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."
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