Gridlock
The next morning, the Doctor and I were piloting the TARDIS through the Vortex. Martha and Mom were sitting on the jump seating. My uncle seamed to be in a very good mood that morning, he looked at Martha and said, "Just one trip. 'S'what I said. One trip, in the TARDIS, and then home. Although – I suppose we could – stretch the definition. Try one trip to the past, one trip to the future. How do you fancy that?"
Martha smiled, "No complaints from me!"
"How about a different planet?" I added.
"Can we go to yours?" she asked. I could see the excitement leave his face. I looked at my mom, she was biting her lip. The Doctor and I told her about what happened to Gallifrey, when we told her that I was a Time Lady. She knew that the lost of our home world was a sore point for both of us.
"Ahh, there's plenty of other places!" said The Doctor.
"Come on, though!" said Martha, as she stood up and walked over to us, "I mean, Planet of the Time Lords, that's got to be worth a look! Right Amy?"
Mom did her best to fake enthusiasm, "Oh… yeah…" She said with a smile, "What's it like?"
"Well, it's beautiful," I said.
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" asked Martha.
"Suppose it is." said The Doctor.
"Great big temples and cathedrals!" said Mom, as she played along
"Yeah," I said.
"Lots of planets in the sky?" asked Martha.
"The sky's a burnt orange," said the Doctor, "with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever – slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
I closed my eyes and The Doctor described Gallifrey to Martha. I remembered the Citadel so well. It was the most beautiful building in the entire Universe and now it was gone. I did my best to hold back the tears when Martha asked, "Can we go there?"
"Naah! Where's the fun for us? We don't want to go home! Do you Teddy?"
"Nope…" I said with a smile.
"Instead …" he said as he danced around the console. Adjusting our course until we landed, "This is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth! Second hope of mankind! Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York." Then, The Doctor threw on his overcoat, "Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."
While the Doctor was telling Mom and Martha about New New York. I quickly ran to the mini Wardrobe just across the hall from the console room and a grabbed a couple of jackets. I put one on and handed one to my mom, "You are going to need this?"
"Why?" she asked. Then The Doctor opened the door and we could see that it was pouring rain.
Martha scowled and quickly zips up her jacket. "Oh, that's nice! Time Lord version of dazzling."
I shook my head and looked at Mom, "He never checks the current weather when we land." Mom laughed and put the jacket on.
"Bit of rain never hurt anyone," he said, "Come on, let's get under cover!"
We ran through a junk filled alleyway, past some giant dumpsters and old laundry swinging from a line. "Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me. On a Wednesday afternoon," said Martha.
I noticed a screen of some kind imbedded in a nearby wall, "Let's see if this will tell us anything."
I pointed my sonic screwdriver at it and static appeared, then taking a page out of my uncle's book, I gave it a hit and then a news reader appeared on the screen, "– and the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway."
"Oh, that's more like it!" said the Doctor, "That's the New we had last time. This must be the lower levels. Down in the base of the tower, some sort of under-city."
"You've brought us to the slums?" asked Mom.
"Much more interesting!" said the Doctor, "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."
I shook my head, "You'd enjoy anything.
"That's me," he said, then the rain stopped, "Oh, the rain's stopping! Better and better!"
"When you say 'last time', was that you and Rose?" asked Martha.
"Um – yeah. Yeah, it was, yeah."
"You're taking us to the same planets that you took her?" asked Mom.
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing," said Martha, "Just – ever heard the word 'rebound'?"
She pushed past him and I shook my head. Just then a street vendor opened his stall, "Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy! You want Happy!" He said.
Then another stall opened with a black woman inside, "Customers! Customers! We've got customers!"
Then a third stall opened, "We're in business!" said the ginger woman inside, "Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read!"
"Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!" called the male vendor.
"Anger! Buy some Anger!" called the black lady.
"Get some Mellow, makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long!" called the ginger lady.
"Younger, them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?" asked the man.
"No, thanks," said my uncle with a frown.
"Are they selling drugs?" asked Martha.
"I think they're selling moods," I said.
"Same thing." said Mom.
