Episode 7: Fragmented Part 5

Steve dropped his scanner in shock, and it made a large clanging noise. Georgia, Pippa and Carlisle heard the noise and began running down the corridor. They leapt down the steps, reaching the corridor where Steve was. He was running, and suddenly a wave of heat passed over him, and he was back in the corridor with the dead body of Mark Nott.

“What was that?” Pippa asked.
“I dunno,” Georgia replied. “But look at this!”

She held up Steve’s scanner and showed it to Carlisle.

“It looks like a belt attachment,” Carlisle said.
“I think it’s a scanner,” Georgia said.
“A what?” Carlisle asked.
“Sort of like a portable x-ray,” Georgia explained. “But it doesn’t just pick out bones. It looks for things, like… People.”
“A scanner,” Pippa said, trying to move the conversation on. “But why is it here?”
“I’m still not sure,” Georgia said. “But what are we going to do about Giles?”
“We’ll have patients coming in soon,” Pippa said. “Becky and Jeremy can deal with them.”
“Uh, Becky’s already up to her neck in it,” Carlisle said. “Maybe Matron Readington…?”
“She’s in a wheelchair,” Pippa said. “We can’t expect her to… Unless we explained…?”
“I don’t think I know Matron Readington, but we can’t expect someone in a wheelchair to do our shift,” Georgia said. “I’ll do it. Call the police or something!”
“We’ll keep the body hidden for a while, we don’t want to alarm the patients,” Carlisle said.

Georgia nodded, and left Carlisle and Pippa standing in the corridor, frowning.

“Urgh,” Conner said, feeling groggy.

He opened one of his eyes, and saw the face of Mrs Macready, staring down at him. She continued to hold the large knife in her hand, and it glistened in the darkening light. Conner looked sideways, and saw Dorris lying opposite in a second metal bed. Her eyes were closed, but he saw her chest moving up and down slowly – she was breathing and alive at least.

“What have you done to us?” Conner attempted to ask.
“You were drugged,” Mrs Macready said simply. “Using Doctor Hutchinson’s anaesthetic.”
“Where is he then?” Conner spat.
“He is not involved in this,” Mrs Macready said. “He has no knowledge of this.”
“So what are you going to do with us?” Dorris asked from across the room.
“Perfect you,” Mrs Macready said. “We will cut you open, and insert three chips inside your brain.”
“I hope you don’t mean potatoes,” Conner said.
“No,” Mrs Macready said sternly. “Computer chips. Some new fangled things…”
“Don’t you dare!” Dorris shouted. “Leave us alone!”
“And then,” Mrs Macready continued. “You will be programmed to complete work in a quiet and efficient manner. Now, prepare them for the operation.”

The Doctor and Triss walked from the room and down a cobweb filled corridor. They passed another skeleton as they reached an old ballroom. The Doctor led Triss down the large marble staircase, and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s for entertainment,” Triss said. “I’ll have to show you our one back at the base. Ours is quite magnificent.”
“Is it?” the Doctor grinned.

He took Triss’ arms, and together they danced around the dusty ballroom. The Doctor pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver, and a distant classical piece faded on broken speakers. Triss smiled, almost imagining her and Larry dancing around the ballroom at the base. Mark would be chatting to the girls in the middle of the floor, dancing and laughing with the prettiest. Steve, always chatting in the corner with his special girl, and Ryan stood nervously by the long table of food, occasionally chatting to some of the girls shyly. Of course, on duty they were tough, but off duty they all had personal lives and it seemed to Triss that her friends and colleagues were dancing around her now, like ghosts of a past memory.

“This brings back memories,” Triss said, laughing and crying slightly.
“Not your average office party,” the Doctor observed.
“It’s for morale mainly,” Triss said. “Crappy nibbles in a dingy room and inappropriate goings on in a small cupboard don’t help in a war.”
“Fair enough,” the Doctor smiled.

He waved the Sonic Screwdriver again, and a big band, all brass and trumpets song came on. The Doctor pulled Triss into a faster dance, and they span around the ballroom, spinning and humming.

