CAVERN OF DEATH

Chapter 15

Before any of the Daleks could register his move, the Doctor barged his way through them. He strode up to his friend, looking at her with genuine remorse in his eyes.

"Clara, I'm so sorry." The Doctor said, taking her by the hand. "I never should have brought you here."

"REMOVE THE PRISONER. TAKE THE FEMALE TO BE PROCESSED." Ordered the commander, as the Daleks forced the two apart at gunpoint. "IF THE DOCTOR MOVES AGAIN, EXTERMINATE HIM."

Hands clenched at his side, the Doctor merely stood there. All he could do was watch as Clara was led away. With literally hundreds of Dalek guns pointing at him now, there was little else he could do.

Every fiber of his being wanted nothing more than to stop them.

Yet, he knew that it would do Clara no good if he were to be killed. Even if the Doctor should regenerate, it could take hours—perhaps days, to adjust to his new body and for his mind to function normally again. Which might well be too late to save her.

Still, he had to try.

"Whatever your plans for me are, Davros, leave her alone. Despite all this time living among the Daleks, part of you is still human. You're not a Dalek. You had a mother and a father. You had friends. Touch your own humanity for a change. Behuman again. Just this once, Davros." The Doctor urged, "Let someone live."

The commander Dalek standing beside the Doctor swiveled it's eye stalk in Davros' direction. Then swung its attention back to the Doctor.

"How dare you call me human!" Davros spat out, his face suddenly contorted with disbelief and rage. "I find humanity to be an abomination. A blight on the natural order of the universe. I will stamp out that blight, Doctor. Once and for all. Starting with the Earth. And soon, you will join me. Helping us to rid the cosmos of your favourite species."

"If you know me at all, Davros," the Doctor said evenly, "you'd know that I'd die, first."

"That can also be arranged, Doctor. But for now, you must wait. I have other things I must attend to. If you're thinking of escaping, I have an entire army at my disposal to ensure your confinement."

So for now the Doctor knew he had to force himself to be patient and wait. Who knew when an opportunity might present itself?

"Take him to the cells." Davros repeated the order he'd given a few moments earlier. "If the Doctor shows any sign of resistance, kill the girl. Then round up every human being within two hundred kilometers and kill them, as well."

Obviously, the Doctor thought, the opportunity wasn't right now.

"All right, Davros." He spoke softly, with bitterness lacing his voice, "You made your point. I won't resist. I'll go quietly."

Clara tried to walk slowly, but soon found that tactic to be next to useless. The Dalek guarding her back kept nudging her along, using its gun like a farmer prodding a reluctant cow back to the barn.

"FASTER! MOVE! MOVE!" It commanded.

"OK! Relax! I'm going." Clara told it resentfully.

"DALEKS DO NOT NEED TO RELAX. DALEKS HAVE NO NEEDS."

"Really? Cos' from the way that gun is pointing, I'd say you're overcompensating for something." Clara muttered.

"CEASE TALKING! OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED."

Giving a resigned sigh, Clara made sure that she kept her arms raised. It probably wouldn't take much for her captors to give in to their primal urge to kill her. The guard in front of Clara seemed to be acting as a guide of sorts. It was taking her through another of the seemingly endless black tunnels. This Dalek also came equipped the glowing blue spheres attached to its outer casing. Probably so Clara wouldn't die prematurely by tripping over a rock and breaking her neck

The pair of Daleks seemed to be taking her past some sort of laboratories. As she walked by several open doors, Clara had spied a number of low tables. Each of them was loaded down with electronics and assorted lab equipment. Then they took a sharp right turn and passed into a whole new section. This one made Clara shiver involuntarily. It wasn't just the cool temperature. Something about this place felt wrong. Her stomach tightened with apprehension.

Lining both sides of the walls of this new passage were Perspex covered cubicles. Inside, she beheld what were clearly some of the human warriors, both men and women. They seemed to be unconscious and had lines filled with different coloured fluids going into their bodies. Clara could see that many of them already had guns installed in their arms. What appeared to be artificial skin was stripped back, exposing the Dalek weaponry.

The Dalek guards walked past the compartments to a door just beyond them.

"YOU WILL WAIT HERE." Instructed the Dalek with the gun at her back.

"Like I have a choice?" Clara whispered to herself, as the door slid open admitting the Dalek into the lab beyond.

The Dalek with the lights took over guard duty. Seconds later, the door slid open again. A third Dalek stood in the doorway.

"I WILL CHECK TO SEE IF THIS FEMALE IS SUITABLE FOR OUR PURPOSES." The new Dalek said.

As the Dalek technician extended it's suction cup over the side of her head, Clara suddenly felt a physical stab of pain in her chest. Almost gorging on her fear, she nevertheless stood still. The cup withdrew. She had a brief sensation of dizziness and nausea. Thankfully, it quickly passed.

"THE SUBJECT'S MIND IS ACCEPTABLE. WE WILL USE THE FEMALE TO CREATE A NEW DALEK WARRIOR. BRING HER!"

"YOU WILL GO INSIDE!" Ordered one of the Dalek guards.

"Sorry boys, no can do." Clara said, talking far more bravely than she actually felt.

"OBEY! OBEY!" Screeched the Dalek.

"I said, no." Clara repeated, more firmly this time as she screwed up her courage. "The way I see it, if I go in there, you will make a clone of me, using my mind and my memories. After that's done, I'll be dead. If you kill me out here, I'm still going to die. But, you won't be able to use me to kill anyone. So, no. Not going in there. I choose the lesser of the two evils."

"EXTERMINATE THE FEMALE!" Shouted the lab technician.

"This female has a name." She told it defiantly. "You're killing Clara, in case you want to know."

"NAMES ARE IRRELEVANT."

Clara braced herself as the Daleks raised their guns and prepared to fire.

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