Chapter One Hundred and Seven: The Waters of Mars

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TW// Drowning

Ed and Yuri wait for us in the sickbay. They don't register our presence, too busy watching the creature inside a glass quarantine bay. "Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" the Captain asks.

"No, just basic."

"Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

He paces over to the monitor attached to the glass. "Pulse is low. Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

I shakily lower myself onto a seat at the central desk. My chest seizes and I stifle a cough in the crook of my elbow. When I look back up, I find Maggie's eyes piercing into mine. Unlike Andy's, her irises are still their natural, dark brown.

Adelaide approaches the window. "Can she talk?"

"Don't know. She was talking before we noticed the change, but..."

She approaches, scared to come too close. "Maggie? Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

Maggie places her hand flat against the window. Like with Andy, water pools from each dip of her fingers, trickling down to the floor. Our eye contact doesn't break. The Doctor speaks up in an unfamiliar tongue, "Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrelinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn."

We all look at him in bewilderment. It is enough to have attracted her attention to him instead. "What language is that?" Ed asks.

"Ancient North Martian."

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide scoffs, crossing her arms.

"It's like she recognised it."

I clear my throat. It doesn't feel like the tickle left by some sort of cold, it is much deeper. Like something is slowly clawing its way up my oesophagus, unable to be ignored. I lean forward, resting on my elbows, trying to slow my breathing.

Oblivious, the Doctor continues to study her. "Her eyes are different. They're clear, like she's closer to human."

"Not close enough for me," Ed mutters darkly.

He chooses to ignore the comment, looking back to the Captain. "Where do you get your water from?"

"The ice field. That's why we chose the crater, we're on top of an underground glacier."

"Tons of water. Marvellous."

Unconvinced, Yuri shakes his head. "But every single drop is filtered. It's screened, it's safe."

He grimaces. "Looks like it, yeah."

"If something was frozen down there... a viral life form, held in the ice for all those years..."

"Look at her mouth," the Doctor tells them, tilting his head with her as she watches him. "All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it creates water." Urged on by the realisation, he demands, "Tell me what you want."

Yuri anxiously nods to the desk where I sit. The computer shows a satellite image of the globe. "She was looking at the screen. She was looking at Earth. She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

My coughing has gotten worse. I can't stop it anymore, doubled over, desperately trying to breathe through the spasms. The air in the room doesn't seem to reach me, as if another panic attack is coming on. The Doctor rushes to my side, patting my back and trying to bring my face up to look at him. "Inara? Inara, what's wrong?"

A gurgling sound escapes me as I try to get words out. Feeling waves of nausea take over, I turn my head to the side. Yuri anticipates me and pushes a cardboard bowl towards me. But the liquid I retch out is not acidic, it is pure. It's water.

Dropping the bowl with a yelp, Yuri jumps away from me. "She's infected! Get away! Get away!"

I do my best to swallow so that I don't splash anyone and stagger away until my back hits the glass. "Wait. Wait, no! I'm— I'm not— I can't be. Doctor, tell them!"

He is frozen. His eyes are impossibly wide, fixed on me. I can practically see every possibility run through his mind.

I have to raise my voice to snap him out of it. "Doctor, please!"

Still, nothing. I try to take a step towards him but suddenly Adelaide has her gun in her hands, and it's aimed at me. "Don't come any closer!" she bellows.

Instantly, the Doctor is awakened, and so is his fury. "Put the gun down!"

"She's infected, you saw."

"But I'm not like the others." Finding my reflection in the glass out of the corner of my eye, I gesture frantically to it. "See? My mouth and eyes, they're normal."

Uncertain, Yuri regards me from a distance. "Maggie was normal."

"I am not asking you, I'm telling. Put the gun down, now!"

"I didn't touch any water. At— At least, I don't think I did. I don't remember." A sharp pain has started to develop in my head. I wince, blinking rapidly to try and clear it.

Storming towards them, the Doctor puts himself right in front of the gun. His voice softens but still carries the quiet rage, the like I have witnessed only on rare occasions. "Adelaide, I can help you. But keep pointing that gun at my wife and you will make an enemy of me. Trust me, you don't want that."

