Written by twtl and Z.
DISCLAIMER: We don't own Torchwood. We don't own Doctor Who. We wish we could own them both, but we can't. Hell, we'd settle for the K9 spin-off pilot that failed many years ago... but sadly, we can't have that either. All of that is owned by the BBC.
TORCHWOOD: RESURRECTION
CHAPTERS 35 & 36
CHAPTER 35
She'd gotten a few winks in the on call room. Her rest was uneasy. She didn't like waiting. An hour before dawn, she started getting ready. Pulling out the gear for each operative. Loading the maps into each pair of sunglasses. Counting out the flash bombs. Loading the weapons.
Half an hour before dawn, she started the phone calls. Waking everyone up, pulling them from their homes. The call to war.
Rather than hang around the office until everyone showed up, she went down into the bowels of the base. The photograph from her brother's work station in her back pocket. Soon she found the secret door in the crypt, and she was with Eddie again. Holding his hand. Brushing his hair. The thought of never coming back, of leaving him hidden here forever, was never far from her mind.
She tapped her earpiece. "Mum," she said, then listened to the beeps as it dialed up the old phone. She waited for the rings. Part of her hoped the woman would answer. So she could hear her mother's voice just on last time. But she was relieved when the machine picked up.
"Hi. You've reached Gwen."
"And Rhys," her father's voice chimed in.
"Sorry we're out. Leave a message after the tone. If you're calling about the moped... Well, you know what to do."
She smiled. The moped. They hadn't had it in years. Not since she was a teen. When she heard the tone, she spoke. "Hey mum, da, it's me. I... I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About the lies. About everything... There's something big. Bigger than anything we've crossed before. An..." she sighed, sniffling. She turned around to look at her brother. She had to make sure, just in case... "If I don't make it... If you don't hear from me in a few days. I want you to call that woman you know. Dr. Milligan. I can't explain, but I hope I get the chance. I'm sorry. And I love you."
She waited a moment longer before tapping her pod and cutting the signal.
Seconds later she heard the commander's voice in her ear.
"Let's go boys and girls. Kit up and march out."
Mattie stole one last look. Turning away, she wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. Time to toughen up and get a move on.
Harborne was kneeling down in front of his dog when Mattie came into the offices. He was fiddling with a buckle as he spoke to the canine. "Remember, Rosie. No biting." She nuzzled his shoulder as he finally fastened the buckle right. The Golden Retriever was wearing a sort of doggie armor. Her head fitted with a mask of some metallic looking material.
"That's new," Mattie remarked.
"Need to keep my doggie safe," he said, scratching under her chin, just below the edge of the mask. "Strongest thing it's been tested against is weevil teeth. Hopefully she'll be able to take a few hits more before it gives out."
She wagged her tail, then licked his face
"Are those... doggie gloves?"
He nodded, checking the coverings on Rose's paws. They were like gloves in that they went on in a similar fashion. The bottoms were lined with a rubber polymer that gave her much better grip on the ground. Her claws were encased in, sharpened to a fine point for maximum damage. They were lashed up to her body piece. A solid covering down her back, fastened beneath against her belly. It was made of layers of scales. A dark, shining substance made the scales.
"Can she move about in all that? Isn't it too heavy?"
"Oh, she can move. Won't find anyone faster, or more deadly. Highly durable, ultra light." He gave he dog one more pat on the head before rising to his full height. "Go check on Jess. She was having trouble with the laser rifle you left out for her."
Mattie nodded, leaving him to seek out the alien. She found her strapping on a holster to her hip. "Heard you were having a spot."
"Yeah. Semi-automatics are about all I'm trained on unless you've got a katana stashed somewhere. Lasers are a little too complex."
"Here, lemme show you," Mattie said, picking up the rifle.
Jack watched some distance away as the second in command helped the striped singer.
"No skin today then," Quin said from beside him as he fastened his protective vest.
Jack nodded, breaking his attention away from the women. "Said she wanted to face her death with pride."
