Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7 (Waste Not, Want Not)

Holly and Lilly were both awoken by the lights shining out across the sea. Lilly raced out of her bed and clambered onto Holly’s so they could both look out of the window. The dark shapes of the patrol cars were zooming out from the top of the spike and towards the shadowy cliffs in the distance. The lights from the spike were shining down on the beach area and they could just make out a figure.

“Do you think it’s the Doctor?” said Holly, hopefully.

“I hope not,” said Lilly.

“What? Why not?” Holly couldn’t understand why Lilly wouldn’t want to be rescued.

Lilly stared at Holly and then thwacked her on her arm. “Because what are we gonna do if Shrall blows this place and the Doctor’s inside.”

“Oh my god,” said Holly, putting a hand to her mouth.

By now there was an excited commotion outside. Prisoners were cheering and the guards were barking orders for them to keep order and go back to sleep.

“What do we do?” said Holly, desperately looking around her as if expecting an answer to appear through the wall.

“There’s nothing we can do. We need to get to Shrall though.”

There was a tap on the cells bars. Standing there was Charlie Banks, his face turned away from them.

“Charlie!” said Holly, running up to the cell door. “You need to stop Shrall. My friends out there. He’s gonna come and rescue us.”

“I don’t know about your friend,” said Charlie, “but the reports are coming in about a metal man on the beach.”

“Oh,” said Holly. “Okay.”

“And I can’t stop Shrall now,” said Charlie. “He’s set to go off in an hour.”

“Oh god,” said Holly. “This is not happening to us.”

“Cool it, Dangerfield,” said Lilly. “What’s this metal man doing then?”

Charlie turned to face them. “He’s just walking up and down the beach firing off obscenities and a big gun. They’re likely going to destroy him.”

Lilly went back to the window to look out. “Then I just hope the Doctor’s not out there.”




The Doctor, Ziggy and Nao had reached an overhang in the cliff where it was impossible to abseil any further down.

“We’re gonna have to lower ourselves down from here,” said Ziggy.

The Doctor craned his neck to look down. It looked to be a 50 foot drop, but slowly and surely they lowered themselves down.

“The sea is likely to be cold,” said the Doctor as they hit the surface and then jumped the rest of the way in.

Nao gasped, her eyes wide. “No kidding!”

“We’ll be fine,” said Ziggy. “These suits have special layered material in them.”

“Nice of you to offer me one,” said the Doctor, his teeth chattering.

“We need to swim,” said Ziggy. “Come on.”

“Lead the way,” said the Doctor.

The swim wasn’t as bad as the Doctor had first feared. Although they were cold, the swim helped to warm them up. Slowly they approached the looming, towering spire. It’s beam of light still illuminating the beach.

The Doctor looked back. The patrol cars were on the beach and T23 was still trying to evade them. He had taken up a stance by some rocks and was firing at the beach. None of the shots hit the guards - that was done on purpose - but it was still proving to be an excellent distraction.

“We need to go under now,” said Nao as she gazed up at the spire.

“This better work,” said the Doctor as the three of them took a huge breath and then dived under the water.

It was murky and dark and the Doctor could barely see where he was going. Ziggy produced a flashlight and it illuminated the surrounding water just enough.

And then the light struck something. It was moving quickly, but it was a large, dark shape. Whatever it was had just swum past them.

The Doctor span around in the water, trying to get a glimpse of it and Ziggy shone the flashlight around frantically. There it was again.

The Doctor grabbed Ziggy’s arm and then prodded his finger towards the surface.

Ziggy nodded and the indicated for Nao to swim up as well.

They headed for the surface broke through, all three of them letting out huge gasps, coughing and spluttering in the cold water.

“What the hell was it?” said Ziggy.

“No idea,” said the Doctor, “but we can assume that it’s there to protect the spire from people like us.”

Nao closed her eyes and let out a frustrated growl. “We can’t turn back now.”

“No. Definitely not,” said Ziggy. “Zia’s up there and we need to get her out of there.”

“This creature - if it is a creature - could kill us,” said the Doctor.

“It hasn’t attacked us yet,” said Nao.

The Doctor had to agree. So far they’d be in the water for five minutes and all the creature had done was swim past them a couple of times. Maybe it was just a random, harmless sea-creature.

“We need to go on, Doctor. Unless you have any other suggestions?”

The Doctor shook his head. He was out of ideas. They needed to get into the spire and this was the only way.

Agreeing to continue on the three of them dived under again and continued to swim for the base of the spire.

So far everything had remained fairly quiet and there had been no sign of the dark shape. Eventually the large, looming bowls of the spire came into view through the murky water.

The Doctor looked at his two companions. Nao was struggling to hold onto her breath and Ziggy was concentrating. He had always been better at this so he swam ahead as quickly as he could. His pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his trouser pocket and aimed it at a panel which was about 2 meters wide and 1 metre high. There was a clicking sound and the panel slid open.

The Doctor turned around to signal his success to Ziggy and Nao - and they were no where in sight.

He span around frantically, trying to see any sign of them. Even he was starting to find it difficult to hold onto his breath now.

And then, like a freight train emerging from a darkened tunnel, he saw the sea creature emerge. He was momentarily taken aback. There was a flashlight attached to it’s head. No - it wasn’t attached. It was Ziggy who was holding on to the large unicorn-horn-like spike that stuck up from the top of it’s head. Ziggy had a hold of it with his right hand and the flashlight in his left.

The creature was about 5 metres long, quite sleek-looking with four large, barbed fins either side of it’s body. It’s tail had two flippers and flicked about wildly as it tried to shake Ziggy off itself. Its head was terrifying. As well as the horn it had three, beady-dark eyes and a huge mouth that was almost the length of its entire head with rows and rows of jagged teeth.

What was in its mouth horrified the Doctor. It’s jagged teeth were clamped around Nao’s right leg. The rest of her body was flailing about wildly as she tried to break free. She was clearly in agony and a steady stream of blood flowed from the wound on her leg, turning the sea around her a cloudy-red colour.

The Doctor pulled his jacket off as the creature zoomed towards him. Then, like a matador at a bull fight, he flung the coat over head of the creature. It was momentarily confused and released Nao.

Ziggy pushed himself off the creature and floated towards the Doctor, who had grabbed Nao and was hurriedly swimming with her towards the open waste hatch.

Ziggy followed suit, constantly looking to his side.

And then it came again.

Out of the darkness the creature aimed its head at Ziggy. The coat was ripped and part of it was in its mouth. Ziggy drew his arm back and, as easily as he could in the deep water, swung the flashlight at the creatures head.

There was a dull, watery crack and everything went dark.

Ziggy swam as fast as he could. He couldn’t see anything, but he hoped he was heading in the right direction.

He banged his head on something and then felt himself being hauled out of the water and then deposited on a hard, metal surface.

Ziggy let out his breath and breathed long and hard, his eyes remaining closed. He could smell the most undesirable smell he had ever had the misfortune to smell and tried not to think about it as he sat up, coughed out some water and then almost retched.

“Not nice, is it?” came the Doctor voice.

Ziggy opened his eyes. They were sat on a metal ledge that ran the circumference of the base of the spire. It disappeared into the darkness. The water they had come out of was full to brim of all manner of things he didn’t want to think about. Up above was a large tube, which presumably dumped the waste.

Nao was sat with her back up against the wall breathing deeply. The Doctor had ripped his shirt arm and had bandaged up her wound.

“Is she gonna-”

“She’s gonna be fine,” said the Doctor, “but she can’t come up there with us.”

“What?”

“She needs to stay here,” said the Doctor. “She’ll be quite safe.”

“That thing-”

“That thing isn’t going to come in here. And even if it did, she’s out of the water.”

“I’ll be fine,” said Nao, out of breath. “I’ll be just fine. You need to go and find Zia and come back down.”

“And then we all get out of here,” said the Doctor. “And I can find myself some new clothes!”

“I don’t like this.”

