Cold Blood - Part Two
White-hot pain in my hand caused me to wake up screaming on an examination table. A Silurian dressed in white stood in front of me, using some kind of medical instrument on the gash in my palm. Thrashing against my restraints didn't do me any favors though because they were simply clamped down harder, making it even more difficult to move. I frantically looked from right to left until my eyes landed on the Doctor. It looked like he was trying to tell me something but I couldn't really register it in the middle of my panic.
After what felt like an agonizingly long time, though, the Silurian in front of me put away whatever was burning me and began to apply a green cooling gel on my hand.
"Cauterization complete," he said, wrapping my hand in gauze and loosening my restraints. I took a shaky breath and looked to my left to see the Doctor smile sympathetically and give me a thumbs up.
"Have the Silurians got a higher pain tolerance than us, or have they just not discovered anesthetics yet?" I asked, resting my head again the examination table, "Because that didn't need to be as painful as it was and yet—"
I stopped mid-sentence as another Silurian glared at me and hissed. She stood out among the other warriors around her because of the red coloration in some of her scales and the fabric she wore over her armor.
"Sorry, shutting up now. I'm Ginny, associate of the Doctor. And you are?"
"Restac, Military commander," she said.
"Oh dear, really?" The Doctor said disappointingly, "There's always a military, isn't there?"
The scientist, whose name I remembered was Malokeh, fiddled with another piece of equipment.
"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city," he said.
"Oxygen pockets? Lovely!" the Doctor's enthusiasm slowly dissipated, "Ooo, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense."
Restac walked up closer to the Doctor.
"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" she asked.
"No invasion, commander. Just a misunderstanding really," I turned to face the two of them, "What you believe to be a weapon attacking your oxygen pockets was a survey drill. Granted the location choice was a rather unfortunate coincidence, but there was no ill will behind it. All we want now is to return the people who were taken from us back to the surface, and we will cease all further excavations on this site."
"And," the Doctor added, "We would also offer the safe return of Alaya."
My heart dropped slightly knowing what was going to happen to the commander's sister. But I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it down here, so all I could do was hold out hope that maybe events would be changed with my presence down here and Thomas's presence up there.
"Oh wait you and she, what is it, same genetic source?" the Doctor asked as a minuscule twinge of worry crossed Restac's face, "Of course you're worried but don't be. She's safe."
Restac smirked slightly and took a few steps back, shaking her head slightly.
"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage," the military commander gave a wordless order for her soldiers to advance on us.
"Commander we just want to make amends and go our separate ways," I pleaded as I was placed in handcuffs.
"I don't negotiate with apes!" she exclaimed, then turned to Malokeh, "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."
"What's that?" the Doctor asked, leaning forward.
"Your execution," Restac said. She raised her arms again in another wordless order to her soldiers, who then proceeded to escort us out of the laboratory.
The citadel under the mantle seemed to sprawl even further than we saw on the lookout, and in spite of the circumstances I held my head high, looking around at my surroundings in awe. Tropical plants flourished all around us and puddles formed on the ground as we were escorted towards a foreboding granite building. I wish I could've appreciated the scenery around me more, but a question of integrity whirled around in my brain.
"Hey uh, Doc?" I bumped up against him to get his attention, "Back there, when my hand was… y'know, being cooked."
"Cauterized," he said, correcting me.
"Whatever. When that was happening, how long exactly was I freaking out for? Because it felt like it was going for ages but if that were the case I feel like my voice would be much more hoarse and yet it feels fine and—"
"It was about thirty seconds."
I could feel myself going beet red in embarrassment. All that panicking I did was over thirty seconds? Granted it was a very painful thirty seconds, but still. I don't even remember screaming that loud when I had to break my ankle, but then again, different kinds of pain.
"Sorry for embarrassing you in front of the lizards," I said sheepishly.
"Who said you were embarrassing me?" he asked, "You were hurt, and you expressed it. That's not embarrassing. That's just… being human."
I smiled slightly. "Thanks, Doc."
We continued further into the gardens around the granite building. Water droplets falling from the ceiling so consistently it almost seemed to replicate rainfall.
"Doctor, there's still one thing I'm curious about," Nasreen said, "Ginny mentioned earlier that the rest of the Silurians were still asleep somewhere. Why did they go to sleep in the first place?"
"Their astronomers predicted a planet heading to Earth on a crash course," the Doctor said as we walked through the overgrown vegetation, "They built a life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the coming apocalypse. When in reality, it was the moon coming into contact with the Earth."
Restac brought our group to a sudden halt, then turned to us in disbelief. It was quite a change of pace to see the stoic military leader look at us with such disbelief.
"How can you know all that?" Malokeh asked.
"Long time ago I met another tribe of homo reptilia," the Doctor said, "Similar, but not identical."
More like Creature from the Black Lagoon in all honesty, I thought, recalling the portrayal from Classic Who.
"Others of our species have survived?" Restac asked. The Doctor looked down for a moment, not answering her question right away.
"The humans attacked them," he said, "They died. I'm sorry."
Restac glared at the three of us with a mix of malice and disgust and sighed angrily,
"A vermin race."
I tried to step forward to offer my sympathy, but the Doctor grabbed onto my handcuffs and shook his head.
Time and place, Ginny. Time and place, I'm sure he was thinking, and in all honestly he was probably right. So wordlessly we walked forward, passing through the threshold of the large granite building that served as the Silurians' courthouse.