"So basically you ripped it beyond repair," Quin said deadpan, tucking his smaller firearms in various pockets along with ammunition. When Jack didn't respond, he continued. "Can't say I don't blame you. She is quite pretty, if you like that sort of thing. If I didn't find her so infuriating..."
"...Yeah..."
"Quin! Where'd I leave my sonic?"
"Back pocket, left side, sir!"
"Oh! Right, thanks!"
Jack raised a brow. "Sonic?"
"Long story. Not a happy ending to that one," Quin replied with a sigh, checking the settings on his own rifle. "Not a lot of happy endings for most of them."
Jack could only nod as he rechecked his own armaments.
Harborne turned, picking up his coat. The long brown one. Bottomless pockets stuffed with enough gadgets for an army. He caught Jack's eyes from across the room.
Jack held them a moment, and thought for the briefest second that the other man had spoken to him. Right in his ear. Nothing important really. Not even a word he could understand. But Jack gave a slight nod, and the younger man nodded back before turning his attention back to his firearms.
When everyone was as armed and ready as they could ever be, Harborne tossed Quin the keys. "Daylight's burning," he said, leading the way to the lifts.
Everyone was crammed in the company van. Harborne rode front, with Mattie right behind his seat. The dog lay quietly beside her, head resting on her thigh. She stroked the dog's head through the fitted mask. Finally, she couldn't take the silence any longer. "I remember my first field assignment after Alita and Pattie fitted me with my leg braces," she said. "The king's brother Harry was throwing a ball for the queen's birthday. A real posh affair. Masquerade themed." She smiled fondly. "Quin and me, we dressed up and went undercover to locate a renegade Freyurian."
"I remember that night," Quin said from the front. "My first time in the field too. I was a mess."
Mattie nodded. "We had fun though, with all that running about. Knocking drinks out of people's hands so they wouldn't ingest the killer cocktails spiked with LSD and toxins."
"Until you splashed though a puddle outside and short circuited the braces."
Harborne laughed. "You chased that thing around London on one leg, hopping around in those heels. Found you by following all your inventive swearing."
"Saved the bloody queen though," she said. "Sure she had a sprained ankle and a couple of bruises..."
"We had to bleach the entire party," Quin said. "Headlines the next morning claiming the king was kidnapped and found naked on the roof of the palace."
Harborne nodded. "Alita sure was creative with her cover stories."
Jack just listened from the back of the van. These people, who only a short time before had been complete strangers to him, now readily accepted him. There were many factors, he was sure, that played into it. An unwanted relic, stuck on Earth without any real ties to lean on. A spare set of hands in a crisis. A museum piece that could be studied and researched. Or even, to the striped girl resting her head on his shoulder now, a warm embrace on a windy day and cold night.
When last he'd been on this world, he'd called it a tomb. Littered with death and decay. But in this small band of fresh faced soldiers he saw the same thing that had drawn him to Gwen Cooper. Compassion. Determination. Loyalty. Humility and courage. All very human qualities that he had once held dear, but had lost somewhere along the way.
While the Doctor, in his own way, had reminded Jack that life was worth living... These people, these kids, showed him what was so important about that lesson.
He shook his head and spoke quietly to himself. "That crafty old man," he said. "He knew this was next for me..."
"Who?" Jesse said. He'd forgotten about her. "About what?"
"No one important."
"You're lying."
"So what if I am?" he replied, wrapping an arm around her. He could actually hear her purr at him. "You scared?"
"Some... Just make sure you make it. I want that date."
"Hey now, I never said it was a date."
"It is now." She smiled, taking in his scent again and drawing strength from it.
"Smoke 'em if you got 'em," Harborne called from the front as the van stopped. "Because it's the end of the line."
Rose looked up at Mattie, right in the eyes. Any doubts the woman held about her commander's canine companion left her in that moment.
Jesse disentangled herself from Jack as the two men up front climbed out. The side door of the van slid open. Quin was standing there to help them out.
Rose hopped down and trotted to her master's side as he checked his wrist strap. "This is as close as we can get. We're on foot from here on."
Mattie cocked her rifle. "Just point the way."
Jesse stretched her arms before taking hold of her laser with both hands. "The air feels good on my skin," she said.