“I haven’t liked any of this, Ziggy my old friend, but we have no choice. Zia, Holly and Lilly are counting on us.”




“I hope Shrall knows what he’s doing,” said Holly. “We’re counting on him.”

“BANKS!” came the deep, booming voice of Shrall from around the other side of the cell block.

Charlie blew air out of his cheeks and closed his eyes.

“He’s ready, isn’t he?” said Lilly.

“Yep,” said Charlie. He turned to Lilly and Holly. “When Shrall blows it’ll knock out the electrical systems. The gates will automatically open.”

“And then what?” said Holly, we just curl into a ball while this place falls down around us.

“No,” said Charlie. “You head to the lift shaft. The lift won’t be working, but you can climb through the released service hatch at the top.”

“Climb the lift shaft?!” exclaimed Holly.

“Climb the lift shaft,” said Charlie.

“And then?”

“The lift will take you right to the command deck.”

“Where the guards will be to kill us escaping,” said Holly.

“No,” continued Charlie. “The guards won’t be able to use the lifts, so they’ll be coming down the stair wells. Although I can’t promise that they won’t have put a guard or two up there.”

“BANKS!” shouted Shrall again.

“Once you’re on the command deck head for emergency exit 5. There’s a ladder that leads all the way down the spire to about 20 feet from the surface of the water. Then you’ll have to jump.”

“Jesus,” said Holly.

“Woman-up, Dangerfield,” said Lilly.

“But this place is going to blow! It’s going to collapse.” said Holly.

“It’s not going to collapse,” said Charlie. There will be structural damage, but that’s it.”

“It sounds too risky,” said Holly, biting her fingernail.

“Better to take a risk than spend the rest of our sentence in here.”

Charlie nodded.

“What about you?” said Holly.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll mingle with the guards. They’ll never suspect me.”

“You’re a good man, you know?” said Holly.

“Thanks,” smiled Charlie.

Lilly reached her hands through the bars and grabbed at Charlie’s uniform, pulling him close to her. She planted a huge kiss on his lips.

Holly stood and watched, her mouth open in surprise.

And then Lilly released him. Charlie just looked straight at Lilly, confused.

“Good luck, soldier,” said Lilly.

“Thanks,” said Charlie, still in shock, as he made his way back towards Shrall’s cell.

“Well that was a bolt from the blue,” said Holly, her arms crossed.

“It was more for him than me,” said Lilly with a smile. “He’s a brave guy. Now he’ll be even braver.”




The Doctor and Ziggy had managed to climb the 10 foot wall of the waste tank area and had reached the ceiling. It was trick as it sloped upwards to the tube that was about 4 metres in diameter. Using one of the suction cups that Ziggy had packed they managed to fire the climbing wire across to the edge of the funnel and pull themselves across, their legs dangling over the edge.

Ziggy looked down at Nao who gave them a little wave. She looked ill, but still with it. He smiled back at her.

The Doctor grabbed a hold of the inside of the tube and aimed his sonic screwdriver up at a hatch a metre in. It opened with a satisfying click and then Doctor turned to look at Ziggy.

“You ready for this?”

“Ready than I’ll ever be,” said Ziggy, nodding.

“Good.”

“What do we do when we get up there?” said Ziggy.

The Doctor shook his head. “I really don’t know, but let’s hope the girls don’t have any other plans to escape.”

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6 (Fight Them on the Beaches)

News Report

Location: Tenta-Tenta-Flix

Date: 23.7.5151




Reports are coming in of a major terrorist attack on Tenta-Tenta-Flix’s capital city. Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion in the vicinity of the government building causing collateral damage to nearby office blocks. Reports are also coming in that the building has now collapsed.

It is believed that the terrorist responsible has been apprehended. He appears to be local man Shrall Norathin. He has no known criminal record, but it is believed that he was visiting the building with his brother, and he and his brother planet a bomb. The location of his brother, Corbax Norathin, is unknown, but it is believed that he may have died in the explosion.

More news as we get it.




Night had fallen again and Lilly, Holly and Zia were sat in the girls cell. Zia was platting Lilly’s hair and Holly was picking at the bed sheets. She groaned and sat up on the bed, gazing at the setting sun through the window.

“I’ll do yours in a minute,” said Zia.

“Nah, it’s alright,” said Holly.

“Seriously? Wearing it like this is all the rage at the minute.”

“If you’re 12 where I come from then maybe it is.”

“Now who’s being grumpy?” said Lilly.

“I don’t like this plan,” said Holly, shaking her head. “It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what might go wrong.”

“Have a little faith,” said Lilly.

“Yeah,” said Zia.

“But it just seems so…wrong. Poor Shrall.”

“Poor Shrall? You were berating him for being a terrorist earlier on today,” said Lilly with a laugh.

“I know that,” said Holly, “but that was before I knew the truth.”

Zia hopped off the bed and ran to the cell doors. “Just off to get some more hair bands. Don’t move a muscle.”

Lilly turned and smiled at Holly. “Do you always judge people on first appearances?”

Holly looked surprised. “What? No, of course not.”

“You judged me,” said Lilly.

“I’ve tried to get to know you. So far all I’ve seen is a frosty, bitter young woman with a chip on her shoulder.”

“Yeah,” said Lilly. “I can be that way, but that doesn’t mean that that’s all I’m about.”

“I know that,” said Holly.

“We all put up shells - barriers - to protect ourselves.”

Holly crossed over to Lilly’s bed and sat next to her. “Then why don’t you let me in?”

“Why are you even bothered, Dangerfield?” said Lilly.

“Because…because…I don’t know.”

“Because I’m an enigma. Something for you to examine and pull apart, yeah?”

“No,” said Holly, shaking her head. “Not at all. I just…I have to wonder why you are so closed off to everyone.”

“Not to everyone,” said Lilly. “Not to the Doctor.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m not a very good person,” said Lilly, looking away. “I’ve done some terrible, terrible things. The Doctor has tried to help me, but he can’t. No matter how much he wants me to change - how much I want to change - I won’t change. It’s not in my nature.”

“Everyone can change,” said Holly.

“Not me, sweetheart,” said Lilly. “I’ve got bad blood running through me.”

“Lilly-”

“When we’ve got you home, you’ll be better off. Better off without me. And soon the Doctor will find out he’s better off without me.”

Holly was about to reply when Zia came bounding back in.

“Your turn Holly!”

And Holly thought back to the conversation with Shrall earlier on.




“Morning, Zia,” said Holly.

She winked at Holly. “So,” she said in a hushed voice, “how are we breaking out of this joint?”

“Shrall,” said Lilly, looking at her toad-like friend, “the stage is all yours.”

Shrall leaned forward and looked at each of the three girls. “Do you know what a terrorist is?”

Holly looked at Zia and then back to Shrall. “It’s someone who…terrorises.”

Shrall nodded. “Yes.” He leaned back in his chair and looked straight at Holly. “Do you know what classes me as a terrorist?”

Holly looked at Lilly and then back to Shrall. “Something to do with you blowing up a building.”

Shrall threw his head back, laughing at Holly’s bemused face. “Already she accuses.”

“But the proof is there,” said Zia

“Is it?” said Shrall, suddenly leaning forward again. “Is it really?”

“Shrall has explained it all to me. The injustice of it all,” said Lilly, placing an affectionate hand on Shrall’s large right shoulder.

“Then explain it to us,” said Zia.

“I come from a city called Vita-Zeshta Prime. It has a bad crime record. My brother and I came from a…difficult family. We were criminals, yes, but not terrorists.”

“But you blew up a building,” said Holly again. “You killed thousands.”

“No we didn’t. It was an accident.” Shrall took another swig of water and then cracked his knuckles. “My brother, Corbax, had told me that we were wanted for a robbery in the South West Quadrant. We hadn’t done it, and so we went to the police building to clear our name. Instead they arrested us and tortured us.”

“I’m…sorry,” said Holly.

