Disclaimer: Torchwood are copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. 2008 .
THE SEARCH FOR AMTosh... Im so sorry, Tosh... the thought filtered through Owens mind as he drifted in his prison of liquid lead. He felt the coolant begin to bite into his body, through his clothing and into his thin flesh. He spasmed at the feeling; his already-dead nerve endings only felt the bite fuzzily, but he could feel his skin being eaten away without a doubt. The lead obscured his vision completely as it ravaged his eyes; even before they disappeared he was blind, helpless.
This is how I finish up, he lamented bitterly and flailed angrily. But there was little point in doing so. The burning began to fade away as the lead reached past his nerves; they were gone. He wiggled his fingers experimentally, and recoiled in shock as he felt the flesh break apart. This wouldnt have happened if Jack hadnt brought me back.
His cheeks were gone; the lead invaded his mouth and pushed air out in bubbles that floated over his cheekbones and disappeared above him. At least his lungs didnt burn; for, undead as he was, he had no need to breathe. But as the lead poured in, the taste was like nothing else he knew. He flinched ineffectually as he sensed the coolant etch into his bones; his muscles were almost gone and could barely assist with movement any more. He wanted to shiver as a hole burned clean through his skull, but he couldnt. Couldve been... so... different.
The words became fractured. What happened? Why am I... here... again? he wondered, suddenly forgetting he was here. All he knew was that he felt horrible and wanted to escape. He tried to thrash to get his bearings, but without success. Where? Where. Where what? He tried to concentrate, to focus.
Focus? Focus, yes... The people I used to... he stopped; he was trying to remember something, but it wasnt coming. Who? Who was he thinking about?
Tosshhh... Gwweeennnn... J...
Thought was too cloudy; the coolant was eating away at his brain. He came to a stop. Nothing was making sense any more. Oblivion beckoned; it was all too cloudy. Owen gave up.
That was the last that the human Owen Harper ever did.
TORCHWOOD
At the Hub, Gwen sat at her desk, grief swirling in acid waves through her muscles, cauterizing her thoughts. Her stomach clenched at the pain of the memories. Here I go again... she thought with a frown. She pursed her lips and bit down with her mind; the tragic events of yesterday were still open and raw, and waves of grief kept coming. And they always came when she least needed them: on the telephone, talking to Jack... But this wave at least was a little more convenient. Quietly, she allowed the tears to flow. Jack and Ianto kept doing the same anyway; there was no shame. Nonetheless she tipped her head forward to let her hair fall forward and hide her swollen eyes.
The atmosphere in the Hub just wasnt the same without Tosh and Owen. Toshs presence always lightened the place, a welcome effect when the work sometimes got too dark and serious. Ultra-efficient, mild, and meekly jovial, that was Tosh.
Was...
And Owen? Sharp and bitter he may have been, and hard to like at first. But underneath it all had been a warm heart, one that wanted above all else to do what was right. A warmth addictive, all the more for being a rare facet of his personality.
She would have given anything to have both of them back if she could.
TORCHWOOD
Jack sauntered past Gwen. He could see that she was crying, and that she wanted to be left to her own devices for now. As he stopped to pick up a report, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to let her know firstly that he understood she was upset, and secondly that there was no need for her to speak to him; he already knew where the report was and took it without ceremony. Walking away from her, he headed for his office, his heart as heavy as a rock.
Ianto pottered at a project of his own and looked up to see Jack. Something passed between the pair, something too abstract to define, to do with painful loss, or needy passion, or kinship, or a combination of the three, and the moment passed. Jack felt the Welshmans eyes on his back, pleasurable despite the despairing circumstances. He didnt turn to make eye contact; if he did he was sure he would cry again. Quietly he entered his office and closed the door behind him. The report would be a suitable diversion from the reality of what had happened to Torchwood Three, at least for now.
TORCHWOOD
It was another day at Torchwood Three, and three days after the apocalyptic events that had killed Tosh and Owen. Ianto frowned at the control panel of the computer: he was unpractised at using Toshs equipment and preferred to think twice before doing anything on here. He thought again and he was sure. He clicked.
