IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Twenty Nine

The ramp slowly descended to the ground while the rescuers stood in front of the open hatch and looked out. They could see a few little animals scurrying around their ship and in the distance was a large creature that resembled a sky-blue brontosaurus. Rory grimaced when he saw that.

"Okay, let's not go over there and get stepped on," he said, pointing to it.

"Silly boy, haven't you seen Jurassic Park, they're just like big cows," Amy said, giving him a playful punch in the arm.

"Well, you can deal with Bessie the overgrown cow then, I'm staying away from it," John said to her.

When the ramp stopped they came down it cautiously and looked around.

"Now…" George said when they reached bottom and Pepa went to raise it, "you're saying that even if they have CCTV in here, they won't be able to see us because of these keys around our neck?"

"They'll see you but they'll ignore you because you're just enough out of their perception that you're like a ghost to them," John Smith replied.

"So…all they really saw is the ramp coming down and going back up," Ringo said, "won't that still alert them that something's up?"

"If it does, I just locked the ramp from the outside," Pepa said, closing a small metal door beside the hatch, "our friends can get out if they need to but unless they know where the control panel is, they can't get in. I figure that'll make everyone in there more secure and buy them time if they do have a way to get inside."

"But what happens if we do need to go outside?" Bill asked him through the communicator, "where's the control panel?"

"To the left of the hatch, there's a little metal door with a pull ring, open that and push the black button at the bottom, that'll override the security lock and let you out."

"Got it!" Bill said. "Good luck everyone."

"Thanks! Remember, Twist and Shout when I get back."

"Piss off, Paul," Bill said while everyone laughed.

They gasped when another of the antelope zebras galloped past them. The animal was shaped like an antelope with antelope horns but zebra coloring and stripes. They watched for a moment while it galloped about twenty feet from them and stopped to munch on some grass.

"Looks like we'll have to keep alert before something runs us down," George said as they walked off towards their left.

"I wouldn't worry about that as much as I would worry about being poisoned," Ringo said. "Is there anything in here that's poisonous that we should know about?"

"Or that vacuum sucky thing, is that in here?" George added.

"Do you know what any of these things are?" Rose asked John Smith who was trying to find the door with the screwdriver.

He glanced up from taking a reading and looked around at the animals.

"A few of them I recognize. The ones I do recognize aren't poisonous, Ringo, but there are many others I have no clue what they are so that doesn't help much. Best to just keep alert to your surroundings."

"Says the man looking at his thing-a-ma-bob," Paul said while they laughed.

"I'm looking at my thing-a-ma-bob trying to see if I can pinpoint the door so you'll just have to look for me," John Smith said with a smile.

"That thing can tell you where doors are?" John said to him.

"No but it can detect things like radiation or things like changes in air temperature which would indicate a draft so I'm hoping I can find the door that way," John Smith replied. "Other than that, I s'pose we'll have to search around till we find the door."

"Can I offer a suggestion?" Bill said to them.

"Sure, go ahead," John Smith.

"If you lot are undetectable, can't you draw attention to yourself by making a noise and then watching to see if you can see a door opening?" he said. "If you stay still, they won't see you when they come in, right?"

"Yes, but they might automatically go to the ship thinking the disturbance came from there," John Smith said to him. "Do you lot wanna risk that?"

"If it means you find the door quickly and not get eaten, yes, I'll risk it," Jane said.

"Perhaps I can help and save you the trouble of creating a disturbance."

Everyone froze and their faces broke out into grins when they heard the Doctor in their ears.

"Are you okay?" Amy said.

"So far, just strapped to a metal table for the 50,000th time. When I left you those items, I took the liberty of putting a communicator behind my ear so I can keep in contact with you. My captors have just now left the room so I can speak with you for the moment. Fortunately they didn't blindfold or put a hood on my head when they led me off so I can guide you. Go to your left in a diagonal direction and you should see a small metal keypad on the wall by the door. The combination is 44261 and once you input that, the door will slide open. After that, turn to the right and there's a corridor. Go to the end of it, turn left and I'm in the fifth door on the right side."

"Got it, thanks," John Smith said as he put the screwdriver back in his pocket.

"One other thing, I asked who these people were when they took me and they won't say. I can't figure out what species they are because the ones I've seen so far are wearing long black robes, black gloves and a black hood over their faces with these goggle like eyeholes that resemble something on a gas mask. They've been silent so far, just brought me in here and strapped me down. So I can't help you suss out who they are and what they want, at least not yet. I…bugger, they're coming back in, chat with you later."

The group moved slowly in a diagonal direction towards the wall while lizards scurried out of their way and birds and pterodactyls flew over their heads. John looked up at one pterodactyl and muttered under his breath about how he hoped he didn't end up like the pink cat. Paul, who was walking beside him, chuckled.

"Come on, John, you're a big, bad ted! Don't let that buzzard scare you!" he teased.

"Paul, that "buzzard" as you put it is bigger than me and it could probably swallow me whole. I'll be the big, bad ted when I'm facing bloody humans not that thing," he said to him.

Paul glanced over at Rose who was walking beside him.

"So…what is it about me that you like so much?" he teased while John snickered, "is it my puppy dog eyes, my winning smile, my charming voice? My teeny tiny size that is convenient for your pocket?"

"Geez," Jane said as everyone laughed.

"Um, I'll go with the teeny tiny size," Rose said, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

"Don't say that, love, he might actually try to get in your pocket," John said.

