“What do we do?” said Millie, feeling her arms tingling.
“Don’t use your powers, Millie,” said the Doctor, backing her towards the thorny bushes.
“But we can’t fight that thing,” said Millie, beginning to shake.
“Just don’t use your powers. You’ll be lit up like a beacon and the Daleks will be on us in an instant.”
“If you two find a way out through there, let us know, won’t you?” said Maxus.
The Slither was almost on top of them.
“I’m sorry, Brian,” said Thor.
“What?” said Maxus.
“My brother. Brian. Let him down years ago.”
“Oh,” said Maxus. Maxus had been trained to not think during a fight. The purpose of a fight was to win. Any sentimental thoughts were likely to get you killed.
The Slither launched itself at them and just before it landed on top of Maxus, he thought he saw a glimpse of Tylaya out of the corner of his eyes. She looked soaking wet and was smiling at him sadly.
Maxus crashed to the ground as he felt a set of jagged teeth dig into his shoulder.
He screamed in agony, but was aware of Peter and Thor hitting the colossus creature with their bits of wood.
“Get out of here!” yelled Maxus to the Doctor and Millie.
The Doctor grabbed Millie’s hands just before her hands burst into light and dragged her past the Slither and back through the house.
Maxus managed to struggle from underneath the Slither whilst Thor and Peter held it back with their bits of wood. Thor had lit his piece of wood and it was flaming brightly. He waved it in front of the Slither and it cried in pain. Maxus wasn’t sure if it was scared of the heat or scared of the light. He wondered if it was both.
Peter then lit his piece of wood and threw it through the air so it hit the thorny bushes behind the Slither. The bushes caught on fire and the Slither screamed even louder.
“Let’s get out of here!” said Thor as he and Peter helped Maxus to his feet.
They ran through the house, into the front garden, out onto the street and turned right.
Positioned in front of them were four silver Daleks, rain soaked and standing stock still.
“FIRE!” yelled one of the Daleks.
White light engulfed the three men…and then nothing but silence.
The Doctor was out of breath. He and Millie had run from the house and made their way down the street. They had splashed through the rain and puddles and turned onto Victor street before the Doctor stopped, unable to go on any longer.
He was sat on the pavement, his back against a partially crumbled wall. He cursed himself for his frail body. He hadn’t felt this week for many, many centuries. He felt so helpless.
Millie slid down the wall to sit beside him and smiled sadly. “We need to get out of this town.”
“We need to save our friends,” said the Doctor.
“You’re too weak,” said Millie. “If you’re not careful your hearts are going to stop beating again and then where will we be?”
The Doctor shook his head. “I’ve had enough of this. I’ve never been like this before. I’ve accepted what’s happening to me, but this is just…not fair. My friends need my help. I can’t just give up.”
Millie looked at her hands. The power had subsided. She’d learnt how to control them long ago, just like her mother and her grandfather, but right now she wanted to use it. She wanted to stop these Daleks.
“I can get to the saucer and get them out,” said Millie.
“Not on your own you can’t.”
“Doctor,” said Millie, exasperated, “I can’t keep hiding this.”
The Doctor shook his head and closed his eyes. “And you can’t use them.”
“Okay, listen,” said Millie, getting up and looking down at the Doctor. “I can get into the saucer, free your friends, overload their systems and blow the place up before they can even transmit their data about me.”
"I cannot let you go in there and risk your life. It's not just about the Daleks finding you," said the Doctor. He knew he was facing a losing battle now.
Millie sat down beside him again and smiled. "You were protective over Caroline, weren't you?"
"I know these powers almost ruined her life," said the Doctor. "It's a miracle you're even here. Her son, William, was taken from inside of her and left to grow without his mother in a twisted dimension."
She nodded. "I know."
"Then you should also know the lengths that Caroline went to to find the truth about these powers and how much she just wanted to settle down and have a family. Don't go and throw that away now."
