〖 DALEKS OF MANHATTAN 〗
THE SMELL WAS almost more then what Valarie could handle. She visibly cringed when her feet stepped on something that squished and crunched under her shoes. "Oh, not that bad." The Doctor teased, rubbing her back.
"Turn left. Go, about half a mile." Mr.Diagros instructed after handing out flashlights to some of them. "Follow tunnel two-seventy-three. Can't miss it." He instructed.
"And when do we get our dollar?" The boy who tagged along asked. "When you come back up." He replied.
"And if we don't?" The Doctor asked boldly.
"Then I got no one to pay."
The response stuck with Valarie. She looked to Martha, who shared the same expression. "Don't worry, we'll be back." Solum stated, as the group began to chug along. The Doctor lingered, simply staring at Mr.Diagros long and hard. Valarie stayed back too, a hand gripping lighting on his upper arm, as she didn't like the constant squeaking of rats and bugs around her and found him more comforting.
He eventually pulled away and followed behind the rest of the group, Valarie holding their shared flashlight. Martha has began to talk to the boy, and has discovered his name was Frank and he was from Tennessee ( born and breed, as he put it ). "So why are you here?" Martha asked.
"Oh, daddy died. Momma couldn't afford to feed us all, so being the oldest I was sent out to feed myself. A lot of runaways come up here."
"So what about you? Your a long way from home." He snorted, remarking to her differing accent.
"So, this Diagros, who is he?" The Doctor asked Solum. "He was a Farmer, but now he seems to own half of Manhattan." Solum revealed.
"It's funny. Some of us went from being king of the hill to nothing in a day. Guess it works the opposing way too." Solum sighed. The Doctor suddenly stuck a arm out, halting Valarie before she could step on a mass of what looked like tissue. She gasped, staring at it in disgust.
"What is it?" Martha asked as he knelt by it. Valarie followed suit. "Whatever it is, it isn't fresh." Valarie clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to not smell it. She gagged when the Doctor rolled his sleeves up and picked it up.
"And you've got to go and touch it?" She asked as he sniffed it he held it up, and instructed Martha to hold the flashlight to one side.
"Martha, medical opinion?" He asked her. "It's not human. Whatever it is." She stated. He agreed with her quickly, and suddenly shot up.
"Then again, we've been walking for miles. No sign of a collapse." He observed, the whole situation becoming suddenly very suspicious. "Well what's above?" Martha asked, shinning her flashlight upwards.
"Well, we are right under Manhattan."
"Well, let's keep walking. Maybe there's a collapse somewhere and he's bad with directions." Valarie insinuated. The group agreed to her idea, and began to walk. After fifteen more minutes, and no sign of a collapse, the truth became more clear.
"That Diagros bloke, was he lying?" Martha asked, wanting to be sure she wasn't the only who had came to that realization. "Appears so." The Doctor responded. "Solum I think you need to take these three back. I'll be quicker on my own." The Doctor instructed. From the darkness of the tunnel, a high pitched squeal matching that of a pig echoed. Everyone's head spin as they seemed to come from around.
"Hello?!" Frank boomed. Solum shushed him quickly. "What if that's what happens to the people that go down here?" Solum implied. "We haven't seen no bodies." Frank mumbled. "What've they just got lost."
"I've never heard anyone make a sound like that." Solum replied. "Where's it coming from?" Frank asked. The Doctor began to wander down a branching tunnel, holding his flashlight up. The squealing continued.
"This way." One implied. "No, this way." Another said. "Doctor." Martha whispered, shaken. All eyes turned to the source that she shined her light at. In the end of a tunnel, slumped on the ground and against the wall was a figure.
"Are you lost?" Frank asked it. "Can you understand me? I think folk get lost down here.-""It's alright Frank." The Doctor stooped. He approached the figure. "Frank has a point, though. Hate to be lost, but we know the way out." The Doctor knelt before the figure. What they once thought to be human was not human at all; for rather then a mans face looking back it was a humanoid pig's. It grumbled softly.
"Is that some carnival mask?" Solum asked. "Afraid not." The Doctor replied, before sighing and silently murmuring "I'm sorry." to it.
"I can help." He informed it, not noticing the several new shadows casting on the wall. "Doctor." Valarie Warner, as from a open archway near the tunnel more pig-men emerged. They seemed more frightening then the one they had just encountered. The Doctor stood and began to walk backwards, away from them.
"They're following you." Martha gulped.