Then we saw a young woman dressed in dark clothes walking down the alleyway. She looked very thin and very pale. The ginger lady called to her, "Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!"
"Oy! Oy, you! Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!" called the man.
The woman stopped in front of the ginger lady's stall, and she asked, "Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"
"I want to buy Forget," said the pale woman.
"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much you want forgetting?"
"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."
"Oh, that's so sweet." she reached behind her and pulled out a small sticker and held it out to the woman, "Try this. Forget Forty-three. That's twopence."
The pale woman paid the ginger lady and turns away. The Doctor and I walked up to her and he said, "Sorry, but – hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"
"They drove off," said the pale woman.
"They might drive back," I said.
"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."
"But they can't have gone far. You could find them."
The pale woman just looked at us then she looked down and sighed. Then she put the sticker to her neck. "No, no – no, don't!" said my uncle.
But it was too late. Once the sticker was on her neck, the woman's expression changed almost instantly. She seemed happier. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked with a bit of a smile on her face.
"Your parents. Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."
"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry. I won't keep you."
We watched as the woman walked away, "So that's the human race five billion years in the future," said Mom. "Hooked on drugs."
Just then a man and a woman with guns jumped out from behind Mom and Martha and grabbed them. Mom and Martha screamed and struggled. They started to pull them away with them, "I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just four, at's all." Said the man.
"No, let them go! I'm warning you, let them go!" screamed the Doctor.
"Whatever you want, we can help," I pleaded, "All of us, we can help. But first you've got to let them go!"
"'I'm sorry," said the woman, "I'm really sorry. Sorry." The woman repeated her apologies, almost crying, until they disappeared with Martha and Mom, slamming a large green door behind them. We ran up to the door and found it locked. "Ah!" he screamed as he pulled out his sonic to unlock the door. Once we got the door open we started to run down a semi dark corridor. By the time we got back outside. We looked down and saw a black van lift off the ground and fly away. "Mom!" I screamed.
"Martha!" yelled the Doctor.
We ran back to the alleyway and we pounded on the of the doors of one of the now-closed stalls. It flipped up quickly and behind it was the ginger lady. She smiled as us and said, "Thought you'd come back! Do you want some happy Happy?"
The Doctor was seething mad, so he ignored her question, "Those people – who were they? Where did they take her?"
"They've taken her to the motorway," said the man as he opened his stall.
"Looked like carjackers to me," Said the ginger lady.
The black lady opened her stall, "I'd give up now, darling. You won't see them again."
"Used to be thriving in this place," said the man, "You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."
I looked around at all of them, "He kept on saying four, we need four. What was he talking about?"
"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel," said the ginger woman, "You get special access if you're carrying four adults."
"This motorway – how do we get there?"
"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it." We started running down the alley and then she called out to us, "Tell you what – how 'bout some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love!" Then, we stopped and turned back.
"Word of advice, all of you. Cash up. Close down. And pack your bags." said my uncle.
"Why's that, then?"
"Because as soon as we've found them, alive and well – and we will find them, alive and well – then we are coming back. And this street is closing. Tonight!" I said with fire in my voice. The vendors looked at each other apprehensively and then we ran down the alleyway.
At the end of the alley we found a door with a sign that read, "MOTORWAY ACCESS." I pointed my sonic at the lock and as soon as it opened we pulled door open and stepped out onto a platform. We instantly started coughing. The air was nothing but a thick, green smoke. I looked around as best I could and saw thousands of flying cars hovering in the air in the worst traffic jam I had ever seen. The cars weren't even moving they were just hanging their in mid air. Just then the side door of one of the cars opened and a large figure covered in protective gear, leaned out, and called to us, "Hey! You daft little street struts! What are you doing, standing there? Either get out or get in! Come on!" Seeing no other alterative, we jumped into the car, "Did you ever see the like?" asked the man.
Then, a dark-haired woman, handed each of us an oxygen mask, "Here you go," she said, as we took the mask and sat down. The woman made her way back to the front of the car.
"Just standing there, breathing it in!" said the man. He pulled off his goggles, cap, and scarf and he reveled himself to be a cat. A human sized cat. "There's this story says back in the old days, on Junction Forty-Seven, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet!"