"I'd like to see that," George said, "Paul's huge head sticking out of her pocket with this soppy look on his face."

"Or singing Yesterday to her," Ringo added.

"Or My Arse Fell off a Moped," Amy chimed in.

The Beatles laughed when Paul tried to grab for her.

"Oho, so you did that as well, did ya?" John said gleefully. "What was your excuse for it? Moon gazing?"

The Beatles laughed and poked one another when he turned bright red.

"He was gazing at some bird and we all know it," George said.

"Course he was, this man has an eye for the ladies. So be mindful of him, Rose, because he really will be in your pocket in a trice," John said, wagging his finger at her.

Paul raised his eyebrow when Amy started warbling Do Ya Think I'm Sexy while she moved her hips and put her arm around Rory.

"That's gear, who sings that?" Paul said.

"Rod Stewart," Amy said to him.

"Is that on my IPod?" Paul said.

"How the hell should I know? I don't know what's on your IPod," Amy replied before she continued singing the song to Rory.

Paul listened for a moment and then parroted the lyrics to Rose. The other Beatles laughed when she turned beet red.

"You know, my fiancée is listening to ya, right?" Rose said to him.

"So's my wife, what's your point?" Paul said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Jeremy, I think it was a mistake staying behind," they heard Jane say.

"I'm beginning to think that as well," Jeremy replied dryly.

"Nah, just having a laugh while we're walking through a bunch of weird animals," Paul said to them. "She said I'm her favorite, might as well find out why while I'm waiting to be gobbled up."

All of them suddenly froze while they listened to the Doctor. They heard someone asking him why he had landed in their menagerie and how he got there. The Doctor replied airily that he brought a new spaceship and was flying through space when he saw a big red button on his console that must never ever be pressed. He pressed the button and hey presto he was in their menagerie. Everyone snickered at that but the laughter quickly ceased when they heard the Doctor grunt and the sound of fist hitting flesh.

"I will not tolerate flippant answers," someone was saying to him, "you will answer truthfully or you will suffer agonizing pain."

"Okay, on that note, I think we better find the door now," Amy said as she and everyone else quickened their pace.

They tried to run but were stopped when a buffalo with hair down to its feet suddenly mooed and ran past them.

"Argh, bloody animals!" John Smith said as they resumed their run.

"Once again, who are you and what are you doing here?" they heard the man asking the Doctor.

They were going so fast, they nearly ran into the black wall and all of them gasped as they stopped short. They looked at it and looked around for a keypad as they began to walk sideways, trying as quickly as they could to locate it. While they were looking, they suddenly heard the Doctor let out an agonizing scream and several of them cursed.

"Where is the bloody thing?" John said as he and the others ran their hands over the wall while they walked, "he said go to the left and go diagonally."

"Mates!" Rose suddenly said, "Get away from the wall now!"

They looked where she was pointing and gasped when they saw a humongous black spider perched on the wall above them. It began to come down the wall towards them while everyone backed up. They tried to look over their shoulders to watch for other animals while the spider which was as big as a Volkswagen Beetle stepped onto the ground and headed towards them. John Smith fumbled in his pocket for his screwdriver while they kept backing up. Finally, he was able to pull it out and quickly adjusted it. He aimed it at the creature and when he turned it on; the creature writhed in agony and began to scuttle away from him. John Smith kept the screwdriver pointed at him while he walked towards the creature who was now backing away, trying to get away from the sonic disturbance. While he was doing that, the others winced when they heard the Doctor being punched and his grunts when the fist connected with his body.

"Keep looking," John Smith said over his shoulder, "I'll hold this thing at bay!"

He continued to back the tarantula away from the others while they cautiously resumed their search. Finally after a couple of minutes, Ringo yelled out that he had found it.

"44261, Ringo!" John Smith said as he kept the screwdriver pointed at the spider and backed up towards them.

Ringo pushed the number keys and stepped back when the door slid open. At the last moment, he turned and ran; barreling through the door after the others had gone through. It slid shut and they looked around before they ran off to the right. They picked up the pace when they heard the Doctor screaming in pain while someone was screaming at him to tell him the truth. They reached the end of the corridor, turned left and froze when they saw the beings the Doctor was describing, standing outside the fifth door, presumably listening and waiting for the torture to end. All six of them jerked their heads around and stared at them with the unnerving goggle eyes.

"There are more of them!" one of them yelled before John Smith urged the others to fight them.

Both parties ran towards each other while John Smith's group heard the man let up the assault on the Doctor and his screams stilled. Both groups collided with each other and began to fight one another while the fifth door open and the torturer looked outside the door. John noticed Paul wriggle out of the fight and head for the lone being at the door. He grinned as he followed him.

"Not without me, mate!" he yelled to him.

Both of them laughed when the being turned around and ran for his life. While they chased him, John Smith got past the fighters. By now, there was only two left and he let his friends handle them while he ran into the room. The Doctor raised his head when he entered. His right eye was swollen shut and he had bruises on his cheeks and blood coming out of a split in his lip.

"Seen better days?" John Smith said as he used the screwdriver to unlock the metal restraints.

"Definitely," the Doctor replied as John Smith unlocked his wrists and he helped get himself free.

By now, he could see the others running past the door in order to help Paul and John. The Doctor threw off the last of the restraints and he and John Smith ran out of the room after them.

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