“You still have Glenn Miller,” he noticed. “In The Mood was always one of my favourites. It reminds me of Rose… And Jack… So many friends lost. I can see them, here, now, dancing around us. All of them. Rose and Jack, swinging to their song; Martha and Mickey laughing at one of Jackie’s blonde moments; Sarah Jane and her son, eating the food, and smiling. And Donna Noble, dancing with me, like we are now, constantly shining, as bright as ever.”
“You must miss them,” Triss said sadly.
“Things change,” the Doctor said. “People move on. Because they should, or they must. I’m always alone.”
“But what about Georgia and…?”
“Conner,” the Doctor said. “They’re here too. Dancing together. In my head, it’s like they realise – they’re meant for each other. And they can see it, and they’re happy.”
“You miss them, don’t you?” Triss asked. “It’s okay. We move on, because we must, but we don’t forget them. Because that’s the worse thing that can happen; forgetting people we love. We only truly die when those left behind have forgotten us.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” the Doctor smiled. “Like I won’t forget this.”
“I’m glad of it,” Triss smiled. “Because I think you’re older than you say you are. Your body looks young, but your eyes… They’re old. In thousands of years time, I want you to remember me, like this, here, with you, in this ballroom.”
“I will,” the Doctor promised.

Becky pulled Georgia along the corridor. They entered a ward, where a patient lay on a bed, bleeding from his leg. Georgia clapped her hands over her mouth.

“What happened?” Georgia asked as they ran over.
“He was hurt in an explosion,” Becky said. “Jeremy said he wouldn’t even tell him his name.”
“Where’s Jeremy now?” Georgia asked, examining the wound.
“He had to go,” Becky replied. “I’ve called Matron Readington, but we’ll have to manage for now.”
“Where’s all this blood coming from?” Georgia asked.
“You’re the new nurse,” Becky said. “Diagnosis?”
“It looks like… A main artery, in his right leg,” Georgia said. “That would explain the large blood loss.”
“Correct,” Becky said. “And what do we do for the patient?”
“Well we need to sow it up quickly,” Georgia said. “Or he could die.”
“I’ll get the needle and thread,” Becky said, running along the ward.

Georgia bent down to address the patient. He looked to be in great pain, although he was asleep.

“Hello,” Georgia said, pressing against the injury, trying to stop the blood flowing out of the wound. “You probably can’t hear me, but you’re gonna be okay. I’m not an expert at history, but I don’t think you’ve got the NHS yet. I think that comes in 1948… But you are going to be alright.”

Becky ran back with the needle and thread, and thrust it into Georgia’s hands. She nodded at the patient, and smiled.

“Off you go,” she said. “A nurse needs practise.”
“But he’s dying!” Georgia cried. “He might die if I do it!”
“Just try,” Becky said.

Georgia removed pressure from the wound, and stuck the needle into the patient’s leg. Blood spurted out, and Georgia nearly wretched. She began threading and stitching, trying to repair the man’s artery. But it was too big, and the man was losing too much blood.

“I can’t do it!” Georgia cried, shoving the needle at Becky.
“You won’t succeed if you don’t try,” Becky said, handing it back.
“He is not a bloody experiment!” Georgia shouted. “This is a man who needs our help, not someone who volunteered to help me improve my bloody nursing techniques!”
“He’s gone…” Becky said quietly. “Time of death, 8:51.”
“I can’t do this anymore,” Georgia said. “Carlisle gave this impression of the hospital, but it’s not like that at all! You just let a man die for me.”

Georgia turned and walked down the ward, away from the dead man, who Becky was covering with a sheet.

“Georgia!” Becky cried. “Wait! It’s not like that! I couldn’t save him! I’m sorry!”

She began to run after Georgia, leaving the ward silent. Mrs Macready stepped away from Conner’s bed, and Susan replaced her. She began undoing Conner’s straps, holding a needle of anaesthetic in her hand in case he moved. Conner waited until the straps on his legs were undone before he lashed out at the needle in Susan’s hand. It fell to the floor, and Conner leapt from the bed, grabbing Susan.

“Let us go,” Conner ordered. “Or I hurt her.”
“Very well,” Mrs Macready said, frowning.