The reduced numbers at Torchwood had meant an effective promotion for him, and an immediate one at that. Bittersweet though this was, it did instill in him a sense of pride. Finally he was a fully-fledged team member of Torchwood again and he was enjoying the opportunity to finally stretch his wings. Tentatively, for it seemed obscene to enjoy it too much, but enjoy it he did.
The screen flicked from a map showing him the location of the recent Rift activity to a graph displaying the time it had opened. On inspection it transpired that it had been open for exactly 1 minute and 18 seconds, and a blob on the graph showed him that organic activity had passed through. Likely an alien. He turned to look for Jack.
"Jack," he called. The captain turned, alert. "Theres been rift activity. It looks like something came through."
Jack came over to see the screen. "Show me the location."
Ianto hesitated for a second before committing to click the button back to the previous screen. Jack took in the information, nodded his understanding and sprang toward the door. "Gwen! Weve got alien activity, lets go!" Gwen busied herself preparing to leave and Jack picked up his GPS. "Ianto, stay here," he barked. His lover looked at him plaintively. Dont leave me here, the look said, I want to come too. Jack looked as if he were about to snap at him but then paused to take a breath. He added more gently and with a ghost of his charming smile, "Keep us posted on any new developments." Ianto felt a little more content with this and turned back to the computer. Gwen was ready at Jack's side, and he swept out of HQ.
TORCHWOOD
Oh no! Oh no no, no, please. How am I to find Am in all of this? the alien wondered desperately. She spread her wings and flapped lop-sidedly into the air. She scanned the ground for evidence of her young brother while a part of her mind watched for a clear flight path. This alien planet, it was full of structures, squarish and tall. Built by the resident fauna, she guessed.
Above the line of the sinister square structures, Ke looked down. Perhaps she could see Am from here. There was a chance. There had to be a chance. No, I don't see him. Oh, what am I to-
Down there. There were trees. Ke knew trees well enough; they grew on her home planet. She dived toward them with a gladly-felt stab of gratitude.
The ground was a mass of short plant coverage. Teeth chattering with fear, she dipped her muzzle into it briefly for reassurance. It was possible that Am had hidden in the trees. Ke galloped toward the treeline, but a sudden sense of dread checked her. Over there to her left. There, in full sight, was an alien. Tall and thin, with graceful limbs and colourful plumage. She stared at it, feeling utterly lost for what to do. And it stared right back at her.
A faraway call, and she looked around. There was another one. Ke was worried and she turned again to scan the surrounding area for other signs of life. The first alien scurried away. Had it gone to find more of its own kind? What if these creatures had Am now? What if they were dangerous? Ke cowered in fear for a moment before running away, out of sight of the second alien. The ground beneath her feet turned from plant to grey stone as she entered the alien-made domain...
TORCHWOOD
Jack took one eye off the road to check his GPS. They were almost at their destination, but it had taken them a few minutes to get here. The alien could be a long way from the opening in the Rift by now, but aliens, so long as they were of a carbon-based form, were generally easy to track: you needed only to follow the trail of frightened civilians. Mentally preparing himself for what could be a nasty fight, he turned into the correct road, and parked. Without a word, he and Gwen climbed out and walked toward the bridge.
A woman sprinted down the pathway from the direction of the park, casting her face over her shoulder as if she were afraid she were being chased. Jack shared a glance with Gwen, correctly anticipating that she would deal with this. She stepped forward as the woman got closer.
"Hello," Gwen began in a loud, but characteristically reassuring tone, "Is anything-"
The woman looked from Gwen to Jack and back again. "Are you Torchwood?" the woman asked between heavy breaths.
Gwen glanced at Jack and nodded. "Yes." Although Torchwood were officially known only as Special Ops, outlandish stories of their dealings with aliens had reached many ears. Most considered these stories in the same vein as conspiracy theories: they did not take them seriously. But when a civilian sighted an alien, usually Torchwood's name was spoken before long.
It seemed to Jack that they were on the right track already, but still he left Gwen to do the talking. "What did you see?" Gwen prompted.
