The Road to Freedom, Part Two

PART TWO



Eve closed the door as quietly as she could and hefted the heavy rucksack onto her back. She was torn between travelling light and scavenging along the way, or taking what supplies she had now and being lumbered with the extra weight. Suffice to say she was stuck out in the country and there weren’t many supplies going.

This was her only realistic option.

She checked that there was nothing coming as she opened the front gate to the cottages garden and then made her way right down the silent street. As she passed rows of little houses she wondered how many people were still sheltered in them, hiding from the patrols and just waiting for their lives to come to end. Trying to seek out some form of life.

They didn’t know what she knew. They didn’t know that there was hope out there.

For five years before the initial invasion she had worked with her boyfriend, Paul, at the London Chronicle. Life was good. The parties were even better. The world had been heading towards some kind of all-out peace and the stories she was covering were joyful and filled with hope.

And then the plague had come.

Paul had battled it for two months before he’d eventually passed away. It had been happening all over the world. People dropping down from the mysterious illness brought in with the meteorites. Whilst that was horror enough, nothing could have prepared them for that nightmare that followed.

The world was on the brink, but not everyone was dying out. Some say there was a medicine that the government had put into the water systems to try and cure as many as possible. Some say the virus only affected a certain amount of people, but one thing was certain – there was no cure against the creatures that came to the planet – the Daleks.

London was on its knees when Eve had decided to leave. The saucers had started to descend. People were rounded up and executed. The Daleks wiped out most of the government and others were converted into mindless Robomen. Anyone else who survived were captured by the Daleks and taken somewhere.

But Eve had known there was hope out there. Somewhere out there in this battered world was a man who could save them all.

“Stop,” came the monotone voice.

Eve froze. She hadn’t been concentrating. She silently cursed herself as she turned to face the direction of the voice. Standing there in a ragged white shirt and jeans was a tall man with an unkempt beard and blank, emotionless eyes. On his head was a horrible, cumbersome head attachment. It almost looked like it was clamping his skull together.

“You don’t need me,” said Eve, her voice barely a whisper.

“You are my prisoner,” said the Roboman, as it raised its arm, a nasty looking whip in his hand.

Eve didn’t really have time to react or make sense of what happened next. There was a flash to her right, which temporarily blinded her. There was a loud crack and then the smell of smoke. She fell to the ground as she heard the sound of struggling coming from where the Roboman had been stood.

And then nothing.

Eventually her vision – and her hearing – cleared. Standing above the unconscious Roboman was a tall man in black jeans, jacket and hat with a scarf covering his face.

The man stepped forward and slowly unraveled the scarf. Eve let out a gasp.

“Goss!”

The man was unshaven with piercing blue eyes. He was handsome but rugged and when he spoke he had a northern accent. “You alright, love?”

“Goss where’ve you been!” she said, as he extended his hand to help her to her feet.

“Looking for you,” said the man.

Eve brushed herself down and looked him up and down. She could hardly believe he was standing here in front of her. They’d been separated back in Stevenage when a Dalek platoon had attacked the train station.

“I kept moving,” said Eve. As if she had forgotten she hadn’t seen her friend for around a year she suddenly threw her arms around him and held tight.

“Easy, lass,” said Goss, rubbing her back, “it’s alright now.”

“But…but what happened? You were in that ticket booth…it exploded.”

“I dived out before that Dalek hit it.” He smiled wryly at her. “I tried looking for you but there was smoke all over. I fell off the platform and cracked me head on the rails.”

Eve shook her head. “Typical.”

“At least this time it wasn’t the alcohol doing it.” He laughed.

Eve wasn’t amused. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” he said, grabbing her bag and hefting it onto his back.

“For leaving you behind.”

He shook his head and put his arm around her as the two started moving down the road together. “I always told you to keep focused. You needed to leave me.”

“I thought you were dead,” she said, her eyes flashing up to his briefly.

“Very nearly was,” he said. “I’m lucky I fell really otherwise I’d be taken prisoner or probably be converted to one of their Roboblokes right now.”

“We’ve gotta get out of this village. Why are the Daleks here?”

“No Daleks, Eve,” said Goss, glancing around him, “just Robo’s.” He turned on the spot and scratched at his bearded cheek. “You’ve gotta cover your tracks better than this though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been following you since Leeds.”