Millie stopped smiling. "Look at the world, Doctor. This is a different place to where your Caroline lived. We don't have time to settle down and keep safe. We need to take the fight to the Daleks."
"But I've already told you that in 9 years it'll all be over. The resistance will-"
She held up a finger to him. "Have you ever wondered whether it's the actions that we do today that starts the resistance groups? That spurs the already existing ones into fighting?"
The Doctor frowned. He hadn't thought of that.
"Thor, me and the others have had the radios tuned in night and day and there's nothing. Nothing but Dalek chatter. There are resistance groups out there, but nobody’s doing anything. Yet. What a show of strength it would be if we destroyed that saucer. It'd make the rest of the country - maybe even the world - wake up and see what has to be done."
The Doctor reluctantly nodded. He couldn't disagree with her there. He wanted to help this town, but he didn’t want Millie to be discovered.
"And nine years is nine years. I can't sit around waiting for it to be all over. How many people are we going to lose in those nine years?"
"I can't stop you, can I?"
She shook her head.
"You're just like your great, great, great...Well, you're just like Caroline."
"It's nice to know," she said, smiling with her hands behind her back.
"Okay," said the Doctor. "Let's go and find our friends."
"What about Thor and the others?"
The Doctor looked back the way they had come. Since leaving the house they hadn't seen any sign of them. He wasn't a big fan of Maxus, but he didn't want him to come to any harm and Peter and Thor seemed like nice people.
"They didn't make it, did they?" said Millie sadly.
"Come on," said the Doctor, putting an arm around her and guiding her away.
They made their way down the wide road passing more ruined houses, heading in the direction of the docks. They were both soaked through to their skin, but the rain was starting to ease off.
"So," said the Doctor, "Where are your parents now?"
Millie looked at the Doctor, shook her head, and then looked down.
"I'm sorry," said the Doctor.
"They're together now," said Millie quietly. “They were at a show at the Auditorium when the meteorite hit and…”
She said nothing more. They stayed deathly silent.
After a few minutes walking they heard the sound of marching coming from behind them. The Doctor and Millie quickly dived into the bushes besides an old children's playground and waited.
A few minutes later three Daleks and a number of Robomen emerged, each of the Robomen were carrying the limp bodies of Thor, Maxus, and Peter.
"Are they dead?" whispered Millie, trying her best to remain concealed.
"I don't think so," said the Doctor. "They wouldn't be holding on to dead people. They're most probably stunned."
"And they're going to the saucer?"
"Looks that way to me." He looked behind him across the playing field and spotted another street that led past a supermarket and towards the docks. "We’d better take that alternative route."
A few streets across to the west Sam, Tylaya and Molly stood, mouths comically wide open, at Chloe's revelation. The saucer commander wheeled around her and a Roboman handed her a bag.
"PAYMENT COMPLETE." said the commander.
"Thank you," said Chloe.
"What the hell is going on here?" said Sam.
"I knew it was a mistake," said Molly.
"I'm sorry," said Chloe, looking genuinely guilty. "I had no choice. I needed to get you away, Sam. I tried to tell you when we were alone back at the house, but then they came for us."
"I beg your pardon?"
"About a month ago the Dalek's caught me out scouting for supplies. They were going to take me prisoner and all I could think about was you, Sam.” She looked at the teen girl. “And you, Molly”
Molly rolled her eyes.
“I…”
“You sold us out didn’t you?” said Sam, his eyes dark. “That’s how they found us so easily.”
“They promised me that they’d let me leave with you and Molly if I gave everyone up.”
Tylaya shook her head. “And the Daleks get the rest of them.”
“YOU MAY LEAVE NOW WITH THE MALE AND SMALL FEMALE.”
“No,” said Sam, “we’re not going anywhere. Not with her.”
“Sam, please…” said Chloe, tears in her eyes. “I know what I did was wrong, but I had no choice. I couldn’t bear losing you, not after we became so close.”
“How can I believe anything you say now?”