Harborne turned to his team. "Maps are loaded into your glasses. Keep them on at all times. Normal sensors won't pick up a thing, and night vision is limited, so switch to infrared only when you have to." He flipped the cover of the vortex manipulator closed with a jerk of his wrist. "When we divide, follow your designated route as best as possible. Keep radio contact unless otherwise directed."
"Yes sir," Mattie snapped, no longer in the nostalgic mood she had been in during the ride. Jack was able to pinpoint the exact second when she had put herself into combat mode. The light in her eyes, that light he'd seen in her mother all those years ago, was gone. Replaced with the need for revenge.
"One more thing," Harborne said, looking at each one of them before speaking again. "If anyone is hit, do not hesitate. I'd expect the same from any of you. They can't use you to breed if you're dead." Without another word, he took hold of his rifle, tipped with the business end of a Dalek attack arm. His stride was measured, but wide as he led the way into the crater site, his eyes peeled for the secret entrance Sapas had instructed the old woman to describe for him.
The opening was found near, Jack reckoned, what had been the tunnel from the tourist shack to the nerve centre. Mattie went into the darkness first. Followed closely by Quin. Jesse ducked under the cracked cement and cinderblock third. Right in the middle. "After you, Captain," Harborne said.
Jack's stomach had been in knots since stepping out of the van. He did his best to hide the trepidation, but knew the younger man could see right through him. Ducking in, he tapped the arm of his sunglasses. Night vision sprang to life, overlaid on the right lens with the map, as he followed the Sardosi. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Harborne and his dog bringing up the rear.
"A bit like a FPS," Jesse whispered.
"FP..." Jack said.
"First person shooter. Gamer slang," Quin said.
Harborne pricked up his ears like Rose at his side. "Eyes sharp. Keep focus."
"Aye aye boss man." That was Mattie from the point.
The team moved slowly through the narrow tunnel. Shifting themselves around the debris created when Jack had exploded years ago. At the end of the tunnel, they stopped. Mattie held up her hand, signaling trouble ahead. Quin fished a flash bomb from his pocket, ready to lob it out of the tunnel.
"Don't," Jack said quietly, moving to the front. He scanned the open room with his eyes, and then nodded. "Just there. The ceiling's caved in." He pointed to a pile of rubble. "Tall enough we can use it for cover and slip by around them."
"I'll keep watch. Jack, you first. Then Quin and Jesse. I'll bring up the rear."
They moved as quickly and quietly as possible behind the pile. Keeping close to the rubble, they edged around the room. Once on the other side, Jack stood watch as they passed into another corridor.
This one had a downward slope. Jack recognized it easily as the path to the shooting range. A vast, open area with little cover. And beyond it, the last stretch they would all take together before branching off. The deeper they went, the stronger the smell of decay became. Jack could feel the bones beneath his boots, mixed among the dirt and the rocks. How many innocent people, he wondered, had been dragged down here to die?
They came to a stop again. The path was mostly blocked by a cave in. Carefully each one of them squeezed through before continuing on their trek. The third time they stopped, they could hear the growls. Hear the beasts as they prowled beyond the open doorway that led to the shooting range.
Harborne pushed his way to the front. "How bad?"
"Too many to take head on," Mattie said. "Flashers are the best bet. Confuse them long enough to get past."
"Alright. If that doesn't work, we resort to the song. Quin, Jack, stick to Jesse. Matilda at point."
Mattie nodded. Quin handed her one of his flashers. "On three," she said, hitting the activation switch. "One. Two." She held onto it as long as she could before throwing it into the den. "Three! Go go go!" she shouted, darting out.
Quin, Jesse, and Jack were close on her heels. Harborne and Rose behind them. He ticked off the time in his head, then threw another flasher out. He timed it in such a way that when the first burned out, the second would start with little delay.
The beasts were wild around them. Screaming in their confusion, in their rage. Jack fired. Mattie let loose a spray of bullets, clearing the way as the small group ran. She dove for cover in the next corridor. The others were right behind her. Harborne stopped, covering the hole. They couldn't afford to have these things riding their backside so soon.