She stepped away from the tables. Lucy emerged from the shadows and untied Dorris. She slid from her metal bed and pushed Lucy away. She grabbed Conner’s arm, and together they backed away to the door, still holding Susan. Dorris opened the door, and stepped through it. Conner pushed Susan forwards, and ran through the door, shutting it on his way out.

“We’re so dead!” Dorris cried as they ran down the corridor.
“I know!” Conner laughed. “Ha!”
“You think this is funny?” Dorris asked as they rounded a corner.
“Yeah!” Conner laughed again. “This is exactly what the Doctor would say if he was here.”
“But it’s alright, isn’t it?” Dorris asked as they ran up a flight of stairs. “You met me in the future, so I can’t die. And neither can you. Or we won’t meet.”

Conner pulled Dorris into a cupboard as they returned their breathing to almost normal.

“When I met you, you didn’t know me,” Conner said. “Time’s changed now. We could die here, and I’d never meet you. If we do survive, then when we do meet in 2010, it’ll probably be different. But time can be rewritten, where I’ve never met you.”
“So we’d better not die then.” Dorris laughed.
“Probably not, no,” Conner said, sinking to the floor in silence.

The Doctor and Triss left the base as darkness fell. They began to cross the bridge to the sound of wailing sirens. Triss grabbed the Doctor’s had and attempted to pull him into a run.

“It’s a Kritzanthian attack!” she cried as they ran across the bridge.
“We won’t make it back,” the Doctor shouted. “We have to turn back!”

Triss ignored the Doctor, merely screaming and running faster as the bombs began to fall, exploding on the sides of the mountains owned by the humans. One struck Triss’ mountain, and shards of rock fell to the ground.

Georgia ran away from Becky’s following footsteps. She hurried along the corridors until she found Carlisle and Pippa. She hugged Pippa sadly.

“I just let a man die,” she sobbed. “Becky wouldn’t help; she told me it would be good practise…”
“She probably couldn’t save him,” Pippa soothed.
“She’d never do it intentionally,” Carlisle assured her as Becky came running around the corner.
“Georgia!” Becky began.
“It’s okay, we’ve explained,” Pippa said.
“Can you hear that?” Georgia asked.

The group turned at a clunking sound, and saw a man made of gold stomping around the corner. There was an ear-splitting crack and the air around them split open. Georgia looked through the hole and saw a white corridor. She could see the TARDIS at the end of it.

“It’s the TARDIS!” Georgia cried, heading to the hole. “I can get back to the Doctor!”

The Gold man stomped forwards and grabbed Carlisle around the neck, lifting him off the floor and pinning him against the wall. Becky immediately tried to grab the gold man, screaming for help. Carlisle’s pale face turned red – he was choking. Pippa turned to Georgia.

“Go!” she cried.
“I can’t leave you!” Georgia said, hovering by the hole to the TARDIS.
“Go!” Pippa repeated. “You might not get back!”
“I’m not going!” Georgia shouted over Becky’s screams.

Conner heard the door to the cupboard open, so he and Dorris dived on it. The door rattled and Dorris screamed.

“Hold it shut!” she cried.
“Someone’s trying to open it,” Conner said. “I’m finding keeping it shut difficult!”
“Just try!”

Triss screamed and grabbed the Doctor as a bomb landed on the bridge. Part of it collapsed, and turned to rubble. Triss slipped and fell, screaming for the Doctor. He grabbed her hand, as the bridge began to burn around them.

“Help me!” Becky screamed. “He’s dying!”

Pippa ran and grabbed the gold man’s arms, struggling to save Carlisle. Georgia hesitated, unsure what to do.

“Go Georgia!” Pippa screamed again.
“Help him!” Becky pleaded.

The TARDIS made a vworp sound, and the hole began to close, sealing itself. Georgia looked from the hole to Carlisle, whose eyes were slowly closing.

“Oh God!” Georgia cried. “What do I do? Doctor!!!”

TO BE CONTINUED...

"What do I do?"
"I need to get back to the Doctor!"
"Georgia!"
"We're going to die, aren't we?"
"I'm sorry, but yes."