It started off a normal day. My family and I were going to the zoo later, and the weather was great. After grabbing a bite to eat I changed clothes and brushed my teeth. Everything was fine. Then they happened.
I suppose their arrival at my door should have warned me enough, but I can be a bit stubborn at times. A woman, Japanese by my guess, and a well built man knocked on my door. I was heading out anyways, so I opened it.
"Miss, have you seen anything... strange around here lately?" the man asked, his American accent clear. He was dressed in pretty normal attire, except for the long trench coat hung over his frame. It was old, maybe WWII?
"Strange how?" I replied, and the two strangers looked at each other for a moment before the woman responded.
"I don't know, anything unusual, or... alien?"
"Alien?" I laughed "Nope, no little green men have bugged me. Just the two of you. I've got somewhere to go, so scoot." With that I headed out the door into the hallway, but the man stepped in front of me.
"If you see anything, let us know. I'm Captain Jack Harkness and this is Toshiko. We're with Torchwood."
"Yeah, sure, and I'm the queen of France."
And that wasn't the last encounter I'd have with them, oh no.
I met up with my family around 2:30pm and we all headed to the zoo. This was a special zoo too, they had all kinds of ways you could get up close and personal with the animals. One of my favorites was a jeep ride that went around the whole thing, and drove through several of the exhibits. So, just as the sun was dipping low in the sky I separated from my family for the day and went to catch a jeep. It was great! I got to feed some giraffes, and a little penguin came right up to the car door. But then we entered the wolf cage. Usually we didn't even see the wolves, as they would go into their caves before the jeep arrived. But today there were three. A brown wolf, a white wolf, and a big black wolf with green eyes.
We stopped to look at them, which was out first mistake. It was the back of the pen, completely hidden from sight. Then they surrounded us, snarling and jumping at the car. One broke the hood of the car, and another ripped the tires. It was unbelievable! That's when the black one shattered the windshield and jumped in, killing the driver. I thought he was going to kill me too, but as he bit down on my forearm and loud siren sounded. In the wink of an eye all three wolves were retreating and I was left in a broken car, holding my bloody arm.
At that point everything went fuzzy, and I felt immense pain everywhere in my body. It was like something was trying to take over. And it did.
I awoke a few minutes later, ears ringing. Standing right in front of me on the hood of the car was that man, Captain Jack Harkness, and to my right stood another man. Both had their guns pointed at me, fingers on the triggers.
"What happened?" I tried to ask, but all that came out was a sound that resembled the deep bark of a wolf.
"Keep your eyes on it Owen." It was Jack, who stared at me with aggression in his eyes. "We don't know what it is."
"Gotch's boss, keepin' my eyes on it."
That's when I realized they were talking about me. Shifting a bit I looked to the side and saw my hand. Except instead of the usual bare, tan, skin that covered my body it was covered in white fur. Terrified I scooted backwards into the seat, only to realize I'd completely transformed. I was not human anymore – or at least I did not appear to be. I had the face and head of a wolf, with long tufted ears. My torso and arms weren't that different, but my legs were long and bent back like a dog's... or something. My feet were also like a wolf, and my entire body was covered in smooth white fur.
"What's it doing?" Owen asked, since I'd just been sitting there for a time, probably appearing to freak out.
"I don't know. It might be trying to distract us, or just biding it's time." Jack replied carefully.
"Can't I just shoot it and we can go home?"
"No! We need it alive, we've never encountered anything quite like it before. No shooting. Soon Gwen and Tosh will be here with the net. Until then, we wait."
Well, I was pretty terrified at that point and had no desire to get shot, so I did what any normal creature would do. Run! In a flash I was out of the car and off into the night. I could hear Jack's cry of "Damn it!" behind me as I galloped off. The way I ran was somewhat like a wolf, though unlike a wolf as well. However it worked, my long back legs make for a quick escape, and were quite helpful for leaping over the fence surrounding the wolf enclosure. Just as I did so my large ears picked up screeching tires coming from where I had just bolted from.
"We're here!" I heard a new voice, tinged with a strong welsh accent.
"Too late," Owen replied. "It's gone."
Out of breath and completely confused I darted down an alleyway, far into the deserted part of town. A pile of old newspapers and cardboard had been blown against the alley's brick end and formed a decent bed. Better than the ground, anyways. Now the sun was down temperatures had dropped, and the little breeze which started up didn't help things. 'And my family doesn't even know anything's wrong, their probably out to dinner right now.' This thought crossed my mind as I lay huddled in the dark corner. 'Better get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow... or may a long the rest of my life.' With that final thought I drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the evening's adventure.
Unknown to me the group met at Torchwood headquarters later to discuss how to capture me.
"You know my vote." Owen stated. "Two shots in the head. Bang, bang, and we're done."
Jack sighed and shook his head. "You know we can't do that Owen. Besides, so far it hasn't seemed to pose any threat to anyone."
"Yeah, so far." Owen retorted, "But did you see it's teeth and claws? That thing's obviously a predator. And what happens when it get's hungry? Hmm?"