Tylaya put her hand on Sam’s shoulder and he shrugged her off. “Listen, Sam, no matter how you feel right now, you have to go with her.”
“But why? She’s a liar. She tricked us all.”
“Because you have to think about Molly. You have to get her away from the Daleks and to safety.”
“She’s right,” said Chloe. “There’s a safe house that my grandma used to own over in the Water Hills. It’s near Tinford, just a 20 minute drive from here.”
“Shut up!” said Sam.
“Go, Sam,” said Tylaya.
“But what about you?”
“THE FEMALE COMES WITH US.”
She leaned in close to Sam. “I’ll find a way out. I promise.”
After a few protests from Molly, Sam reluctantly managed to convince his daughter to go with Chloe, but father and daughter and traitor walked a few metres apart from each other.
And then Tylaya found herself being marched towards the saucer again.
The Doctor and Millie arrived at the saucer. It was perched on top of a huge pile of rubble that had probably been a brick warehouse or something. From the underneath of the saucer was a ramp with around six Robomen surrounding it.
The Doctor and Millie were peering around the corner of another old, partially destroyed warehouse, trying to remain undercover.
“Well?” said Millie.
“We can’t just stroll on in.”
“Why not?” said Millie. “It’s exactly where we need to be.”
“Because we’ll end up being caught.”
“Again, does it really matter? We’re not going to get in there without being caught anyway. Once inside I can overload the systems whilst you rescue our friends.”
“All on my own, hmmm?” The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
“Look,” said Millie, becoming frustrated, “why did you even agree to come?”
The Doctor looked down at her. Her hands were starting to glow orange and Millie was shaking. She looked up at the Doctor, fear in her eyes.
“I can control it. I can control it,” she repeated over and over again.
A loud, droning alarm began blurting out from the saucer. A group of Daleks appeared from down the ramp.
“It’s me,” said Millie, looking over at the converging team of Daleks.
“They’ve detected you,” said the Doctor. He turned to Millie. “You need to stop now. The Dalek systems may not be as advanced as those I’ve seen in the future, but they’ll soon process the info and relay it to their command ship.”
“No,” said Millie, regaining her composure but still glowing orange, “I need to lead them away from here.”
“Suicide, Millie,” said the Doctor, shaking his head.
“It’s the only way you’re going to get a chance. I’ll lead them away whilst you get inside. There’ll be minimum Daleks in there if they’re all after me. When you’re clear I’ll lead them back and blow the saucer to pieces.”
“Millie…”
“We need to do this, Doctor, and we need to do this now!”
The Doctor looked up again. The Daleks were almost on top of them. They had no choice. The Doctor gave a sharp nod and Millie bolted out into the street, her hands glowing bright orange and illuminating the dark street around her.
“POWER ANAMOLY DETECTED. PERSUE THE FEMALE.”
The Doctor watched as Millie disappeared around the corner followed by six Daleks and a lumbering group of Robomen.
The Doctor grabbed hold of his cane and made his way to the saucer, staying in the shadows. There was one Dalek on guard and he managed to skirt around it and slip up the ramp as the Dalek searched for the rock he had just thrown to distract it.
He knew it wouldn’t be long before he located him as he made his way up into the interior section of the saucer, searching for the cells.
Maxus opened his eyes and was staring at a metal ceiling above him. He frowned. For a moment it felt nice. It felt relaxing. And then he felt the prickling sensation all over his body. It felt like pins and needles all over.
Then the face of Thor and Peter appeared, looking down at him.
“Are you okay?” said Peter, looking concerned.
“You kidding me?” said Maxus, sitting up. “I’ve been in worse scrapes than this. I got shot the other week.”
“I guess all that commotion with the Slither got some attention.”
“We’re in one of their cells. I saw them bring your friend, Tylaya, in as well. She’s somewhere close by.”
“Jesus,” said Maxus. “Any sign of the others?”
“No,” said Peter. “Tylaya looked a bit battered up. No sign of Sam, Molly and Chloe.”
“I hope they’re okay,” said Thor worriedly.
