Making Memories, chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Secret Room
As the Doctor walked down the hallway of the Psyc hotel towards his room, he found it exceedingly difficult to shake the memory of Rose, his Rose, out there somewhere, stranded in some carbon copy of the very universe he now found himself in, so close and yet so incomprehensibly far away.

And then there was Martha. Martha was a friend, a good friend, but she could be nothing more than a friend, not until the memory of Rose faded away, and it never would. Still, he was fairly fond of Martha. She kept his mind busy, allowed him to keep on the journey, offered him some peace. Yet, despite all the adventures, despite the insurmountable distance between them, his thoughts were still drawn to Rose, whether he wished it or not.

He shook his head to clear it, choosing instead to ponder over any event that might have drawn Drexicon, Rinda, and the other guests he had met back together, or over why Trydians, a self-centered, self-aggrandizing race, would hire Psychla, who were known frauds, cheats, and liars.

The first of these ponderings, what had drawn the guests back together, was the easiest to search for. The Trydians had advertisements for various things all over their resorts. These advertisements were decorative, to be sure. They were done electronically and they were so skillfully done that the ads appeared to be stitched directly to the tapestries themselves, in a gold font that meshed beautifully with the golden tapestries. They were completely uniform in design as well, a concept Trydians loved to employ in their decorations and architecture. As such, if something needed to stand out, it was simply enlarged, with some words or phrases almost a full meter in height.

It was these words, the ones meant to draw such attention, that he was looking for, though he did skim some of the smaller text for posterity.

Finally, he came across the biggest text he had yet seen. The way the tapestry draped allowed the ad to span the height of the wall from ceiling to floor. He took a step back from the wall to view the whole thing. The word "Reunion" comprised most of the ad, the slightly smaller text beneath it reading: "To those who helped us get off the ground, we are happy to invite you back as we introduce a new feature to the Reading Experience--" But, before he could read any further he was interrupted by a loud scream.

"Hey, that's mine!" echoed down the hallway, as two young Trydian boys raced past the Doctor, weaving in and out of groups of guests at top speed, followed by a young girl who was hampered by an overly ornate golden dress. As she followed behind them, handfuls of long dress clutched in her fists, straining her voice, repeating over and over, "It's mine, give it back!" she quite suddenly and without warning tripped over the hem of her dress and fell tumbling right into the Doctor, sending both her and him flying through the tapestry.

It took the doctor a moment to realize what had happened, as he was now in a giant heap, a young disheveled girl trying to untangle herself from him. Much to his surprise, the two had not slammed into a wall but, rather, had tumbled right through the tapestry and into a darkened room beyond.

Before he could look around and take in the surroundings, the girl kneed him hard in the gut, and although it was an accident, he let out a pained groan. After she had managed to stand, she gave him an apologetic smile. She was silent for a minute, studying him as he, too, made to stand.

"I am so sorry," she said, her voice more dreamy than apologetic. "I-- my brothers--" she trailed off and looked deeply into his eyes for several moments.

Feeling somewhat awkward at the unexpected attention, all the Doctor managed to say was, "No harm done," but as he looked back into her eyes he furrowed his brow. "Have we met somewhere before?"

She blushed and giggled, "I don't think so. I'd have remembered someone as handsome as you."

Now it was his turn to blush and he quickly diverted his attention to his surroundings, slowly gazing around the darkened room. It was a relatively small room, with a set of steps at the far end. "Do you know where we are?"

She put a finger thoughtfully to her lips and gazed around the room. "I've never seen this room before," but before she could say more, he was already halfway down the steps. She hurried to catch up to him, much to his surprise, though he made no comment.

"You certainly are adventurous," she complimented, smiling at him.

"That I am," he replied as he made his way down to the end of the steps, where a locked metal door stood, barring any further exploration.

"Dead end," the Trydian girl stated, but before the Doctor could respond to her assertion, he heard a faint yet unnerving high pitched sound coming from the door.

The Trydian girl had heard it too and stared at the door warily, as if unsure if it might bite her. "I can see why it's locked," she said wrinkling her nose in distaste, but the Doctor shushed her and pressed his ear to the door.

