They shimmied down the shaft for a while in an uncomfortable bout of silence. August couldn't see Donna ahead of him, but he could hear her elbows rubbing up against the metal floor. They'd crawled for maybe ten minutes before he could no longer hear the voices of their captors behind them. Twenty and August's elbows started aching, so he switched to dragging himself along by the sweat of his palms.
'Just up this way we'll reach a ladder. Climb down that and we'll be right above the next waiting room.'
August nearly jumped at the sound of their saviours voice giving direction behind him.
'This it?' said Donna, stopping. August found her feet up his nose before he stopped as well. 'Might want to back up a bit, sunshine. I'm going to need to turn around.'
She did so with some difficulty, facing August, though they couldn't see each other in the darkness. Eventually, her elbow shimming made a distinct backing-up-onto-a-ladder sound. Once she confirmed the way was clear for August, he did the struggle of turning around and made his way after her.
'I'm Feric,' said the thinly man as he came down after them.
'Donna,' said Donna, 'and this skinny git is August.'
'Hullo,' said August.
'Why've you both come to Eternis?' asked Feric as they resumed their crawl through the next tunnel. 'Stop when you feel the next grate, by the way. That'll be our exit. From there will cross into Docking Bay Eleven and take a private elevator to the bay where your ship is.'
'We didn't mean to,' said August. 'Frankly, I don't know what else you were meant to be doing, though, Donna.'
'Last thing I remember the Doctor was talking about some library. Is this space station a library?'
'No,' said Feric plainly.
'A library?' asked August. 'You mean like the big space library in the 51st century? The Library?'
'I think so,' said Donna. 'Why? Is that important?'
'Well,' August muttered, thinking of all the reasons The Library was one of the most important places the Doctor and Donna needed to be. Eventually. They couldn't have gone straight there after the giant wasp ordeal, could they? There were so many books, comics, and audios that were meant to take place in between episodes; or in reality were they not considered…real? It was definitely something to consider and only more worrisome as now August wondered how royally screwed up the timeline might become with his involvement in things.
Donna stopped and August once again found his nose smashed into her shoes. 'We've reached the grate!' she announced quite loudly but then cursed. 'Feric? You weren't planning on having us jump down there with armed guards waiting. Were you?'
'What?' asked Feric.
'She says there are guards below,' repeated August. 'And she's wondering if you've set us up. Have you, Feric?'
'No,' said Feric in that plain, unemotive tone once again. 'Keep moving. There's an alternate route we can take through one of the storage bays. It'll be the door connected to the next ladder.'
'What did he say?' came Donna's voice.
'He said to keep going till the next ladder!' August rallied once again.
With an aggravated sigh from Donna, they were back to shimmying. As he passed the grate, August peered through. A group of guards stood, talking, directly below them, seemingly unaware of their presence. He took note of the large guns they carried. About the size and shape of a shotgun and way more threatening looking then the pistols he'd seen thus far. Hopefully, he'd never find one pointed at his head. One shot and there likely wouldn't be enough of the Doctor's body left for a regeneration.
'So, who's this Doctor you mentioned?' asked Feric, once again attempting to make conversation.
'A friend,' said August and Donna at the same time.
'Sort of a space professor,' continued August.
'Saves the world when he feels like it,' said Donna. 'And keeps trying to convince me to go fishing with him on some moon even though he doesn't have the patience for it and with our luck we'll end up getting eaten by a giant whale or something!'
'Saves the world?' asked Feric.
'Occasionally,' said Donna.
'A lot,' said August.
'Okay,' said Feric.
They reached the next ladder. Once again, Donna performed her 'turning round' manoeuvre and headed down. August followed, then Feric. Soon they were opening a compartment door, exiting the dark shaft into a storage bay.
August shook himself down, wiping the dust off his clothes. Donna sighed as she realised, she'd lost more of the beads on her dress and that her hair was an absolute mess. As she pulled out all the clips and chucked them to the floor, Feric moved ahead of them, grabbed something off a rack August could barely see to their left. There was a click and then August was blinded by torchlight. Immediately he cringed, putting his hands over his face. 'Oi!'
'Sorry,' muttered Feric, pointing the torch ahead of him. 'It's just this way.' He started down the long corridor of shelving units, Donna, and August following after him.
'So, what is this place?' asked Donna. 'You said something about a storage bay; what's being stored here?'
'Tons of stuff,' said Feric. 'Eternis sells out its bays to the rich. Sort of like a bank for personal items.' He then hummed, finding his way over to the wall where he grabbed hold of a huge lever and pressed it up. The lights came on in succession. The closest ones first, before filling out across the rest of the bay. 'We'll make it to the entrance and then it's a short walk down the hall to the docking bay where your ship is.'
'Is all this legal?' Donna asked as she viewed the contents of the shelving units surrounding them.
'Donna,' hissed August.
'You can shush!' she sassed. 'I mean, I know he said rich people, so likely not, but… I mean, obviously, somethings got to be amiss here if that commander was planning on doing us in for whatever, and now, we got string bean here trying to get us out.' She looked to Feric; her eyes boring into him. 'You wouldn't be trying to help us without reason, now, would you?'
Feric's gaze turned shifty. Then, as if in reply to Donna's question, they heard voices. Wails more like. Ghoulish and sorrowful.
'What's that?' asked August. 'More guards?'
Feric stopped walking, his gaze downcast. 'You said you help people?'
Before August could answer, Donna said, 'Yes.'