"Oh, you're making it up." said the woman.
The cat man walked up to the front of the car and sat down in the driver's seat. "A fifty-foot head! Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."
"Stop it. That's disgusting."
"What? Did you never pick your nose?"
The woman sat up in her seat and tapped him on the arm, "Bran, we're moving!"
"Right. I'm there. I'm on it." He pulled a lever on the console and we moved forward… for a couple of seconds, then we came to a stop. He pulled the lever again, "Twenty yards! We're having a good day."
The woman smiled and looked back at us. We had got back on out feet and took off the oxygen masks. "And who might you two be? Very well-dressed for a hitchhikers."
"Thank you," I said, "I'm Teddy and this is my uncle, The Doctor."
"Medical man!" said the cat man, "Ha-ha! My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."
"Nice to meet you," said Valerie.
"And that's the rest of the family behind you," said Thomas.
I pulled back a curtain behind us to reveal a basket of kittens, "Aww," I said and picked up one of them. "They are adorable!"
The Doctor smiled and picked up one as well, "Hello there…" We turned back to the parents, "How old are they?"
"Just two months," said Valerie.
"Poor little souls," said Thomas, "They've never known the ground beneath their paws. Children of the motorway."
"They were born in here?" I asked.
"We couldn't stop," said Valerie, "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."
"What? You've been driving for two months?" asked my uncle.
"Do I look like a teenager?" asked Thomas, "We've been driving for twelve years now."
"I'm sorry?" I asked, I couldn't have heard right.
"Yeah! Started out as newlyweds! Feels like yesterday."
"Feels like twelve years to me," said Valerie.
"Ahh, sweetheart, but you're still lovely," said Thomas as he ticked her and she giggled.
"Twelve years?!" said my uncle, "How far did you come? Where did you start?"
"Battery Park. It's five miles back."
"You traveled five miles in twelve years?" I asked. My mind could barely comprehend what was going on.
"I think they are a bit slow," said Thomas.
We put the kittens back with their brothers and sisters and then Valerie asked, "Where are you from?"
"Never mind that," said The Doctor, "We've got to get out. Our friends are in one of these cars. They were taken hostage. We should get back to the TARDIS." He pulled open the door and but there was nothing on the other side of the door but a cloud of smoke.
"You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by," said Thomas. The Doctor coughed and closed the door. Then, Thomas continued, "You two are passengers now, Sonny Jim!"
"When's the next lay-by?" I asked.
"Oh … six months?" said Thomas.
The Doctor and I looked at each other we could tell that neither one of us was amused with that answer.
A little later, The Doctor was at the back of the van sitting on the bed looking at the communications monitor at the back. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at it until the insignia of the New New York Police Department appeared on the screen, He picked up the transmitter, "I need to talk to the police."
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold." said an electronic voice on the other end. At the same time, 'THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALL. YOU HAVE BEEN PLACED ON HOLD…' was printed on the screen under the NNYPD insignia.
"But you're the police!"
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
My uncle then scrambled back up to the front of the car, "Is there anyone else? I once met the Duke of Manhattan; is there any way of getting through to him?"
"Oh, now, ain't you lordly?" said Thomas.
"We've got to find our friends." I said.
"You can't make outside calls," said Valerie, "The motorway's completely enclosed."
"What about the other cars?" asked the Doctor.
"Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah." said Thomas, "Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see – who's nearby?" Thomas looked at the screen in front of him, "Ahh! The Cassini sisters!" then he picked up his transmitter, "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."
"Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace," replied an older sounding woman.
"Oh, come on, now, sisters. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"
"You know full well we're not sisters. We're married."
"Oooh, stop that modern talk! I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got a couple of hitchhikers here, one calls himself The Doctor, the other is his niece, Teddy."
Thomas then handed the transmitter to my uncle, "Hello. Sorry. I'm looking for two people a Martha Jones and an Amy Duncan. They've been carjacked. They're inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one."
"Wait a minute," said another older woman, "Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"
"Where were we?"
"Pharmacy Town." said Thomas.
"Pharmacy Town, about twenty minutes ago," relayed my uncle.
