. Now she just had to get her legs fully responsive, and find a place where she could receive a signal to her phone and call for back-up.
As she worked on getting her feet to work and obey her brain's commands, the memory of how they ended up her began to relay in her mind, slowly to begin with, before it hit her completely.
It had been a trap.
The alert that had been sent out was part of the plan, to draw people in to the warehouse. The six of them had fallen for it, and had been ambushed the moment they were all inside. The doors had slammed, and some kind of gas had been released into the air. Rose could only remembering seeing large shapes moving towards her before the gas had made her black out. After that, all she could remember was waking up on the table.
She'd been so convinced that it would be nothing, that she'd let her guard down, and she'd landed them all in trouble. Why hadn't she just told The Doctor where she was going? She'd been wanting to show the Time Lord she was capable of taking care of herself, just in case he'd gotten any funny ideas about sending her away when she was in trouble, like he'd done in the past.
"Well done, Tyler, you've really proven yourself now," She muttered, bouncing her legs slightly to make sure they were both working again. Seeing no problem, Rose turned, and crawled to the edge of the boxes, peeking out to make sure the coast was clear. Since there was no sign of anyone around, Rose slowly stood up onto her feet. She wobbled slightly, trying to get used to standing, as her legs still felt weak.
Another glance down at her phone told her that there was still no signal, and Rose let out a breath before slipping away from the corner, turning to look at her friends. She wanted to help them, to wake them up, but she didn't know how much time she had, or what she was even up against. It took her at least seven minutes to be able to get some kind of movement back in her legs again, and they didn't have time to wait around for the others to do the same. She slipped through a doorway, resolving to come back for them after she had gotten in contact with Mickey or her dad.
Turning down a corridor, Rose glanced down continuously at her phone, hoping to see at least one bar which would enable her to make a call to get some help. No such luck.
The corridor Rose was in was just as dim as the main room of the warehouse, and lined with shelves filled with jars which seemed to be empty. It was quiet, and it caused her such unease that for the first time, she wished she had her gun. She looked up suddenly, hearing movement above her, and pressed herself back into an alcove, her mouth turning dry at the shadowy shape she could see prowling on the grating on the next level. Whatever it was, it walked on all fours, and just looking at it gave Rose the urge to run, run far away.
She pushed herself backwards some more, and almost fell, as she leaned hard against a push-bar which opened up the door she was pressed against. She stumbled through the doorway, and let out a sigh of relief as she saw a stairwell leading upwards. If there were stairs, then she might find a way out onto the roof. It was a longshot, but the higher she got, the more likely she may be to get a signal.
"Good enough for me," She muttered, and began to run up the stairs, gripping onto the rail to pull herself upwards quickly. Her thick boots hitting against the floor caused an echo to reverberate down the stairwell, and she winced, hoping that it was too faint for the aliens to hear. She continued to run up the stairs, glad that she'd taken on running, which gave her the stamina to keep going.
A few floors up, she encountered a large door, but continued to move up higher, wanting to find the highest point of the warehouse. It didn't take her too long, much to her relief, and she moved towards the door, pushing against it, only to find that it was jammed. She couldn't get out. She pushed harder, gritting her teeth together and pushing with all of her might, but nothing would budge.
She pressed her back against the door and slid down it, hugging her knees to her chest for a moment, before she glanced at her phone, and a disbelieving laugh bubbled past her lips at the sight of a single bar.
"Oh thank GOD," She breathed, immediately scrolling down to find Mickey's number, which she dialled, and pressed the device to her ear, waiting impatiently for her best friend to pick up.
"There's not much else I can do on it today… not until I get the right parts," The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, staring in frustration at the machine in front of him. If he just had the TARDIS, he'd have all the equipment he needed, and he wouldn't have to worry about waiting, and permits and all those ridiculously human issues.
Then again, if he had the TARDIS, he wouldn't be working on the cannon in the first place, so it was a moot point.
"Still, that's just… that's amazing! You've done so much in only a day, you've already upped our readings by five percent, it took us two months to get that much done when we started!" Oliver said in delight, running his hand over the long barrel of the cannon, and The Doctor shrugged in a display of nonchalance.
"Well, I'm very good." He offered, and Oliver grinned, nodding his head in agreement.
"You are," he agreed, taking a moment to look into the heart of the machine as The Doctor observed him, almost thoughtfully.
"How old are you, Oliver?" he asked after a moment, and the young scientist looked up at him in surprise.
"Twenty-five," He replied, and The Doctor nodded thoughtfully.
"How long have you been working on inter and cross-dimensional and travel? Not just the cannon, but the theory itself."
"I touched on it in my university dissertation," Oliver admitted, slowly sitting down opposite The Doctor, rubbing his hands together. "It was only the smallest mention in my research, but it made me think, and after I graduated I spent a lot of time looking into the possibilities. Then I got a job here, and I was working here for a couple of years before I met Rose. I helped build the dimension hoppers, thanks to Mickey's help." Oliver replied, and The Doctor shot him a frown.