She is reluctant but does as he says, her glare never leaving me. "You saw the water, Doctor."

With a nod from me, he reluctantly scans me with his sonic screwdriver. One look at the results is enough to make him look sick. I do my best to smile, hoping against hope that it may reassure him. "Be honest, Doctor. Am I infected?"

"There's... an abnormality. I can't say for certain."

"I said—"

"I am being honest. Your body is changing, swinging between normality and something else. Like your cells are fighting it off. I-It probably affects you differently than it does humans."

Taking a deep breath, I swallow again, urging myself not to gag despite how awful I feel, and look to Adelaide. "The quarantine bay won't hold Maggie for long, but I can. And she can't exactly infect me now, so I can study how this progresses, maybe come up with a solution." Knowing that this is a fixed point in time, I'm not sure how exactly I can help, but I want to. She stares at me, quite taken aback. "Well, do you have a better idea?"

"Fine. Yuri, open the quarantine airlock. The door to the bay can only be opened from the outside, so you'd better hope someone's here to let you out once this is over. If you try anything, Inara, if you come too close, I will shoot you."

"I'm holding you to that, Adelaide Brooke," I tease weakly.

When Yuri heads for the door, the Doctor blocks his way. "I don't give a damn if she's infected. You're not locking her in there!"

I have to fight my hardest to keep my voice steady. "We can't risk the possibility of this virus spreading. But if I have access to Maggie, I can try to help her." Wanting nothing more than to hold him, I resort to fidgeting with my rings just to feel something remotely connected to him. "Don't worry about me, Doctor, I can take care of myself. Get out of here if you can. I'll find my own way out once this is over. Please, just trust me."

He seems small again, tiny, crushed under the weight of decision. "I can't lose you," he utters, just a whisper.

"Then let me do this," I urge him. "Give me a chance to understand this virus. Let me save myself."

He still wants to refuse, to fix it himself as he always tries to do, but he knows that he can't. So, with a nod, he steps out of the way. Yuri opens up the first door and I enter the airlock. It hisses with the changing pressure as I am locked inside. He guides me through each switch and button so that I can let myself into the quarantine bay, and cranes his neck to study it in case I have left anything out. Maggie doesn't make any attempt to approach me. Her head tilts to one side, her dark eyes boring into me. Her clothes and hair are soaked and her boots sit in a puddle that grows larger by the minute.

I rest my hand on the glass and the Doctor meets it with his own. Then, he rests his forehead against the barrier and, again, I meet him. "I'm sorry, Inara. I'm so sorry."

"No, I should've been more careful. Don't be sorry, Doctor. Promise me you'll get out of here, even if it's just you."

"I'm not leaving you," he protests, voice darkened by determination and that new, constant fury.

"We'll argue about this later, then. But remember, I'm not worth losing your life for. Nothing is worth that. You have to keep going."

He shakes his head, his whole body seeming to tremble with anger and fear. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that. You're worth it all, Inara. Everything. The stars, the universe, and my life... and I swear on my hearts and on the memory of Gallifrey itself, I will get you home."

I want to argue but he turns away, now focused on the Captain and Ed, who speak to one side in lowered voices. I can't hear them through the glass. Seeing my confusion, the Doctor heads over to them. "Sorry, sorry, but... 'Action One', that means evacuation, yeah?"

"We're going home," she confirms, taking out her radio. "This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One, with immediate effect. Evacuate the base."

The Doctor returns to my side, watching helplessly as they start to pack up. His hands are at his sides but one presses against the glass again, holding mine from a distance. If I can focus hard enough, I can imagine him through this barrier, slipping his fingers between mine, palms connecting, his thumb tracing over mine as it always does. Barely five minutes and I don't think I can handle being parted from him like this. But alone brings me a fraction of comfort.

"Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"It's a nine-month flight, it'll take us at least three hours to load what we need."