“Don’t be sorry, young lady. They tortured us for information about all of the members of our family, but we were loyal. We didn’t break down. And then they gave my brother water.”

“What?” said Zia, confused.

“My family have an…intolerance to normal, Earth water. It makes our inside boil. It’s excruciating. They started on Corbax first. They made me watch as they pumped him full of it. Gallons and gallons of water, normal to most species, but deadly to us.”

Holly’s eyes flicked down to the jug of water that Shrall had been drinking from.

“They gave him too much. He began to burnt and blister, the chemicals in his stomach reacting against the water. I knew what was going to happen. Corbax nodded for me to go and I reluctantly broke free as the guards tried to restrain him. I ran and ran and ran.”

Zia and Holly sat there with their mouths wide open. Lilly simply sat, looking sad with her arms folded.

“And then there was an almighty explosion. It ripped through the corridors and tore the place apart, incinerating the poor souls that tried to get away.”

“Corbax exploded…” said Zia, running it over in her mind.

Shrall took another gulp of water, his top lip twitching.

“So there wasn’t a bomb?” said Holly.

“There was never a bomb,” said Lilly. “Corbax blew up and Shrall was arrested.”

“I tried to tell them. I tried to explain, but they had me. They had to blame someone and so I took the fall for it. I became their terrorist.”

Holly looked worried. “But you’re drinking water now. Why are they letting you? They must know what it’s doing.”

Shrall laughed. “They think it’s Water X - a distilled version without the chemical.”

“Oh, thank god for that,” said Holly breathing a sigh of relief.

“It’s not though,” said Shrall. “It really is water.”

“WHAT!” said Holly and Zia in unison.

“You see that guard over there?” said Shrall, pointing towards Charlie Banks. Charlie nodded back at them from his position by the elevator. “He’s my friend. He knows the truth. He’s been helping me. He’s been giving me this water because he knows what it will do to me.”

“An inside man,” said Lilly. “You see, Shrall’s been drinking the water very, very slowly.”

“You must be in agony,” said Holly.

“I am. I hide it well.” Shrall managed a smile.

“But why? Why are you doing it?”

“Because when I hit the right amount of chemical inside me, I’m going to throw myself to the bottom of the spire and blow myself up. It’ll cause such an explosion that it will cause a massive power cut.”

“And that’s when we break out” said Holly

“Yes.” He looked back at Banks and then back at the girls. “The cells are locked at night, but the massive power loss will cause them to open up. Built by idiots and run by idiots, you see. I’m never getting out of here alive, but I know you three our innocent. I originally did this for Zia. To find another way to bring justice to this part of the galaxy.”

Zia smiled sadly at him.

“Just be ready. Charlie will help you.”




The Doctor, Ziggy and Nao were back on their fronts on the cliff edge. The Doctor had a pair of binoculars to his eyes and Ziggy was busy checking his watch.

“Any sign of him yet?” said Nao, trying to peer into the darkness.

“No, not yet,” said the Doctor. “Wait a minute…yes!”

Down on the beach, glinting in the moonlight, the silver-coloured T23 appeared. He was walking slowly so as not to trigger the alarms too soon. T23 turned to look up at the trio’s position and gave them a wave.

The Doctor felt sad. Although he was just an android, T23 had wishes and desires too, and the Doctor felt sorry that he was just going to sacrifice those wishes and desires. He had agreed to do it gladly, but it still didn’t feel right. Ziggy had said they would be able to save him, but he doubted it himself.

“We’ve gotta move now,” said Ziggy, as the three of them backed off from the cliff edge.

When they were sure they were away from the sensors they began a sprint around the cliff, careful to stay away from the edge, until they reached a point were the sea met the cliff wall.

“How can we be sure that we won’t just smash our heads onto rocks down there?” said the Doctor, peering over the long drop.

“We don’t,” said Nao, dropping her backpack and pulling out clips and a rope. “That’s why we’re not jumping. We’re gonna abseil down.”

“Well thank goodness for that!” said the Doctor with a sigh of relief.

Back along the beach, T23 stood gazing out at the dark spire in the distance. Then, after checking his internal chronometer, he threw his head back and let out a high, metallic howl. Then he pulled out what appeared to be some sort of sonic canon and began firing down at the beach. Invisible pulses of energy hit the sand, causing it to fly up and create craters in the beach. T23 continued to do this for a few minutes, constantly screaming and shouting.

Back at the cliff edge Nao and Ziggy had just finished fixing the line-clip. They knew they only had a small window.

And then a bright beam of light shone out from the top of the spike, illuminating T23 down on the beach, lighting him up like a beacon.

“We need to move now!” said the Doctor as the sound of engines came from the vicinity of the spike.

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 (All That Glitters...)

Charlie Banks was cold and fed up. Him and the rest of his team had spent the last few hours combing the area around the beach, cliffs and scrubland up above, but apart from a few random rocks and slabs they hadn’t found any sign of the Time Lord.

He glanced back towards the spikes. He couldn’t see them. It was too dark. All over the planet were identical spikes. It depressed him doing this job and he longed for the moment he could get out of it. He’d seen plenty of innocents locked away in his relatively short time here and he’d seen plenty of innocents get killed.

He saw himself as a decent enough man, but was scared about what was to come. He sighed and turned back to the commander of the group.

“Anything, Banks?” asked the gruff commander, wiping rain out of his face.

“I can’t see a single thing, sir,” said Banks.

“Well keep looking.”

“Yes, sir,” said Charlie.

He turned and almost tripped over a slab on the ground. He frowned, checked no one else was looking and then knelt down over it. He placed his hands either side and gently slipped it to the side. Underneath was a dark hole which led into the ground. He stroked his chin.

“Banks!” came the commander.

Charlie quickly slipped the slab back over the hole and then got up and ran over to his commander.

“Well?” said the commander. “Anything?”

Charlie looked back at the slab and then back to his commander. “No, sir. Nothing at all.”




Holly was surprised that she managed to actually get a good nights sleep in. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, but it was mostly undisturbed. She woke up just before the sun rose. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she felt reenergised. She got up and stood beside the window, gazing out at the sun as it began to rise over the cliffs.

The weather actually looked pretty nice, and if she hadn’t been locked up in a scary-arse prison, then she may have actually thought the sunrise looked beautiful.

She looked to Lilly who was still fast asleep with her face turned away. Well, she assumed she was still fast asleep.

There came a gentle rapping of knuckles on the bars of the cell door. Holly looked up. Standing there was the guard who had brought them in.

“Yes?” said Holly.

He was holding two bundles in his arms. He grabbed the door and quietly slid it open. “Your clean clothes.”

It hadn’t occurred to Holly that they’d need to get out of their regular clothes and into something else. It had, after all, only been a day. She smiled weakly at the guard and took them from him.

“These will last you a week, miss,” he said.

He seemed friendly. He looked like he didn’t belong here.

“Thanks.”

“There’s a weeks worth of clean underwear in there as well,” he said slightly embarrassed. “At the end of the week put your dirty clothes in the bag and it’ll get washed up. You’ll be provided with clean ones at the start of next week.”

“Thank you,” said Holly again. “What’s your name?”

“That’s not relevant, miss,” said the guard, turning to go.

“Please,” said Holly, grabbing the bars of the cell door gently. “If I’m gonna be here for a while I might as well get to know you by your name.”

The guard stopped, smiled and turned to face her. “It’s Charlie. Charlie Banks.”

“Nice to meet you, Charlie,” said Holly, “considering the circumstances,” she added quickly.

Charlie nodded and then turned to leave.

“Stop flirting with the guards,” said Lilly, her voice muffled by the covers.

“I’m not flirting,” said Holly. “You stop pretending to be asleep.”

“I’ve been awake for a good few hours, Dangerfield,” she said, turning over and arching her eyebrows. “You talk in your sleep, you know.”

“I do not,” said Holly, flinging Lilly’s bundle of clothes over onto her bed.

