Article U995P
Security Level: Theta
Date of Discovery: 6/11/1885
Area of Discovery: Charleston Manor, Lake District
Other Details: This letter was found on the bed of Lady Grace Charleston on the 6th of November 1885 after her sudden disappearance. Her body was never found. As it was written by an old woman of negligible health and unsound mind, the information enclosed is most likely to be of little value. However the description of the 'Ballroom incident' of 1847 led it to be added to our archives. The original document has been destroyed as per protocol. Permission is needed for any copies to be created and they should be disposed of after use.
To my saviour,
You promised you would see me again but, alas, it seems fate has other ideas. I do not really know why the last words I will ever write are addressed to you but it seems right. I am not the philistine they take me for- I may be old but my mind has not gone. Or perhaps it has… Perhaps my sanity left a long time ago, in that wonderful time when my dearest James was alive. But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. What happened that day has never left my memory, decades have flown by but I cannot forget. But it is a mercy that I also have not forgotten you.
I can envision your face in front of me right now. When I saw you I could not believe my eyes, you looked so normal and yet… And yet there was something so different about you. So lively, so electric and so powerful. Your eyes betrayed you though. I could see a deep-rooted loneliness in them; it made me want to sob until no more tears would come. A lonely god- that was how I saw you. I hope your companion has helped alleviate your suffering since then.
I found it so strange that although she was the one wearing the odd clothes and acting perhaps even stranger than you, you were the one who stuck out the most. It was you who everyone stared at and even looked down upon when you first entered. Later they all ran to you, anxiously clawing for authority. You were the only one who knew what was happening, the only one who could stop that thing
I will never forget it.
My God, it was so alien that nobody knew what to do at first. It just appeared, out of nowhere in the middle of the hall. Everyone was dancing, laughing, eating and then it just came. We all just looked at this odd metal thing, with its bottom covered with rounded protrusions and the odd thing sticking out of it which humorously looked like a toilet plunger. I even heard someone laugh at the strangeness of it all.
No one laughed at what happened next.
James was the first one to die. You took my hand, pulled me away from his lifeless body and told me to run. I obeyed, ignoring the screams of my friends and family. Nobody else but me ran. I think it was the shock; there was no reason for anyone or anything to do this. It just started to shoot at us, screaming 'EXTERMINATE' like we were pests. My husband was no pest. I couldn't keep it up for long though- it came after me. I don't remember much after that but you were holding a large implement of some sort at the creature. Then it just disappeared again. Leaving me alone, with you and your companion. We talked for a long time, you and I- I didn't understand most of what you said but I still listened. I was so glad to be alive…
I was the only official survivor. You offered to take me with you but I refused, I had to pick up the pieces at home. Then you made your promise which I'm afraid will soon be broken. I understand, creatures like that thing need to be stopped- I would not want to waste your time. I do not know how that blue box of yours works but I only hope you have stopped that thing once and for all. I met a man soon after the incident, a captain who knew all about you. He seemed very polite and eager to find you. Perhaps this is your way; you meet us, turn our lives upside down and leave suddenly with unfulfilled promises of return.
In fact I think I can hear that box of yours right now. O how the mind plays tricks on us! It sounded so real and yet I know it is all in my head.
Your face has appeared at the door now. I must be further gone than I thought. You look exactly the same, so lively and yet so lonely. Why does this hallucination beckon me? Perhaps Death has taken a friendly form to tempt me. You cannot possibly be real. You cannot. You…
Thank you… Thank you so much.
A/N I did a comic using this theme on the BBC website- unfortunately I can't remember the link. I think it's a bit disjointed in places and if anyone gets confused by it then please tell me. This is (hopefully) the first in a series about the items in the Torchwood Archives, quite similar to the stuff on the official website.