CAPTIVITY
Chapter Four We walk through a series of sliding doors and with each one I'm feeling more and more apprehensive. I can hear pussycat chuckling behind me, which makes me think that things are not good. I'm sure he's just waiting for the moment when the door to Rose's cell slides open and I see her lying on the floor, battered and bruised. The thought of that fills me with anguish, an anguish I keep masked from my captor, lest he find more reason to taunt me. Finally, a door slides open and I see her. My hearts skip a beat when I see that she looks unharmed. She's lying there strapped to a table with an IV in her arm and God knows what is in the bag. Forgetting everything around me, I hurry to her side wanting nothing more than to rip the restraints off and carry her away from here. I notice she's shivering violently and I figure out why when I reach her. The bastard has the air conditioning going and it's coming down directly on her. It's not as heinous as some torments, but any discomfort for her is enough to make me see red and I round on Tarsus who is standing at the foot of the table watching us with an amused grin. "What's wrong, Doctor?" he says in a smug, self-satisfied tone of voice. "I thought you'd be happy to see her." "Turn the air conditioning off, damn it! She's freezing!" I say. "Oh, she is? I hadn't noticed." He snickers and I want nothing more than to ram his body up through the vent and plug up the cold air. I glance over at the IV bag and notice the liquid isn't dripping into her arm. I have no idea what it is, but I'm betting it's not a saline solution for keeping her hydrated. "What's this? What's in the bag?" I say, pointing to it. He's grinning like the, sorry to say it, cat that's got the canary. "That is a powerful poison," he says, delighting in the explanation. "As you can see, it's not running right now. Of course, that can change depending on your actions. You see, if you are a bad boy, I will activate the drip by remote control and your precious Rose will be dead within minutes." "Not if I pull the needle out of her arm." "I will shoot you if you do that." "Then," I say, with murder in my eyes, "I will pull it out before I die." "You would risk dying for this insignificant animal?" I bristle at that. With each passing minute, it's getting harder and harder to keep my temper in check…and the maniac knows it. "I have died once for Rose and I'll do it again without a second thought," I say. He's even more amused by that. "You have? Oh, how sweet, you actually wasted a life on her, I'm touched. Well, I know that Time Lords have thirteen lives, so let's see how many lives you have left then since you are willing to waste all of them defending her." "No." I look down at Rose when I hear her speak. She is looking at the blaster with a mixture of fear and horror and my hearts ache for her. "Don't hurt him, please," she adds. Another snicker from Tarsus and my temper heats up another notch. "But, if I kill him, he'll regenerate and live again." I'm staring right at Rose when I see her mouth something. I don't think it's to me. I think she's saying something to herself, but I can read her lips and my hearts ache even more when I see her saying… "But, I love him like this." I glance at Tarsus, but if he knows what she said, he isn't showing it. I decide to change the subject, keep Tarsus occupied while I figure out a plan. Keeping my hand against Rose's arm, so she'll be comforted by my touch, I clear my throat and get Tarsus's attention. "So, anyway, I'm sure you didn't bring me in here just to watch my interaction with Rose," I say as casually as I can. "I'm guessing you're also going to tell us all about your grand scheme for killing me and getting revenge." True to form, the megalomaniac is pleased to hear that I want to know what he has in mind for me. Yup, I can play these self-absorbed gits like a fiddle. "Very well, if you wish to know…I have indeed brought you here to kill you and avenge my brother's death." "Yeah…and see, that's the murky part because I still don't remember you or your brother. When exactly did I kill him?" "Several years ago." "Mm-hmm, well, sorry Tarsie, you're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that because I'm 901 years old. Several years ago doesn't mean anything to me. First off, was it me who supposedly did this?" "Yes, it was you. You killed my brother." "Rose, you've been with me throughout this entire incarnation. I ever kill anything that looked remotely like Tarsus?" Rose shakes her head. I look at Tarsus and shrug. "Sorry, you must be mistaken. I never killed your brother." "Yes, you did." "No, I didn't." "Yes, you did." I sigh and mentally count to ten before I ram my fist in his eye. "No…I…didn't. I have not met anyone like you or anyone who looks like you before. Now, perhaps you met me in another incarnation…" "Yes, you