“Oh, joy,” said Lilly as she pulled out the prison garb - blue with black crosses scattered all over it.

“Matching underwear too,” groaned Holly, looking at her own collection.

Charlie Banks rapped his knuckles on the bars again. “Get yourselves dressed, ladies, and then I’ll take you down for breakfast.”

“Thanks, Charlie,” said Lilly sweetly.




The breakfast area was halfway down the spike and was a communal area that ran around the perimeter of the inside of the spike. The same deep shaft ran through the centre and the lift took groups of prisoners down a section at a time.

Lilly spotted Shrall sat at a table delicately putting some form of porridge into his mouth and she nodded at him.

Shrall nodded back and then took a huge gulp of water from his glass at the table.

Charlie guided Holly and Lilly over to the serving hatch were a wicked looking woman with grey hair and a pointed nose slopped the porridge into their bowls.

“More joy,” said Lilly as they headed towards Shrall’s table.

“Why with him?” hissed Holly, quiet enough for Shrall not to hear.

“He’s alright,” said Lilly. “Plus he’s on his own.”

“Poor guy,” said Holly sarcastically.

“You’re okay with us sitting here, aren’t you, Shrall?”

Shrall nodded but remained silent, indicating for the ladies to sit down.

The three of them sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity until Holly broke the silence. “So…you’re a terrorist, yeah?”

Shrall simply stared at her whilst Lilly closed her eyes in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” said Holly quickly.

“No need to apologise,” said Shrall. He looked at Charlie and clicked his fingers. “You, guard. More water.”

“I beg your pardon?” said Charlie, his arms folded.

“More water.”

“I’m not your slave,” said Charlie, turning his face away.

“MORE. WATER. NOW!”

Holly watched in wide-eyed terror as Charlie growled to himself and then returned to the table with another jug of water.

“Thanks, friend,” said Shrall.

Silence again.

The silence was broken when Zia came clattering over with her bowl and glass of water. She took a big gulp, wolfed the porridge down and then leaned in close to the other three.

“Morning Zia,” said Holly.

She winked at Holly. “So,” she said in a hushed voice, “how are we breaking out of this joint?”




The Doctor was dreaming.

He didn’t often dream, but when he did the dreams usually meant something.

In this particular dream he was floating over a mountain range. There was a castle far down below and the sun was high in the sky.

He passed through a cloud and when he emerged through the other side he was in the space/time vortex. He could see the TARDIS spinning away from him and he desperately tried his best to reach it.

And then he saw a figure floating through the vortex. He couldn’t quite make out who it was or whether it was even male or female.

“Hello?” he called out.

“Hello,” came a disembodied voice. “And good morning.”

“What?” said the Doctor.

His eyes flicked open. He was staring up at the rocky ceiling of the cavern they had based themselves in. Ziggy was knelt over a bowl of warm water, his shirt off and washing himself.

“I said good morning,” said Ziggy.

Nao walked in, stopped and frowned at the Doctor and then sat down on a rock. “There’s hot tea in the pot.”

“Thanks,” said the Doctor, sitting himself up and pulling his shoes on.

“Home made bread as well,” said Ziggy, nodding his approval at Nao.

“Yeah,” said Nao, taking a bite into the soft white bread. “Ziggy only married me for my bread.”

“Ha-ha,” said Ziggy, throwing the wet cloth at his wife.

“Steady,” said Nao, laughing back at him.

The Doctor smiled at their antics. Even on a barren, horrible world like this, and in such a dire situation, he was pleased to see the Human spirit filter through still.

“So,” said the Doctor, putting on his grey jacket and clapping his hands together, “we better get started on this plan.”

“Way ahead of you, chief,” said Ziggy, putting his shirt back on and getting into his combats. “We’ve already got our plan worked out.”

“I beg your pardon?” frowned the Doctor.

“We’ve been up hours,” said Nao. “Sleep is for the dead.”

“Nice,” said the Doctor as he grabbed himself a hot tea and warm bread. “So what’s this great plan then?”

“Well,” said Nao, pulling out a piece of A4 paper with some hastily scribbled line drawings on. There was a picture of the spire, the sea and mountains in the distance. “Our main objective is to get into the spike.”

“Obviously,” said the Doctor, arms folded and doubt in his voice.

“The only entrance is at the top of the spire where the prisoners are transported in.”

“So we can’t go that way,” said the Doctor.

“No,” said Ziggy, sitting down next to his wife, “but the spire goes all the way down to the sea bed and around ten foot underneath the surface of the water is the waste disposal shoots.”

“I see,” said the Doctor. “And you think we can swim down and through the hatch?”

“Exactly,” said Nao.

The Doctor held up a finger. “A number of problems.”

“Go on,” said Ziggy, his arms now folded, ready for the Doctor to shoot their plan down in flames.

“Firstly we need to get across the beach and under the water, into the sea and over to the hatch in the spike without getting caught.”

“Already thought of that one,” said Ziggy. “Next problem?”

“We then need to get the hatch open and swim up through gallons of waste.”

Nao wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, gotta admit I’m not looking forward to that.”

“So tell me your solutions.”

“Unfortunately it requires us causing a distraction.” Ziggy turned towards the cavern exit. “Could you come in here please, T23?”

The Doctor had almost forgotten about the android as he ambled in politely and then stood before Ziggy. “Yes, sir?”

Ziggy nodded towards the robot. “T23 here is going to cause that distraction. We send him up to the beach and he causes one hell of a commotion. In the meantime we leg it over to the west of the cliffs, and then drop into the sea and swim for the spikes.”

“Poor T23,” said the Doctor, looking a little sorry for the robot.

“Don’t worry,” said Nao, “we’ll get him out as well.”

“And what makes you think we’ll be able to avoid detection?”

“We don’t,” said Ziggy, “but we have no other choice. We’ve been wandering up here for a while now and so far we’ve not been detected. That leads me to believe that the spike has a low-range detection field. They probably don’t expect anyone to come on vacation here. We should be able to do this.”

“And once we’re there? At the hatch?”

“You use your screwdriver thing,” said Ziggy.

The Doctor put his hand to his pocket and pulled out the screwdriver. “It’s a risky one.”

“But the only thing we can come up with,” said Nao. “Will you help us?”

The Doctor sighed and looked from Ziggy to Nao to T23 and then up at the cavern ceiling. “It seems I have no choice. We have to get Holly, Lilly and Zia out of there.”

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4 (Dancing with the Devil)

Lilly wandered back into the cell and clambered under the bed covers and turned away.

“Well?” said Holly, still awake.

“Well what?” said Lilly, her face still turned away.

“You’ve spent the past few hours talking to that Shrall guy. What’s the deal?”

“There’s no deal.”

“Oh, come on, Lilly. I know something’s going on.”

Lilly turned to look at Holly. “I’ve been negotiating a way out of here.”

“He’s a terrorist,” said Holly. “You can’t trust him. He’s dangerous.”

Lilly smiled. “Let me worry about that, yeah? You just focus on sleeping and conserving your energy.”

Holly sighed. “My uncle went to prison, you know?”

Lilly frowned. “Why?”

“He was stealing from the company he worked for. They made girders for bridges and stuff. It near enough ruined his family. All my cousins disowned him. My Dad was devastated by it.” Holly rolled onto her back and looked up at the metal ceiling above her. “It was when I was about 14. I used to worry about him.”

“Worry? Why?” Lilly frowned.

“Because he was a good man really. He just made a big mistake. I used to be scared at what a prison cell would be like.”

“Well,” said Lilly, turning away again, “I’m sure your uncle wasn’t locked away in a big, tall spike in the sky?”

“No,” said Holly with a smile. “He was out after about a year, but he never really recovered from it. He’s quite a lonely man now.”

“My entire family were criminals,” said Lilly distantly.

