All the Road Running...
Gwen sat silently, staring at her computer screen, trying to finish the report she was typing and having immense difficulty concentrating. The rift had been abnormally quite for the past week. Not that that left the team with any shortage of work to do. They'd been off their feet for the past month and Gwen knew for a fact that she wasn't the only one with a backlog of paperwork, they should all be glad for the rest... but somehow the sudden inactivity was almost worse than the frantic pace of the previous few weeks. Everyone was tense, waiting in crackling anticipation for whatever it was the rift was building up to.
The scent of fresh coffee invaded Gwen's senses. She lent back from her computer, groaning with anticipation, and beamed at the bearer as he handed her mug over.
"Ianto you're a saint!" she sighed taking a sip. "You know the absolute best thing about it being quite is that I actually have time to enjoy your coffee rather than practically sculling it for the caffeine content?"
"Not that you get to spend time with your fiancé?", teased the young man, "I mean I've heard of caffeine addicts but..."
"But nothing.", interrupted Gwen firmly, a twinkle in her eye, "Rhys has only ever done instant and what's more he tried to fob me off with decafe this morning. Trust me. By the time I get in here you've been promoted to God status in my mind!"
Ianto smirked, opened his mouth to reply, and the rift alarm went off, Tosh's voice ringing out across the Hub.
"Huge rift spike, something's definitely come through... Jack! It's right outside! Right outside the millennium centre", there was a short pause as she tapped manically at her keyboard, refining the scan, "One", she said at last, "definitely humanoid but not moving."
"Yeah...yet", Jack responded, scooping up his gun as he headed for the lift. "Owen, Gwen, With me. Tosh, Ianto, get ready for visitors."
Adrenaline was already pumping through Jacks veins as he jumped up onto the invisible lift and pulled Gwen up next to him, initiating it as Owen joined them, first aid bag hastily slung over his shoulder. He'd missed this. The rush of heading out to meet the unknown... but then no-one hated paperwork quite as much as Jack, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to fob off onto Ianto, the young man could usually be persuaded to at least help out if Jack had something else that he could at least pretend was important to be doing, but with the resent spat of inactivity... He shook his head sharply trying to clear it, there was a feint tugging at the back of his mind, like a half forgotten memory, like someone's face you know you ought to recognise... he ignored it, focusing on the task at hand as they emerged into the square.
"Still there Tosh?" he queried tapping his com
"Yes", she responded immediately, "I've got it up on the CCTV. I think it's hurt Jack... it's still not moving, jut lying there. To your left."
Jack turned to his left and the tugging at his mind tripled in strength, no longer ignorable, almost as though...
"No."He whispered softly as his eyes finally settled on the figure on the ground.
"Jack?" Gwen asked nervously, instinctively reaching for her gun.
"No no no no NO!" gasped Jack setting off at a sprint.
"There's a victim" hissed Owen and sprinted off after Jack, Gwen hard on his heels, towards the still form on the ground. They watched Jack reach her; roll her over onto her back. His hand coming back from her shoulder covered in blood.
Owen dropped to his knees on the other side of the girl. Immediately slipping into doctor mode as Gwen checked the surrounding area for signs of the alien, coming up with nothing.
"She's alive", he stated, "but pretty roughed up. We need to get her to a hospital. Tosh can you-"
"No!" said Jack sharply laying a hand on the unconscious girls cheek, "Come on sweetheart. Open those beautiful eyes and talk to me", he muttered softly. Owen blinked.
"Hang on, you know her?"
Gwen tapped her com "Tosh we've lost it. Can you-"
"No you haven't.", interrupted Tosh, "You're right next to it"
"Yes" said Jack suddenly, looking up at Owen, "Yes, I know her. We need to get her back to the hub." He carefully began to gather her up into his arms.
"Jack", said Gwen urgently, "Tosh thinks she's what came through."
"That would be right" he responded straightening "Come on".
The team gathered on the walkway surrounding the autopsy bay as Jack gently laid his burden on the table and Owen set to work. The girl looked to be about nineteen or twenty, had long black hair and skin so pale it almost had a silvery sheen to it. She was dressed in a rough tunic and pants made out of a coarse brown material that put Gwen in mind of sacking and her back, it became obvious as Owen began cutting away the tunic from her shoulders, had almost all the skin and large chunks of flesh torn off it. It looked as though someone had systematically flogged her with barbed wire.
"Jesus Christ!" breathed Owen, "What happened to you?" He picked up a cloth soaked in antiseptic and began cleaning the wounds across her shoulder blades.
She screamed.
Woke up fighting, struggling against Owens hands as he instinctively tried to restrain her and crying out in a language Gwen didn't recognise and was fairly sure didn't originate on Earth. A suspicion that Tosh's hiss of excitement practically confirmed.
"Mear!" Jack was at her side instantly, gripping her wrists, "Mear, sweetheart, look at me. Look at me! It's me, Jack. You're safe." The girl grabbed onto his sleeve like it was a life line. Knuckles white, eyes wide with fear, and started to say something in the same alien language she'd called out in.
"Sweetheart you're hurt.", Jack interrupted, "My friend's a medic, he's gonna help you but you need to tell us where the others are."
"Others?", Ianto hissed softly to Tosh and Gwen, "There are more of them?"
Tosh shook her head, "She's all that came through. I'm sure of it"
The girl on the table didn't look any less confused than the team felt, but appeared to have calmed down enough to switch to English.
"What?"
"The others", Jack repeated more urgently "Carl, Tam, Mina, Andy... we can help then Mear but first we have to know where they are."
The girl was shaking her head "You can't", she seemed to be having difficulty breathing.
"Jack!", said Owen sharply, "She's in pain and she's bleeding."
"So give her something for it!", Jack snapped harshly before turning back to the girl, "I'll find them. Imeara look at me! I promised I'd take care of you all and I will. Help me! Tell me where-"
"Dead." She rasped and he froze. "They're all dead." She repeated and passed out, the strong pain killer and sedative Owen had injected her with taking over her body.
Jack didn't move. His fingers were still tightly gripping her limp hand, his face ashen. Like in the morgue thought Gwen with a shiver like death... Who were these people?
"Ah, Jack?", Owens voice broke into the deathly silence of the hub, "I really need to get her cleaned up. She's not bleeding as much as I'd expect from the severity of her wounds but still..."
Jack released her hand and stepped back, stared at her for a moment then turned and headed for his office without a word. There was a shocked silence between the watchers on the walkway as they tried to absorb what had just happened, then Gwen turned and set off after the retreating figure of their boss almost at a run.
"Jack?" she called as she began to mount the stairs leading up to his office, he hesitated at the door, his back to her, "Jack, what-"
"Tell the others I want you all up here when Owen's finished", he said flatly and opened the door.
"Are..." Gwen stopped. Clearly he wasn't "all right". She found herself at an uncharacteristic loss for words, not helped when he finally turned to face her. The barely contained pain in his eyes making her want to cling to him and weep, to somehow absorb some of that hurt and carry it for him.
"Not before Gwen" he said softly. "I need... I'll tell you together."
The door snapped shut behind him.