Author's Note: Just within my 'one chapter per every four days minimum' limit. My explanation is the 3rd patch came out for the Football Manager computer game. For all those who aren't a) computer geeks or b) football geeks, this was a major event, which is why I haven't been writing much. Sorry. ;)
Gwen rolled over onto her back, yawning widely. Feeling the bed next to her, she found it devoid of Rhys. Pulling herself from the best sleep she'd had in weeks, she cracked open one eye, glancing quickly at the cot in the corner of the room which held her baby. After making sure she was still sleeping soundly, Gwen hauled herself out of bed.
She padded down the corridor, bare feet cold against the exposed brick floor, glancing into each of the rooms in turn. Jack had led them deeper than even the archives, into what she presumed must have been the living space of the people who had founded the Cardiff branch of Torchwood.
Reaching the flight of stairs that lead up to the lower cells, she paused, hearing a faint humming noise coming from above. Then there was a voice.
"Where? Show me!"
Gwen flinched back, hiding in the shadows as a person in red armour slid down the steps, coming to rest gracefully on their feet. Her eyes widened as Rhys followed, pulled along by some kind of invisible force. The only thoughts running through her mind though, were those worrying about her baby. Who was this alien, for that was what she presumed it must be, if it had broken into Torchwood? Who or what did it want? Why had Rhys gone with it without waking her up?
Gwen bit her lip, as she watched the alien drag Rhys off round the corner she had just come from. She was torn between making sure her child was all right, and phoning for help. She set her mind, as she had always known she would have to, on what was best for the Earth, and not for her. And, she reasoned, as she climbed the stairs, Jack would have the greatest chance of killing the alien and saving her baby. Wouldn't he?
The tree that had chased Martha into the TARDIS had transformed back into its natural form. Now, a tall and grey armoured figure stood in the middle of the forest, thinking on its next move. Every so often a bird would fly too close, and it would raise its head, roaring.
A short click originated from the alien's belt. It lowered its hand, retrieving a small circular device. It held it up to its mouth and growled. "Sir?"
"Have you captured the woman?"
The alien paused, swallowing sharply. "No, sir."
An annoyed click could be heard over the communicator. "Activate your kardia tracer. Find what our employers want. Then maybe we can bargain with them."
"Sir." The alien saluted automatically, even though its commanding officer couldn't see it. It quickly swapped its communicator for its kardia tracer, and set off into the forest, following the 'beep-beep-beep' of the tracer.
There was only the dead man called Ricky in UNIT HQ's basement lab to watch as the alien that had killed Jack lumbered forward. It had the body of a snake, long and segmented, ending in a mouth lined with tiny, pincer-like teeth, and long tendrils that waved from side to side protruding from its depths. Its four dog-like legs didn't seem to fit the rest of it though; it was if they had been grafted on by someone who wasn't bothered about appearances.
When it reached Jack it lowered its head, sniffing, though it didn't appear to have a nose. The tendrils within its mouth began to snake towards Jack's head just as he began to stir.
Opening one eye, the first thing Jack saw when he came back to life was a tendril, grey and thin, shooting towards his face. He yelled, automatically throwing up his arms. The tendril wrapped itself around his left arm, and suddenly jerked upwards, lifting him off the ground.
He hung there, eyeing the creature warily. "Any chance of a formal introduction?"
The creature's response was to roar at him, showering him in a hailstorm of mucus.
Jack made a face, keeping his mouth as closed as he possibly could as the mucus dripped down his face. He tried to say "Ew" but, due to not opening his mouth, it came out as more of a gulp.
The creature growled threateningly, and Jack found the tendril holding him begin to move towards the creature's mouth. Its hundreds of small teeth nashed from side to side, as if they were alive and separate from the creature.
Jack began to tug at the tendril surrounding him arm. Though there was only one, it was strong, and managed to hang on. Hand going to his gun holster, Jack found it to be empty. Looking desperately around the lab, he spotted it, quite obviously out of reach, lying at the foot of the broken display case he had been thrown into before.
Falling back on his last reserves, Jack pulled back his fist, sending a crushing punch into the thing's head. The reaction was that he got blinked at, and the tendril tightened, moving up his arm, settling on his throat.
It became clear during the next few seconds that the creature intended to strangle him. While he could have just let it happen, as he would always come back to life, he didn't really fancy waking up half digested in this thing's stomach.
If he could just reach his right ankle, he could get to the knife strapped to it. The creature seemed oblivious to his efforts as he contorted his body sideways, stretching his right arm downwards.
He was exactly three centimetres away when he ran out of air.
The creature dropping the limp body of Jack onto the floor, roaring again. It pawed at him for a few seconds before a slight buzzing from across the lab drew its attention.
The buzzing originated from a slowly growing patch of light, which sparkled and shone, sending waves of light out into the lab. The creature growled, padding closer to the light, sniffing at it. Just as it was about to touch it with one of its tendrils, the light began flashing, faster and faster, and swirling, changing direction every few seconds.
The creature growled, pacing backwards a few steps.
That turned out to be the last thing it ever did. The light exploded, sending small pin pricks of itself out across the room. Four caught the creature in the head, and it screamed as they ripped through its skin, spraying blood across the lab floor.
It fell almost comically, legs giving way slowly, and head falling to the side, through the remains of the bench, crushing the dead man called Ricky beneath its tail.
The light began moving again, before a shape solidified within it. A young woman stepped out of the light, which quickly faded into nothingness behind her. She was holding a black gun, which was raised, and had an array of knives strapped to her belt.
Jenny took a deep breath. It was good to be back.
Author's Note: Da-da-dun! XD
The word: 'kardia' translates into 'heart'. It's Latin. I am actually in shock that the Latin lessons I took years ago have actually been used for something. O_o
