Prologue
The magnificent stone tower overlooked the burning city. The chamber at the top of the tower was itself lit by burning braziers and had rectangular openings that allowed an incredible view of the devastation below. Kandras gazed hopelessly down at his beloved home. This was partly his fault. If only he had listened to his father! He turned from the hellish panorama and tried to focus on the current trial. If they were quick they might be able to save the further destruction of countless other worlds.
Halban sat near the stone pedestal that controlled the vaporisation chamber; his grey stone-like hands checking the readings and inserting the appropriate energy crystals to counter any imbalances. Kandras crossed the chamber and put his hand on Halban's shoulder gripping it tightly through the dark robe. Halban glanced up at his brother's crystalline face and gave an encouraging smile, his grey eyes glittering in the flickering light of the flaming braziers.
"The city is destroyed?" Halban asked huskily, but it was more a statement than a question.
Kandras nodded. "How is the vault? Can we destroy it before it escapes?"
Halban studied the energy readouts and glanced up at the holographic display that floated in the air above the stone pedestal. "I think so, but at this range I can't be sure."
"Why not?" Kandras asked worriedly. "If that thing escapes…….."
"The energy signature is breaking up as the vault enters the warp," Halban explained.
Suddenly there was a burst of static and a deep voice emanated from a speaker beneath the display. "You cannot destroy me!" it hissed. "The Jassra will consume all! I will survive!"
Kandras swallowed in fear. "Destroy it," he commanded. "Destroy it now!"
Halban shook his head; the vault wasn't quite in the warp shunt field. "Not yet, it's too early" he warned.
But Kandras took no notice. He could still remember the dead eyes of his father, consumed by fear and dread. "We created it. It's our fault!" He reached over his brother's shoulder and rammed home an energy crystal into the control panel. "Now we destroy it!"
The holographic display flared as the vault containing the creature was obliterated
1.
The ghoul creatures advanced through the ruins towards Katherine and Megan with hisses and snarls. Their fangs dripped with viscous saliva and they flexed their claws in anticipation of a bloody kill. The girls backed away in fear and Megan almost stumbled over some fallen pieces of stone wall, but Katherine grabbed her hand and hauled her back to her feet. One of the creatures suddenly sprang towards them. Katherine screamed in terror but Megan reached down, picked up a large rock and swiped it across the creature's snout. It fell backwards with a hiss of anger, the pale, dead eyes filled with hate.
Megan took a firm hold of Katherine's hand. "Run!" she yelled.
The two girls turned and fled, running as fast as their legs could carry them away from the ruins of the monastery and the three horrifying creatures. But the ghouls did not want to lose their prey so easily and sprang after them with a snarl.
It was, Katherine thought wildly, like a nightmare when your legs feel like they're stuck in treacle and you just can't escape from the terror behind you. The creatures were swift and both girls knew that it was just a matter of time before they were caught. They scrambled through bushes, the branches tearing at their clothes, and jumped over rocks and boulders until they left the ruins and were out onto the woodland track once more.
Megan risked a quick glance behind her and gasped in terror. The creatures were indeed catching up on them, now only a fraction of a second behind. Her heart pounding in her chest, Megan increased her pace even harder, almost dragging Katherine with her.
Suddenly, something miraculous happened. The sun that had been obscured almost all day by dark, ominous clouds peeked out and bathed the woodland in glorious summer sunshine. The creatures snarled and whimpered as they were caught in the sunlight and staggered back, their sinewy arms desperately covering their faces and pale eyes.
The brief distraction was all that the two girls needed. Their lungs and muscles aching with the exertion, they pelted down the woodland track and to freedom.
2.
The Doctor looked up at the two men who stood over them and grinned. "Right, well, I could of course start the conversation with 'Harkness who?" or try to be funny." The Time Agent with the cropped hair raised his eyebrows sarcastically and the Doctor turned off his grin like a switch, his expression now deadly serious. "But since what's going on here is far too deadly and I think a great deal of people could get killed, let's cut to the chase. I don't know exactly where Jack is; presumably he's in the village. Now what do you want with him and what do you know about what's happening here, or are you going to reply with a depressing" his voice deepened as he mimicked a low, stupid voice, "'I'm asking the questions!'" The Doctor let out a long breath after his excited tirade.