“You didn’t do a very good job of catching up with me.”

“Until now.” Goss smiled. “As far as I can tell the Robomen are just doing another sweep. I’ve noticed they do that a lot. Travel to random small towns and villages and gather up any survivors trying to hide. Bastards.”

“Like me.”

“Like you.”

Eve sighed. “Well we can’t be far off from Thornsby now, can we?”

Goss pulled out an electric pad and switched it on. The screen showed a digital map with a blue dot flashing in the middle of the location of the village.

“Where’d you get that from?” said Eve.

“Surely the question you should be asking, darling, is where I got the power from.”

“Okay, well both questions are valid.”

“From this.” Goss turned the pad over. Connected to it was a thin metal strip with clips and wires attached to the inside of the device. “Dalek power slat. It can store power for up to three months. I nabbed a load from a Dalek supply shuttle that crashed near Wakefield.” He winked and tapped his rucksack.

“Nice,” said Eve. “And the pad?”

“Well…bit of looting, you know.”

“Goss!”

He grinned at her. “Needs must. As to answer your question…” He tapped on the pad and it zoomed out. “We’re only a few days away if we keep moving.”

“Then let’s get out of here. I don’t want to run into anymore Robomen.”

“Or…I have another proposition.”

“You’re not gonna ask me to marry you again, are you?”

Goss laughed. “You’re too young for me, sweetheart.”

“Then what?”

“How about we skip Thornsby completely.”

Eve frowned. They’d been heading towards Thornsby and this potential resistance leader since they’d left London. “Why? Where would we go? You heard about what happened there. There was a bloke that helped them destroy a saucer.”

“Because I’ve found something even more interesting.” He tapped the pad and the blue dot moved up the map towards somewhere just past the Water Hills. “Have you heard of a town called Freedom?”

Eve laughed. “Oh, not you too, Goss.”

“What?” he frowned.

“Freedom is a made up name for a town that apparently is free from the invasion. There are no Daleks there. Apparently.”

“It’s true,” said Goss. “Honestly. It’s all true.”

“And how do you know that?”

He put the pad back into his pocket and sat down on a small, rock wall. “Because I met two blokes from there. They were on their way down to London.”

“And why would they be leaving this mythical place if it was such a safe haven?” Eve raised her eyebrows.

“Because they were going to get their families out of London. They were going to take them back to Freedom so they could be safe.”

“I don’t know about this,” said Eve, shaking her head. “We’ve been on course for Thornsby for months. It’s a massive deviation.”

“But one that’s worth checking out?” said Goss, a twinkle in his eyes.

“But why would an entire town be free and totally untouched from the Daleks?”

“Why don’t we find out?” smiled Goss.

Eve sighed, hefted up her rucksack and then started making their way up the road. “You’ll be the death of me Gossy, my friend.”

As Eve and Goss made their way towards the outskirts of the village a lone Roboman stood watching them from the shadows.





Thor and Millie had gathered up as many supplies and belongings as they could and had exited the factory building. It was in a built up, industrial area of Thornsby so the large brick warehouses and factory buildings meant it was easy to sneak around. They crossed one of the roads and headed down an alleyway between a former biscuit making factory and a cotton mill.

It was starting to rain now and Millie wiped the raindrops off her glasses as the quartet flattened themselves against the wall, keeping in the shadows as a group of six Robomen came marching past the entrance to the alleyway.

A cat hissed at Millie and then scuttled away, making her jump.

“Stay calm, Mills,” said Thor, his voice a whisper.

“Are we sure we’re gonna be able to get these prisoners out?”

“We have to try,” said Thor. “Roy, where’s Sammie?”

“A few blocks away, but I don’t reckon he’s gonna make it.”

“You let me worry about Sammie,” said Thor. He looked at the blood-smeared man, the large rocket launcher hefted onto his back. “You concentrate on getting that thing ready.”

“Thor, is this really wise?” said Peter. “We should make our escape now.”

“You can’t really mean to leave our friends?” said Millie.

“Of course not, but what if they catch us as well?” Peter shook his head. “I’m no coward, but this is a nearly impossible situation.”

“Pete’s right,” said Roy, nodding, “it’s a suicide mission.”

Thor turned to face them, his face looked furious. “Look, I’m fed up of losing my friends. First there was Sam and Molly, then the Jones brothers and now the rest of the gang. I’m not gonna lose anymore people.”