"You're not authorized to do this," Malokeh hissed, stepping up so he was facing Restac.
"I am authorized to protect the safety of our species while they sleep," Restac retorted.
Marble walls arched high above us into a glass ceiling. Benches carved from basalt jutted out from the left and right sides of the room, leaving room in the center for a table and some chairs cut from the same stone. And at the far end of the room, two onyx columns with chains fixed to them stood tall.
"Oh, lovely place," the Doctor marveled, "Very gleaming."
"This is our court. And our place of execution," Restac said.
"Well, at least your prisoners have a nice view before they're killed," I said, my attention drawn towards the bioluminescent plants glowing outside of the window. We were about to be escorted forward when suddenly a Scottish voice echoed off the stone walls.
"Let them go!" Amy ordered, pointing a Silurian gun at Restac as she walked out from behind a wall.
"Amy Pond, there's a girl to rely on!" the Doctor said excitedly.
"Us redheads gotta look out for each other, right Amy?" I called over. She smiled, then looked behind us towards the entryway.
"You're covered both ways," she said, footsteps coming up behind us, "So don't try anything clever, buster."
I turned around to see a dark-haired man walk in carrying a Silurian gun as well, pointing it at one of the warriors flanking us.
"Mo!" Nasreen exclaimed. He gave Nasreen a quick smile before focusing his attention back on the soldier.
"Now let them go, or I shoot," Amy said as Restac took a few calculated steps towards her, "I'm warning you!"
Within seconds though, Restac disarmed Amy and threw her unceremoniously down onto the floor.
"Get the hell off of my friend!" I shouted, ready to rush towards Amy but I stopped mid step when Restac took aim at us.
"And you!" she commanded. The soldiers flanking us stepped back quickly to disarm Mo. This prison break ended before it had a chance to begin.
"Alright Restac, you've made your point," Malokeh said. The scientist raised his hands while trying to reason with the military commander. Restac lowered her weapon and strode up to him.
"This is a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malokeh," she directed. The tension between the two Silurians as they hissed at one another was thick enough to cut with a knife. Eventually though, Malokeh yielded and took a step back.
"This isn't the way," he said before taking his leave.
Restac then gave the order to have us prepared for execution. The four of us, now including Mo, were hauled up to the two columns to have our handcuffs chained in place. The Doctor and Nasreen were guided to the column on the left, and I was guided to the column on the right, chained up next to Amy.
"Okay, sorry. As rescues go, didn't live up to its potential," Amy said.
"I'm just glad you're okay," the Doctor said reassuringly.
"Me too! Lizard men though."
"Silurians, Amy. They lived on Earth before us and now they want it back," I clarified.
"After they've wiped out the human race," Nasreen added. I couldn't quite see based off how I was restrained, but I imagine Amy looked quite flummoxed.
"Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest," the Scot said.
"They don't say, 'Ignorance is bliss,' for no reason," I said as the warriors took their places next to Restac, who turned away from us.
"Why are they waiting?" Nasreen asked, "What are they going to do to us?"
As we stood there, dreading what was to come, a green holographic screen burst to life in front of us. On it, I was able to see Rory, Thomas, Ambrose and Tony all crowded towards the back of a basement.
"Who is the ape leader?" Restac asked.
They all talked quietly among each other, but none of us could really hear what they were saying. One thing I could make out though was Ambrose in the background laying a tarp on the floor, and my heart sank down into my stomach.
Alaya, I thought, Oh god, she's murdered Alaya. The four of them continued to hurried talk with each other. I could tell by the way Thomas was moving that he was angry, and probably for good reason.
"Who speaks for the apes?" Restac asked. Thomas took a step forward with Rory at his side, but Tony whispered something to them before Thomas spoke.
"We speak for the humans," he said, "Well, the ones gathered here today."
"Do you understand who we are?"
"Sort of," Rory said, then became more honest with himself, "A bit. Not really."
Restac paused to turn a dial under the hologram. "We have ape hostages," she said.
The dial must've been a zoom function because Thomas called out for me almost instantly, and so did everyone else who was tied to one of us.
"Ginny, you're okay!" he exclaimed, "I was so worried when you got taken."
I started blushing the moment he said worried, and Amy didn't help the situation any when she nudged me and winked.
"Hey, I had to make sure Elliot was safe. Fat lot of good it did though, right?" I said, trying to hide how red my face was getting.
The rest of us began to offer reassurances to everyone on the surface. Mo was sure to let Ambrose know that he was bringing Elliot home, Amy doing her best to keep Rory from worrying, and Thomas even showed me that he had my screwdriver and that it remained unscathed. Unfortunately though, there was no avoiding the elephant in the room.
"Show me Alaya," Restac demanded, but no one on the surface made a move, "Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we kill your friends one by one."
"No," Ambrose said almost instantly, taking all of us a bit by surprise. Well, almost all of us.
"Ambrose, don't say anything you'll regret," I said, looking down at my shoes. Tony tried to intervene, but his daughter wasn't having any of it.
"We didn't start this," she said, trying to sound confident.
"Let Thomas and Rory deal with this, Ambrose, eh?" the Doctor said, but his request fell on deaf ears. Ambrose continued to address Restac.
"We are not going to do what you say anymore! Now give me back my family!"
Restac paused for a moment, marveling in the audacity that Ambrose possessed to stand against her. She soon gave a brief response to the scorned mother.
"No," she said, watching the hope drain from Ambrose's eyes, "Execute the juvenile."