"Owen, don't talk like that." This time it was Gwen's Welsh accent that broke the air. "Nothing bad has happened so far, and we're not going to let it. Tosh has made a net for us that once it's placed over the creature, will make it pass out using a chemical... something."
"Exactly," added Jack. "Then we'll throw it in the truck, bring it back here, and lock it up. No one will ever know it existed."
"Fine." Owen huffed. "I'm going to bed now. See you guys in the morning."
"Not so fast." Tosh entered the room, holding a large mess of woven rope in her arms. The net's ready. The creature probably won't come out in the day, if it is anything like a wolf. It will hunt at night, which means we go now."
"There it is!" Owen's voice woke me. He was calling out to Jack and Gwen who bolted over. "I have to admit Jack, it's quite the creature. Almost beautiful if you forget the fact it's an alien."
I backed into the wall behind me, facing the three. In Gwen's arms was the net, which Jack took part of as they prepared to throw it over me.
"3...2..." Jack counted down, almost in a whisper. No doubt he was counting down to signal Gwen when to toss. "1..."
Before I could blink the mess of rope had been thrown over my strange body. With a howl I jumped to my feet, trying to shake it off and run. But the sedative had already begun to work. For the second time in one day my vision went blurry and I passed out, crumpled on the concrete.
"What a beautiful creature." This time is was Gwen's voice that woke me. My eyes fluttered open as memories of the recent events flooded my mind. Looking around my head shot up and I realized I was in a cell of sorts. The walls were stone, and the front panel was some sort of thick fiberglass with several breathing holes cut in it. I stood regularly for the first time since my transformation, a good two heads taller than most men. Gwen watched at me and smiled.
"It's much prettier than other aliens we've encountered, isn't it? And look at that! It stands like a human!"
"But what is it?" Jack walked over and stood next to Gwen.
"She's a Skalaar." Tosh entered the dimly lit room with a smile on her face. "I had to dig down in the records pretty far to find that out."
"It's a she?" I looked at Harkness as he said that. "How can you tell Tosh?"
"The ear tufts. According to this only the females have that. Unfortunately it doesn't tell us much else about them. We don't even know where she came from."
"Well what are we going to do with her? Can't just leave her down here with the weavles." Gwen shuddered as she finished talking, glancing at the snarling creatures a few cells down.
"Sure we can." Owen walked over from where he'd been watching silently. "Just leave it down here like the weavles, and try to forget it exists. Or maybe... am I allowed to do dissections in the autopsy room? Then we could get to know a bit more about these things."
"Absolutely not!" Jack shouted, making everyone jump a bit. "Why are you so against this one? You're not usually like this. And she's a her, not an it."
"Yeah, whatever." Owen turned and left to room.
A few hours later I sat alone in the corner of my cell, staring at the fiberglass wall. Everyone had left by then, probably to go home for the night. Even the weavles a few cells down were quite, leaving an eeriness in the room. Throughout the night it had felt as though a little part of my brain was a creature, an animal. And as each hour passed the little part of me that was animal took over a little part of me that was human.
Then I heard the sound of metal sliding against metal, and a squeaking as the door opened slowly. I looked up to find Owen was the one who had come down, much to my surprise.
"Hello girl. I thought you might be hungry." he was carrying a plate with a few cooked chicken breasts on it, and a large dinner roll. "Ah, forget the pleasantry. I was bored and decided to steal Jack's lunch for tomorrow since he made me take night shift." the man laughed a bit to himself. " Anyways, here's something to each if you want it." walking over to my cell he slid the plate in through a small rectangular hole just above the ground. I approached the food cautiously on all fours, not taking my eyes off him. Then, slowly I stood and walked up to the clear divider, placing my hand, or forepaw I suppose it might be called now, against the glass. As Owen watched me I watched him back with clear blue eyes. By this point I'd discovered I was not able to speak in any way he would understand, so I remained silent.
Suddenly the look in Owen's eyes changed, from an onlooker with attitude, to someone that really cared. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there? Something deeper, way down in your heart. Some sort of conscious that's almost... human." He took a step closer to the glass, placing his hand on it where my furry hand-paw rested. "I'm not going to let them keep you down here, no way. Jack was right, you're not going to hurt anyone, are you? You just want to get out of this drab place. Well tell you what, I'm getting you out. Even if I have to sneak you out the front door. I promise." A little tear rolled from the corner of his eye. "I..." he sniffed, "I know what's it's like to wake up different, not quite sure what you are. I died once then came back. But I'm different now, and I can feel it. They tried to keep me locked up too. Said I was dangerous they did. But I wasn't. No, I was just scared. Just like you are now. And that's why I'm going to help you."
I didn't sleep for the rest of the night, thinking about what Owen had said. He was going to help me, even when his team leader told him not to. I still didn't quite understand why, but somehow I felt that was okay. In the morning Tosh, Gwen, and Jack came down to the cells. Ianto and Owen weren't with them, but I figured there were other aliens beside me they had been assigned to. That or coffee maybe.
"Jack, Gwen, I'll need you help." Tosh looked at the other two, then open up a little metal briefcase in her hands. "We need blood samples, but I have a feeling it would be best if I didn't try to get them myself. Once I can run her blood through the system we'll know more about these things."
