Post by Fitz Kreiner on May 20, 2010 20:14:09 GMT
Day three, The Escape.
I screamed. I won’t deny it, and I think you probably would have done too. I knew that below me was a several hundred foot drop. Obviously, I didn’t fall to my death, but at the time, I didn’t know what was going to happen.
I felt myself falling and I really thought that this was it. I hardly felt the hand close around my wrist, but there was some part of my brain that thought the Drachnith had caught me. I felt a huge jolt in my shoulder and thought that my joint was going to be wrenched out. I soon found myself hanging down an impossibly high drop.
“Grab hold of me,” Tom’s voice shouted down.
I looked up to see him grabbing hold of my wrist. He was laid on his stomach, leaning over the edge of the pathway. I could see the strain on his face as he was trying desperately to grab hold of me and stop himself from falling off the edge himself. I remembered the look on his face clearly. I looked back down and immediately wished I hadn’t. I was dangling at least three hundred feet above the nearest ground.
“Come on,” Tom shouted down at me.
I had no choice. My arm and shoulder were screaming in pain at me. With what I remembered to be a lot of effort, I reached up with my other arm and grabbed hold of Tom’s wrist. There were loud crashes and bangs mixed in with the rumbles of the attack now, and I could vaguely hear screams and howls of Anubians as they ran from the Drachnith.
It felt like ages I was dangling off the edge. I could feel the palms of my hands getting sweaty and starting to slip as Tom tried to lift me back up onto solid ground. He eventually managed it and I fell on top of him as he fell over backwards.
“Thanks,” I think I managed to gasp. He was holding me tight, as if he didn’t want to let me go or risk anything happening again.
“Don’t mention it,” he said panting.
I looked up just in time to see an Anubian running along the wide path and getting hit by an energy beam that glowed a deep red in the middle of the back, knocking it off the edge howling. There was the high whine of more energy weapons being fired. I’d become attuned to picking out the sound after my time with the Doctor. Tom pushed me off him and then covered me with himself. It was hugely touching but I was worried for him.
“Come on,” he said again.
He was scrambling to his feet and grabbing my hand. I knew the routine; run! There were bound to be corridors to run down. I looked around as I got to my feet, more and more Drachnith were appearing out of thin air. I guessed that their city ship had arrived and they were starting to transmat troops over to Intheop.
I felt Tom pull at my arm and realised that I had stopped to look at what was happening around me. Anubians were running all over the place. Some of them were running the same way Tom was leading me. I had no idea where we were going and I don’t think he knew either.
I’ve run down a lot of corridors in my time with the Doctor, but this was easily the most elaborate corridor I’ve ever run down. It almost felt wrong to be running down it, like running in the most prestigious art gallery or something, all columns and marble statues everywhere. Thankfully, there were no Drachnith in these corridors, but there was a chance they were chasing us. The Anubians were a lot quicker than me and Tom, and some of them had even dropped to all fours to run along, just like dogs. Boy could they run fast.
Tom skidded to a halt and I found myself running into his back. “What is it?” I asked. Something told me to ask the question in a half whisper.
“Listen,” he said, holding his hand up.
I couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of the attack, and told Tom that.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “But it’s coming from in front of us, rather than behind us.”
I was confused. We hadn’t been running round in circles, I did know that.
“Come on,” he said again.
He still had hold of my hand, so I had no choice but to follow him. He carried on the way we had been heading, the sound of the attack still getting louder. We were going slower than we had been. When we reached the next corner, I saw why; just a few feet further down the corridor it opened out into another large area, even bigger than the one we’d just left. There were Drachnith there, shooting at random.
I tried to pull Tom back, but he was stronger and pulling me slowly down the corridor towards them, keeping to the wall.
“Are you mad?!” I hissed at him. He was taking us into a battle.
“Of course,” he winked at me. It was one of those looks that instantly reassured you. It was as though he knew something that I didn’t.
Reluctantly I followed him. I was still really nervous about this until I remembered the little charm that the Doctor had given me. If it worked, there was a chance that I could get through all this.
As soon as we were in the main chamber, we both stopped. It was amazing; balconies and walkways everywhere. It would have been even better if there wasn’t a battle going on. Drachnith warriors were dotted about shooting at Anubians. There were large groups of Anubian guards all over the place too.
I watched as one of them not too far from me swung its staff at a Drachnith. I could hear a hum of power as it swung. I think an invisible energy beam or something must have shot out of it because one of the Drachnith’s legs almost exploded and the creature fell over to one side. That didn’t seem to stop it; the creature pulled itself along by its arms. I winced as the Anubian swung the staff again and the Drachnith’s head seemed to explode. It was horrible. I felt sick.
“Come on,” Tom said again, pulling at my arm. His voice had hardened now we were in the middle of the battle. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“You’re the one who dragged me in here,” I pointed out.
“No, no,” he protested. “Out of Intheop.”