The woman looked behind her again. "A bird! In the park. Well, it wasnt quite like a bird but... It looked like a bird. A big white bird," she rambled.
"Is anybody hurt?" Gwen asked. The woman shook her head.
That was all the information they needed and Jack was already prepared to go. He turned smartly back to the SUV and opened the door to climb in. Gwen saw him go and hurriedly turned back to the woman. "Thank you," she said and ran to her side of the car. Jack started the engine and turned the corner to the park.
TORCHWOOD
Ke was at her wits end. The aliens land was divided into long, straight paths lined disconcertingly with their straight-sided structures. She felt claustrophobic between them. More of the tall creatures were on the paths; stinking, angular objects lined the centre of the path. She panted quietly with fear and cast around; she hoped she would find Am soon. Perhaps he was down the next pathway...
TORCHWOOD
Meanwhile, Jack and Gwen had arrived in the park. A few people were there on the path, standing around talking in hushed tones, and on approaching them, it became apparent they were talking about something strange theyd just seen. Gwen joined the conversation.
"Excuse me," she said to the group at large, briefly hoping she had not misjudged the situation. "Have you seen a big, white bird?"
"Yeah," said a man in his 20s with a strong Welsh lilt. "Weird white thing. D'you know what it was?"
At that moment Jacks Bluetooth beeped and he walked away; Ianto had something to tell the captain. As Gwen stayed with the group and tried to dampen the group's speculation as to what the creature was not that she had much to go on yet anyway Jack had a short conversation with Ianto.
"Were on it," Jack replied clearly to the other end of the line. "Gwen!" he called and she waved a hasty goodbye to the group before following him as he ran into the maze of houses and streets. "Guide me, Ianto!"
TORCHWOOD
Ke slowed to a walk and then stopped. She reared up onto her hind legs and looked as far into the distance as she could, although that wasnt far. It seemed she would have to think her way out of this, although how to do so was a question in itself. What to do? Where would Am be?
She turned to face the other way again; as much to comfort herself with something familiar in this alien landscape as anything else. It seemed she had been followed: there were 9, 10... 11 aliens staring back at her. Their combined scrutiny was intimidating and she cowered for a moment. Keeping low, she crawled slowly away, hoping they would let her go if she looked unthreatening. Ahead, the way she had been running, were more of them. 4. Instinctively she spread her wings and felt for a breeze with which to take off. In the close shelter of the structures, there was none. Nevertheless, she beat her wings and launched herself as best she could off the ground, only to be scuppered by the lack of space. Landing with a painful crash, she scrambled to her feet and faced the 4 again. Which had become 7. She began to tremble; she began to despair...
TORCHWOOD
"There!" Gwen announced, noting the crowd gathered at the mouth of the street. Jack had already seen them; he drove toward the crowd to see what they were looking at. He parked and the two of them got out.
Sure enough, there was an alien there. It cowered beside a car, trying to hide. It was slightly smaller than a human, with dirty white feathers and big brown eyes. A pair of wings lay folded untidily about its back. As he approached, taking his time and walking calmly, it regarded him, panting. Then it opened its mouth and said, "Eea huo mee naaka." An alien language.
Quietly, Jack reached for the tranquilizer gun at his waist. "Alright," he soothed the creature, approaching further still, "Im not going to hurt you. Im just going to send you to sleep for a little while." He pointed the gun at it and looked down the barrel.
It stared back at him, its ribs still puffing in and out with hurried breath. Tentatively it repeated, "Eea naaka." He squeezed the trigger.
The dart hit the alien; with a panicked screech it opened its wings and scrambled backwards, it shook, and lowered its head to wipe off the dart. It was unsuccessful; it turned and tried to run away but its muscles were already succumbing to the sedative. With a soft squawk it stumbled, and then its front limbs gave way completely. Jack walked closer to it. The alien turned its head toward him again, slowly, drowsily, and then closed its eyes. It was under.
The crowd drew closer. Jack reholstered the gun and Gwen appeared on the other side of the creature, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. She offered him a pair which he silently accepted. Without any further fuss they picked up the alien and carried it to the SUV waiting on the street behind the crowd.
TO BE CONTINUED...