A bright light suddenly illuminated their position in the alleyway. They were temporarily blinded. Thor shielded his eyes against the light and positioned himself in front of the other three. Standing at the end of the alleyway was a Roboman; in his hand an ultra-bright torch.

“Stop,” drawled the Roboman.

“We’re not moving, mate,” said Millie.

“Sod this,” said Roy, grabbing the rocket launcher from his back.

“Roy, no!” said Peter.

But it was too late. There was a blast of energy. Roy screamed out, his arms in the air as a secondary light caused his body to appear as negative for a moment or two. He then dropped to the floor limply.

Standing at the opposite end of the alleyway was a silver and blue Dalek, it’s gun-arm still twitching from the kill.

“YOU ARE MY PRISONERS,” grated the monotone Dalek voice. “YOU WILL MOVE AHEAD AND STANDBY FOR PROCESSING.”

Thor looked from Millie to Peter and then back to the Dalek. “And if we refuse.”

“We already know the answer to that,” said Peter.

“IF YOU REFUSE YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED.”

“Now might be a time to use those hidden powers of yours, Millie,” said Thor under his breath.

“I can’t,” said Millie, her brow furrowed. “It’s too much of a risk.”

“She’s right,” said Peter. “We’re just going to have to find another way out of this.”

“MOVE!” shouted the Dalek as the three of them made their way past Roy’s body and towards the Roboman.



Sam had carried Molly up to her bed and had made her comfortable. He sat beside her dabbing her forehead with a cold flannel whilst Chloe stood in the doorway, her arms folded and with a look of concern on her face.

Molly’s eyes slowly flickered open and she looked up at her father. “Dad.”

“Hey, baby,” he said, running his finger along her cheek. “How you feeling?”

“On fire,” said Molly, blinking slowly. “What’s happening?”

“You’ve got a fever,” said Sam. “You said you were feeling off at lunch time.”

“I just thought it was your bad cooking,” said Molly, managing half a smile.

“Cheeky,” he said. He pursed his lips together. He couldn’t lose her. This was how the other plague victims had started – with a fever followed by skin rashes and in most cases mania. “I’m going to find you help, sweetheart.”

“Where from?” said Molly, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“There are a few places I can go,” said Sam.

“You mean those secret underground bases with miracle cures?” said Molly sarcastically.

Sam shook his head. “I’m serious Molls.” He stroked her hair back again. “We heard about that place not too far from here.”

Chloe shifted uncomfortably by the doorway. “Sam, we don’t know if this Freedom Town thing is real or not. And how are we gonna get there?”

“There are cars in the village,” said Sam, trying not to vent his frustration at her.

“You’ll get caught,” said Molly.

“I have to try something, sweetheart,” said Sam. He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand tighter. “They said that Freedom is safe from the Daleks, and not only that, but there’s a cure.” He smiled at her, tears in his eyes. “But you’re gonna have to stay here. You’re gonna have to hold on.”

“I…I want to come with you,” said Molly, looking suddenly upset.

“Chloe will look after you.”

Molly was about to protest when Sam held his finger up to her lips. “She will look after you. You’re too ill to move.”

Molly looked from her father and then to the end of the room where Chloe was standing looking upset. She nodded slowly. “Okay, but you better come back soon.”

“I will. I promise,” said Sam. He knew the fever would ease off a little and she’d be feeling a little better soon, but it wouldn’t last. Molly was a fighter and she’d hold on as long as she could, but as far as he knew, without the mysterious cure, nobody had survived the plague.

“I love you, dad,” said Molly.

“I love you too, darling.”

He gave her one more kiss on the forehead, pulled the covers over her a little more and then made his way to the doorway.

Chloe put her hand on his shoulder. “You know how nearly impossible this is going to be, don’t you?”

“Look, I have to try. There might be something. I’ve got no other choice. If this place exists then we need to at least take a risk.”

Chloe looked pain. “This is going to sound horrible, I know, Sam, but have you thought about, you know, staying with her?”

“Then how am I going to get her help?”

“What if something happens whilst you’re gone,” said Chloe.

Sam looked down at her and held a finger up to her. “You don’t talk like that, Chloe. She’s going to be okay. She’s going to survive this. You stay with her and keep her with us.” He couldn’t bring himself to say ‘die’.