Firing pulses from his Dalek arm rifle with one arm, his other hand reached into one of his deep pockets. Quickly he found what he was looking for. A red ball. Just an innocent little red ball that hung on trees at the holidays. Lacking a detonator, he dropped it to the ground and ran. Then, as the Morloki clambered into the opening, he fired. Two tries and he hit the ball. It exploded inside the already weakened entry point causing it to collapse. A few had come through, escaping the falling stonework. He picked them off before running to catch up.
CHAPTER 36
They were running with Mattie at the head. From behind her, Jack and Quin were shooting into the darkness ahead, clearing the way. "Where's James?" Jesse asked over the gunfire. "We lost James!"
"Rose, directive two! Go!"
The dog barked at Quin's order, pivoting around on her claws and dashing back the way they had come. Jesse shouted suddenly, grasping at her head. "Oh gods! No! Not now!"
Jack was at her side, grabbing her arm. "Come on, we have to keep moving."
"I can't."
"You have to."
"I... she's in my head."
Quin and Mattie doubled back, guns pointed into the darkness. Jesse let go of her rifle, letting it hang on the strap over her shoulder. Both her hands were at her head now. The pain, the searing, throbbing pain was something she hadn't felt since she was a child.
"Pick her up and carry her if you have to," Mattie snapped.
Quin reached out and shook her, trying to snap her out of it. "Jesse, come on. We can't do this without you."
"I... I'm so scared. She knows. She knows everything." Her voice became more frantic, more panicked.
"We don't have time for this," Jack barked as he shoved Quin out of the way. He pulled Jesse's hands away from her head and made her look up at him. "You keep going kid. You take that fear and use it because if you don't we're all dead. You, me, and the entire world."
"Jack..." With a nod, she picked up her rifle again. "I'm good now."
"You're a liability," Mattie said.
"I told you," Jesse growled. "I'm good."
Harborne was stuck. They swarmed from nowhere. His back pressed against the stones and tile, he checked the power of his rifle. "Damn," he said. The juice needed by the Dalek arm was draining the battery core. He had seven, maybe eight shots left if he was careful. "Small arms it is," he said to himself, tossing another flasher out.
He'd have to save the rest. He couldn't let himself run out before he reached the others.
His hand fell to his coat pocket, searching for his pistols. He was so glad in this moment that he'd nicked the Doctor's coat from the TARDIS wardrobe. The bottomless pockets came in mighty handy. But not even his stash of weapons and gadgets could help him forever.
"Commander. Come in. We've reached the dividing point."
He tapped his ear. "Good. Keep going."
"I'm coming back for you."
It was Jack's voice in his ear the second time.
"No. There's too many behind you. I'll find another way." He broke the connection and checked his map. The way ahead was closed to him. But maybe... just maybe there was a second option. Taking a deep breath of the putrid air, he made his move. The rifle bounced on his hip as he charged forward through the darkness. Trigger happy and mowing down a path through the cannon fodder. There was a branch coming up on his right. The map showed it was a series of vaults and containment cells. It was a long shot, but he didn't have much of a choice. He'd blast through a wall if he had to.
He felt something grab the bottom of his coat. Harborne wheeled around, firing off a few shots between the eyes. The beast's claws ripped the fabric as it felt away. There were too many closing in on him. Getting too close for comfort.
"Load program," he said loud enough for the device strapped to his wrist to pick up his voice. "Opera One."
Jesse's voice, soothing and slow, echoed in the enclosed space. Soon the Morloki began to slow. They still chased after him but their movements were delayed. Confused and unsure.
Ducking into the side corridor, he heard a howl in the dark. It was unlike the monsters who gnashed their teeth at his scent. It was a familiar and welcome sound. "Rose!" he called. Another howl.
The beasts roared back. "ROSE!"
Soon, he was able to see the commotion as his companion ran up an exposed beam, using it as a ramp before launching herself into the air. Her claws slashing and hacking as she fought to reach her master. Tearing through the beasts, she was shortly at his side. Together they ran. Harborne plotted out a new course. Each new pocket of hungry monsters they came across was met with equal savagery as Rose cleared the way, protecting him the only way she knew how.
