Doctor Who and the Eternity Cage (The Future Doctor Chronicles Part One)

Chapter Eleven

Dr Munro led Romana down the corridor towards the chapel wing, being careful to keep pace with her in case anything untoward happened. As requested the chapel was unlocked, so he opened the door and strode straight in. The room was fairly large with a cavernous ceiling that caused every footstep to echo back. 

"Please feel free to approach the altar." he gestured to the back of the room where a simple table stood with a plain wooden cross on top. 

"I'll be sat on the back row of pews, so as not to disturb you." 

He lowered himself onto the hard uncomfortable pews and watched as she solemnly processed to the altar and knelt before it. Something told him he might be here sometime, so he made himself as comfortable as possible. Before long he felt his eyelids grow heavy, until he could no longer keep them open. 

Dr Munro jolted awake and immediately felt twinges of pain in his back and legs, damn pews he thought to himself as he stretched in an effort to ease the pain. The crack of his knees echoed in the silence of the chapel, looking up it dawned on him that it shouldn't be that silent. He scanned the far end of the room and immediately felt a rising sense of panic, she wasn't there. As he rose to his feet he realised why he couldn't see her, she had collapsed and was lying in a heap at the foot of the altar. 

"Damn." he cursed out loud, in his desperation to reach the unconscious Romana he had banged his knee on the end of the pew. Kneeling down beside her he checked for a pulse and was relieved to find one even if it was a little too fast for his liking. Dr Munro grasped her shoulder and turned her body over to make sure she was breathing properly. The last thing he needed was a patient dying in his care, he'd had enough trouble lately with accusations of poor treatment and the use of excessive force. 

"What the..." he began to speak but a bright white light filled his vision and then he blacked out. 

Lucy could barely open her eyes the pain was so intense and when she finally did the well illuminated white room in which she found herself did little to ease it. As she sat up on the small clear plastic bed memories flooded back into her foggy mind. She had been knocked out and imprisoned because of what she'd seen, the only plus point was the picture message she'd managed to send. She just hoped and prayed he'd know what to do.  

The door in front of her appeared to be made from frosted glass with the exception of a small letterbox shaped area at head height. She headed straight for it, hoping to find out where she was and if she could escape. The corridor outside was empty but opposite she could make out more cells. Unguarded cells always worried her, it usually meant they were escape proof.  

A soft clicking noise followed by a hiss offered her some hope but this was immediately followed by a procession that put an end to all her hopes of escape. Two attendants came down the corridor dragging an unconscious Doctor between them. Once they reached the cell opposite hers the door slid across and they unceremoniously threw him in. Lucy couldn't take it anymore, she banged her fists hard against the glass door. 

"Let me speak to your boss. You can't treat us like this." 

The noise had the desired effect, the two attendants turned and approached her cell. One of them tapped a space next to the narrow window and it slid down. 

"What's all the noise about, what do you want?" 

"What I want is to know why I'm being held here." she demanded sternly, hoping her nerves didn't show. The attendant laughed as he considered a reply. 

"You're plan b," he nodded towards the Doctors cell "in case he can't be made to comply" 

Without waiting for a reply he closed the window and walked away. Lucy kicked the door in anger, it didn't budge an inch, she had a bad feeling about this.