"Got it." Jack answered. "Gwen, you and I will got in. Talk to it, try and keep it calm. I'll come in from the other side with the muzzle. Once I've got it's face you stand back, cause it'll probably kick a bit. Once it calms down a bit we'll grab it and ties it's legs. Then Tosh can do what she needs." He turned to his coworkers. "We can even bring it to the examination table if you want."
"No, that's okay." Tosh replied. "She's fine down here. Besides, we don't know how strong these things are. She could fake it, then get free in the main room. Then we'd have a bigger mess on our hands."
45 minutes later their plan was carried out, and three samples of my blood had been taken along with a sample of my fur and saliva. I didn't fight them too much, even though very little of me was still human mentally I knew they'd leave me alone sooner if I cooperated.
After that the day passed by rather uneventfully. Nobody came down to the cells again, and everything sounded rather calm in the other room. I'd lost track of what time it was, there wasn't any sunlight to tell what part of the day we were at. Only dull, yellow lights hung from the low ceiling. At one point, many hours later, I heard some faint cheering and whoops from the team but soon it fell quiet again.
"Hey girl! Wake up!" My eyes fluttered open and I saw Owen standing at my cell. How did he always manage to catch me when I was asleep, especially with how little rest I'd gotten over the past two days? "They're all at the bar getting drinks. Told 'em I wasn't feeling well and was going to hit the sack early. Now come on, now's our chance to get you out!"
Quickly he unlocked my cell door and let me out, before turning and leading me up to the main room. It was bigger than I had expected, though still a bit dark. Up above our heads a pterodactyl screamed as it flew around. It didn't surprise me they had a dinosaur though, not after the recent events. Pressing a few buttons Owen opened a large round door, which looked somewhat like a gear as it rolled to the side. Soon we were up in what I assume was the reception area, for public appearances and whatnot.
Once we were outside it wasn't hard to tell what time it was. The sky was dark, and the crescent moon overhead cast it's pale light down on the bare stone ground. Few people were out, and those that were paid to attention to the two dark figures lurking in the shadows nearby. With a nod Owen suddenly dashed off through the dark and I followed him, keeping as low to the ground as I could. "Come on girl, I've got a place you can hide for now. There's an abandoned warehouse not far from here." And sure enough, after about 15 minutes of running we arrived at the forlorn brick building. All the windows and doors were boarded up, but it was easy enough to pry enough off to slip through. It was even darker inside, the perfect hiding place. "Now you just stay here. I'd take you further tonight, but Tosh said to wanted to talk to me tonight after she finished her drink. I've got to get back to my place before she does. Anyways, stay here, and stay out of trouble. I'll be back tomorrow night and we'll see if we can find you somewhere safer. I was thinking about taking you to Brecon. Not the city of course, but there's a sizable wildlife area near there were I think you'll be able to stay hidden for a good long time. Won't take much more than an hour to drive you there. I'll tell Jack I've got some personal stuff to attend to."
"Where the hell did she go?" Jack's voice echoed angrily through the rooms of Torchwood, and he soon appeared in the doorway with flared eyes. "Somehow that alien, the Skalaar, managed to get out! I want to know how! There's no way she could have done it on her own!" He paused, thinking. "Everyone to the briefing room. Now!" With that he turned, coat billowing behind him.
It wasn't long before the entire team was seated at the table, with Jack standing at one end. "So... is there anything anyone would like to say? Anything at all?" his gaze turned to Gwen. "What about you? You're always the one who finds a soft spot for the aliens we bring in." He walked towards her, like a tiger stalking it's prey.
"I...I really didn't Jack, I had nothing to do with this I swear!" her lip trembled a bit, and you could see in her eyes she was hurt from Jack's harsh words.
"Then who was it? You'd better not be lying Gwen. I like you, you know that. But I cannot let disobedience go ignored, especially when it means there's now an alien, possibly very dangerous, roaming the streets of Cardiff again!"
Just then Owen's voice cut in as he stood, and all eyes turned to him. "I let the alien go, Jack. Gwen had nothing to do with it. It was me."
"Why?" Jack's attention and anger turned to Owen. "You of all people should know how dangerous the aliens we find can be. And we know next to nothing about his one or her kind!"
"I let her go because I felt it was the right thing to do. Simple as that. Besides, did we actually see her attack anyone? She didn't even fight us when we were chasing her, or since we've brought her here."
"Get out of my sight." Jack clenched his jaw, staring at Owen. "You're done for the day. Get out."
Knowing better than to stay and argue with Jack he nodded and turned, walking out. After he was gone Jack stopped and thought for a moment, planning what to do next.
"Tosh, get the tranquilizers and net then go to the car. Gwen, Ianto, you're with me. Let's go."
Soon they were out on the road, searching for me. "Tosh, you getting any readings of alien life on the scanner?" Jack looked back at her. Ianto was driving, since even Jack knew it probably wasn't safe for him to do so at the moment.
"Nothing yet... wait! I've got something. The old warehouse. The weavles hid there sometimes, but it could be her."
"Let's go then! Hit the gas Ianto!"