"Let's have a look." said the second old woman.
"Just my luck, to marry a car-spotter," muttered the first old woman.
"In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."
"Anything more specific?" I asked.
"All in good time. Were they car-jacked by two people?"
"Yes, they were."
"There we are. Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had four on board. And car number is four six five diamond six."
"That's it! So how do we find them?" asked The Doctor.
"Ah. Now, there I'm afraid I can't help."
"Call them on this thing," said The Doctor to Thomas, "We've got their number. Diamond six."
"Not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class." answered Thomas.
"You could try the police," said the second old woman.
"They put me on hold," said The Doctor.
"You'll have to keep trying. There's no one else," said the first old woman.
"Thank you," said The Doctor, then he handed the transmitter back to Thomas. "We've got to go to the fast lane. Take us down."
"Not a million years," said Thomas.
"You've got four passengers!" I said.
"I'm still not going."
"They are trapped, lost, and they belong on this planet, and it's all my fault," Said The Doctor, "I'm asking you, Brannigan – take us down."
"That's a no," said Valerie, "And that's final. I'm not risking the children down there."
"Why not?" I asked, "What's the risk? What happens down there?"
"We're not discussing it! The conversation is closed!"
"So we keep on driving," said The Doctor.
"Yes, we do." said Thomas
"For how long?" I asked.
"'Till the journey's end."
My uncle then grabbed the transmitter, "Mrs. Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"
"Oh, we were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now." said the first old lady.
"And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?"
"I'm not sure." said the second old lady.
"Look at your notes. Any police?" I asked.
"Not as such."
"Or an ambulance? Rescue service? Anything official? Ever?" asked The Doctor.
"I can't keep a note of everything."
"What if there's no one out there?"
Thomas reached up and took the transmitter away from my uncle, "Stop it. The Cassinis were doing you a favor."
"Someone's got to ask," I said, "Because you might not talk about it, but it's there. I can see it in your eyes. What if the traffic jam never stops?"
"There's a whole city above us. The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."
'In that case, where are they? What if there's no help coming, not ever? What if there's nothing? Just the motorway, with the cars going round and round and round, never stopping? Forever?"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" said Valerie.
Just then the screen at the front of the car cane into life. On the screen was the same newsreader as before , "This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic, the perfect setting for the daily contemplation."
"You think you know us so well, Doctor… Teddy… But we're not abandoned. Not while we have each other," said Thomas, Valerie smiled a bit.
"This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe." said Sally Calypso.
Valerie and Thomas started to sing "The Old, Rugged Cross." As they sang, you could hear everyone in the motorway singing, it was the most beautiful, yet heart wrenching thing I had ever heard. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes, The Doctor wrapped his arm around my waist to give me a side hug to comfort me.
Once the hymn was over, there was silence for a moment then The Doctor spoke up, "If you won't take us, I'll go down on my own." He scrambled to the middle of the car and started to scan the floor with his sonic screwdriver.
"Not with out me you aren't," I said.
"Teddy…"
"No… I'm going with you, I promised I would protect Mom with my life and I'm not breaking that promise…"
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Thomas.
"Finding my own way. I usually do," said the Doctor.
Just then the onboard computer announced, "Capsule open."
We looked down and saw yellow smog and the outlines of some cars below us. Then a car pulled up right underneath us, "Here we go." said my uncle as he took off his overcoat and tossed it to Valerie. I did the same with my fedora. "Look after this. I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
"But you can't jump!" said Valerie.
"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, I'm having kittens."
"Those two must mean an awful lot to you." said Thomas.
"Amy is my adopted mom." I said, "She took care of me for 18 years… I would do anything for her."
"We hardly know Martha," said the Doctor, as he looked down at the car below us "I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her. Couldn't help it, just lied." The he looked up at Thomas and Valerie, "Bye then!" then he jumped through the hole
"See you soon!" I said as I jumped. We landed on top of the car below us and started coughing from the fumes as my uncle used the sonic to open the top hatch of the car we landed on.
Once it was opened we jumped inside and saw a man who was dressed all in white and very pale looking. "Who the hell are you?" asked the pale man.