The Time Agent sighed and exchanged a glance with his partner. "I'm Agent Holloway, this," he indicated the other man, "is Agent Grant. We've been tracking you and Harkness; we almost got to you in London."
"Why?" asked the Doctor "I thought Jack was working for you? That's how he got the Vortex Manipulator and was sent to France where I met him again."
Louisa looked between the men and the Doctor as she sat there. Tears were still streaming down her face at the fate of her beloved dog that lay unmoving at her feet. "What are you all talking about?" she sobbed, almost hysterically. "Why did you have to shoot Toby?"
The Doctor reached out to comfort her but she shook him off furiously.
"The dog is only stunned," Holloway replied a little more gently, "we're not killers." The Doctor snorted but Holloway ignored the sarcasm. "Is that what he told you? He isn't working for us," the agent continued. "One of our agents accidentally ended up in this era, was injured, and Harkness's organisation Torchwood got hold of him. We never heard from the agent again and the next thing we know is that a monitoring station picks up that the bracelet has been used illegally. Captain Jack Harkness has gone rogue!"
3.
The thing that had once been Sir William saw the human approach and instantly knew that it had to kill it. The pounding, rushing sounds of battle, screams and blood filled its senses and it could feel nothing but bloodlust and anger towards all life.
Jack took a few hasty steps backwards as the creature snarled and advanced towards him. It was incredible how quickly the transformation had taken place and Jack could see that all traces of humanity had been erased. He reluctantly reached inside his jacket for his heavy revolver. Could the Doctor somehow reverse the mutation?
The slight hesitation cost Jack the advantage and as the creature sprang at him he twisted backwards and lost the grip on his pistol that was flung to the ground a few feet away.
The creature was suddenly on him and Jack was pushed to the ground. The mutation had made it both stronger and quicker. The impact knocked the wind from Jack's lungs but he managed to remember basic combat training and pushed out with his legs with all the strength he could manage. The creature was flung over his head and landed on the hard ground behind with a hiss of pain.
Jack shook his head in an effort to clear it and saw his pistol lying a few feet away. The creature was also dazed, but sprang to its feet and into a crouch. With a desperate lunge, Jack threw himself towards the pistol just as the creature sprang towards him.
The pistol shot exploded and hit the creature in the centre of the chest leaving a smoking, gaping hole. The creature fell backwards, hit the ground with a whimper and lay still.
Panting with the exertion, and still gripping the pistol tightly, Jack got slowly to his feet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked at the sad corpse that lay before him and remembered the man that he had dined with yesterday.
Suddenly there was a shout from further up the hill. Jack spun around to see Katherine and Megan, still holding hands, running full pelt down the hill towards him.
4.
The Doctor shook his head in disbelief at what Holloway had told them. "Jack gone rogue?" he scoffed. "I doubt that, and even if he has, I bet he has a good reason!"
Holloway looked closely at the Doctor. "If he has got a good reason, why didn't he tell his old friend the Doctor then? Doesn't he trust you either? Anyway," he shrugged, "I don't care what his reason is; he's stolen our time technology and is using it for his own purpose. We're going to bring him in and you're going to help us."
The Doctor leaned back in his chair, his tone light, although his mind raced over what Holloway had insinuated. Could there be some truth in it? Had Jack changed since he had returned from the dead after the battle with the Daleks? "Am I really? I don't think so Mr Holloway!"
Holloway laughed. "Oh yes you are Doctor, and this time we don't need to resort to threats about your friend." He nodded towards Louisa who glowered at him. "As you quite rightly said; something's happening here and a lot of people will get killed if it isn't stopped. We'll help you stop it, and believe me you'll need our help. In return, you give us Harkness."
The Doctor got to his feet. "Just what is happening Holloway?" he asked impatiently.
Holloway shook his head and smiled grimly. "Not quite yet Doctor. I don't trust you enough. Get us to the village and to Harkness and I'll tell you on the way."
The Doctor was almost hopping up and down with impatience and irritation. "Oh please; I can see why Jack left you bureaucrats and double dealers. You're almost as bad as some of my lot were!" Without warning, he strode towards the doorway, bundling up a surprised and bewildered Louisa as he went. "Come on then," he shouted over his shoulder at the two Time Agents as he marched through the hallway to the front door. "No time to dither!"