"Noticed that, thanks." The Doctor backed his way into the group. He gulped as the pig-men slowly approached. "Martha, Valarie, Solum, Frank." "Yeah?" "Run!" He cried.
Both groups broke into a mad dash; the pig-men squealing and screaming as they chased them. Valarie's lungs burned and she would've questioned how she ended up in this situation if the pig-men weren't so close on their heels. The Doctor kept a hand on Martha and Valarie. They ran past a archway, but were immediately ripped back by the Doctor.
"The ladder!" He yelled, climbing up it first. He pulled his sonic out, and soniced all around the rim. He then popped it out of place with ease and climbed out; everyone following suit. Valarie was the last out, and she was shoved out of the way by Solum. "Frank!" He yelled into the hole. Frank was trying to climb up, but the pig-men has a grip on his legs. The Doctor and Solum desperately grabbed at his hands. But in the end, it wasn't enough and he fell back onto the ground below, surrounded by the pig-men.
Solum quickly pulled the manhole cover back over, among the Doctor's screams for him to stop. Martha and Valarie cowered together in the corner, obviously shaken from what they had just seen.
"I'm not losing anyone else!" Solum bellowed at the Doctor. "If we go back they'll get us all. I'm sorry." Solum whimpered, obviously distraught with having to let Frank go. Among the chaos, a new person spun from behind a book shelf in the room.
"Alright, put them up." A small, petite, blonde woman held the gun, waving it between the members of the group. They quickly complied, putting their hands up.
"Now, you shmooks, what've you done with Lazlo?" She asked. Valarie frowned, hands still raised. "Who?"
————
After explaining their situation, ( or lying their way out, ), and what seemed to be hours passed by, the woman revealed her reasoning for asking where 'Lazlo' is.
"Lazlo is, or was, my boyfriend. Until two weeks ago, he vanished. No goodbye, letter, nothing." She waved the gun, siting at a makeup table.
"And I know most guys are pigs but not my Lazlo! I mean, what kinda guy runs before he meets my mom?" She continued to ramble, but the Doctor interrupted her.
"Yeah, sure, would love to help. But only if you put that down." She seemed confused at first, but suddenly remembered the gun she had been carelessly waving. She rolled her he's and nodded, tossing it into a hamper of clothes. Valarie flinched when she tossed it so carelessly.
"Oh, c'mon." She laughed. "It's not real! It's a prop. It was either that or a spear." She giggled, proving be somewhat of a harmless woman.
"What happened to Lazlo?" Martha asked. "Wish I knew. One day he's there, then zip. Vanished." She said, cleaning some red lipstick up off her face were it smeared.
"What's your name?" The Doctor asked, approaching her. "Tallulah. Three 'l's and a 'h'."
"Well, Tallulah, people are going missing all over the city, every night." He informed her.
"There are creatures. Such creatures."
"What do you mean it's creatures?" She asked Solum. The Doctor reaches into his coat, and retrieved the lump of, whatever, from the sewers. She was immediately appalled by it.
"I need to know what this is, so I know what we are fighting."
"Yeah." Tallulah mumbled, obviously wishing he would just put the damn thing away.
————
Tallulah was a performer. She revealed this to Martha and Valarie while Solum and the Doctor left to work on something— some 'DNA' thing. Tallulah was putting her earrings in as she gushed about Lazlo to the girls.
"He would wait for me after the show, walk me home like a real lady. He would leave a flower on my dresser. Everyday, just a single rosebud."
"Haven't you reported him missing?" Martha asked, standing up and leaning against her dressing table. "He's just a stage hand." Tallulah sighed.
"How about you make a big fuss about it?" Valarie suggested, shrugging. "Yeah, then they fire me." She snorted.
"But you're the star." Martha sighed dreamily. "Oh, honey, I've got one song and back street review— and that's only because Hiddy broke her ankle. Which, I was not involved in." She laughed. She shook her head.
"I can't afford to stop. Can't pay rent. There's a depression going on sweetie." She stood up to face Martha. "The show stops, you starve." She sighed with a forgiving smile.
"Martha, go see if he's got his parts. Should be back by now. I'll stay with Tallulah." Valarie vouched, now worried as to where exactly the Doctor has taken off too. She knew he had a nasty habit of slipping off. Martha nodded, "Was about to do that. Break a leg, Tallulah. But not like Hiddy." She joked, and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Tallulah turned to Valarie, not done with the conversation just yet.