“Yes, yes, I will,” said Chloe. She wasn’t going to push the matter any further. “But you’re gonna have to hurry. It’s a few miles out and you’ll have to get back here too.”

Sam took one more look back at his daughter who had now fallen asleep. He nodded. “Take care of her, Chloe, please.”

“I promise I will,” said Chloe. “You just take care of yourself.” She leaned in for a kiss but Sam turned his head and she kissed him on the cheek instead.

Sam smiled at her sadly and then made his way towards his room. He had a long journey ahead of him and he had to get a move on.



Thor, Millie and Peter were barely out of the alleyway when there was a flash of bright light followed by yelling voices. Millie shielded her eyes against the light and then felt people bustling past her. She fell against the wall and then fell over. She scrabbled around trying to get back to her feet, but she felt something hit the back of her head.

As she lay on the ground, her vision started to blur and she could hear voices. A female voice and a male voice.

“Do you think they’ll fit in?” asked the male.

“With us?” asked the female. “Who knows. But the Mayor seems to think so.”

“Okay then,” said the male. “Let’s get them loaded onto the van.”

“Where…where are we…going?” mumbled Millie as she felt herself hauled to her feet. She was now being carried by the male.

“We’re taking you to some place safe. A place that needs your help. A town called Freedom.”



To be continued…

Next time...the Doctor and Mary returned in "3.16am", where the TARDIS team find themselves stuck in a moment that they can't get out of.

The cast of "The Road to Freedom" will return later this year in "A Town Called Freedom."

The Road to Freedom, Part One

PART ONE



“My name is Millie Fieldgate-Parker. I’m 18 years old and I like cats, squirrels and millipedes. At least I used to. That was a long time ago. Back before the Daleks invaded.

Actually it was probably further back than that. Back when I was at school in fact. When I owned a cat. I never owned a squirrel or millipede though. I just liked them.

Anyway I’m going off on a tangent here.

As I was saying, my name’s Millie Fieldgate-Parker. It’s a double-barrelled name. There’s a reason behind that. My ancestors were two people very much in love and when they married they kept both names. When their baby was born (Alison her name was), a new family was born out of the Parkers and Fieldgates.

It’s a bit of a mouthful but there you go. You don’t choose your name and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

There’s a bit of a story attached to myself, actually. No, really. It’s actually quite interesting. Turns out two of my ancestors had special powers – they could manipulate time and space. It sounds crazy, I know, but then I’m descended from a pretty crazy bunch of people.

As a result every one born from that original great great whatever had these powers passed down to them. To be honest I never really bothered to use my powers. They kind of just stayed dormant inside me. Sleeping.

So let’s skip ahead a bit to when this nightmare started. I was 16 and just starting a medical course at college. It was early one morning. I was at work placement at the local hospital and my parents had gone to buy tickets for some band or show or something at the auditorium. That’s when the meteorites came.

One hit the auditorium and killed my parents and everyone else instantly. One hit the front of our house and demolished the entire living room and my parents’ room. I used to curse the auditorium for trying to sell the tickets so early, but then I realised that if they hadn’t left early they still would have died in the house anyway.

This nice bloke with huge muscles rescued me from the hospital – Thor he called himself. He still calls himself Thor actually. He was an LSO (stands for Local Security Officer), and his team took me in whilst I tried my best to help the injured.

Then I found out about my parents.

I was sad. I was distraught. I’d lost my mum and dad. I tried to contact my twin sister to tell her, but she’d left home when we were 14 and hadn’t been in touch since. Carly, by the way, is a little cow. She hated that she had these powers. She resented the entire family for it and cleared off with her dickhead of a boyfriend who, let me tell you, was and still is way too old for her. We never saw her again.

And then the plague came. Just as we were beginning to pick ourselves up people started dying. It was a nightmare. Three quarters of the town caught it. I was lucky. I didn’t catch it, but the world was hit hard.

And then they came. Their flying saucers came out of the sky. They targeted the major cities, absolutely obliterating some places, like Manchester, and leaving other cities standing for them to conduct their experiments in. People were terrified of them. They fled the cities and towns and ran to the countryside. I had no choice. Thor, his team and myself holed ourselves up in a disused factory.

