STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

Chapter Six

It was a bit dicey but we managed to make it back to the cell block without being nabbed by the other guards. Although the Doctor was a bit worried that we wouldn't be so lucky once we found the others. Donna and I kept a look out for any signs of trouble and the Doctor kept his eyes on Donna, repeatedly asking her if she was alright until Donna grew irritated and told him in a tetchy way that she'd inform him if her head was exploding. I actually like her, she's a gutsy woman and she's not intimidated by the Doctor. No wonder he chose her to travel with him.

When we got to the corridor of Cell Block B, it was different to the others. The other passageways had been the sort of walls you might find in a home or office but here, these walls were made of steel as well as the doors. I suppose it was to prevent someone going through the walls and escaping. The steel walls made the corridor even more unwelcoming than the rest of the building and I wondered if they were there to muffle any sounds as well.

The Doctor led us to the end of the corridor. There were two doors on both sides of the passageway, both of them made of thick steel with a slot in the door with a steel covering that you could slide back and look through. The Doctor slid it back and peered in. He shook his head.

"Too dark, I can't see anything," he said.

He tried Jack's keys but none of them would work. He cursed softly and shook his head.

"I need my sonic but I don't know where my clothes are," he said.

"Here, try this," I said, handing him my sonic.

He took it and examined it.

"You built this?" he said.

"Torchwood did," I said.

He snorted at that but he aimed my device at the lock and grinned when he heard a click.

"Well, at least in this case, Torchwood did something useful," he said before he opened the door.

I followed everyone inside and again the smell of old piss and mildew and feces hit my nose. I put my hand over it while the Doctor called out and told whoever was inside that he was the Doctor.

"Doctor?"

I heard a man's voice call back to him. He sounded weak and I could see from the light coming from the open door that the Doctor looked worried. Only the front part of the cell was lit by the outside light. The man was in the darkness.

"Rory?" the Doctor said, moving slowly into the darkened part of the cell. "Is Amy and River here?"

"No," Rory said weakly. "I don't know where they are."

Donna and I stood in the light, listening while the Doctor told Rory he was here and he would help him and find the others. He asked Rory if he was hurt and Rory told him that he'd been beaten and was hurting all over. We heard the Doctor tell Rory he was going to help him to his feet and then we heard Rory groan loudly. The Doctor walked him back into the light and we gasped when we saw him. Unlike the Doctor, both eyes were swollen until they were nearly shut and his face and arms had multiple bruises on them. Dried blood was under his left nostril in a line down to his lip. His hair was matted and dirty with bits of straw in it. Rory tried to focus on us while I walked over to Rory's unattended side and helped steady him. Donna stared at Rory with horror and disgust.

"Why did they do this to you?" Donna said to Rory.

"Because I'm with him," Rory murmured, indicating the Doctor with his head. "They think he's a spy or a rebel or something and my wife and daughter and me are guilty by association."

"We were investigating this Argelion Regime lot before they caught us. That's why they want to execute us," the Doctor said.

Rory looked at me and Donna.

"Are you with them?" Rory said to me.

"You mean with the Argelion Regime?" I said.

"Yeah."

"No, I traveled with him and so did Donna," I said.

"You found more of your friends? That's nice," Rory said to the Doctor.

"Actually, I have another friend that's been brainwashed by this lot," the Doctor said. "I had to leave him in my cell for the moment, he's too far gone to help us. Can you walk, mate?"

"I'll try," Rory said.

"Here, we'll help him, you need your hands free," Donna said.

The Doctor smiled and nodded. He transferred his side to her and we helped him to walk while the Doctor looked out the door. He must have seen it was all clear because he went outside and walked across the passageway to the other door. I could tell that Rory was trying to push himself to walk so he wouldn't be a burden on us but it was causing him great pain to exert himself and I finally told him to take it easy.

"I can't," Rory said, shaking his head while the Doctor used my sonic to open the other door. "I can't be a handicap like this. You lot need to defend yourselves."

"You won't be much use if you injure yourself further," Donna said. "Just relax. If someone comes, we'll let you sit and take care of them."

I could tell Rory didn't like hearing that but he nodded and walked with us while we followed the Doctor inside the cell. This one was also half dark and the Doctor announced his presence. We heard an older woman's voice call out to him.

"River, are you alright?" the Doctor said, walking into the darkness of the cell. "Is Amy here?"

"No, they took her somewhere," River said. "Are you alright, my love?"

I froze when she said that and listened. The Doctor was quiet for a moment before telling her he was fine but to me it seemed like he was hesitating before answering her. My heart tore just a little but I reminded myself that this wasn't my Doctor and in this universe perhaps he found someone else to love besides me. I still couldn't help but feel anger at someone else loving him the way I did but I kept my emotions in check and hidden since now was not the time to get emotional. When the Doctor brought River into the light, I noticed that she was older than I was and wasn't as roughed up as Rory was. She also could walk under her own power and she walked over to Rory and stared at him in anguish.

"Dad, are you alright?" she said.

Dad? She was older than he was! Her mother must fancy very young men apparently. Rory tried to tell her he was alright but he looked far from it and River knew it. She looked at me and Donna and asked who we were.

"River Song, this is Donna Noble and Rose Tyler," the Doctor said.

River didn't show any recognition for either of us. Which didn't surprise me since I didn't know about Sarah Jane until I met her. Apparently Sarah Jane isn't the only companion the Doctor neglects to mention to others. River said hello to us before turning her attention back to Rory.

"Do you know where mum is?" she said to him.

"No, I don't know where she is," Rory murmured, shaking his head. "I was knocked unconscious before they put me in that cell. I had no idea what happened to any of you."

"Do you know where she is?" River said to the Doctor.

"Yes, Jack told me she was down this passageway," the Doctor said.

"Jack?" River said.

"Another old friend. We have to go back and get him but for now, we need to get Amy and find a way to get out of here. It's almost time for my execution and the guards are already on edge since Rose knocked out two guards to get a hold of one of the uniforms. They're searching for us so we don't have time to dilly dally now."

"Let me help my father then," River said to me. "You help the Doctor."

I nodded and transferred Rory to her. I kept silent about hearing her call the Doctor "My love," since he was correct about time running out. I and everyone else followed him out the door while we went down the corridor to find Amy.

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