When the pair reached the vaults on his map, he looked around for a quick exit... only to discover the only option stood on the other side of bulletproof glass and frightened children.
"Son of a-"
"Quin, Jack, secure the perimeter."
Jesse stood in the center of the room. Her body doubled over as she gasped in air thick with rot and death. Mattie was at her side, ever ready to attack.
"We need... He'll make it..."
Jack stood at the opening from whence they came. "All clear this way. Something drew their attention."
"That'll be Rose," Quin said, standing with his back to the others, rifle pointed down the middle of the three available passages. "Clear this way, for the moment."
Mattie nodded, then reached down to pat Jesse on the back briefly. "We'll wait five minutes. After that, we must press on."
Jesse nodded, standing up straight. "If anything happens to him, I might just go mad."
"He'll be fine. Outlive us all, that one," Mattie replied.
Part of him knew it was useless. It was too late for them. He wasn't on a rescue mission... He was in the middle of a kamikaze run. The road behind was a wash with Morloki. The road ahead yet unknown. The danger outweighed his innate desire to help. To save them.
Any one could be infected already. If just one parasite survived...
Harborne glanced from the children to Rose. She would not look at him. He was sure she knew what he was about to do, and didn't like it. "Rose, watch the door," he ordered. With a low growl of disapproval she went and stood silently. Poised for a fight.
He let his rifle hang on his hip as he reloaded one of his handguns. He willed his hearts to slow, to calm down so his hand would keep steady. It was wrong, and even though he knew it had to be done... nothing could justify this act of cruelty. But the risk to those up on the surface was far too great. The needs of the many...
He pulled the sonic screwdriver from his back pocket. He pointed it at the bulletproof glass and hit the button with his thumb. The clear wall moved, swinging outward. He put the tool back in his pocket, raising his gun.
Those who could see cried out. Those who couldn't tried to hide themselves as he opened fire. Harborne tried to make each one a kill shot. He didn't want them to bleed out, to suffer a slow death... They were only children.
"Time will forgive me," he whispered as he pulled the trigger one final time, trying to convince himself it was true even as he trudged through their small corpses to the metal door on the other side.
The commander gave a sharp whistle. Rose returned to the site, her eyes conveying her utter disgust. She was careful, calculating in her movements as she came across... Ensuring none of her steel claws dragged across their dirty, fear frozen faces.
"I-"
She cut him off, barking angrily at him as he opened the door. On the other side he turned to close it back behind them, unable to avoid looking upon the unjustly slain.
They were only children...
"Commander," Mattie tried again. "Commander come in."
"We need to go."
"Just a few more minutes," Jesse pleaded. "Please. He'll make it. I know he will."
Quin took her roughly by the arm. "Nobody wants to believe that more than me. But he told us to keep to the plan. The longer we linger, the worse our chances."
"He's right," Jack said, not wanting to admit it.
"Jack, let's go."
He gave a nod, looking at Jesse one more time. "Don't die before we can max out my credit cards."
She smiled weakly at him, giving a subtle nod before following Quin into the tunnel on the left. When he could no longer see them, he turned to Mattie. "Stop wasting time. Daylight's burning."
"Lead the way, oh fearless leader."
"Ladies first," he quipped.
If her hands weren't full she would have slapped him across the face before marching into the unknown.
Without the advantage of numbers Quin was nervous. He didn't look it, but Jesse could feel it coming off him.
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." He stopped her from going forward. Pressing his back against the tunnel wall he inched to the edge of an opening. Mattie's voice buzzed in his ear, still trying to call up their Commander. He turned quickly, rifle pointed into the intersecting hall. "Clear," he said. Jesse moved past, following the route plotted for them.
"You never said."
"Because you know the answer."
Biting her lip, she pressed on at his side. "I never said I hated you, you know," she said. "Just jealous."
"Don't see why. We've both ended up in this dump."
"Extenuating circumstances," she said. "But really, I wish we'd gotten along. He really cares for you."