As he listened a look of horror crossed his face and he quickly grasped the door handle and started pulling at it with all the force he could muster.

The girl, startled by the abrupt change of his nature, took a few steps back from him, her own face clouded with fear. "It's locked!" she yelled, as if, perhaps, he might have just forgotten.

The Doctor jerked his head around at her. "Do you know where this door leads?" his voice was strained, frantic, yet deathly serious.

"I-I told you I don't know," she fumbled over her words.

He turned back to the door and hastily, pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver that it might unlock the door, but to no avail, the door was deadlocked and sealed. He whirled back around to face her. "People are being hurt, tortured. They're screaming, they may be dying in there! Now, I'll ask you one more time, do you know where this leads?"

His face, his voice, his whole persona, were suddenly very frightening to her. She made to gesture at the heavy purple curtains that draped the door, half obscured by the darkness of the room, still trying to muster enough courage to break through her fear and speak. "T-the Psycla," she began, her voice barely audible as she trembled. "They, they decorate their reading rooms like that."

"Where's the nearest reading room?" he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and bending to be at eye level with her. His voice was slightly more calm, but this new position allowed him to look her directly in the eyes, which she found almost more unnerving. But they were beautiful, his eyes were, she convinced herself, and she used them to try to once again get her voice out.

"They keep them in the spas, for the t-tourists," she managed, and before she could say another word, he had brushed past her and was already at the top of the stairs.

After he'd cleared the room, she hurried back out into the hall herself, and made to replace the tapestry and once again hide the hole.

The Doctor ran through the hall, pushing past and maneuvering around startled guests, and finally running into the spa. He paused briefly to glance around the room until he spotted a doorway in the back draped with heavy purple curtains and, without any further delay, darted towards it.

"What are you doing?" Bri shouted as she darted from her desk to stop him. Before she could reach the doorway, however, Cycradia blocked his path.

"Let me pass," came the Doctor's voice, through gritted teeth.

Once the words passed his lips, Bri arrived on the scene. "What's all this?" she asked folding her arms.

"People are being hurt! I heard the screams!" the Doctor said as he tried to wrench past Cycradia.

"And where did you get such an idea? I assure you, no one is being hurt, sir," Bri stated with a nod.

"Don't waste pleasantries on him." Cyrcradia stated with a grimace, "he's a troublemaker, always has been."

Bri shot Cycradia a dark look. "He is a customer," she reprimanded.

"His lodging was complimentary," Cycradia corrected.

Bri's demeanor immediately changed upon hearing this. "Do I need to call security?"

"I need to get in there!" the Doctor pleaded, ignoring their chatter.

"Such a reaction," Cycradia said, with a knowing smile that unnerved him. "You know, your friend was far more receptive to our services."

His eyes widened. "Martha," he whispered to himself. He whipped around, scanning the room for any sign of her, but she was nowhere to be found.

"You won't find her here," Cycradia said, enjoying his torment.

He spun back around to face her and shoved his Sonic Screwdriver to her throat. "What did you do to her?" he said menacingly.

She ignored him, and instead looked to Bri. "Bri, dear, I think you'd better call security."

All Bri needed was the word and she was immediately on the phone with someone.

"If this is all because of that stupid grudge--"

Cycradia abruptly turned her attention to the Doctor, and cut him off. "I assure you it is nothing of the sort," she said, now clearly annoyed by his display. She pushed his Sonic Screwdriver aside with little effort. "Why don't you ask her yourself, Doctor?"

"Where is she?" the Doctor asked through gritted teeth as two large Trydian guards entered the spa and began looking for the source of the commotion. "For God's sake, where is she?!"

"Well, Doctor, we don't have her, and she's clearly not with you, so I'd wager she's likely in your room, or, perhaps, somewhere else. Either way, I suggest you leave, or we'll be happy to escort you out," Cycradia said with a sickeningly sweet smile.

Just as she'd said the words, the two guards greeted them. "What is the problem?"

"Well, the problem depends on whether or not the Doctor here chooses to leave the premises peacefully."

The two guards eyed the Doctor carefully, and Bri positioned herself safely behind them and glared at him.

His jaw clenched, he said nothing, turned from all of them, and quickly headed towards his room.