Holly froze and then turned her head to face the blonde girl. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” said Lilly, nodding, her hands behind her head as she too gazed up at the ceiling. “Got themselves involved in all sorts of dodgy deals.” She turned to face Holly again. “That’s how I know how to handle Shrall. So don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not worried,” said Holly with a laugh.

“Yes you are,” said Lilly.

Holly flashed her a smile and Lilly winked.

“Goodnight, Dangerfield.”

“Goodnight Lilly.”




It was dark now, but the storm clouds were rolling in. Huge, grey clouds that looked like giant, fluffy elephants floated across the sea and just above the reach of the spires.

The Doctor, Ziggy and Nao were on their fronts, low down on the scrubland at the top of the cliff. Ziggy had a complicated pair of binoculars and was looking out towards the spikes.

“See anything?” said the Doctor.

“Just total darkness,” said Ziggy.

“This is the best time to make our move,” said Nao. “When it’s dark.”

“Well, obviously,” said the Doctor. “Move under the cover of darkness.”

“Shall we go then?” said Ziggy, putting the binoculars away and shuffling back towards Nao and the Doctor.

“What?!” said the Doctor. “No. Not yet. We need to formulate a plan.”

“My sister is in there-”

“Yes,” said the Doctor, “I know that. And my two friends are in there as well, but running in there without a plan isn’t gonna get us anywhere.”

“Then what do you suggest?” said Nao.

“We go back to your camp and get a good nights sleep. Another day won’t make any difference at all. We get rest, food, drink and then formulate a plan of attack.”

“But Zia-”

“Zia will be absolutely fine,” said the Doctor. “I’m sure she can look after herself.”

They made the relatively short journey back to the cave with Ziggy lugging behind, glancing back occasionally towards the spires in the distance. Eventually they reached the cave and went back underground.

Once inside the Doctor took off his rain-soaked boots and his socks and began ringing them out over the fire they had set earlier. He was sure he had only done this a few hours ago.

Ziggy sat down and went into a small, cooling-box, throwing the Doctor and Nao a banana each. The Doctor peeled the banana, bit into it and then closed his eyes.

“Taste good, don’t they?” said Nao, smiling for the first time.

“Very much so,” said the Doctor.

“They’re grown on Banttii. People come from all over the galaxy to buy them. All the food’s like that. Absolutely delicious. Just a shame the people don’t enjoy the riches. It all goes to the government.” said Ziggy.

The Doctor shook his head. “Tell me, Ziggy, what are you planning on doing when we get Zia out of there?”

“How do you mean?” said Ziggy, biting into an apple.

“Well, you can’t go back to Banttii. You’ll be fugitives. On the run.”

Ziggy shrugged. “I didn’t think that far.”

“No,” said the Doctor, “and I think that’s your problem. You’re not thinking far enough ahead. Not planning.”

“What do you expect us to do?” said Nao, flinging the banana peel across the floor. “Do you expect us to sit back while my sister in law rots in prison?”

“Absolutely not,” said the Doctor, a little hurt, “but what I am saying is that you need a plan of action. You need everything put into place before you go through with it. Otherwise you’ll end up running and running with no idea of how you’re going to be able to stop.”

“Sounds like you have experience,” said Ziggy, throwing the Doctor a bottle of water.

“That, my friend, is very much correct.” He took a swig of water. “One of my friends - Lilly - ended up coming with me when I first met her, but I didn’t think through the consequences. I just flew in there and took her away. Now, if I’d have planned a little more then we may not have been in the pickle we are now.”

“In prison you mean?” said Nao.

“No, no, no,” said the Doctor. “In general.”

“Why? What kind of pickle are you in?”

The Doctor took another swig of water. “We’re on the run.”

Ziggy and Nao listened intently.

“We’re on the run from my past, and, yes, I am being cryptic. The less I say about the situation the better, but if I’d thought through my actions then we might not be in the trouble we’re in now.” He drained his bottle of water. “So when we do rescue Zia, you better have a damn good plan for getting yourself as far away from the authorities as possible.”

Zia looked at Nao.

The Doctor smiled, grabbed a scruffy brown blanket from next to him, laid down on the ground, pulling the blanket over him, and then turned over. “Goodnight kids.”




The guard who had taken in Holly and Lilly was stood with five others in Wainwright’s office. He looked nervous standing there in his black armour and large, domed helmet.

Charlie Banks hadn’t been in the guard for long and he was starting to consider whether he had made the right career choice. But he had more or less had no choice. He had a reason to be here and he firmly believed that it was the right reason.

“Now then, fellas,” said Wainwright, snapping Banks out of his thoughts. He paced up and down in front of them, his hands behind his back, eyeing each of them up one at a time. “Are you aware of the situation?”

The guard didn’t respond. They knew they weren’t supposed to.

“There are at least two or three dangerous people loose out there. They are hiding somewhere. One of them may be a Time Lord. I want the non-Time Lords killed. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” they said in unison.

“And if anyone happens to kill the Time Lord, they will be spending the rest of their lives in one of our spikes.” He looked at each one individually again and then nodded. “Dismissed.”

The guards filed out. It was night now and Banks was looking forward to getting some sleep. As he left he glanced at the desk clock on the governors desk.




02:34




It wouldn’t be long now, he thought to himself. He felt sad and happy at the same time. All he had to do was make sure he was ready.

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 (Terrorists and Thieves)

Boredom. Boredom. More boredom. I haven’t seen Lilly for a good few hours now. This business with Shrall is worrying me. I mean, he’s a terrorist. I know Lilly has her reasons, but I just don’t get why she’d wanna get involved with that. Does she think he’s gonna break us out or something? None of us are getting out of here. Not for 12 months anyway.

I miss my family. I miss my bed. I miss my bath and I miss work for god sake!




Ziggy and Nao guided the Doctor through the tunnel that led from the entrance to the cave and into a deeper section. The cavern was actually underneath the scrubland he had been on and a small slope led from the hole with the slab over it down into the area he had woken up in.

Eventually they reached a smaller cave with a number of candles burning and two tents set up. Crates and containers were piled up against the curved far wall and on them entering the area a figure emerged from one of the tents.

It was a tall man dressed in black combats and painted head to toe in silver paint. He was completely bald and wore a permanent frown on his face.

“Who is this?” asked the silver man.

“This is the Doctor. I found him up above.”

“Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is?” asked the man.

“Apparently not,” said Nao, putting down her weapon and sitting on a crate to remove her boots. “Jesus, my feet are hurting.”

“And who might you be, friend?” asked the Doctor, extending a hand.

“This is T23,” said Ziggy, nodding towards his silver friend.

T23 took the Doctor’s hand, and to his shock he realised that it wasn’t silver paint at all. It was actually some form of metallic skin. “Please to meet you, T23.”

“It is agreeable to meet you as well, Doctor,” he said politely in a very well spoken voice.

Ziggy sat down next to Nao and opened a bottle of water, drinking nearly half of it in three big gulps. “T23 is sort of like our butler. He takes care of all our needs.”

“You’re an android?” asked the Doctor.

“Indeed I am,” said T23, sitting down on a crate next to Ziggy and Nao, “and I’m happy to serve.”

“That sounds like a tagline,” said the Doctor, raising his eyebrows.

“Don’t start with that, Doctor,” said Ziggy. “T23 is designed to serve and he is quite happy. We treat him with respect and he enjoys what he does.”

“I am always happy to serve, Master Ziggy.”

“Enough of this chit-chat, though,” said the Doctor. “We need to get my friends out of that prison.”

“I agree,” said Ziggy. “But the most important thing is getting my sister out of there.”

“Surely it’s important to get all three of them out.”

“But Zia mainly,” said Ziggy. “She’s just turned 16. She shouldn’t be in that place.”

“What did she do?” asked the Doctor, sitting down on the ground opposite them.

Ziggy finished the rest of his water and threw the bottle to the ground. “We’re from a really poor market town on a planet called Banttii. Zia made a mistake.”

“She stole some bread,” said Nao.