I looked around. This was nothing like the place we landed in. Mind you, back then I was more taken by the Anubians that anything else, so it could very well have been.
“It’s a space station, there have to be shuttles or escape pods at the very least,” he said.
I felt a sudden knot of anxiety in my stomach again as I realised just what Tom had said. Get me out, not just get out. He wasn’t going to go with me wherever it was. He also seemed to be putting my safety above his own. That gave me a wonderful feeling in a bizarre aspect, that he was really true in his intent towards me. I’ve always felt safe with Tom, he’s one of those comforting people and he can be rather protective, but not over protective. It was that protective streak in him coming out now.
I don’t remember much about the run from the corridor as I was thinking all that through. I was running almost in a half crouch, not too sure whether I was going to be shot or not. All I remember is that Tom was making sure that he was between me and any Drachnith that we ran into.
We ran through another archway and into another huge chamber. I remember thinking just how big the station must have been. It was truly vast. I’d never seen anything quite so big, and to think that it was all self-contained and floating in space.
I ran into the back of Tom as he stopped again. Rubble and debris was raining down in front of us. As soon as I looked up I saw why; a gigantic statue of an Anubian, it had to be several hundred feet tall, was starting to slowly topple. Giant cracks, that had to be wider than me considering the size of the statue, were forming as it toppled. It crashed into walk ways, sometimes breaking as it hit them, other times bringing the walkways down with it. The sound was deafening. I had to fight to get my hand out of Tom’s so that I could try to cover my ears.
I was watching it fall when I spotted a figure I recognised beyond it, up on a high balcony; the Doctor. He was stood with his hands gripping the hand rail and even at the distance I could tell the expression on his face; pain and horror. He detests violence and killing, and the Drachnith were slaughtering any Anubian they saw. So far, they hadn’t shot at me or Tom I don’t think. The conference clearly hadn’t gone well, and I could imagine that it had upset the Doctor, although he would never admit it.
The sound of the statue falling was still echoing around the chamber, so I had to grab Tom and point him to the Doctor. He spotted us the same instant Tom did. I saw him stare intensely at Tom, who was staring back, a faraway look in his eyes.
“Yeah, sure,” Tom said aloud before turning back to me. “Come on,” he said again.
I looked up at where the Doctor had been stood. He’d jumped back as a piece of masonry fell just where he’d been stood, destroying the balcony. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet before turning and sprinting away.
“What happened?” I shouted ahead to Tom.
He was now running ahead of me, and I was having to struggle to keep up. “I know where to go now, the Doctor told me, telepathically,” he explained. “He’s done it before, sent me telepathic messages and it always freaks me out a little.”
He’d mentioned these telepathic messages before. He said that they’d helped him in situations such as Amaranth (another long story). “What about the Doctor?” I shouted back.
“He wants to try to put a stop to this slaughter,” Tom shouted back, ducking as a laser beam shot by him.
I almost ran into him as he stopped and stared at the Drachnith who had shot him. I tried to drag him away; I didn’t want him getting shot. Fortunately, he didn’t as an Anubian appeared out of nowhere and started to fight the Drachnith. And I mean fight, hand to hand. It was a bizarre sight.
“Come on,” it was my turn to say it. “Did the Doctor tell you where to go in his telepathic conference call?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Tom said, dragging me away again.
We ran again. What had happened to the Doctor, I’ve no idea, but then he does that, disappears when you think there’s no hope and then comes out of it unscathed. Well, mostly, last time, his coat took a bit of a beating.
It felt a bit weird running like this. Normally, we’re in the thick of things in other ways. There was a worry that if the Doctor wanted Tom and I out of the way then things were going to be very dangerous or something very bad could happen. He’s only done it once before, trying to keep me out of the way of meeting someone who hypnotised me in case that happened again. It doesn’t stop me wanting to be there if things go bad. Somehow, the worse things are when I’m in situations like this, the better I feel. If I know something bad is happening but I’m not involved, it somehow feels worse, because you never know what the Doctor or Tom are up to. Normally, they’re right in the middle of it, or causing it!
“This is it,” Tom said standing between two statues.
It didn’t look anything like what I was expecting. A grey slab was sliding up revealing a space behind. I looked round while I waited for the slab to slide up. There were more Anubians about; some were standing by other opening slabs. It seemed that they were planning to escape too. I looked back at the opening; it was surprisingly large inside. I always assumed that escape pods would be small pokey little things. But then again, these were aliens.
It was when I had climbed in and looked round that I realised that Tom hadn’t come in with me. I looked out of the opening and saw him starting to move away.
“Where are you going?” I shouted up to him.
He looked back; I could see that he had a pained look. For a second I wondered whether he’d been shot when I wasn’t looking. I soon realised why he was looking so pained, he wasn’t coming with me. I felt the feeling of dread and anxiety rising again. I had to know why.
