Chapter Nine
Jack stared up at the ceiling as he lay in the bed in his hotel room. He had been trying for the past hour to get to sleep, but the Doctor's words kept him awake.
You're wrong, Jack.
An aberration.
You shouldn't exist.
"Got to hand it to you, Doc, when you need to tell someone something, you don't mince words." He muttered. "It's bad enough I'm immortal without my best friend telling me I'm a freak of nature on top of it."
He sighed.
"Dammit," he said as he got up. "That's it, I'm going for a walk around the block. Maybe that'll help me go to sleep."
Grabbing his coat, he slung it over his shoulder and grabbed his key card as he headed towards the door.
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The watcher smiled as she watched the lights go off in the Time Lord's room. He and his female were going to sleep and even better they had kept the balcony door open slightly in order to let the night breeze cool the room. Her smile widened.
"Now, I will take what is mine." She said to herself.
Keeping her eyes on the room, she quickly scrambled down the tree and hurried across the street before anyone could see her.
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"Good evening, sir."
Jack looked over as he passed the front desk. The man behind it smiled at him.
"Good evening." Jack replied.
"Is your room satisfactory, sir?" the man asked.
"Yes, very satisfactory, thanks."
"Is there anything you need, sir?"
"Not at the moment, just going for a walk."
The man nodded.
"Enjoy your walk then, sir."
"Thanks." Jack said smiling.
He finished putting his coat on as he headed out the front door.
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The watcher smirked as she crawled up the side of the building towards the Time Lord's balcony. This was going to be so easy. The fool had made it even easier by leaving his door ajar. With them being asleep, she would be able to overpower them before they knew what hit them and if the Time Lord was able to put up some resistance, well, she would just have to hurt his mate then, wouldn't she?
She paused beside the balcony and inched over to the door. She cautiously leaned over and looked into the room. The Time Lord and his mate were in the bed closest to the door. They were wrapped in each other's arms and to her delight; both of them were sound asleep. Laughing softly, she leapt down onto the balcony.
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Looking both ways, Jack hurried across the street. Reaching the footpath, he turned and paused for a moment trying to decide which way to go. As he looked both ways, something caught his eye and he looked back up at the hotel. His eyes widened when he noticed there was someone standing on the balcony that he knew belonged to the Doctor and Rose's room. His heart raced when he could tell the person wasn't either of them. He watched as the stranger silently opened the balcony door and went inside the darkened room.
"Oh shit. This can't be good." He muttered to himself.
Putting on a burst of speed, he hurried back across the street to the hotel.
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The watcher crept through the darkness towards the sleeping couple. She would subdue the Time Lord first since she knew he would be the one most likely to put up a fight. Then, once he was out of the way, his mate would be next. She grinned as she walked up to the female's side of the bed and stared down at her. She was pretty…for a human. She could see why the Time Lord was so taken with her. She reached out and touched her hair. The female stirred in her sleep. The Time Lord unconsciously pulled her closer to him and sighed contentedly. The watched envied him, she knew love once. There was a time when she had numerous brothers and sisters, but all those were destroyed by Torchwood when they took her from her nest. Her race was once the most powerful and feared in the entire universe, but the Time Lords had put an end to their reign. Now she was the last of her kind, but if she had her way, it wouldn't be for long. The Time Lord didn't deserve to be happy. Didn't deserve to love or be loved in return. The only thing he deserved was pain and torment and suffering and death and she would give him each of these things gladly.
She moved around to the other side of the bed and stared down at the slumbering Time Lord. She listened to his soft, deep breathing and smirked knowing he was unaware of her presence. It would only take one quick bite on the neck and he would be paralyzed and helpless while she dealt with his female. And then, she would take them both back to her nest and take her time torturing them before she finally killed them. The thought of bringing the pompous Time Lord to his knees and watching him cower before her filled her with delight and she fought to keep herself calm. She had to be careful and move swiftly and quietly before he knew what was going on and could put up a defense. Leaning over slowly, she opened her mouth and positioned her venom-laden fangs over the Doctor's jugular vein. She paused a moment and then…
"DOCTOR!"
The watcher jerked her head up when she heard someone pounding on the door and screaming the Time Lord's name. She stepped back into the shadows as the Time Lord and his mate woke and sat up quickly in the bed.
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"DOCTOR!" Jack screamed as he pounded on the door.
The Doctor let out an angry sigh as he threw the covers off him.
"Bloody Hell." He muttered as he walked to the door.
He unlocked the door and opened it.
"What, Ja---"
He gasped as Jack pushed him aside and ran in the room.
"What the Hell is wrong with you, Jack?" the Doctor said angrily as Jack looked around the darkened room.