“Millie and the Doctor must have gotten away before the Daleks arrived.”
Thor scratched at the pins and needles in his arms. “There was an alarm a few minutes ago and most of the Daleks began to scramble.”
Maxus crossed over to the cell bars. All was quiet outside until they heard footsteps.
Maxus almost cheered when he saw the familiar face of the Doctor appear on the other side of the bars.
“Knock, knock,” smiled the Doctor.
Millie was getting lost and she knew she had to make her way back She’d turned down a number of back alleys and down a few main streets with old warehouses towering over her, but she had completely lost her way.
She finally found her way out until she reached the edge of the marina, the dark deep water down below. Her hands were still glowing brightly as the Daleks turned the corner and confronted her.
She moved back so she was right on the edge. She had no where left to run.
“DO NOT MOVE. YOU ARE OUR PRISONER,” said the Dalek, it’s voice sounding ever so slightly nervous.
“Come and get me,” said Millie.
She turned and launched herself off the edge and down towards the water. As she fell she heard the words, “EXTERMINATE” from behind her and then she hit the surface of the water below.
As she sank towards the bottom her whole body began to glow a bright orange and, with her eyes closed, she slowly began to draw the power closer to the centre of her body. Then, with a throw of her arms, she released the power.
Up above the Daleks watched as the whole of the marina lit up bright orange and tendrils of electrified water whipped up and struck the Daleks causing them to explode into a thousand pieces, chunks of burning metal and alien flesh raining down and dropping into the water.
Then all was quiet.
And Millie burst from the water, catching her breath. The power had died down and she smiled at the carnage she had caused. It had worked. Now she just had to save the rest of her friends and blow up the saucer.
As she clambered out of the cold water she smiled to herself. She stopped and looked up at the clouds.
“Hope you’re proud of me,” she said to her long-gone parents.
Sam, Chloe and Molly sat in the car, Sam’s hand on the steering wheel. He sighed and looked at Chloe. An hour ago he was in love with this woman. They had been through so much together. He had felt guilty about his wife, but he and Chloe had connected in a way he never thought possible.
Now he just felt sick to his stomach at her betrayal.
“I’m sorry,” she said to him.
Sam nodded. “I know you’re sorry.” He stopped the car. “Now get out.”
“What?”
“You put our friends in danger just so you could have me all to yourself.” He pressed a button and the door opened. “My daughter and I can do without you.”
“But, Sam, I love you.”
“You don’t love me,” said Sam. “And one day I might find someone who really does love me, but right now all I care about is getting my daughter out of this nightmare. So get out.”
“Sam.”
“Do as my Dad says!” shouted Molly.
Chloe looked at the both of them. She’d never seen Sam so emotionless. With a tear forming in the corner of her eye she quickly get out of the car. The door shut behind her and, with a last look at her, Sam put his foot down and the car drove away.
Sam watched Chloe in the rear view mirror. She looked pathetic standing there in the rain, but he knew he had done the right thing.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” said Molly.
“What for?”
“For what she did to you.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. One day this will all be over and we can get on with our lives.”
Millie was almost back at the saucer when the alarm went off again. She instinctively looked at her hands. It can’t have been her. And then she saw it - the Doctor leading Thor, Maxus, Tylaya and Peter down the ramp of the saucer.
The Doctor glanced across to her as a blast from a Dalek ray from back up in the saucer just missed them.
She ducked behind a pile of rubble and waited until they were clear as a couple of Daleks rolled down the ramp and pursued them.
Now she was there and ready to get into the saucer, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do. And then she remembered what her parents had shown her. She had caused a lot of damage to the Daleks back at the marina. All she had to do was replicate that. She had to make herself invincible.
She closed her eyes and lit up her hands. She then began walking across the rubble towards the saucer.
“HALT!” shouted one of the Daleks as it broke away from the other one that continued to follow the Doctor’s party.
“Stop me,” said Millie, feeling the power coarse through her entire body.
“YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!”
The Dalek shot at her, but the power simply absorbed the shock.
She turned and saw the other Dalek break off it’s pursuit of the Doctor and join its comrade.
Both Daleks continued to shoot at her as she made her way to the ramp and into the interior of the saucer. She knew she had mere minutes before the Daleks called reinforcements, and then her secret would be out. She had promised the Doctor that wouldn’t happen.
She reached a lift that took her up another level where she found a hatchway that led into a small crawl space. She wondered how the Daleks operated it, but this was where the engines were located. She made her way into the crawl space and headed towards the engines, her body glowing bright orange.
The Doctor and his friends had made their way from the docks area and sheltered behind an old bus. They all dropped to the floor and caught their breath.
“What are we waiting for?” said Peter. “We need to get as far away as possible.”
“What was that thing walking towards the saucer?” said Tylaya.
“That was Millie,” said the Doctor, pride in his voice. “She’s going to destroy the saucer.”
“How?” said Maxus, frowning.
As if to answer Maxus’s question there was a huge explosion near the docks that sent a shockwave through the streets, almost bringing a building down on top of them.
Bits of the saucer flew through the air and the flames rose high into the night sky.
They all watched in silence.
But Millie didn’t appear.
It had been several hours and the sun was now up. Another saucer had arrived to survey the damage, but everybody had remained safe in Thor’s warehouse.
Peter walked into the main area with an old radio, a big grin on his face. “The rest of the country have heard what Millie did.”
“They’re starting to fight back?” said the Doctor.
“Yes,” said Peter, “so hopefully Millie’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”
“It’s going to be a long, hard slog,” said the Doctor. “Just be prepared for anything.”
“I don’t understand though,” said Thor who sat on the camp bed, a confused look on his face, “Millie was supposed to come back.”
The Doctor knelt down beside Thor and touched his arm. “Millie had powers that she could control, but maybe the only way to destroy the saucer was to let those powers take over her. Maybe it was the only way.”
“But what was the point?” said Thor. “Another saucer is here. We’re never going to beat them. They’ll always keep coming back.”
Peter sat down on the bed next to him. “Listen to what I said, Thor. The rest of the country is fighting back. This is the start of the rest of your lives.”
“But they will just keep coming,” repeated Thor.
“But you’ll get there. You’ve got to have faith.”
“Faith?” came a familiar, female voice. “Yeah, you’ve got to have faith.”
They all turned as Millie walked into the room, a little battered and bruised but with a huge smile on her face.
“Millie!” said the Doctor, running over to her and hugging her.
Thor was speechless. He leapt up from the camp bed, pushed the Doctor out of the way and grabbed her tightly.
“Steady on,” said Millie, laughing.
“How?” said Thor. “We saw the saucer blow up.”
“I made it out before the saucer blew, but the blast blew me across the rubble and I knocked myself out. Didn’t come around until I heard that second saucer flying in.”
Tylaya smiled. “It’s nice to know we sometimes get happy endings.”
Maxus glanced over at her, but he didn’t meet her gaze.
“Well,” said the Doctor, “I must return to the department score. I’ve still got my equipment to fix.”
“But you’re coming back, aren’t you?” asked Peter hopefully. “After what Chloe did, and losing Sam and Molly…”
“Sam and Molly are safe,” said Tylaya. “They’ll be better off in the countryside away from all of this.”
Peter shook his head. “I still can’t believe Chloe. After everything we did for her. After I took her under my wing.”
“It happens I’m afraid,” said the Doctor. “You just have to be wary.”
Across the other side of town Chloe sat in a doorway, covered over by a cardboard box. She looked up at the sun peeking through the remaining clouds and started thinking back to everything she had lost. She shouldn’t have done it. She should have stayed loyal to the group, but she couldn’t help the way she had felt about Sam. She still loved him and she missed him.
She heard the sound of an engine moving down the street and she tried to hide in the doorway as best she could.
And then the car pulled up, the door opened and Sam stuck his head out.