'Would you be willing to help me?' asked Feric.
Donna nodded vehemently.
'Then follow me.' Feric took a sharp turn and began down a different corridor in the direction of the wails. Before Donna could follow, August grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.
'What?' she asked.
August took a deep breath. 'Do you really think now is the best time? What with…' he trailed off, glancing down the bridge of his nose.
'What would you have me do? Just ignore a cry for help?' She shrugged out of his grip, following Feric. Cautiously, August followed behind her.
The wails grew louder the farther into the bay they went until Feric stopped just before a metal cage. August and Donna looked on, seeing the eight drab faces of humans inside.
'Oh my God,' muttered August.
Feric stooped down beside the cage, holding out his hand for an old, greying woman who looked up at him solemnly. 'I've brought help,' he told her. Then to Donna and August, 'they've been brought here for debt collection. Taken from their families to be locked in this cage like animals. I've been trying to find a way to get them off this station, but the automated cargo ship that comes and goes every couple of days won't be here till late tomorrow evening and by then they'll be taken by the depositor to be killed. At least those whose families haven't paid their debts. But you have a ship, right? That funny blue box? You could get them out of here before then?'
Donna was nodding again, her hand on her chest. 'Of course,' she said sadly and approached the cage, reaching her hands through the bars to soothe the captives.
August stayed on his feet, feeling suddenly sick. He thought it was because of how utterly horrifying the reality before him was. A space station with limitless possibilities and its commander was okay with harbouring people as goods? The very idea was awful and yet… it really wasn't that different from the types of things going on back home, was it? That thought made him angry—that no matter where you were in time or space people would always be suffering. Staring at these eight, dirty, malnourished faces, August felt his hearts pounding—aching to help them—despite all the logical facilities of his mind warning him of the danger that comes with helping. You are not the Doctor. Don't even think for a moment you are capable of that. Remember what happened last time…
And then the lights flickered, that churning, awfulness deep in August's stomach threatening to expel itself and he looked up. 'Looks like a lightbulb needs replacing.'
Feric followed his gaze. 'Strange,' he murmured. 'I replaced it just an hour or two ago. It shouldn't be doing that.'
'Course,' said August, swallowing tightly. He'd never felt so unnerved. Some innate sense of danger he didn't know he possessed was in full alert, but why? He turned around, looking for what could be making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and saw the tarp.
'It's just a statue,' said Feric when asked.
'Of what?' said August.
'What does it matter?' asked Donna.
August's voice cracked. 'It matters quite a lot, actually, so if you could just tell me, Feric. We'd all feel a lot safer.'
Feric shrugged and gripped the tarp. 'See for yourself.'
He pulled, unveiling the angel.
August's entire body tensed, fire sneaking up his back as every bell and whistle inside his head screamed at him not to blink. Don't even think about blinking. Oh god, whatever you do just keep your eyes open and on it. 'Donna,' he wailed, slapping behind him for her hand.
Whatever scepticism had laced her tone before was replaced with a wary bit of fear. She wasn't quite sure what she should be afraid of, but by the tone of his voice, she knew not to take the invisible threat lightly.
'We have to go,' said August, backing up into her. 'We have to go now. Get to the TARDIS and-and leave.'
'Why? What's gotten into you? It's just a statue!'
'That is not just a statue. It is alive and it will kill us the moment it gets the chance.'
'What do you—?' began Donna, but then the lights flickered again. This time, they managed to shut off completely for a fraction of a second and then she understood what he was so afraid of.
The angel statue had moved, its hand inches away from August's neck. Donna gasped at the same moment August managed to get her hand in his.
'Run!' he cried and off they went down the storage bay corridor, Feric keeping pace behind them.
'What is that thing?!' cried Donna.
'Weeping Angel. Not really a statue, only looks like one. If it touches us, it'll send us back in time or possibly just kill us out right. Depends on its mood. Point is we can't stay here any longer.'
'But what about those people!' cried Donna.
'There's no time!'
'We'll then let's make time!' cried Donna, digging her heels into the floor, and yanking her hand out of August's grip. 'If that thing's as dangerous as you say, we need to help them!'
August clinched his teeth, fear taking control of his every thought. The longer they stood around debating ethics, the more likely they were to die. 'I can't–I can't do this! I can't help them and keep you out of trouble. That was the deal. We stop ourselves from getting terminated, then get out of here.'
'That was before! We can't just leave now! Not after what we've just seen!'
'You don't understand, Donna. Going up against one Weeping Angel is like fighting a billion Sontarans. Without the Doctor—'
'—I'm not asking you to be the Doctor!' hollered Donna. 'I'm asking you to shove the sonic in a lock and guide eight measly people to the TARDIS for rescue! You don't have to be some outer space genius to do that!'
'Excuse me,' came Feric's voice, but the travellers were too heated in their debate to hear him.
'Donna, please. The longer we stand around arguing about this the faster the angel is going to be on us. We have to go! NOW.''
'Not without helping those people!'
'Sir? Ma'am?' tried Feric.
'You are infuriating! You know that!' cried August.
'You're one to talk, fanboy!'
'EXCUSE ME!' yelled Feric. Finally, the two stopped and turned to him. He pointed to a nearby porthole.
They both looked out and saw, to their absolute horror, the TARDIS. In space. Shrinking as it tumbled away from the space station.
August, imperceptibly shook his head. 'No,' he murmured.
And then the lights went dark.