"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol," said the Doctor, "I'm doing a survey. How are you enjoying your motorway?" Then he started to work on opening the floor hatch.
"Well, not very much. Junction Five's been closed for three years!"
"Thank you," I said, "Your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!"
We then jumped down to the next car. Inside this care were two very startled Asian girls.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Your comments have been noted." I said, as I listened to the girls yell at us.
My uncle picked up a couple of blue handkerchiefs, he handed one to me and we started to tie them over our mouths to help keep us from breathing the smog. "Do you mind if we borrow these? Not my color, but thank you very much."
"Speak for yourself," I said. As he opened the hatch. We jumped down and in the next care were a couple of naked people.
"Oh!" said the Doctor, "Don't mind us…"
I blocked my view of them with my hand, "Hurry up…"
We jumped down and the next car the inteiour was lit all in read with a very large man in the front. Once the bottom door was opened The Doctor saluted him and we jumped down to the next car.
Several cars later we landed in a car being driven by a businessman in pinstripes. He whirled around to face us and asked, "'Scuse me, is that legal?"
"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol," said The Doctor, then we started to cough.
"Have you got any water?" I asked, while I coughed.
"Certainly. Never let it be said I've lost my manners," said the businessman. He walked over to a water cooler, got us each a cup of water and hand them to us.
We drank them down and The Doctor asked him, "Is this the last layer?"
"Ah, we're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane." he said.
"Thank goodness," I said, "Can we drive down?"
"There's only three of us. You need four to go down."
"Couldn't we just cheat?" asked my uncle.
"Well, I'd love to, but it's an automated system. The wheel would lock."
"If you'll excuse me." The Doctor got up and went to the door in the bottom of the car and used his sonic to open it.
"You can't jump. It's a thousand feet down!" said the businessman.
"No, I just want to look." We looked down and saw nothing but the yellow smog dotted with tiny lights. You could hear a faint screeching roar coming from somewhere below, "What's that noise?"
"I try not to think about it," said the businessman.
"What are those lights?" I asked, "What's down there?" I coughed and waved a hand in front my face to keep the smog away.
"I just need to see," said the Doctor. He ran up to the screen in the front of the car and pointed his sonic at the display, "There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, maybe I could trip the system, give us a bit of a breeze." He opened up the front console and started to re-wire the car. "That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look."
We looked down and the and saw the smog move away. "What are those shapes?" asked the businessman.
As the smog lifted we saw huge snapping claws, "They're alive." I said.
"What the hell are they?" asked the businessman.
As the smog lifted more we could see exactly what they were. Extremely large crabs the lights we saw were their eyes. "Macra." said the Doctor, ominously. "The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."
"They don't exactly look like empire-builders to me," said the businessman.
"That was billions of years ago," I said, "They must've devolved down the years and now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my friends are down there."
Then there was a clank at the top of the car. We all looked up and the businessman said, "Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!"
Just then a set of legs popped down from the hatch in the top of the car.
"I've invented a sport!" said my uncle.
When the person dropped in it was another cat person. She was dressed in a gray nun's habit, "Doctor, you're a hard man to find."
"No guns! I'm not having guns!" said the Businessman.
"I only brought this in case of pirates. Doctor, you've got to come with me." said the cat lady.
"Do I know you?" asked the Doctor.
"You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me."
"Novice Hame!" they hugged then my uncle broke the embraced, "No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation," said the Doctor.
"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."
"We are not going anywhere!" I said, "You've got Macra living underneath this city. And if my Mom and our friend's still alive, they're stuck down there!"
"You've got to come with me right now!" said Novice Hame.
"No, no, no, you're coming with me," said the Doctor, "We've got four passengers now."
"I'm sorry, Doctor. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine." She took my uncle's wrist and pressed a button on the metal wristband with green lights on it, "Transport."
The second she said, "Transport." I grabbed a hold of my uncle's wrist. There was no way she wasn't taking me.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" said The Doctor.
The next thing we knew we were in a large unkempt room. It was dusty with junk everywhere and streams of sunlight flooding in irregularly. We picked ourselves up off the floor and my uncle said, "Oh! Rough teleport. Ow. But you can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha and Amy."