“Be safe,” he said quietly yet I could hear his voice as though he were stood next to me.
I was almost too shocked to move or speak. I was getting back to my feet to chase after him when I saw a group of Anubians rushing towards the pod I was in. There were four guards and one female in the middle of them. She had to be someone important from the way the others were grouped around her. I tried to ignore them and turn back to Tom. He was more important to me.
“No, wait,” I called. “Why aren’t you coming?”
“I’ve got something to do,” he replied.
There was something he wasn’t telling me. “What is it?” I shouted back. He was moving further and further away all the time.
“Something for the Doctor. I’m sorry, I’ll find you, I promise.”
He finally turned away and moved off. I could see it clearly in his face, he really didn’t want to leave me and the choice had torn him. The sound of an Anubian yelping made me turn back to the group I’d seen before. One of the guards was lying dead, four Drachnith striding towards them.
The three guards were keeping themselves between the Drachnith and the female Anubian. I saw one of them turn to her and say something. As soon as the Anubian moved I knew what it had to have been; run. She was bounding directly towards me and the escape pod whilst her body guards held the Drachnith off. She was nearly at the pod when one of the Drachnith shot at her.
The Anubian fell into the pod with a yelp and a whimper, just the sort of sound that a dog would make if it was injured. It was horrible to hear, and as the door slid back shut after her, it was all I could hear.
I immediately bent over her to see if she was alright. Considering the size of the pod, I didn’t have far to go to get to her. There was a burn on her left thigh and I could smell the horrible smell of burnt hair, or rather burnt fur in this case. The Anubian looked up at me, her yellow eyes almost had a pleading sorrowful look in them.
“Medkit,” she said, pointing to a panel on the side of the pod.
I’ve heard and seen enough to know a first aid kit when I’ve seen one, even if it is a space dog version, although the stuff inside it was another matter. I had no idea what any of it was for.
“What do I do with it?” I asked. I badly wanted to help the Anubian.
She beckoned for me to show her the box. I felt totally helpless, there was nothing I could do for her, unless she directed me with what to do. I watched her remove a small device and snap a top off it. Then she passed it to me.
“Hold this beside the wound and depress that control,” she said to me. Her voice sounded more proper than the Anubians I had spoken to before.
“What is it?” I asked.
She told me, but I forgot the precise medical or scientific term she used. It was something the Doctor would have been able to talk about, but not me. I held the device as she instructed and activated it. She gave another small yelp of pain before thanking me.
“The drug will kill the pain totally while the regenerative process works,” she said.
“Right,” I said simply. I couldn’t think of anything else to say to that.
We sat in an uncomfortable silence for what felt like hours, but was in reality probably only something like a couple of seconds.
“I’m Jess,” I said eventually. I had to think of something to start a conversation if I was going to be stuck with the Anubian.
“Greetings,” the Anubian said. “You are with the Doctor then?”
“Yes,” I was confused at first. “How did you know?”
“I met him this morning,” she replied. “I am Princess Theoris, elder daughter of Pharaoh Theodihad.”
I was rather taken aback. I knew that the princess was on the station, the Doctor had mentioned her and I had expected to see her yesterday when the Drachnith first arrived. Now here I was stuck in an escape pod with her. I knew then, that we were bound to be rescued; I doubted that the Anubians would leave one of their princesses adrift in space.
I then noticed what the princess looked like. She was a wonderfully black glossy furred female; her fur seemed to shimmer in the light. Her longer hair was done in tight braids and fell down to her shoulders. She had a lot of gold jewellery and was wearing some rather impressively and superbly embroidered clothes.
“Thank you, Lady Jess,” she said.
That threw me and really took me by surprise. Why was she thanking me? I think she must have guessed that I didn’t understand because she looked at the medical device I still held and then back at me and smiled. I looked down at the device and put it back in the first aid box.
“You’re welcome,” I smiled back.
She seemed to be remarkably calm considering that the Drachnith were attacking Intheop. Then I remembered where we were. I looked at the small port-hole window beside me. The pod was now in space. I could see stars glinting outside, but nothing else.
I looked back at Theoris and noticed that she was looking out of the window near her, her smile had gone and I saw what could very well have been a tear in the corner of her eye.
“What is it?” I asked.
I didn’t wait for a reply; I leant over to look out of the window. I could see the whole of Intheop now, so Gods knew how far away we were. There was a planet nearby to reference, but it didn’t help not knowing how big the planet was or how far we or Intheop were from it, but we were getting further and further away from it.
It was a spectacular construction, pyramids, arches, pillars, spires and monoliths, all held together in some inexplicable way. There were flashes of light every so often from it, that I realised were explosions. The Drachnith were attacking from the outside. Then I saw the Drachnith ship; it was almost the same size as the city station, and the Doctor said that the ship was the size of a small moon; that made my blood run cold.
It was the same size as the city and it was slowly destroying it, and we were alone and adrift in space.