He looked out the door and saw some people were starting to come out of their rooms.
"It's okay," he said to them. "My friend's…drunk."
He closed the door.
"What is going on, Jack!" he demanded as Jack ran over and flipped on the light switch.
He and Rose both blinked as light flooded their eyes.
"Jack!" The Doctor said as he walked over to him. "What are you doing?"
"There's someone in your room! I was going out for a walk and saw someone come in the balcony door!" Jack said looking around.
The Doctor and Rose looked at each other. Rose flung the covers off of her and leapt up from the bed.
"Where? What did this person look like?" the Doctor asked as she went to the Doctor's side.
"Medium height, thin, bald with red skin." Jack said looking under their bed.
The Doctor's eyes widened.
"Red skin? Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yup."
The Doctor and Rose looked around them.
"Did it go back out on the balcony?" Rose asked walking towards the sliding glass door.
The Doctor grabbed her arm and Rose turned to look at him. She saw he was pointing straight ahead of him. She looked in the direction he was pointing and looked at the closet near the door. Jack looked at it too, looked at the Doctor and nodded.
"Rose, get behind me." The Doctor muttered to her.
"Doctor…"
"Don't argue, Rose."
Rose walked behind the Doctor as he looked at Jack. Jack crept over to the closet and put his hand on the doorknob, he looked back at the Doctor who was retrieving his sonic screwdriver from his jacket. He walked over until he was near the door. He looked back at Rose who was standing behind him and pointed to her side of the bed.
"Get down." He mouthed to her.
Rose obeyed and ducked down beside the bed. The Doctor looked back at Jack and tensed his muscles.
"On the count of three." He mouthed to Jack.
Jack nodded and the Doctor held up his hand. He raised one finger, then two and then three. On the third finger, Jack threw open the door as the Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the…empty closet.
"Bugger." The Doctor muttered lowering his screwdriver.
He looked at Jack.
"You sure it came in here?" he asked him.
"Positive."
The Doctor looked around the room as Rose raised her head and looked over the bed.
"Doctor, the closet!" she said pointing to it.
The Doctor looked at her and he and Jack looked at the closet.
"There's nothing there." Jack said gesturing inside.
"It's pressed up against the ceiling. I can see it from here." Rose said.
Jack looked in at the ceiling and gasped when he saw coal black eyes staring back at him in the darkness.
"It's here!" Jack said.
He let out a grunt as the creature's leg shot out and kicked him in the face. He reeled back as the watcher dropped from the ceiling. She hissed at the Doctor when he raised his screwdriver.
"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded. "What are you?"
The watched smirked.
"My kind was your people's worst nightmare, Time Lord and soon I will be your worst nightmare as well!" she hissed.
The Doctor stared at her. He took in the red skin of the humanoid creature before him, the fangs glistening with venom, the claw like fingernails and the two ebony eyes with the three smaller eyes above them on her forehead.
"My people's worst nightmare." He muttered.
And then it hit him.
"No, that's impossible!" he said. "It can't be…"
The watcher grinned at him.
"Recognize me, Time Lord?" she hissed. "Good. I call myself the Widow because that is what humankind and Time Lords have made me. I'm telling you this because I want you to know who will be the one to kill you and your friends."
"Leave them alone, deal with me and me only!" the Doctor said.
"Oh, I will deal with you, Time Lord. When I get done with you, you will be begging for a merciful death. And as for your friends, well, I wouldn't want them to miss the fun. In fact, I think I will start with your mate. I'm hungry and I need to feed."
The Doctor and Jack gasped as she suddenly leapt onto the bed towards Rose. Rose sprinted away from the bed as the Doctor and Jack tackled the Widow's legs. With an angry hiss, she fell onto the bedside table and knocked the lamp over. She jerked her head around at the Doctor and Jack.
"You will pay for that!" she snarled.
She looked over at the front door when she heard someone banging on it.
"This is security!" a male voice said. "Open up!"
The Widow looked at the Doctor and Jack.
"This isn't finished, Time Lord. I will be back, you can count on it."
She kicked her legs free of their grip and leapt towards the balcony door. Rose quickly ran out of the way as she ran out the door. She leapt off the balcony into the night just as the front door open and a security guard rushed in. The guard looked around the room and then looked at the Doctor and Jack who were hurrying to get up from the bed.
"Okay, wanna tell me what's going on in here?" he said to them.
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The Widow perched in the tree across the street and watched as the Time Lord and his friends tried to explain to the human intruder what had just happened.
"You got away tonight, Time Lord." She whispered. "But the next time you and your friends will not be so fortunate, I will see to that."
She paused a moment more watching the scene. Then, she leapt down from the tree and quickly headed back to her nest before the dawn came.