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"Doctor! Wait up!" Martha called after the Time Lord, but he didn't hear her as they returned to where they had once been. He was just so angry with himself that he couldn't think straight. Alice had been kidnapped and needed to start reasoning, yet he couldn't help but worry that it would be his head on a plate if something happened to her. He can't afford to lose his cool and not lose it in front of Martha.

The pair finally got back, the young woman catching her breath as the Doctor ran over to one closed-up stall, pounding on it as hard as he could to get the vendor's attention.

It now comes open to reveal the female vendor who had sold the Forget to the woman who had lost her parents earlier, and Martha had to say she looked rather too pleased with herself to see the Doctor, "Thought you'd come back! Do you want some happy Happy?"

He cuts her straight to the chase, not having the time for pleasantries. He needed answers, and he needed them now if he was to get Alice back, "Those people, who were they?" the Doctor asked, rather snippy, "Where did they take her?"

Another vendor opened his stall, "They've taken her to the motorway."

"Looked like carjackers to me," the female vendor added.

"I'd give up now, darling," another declared, "You won't see her again."

"Used to be thriving in this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

He whirled around, clenching his jaw. The Time Lord was getting frustrated that this wasn't going anywhere! So began to grill them all at once when all Martha could do was watch on with worry. She did want to go up and calm him but could tell by his current mood it wouldn't be best to.

"He kept on saying three. We need three. What did he mean, three?" The Doctor demanded.

"It's the car-sharing policy to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."

"This motorway, how do I get there?"

"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it."

"Let's go, Martha," the Doctor hurriedly tells Martha before giving her a chance to respond. He strides off in the direction the pharmacist had indicated, not wanting to waste more time. But he didn't get far as the female vendor called after him, "Tell you what, how about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love!"

At this, he quickly turns back around, glaring daggers at everyone, "Word of advice, all of you," he insisted through gritted teeth, "Cash up. Close down. And pack your bags."

"Why's that, then?"

"Because as soon as I've found her, alive and well - and I will find her, alive and well - then I'm coming back. And this street is closing-tonight!" the pharmacists shared apprehensive glances. Then, finally, the Doctor whirled back around and stormed off in the motorway direction, with Martha following him hurriedly on his heels.

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Well, isn't this bloody great first time on an alien planet in the future, and I get kidnapped? Alice thought sarcastically. Her vision slightly blurred as she slowly woke, flat on an uncomfortable black surface. An odd green light is above her. Her car surroundings come more into focus. She sees containers filled with pills and liquid beside her. The silhouette of her captors now sat in two chairs at the front.

Sleepily feeling the side of her neck, Alice grabbed the Sleep token and tore it off, seeing it was green with a crescent moon on, before frowning and chucking it away.

"Yeah," said the woman excitedly, "The view from the windows. You can see out to the flatlands. The sky. They say the air smells like apple grass. Can you imagine?"

"The houses are made of wood," the man returned a grin at her, "Jobs are going in the foundries. Everyone says so!"

Having not noticed she was awake yet, Alice did some quick thinking, seeing what appeared to be a gun in the corner of her vision sitting on what seemed to be a computer screen of sorts, immediately grabbed it and pointed it at her kidnappers.

"Take me back," Alice demanded with a growl, "Whoever you bloody are, take me back to my friends. Please take me back, or I'll make your life a living hell because I won't be afraid to use this. "So take me back!" the redhead demanded that she was almost shaking, having never held a gun before.

The one thing you should never do is piss Alice off because it would involve dire consequences. Of course, she could be sweet when she wanted to be, but this wasn't one of those times.

The man and woman shared a glance. But didn't look the least bit frightened by her. As the woman now looked back at Alice.

"I'm sorry. That's not a real gun," the woman informed her with a shake.

Alice almost hesitated, a little thrown off but not deterred by the slightest, "Well, yeah, that's what I'd expect you to say."

"Where do you get a gun from these days? I wouldn't even know how to fire," the woman admitted.

The young redhead looked at the fake gun with utter disgust, now feeling how light it felt in her hand as she lowered it, "Me neither, alright."