She grimaces. "You've got twenty minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the Bio-dome Tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting."

Her focus travels back to the quarantine bay. "Keep an eye on them. And make that twenty minutes fifteen. Ed, line up the shuttle, go straight to ignition status."

He hurries out of the room. "Doing it now!"

Shaken by the suddenness of it all, Yuri follows her in her determined pacing of the room. "But what about Maggie?"

"She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

Her decision doesn't panic me too much. All we need to do is find a way to get me to the Tardis in time. There should be something there to save me before it's too late. I watch in stunned silence, still processing everything, as the Doctor approaches her. "Of course, the only problem is—"

"Thank you, Doctor. Your spacesuit will be returned. And good luck. Condolences for your wife."

"The problem is, this thing is clever. It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the Bio-dome, it chose the humans. You were chosen. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her. No doubt, so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..."

Realisation sinks in. She stiffens, eyeing us in horror. "Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth..." he implies, a strange, knowing glint in his eyes. "One drop. Just one drop."

"But we're only presuming infection. If we can find out how this thing got through, when it got through..." With new purpose, she strides away. "Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field."

Now effectively alone, he steels himself. "Right. We should leave. Finally, we should leave."

Another stabbing pain shoots through my head and I gasp, leaning my weight against the window and praying that I won't collapse in front of him. "Yes. Go, Doctor."

"I told you, I'm taking you home."

"If I am removed from this quarantine, the likelihood of me spreading this virus to the crew, to you, skyrockets. I can't go now, but I'll find my own way, I always do. You have to go now before it gets you, too. Please. Just leave."

His eyes meet mine. The anger has returned. "Not without you," he snaps, every word bitterly enunciated.

There's no use convincing him, he'll never accept it. I have to try another way. "Then go after her. You're no use hanging around here. Go, do what you do best, interfere. Just don't get infected."

He goes to argue but thinks better of it. Pressing his hand against the glass once more, he leaves.

I turn my attention turns to Maggie. She still stares at me, unblinking. Taking a step closer, the room spins and I stumble, spitting out a mouthful of water onto the floor. "What are you?" Her mouth opens, the cracks around her grey lips widening, but she says nothing. It's almost like she's trying to smile — an eerie, threatening smile. "I know you can understand me," I try again. "You knew I was infected. So did Andy. That's why you kept looking at me. Now, I reckon you can't do anything to me now, just hoping you'll be able to overwhelm my body's defences. Unlucky for you, my mind is still my own. Now, tell me what you want. If it doesn't harm anyone, maybe I can help you. But I can only do that if you leave me in control."

Yuri has loaded everything he can into a large trolley. Pausing by the door, he glances over his shoulder at us. "I'm sorry."

At his words, I break away, running to the window. I beat against the glass to keep his attention. "Wait. Yuri, wait! If I can fix this, I'll need supplies."

Guilt surfaces but he pushes it down. "I'm sorry," he repeats, flicking a switch. The lights turn off, leaving us with only the red emergency bulb to see by. He runs out, leaving me alone with her.

In the near darkness, I can see my reflection much clearer. My eyes are their normal silver, but upon looking closer, I can see the darkening of my lips. A patch of skin on my neck has already started to crack. I bring a hand to feel it, hissing at the ache it brings. The skin is not dry as I had expected, but wet. I can feel the moisture beading across my brow like sweat, only it is cold and odourless. If this is how it affects me in the first half an hour after exposure, I fear that I won't be able to fight it for much longer.

Pushed by the thought, I approach her again. "Is Maggie alive? Can I talk to her?"

I still gain no response.

Then, after a long pause, her hand raises before me, palm outstretched, water dripping to the floor. I lift my own but keep it centimetres away. "Hold on," I say, praying that she can hear me. "Just hold on, okay? Find something to keep you fighting. Do it for yourself, for your friends and family. Just hold on. If you can hear me, give me a sign."

Nothing.

