Chapter 1: Rose
The sky was grey, typically English weather. It made everyone feel gloomy, as any bad weather did, but in one way, it was a perfect match for Rose Tyler's mood. Ever since she had become separated from the Doctor, trapped in an alternate universe, she had been in this mood. It wasn't quite depression; maybe it was longing for somebody she didn't realise she loved until after he was gone? She knew she would never see him again, and that tore her up inside. At least she had Mickey, Jackie and Pete, but most of the time they were only cold comfort.
The only person she had made a real connection with was Rex Matheson. He was her boss at Torchwood, and she knew that they were not supposed to be friends. If someone was your boss, they were supposed to give your orders and then scream at you when you screwed up. But Rex was different. He had comforted Rose; he had helped her grieve. He had been there for her, more than what her family had been.
He was always the first person to greet her as she showed up at Torchwood's Canary Warf headquarters each morning. Located inside 20 St Mary Axe, the team had access to highly advanced but classified technologies. They occupied only the top three floors of the building; the rest was owned by private companies ranging from banks to infomercial production companies.
'I can't believe this; the weather has been like this for weeks!' Rex said as Rose came into his office. Rex had an American accent that Rose liked. He had been born in Langley, Virginia, but had immigrated to the UK with his family about ten years ago. He didn't say hi to Rose this morning, instead handing her a folder.
'What's this?' Rose asked as she opened it, revealing what appeared to be an abandoned tube station that somebody had set on fire. Below the track bed was a gaping hole.
'Last night there was an explosion at Holborn tube station. The Piccadilly line platforms were completely destroyed and part of the roof collapsed. That's the hole you can see in the first photo.'
'Were there any injuries?' asked Rose, still flicking through crime scene photos? She caught a glimpse of a charred corpse in one of them. She felt sorry for whoevere that had been.
'A homeless man living in the station was killed; we havn't identified him yet. But that's not why we're involved. The police determined that the explosion came from under the station. Something had blasted it's way up from underneath. That something, Rose Tyler, has your name on it.'
Rose suddenly lost awareness of her surroundings. The only thing she could see or hear as Rex. Fear flowed through her, fear of the unknown. But she also felt hope, hope that this might be a message from the Doctor.