"What's your name?" the woman now asked, trying to be friendly

Alice," she replied, "Alice Noble," now getting up, Alice gingerly made her way towards the front of the car to stand behind her kidnappers.

"Well, I'm Cheen, and this is Milo," the woman, now known as Cheen, introduced herself and her partner beside her. Then, talking a little hurriedly, "And I swear we're sorry. We're sorry. We just needed access to the short line, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off, and you can go back and find your friends."

"Really?" Alice asked incredulously, narrowing her eyes at Cheen with uncertainty as she folded her arms and scoffed, "I'm sorry, but what makes you think that I'll believe a word that comes out of your mouth."

"I swear! Look-" The woman pulled back her curly mane to reveal a token on her neck. Like what Alice had pulled off her neck earlier, peering closer, she saw the word 'Honesty' printed on it, and underneath it was smaller text with '36', "Honesty patch."

"All the same, that's still kidnapping!" the redhead voiced moodily before peering out the window, noticing the dense fumes or fog, whatever it was, obscuring the view outside, "Where are we, anyway?"

"We're on the motorway," Milo answered.

"What's that, then? Fog?" Alice gazed at the windowscreen.

"That's the exhaust fumes," Cheen replied with a shrug.

"We're going out to Brooklyn," Milo said as the redhead looked over at him, "Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town 'cause..." he paused to smile broadly at Cheen as he rubbed her knee with nothing but love in his eyes.

Cheen looked to Alice with a glowing smile, "Well, 'cause of me. I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."

"So, and you want me to do what? Congratulate you?" The redhead asked in disbelief, "Yeah because the first thing everyone wants to do is congratulate their kidnappers," sarcasm now coating her words-something she tends to do when in a stressful situation.

"Oh, we're not kidnappers. Not really."

"No," Alice shook her head in disagreement, "Because you're complete and utter morons! You're having a baby, and you're wearing that thing!" letting her medical instincts kick in, she goes to rip the patch off Cheen's neck. The woman gave a small yelp of pain, rubbing her neck afterwards, "Well, not anymore, you're not."

"This'll be as fast as we can," Milo spoke calmly, "We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that, it's gonna take a while, 'cause then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct."

"It's only ten miles," Cheen added.

"How long is it gonna take?" Alice asked with a sigh. Well, ten miles that didn't seem too bad.

"About six years."

In that instant, the redhead's mouth dropped open in shock, "W-what?!" she now exclaimed, her voice a little high-pitched. Six years?! Did she hear that right?

"Be just in time for him to start school," the couple giggled, completely forgetting that Alice was there.

"Oh, please tell me you're joking," Alice pleaded with them, but something told her maybe they weren't lying. Yet it couldn't be. There was no way. There had to be a valid logical explanation behind it. That's what the Doctor would do. So Alice put her thinking cap on and leant forward, glimpsing between Cheen and Milo, "Okay, ten miles in six years? How come?"

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"Do you know how many cars are out there?" Alice questioned as she stood watching the traffic jam from outside the vehicle. There must be God knows how many out there. Millions? Billions? She became much more relaxed about figuring out this whole motorway nonsense and what was happening. Something the Doctor would do was to ask who knew about it first. Alice hoped that he was probably doing the same right at this moment.

Now shaking her head from her thoughts, Cheen replied, "I don't think anyone knows," from behind Alice, she reached for something and held it out in offering to her, "Here you go. Hungry?"

"There's got to be loads out there," the redhead comments as she munched on the wafer, still looking out the window, tilting her head a little to see, "Are there always this many?"

"Sometimes, yeah," Milo confirmed with a nod, keeping his eyes up front.

"About how far down is it to this fast lane?" asked whilst chewing.

"Oh, it's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam. But not many people can afford three passengers, so it's empty down there. Rumour has it you can reach up to thirty miles per hour."

"Wow, 30 miles an hour. That's, like, crazy," Alice returned sarcastically, with a roll of her eyes that now began curiously inspecting the car's small space, "But how are you supposed to live inside this thing? It's tiny."