The invaders called themselves the Daleks. They were – and still are – strange, rounded metallic things covered in blue spots. They have weird sink plungers and egg whisks instead of arms, but the egg whisks can kill! I’m not sure what the plungers do, but Thor reckons he saw one suck a man’s face straight off. They scream and shout their orders out all the time and it makes me wonder if there is something trapped inside them wanting to get out.

When they first arrived they took some people as slaves. They executed others and the rest they converted to mindless Robomen.

And that’s how it’s been ever since. Thor and the rest of his team have tried to fight against them. About a year ago I met this bloke who knew a lot about me – his name was the Doctor. He helped me to channel my powers and we blew up one of their flying saucers. But he also told me that I needed to keep my powers hidden. If the Daleks were to find out what I was capable of they’d use me, and I’m definitely not becoming a battery for their invasion force!

And then the Doctor left and we were on our own again. There’s just myself, Peter, Thor, and a handful of LSO’s now, and to be honest I don’t know how much longer we can go on for. I know what the Doctor said, I know, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s time I started using my powers to defeat the Daleks. The Doctor reckons it’ll all be over in eight years, but some of us might not last that long.

Why should I hold back a way to defeat the Daleks just to preserve some predestined end to all of this? Why should I let all those people die between now and then just to preserve some mythical web of time?

It’s a good job I’m not in charge of things, isn’t it? I’d burn out every single one of the horrible little pepper pots from our world forever.

This is our world and we need to take it back.



Eve Walker opened what remained of the raggedy curtains and cleared the condensation from the one windowpane that wasn’t cracked to look outside. She wrinkled her nose – it was raining. Again. It always seemed to be raining these days. The street outside the house was mostly deserted, apart from a couple of Alsatian dogs trotting up the cobbled street looking for any scraps of leftover food.

She felt sad for a moment. She used to own a dog back in London.

She shook away thoughts of Groundhog and headed out of the small cottage living room to the kitchen. She had heated up some water on a portable stove and made herself a very watered down black coffee and one fried egg. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep her going for most of the day. What she lacked in food she made up for in determination.

She then headed upstairs with a pan of boiled water, which she tipped into the sink in the tiny bathroom and gave herself a wash. She turned to look at the mirror and smiled at her reflection before quickly wiping the smile off her face.

She would turn 36 this year. Her birthday was one of the things she still tried to cling on to, not because she wanted to celebrate, but because it reminded her that time was ticking. This invasion had started two years ago. She wanted it to be over before she turned 40. She used that as her motivation, as silly as it sounded.

She tied her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and gave her face a quick clean with a flannel. She wiped any remnants of sleep out of her grey-blue eyes and then breathed out. She stared for a long time at her pale features. She so much wanted to cry. To cry about everything she’d lost. To cry about everything the world had lost. But she couldn’t break down now. She’d had had her months after the meteorites had come to get scared, to panic and to worry, and then she had run through the emotions of fear and bewilderment when the monsters had come. She had done all of that. She couldn’t succumb to them again.

She remembered back to what her friend, Goss, her said to her before they’d been separated the other year. “You keep on fighting. You stay focused. You lose focus and you lose everything.”

She straightened herself up, changed into her combat trousers and grey jumper and then headed downstairs. When she reached the foot of the stairs she heard some gunfire and quickly ran to the window, making sure she kept low.

She couldn’t see anything, but could hear frantic running on the cobbles, followed by a number of heavier boots. They were obviously chasing someone again. She’d have to be careful out there. It would be nightfall soon (she always travelled during the night and slept during the day) and she had a long way to go.

And so she sat and waited with her stuff packed away. She had to get out of here. She was so close now that she could feel the anticipation. Just a little while longer.



“Back from your jaunt?” said Thor, as Millie sat herself down on a beaten up mattress in the corner of the factory hideout.

“Yep. All sorted,” she smiled.

“Planning on disappearing again?” asked the blonde-haired man. She could tell that he was concerned for her well-being.

“Nah. That’s all finished with now. I’ve done what I needed to do.” She looked around the factory floor. “Where is everyone?”

Thor finished eating his cold tin of bins and then threw it in the corner. “Well, Peter’s up on the roof trying to fix the antenna and Roy and the rest are out scavenging for supplies.”

There came the sound of footsteps from an outer corridor and Peter White emerged in the doorway. He was an older gentleman, in his early seventies. He was thin with short white-grey hair and wire-rimmed spectacles. His eyes looked tired, but other than that he looked quite fit for his age.

