[edit]

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Hence the disclaimer.


CHAPTER 4: FIRST WARNING

"Have you noticed that the breeze is gone?" Jack asked as he followed the tour group.

"What?" The Doctor turned around. "What did you say?"

Jack dismissed the question. "It probably doesn't matter," he said. "Not that important anyway."

"Oh. Right then." The Doctor kept walking, but suddenly stopped. "Ooo, shiny." Jack peered over the Time Lord's shoulder into the cavern they were entering. The walls were a milky white colour, but shiny flecks in the rock reflected the light from their headlamps. The Doctor ran his hand across the wall.

"Probably quartz," he was saying. "An extremely common mineral, but it does have a nice visual effect."

"Really?" Jack asked absently, admiring a glittering stalactite that was hanging near his head.

"Yeah. Or it could be mica," the Doctor continued. "That can often been found embedded in certain types of rock. Gives the same effect as quartz, but not quite as well known. Although, I would assume that this is quartz, considering the geological area we are in."

"Don't tell me," Jack said, holding up his hands. "You were part of a geological team that surveyed this area."

The Doctor laughed. "No. Don't be stupid," he replied. "Its the type of rock that's a giveaway. Often found in the same area as quartz, due to being made up from the same types of base elements. Very soft rock." He scratched at the wall with a fingernail, and glittering pieces flaked away easily.

"Okay. So the hint here is not to touch any stalactites, as they might fall on you," Jack said, taking a prudent step away from a hanging rock formation.

"Only if you're not careful. The things are pretty stable," the Doctor replied, rapping his hand on the rock beside his head. "They will only fall on you if you're very unlucky. Though," he added thoughtfully. "You do seem to be a bad luck charm."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Jack grumbled. "It makes me fell so much safer."

"Always glad to be of assistance," the Doctor laughed. "Watch out. There's one right above your head."

Jack sighed and walked further into the room. Lora was waiting patiently for the whole tour group to assemble. When everyone had finished looking around the cavern, she motioned for them all to come closer. "Now," she began. "Do we all know what chimneys are?" Jack was surprised when a couple of people said no.

"What's going on? Don't they have fireplaces in this time period?" he whispered to the Doctor.

"Not that type of chimney. The other type. The rock formation type," the Time Lord explained slowly.

"Can anyone here tell me what a chimney is?" Lora continued.

The Doctor looked around, and when no other answer was forthcoming, sighed and raised his hand. "Chimneys are air-filled tubes through solid rock," he explained. "Often found where water has cut holes through the bedrock. Most common in limestone caves, they are-"

"Alright," said Lora, cutting the Doctor off. "In spelunking, a common activity is to climb through chimneys, as they often connect caverns together. However, it is not for everyone. If you don't feel up to going through the chimneys, you can go with Tom. He will take you through some easier passages, but don't worry, we'll meet up again. If you want to go with Tom, you can go now." Carl and Freda left the group, and stood with Tom, who waved boredly. When it was apparent that no one else was coming to join his group, the guide shrugged. With a quick gesture, he motioned for Carl and Freda to follow him. They disappeared down a side passage, the light from their headlamps fading from view. "Right," Lora continued. "Now, since we're one guide down, I'll need one of you more experienced people to demonstrate. Brittany? You've done this before, haven't you?"

Brittany nodded, and reached up into the tube above her. "Just do what I do," she said as she hauled herself in.


"Awwww, come on! This is fun," Freda insisted, ducking under a low-hanging part of the ceiling.

"Boring, more like," Carl grumbled. "I don't know why I came anyway."

Freda sighed. Sometimes, there was just no pleasing some people. Tom was waiting up ahead for them to catch up. "Not far now," he called. "We can stop for a rest break in the next cavern." Carl grumbled under his breath, but Freda smiled gleefully.

"This is great," she said. "So exciting."

"Does everything excite you?" Carl moaned. "How can you be so happy all the time."

"Oh, lay off her Carl," Tom directed. "She's not doing any harm." The three continued to walk in silence, until they reached an open area. It was a circular cave, only about six metres across. Freda sat down on the floor, and took a sip from her water bottle, which she had retrieved out of her backpack.

"Alright, we can take a five minute break," Tom said, peering down an exit. Carl walked out into the middle of the room, but , on impulse, turned around, and looked back down the passage they had come from.

"It's a bit chilly in here," Freda said with a shiver. "There's a bit of a breeze."

Tom turned sharply, and gave her an appraising look. "What?" he asked.

"Just a bit cold," she replied, turning away from Carl who was walking towards where they had entered from.

"Oh, that's alright, then," Tom replied, turning away. "I thought you said something about a breeze."

"A breeze?" Freda said. "Yeah. You can feel it too?"

Tom spun around quickly. "A breeze is not a good sign," he yelled. "How can there be a breeze down here! It's not possible."

"Hey, no need to - uh, where's Carl?"

"Oh." Carl was gone. Tom scanned the room quickly, but there was no way anyone could hide in it. The guide checked down both passages, but the tunnels were empty.