“She’s a teenager. She gets into trouble. She gets into scrapes. I tried to plead with the mayor but he said she needed to be made an example of. She’s been sentenced to two years.”

The Doctor shook his head. “That seems incredibly harsh.”

“Exactly,” said Ziggy. “Too harsh.”

“And what about you two?” said the Doctor, pointing between Ziggy and Nao.

“What about us?” said Nao, frowning. “We’re husband and wife. My sister-in-law’s in trouble so we’re getting her out.”

“My father died when Zia was a baby and my Mum passed away a few months back. I used the money from her will to buy a crate of a shuttle to sneak in down here and break her out.”

“It’s very admirable of you, but surely you could have asked for an appeal.”

“There’s no appeal. The Spire Security Force patrol this section of the galaxy and rule with an iron fist. If you’re in their territory,” continued Nao, “you’re under their rule.”

The Doctor sighed. “Same old corrupt company running unfair operations. I‘ve heard of the Rock before, but never had any desire to visit it for obvious reasons.”

“Exactly,” said Ziggy, “and we need to get Zia out of there quickly. She may have a two year sentence, but that doesn’t mean she’ll make it to two years. There are thieves and killers in that spike, Doctor. She won’t survive two months.”




The bearded man fell to the floor with a grunt as the red-headed girl landed on top of him, her hand around his throat as she squeezed harder.

The man tried to say something, but all he managed was a strangled grunt.

“What?” said the girl, her eyes glittering with rage.

“…please…”

“Do you promise not to come near me again, Fred?” said the girl.

The man tried to nod and the girl let him go. “Get lost you great, fat, bearded freak.”

The man scrambled to his feet as fast as he could and he ran away, followed by a chorus of mocking cheers.

The cell area was a circular walkway that round around the circumference of the spike with the cells against the walls. Through the centre of the spike was a long, drop right down to the bottom.

Holly peered over the barrier and she could see the different levels with various different prisoners going about their long, boring days.

Up above was a ceiling, which Holly presumed held the governors office and the hanger they had arrived in and possibly other officers. A lift in a cage led down to each level and ran through the centre of the spike. There was also a stairwell that led up to each level, but the door was caged off.

“This looks…grim,” said Holly.

“Yep,” said Lilly, sighing. “We’ll be alright though. The Doctor’ll get us out.”

“Are you sure about that?” said Holly.

“He’s always got me out of scrapes before.”

“Was there anyone else ever travelling with you and the Doctor before you met me?” said Holly. Even though she was faced with the harsh reality of being in a space prison, she still intended to probe further, especially after reading the diary extract.

“Nope,” said Lilly dismissively. “Just me and him.”

“Hey,” said the red-head, walking up to them and extending her hand. “Welcome to Theta-Spike.”

Holly shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“What they get you for?” said the girl.

“Just being here,” said Holly.

“Madness, isn’t it?”

“What did you do?” asked Holly.

“Stole some bread. Stupid, I know, but I was starving. Never expected to end up here.” The girl backtracked. “What are your names by the way?”

“I’m Holly and this here is Lilly.”

“I’m Zia. Zia Smith.”

“Good to meet you, Zia,” smiled Holly.

“Yep,” said Lilly, not wanting to get into another conversation. “Where are the empty cells?”

“Yours should be just around the bend,” said Zia with a smile.

“Cheers,” said Holly, giving her a polite smile and following Lilly.

They arrived at a cell door. The bars were rusty but it at least looked habitable. Inside were two beds with dirty looking mattresses and very flat pillows.

Holly sighed and wandered into the cell, sitting on one of the beds.

Lilly followed her in, and sat on the bed opposite Holly.

Holly looked worried. Sad and worried.

“You alright, Dangerfield?” said Lilly, leaning forward.

“Yeah,” said Holly. “I’m just…scared.”

“Of this place?” said Lilly looking around her.

“Well aren’t you?”

“I’m used to getting into scrapes with the Doctor,” said Lilly with a little smile. “I understand it must be tough for you.”

Holly nodded. “I didn’t expect this when I came travelling.”

“Hey,” said Lilly, leaning a little closer, “no matter how bad the situation gets, he will get us out of here.”

Holly looked doubtful.

“I mean it, Dangerfield. The Doctor will get us out.”

Holly managed a weak smile and was about to reply when they heard some commotion outside. A crowd rushed past the cell door and Lilly and Holly got up to see what was going on.

A crowd had gathered on the walkway but the two girls were having trouble seeing.

“It’s Shrall,” said Zia, who was stood further back, her arms folded. “He got into an argument with the bearded guy, Fred. He’ll never learn.”

“Who’s Shrall?” said Holly.

Suddenly the crowd parted, like Moses parting the Red Sea, and from behind the crowd came a huge, seven-foot walking toad coloured yellow with dark, black eyes. He was grinning as he held up Fred to the crowd, his huge hand around his neck.

“That’s Shrall,” said Zia, wearily.

“Fred here,” said Shrall, in a deep, gravelling voice, “believes I should be locked away in isolation. Kept away from you lot.”

The crowd were silent.

“Fred, is a danger to himself.”

Fred tried to speak, but the hand was clamped too tightly around his throat, his face a bright purple colour.

“Shall I tell Fred what happens to people who go up against me?” said Shrall.

“Yeah!” came a chorus of shouts from the crowd.

Shrall turned and held Fred over the barriers. Beyond was the long, long drop to the bottom. “He was always talking about wanting to break out of here.”

There were laughs and murmurs of approval from the crowd.

Fred looked at Shrall, tears in his eyes as he tried to shake his head.

“Well, let me give him his wish.”

Holly looked away as Shrall let go of Fred and he fell like a boulder - a screaming boulder - all the way down the shaft and hit the bottom with a thunderous splatter.

There was a huge cheer of approval from the crowd as Shrall flexed his muscles, laughed, took a swig of his drink, and then sauntered off back to his cell.

“That was awful,” said Holly, not daring to look over the barrier to see Fred’s broken and battered body.

“Yeah,” said Lilly with a cheeky grin. “We need that guy on our side.”




Wainwright sat in his office at the top of the spike, scratching his chin and watching the monitor showing the guards taking away Fred Barcombe’s broken body. He shook his head and then chuckled to himself. If the prisoners wanted to destroy each other then so be it. It made his job more easier.

The communications console beeped and Wainwright turned to the large screen that adorned one wall in his sparsely decorated, grey-walled office.

He flicked on the screen and a man in a suit with a slightly receding hairline and high forehead appeared, looking stern.

“Agent Matthews, how may I help?”

Matthews didn’t smile. He didn’t blink. “I understand that you have two new prisoners - a blonde girl and a dark-haired girl.”

“Indeed I do,” said Wainwright. “The both of them were caught trespassing near to Theta-Spike.”

“Did you capture them with anyone else? A man, perhaps?”

Wainwright frowned. “No. They were the only ones there. There’s a curious blue box parked on the cliffs, but so far my guards have been unable to break into it.”

“And there definitely wasn’t a man with them?”

“Absolutely not.”

Matthews sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“I have reason to believe that you have a Time Lord loose on your planet.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Wainwright with a nervous chuckle. “They don’t involve themselves in the affairs of the others. Even less so now.”

“This one does,” said Matthews. “I will be there very soon. In the meantime, if you find the man, make sure he doesn’t escape. I want him alive.”

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2 (Up Above the Streets and Houses)

Lilly has, worryingly, made friends with a terrorist called Shrall. He’s a big, ugly creature. He’s bright yellow with black eyes and the head of a frog. I don’t trust him. I’d rather be hanging around with Zia at the moment. She’s a teenager we met. She was imprisoned for stealing bread from a market town on some planet that I can’t remember the name of. Bantii or Banksy or something. Poor thing. She’s barely sixteen.

I’m trying not to get scared though. I keep telling myself it’ll all be okay. It will all work out.

I keep looking out of the small windows here hoping to see any sign of the Doctor, but all I see is the cold, grey sea and the cliffs.