were in another incarnation." I throw up my hands. "Well, why didn't you say so?" "I did. I said you killed my brother." "I meant me, you addlebrained git. Me, as in this life. I was asking did my current self kill your brother." "No." "Okay, now we're getting somewhere. What did I look like then?" "You had yellow hair and…" "Whoa, whoa, ta, ta, ta, ta, wait…yellow hair? I had yellow hair five lives ago! Well, no wonder I can't remember your brother. I've met about a million people since then and my fifth life was almost five hundred years ago. If revenge is a dish best served cold, your plate is in the bleedin' cryostasis! What, you couldn't locate me before now?" "It hasn't been five hundred years; it's only been fifteen years ago!" "Ah, I see. So, nearly five hundred years ago, I journeyed to a point fifteen years before now and killed your brother, is that right?" I can tell he's completely confused. "I…guess," he mutters. "So, five hundred years for me, fifteen for you, which means I'm not the one that killed your brother." "Yes, you are." "No, I'm not. The man that supposedly killed your brother is completely different from me. I'm me and he's him and his actions are not my actions." I keep going, loving the fact that the bastard is flummoxed now. It's fun to see the baddies get flustered like this. "So, if you want the man that killed your brother, you're gonna have to find the fifth version of me, I'm afraid. I had nothing to do with it. Unlike my gung-ho kill anything that moves fifth self, I'm a pacifist. I hate killing. Despise it. That's why I'm a Buddhist. Yup, in my spare time when I'm not out saving the universe, I'm going door to door with a begging bowl and meditating deeply under my Bodhi tree in my quest to attain Nirvana and escape this wretched cycle of regeneration. I won't even step on an ant. Bad for my karma. Don't want to end up a dormouse in my next life. I don't think Rose would want to date a dormouse either. It's be embarrassing for her to be seen out in public with me, not to mention she'd be sharing the TARDIS with two tons of cheese. And then, of course, she would have to help me eat the cheese, which would mean painful constipation, which means untold hours in the loo, which means there would be trips to the hospital to get her some enemas and that would be even more embarrassing and uncomfortable for her. On the other hand, I would probably spend time in the shop if the hospital even had a shop, which of course it would because I would never take Rose somewhere where they didn't have a little shop I could spend my time in because the last thing I want is to stand there beside her as she lay belly down on a hospital bed with a rubber tube up her bum getting her colon flushed out and…" "Enough!" . Oops, I think me and my gob went a bit too far just then. Tarsus walks up and jams the blaster in my face. "I have had enough of you and your idiocy!" he snarls. "You will come with me to a holding cell until it is time for you to die." "Not without Rose." "You have no say in the matter." My eyes burning with rage, I stare directly into his yellow cat eyes making sure he knows I mean business. "Rose…is coming with me. I am not letting her out of my sight especially since you have a poison drip attached to her arm. If I'm to die, then I want my last hours spent in her presence. You can tie me up, tie me down, post a hundred guards around the cell, chain me, hang me from the ceiling and keep laser beams positioned all around me, so I get barbecued if I so much as sneeze in the wrong direction, but she is coming with me or I guarantee I will go down fighting and take you with me." I can see him looking at me. I know what my face looks like. I look half insane and that's what he's seeing. Finally, he's getting that perhaps I'm not someone to be taken lightly. That perhaps it was a mistake capturing my companion and me. And believe me, I have no intention of staying here until I or Rose ends up dead, but I need time and I want Rose away from the IV. Once she's safe from the poison, then I can make my move, but come hell or high water, Rose Tyler is getting off this table and walking out of the room by my side. Tarsus rolls his eyes. "Fine," he mutters. "Whatever. You want your lover with you before you die, then far be it from me to deny you that." He points the blaster at my forehead. "One wrong move and she'll die. If you're going to go down fighting and take me down with you, then pretty little Rose will be the first casualty and unlike you, she won't be coming back to life. Got that?" "Got it." "Get over against the wall and kneel with your hands on your legs where I can see them and remember one wrong move and Rose Tyler gets a blaster bolt through the heart." Glowering, I take one more look at Rose before I move over to the wall and obey.
Back Home Doctor Who Main Page Next