“Well, it’s finished,” he said, shaking his head.

“Finished?” said Thor, getting to his feet.

“The antenna. It’s completely shot to pieces. That pulse wave from the saucer must have knocked it out permanently.”

Thor half-sighed, half-growled. “I knew they’d get us eventually. Those saucers have been doing sweeps over nearby towns for the last few weeks.”

“What sweeps?” said Millie, feeling a little out of the loop.

Thor headed towards the corner of the room and started rummaging through a backpack. “We’ve heard rumblings of the saucers flying over towns and sending out pulses which wipe out all communication.”

“We don’t know how they’re doing it,” continued Peter, “but it’s making it near enough impossible to communicate with any of the other resistance groups.”

“And now we can’t communicate with our own people out there?” said Millie.

“Exactly,” said Thor. “The saucer came over a few hours ago.” He pulled out an old-fashioned walkie-talkie from his bag and shook his head, throwing it to the ground in anger. “Yep, fried.”

Millie hadn’t seen Thor this downbeat for around a year. A year ago they had made their first move against the invaders and had blown up a saucer. That had sparked on a few local groups to start fighting back and they had hoped word would have gotten up and down the country – maybe even across the world – but they had done absolutely nothing in the past year, save for a few skirmishes with the Robomen.

“Thor, maybe it’s time we moved on,” said Peter, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Moved on to where?” said Thor, shaking his head. “Everywhere we go there’s always going to be the same problems.”

“I know that, but we may find a place where they haven’t been.”

“They’ve been everywhere, Peter,” said Millie.

‘What about that town up north? The one they’re calling Freedom?’

‘Freedom?’ said Millie, with half a laugh. ‘What sort of a name is that?’

‘Apparently there are no Daleks there. None at all. And nobody but the people living there no why.’ Peter shrugged.

‘It’s all just a myth though,’ said Thor. ‘And we don’t have the resources to chase after myths.’ He sat himself down on the mattress and ran his fingers through his long, blonde hair.

Millie put an arm around him and rubbed his back. She hated seeing him like this. He was their rock in this mad world. He was her rock. She couldn’t see him fall apart like this. “Let’s wait for the others to come back, yeah, and then we can see what’s for the best.”

“The others should have been back thirty minutes ago,” said Thor, looking even more concerned. “They were only going a few streets away to raid that frozen food factory.”

“And of course we have no way of communicating with them,” said Millie, feeling Thor’s pain.

There came a crash and a bang from the outer corridor, followed by staggered, hurried steps. The double doors leading to the factory floor burst open and a young man, in his 20’s, with a shaved head and deep-set brown eyes stumbled through the doors. He had blood smeared on the right side of his face and it had stained his dark, combat suit.

“Roy! What happened? Where are the others?”

Peter was at his side with a crumpled plastic cup of water. Roy took a few sips before sitting down on the ground, cross-legged trying to catch his breath.

“Roy!?” said Thor, at his side instantly.

“Give him a minute, James,” said Peter, using Thor’s first name.

Millie smiled. If Thor felt like her big brother then Peter was like a father to the group. He only used Thor’s real name when he made use of that fatherly nature.

Roy caught his breath and then looked up at his leader. “We were ambushed somewhere round Suggitt’s Street. It was a group of Robomen. They were just waiting for us.”

“They must have been monitoring our communications,” said Peter, looking up at the ceiling as if expecting to see the antenna.

“We need to go out there and help,” said Thor, getting to his feet.

Roy grabbed his arm. “It’s a waste of time, Thor. They killed Katy and Ben and took the others prisoner. Me and Sammie got away but Sammie collapsed down Intax Lane. He’d been shot in the back.”

“But we can still rescue the others,” said Thor.

“Then we best be quick,” said Millie. “They’ll already be heading to the saucer pick up point.”

Thor had an idea. “Peter, do we still have that rocket launcher?”

“Yes, but…”

“Good,” said Thor, getting to his feet. “You and Roy get that thing set up on the roof. Millie and I will get to the prisoners, break them out and then when that saucer flies in you shoot it down.”

“We don’t know if the rocket launcher will have any effect, Thor,” said Millie.

“We don’t have much of an option.”

“And if it doesn’t work?” said Peter. “It’ll light up our location straight away. We’ll have to abandon the place regardless. They’ll swarm on us.”