"I only had the power for one trip." said Novice Hame.
"Then get some more!" I shouted, "Where are we?"
"High above, in the over-city."
"Good!" said my uncle, "'Cause you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They've got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!"
"But you're inside the Senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless them." We looked up and saw we were in the Senate. There were long rows of seats in the vast chamber. All of them contained skeletons. "They died, Doctor. The city died."
"How long's it been like this?" I asked looking up in disbelief.
"Twenty-four years."
We walked forward and saw a skeleton lying on the ground. The Doctor and I kneeled next to it, and said, "All of them? Everyone? What happened?"
"A new chemical. A new mood. They called it Bliss." said Novice Hame. She knelt next to us and reached down, picking up a small circular sticker just like the ones the vendors were selling when we first arrived. This one, however, read 'BLISS.' "Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished — even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."
We stood up and The Doctor said, "So the whole thing down there is running on automatic?"
"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."
"Who's 'we'?" I asked, "How did you survive?"
Novice Hame's face brightened "He protected me. And he has waited for The Doctor, these long years."
Then we heard a low, grumbling voice, "Doctor."
The Doctor turned and dashed into the next room. Novice Hame and I followed. Inside the room was a basically a giant face in a giant jar. "The Face of Boe!" said The Doctor as he knelt in front of the jar. I had heard of The Face of Boe from my uncle and Rose. They met him on Rose's first trip with my uncle's 9th incarnation to see the end of Earth and they met again on Rose's first trip with my uncle's current incarnation.
"I knew you would come." said The Face of Boe.
"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse, as penance for my sins," said Novice Hame.
"Teddy… this is The Face of Boe… Face of Boe, this is my niece, Teddy."
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Likewise," he said.
"Old friend, what happened to you?" asked the Doctor.
"Failing."
"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke," said Novice Hame, "But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea."
"So he saved them," I said.
"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
"But there are planets out there. You could have called for help." said the Doctor.
"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."
The Doctor then stood up, "So the two of you stayed here — on your own, for all these years."
"We had no choice." said Novice Hame.
My uncle reached out and touched her shoulder, "Yes, you did."
"Save them, Doctor," said The Face of Boe, "Save them."
The Doctor and I looked a screen, with our glasses on., "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six — it still registers!" said The Doctor, "That's Martha and Amy. I knew they were good. Novice Hame, hold that in place." He jumped back from the screen and handed her a piece of thick tubing. Once she got it we ran over to a wall with a couple of screens, lots of wiring and buttons. "Think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity beds."
"There isn't enough power," said Novice Hame.
"Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Teddy! every switch on that bank, up to maximum!"
"You got it…" I said as I did as instructed.
The Doctor rotated a knob in a console on the floor, aiming the sonic screwdriver at it as well ,"I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people." He banged his fist against the console and jumped up.
"So what are you going to do?" asked Novice Hame.
"This!"
He flipped a giant switch on the floor and then all of the lights on all of the consoles went out, "No, no no no no, no!"
I was kneeling on the floor waiving my sonic at a set of controls, "The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through."
"Doctor …" called The Face of Boe.
"Yeah, hold on, not now." said my uncle.
"I give you my last …" He let out a long, rasping breath and every console turned back on and everything started working.
The Doctor leaped up and said, "Hame, look after him! Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this." He flicked the huge switch while Novice Hame turned a wheel next to the Face of Boe. "The open road. Hah!"
I found a camera and using my sonic I hooked it up to the console and turned it on, "Sorry folks, Sally Calypso was just a hologram. My name's Teddy Duncan and this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. We've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way. Car Four Six Five Diamond Six! Martha! Mom! Drive up! You've got access above! Now go!"
The Doctor walked over to me "You keep driving, Brannigan, all the way up! 'Cause it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York. And it's yours. And don't forget — I want that coat back and Teddy wants her fedora."
"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir," Said Thomas over the transmitter.
"And Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate."
"On my way!" said Martha over the transmitter.
"Is Mom OK?" I asked.
"I'm right here Teddy!"
