Lost (Book Five of the Melody Series)

Through the Roof

The Doctor's POV

The control room was in chaos. Smoke was in the air. Several guards were on the ground. Melody nudged one with her foot. "I think they're dead," she said in a choked voice.

I took a deep breath. "I think we're in the right place," I said.

Through the smoke I could see her dirt smeared face. Gone was the determination. Worry shone in her eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess. "You ready?" she asked.

I chuckled. "For what?"

"To shut down Liliana," she said. I felt her slide her fingers into mine. She was truly scared. "I don't know what she's capable. None of us do. She could try to kill us."

"But she's just a computer program, right?" Clara asked.

Melody shook her head. "She's capable of so much more than a regular computer program. She can enslave people. Even with the 'normal' tracking devices."

"Normal?" Clara repeated.

"There are two kinds of microchips," I said quietly. "One is used to track people. The other..." I swallowed hard. "The other is used to do Liliana's bidding. Only two people had the other-Anastasia and Melody."

"But that's gone, though," Melody said. "Anastasia's dead, and I burned it up in regeneration." She took a deep breath. The smoke had disappeared completely, and I could fully see her face in the blue light. Tears trickled down her face.

"Are we just going to stand here?" Clara asked. She walked forward a little. "Come on."

"She's right," Melody said. She let go of my hand and made her way deeper into the room. Once she got to the line of computers at the end, she gasped. "Oh my God..."

I rushed to her side, Clara following right behind. She had bent down over a body and was brushing his hair away. When she looked up, she looked distressed. And when I saw the face, I knew why.

It was Sebastian.

Clara's POV

"Who's that?" I asked, bending down. "Is he the hacker?"

"That's my b-brother," Melody stuttered. "Sebastian. But why's he here?"

"Is he the hacker, though?" I repeated quietly.

"I wouldn't be surprised," the Doctor said, frowning. "After-what was it? Last summer or the one before?"

"Last summer. I'm eighteen, remember?" Melody said. "And that would be Sebastian. This would be his way of fixing the mess of last summer. Or at least preventing it again. But telling Anastasia to kill herself? You thought that would fix some things?"

She shook her brother's shoulders, then she pulled away. "We need to stop her," she said. "If he can't finish the job..."

She stood up and leaned over the computer. She examined the string of numbers on the screen. The Doctor looked over her shoulder. Melody looked back at him. "I don't know what I'm suppose to do," she whimpered.

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the screen. The numbers were changing so quickly it was a blur. Then it stopped. Melody examined the code. "This is way too easy," she muttered. "I feel like there's something missing."

She looked at the code again, then she bent down over the key board and began punching in numbers. Her face showed a mixture of concentration and determination.

Then the room began to tremble. I looked back and forth at Melody and the Doctor. "What's going on?"

"No clue," the Doctor said.