“Then pack up your stuff and get ready to move out. I’m sick of sitting around doing nothing. They’ve gone too far this time. Let’s start resisting again!”



Sam Hasthorpe was lying on the grass. He could feel the sun beating down on his face. There was a gentle lick of breeze on his bare feet and he could smell flowers. He turned his head to look at his wife, a dazzling blonde with piercing blue eyes and a huge, beaming smile. He reached out for her and ran his hand through her soft, blonde hair.

“I love you, Hannah,” he said.

She reached out and touched his face. “I love you too, Samuel.”

There was a rush of wind, the screeching of tires followed by the sensation of heat. Sam sat up quickly, but instead of sitting in a field he was on a flat mattress in a darkened room. He was panting heavily and turned to his side. Underneath a woolen blanket was a woman in her late twenties with dark hair.

“Hannah,” he said under his breath, remembering back to the day his wife had died. It had been two years ago. He and their daughter, Molly, had been in the car heading for a weekend away in the country.

Then the meteorite storm had happened. One of them had hit the back of the car, killing Hannah instantly. An old man –Peter White – had rescued Sam and Molly but that seemed an age ago now.

The horrors that had happened after that day had never gone away.

“Sam?” said the woman, groaning and turning over to look at him. “You okay?”

Sam looked down at the woman, almost with revolt in his eyes, and nodded. “Yeah, Chloe, I’m fine. Just a dream.”

Before he knew it Chloe had drifted off to sleep again. When he was sure she was asleep he slipped out of bed and headed downstairs.

He wasn’t surprised to see his daughter, Molly, sat at the kitchen table with a candle illuminating an old book. She brushed her brown hair out of her eyes and smiled at her dad. It was too much for a fifteen-year-old girl to go through, but he was pleased she was still able to take some pleasure in reading.

“Still up?” said Sam, sitting down opposite her.

“Couldn’t sleep,” said Molly. “I heard you shout out.”

“Just a dream,” said Sam, smiling at her sadly.

“About mum again?”

“The same one,” nodded Sam. “And it’s always the same. The grass and the flowers and the sunshine.”

“And Mum.”

“And Mum.”

“Did you wake her?” asked Molly, glancing towards the wooden staircase.

“There’s no need to be like that, Mols,” said Sam, looking a little embarrassed.

“You know how I feel about her,” said Molly. “You remember what she did to us. To the rest of them.”

“I remember. I haven’t forgotten.”

“She sold all of our friends out to the Daleks,” said Molly, staring her father right in the eyes. “And now she’s living under the same roof as us.”

Sam couldn’t excuse his daughter’s anger. In the year since Chloe had betrayed them, Molly had gone from being an angry teenager sulking that her father was seeing another woman to a teenager who had morals and knew right from wrong. “It was a year ago, Molly. We all make mistakes.”

“Yes, but as far as I can see she isn’t being punished for her mistakes. You and she are back together.”

“We’re not together, sweetheart.”

“Oh, come off it, Dad,” said Molly. “I’m not a little girl anymore. You both share a room together. You’re with her.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven her, and you’ve gotta realize that we’re at war here.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “It’s not a war. Those things are just enslaving us. The human race is on its way out.”

“Don’t talk like that. And besides people do stupid, stupid things, including Chloe, and we have to move on for the greater good.”

“Thanks, Sam,” said Chloe from the top of the stairs, “but Molly’s right. I’ve made mistakes. I need to make up for them.”

“I didn’t hear you up there,” said Sam as she headed down the stairs.

“I can’t sleep. I can never get back to sleep after you’ve had a dream.”

“He was dreaming about my Mum,” said Molly, spitefully.

Chloe smiled at the girl. “I’m gonna make a cuppa. Anyone want one?”

“I want a smoke,” said Sam, getting up from the table, grabbing his last two remaining cigarettes and heading for the kitchen door.

Sam and Molly had left Thornsby straight after Chloe’s betrayal, but Sam had taken pity on her and picked her up before heading into the country to the Water Hills. Chloe’s grandma had owned a house up here and it was as far away from the Daleks as they were likely to get. There was only one house up here and nothing else for miles around. Occasionally Sam would head to Tinford to raid for supplies, but they didn’t eat much.