"Oh, we stocked up. Got self-replicating fuel, muscle stimulants for exercise, and there's a chemical toilet at the back. And all waste products are recycled as food."

Urgh, not eating that anymore, Alice thought with a grimace, staring at the wafer as if it were her deadliest enemy to throw it then away, nose wrinkled.

"Oh, another gap, this is brilliant!" Milo pointed out as they dropped another level.

"Car sign in."

Milo takes the transmitter and speaks happily, "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on the descent to fast lane, thank you very much."

"Please drive safely," the computerised voice confirmed.

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Martha is currently leaning over to have a better look at the screen. There was an emblem of the New New York Police Department. The Doctor stood beside her, using his sonic screwdriver on the monitor to try and make it work so he could call the police to find out where Alice could be. Thankfully, he's now drifted away from his previously dark, moody and replaced it with a more calm and determined expression in aid of finding Alice. The other young woman found it rather sweet how worried he was about her best friend.

Finally, the screen began to work, and the Time Lord quickly took the transmitter and said, "I need to talk to the police," he declared.

"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold," the electronic voice spoke back these words, which now appeared on the screen.

Martha gaped at the screen in disbelief before glancing over at the Doctor, eyes slightly wide, "But they're the police!" she complained. "How can the police be on hold?" she directed to the Doctor as if he knew the reason but didn't utter a word. Gazing at the screen, he tightened his jaw, and his eyes shone with anger and frustration.

The voice speaks again in response to Martha, repeating what it already had, "Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."

The Doctor lets out a sound between a growl and a snarl, startling Martha as he forcefully whacks the screen hard, muttering curse words under his breath in a language she didn't entirely understand. His demeanour had gone over all dark again. She could see it in his face and how he was clenching and unclenching his hands to keep himself under control. Martha now hesitantly rests a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

He now snapping his head towards her, "What?"

"Doctor, you need to calm down, alright? We'll get Ally back, but taking it out on a screen doesn't help us find her," instead of biting her head off, he took a couple of deep breaths before nodding, knowing Martha was right. With a nod, he scrambled to the front of the car where Brannigan, who was a cat (something Martha still hadn't got her head around yet), and a woman named Valerie was currently sitting. Martha now followed after him and stood beside the Time Lord.

"Is there anyone else?" the Doctor inquired the married couple, "I once met the Duke of Manhattan; is there any way of getting through to him?"

Martha gawked at him oddly as Bran raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.

"Oh, now, ain't you lordly?"

He didn't appreciate Branigan's sarcasm, rolling his eyes in response and conveying with an exhausted tone, "I've got to find my friend."

"You can't make outside calls. The motorway's completely enclosed."

"What about the other cars?" Martha asked, "Surely there's a way to contact them?"

"Good thinking there, Martha!" the Doctor beamed proudly at her, and she couldn't help but blush at the compliment, which he overlooked as he now looked back to Bran, "Well, is there?"

"Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah," Bran answered with a nod as he turned to the Time Lord and Martha, "Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends' list," he went to face forward again, "Now, let's see - who's nearby? Ahh! The Cassini sisters!" picking up his transmitter he held it to his mouth, "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."

"Get off the line, Brannigan," the voice of an elderly woman complained through the transmitter. Even if the comment was a tad rude, they could tell she was joking from the smile in her voice, "You're a pest and a menace."

Bran laughed wholeheartedly, "Oh, come on, now, sisters. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"You know full well we're not sisters. We're married."

"Oooh, stop that modern talk! I'm an old-fashioned cat," Bran joked as Valerie stifled a smirk, "Now, I've got some hitchhikers here. One of them calls himself the Doctor," he passed the transmitter over to the Doctor, who took it

"Hello. Sorry. I'm looking for someone called Alice Noble. She got carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one."

"Same name as you dear fancy that," they hear the woman mention before continuing the pages of a book being flipped open. "Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"

"Where were we?"

"Pharmacy Town."

"Pharmacy Town," the Time Lord repeats into the transmitter, "About twenty minutes ago."

"Let's have a look."