"Says the woman who tried to set me up with the Captain so she can have James all to herself again."
"Can't blame a girl for trying." He knew she was smiling when she spoke, but also knew it was brief as she stopped him. "Up ahead. A small pack."
"I see them," he confirmed. "Only one way to go," he said, reaching up to activate the jumper.
Jesse did the same before charging after him, their guns blazing.
Matilda was worried. So was Jack. "Haven't seen too many so far," he said. "There should be more. Why aren't there more?"
"I've got that feeling again."
"Sheep to the slaughter."
"I don't like being hunted."
He nodded his agreement to her sentiment. "How's the power on that thing?"
"The glass is half empty. Going to be useless soon."
"Conserve the power. You might need it. Switch to your Berettas."
"Not yet," Mattie said, holding her laser rifle against her shoulder. Her steps were measured. Her focus down its sight. The detective inspector was a bundle of nerves. Hands sweating trigger finger itching to slide back and fire. The man at her side, kept watch on their back while she kept eyes forward. "We're coming up on the down slope," she said. "The deeper we go, the worse it'll be."
They continued on in silence. Listening carefully for any sign of movement. Any sign of an ambush. Her back pressed against his, they moved as one. Each move Jack made was matched by Mattie as they fell into automatic sync. From time to time they would turn, switching places as easily as one would change positions in a dance.
As they came upon a split in their route, Jack heard a whistle. Sharp and quick. Then again.
"Could be the Commander, calling Rose to him."
Jack shook his head, giving her a slight nudge with his elbow as he started down the tunnel to the right.
"But the map says-"
"Trust me, Matilda. This is the way we need to go."
Unwilling to let him out of her sight, she couldn't just let him wander. Quick on her feet she followed, and they resumed their march. They had been walking a winding trail through the oldest reaches of the forgotten Hub when Mattie spoke. "It doesn't look like anyone's been in here. Ever."
"This section was blocked off during an earthquake. There's a train station somewhere. It was lost around the same time. I'd only seen it once myself."
"So... now we're lost."
Jack's tone was sarcastic. "Now, I didn't say that." He moved ahead of her as if he knew exactly what he was doing.
She picked up her pace to catch him. "Hey mister, don't get too far from me. You'll get yourself killed. Worse even."
"If I'm right, the tracks should be up ahead. It'll cut the distance in half. We can make up for the lost time spent waiting."
It sounded like a good plan. Checking their position against her map, Mattie couldn't argue with him and sound intelligent about it. "In a cavern big enough to accommodate a train, there's going to be a swarm. We'll be open on all sides."
"I know. But it's our best shot."
Harborne had managed to get back on his route. Somehow, he managed to stay one step ahead of the monsters... but was forced to circle around the sector where Sapas' messenger had told him the rift manipulator was stored. There was no time to back track. He would have to deal with it on the way out, if he ever got back out.
Rose stopped in her tracks, head tilted as if listening to something. He knelt beside her, stroking her head through her protective mask. "What is it old girl?" he whispered, scanning the darkness with his night vision.
She growled softly before darting off. Harborne chased after her. She was fast, faster than he'd ever seen her go. When he caught up with her, he stood at the end of the tunnel. Stretching out before them was a catwalk. He covered his nose and mouth against the stench rising up from below. He glanced downward, unable to see a thing. But the air felt moist against his skin. Cool even compared to the tunnels.
"This isn't on my map. It's not on any map..." he whispered. Rose nudged him with her snout before stepping out cautiously on the catwalk. Harborne followed, tapping his shades and switching to infrared. He could see now why the cavern was so cool...
Below him was a large pool. Around him a network of pipes. Most of them, he guessed, were rusted and leaking. Rose slowed, and he behind her as they crossed.
She stopped, growling at something in the dark. He turned his attention in the direction she faced and saw movement. A large cold patch. It was moving closer, and quickly.
"NO!" Before Harborne could stop her, Rose launched herself into an attack.
He went for his rifle, swinging it up to fire, but there wasn't a clean shot. If he dared pull the trigger, he'd hit her too.