Has he left us?




“Wake up, mate!” said the voice as a bucket of cold water was thrown over the Doctor’s face.

The Doctor sat bolt upright, trying to catch his breath.

Standing in front of him was a man with long, brown hair and a bushy beard. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and was stood in some form of combat uniform with a woolly hat jammed on his head.

“Did you have to?” said the Doctor.

“I needed to wake you up,” said the man with a smile.

“You didn’t need to make me go to sleep in the first place,” said the Doctor, rubbing his sore forehead.

“Yeah, sorry about that, mate,” said the man, “but I wasn’t sure you weren’t one of the Spikies.”

“Spikies?”

“One of the guards. The ones in the spikes?”

“I saw the alien structures, yes.”

“They’re not alien. They’re Human built.”

“Human built? Where are we exactly?”

“You mean you don’t know. How could you not know? You’re on the Rock.”

“You have to be kidding me?” said the Doctor, wobbling to his feet. “Please tell me that I haven’t sent my friends into certain danger yet again?”

“Do you mean the two birds that were trudging through the sand?”

“Yes, the two…birds,” said the Doctor, taking his boots off and wringing out his sodden socks.

“Yep, the Spikies got ‘em. Flew them up to Theta-Spike.”

The Doctor shook his head. “I knew it. I absolutely knew it. I can’t let either of them out of my sight for five minutes.”

“Be fair to them, mate, you got yourself caught as well.”

“Yes,” said the Doctor, looking around his new, cave-like surroundings, “who might you be?”

“The name’s Ziggy. Ziggy Smith.”

“Ziggy Smith? Seriously?” said the Doctor, a look of incredulity on his face.

“It’s a nickname really,” he said with a cheeky smile. “When I was a kid I used to watch this kids programme from the old times with this orange puppet that they used to zip up to stop him talking. My mum used to tell me that I needed a zip to shut me up. My real name’s Clive.”

“But his name was Zippy,” said the Doctor with a frown.

“Yeah, alright,” said Ziggy sheepishly. “Ziggy sounded cooler than Zippy.”

“Well,” said the Doctor, clambering to his feet, “I’d normally say it was nice to meet you…Ziggy, but I’m afraid I need to get my two friends out of that prison.”

“Ziggy!” came a female voice as a Japanese woman came running out of a tunnel brandishing a large blaster, dressed in brown, dirty combats and a bandana around her forehead. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the Doctor and frowned. “Who’s this?”

“That’s what I was about to ask, Nao. I found him wandering around outside.” Ziggy looked at the Doctor as he pulled his boots back on. “Name please, mate.”

The Doctor held out a hand. “You can call me the Doctor.”

“Doctor what?” he asked, taking the Doctor’s hand.

“Just the Doctor.”

“Gotta have a real name, chief,” said Ziggy, not releasing the Doctor’s hand.

“Okay. Doctor John Smith.”

“Smith!? Are you taking the Michael, Doc? We‘re definitely not related.”

“No, I’m most definitely not taking the Michael.” The Doctor turned and smiled at the woman with the blaster. “And you are…Nao, did he say?”

“That’s right,” said Nao, lifting the blaster up ever so slightly just to remind the Doctor that it was there.

“Good to meet you both. Ziggy and Nao. You sound like a Eurovision entry.”

“Alright, chief,” said Ziggy, finally releasing the Doctor’s hand and pushing past him. “I’ll get you patched up and then you can be on your way.”

“Not without my friends,” said the Doctor, removing his coat and placing it on a warm rock near a fire that had been set up in the centre of the cavern.

“We’ve got too much to do without trying to rescue more people?” said Ziggy.

“More people? Why? Who are you two?”

Nao stepped forward and put her blaster on the floor. She went in her pocket, took out an apple and a small knife and then started carving chunks off it. “We’re the people who are gonna break into Theta-Spike and rescue my sister in law.”




Holly and Lilly were sat next to each other at the back of the small patrol car. Their hands had been bound together with black, complicated handcuffs and the guard had not said anything to them since they had been bundled into the car.

They rose high above the beach and flew out across the grey sea. Holly looked down at the waves as they crashed against the rocks and shivered. She was scared, but she felt sure that the Doctor would get them out of this. He had to. It was a mistake after all.

They rose higher and higher into the sky as they moved forward. Holly peered over the guards shoulder through the front windscreen. One of the large, metal spike was getting closer and the closer they got the more detail she could see. It was about 250 feet tall with small windows running around its circumference from about 70 feet up. They got closer to the top of the spike were a small opening slid down to let the car in.

The car landed and Holly and Lilly were ordered to exit immediately.

“Easy, pal,” said Lilly, frowning at the guard.

He flashed her a smile, but she gave him the darkest look Holly had ever seen, erasing his smile.

“You know this is a mistake, yeah?” said Holly to the guard as she passed him.

“Just keep moving, miss,” he said.

“A mistake you say?” came a well-spoken voice.

Standing across the small hanger was a man with a bald head, white beard and dressed in a grey suit, his hands clasped together in front of him. He looked to be in his 60’s and peered over his half-moon glasses at the women.

“Yeah, a mistake,” said Lilly before Holly could answer.

“You do realise that the Rock is out of bounds to everyone, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone.”

“We understand that,” said Holly. “We landed here by mistake. We didn’t know it was the Rock.”

“By stealth, young lady,” said the man.

“I beg your pardon?” said Lilly.

“You came in a blue box that slowly materialised on the beach.”

“Yes, but-”

“You came to free the prisoners, didn’t you?”

“No of course not,” said Lilly.

“You’re part of that stupid rescue party, aren’t you? New recruits for them?”

“What?!” said Holly. “What brigade?”

“Ziggy Smith. There’s three of them out there. They think they can free one of their relatives.”

“Well we’re not a part of it,” said Lilly. “What’s your name?”

“Governor Wainwright. You can call me, ‘sir‘.”

“Well, Mr Wainwright, you have to believe us when we say that it’s a mistake that we’re here. Our ship has materialisation capabilities and we were simply letting the ship repair itself before we took off again.”

“Whether I believe you or not - and I will get to the bottom of it - you’re still trespassing, and the only way to learn from your mistakes is to serve your punishment.”

“But we didn’t do anything wrong!” said Holly, starting to really worry.

“I’m sentencing you to 12 months in Theta-Spike.”

“Without a trial!?” spat Holly.

“You are guilty of trespassing. That much is obvious.” He turned to the guard. “Lt. Banks, take them down to the cells. Make sure they are looked after, but make sure they realise the full extent of what they have done.”

“Yes, sir,” said Banks, with a salute.

“You can’t do this,” said Holly, as Banks grabbed both girls by the arms and ushered them away.

“I can, young lady,” said Wainwright. “And nobody out there will stop me.”

To be continued...

Prisons in the Sky (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1 (Grey Beaches and Stormy Skies)

I have no idea why I‘m writing this, but I’m hoping it might help me come to terms with what has happened. We’ve been here twelve hours and there’s certainly no way we’re getting out of here. Not any time soon anyway. All I can hope is that the Doctor’s out there somewhere trying to find a way out of this for us.

Lilly’s already busy making plans to escape, but I have absolutely no idea how we’re going to break out of this prison.




Sixteen Hours Ago




Holly hadn’t really had a chance to explore the TARDIS since arriving. After flinging herself through the doors she had been thrown into the events with the Coronation crew and the Cybermen and had barely had a chance to actually think about what was going on.

After they had made the terrifying spacewalk from the Coronation to the TARDIS (Holly had almost thrown up in her space helmet), the Doctor had set about programming the controls to take her home. Holly didn’t want to go home though. She had just started this wild adventure and she wasn’t ready for it to be over just yet.

She begged - almost on her hands and knees - for the Doctor to take her on one more trip. Eventually he caved in, but warned that he needed to spend a bit of time mending some of the TARDISes systems after it was cast adrift in space.