"Just my luck, to marry a car-spotter," the old woman with the same name as Alice muttered to herself.

"In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."

"Anything more specific?" he asked. It becomes more snippy than it should have, making Martha sigh internally.

"All in good time," there's a short pause, and the only sound is a page being turned, "Was she car-jacked by two people?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yes, she was, yeah."

"There we are," the elderly woman clears her throat, "Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And car number is four-six five-diamond six."

The Doctor grinned like a Cheshire cat, his eyes sparkling, "That's it!" he voiced merrily, "So how do we find them?"

"Ah. Now, there, I'm afraid I can't help."

The Doctor's grin instantly fades, and the sparkle leaves his eyes as he quickly turns to Bran, "Call them on this thing. We've got their number. Diamond six."

"Not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class," Bran shook his head.

"You could try the police."

"They put me on hold," he conveyed through gritted teeth.

"You'll have to keep trying. There's no one else."

He closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath and nodded, "Thank you," he muttered calmly. He passed the transmitter back to Brannigan and let his shoulders drop as sorrow appeared on his features. Martha looked at the Doctor, not with a frown but equal sorrow, wishing she could do something to save her friend even though she knew she couldn't.

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Alice was still looking out the window, fiddling with the chain of her locket around her neck as her thoughts wandered to that of her best friend and the Doctor, watching as the car slowly descended through the long lines of vehicles beeping, honking, causing more smoke. How long has it been since I last saw the Doctor or Martha? She frowned. It Has to be a couple of hours at least... she sighed sadly. She hoped they were okay and she wouldn't be stuck here for six years. She missed hearing the Doctor rambling at a hundred miles an hour, not knowing what he was blabbing about. Alice would do anything to listen to his voice again, no matter how much he drove her up the wall.

Suddenly, her thoughts are interrupted by Milo's voice, "See," the man voiced excitedly as the redhead moved to the front, wondering what he was on about. He was pointing at a blue screen as it showed the line, which Alice guessed must be them moving from Level 39 to Level 43, "Another ten layers to go. We're scorching."

The young Noble smiled, genuine since she had been first kidnapped. Of course, she was pleased for them. They were very much ready to get out of here, and they were just a step closer to achieving it.

Suddenly, a low groaning filled the car, making everyone freeze.

"What's that?" Alice questioned with a slight frown, a hint of fear in her voice as she glanced out the window screen as the sound came again, this time more like a low distant growling from below, "It's coming from underneath."

"It does have noise, doesn't it? It's like Kate said. The stories are true," Cheen said, sounding like she was almost scared and excited at the same time.

"What stories?" The young Noble asked curiously with a frown, looking between the couple.

"It's the sound of the air vents," Milo voiced with exasperation, "That's all. The exhaust fumes travel down, so at the base of the tunnel, they've got air vents."

"No, the stories are much better," Cheen retorted with a slight grin as Milo chuckled derisively a little fondly and looked away, "They say people go missing on the motorway. Some cars vanish, never to be seen again. 'Cause there's something living down there in the smoke. Something huge. And hungry. And if you get lost on the road...it's waiting for you."

The rumbling sound gets louder and louder as all three share nervous looks, making Milo shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Isn't this bloody fantastic? I'm stuck in a tin can car with two strangers, and now there might be a monster below the motorway. Great! The young Noble thought sarcastically. She was on the verge of freaking out, but she knew that wouldn't help matters.

"But, like I said. Air vents," Milo tried to dismiss, shifting in his seat again before pressing a few buttons on the console, "Going down to the next layer."

"Sorry, but I'm no expert on air vents or anything, but where I'm from, it certainly doesn't sound like that," Alice points out to the couple, "Does it look like they're even working?"

"No," Cheen gulped in response to now look nervously outside.

The sound keeps getting louder. Now, there's growling and crashing.

"If it can't be the air vents, then what the hell is that down there?" the young Noble asked with a whisper.

But Milo doesn't have to know the answer to this, so he shakes his head, trying his best to dismiss it, "Nah. Kid stuff," he goes to grab his transmitter, holding it to his mouth, "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on the descent."