“Sam?” said Chloe, not quite understanding why he was back.
He looked at her. “I don’t think I will ever be able to forget what you did,” said Sam, “but I can forgive. We all do things we regret in desperate times.”
Molly peered over Sam’s shoulder, looking moodier than ever.
“Molly and I have agreed that you don’t deserve this. So you’re welcome to come with us.”
“We all have to stick together,” said Molly.
The back passenger door opened and Chloe slowly got to her feet. “How can you ever forgive me though?”
“I’ll find a way.”
Chloe gave a little smile and then gratefully got into the car and Sam, Molly and Chloe drove off to find a new life in the countryside, away from the threat of the Daleks.
The Doctor, Tylaya and Maxus stood beside the TARDIS, the Doctor had just emerged from the box after fitting the machine.
“Everything okay?” said Maxus.
“Oh, yes. Running smoothly now,” he smiled.
Thor, Peter and Millie stood opposite them.
“You really travel in this?” said Thor.
“Yes,” said the Doctor, “but you must never tell anyone. If the Daleks ever got their hands on this then we’d all be doomed.”
“Can I come with you?” said Millie.
The Doctor crossed over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Millie, but I can’t take you with me.”
“But why-”
“You know why,” said the Doctor. “I’m on the last stretch now. There’d be no point.”
“But-”
He put a finger to her lips. “One day you’ll look back on this as an experience, and if you’re ever in London in nine years time, make sure you keep your eyes out for an old man with white hair.”
“I’ll say hi,” she smiled.
The Doctor looked shocked. “Actually, no. That might blow a hole in the space/time continuum.”
“Okay,” she still looked sad.
Thor put his arm around her. “Come on, Millie, we’ve got a resistance to run.”
“Not with your powers though,” said the Doctor sternly.
“No,” said Millie. “I’ll keep them under wraps from now on.”
Tylaya and Maxus said their goodbyes and went into the TARDIS. The Doctor surveyed the trio stood before him. “You’re the future,” said the Doctor with a smile. He turned to Peter. “Your wife would be proud.”
Peter smiled and the two men shook his hand.
Then the Doctor turned, gave one last look at Millie, and closed he door.
Inside the TARDIS Maxus and Tylaya were sat on the sofa.
“You okay, Doctor?” said Tylaya.
“Yes,” he said. But he was lying. Under normal circumstances he might have taken Millie with him, but these weren’t normal circumstances, and for the first time in a long time, he realised he still wanted to live.
EPILOGUE
It was a year later and Millie had just celebrated her 18th birthday, sat in the warehouse with a box of stale cupcakes with only Thor, Peter and the rest of the resistance to celebrate with her.
She was just about to put out her candle and turn in for the night when the candle suddenly started to quiver slightly.
And then she heard it. A sound at the edge of her hearing. A familiar sound she had heard a year ago. The sound of hope.
The sound of the TARDIS!
But it wasn’t a blue box that materialised in front of her. Instead it was an old, battered filing cabinet.
She frowned.
The set of four drawers opened as a single door and a man in a black suit with long, black hair and a thick beard appeared.
“Who are you?” asked Millie.
The man smiled. “I’m a friend of the Doctors.” He put his hands in his pockets and surveyed the gloomy looking warehouse. “You’re names Millie Fieldgate-Parker, right?”
“That’s right,” nodded Millie, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
“Good,” said the man. “My name’s the Master, and I need your help.”
“In what way?”
“To help save the Doctor.”
Millie looked hopeful.
The Master simply grinned.
Next time: We find out what the Doctor, Tylaya and Maxus were up to before this story in "The Trees of Cologne".
Please not that, thankfully, I have gotten my PC back in working order. "The Trees of Cologne" was written before "Before the Dawn", but I had to press on with the series. Over the next 4 weeks I will be publishing the parts of that story, however to avoid confusion the story order will be reshuffled on the Story Index page. Just remember that "Cologne" comes before "Dawn".
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