"What's this?" Freda asked, standing up, a misshapen object in her hand. Tom took it. It was a brown fabric rucksack, with the Crusader logo stamped on the side. Well, it was only part of a rucksack. Half of it was missing, as though torn, but the tear was smooth. There were no frayed edges. Tom ran his finger along it; it was completely smooth, as though it had been made that way. Reaching inside, Tom withdrew a water bottle that was missing a top. The edges on that were the same as the bag; utterly smooth. It was as if half the bag and its contents had just disappeared.

"Now, that's strange," Tom said quietly, unhooking his radio receiver from his belt. He turned it on, but the only thing he got was static. "And that's not good." He stuck it back on is belt, and turned around. He froze instantly. Standing in the passageway was a dark shape, easily taller than he was. The room was deathly silent as the creature gave a hiss. It's outline was indistinct, but the vague shape of arms and legs was visible.

"Run!" Tom shouted, his radio in his hand again. Freda sprinted ahead of him down the other passage.

"Lora!" Tom called into his radio. "Lora! Are you there?" The only reply was static. Swearing, Tom kept running, not looking back, sure that the creature was right behind him. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs felt as though they were on fire. When he finally caught up with Freda, she was cowering behind a rock pillar, shivering from exhaustion. Tom slowed, and checked that there was nothing behind them.

When he was sure the passage was empty, he crouched down next to Freda. "It's okay," he said reassuringly. "It's gone now. You're safe."

Freda seemed to be in shock. "That thing got Carl," she sobbed. "It got Carl!"

Tom patted her on the shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he said. "We'll get through this. Here, I'll try my radio again." Tom stood up, dropping Carl's bag to the floor. He hadn't realised that he still had it, and felt chilled by the realisation of what had happened.

"Lora?" he said tentatively into the radio. "Are you there?"

There was a moment's silence, then the reply came through, strong and clear. "Tom. Is something wrong?" He almost shook with relief.

"Something's happened. Carl - he - he was - well, he's dead."

"What?" exclaimed Lora through the radio. "Did I just hear you right? Did you say someone died?"

Tom took a deep breath. "Yes. I don't know what happened. There was some kind of creature," he began, but Lora cut him off before he could elaborate further.

"A creature? What -" Lora broke off, and Tom listened tensely to the sound of voices arguing. "What kind of creature?" Lora asked after the voices stopped.

"It was dark .... and tall," Tom said, unsure of what to say. "I couldn't really tell.

"Dark and tall," Lora repeated slowly. "Any other - excuse me a moment." There was silence from the radio for a long time, and Tom thought it might be broken again. "Sorry about the wait," Lora said when she came back. "The others wanted to know what was going on. Oh, and John Smith wants to talk to you, if that's okay."

"John Smith," Tom growled, his anger rising. "What does he want?"

"Let me just check," Lora replied. Hurried voices came through the radio, and Lora's could be heard over the noise.

"He says he wants to ask you a few questions," she said after the hubbub died down. "Something about a breeze."

"How did he know?" Tom breathed, startled. "Put him on."

"Alright - John!" There was a crackling noise from the other end, and after a few seconds, another voice came through the radio.

"Tom? Are you still there?" it said loudly.

Tom gave a sigh. "Yes, John. You can talk a little quieter can't you?" he replied, mildly annoyed.

"John? Sounds so formal, don't you think?" the voice continued, softer this time. "Please, just call me the Doctor."

"Yes. Okay. Whatever. What is it you wanted to know?"

"Right, start at the beginning. What were you doing before you were attacked?"

"Well, we had just stopped for a rest in a small cave. For a break," Tom said.

"Yeah. What did this cave look like?" the Doctor asked slowly.

"It was - it was small, with only two exits. And very dark."

"Very dark," the Doctor repeated. "Sure. Now, where was Carl standing before he disappeared?"

"He was standing next to the passage we'd entered from, I'm pretty sure," explained Tom, starting to get irritated by all the little details that the Doctor kept asking about. "Because I was standing at the other exit. The only other exit."

"Mmm, okay," the Doctor mumbled. "When did you first notice he was gone?"

"Freda noticed," Tom stated. "She said something about a breeze, and that's when I got worried. Then she said that Carl was gone, and I looked and he wasn't there anymore. Doctor? Is there a connection between the breeze and the creature I saw?"

There was a long pause before the Doctor spoke again. "Possibly," he said. "That's what I'm trying to find out. Now, this breeze. Was there anything unusual about it?"

Tom thought hard for a moment. "What's the point of all these meaningless questions?" he growled. "It's a waste of time, and the more we talk, the more danger we're in! The creature could come back at any moment."
"Please just answer the question," the Doctor hissed. "I'm trying to be helpful here."

"Ah. In that case, the breeze was cold," Tom said sarcastically. "That good enough for you?"

"Yes, that is interesting," the Doctor replied seriously. "Can you describe the creature to me?"

"Hmmm. Okay, it was tall, taller than me. It had to stand hunched over in the passage," Tom explained. "And it was dark, like - like a shadow."