The beast roared in pain and rage as it tried to grab at its assailant. His hands were shaking. Fear threatened to consume him as the beast at last caught the dog. It ripped her from its back, uncaring of the chunk her claws took out as she was cast aside. She yelped as her body slammed against one of the pipes. The only sound of her he heard after was the splash in the water below.
He pulled the trigger. The beast was hit with blue electric death. But it continued to lumber forward. He stepped back, firing again as he tried to retreat.
Behind him the tunnel was filled with the hungry growls of the Morloki. His hearts were beating out a samba as he searched for a way out. But there was nothing to be done but to keep shooting. Keep firing and hope to fight his way out unscathed.
"RELOAD!" he shouted, hoping the next of Jesse's recordings would at least buy him a little time.
"Almost there," Quin said when they stopped to rest. It had been slow going, but the pair had been able to sneak past most of the groupings they had found. Yet this knowledge did not end Jesse's unease.
"This isn't right," she said. "The Morloki... We should have been killed. They should have swarmed. This is abnormal."
"Stop complaining. We're alive, and lucky these things are too stupid to act on their own."
She sighed and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. "That's just it, Quin. They can't act alone unless out of pure instinct. Something, someone, is controlling them. Suppressing their instinct. And whatever it is... We're only alive because it wants us alive."
"It has to be the queen. There's no other explanation than sheer dumb luck." He looked at her then. "How are you holding up?"
"Not good. You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when your parents catch you doing something bad, and you panic. It's far worse than that."
"How worse? I need to know you're not going to curl up fetal on me."
"I can still hear her. Thousands of voices, singing as one. It's faint, but there. I keep thinking about bacon."
"Bacon? That's a new mental shield tactic."
"Oi! Jack smells like bacon..."
He nodded his understanding. "Whatever you need to keep you going," he said, then tapped his earpiece. "Mattie. Jack. Tell me you're still with us."
Mattie and Jack were trudging along the rails, slaying anything that came across their path. The most at a time were three, maybe four. Easily managed between the two of them. It was the frequency that was hitting them hard.
"Nearly out," Mattie said.
"How many clips?"
"One spare for the Berettas. Three bullets left in each, roughly. Rifle's nearly tapped. One, maybe two good shots left in it."
"Same. At this rate, we'll be out of ammunition by the time we reach the heart of the hive... Well, except for a squareness gun. Not much good in a fight."
"Takes too long to recharge," Mattie remarked, then, "How much further?"
"Service hatch coming up. Should take us straight into the lair... if I remember my geography."
"Hasn't been too bad so far," she said.
They kept walking forward until Jack stopped. He pointed upward. Mattie looked and saw a rusty ladder bolted to the side of the railway tunnel. It didn't matter that she thought it unsafe as she made to climb. But Jack pulled her back. "I'd better go first."
"No. There's something ugly on the other side. I have to shift it before you go in."
"I have a better chance than you do. It can only kill me. You, it'll slaughter."
She pulled her arm away. "I have my orders, Captain."
"Orders..." he muttered under his breath as he blocked her way."I'm going up first."
"You're not."
That was when he hit her. Right in the face with the butt of his rifle. Jack didn't like hitting women, not one bit. But in this instance he knew the hard headed woman wouldn't listen to any of his reasons.
She staggered back and quickly recovered. She climbed up after him, only to see the large metal hatch close back right above her. "You stupid alien!" she shouted angrily. "You can't do this to me!"
On the other side Jack stood on the hatch, giving the hinges a short blast with his laser to meld them in place. The small room was empty. It had been either a storage room or a utility closet... One he'd used many times before as a freelance man. "Sorry kid," he said. "But I can't have your death on my conscience, too. There's not enough room anymore."
He left the little room, knowing Mattie had enough ammunition to fight her way back out, or a least to a different path to the finish line. Especially since he'd slipped his spare clips into the pockets of her jacket when he'd pulled her from the ladder.
Eventually, the banging stopped as Mattie climbed back down the ladder. Quin's voice was in her ear.
"Mattie. Jack. Tell me you're still with us."
"Pompous self righteous prick locked me in the railway. I'm taking another road."