"Every night I have to go out there. Sing, dance. Hope he comes back." She suddenly teared up, as if being alone with her finally allowed her to cry. Valarie hugged her tightly, feeling horrible for her. Truth be told, Valarie had a awful feeling about where Lazlo could be. Then again, they may have gotten caught up in a bad romance. Tallulah patter her back and pulled away, doting her eyes.
"But you're a lucky gal; got a forward guy with that hot potato in a sharp suit." It took Valarie a moment to realize what she's implying, before she quickly shook her head. "No, we aren't together like that."
"Oh, sure you aren't. I've seen the way you look at him, keeping yourself by his side the whole time. Being worried about him; it's pretty obvious doll!" Tallulah laughed, picking up a faux pair of angel wings and slipping them onto her back.
"Is it?" She asked through a gritted smile. Valarie hated to admit it; but there was a possibility she had a tiny, tiny, tiny crush on him. She felt her cheeks inflamed with the embarrassment.
"Oh, I should've realized. He's into musical theater, isn't he?" Valarie began to protest, not quite understanding her analogy. "Well, there's still hope. Look." She said, picking up a white rose off the table and holding it in front of her.
"Every show, still." She sighed. Valarie gently took the rose into her hands. "Think it's Lazlo?" Valarie asked, looking at the rose.
"I don't know!" She whimpered with a smile. "If it is, why is he being all secretive like he doesn't want me to see him?" She sighed. There was a cry from behind her. "Tallulah!" A urgent voice called. Tallulah looked at the door, and took the rose from Valarie's hands.
"I gotta go. Wish me luck." She smiled.
And with that, Tallulah left Valarie to her own thoughts. She began to exactly wonder what her relationship with the Doctor was.
————
Martha and Valarie had gotten an exclusive showing of the show; they stood behind a curtain, watching Tallulah. She was dressed like an angel, surrounded by other dancers in red.
"You lure me in, with your cold grey eyes." Valarie began to hum along, recognizing the song. Martha looked to her with a smile. Valarie sheepishly smiles back. "My grandpa was from New York. In fact, he maybe walking around here right now." She snorted at the thought of bumping into him.
The two watched the show, whilst the Doctor was more fascinated in the clump of tissue. Neither girl was sure where he was hiding with it and some device he had made from a old clock.
Tallulah began to dance between the red clad dancers, when Martha noticed it across the stage. She tugged Valarie's arm, and pointed. Immediately, Valarie began to try to sneak across the stage. They accidentally knocked a dancer or two down in the process before Tallulah snapped. "You're spoiling it!" She cried, before Martha pointed at the figure.
Tallulah screamed, as did the other dancers. The figure has a big snout, and mouth but otherwise appeared like a man. He bolted, Valarie hot on his heels. "Wait!" Martha screamed, following her. She was caught up in the group of Tallulah and her dancers however, and merely watched Valarie vanish down the hall. The Doctor soon joined the group, frantic.
"Martha?!" He shouted, and sighed in relief when she stuck her arm up. "Martha, where's Valarie?" He asked. "She chases this thing off stage, I don't know where they went I couldn't keep up!
Valarie followed him into the room they had emerged from earlier, only to see him vanish down a manhole back into the sewers. She huffed, looking around and putting her hands on her hips. She turned to leave, only for a pig-man to be waiting. This one was more grotesque then the one she was trying to apprehend, and more violent as it grabbed her wrists.
She let a blood curling scream out, as it threw her over its shoulder and began to retreat into the sewers.
The Doctor, Martha, and Tallulah came rushing, to find an empty room and the manhole cover ajar.
"Where are you going?" Tallulah asked them, as the Doctor threw his long coat on. "They've taken her." Martha answered, as the Doctor began to lower into the sewer.
"What are you doing?!" Tallulah asked as Martha began to descend down also. "I said, what are you doing!" Tallulah whined. She mumbled, and grabbed a cover and began to come down the ladder.
"No. No, no!" He yelled as he saw Tallulah coming down. "Whoever took Val could've taken Lazlo!" She argued.
"You're not safe down here."
"That's my problem."
"Which way?" She asked threw gritted teeth.
( UNEDITED )
Hi! Just want to note updates will now be weekly! Once or twice a week, same goes for any other books I publish. I'm really feeling the Daleks of Manhattan and I can't wait to finish this one out! Please keep in mind that Daleks of Manhattan is a two part episode, (Daleks of Manhattan is followed by Evolution of the Daleks)