They were content to just survive. The small house would have looked quite picturesque back in the day, but now it was cold and uninviting. But it was somewhere to stay safe.

Sam leant against the doorframe and lit up his cigarette. He had smoked before he had met Hannah, but she had asked him to stop for the sake of their daughter. The invasion had done funny things to people. He was glad that all he had done was take up smoking again. He looked out at the dark fields and hills in front of him. Somewhere, miles away, the Daleks were busy making plans, taking prisoners and turning people into mindless Robomen. Although they were safe now, he wondered if that would always be the case.

Chloe appeared at his side and touched his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“You say that every single day,” said Sam.

“It’s because I mean it, Sam,” said Chloe. ‘And I will go on saying it every single day.’ She stood in front of him and he looked down at her. Even without standing on the doorstep he was a good foot taller than her. “I was an idiot. I know that.”

Sam nodded. “I know. I also know how screwed up this world is. It can do things to you.”

“I still shouldn’t have sold everyone else out to them.” She looked down at the doorstep. “They’re most likely stuck at that mine now.”

Sam took another drag on his cigarette and then threw it to the ground. “They’re not.”

She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I heard they escaped. I don’t know how, but not long after we left that saucer went up in flames.”

“That was a year ago, Sam,” said Chloe, her face a mix of confusion and hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you had to let your guilt stay with you. If I had told you everyone was safe you wouldn’t have learnt anything. You’d have gotten a get out of jail free card, wouldn’t you?”

Chloe was angry. She wanted to slap Sam and call him all the names under the sun, but he was right. She deserved it. She felt relieved now, but this year of hell had been her punishment.

He could see she was visibly upset and he put an arm on her shoulder. She closed her eyes. He hadn’t even touched her for over a year now. Not since the night before she had been found out.

“I care about you, Chloe,” said Sam, “but we’re stuck in the middle of the frigging apocalypse. I don’t know where to turn or what to do. I can’t act normal because there is no normal.”

“I understand,” she said.

“And that’s why I can partly understand what you did.” He took his hand off her shoulder. “But when it boils down to it Molly is the most important thing in my life. The only important thing.”

She nodded. She knew she’d never take the place of his long-dead wife, and she didn’t want that. But she knew that people were going to have to try and find comfort from wherever they could now.

She was about to respond when there came a crash from back inside the kitchen. Sam spun round on his heels and then bounded through the hallway to the kitchen. He dropped to his feet. Molly was laid out on the floor. She’d toppled off the kitchen chair and was unconscious.

“She’s got a fever,” said Sam, feeling her sweating brow.

Chloe closed her eyes. She didn’t want to say it, but she’d seen the symptoms before. They all had. “She’s-”

“No,” said Sam, holding a finger up.

“Sam, she’s got the plague,” said Chloe.

To be concluded...

Preview: The Road to Freedom

In 2157 the Daleks attacked the Earth with meteorites. Shortly after the population started to die of a space plague brought by the same meteorites.

A year later, in 2158 the Daleks invaded Earth.

It is now 2159...

Millie Fieldgate-Parker is an 18 year old girl with special, hidden powers. Powers that could bring the Dalek occupation to an end if she wanted to use them. If she was allowed to use them...but the mysterious stranger known as the Doctor told her she couldn't...So now she hides with the resistance fighters, waiting and hoping that their fortunes may change.

Sam Hasthorpe, his partner Chloe Carpenter and Sam's teenage daughter, Molly, are in hiding in the Water Hills in the North of England. Molly doesn't trust Chloe after she sold their friends out to the Daleks, but they have more grimmer things to worry about...

Ellie Walker is a former journalist at the London Chronicle. When the Daleks invaded, her and her co-worker, Alan "Goss" Gossport decided to head North to the coastal town of Thornsby to look for help. Help from a man who allegedly knows how the invasion will end.

But all of them are about to have their lives diverted elsewhere.

And all roads lead to Freedom...

This is a special, two part prelude bridging the gap between the Darkpaths story "Before the Dawn" and a future Elysium story called "A Town Called Freedom" coming later this year.

Featuring Maisie Williams as Millie, Charlie Hunnam as Thor, Larry Lamb as Peter, Sam Clafin as Sam, Nicki Clyne as Chloe, Grace Hogg-Robinson as Molly, Clémence Poésy as Ellie and Jerome Flynn as Goss.