"Right. Humanoid?" the Doctor asked.

"What?" Tom said, thoroughly confused.

"Humanoid. Two arms, two legs?"

"Oh, yeah," Tom said, suddenly comprehending. "Yeah it did. Except, it looked more like an insect."

"Uh-huh. Now, I think you need to come find us as - what?" The Doctor began shouting at someone who must have been standing next to him. "Shut up Jack! Now, where was I? Oh, that's right. Come find us. Safety in numbers, and all that stuff. Alright, how do you turn this thing off? Ah, this button!" The radio went silent.

Tom clipped it back on his belt. "Come on Freda," he said, extending his hand. "Lets go." Freda looked up, and took his hand gratefully. The guide hauled her to her feet. "Come, we'll go find the others. It'll be okay." The two of them walked off into the darkness, Tom with the destroyed bag in his hands.


Jack paced silently across the cavern. What had started as a fun outing, was quickly turning into a dangerous encounter. The Doctor stood still, his arms crossed, watching Jack walk backwards and forwards. The Time Lord sighed, and turned away from the Torchwood captain. He ran his fingers through his hair, and sat down on the floor. He stared at the thick notebook that lay open in his hands.

"Dark and tall. Insect-like. What kind of creature is this?" he asked himself, reading from the page. "Two arms, two legs, but like an insect. Like a shadow." He flicked through the notepad, trying to find any reference to a similar creature.

"Daleks, Slitheen, Sycorax. No, none of them sound anything like this creature," the Doctor grumbled, licking his finger and turning more pages rapidly. "How can - unless ...." His finger hovered over a page titled 'Midnight'.

"Hmmm, a dark creature. It could be," he mused. "Crusader company as well. But it doesn't explain the - oh no, no. It does. This is definitely not good. It explains everything. But how did it get here?" He snapped shut the small book, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Jack!" The Doctor said loudly. "Over here."

The Captain stopped his pacing and turned around. "What?" he called across the cavern.

"Come here! It's important."

Jack grumbled and walked over to the Time Lord. "What's going on now?" he asked, upset that his pacing had been interrupted.

"This creature, I think I know where it's from," the Doctor explained.

Jack was suddenly interested. "Continue," he said delicately, folding his arms slowly.

"I think it was from Mid-" the Doctor began, but he paused when he saw Brittany giving him a piercinglook. He quickly lowered his voice. "From Midnight," he repeated. "But there, it wasn't so .... substantial. The way Tom described it, it has a physical form. On Midnight, it used some form of psychic connection to control a member of my tour group."

"Are you sure it's the same creature?" Jack asked.

"It's the only thing I can think of," the Doctor whispered. "There's no other explanation." He pulled his notebook out of his pocket and waved it in Jack's face. "It was the only thing in here I found that sounded anything like what Tom said." He tucked the small book back in his pocket.

"Now we know what it is, we can beat it right?" Jack questioned the Time Lord.

"Yeah. That won't work this time," the Doctor replied. "But luckily, it hasn't shown itself so far."

"It killed someone!" Jack exclaimed, ignoring stares from the rest of their group.

"It did? Oh, yes. Carl." The Doctor seemed shocked, as if he hadn't that someone had died. "That changes things. Ah, well. We can worry about that when everyone gets back." He stood up and dusted off his coat. He gave Jack a smile, turned, and took a step. He paused, one foot in the air, and looked back. "Jack," he said. "Please don't tell me that there is a breeze."

Jack froze. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there is one," he replied carefully. The Doctor lowered his foot.

"Why can't they just leave us alone? And why do I always have to do something about it?" The Doctor grumbled, taking off across the room. "Dark, tall and insect-like, and no way to identify it. And how do we defeat it. Jack, any suggestions?" He stopped and looked down a passageway before sprinting across the room again.

"Uh, we need to work out how it creates the breeze. That might help us," Jack supplied.

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Brilliant," he called out, quickly changing directions. "That might just work. Good idea."

"Doctor!" Brittany shouted across the room.

"I'm busy," he yelled back. "Where's Lora?"

"Over there," Jack replied, pointing.

"Ah, thank-you Jack," the Doctor said, dashing towards the guide.

"But Doctor!" Brittany exclaimed.

"Can't you see that I'm busy? Ask me later."

"It's important," Brittany muttered, tucking a small object into her pocket.

"Don't worry about him," Jack said to her. "When the excitement dies down, he'll listen to you." Jack began to turn away, but stopped when he heard the sharp intake of breath from Brittany.

"Jack?" she said warily.

"Yes," he said slowly, turning around to face her.

"Has the excitement died down yet?" she asked seriously. "Because this is very important."

"Um, Doctor!" Jack called out. "You better have a way to defeat this creature."

The Doctor turned around. "Hey, don't rush me," he said. "I can't - oh." He noticed for the first time the creature standing in the entrance to a passageway. It was dark, tall insect-like and didn't look friendly.

"Uh, Lora," the Doctor whispered. "Whatever you do, do not panic."