"Doctor!" called Novice Hame. She was leaning over the Face of Boe as the jar he was in started to crack.
A couple of minutes later we heard people enter the main chamber of the Senate. Martha's voice called out "Doctor?"
Then Mom's voice, "Teddy?"
"Over here," called my uncle.
"Doctor!" said Martha as she and Mom entered the room, "What happened out there?"
When they turned the corner they saw what doing. The Doctor, Novice Hame, and I were all kneeling next to The Face of Boe. His jar had broken and he fell out of it. He was now propped up by the bottom of the jar.
"What's that?" asked Mom.
"It's the Face of Boe," Said my uncle, "It's all right. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry."
Martha and Mom moved closer to us. "He's the one that saved you, not us." I said.
"My lord gave his life to save the city," said Novice Hame as Mom and Martha kelt next to the cat lady. "And now he's dying."
"No, don't say that," said The Doctor, "Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."
"It's good to breathe the air once more," said The Face of Boe.
"Who is he?" asked Mom.
"We don't even know," I said, "Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."
"Everything has its time." said the Face of Boe. Then his eyes moved to look at The Doctor, "You know that, old friend, better than most."
"The legend says more," said Novice Hame, "
"Don't. There's no need for that," said the Doctor.
"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller."
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"
"I have seen so much," said The Face of Boe, "Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind — as you and Teddy are the last of yours, Doctor."
"That's why we have to survive," I said, "All three of us. Don't go."
"I must. But know this, Time Lords. You are not alone." And with that The Face of Boe's eyes closed for the last time. Novice Hame began to sob and I could feel tears forming in my eyes as well. I could feel Mom move over to me an put an arm around me to comfort men.
A short time later, we were back in the alley where Martha and Mom were kidnapped. I smiled when I saw that all of the boots had signs that said "CLOSED UNTILL FURTHER NOTICE" I smiled, "All closed down."
"Happy?" asked Mom.
"Happy happy." said The Doctor, as he inspected one of the empty booths. Martha laughed.
"New New York can start again," I said, "And they've got Novice Hame to lead them. Just what every city needs — cats in charge!"
"Come on, time we were off." said The Doctor. Mom and I started to follow him.
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe?" asked Martha. We stopped and turned around, "'You're not alone.'"
"I don't know." said The Doctor. I didn't know what The Face of Boe meant by that either. Could more Time Lords had survived the war some how? It was entirely possible. If the Cult of Skaro survived then maybe… just maybe… There were other Time Lords…
"You've got me and Amy. Is that what he meant?"
"I don't think so." I said, "Sorry."
"Then what?" asked Martha
"Doesn't matter," Said The Doctor, "Back to the TARDIS, off we go." We started to head back to the TARDIS when we heard Martha grab a chair. We turned around and saw Martha sitting down. "All right, you staying?"
"'Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said that you and Teddy were the last of your kind. What does that mean?"
The Doctor and I looked at each other, "It really doesn't matter." he said.
"You don't talk. You never say! Why not?" asked Martha. Then we could hear singing again. This is time it was 'Abide With Me' "It's the city. They're singing."
The Doctor and I looked at each other. Then I turned to my Mom, "Mom… Could you give us some time with Martha?" I reached into my pocket and gave her a key to the TARDIS.
"Sure, sweetie…" she said. She took the key and headed to the TARDIS.
Then we turned our attention to Martha, "We lied to you," said The Doctor, " Beause we liked it. We could pretend. Just for a bit, We could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky."
"We are not just Time Lords," I said, "We are the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."
"What happened?" asked Martha.
The Doctor and I each grabbed a chair and sat down across from her, and The doctor started, "There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. Our people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. Our family, our friends, even that sky."
"Oh, you should have seen it," I said, "The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song …"
A/N: I hope this chapter is OK. I know Amy and Martha are hardly in it but you have to remember. This story is told from Teddy's point of view. As always please review, as you can tell it keeps me motivated to keep working. I think I got this chapter done so fast, because I had the last couple days off of work. But, back to the grind tomorrow. I'm debating having Amy leave after the next adventure or staying on till the end of Series 3. Let me know what you think…