Holloway nodded towards Grant. The silent partner gave a short nod in return before both Time Agents drew their sonic blasters and followed the Doctor and Louisa from the room.
5.
Katherine threw her arms around Jack's neck and hugged him with relief while Megan was bent double and breathing hard with the exertion of their harrowing escape.
Jack gently rubbed Katherine's back. "It's okay, you're safe now." After her sobbing had subsided and she had taken a few deep breaths, Jack took a step back and his expression hardened a little. "Now what the Hell have you two been doing?" he demanded.
Katherine exchanged a slightly guilty look with Megan. "We just went to the ruins of the monastery up on the hill. Megan told me the story of the monk and the bridge."
Jack nodded as he understood. Sir William had recalled the legend earlier that morning as they had gone to the constable's house. Jack recalled the charming old rogue as he had dismissed anything out of the ordinary. Now he was dead. "What happened?"
"These creatures attacked us! Monsters!" stammered Katherine.
Suddenly Megan took a few steps backwards and stifled a cry as she caught sight of something laying in the grass a few metres away. She pointed a shaking finger at it. "What's that?"
Jack sighed; he knew this was coming. "I guess it's another one of those creatures that attacked you Megan. Only this one used to be Sir William!"
Megan and Katherine gasped in shock. "Is he…..?" whispered Megan, horrified.
Jack nodded, his face fixed. "He's dead, yeah. I had to kill him before he killed me. I'm sorry."
"Oh my God, that's awful!" cried Megan, tears welling up in her eyes. "His poor wife!"
"So the creatures that attacked us were human once?" asked Katherine, her eyes wide with fear.
Jack nodded. "I guess so." He thought for a moment. "How many attacked you?"
"There were four of them," replied Megan slowly, sniffing back her tears.
"Two backpackers missing, PC Hughes….." pondered Jack.
"Nikki and Mark?" gulped Megan realising what Jack was saying. "That's horrible!"
"What's happening here Jack? How do people turn into monsters?" asked Katherine quietly.
Jack shrugged. "I don't know. We need to find the Doctor!"
The girls nodded silently in agreement, and the three of them started quickly down the wooded hill and back towards the village.
6.
The Doctor, Louisa, Holloway and Grant were squashed into Louisa's battered blue land rover and on the road from Deering Hall into Pontachor. Much to Louisa's chagrin, the Doctor had insisted on driving and had given her a very odd look as she had handed him the keys.
Louisa stared out of the front passenger seat window as the country lanes whipped past. The Doctor was certainly handling the vehicle well and at quite a pace. As they hit a pothole in the road, Louisa had to hold on to the dashboard to stop herself being thrown to the side.
"Steady on Doctor!" she warned.
The Doctor just grinned and possibly accelerated even faster. He looked at her slightly oddly again. "Trust me?" he whispered so that Holloway and Grant, who were in the back, couldn't hear.
Louisa nodded and the Doctor winked at her before hitting the brake and savagely throwing the steering wheel to the left. "Then jump!" he shouted.
Louisa blinked in disbelief but there was something about the Doctor that made you just trust him implicitly. She opened her door and taking a deep breath, closed her eyes and jumped.
The Doctor had timed their escape to perfection and Louisa landed unhurt on a soft grassy verge. She fell to her knees and watched as the land rover, still carrying Holloway and Grant, careered down the lane. The Doctor picked himself up from where he had landed on the other side of the road and quickly ran across to pull a breathless Louisa to her feet.
"Well done Louisa!" he beamed proudly. "I was getting bored of being pushed around weren't you?"
Louisa just shrugged and gave him a bewildered smile "What next?"
The Doctor looked around as the land rover crashed into a hedge further down the road. "That won't stop them for long!" He grabbed her hand and started to run. "Come on!"
****************************
In the now stationary land rover, Holloway wiped a small trickle of blood from his forehead where he had been thrown forward and injured in the crash. His face was a mask of anger and he twisted around to make sure that his partner was still alive. Groggily, Grant picked himself up from the floor of the vehicle where he had been thrown and nodded to indicate he wasn't wounded.
Holloway growled in fury and drew his blaster from its holster. "Doctor, you'll pay for this!"