"They were puncturing holes into the universe itself. That was dangerous."
"I know, after you said that, that's when I started working on the theory of the Dimension Cannon, a few months before I met Rose and she started working with me. I don't want to damage the walls of the universe, or… let the Cybermen and the Daleks back out. I just want…I want to learn." Oliver insisted, and The Doctor observed him, before he smiled.
"You've got a good head on your shoulders, Oliver. Make sure you keep it that way." He paused for a moment, before adding: "What are you gonna do when it's all over? That's a big chunk of your life. It's always hard when it comes to an end."
"I guess I think of it all as a chapter in my life," Oliver admitted, taking off his glasses and polishing them slightly with the corner of his lab coat. "It's not the end of the story, it's just a new chapter beginning. The Dimension Cannon itself is just… it's a staggering concept and if – when we get it to work, it opens a whole new realm of possibilities. Honestly, I can't wait." He glanced up at the clock then, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, man, it's six already? It's almost time to clock out."
He stood up, and The Doctor followed suit, reaching out and picking up his coat, throwing it around his shoulders and slipping his arms through it.
"Doctor – thank you," Oliver said suddenly, turning to look at the Time Lord with a wide, honest smile on his face. "You don't have any reason to like Torchwood, and I know this is just a means for you to get home to your own universe, and to get to the TARDIS, but… thank you."
The Doctor was silent for a moment, before finally, his face broke out into a grin, and he reached out, grasping Oliver's hand and shaking it firmly.
"It's brilliant, you're brilliant. Honestly, I can't wait to see the look on your face when we get it working." He stepped out of room, releasing Oliver's hand, who beamed back at him.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor!"
The Doctor raised a hand in farewell as the male keyed in a code on the room, ensuring that it was locked, before he turned and headed down the corridor. Turning in the opposite direction, The Doctor headed towards where he recalled Rose's office being, a light skip in his step. Meeting people like Oliver always tended to remind him of what he had always found so fascinating in humanity.
He rapped on Rose's door, raising his eyebrows in amusement at the inscription reading 'Captain Tyler' scrawled upon the oak, but pushed the door open when he didn't receive a response. He frowned unhappily when he saw that it was empty, and pulled his head out, moving into the secondary office which should have held her team, only to find that empty, also.
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turned, recognizing the voice, and smiled when he spotted Mickey, until he spotted Mickey's worried face, and his smile faded almost immediately.
"What is it? Where's Rose?" He asked immediately, and Mickey shook his head.
"That's just it – I've got no idea. She sent a message saying she was taking the team out on a mission, but we ran the files, and we didn't get any kind of situation that needed attention. She must have been sent falsified data or somethin'. Usually, we techies get the alerts, reports and signs, and we pass 'em on to a team for them to look into it, but no-one sent any out today."
"Can you not get in contact with her? Mobile? Your communicator? Walkie talkie? Anything?" The Doctor asked sharply, and Mickey pressed his lips together.
"Can't get through on her mobile or communicator. I tried tracking her phone, but something's jammin' my signals. There's no way to figure out where she's gone." He explained, and The Doctor began to pace, dragging his hands through his hair.
"Martha? What about Martha?" He asked suddenly. "Do you know where she is?"
"Security said they saw a group of six leaving the lobby about two hours ago. Rose only has four people in her team, so she had one extra. Steve said she looked a lot like Adeola, but PA's don't go on field work, so I'm guessin' Martha tagged along with them." Mickey replied, checking his phone again.
Worry for both Martha and Rose was causing The Doctor to grow frustrated, and he snatched the phone out of Mickey's hand, pressing his sonic screwdriver against it, before drawing back as it began to ring.
Rose's name shone out at him from the caller ID, and he let out a breath, answering the call with a small measure of relief.
"Rose."
"Doctor? Oh, thank god – thank god – look, I haven't got much time, they're looking for me."
"Who are? Rose, where are you? Where's Martha?" The Doctor asked, the relief he had felt at hearing from her faded away instantly at the realization that she was in trouble.
"I dunno, I only caught a glimpse of 'em, but they're fast, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. I woke up on this table, and the others are still there, Martha too. They're asleep, drugged up or somethin', I don't even know how I managed to wake up." Rose's voice seemed breathless, like she'd been running. "We're at the big warehouse just off Old Kent. It was a trap, they gassed us and knocked us out."
"Warehouse off of Old Kent," The Doctor repeated glancing at Mickey, who nodded his head and began to tap something into his wrist-watch. "Rose, just keep your head down, and stay safe, we're on our way."
"Easier said than done," She paused, and The Doctor froze when he heard the distant echo of a door slamming open. "Oh my god, they're in the stairwell. Doctor I've gotta go. I'm sorry, they're gonna catch-"
He heard the sound of her running feet, before the phone cut off, and slowly, The Doctor lowered it, his thoughts a jumble, before he turned to Mickey and tossed it to him, and his gaze was steely.
"Let's go," He said quietly, refusing to halt as he headed for the elevator. Mickey caught the mobile and quickly jogged to catch up, pressing a button on his communicator and speaking into it.