Lilly had, reluctantly, taken Holly through an array of corridors leading off from the control room to find her a room to relax in. Holly found it amusing how, as soon as Lilly had gotten back into her comfort zone - aka the TARDIS - she had returned to her frosty self with no hint whatsoever of the frightened girl she had had to comfort back on Remos.

Lilly opened the door to a small, dimly lit bedroom, turned a dimmer switch to brighten it up, made her excuses and headed back to the control room.

The room was basic. The same circular pattern that was in the control room adorned the walls of this room and a big, double-bed with white sheets sat in the corner next to a bedside table.

She laid down and smiled at the softness of the mattress. She wouldn’t be sleeping in here though, unfortunately. She wouldn’t be here long enough.

She sat back up and pulled open the draw in the bedside cabinet. She frowned. Inside was a small book with a cartoon cat on the cover.

She opened it up and inside were handwritten journal entries. It was a diary. She read the first one:




Dear Diary,




First day on board the TARDIS. I’m kind of excited really. I know Lilly doesn’t really want me here, but I’m not letting my sister do this without me, not after we found each other at last. This new Doctor seems nice enough and so far everything he has said has been the truth. I just hope Lilly can try and leave her past behind her.

I often wonder what life would have been like if she’d stayed with the rest of the family.

Well, that’s all for now. The Doctor’s just shouted me and we’re about to land. I wonder where this ship will take us first?




Holly looked up from the book.

Lilly has a brother or sister, she thought to herself. So where is he or she now?

“Dangerfield!” came Lilly’s voice from back up the corridor.

She slammed the book shut and flung it back into the draw, quickly closing it.

Lilly burst into the room. “Did you hear me shouting?”

“Yeah,” said Holly.

“Why didn’t you answer then?” said Lilly.

“I…was asleep.”

“You must be knackered,” said Lilly. “Anyway, no time for that. The Doctor needs to put us down to make the repairs so he thought this might be an opportunity for you to see another alien world.”

“Fantastic!” said Holly, making a mental note to return to the diary when she got back in.

“Don’t get too excited,” said Lilly, “it’s just some rocky world in the backside of nowhere.”

They headed for the control room where the time rotor in the centre of the console was coming to a rest and the engines stopped with a thud. The Doctor rubbed his hands together and smiled at Holly.

“So the TARDIS is damaged badly?” said Holly.

“Not exactly,” said the Doctor, “but the engines need to re-charge before we can take off again. She’s already repairing the surface damage by herself. Should only take about an hour. Self-recharging you see.”

“And we can go outside?” said Holly, looking at the doors.

“I don’t see why not,” said the Doctor. “Check the readings, Lilly.”

Lilly looked at the console. “Oxygen and Gravity are normal. Atmosphere is normal too. No spacesuits needed.”

“Thank god for that!” said Holly, eyeing up her crumpled suit on the floor beside the console.




The landscape wasn’t much to look at. The TARDIS had landed on the top of a cliff and all that could be seen as far as the eye could see was cold, grey water and rocky beaches. The one thing that did stand out, however, were four spires that reached up from far out in the sea and high into the sky.

“Rain,” said Lilly, glumly.

“What are they?” said Holly, nodding towards the spires.

“No idea,” said the Doctor. “Some ancient alien structure perhaps?”

“Can we go and look?” said Holly.

“I am not wading through water again,” said Lilly, remembering last time.

“True,” said Holly. “I don’t much fancy that either, but can we at least go down to the beach?”

“I don’t see why not,” said the Doctor. He gazed out towards the spires. “It all looks quiet. Just be careful on your way down. Those rocks look slippery.”

“What about you?” said Lilly.

“I’m going to have a look back this way,” he said, thumbing over his shoulder towards some scrubby grass with a few small, grey hills in the distance.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” said Holly as Lilly made her way towards the slippery path that led down to the beach.

“Holly, nothing is a sure thing,” said the Doctor. And then grinned. “But surely that’s the fun of it?”

Holly nodded and smiled and then followed Lilly towards the path.

The route down was more treacherous than they had initially thought. Although the pathway was quite a gentle decline, the rocks were slippery and the two women ended up nearly crouching to get down. But when they finally reached the bottom it was a different scenario. The beach was grey, wet sand - almost slush - and their feet sunk into the mush.

“Lovely,” said Lilly.

“We should have brought wellies,” said Holly, trying to scrape some sand off her trainers and onto a nearby rock.

“We can always go back up,” said Lilly, wearily looking back up at the cliff.

“Nah,” said Holly, trudging off across the beach, “let’s live life dangerously!”

“You’re getting brave,” said Lilly.

“When have I not been brave?” said Holly.

“You weren’t very brave when you were spacewalking. That helmet would have taken weeks to clean out, you know?!”

“Cheeky!” said Holly. “It was my first time, you know?”

“I know, I know. I’m kidding. You’re just an amateur.”

Holly saw the window of opportunity opening again. “How long have you been travelling with the Doctor?”

“A while now,” said Lilly, kicking a large, purple pebble out of her way.

“How long’s a while?”

“You like digging don’t you, Dangerfield?”

“I gotta try,” said Holly shrugging. “My parents used to take me to the beach when I was little, before Agatha came along. I used to love it. I used to roll my jeans up to my knees and wade into the water.”

“You don’t wanna wade into that lot,” said Lilly, nodding towards the grey water. “What a dump this place is.”

“Yeah,” said Holly. “There’s not much to see, is there?”

Back towards the cliff in a small, secluded cave, a number of eyes watched Holly and Lilly, unseen to them.




The Doctor hadn’t gotten very far but he was already bored. He was no closer to the grey hills, and the scrubland around him was as depressing as anything he had been depressed at before. He was about to give up and go back when he spotted something up ahead. Just a little off to the right was a small cluster of slab-like stones - and he was sure one of them had moved.

He checked his watch - thirty minutes and the TARDIS would be in working order again - and then made his way in the direction of the stones.

When he eventually got there it had started raining and he shivered, fastening up his coat and pushing his sodden hair out of his face. He crouched down over the slab that he was sure had moved and knocked on it.

Nothing.

He tried to lift it himself but it was too heavy. In fact it didn’t budge at all, which he found odd. Odd because even though it would be incredibly heavy, he should have been able to rock it at least. It was almost as though it was fixed down.

He got to his feet, tapped the stone with his foot, sighed, looked at the sky - it was teaming down with rain now - and then decided to head back to the TARDIS. Whatever was under the stone would have to wait until it had stopped raining.

He turned to go and when he was barely five metres away he heard a sound from behind him. He turned to look, but all he saw was something large and dark hitting him between his eyes before he blacked out.




Holly and Lilly were stood by the waters edge when the rain started coming down faster and harder. The two girls pulled their coats up to cover their hair. They were about to turn and go when a sound came from the vicinity of the spires.

It sounded like an alarm and was as loud as an air raid siren. A constant VOOT-VOOT.

“What the hell’s that?” said Lilly, looking for what the commotion was all about.

“Look over there!” said Holly, pointing towards the spires as a small flying object soon became a bigger object. The closer it got the more they realised that it was actually some kind of flying vehicle. It was a small, white pod with black stripes running down the sides and a flashing blue light on top.

“I think we better go,” said Holly, turning to leave.

“Don’t even think about it!” came a voice over a loudspeaker attached to the flying car.

“What have we done?” asked Lilly, sensing the menace in the voice.

The car descended and a man in black armour and brandishing a large, canon-like weapon aimed it at the two woman.

“What?” said Holly, her arms outstretched.

“You’re both under arrest.”

“Under arrest? For what?” said Lilly with an incredulous laugh.

“Under arrest for trespassing on the Rock.”

“This place?” said Lilly. “Oh crap, this is the Rock?”

“Have you heard of it before?” said Holly.

“Yep. Unfortunately so,” said Lilly with a grim face. “It’s a prison planet.”

To be continued...