The headache comes on again. Crying out, I slump onto the bed in the corner, clutching at my head. I try to slow my breathing until it passes but only end up coughing up more water. When it eases, I speak again, "What Ed said before... about the electrical activity in your brain... is that why my head hurts?" I groan when she remains silent. "Come on, the least you could do is nod. Have some sympathy. No? Fine, be like that."

I reach out, grabbing her wrist. She doesn't take it as a sign of attack, allowing me to do as I wish. My eyes narrow, meeting hers. "He was right, your pulse is low. There's strain on it, right? All that extra liquid is getting into your blood, raising the pressure. Your heart can't keep pushing all that around forever, it's not strong enough. But you need that oxygen to synthesise more water. And I'm assuming the increase in brain activity is to raise the yield of water from cellular respiration, but how high can it go before it fries? That body is weak. You won't last long. Face it, the more water you create to attack these people, the faster your hosts die."

I hesitate as it dawns on me. "But that's where I come in, isn't it? The moment you passed into my system, you knew I was stronger. That's why you didn't manifest until I got here, because you knew that I would be locked in here with you. You think I can be of use to you. Why?"

Her unnerving smile seems to widen. She walks away slowly, step by step, up to the door. Her hands press against it and the flow of water from her increases. I grab her and try to drag her back. She slams into the opposite wall. If it hurts her, she doesn't show it.

I stride towards her. "Maggie, you need to keep fighting. I don't know what this thing wants but it's possible it means harm towards your friends. Don't let it win."

She moves faster than I can register. Before I know it, I'm lying on my back with her towering over me. Her boot presses down on my chest, harder and harder. She holds her hand over my face. Water pours into my mouth and nose in a relentless surge. I try to scream but only choke and gurgle, flailing at her in a desperate attempt to free myself. My head spins wildly. The last I see is her blurred face grinning down at me.

A steady drumbeat follows me through the dark corridors. No matter how far I run, I can't escape it. It's in my head, pounding, aching. I try to scream but all that I can form are a series of strange gurgling sounds.

"Inara? Inara, wake up!"

My body is shaken roughly and my eyes fly open. I roll over, retching to remove the bubbling liquid from my throat. I know who it is already, I know that voice, even with my hazed vision. "G-Get away from me."

"It's all right, love. You're okay. I'm taking you home."

Shaking my head weakly, I try to crawl away from the Doctor. My arms and legs shake too much for me to get far before I collapse onto my side. "I'll infect you," I wheeze through laboured breaths that seem to be growing heavier with each passing second.

He ignores my complaints and brings my head up so that I can see him. He is protected from me, wearing his thick orange spacesuit with the yellow helmet. Even in the same room, I'm forced to view him through windows. He holds up my own suit. "Don't worry, they're waterproof. Sit up. That's it, come on."

I nod, although it continues beyond my intentions and I realise that my whole body is still quaking uncontrollably. With his help, I manage to put my legs through, then kneel so that he can fit my arms through the sleeves and seal it all up. My reflection stares back at me through the quarantine window. The eyes are normal still but my mouth is dark, the skin around my lips cracked. A whimper escapes me.

Rubbing my back, he starts to pull the suit all the way up to my neck. Panic sets in at the restriction. I try to pull it back down. "No."

"'No'?" he cautiously repeats. "Inara, I need you to talk to me. Why 'no'? What's wrong?"

My mouth aches as I open it, trying to inhale. "C-Can't— Can't— I can't..."

He rubs my back again, hushing my sobs. "It's okay. Just breathe with me."

"No. No air. No air, I can't."

He stiffens. Then, pulling back, he studies my face with concern and gives me a quick scan with his sonic. Whatever conclusion he has come to, it terrifies him. He cups my face, forcing a smile for me. "I know you're scared. I know. But I need you to listen to me carefully, okay?"

The room has started to spin. His face blurs into a kaleidoscope. I find myself leaning heavily to the side and he has to pull me upright again. "'K-Kay."

"The virus is progressing. Your oxygen receptors are being altered, they're starting to recognise water as their source instead. What I'm asking of you is scary but I need you to do it. I need you to focus on my voice... and let it take

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