"This is Mickey Smith, requesting back up at Old Kent warehouse. Captain Rose Tyler, Dean King, Meredith Rice, Robert Joyce, Trent Penn and Martha Jones are being held as prisoners by an unidentified threat. Code fifty-two point one and two. Repeat, Code fifty-two point one and two."
The relief that Rose felt at hearing The Doctor's voice when the phone was answered was insurmountable. He sounded tense and concerned, but also relieved, and she felt the stirrings of guilt stir in her stomach, especially as he asked her about Martha. She should have been firmer with the other woman. If anything happened to her…
She started, hearing the sound of a door being kicked open below her, and stood, leaning over the stair-well to look down. It was the bottom floor, where she had first entered, and she knew that they'd figured out where she was.
"Oh my god," She breathed quietly into the phone. "They're in the stairwell." She began to run down the stairs, recalling the door she had passed on her way up. It was her only chance. "Doctor, I've gotta go, I'm sorry, they're gonna catch me!"
She lost the signal and jammed the phone into her pocket, ignoring the sounds of her boots echoing loudly against the floor. They already knew where she was, it wasn't like she was giving herself away. She reached the second door and shoved all of her weight against it, in case it was jammed. It wasn't, and unfortunately, the momentum threw Rose forward and she slammed into a metal railing which almost buckled, nearly sending her over the edge. She was on the second floor of the warehouse, the grating where she had seen the creature earlier.
Falling over the edge would break a good number of her bones and possibly kill her if she landed badly. Neither option was particularly appealing, so slowly, Rose pushed herself away from the edge. The sound of snarling caught her attention, and Rose stiffened, clenching her fists and praying that she'd just imagined it.
Slowly, reluctantly, Rose turned to her left, and took a few slow steps backwards. Opposite her was a bipedal creature, which seemed to be observing her in interest. It twitched, and another snarl ripped out of it, as it began to morph and change in front of her. Its hands hit the metal grating, and it began to twist in a grotesque manner, growing larger, its body mutating in front of her.
What was once humanoid became a large, twisted creature, with a humanistic face, which stared at her with large, hungry eyes. The rest of its body was almost wolf-like, but lacking any fur, making Rose think bizarrely of hairless cats. From what she could see in the lighting, its body was scratched and scarred, and Rose found herself unable to move, the two of them locked in a staring match.
Its chapped lips slowly curled up into a grin, showing off rows of razor-sharp teeth, forked tongue flicking outwards as though tasting the air around her, and Rose staggered backwards at the sight, her entire frame shaking.
Rose Tyler was not a coward. She had faced Daleks, Slitheen, Cybermen, Told the Devil himself to go to Hell and looked into the heart of the TARDIS. She had seen a lot of terrors, enough to wake her up with nightmares for months, but she had never seen anything like this, and she could feel it. Feel its hunger, it's longing, and she was terrified.
This thing was either telepathic, or it could smell or taste her fear. Either way, Rose knew that it knew she was scared, and it liked it.
Turning on her heel, Rose took off running along the walkways, ignoring the few steps she encountered, jumping them instead. She tripped and stumbled from time to time, catching her hands on the grating and grazing them, but she pushed herself onwards, hearing the creature let out a sound like an ear-piercing shriek behind her.
To Rose, it sounded like the call of a hunt, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was running, and she didn't plan on stopping any time soon. She felt claws rake across her back suddenly, and she was unable to stop the scream that tore out of her, as the creature tore through her jacket, clinging onto the material. She didn't fight, simply pressing her arms back to let them slide through the sleeves, and continued running spotting the stairs that led down to the ground floor from the walkway.
She flew down them at top speed, her heart pounding in her chest, and fled down the corridor, into the large circular room that held the others. She turned, slamming the doors shut behind her, and glanced about desperately, before she began to drag a large table in front of the doors, pushing it into place. That being done, she began to drag anything else heavy that she could in front of it, knowing that it wouldn't keep the creature out, but needing to buy herself some time.
She cringed as something slammed into the doors, and forced her weight against the barricade, pain ripping through her stomach as the edge of the table jammed into her mid-section. As she stumbled back, slightly winded, she saw what looked to be an office, and ran towards it, pulling open the door and moving inside.
Her gaze darted about, looking for something useful, until she spotted her gun, and the guns of her team-mates, lying upon the large table. Next to them were the crushed remains of their ear-pieces, but Rose ignored that, picking up two of the guns, making sure they were set to stun.
"Thank you, thank you." She whispered out-loud, before an even louder slam caught her attention, as the table blocking the door was practically thrown across the room.
Instinctively, Rose bent down, ducking away from the glass and hoping she hadn't been seen. She was armed, but she wasn't stupid. There were at least two of them, and she didn't know what they were, what they wanted, or what they were even capable of. She could hear a sound, like nails scraping over chalk-board, and she shuddered, focusing on keeping her breathing slow and even. She would make it out of this alive. She had to.