A/N: That's right folks. Hell hath frozen over. I got another update out and it's only been a week. If you're waiting on my other story...well. Hell is still hot and boiling and flame-tastic in that area. But I promise you're on the docket. Probably. You're all marvelous human beings for sticking with me. And thank you to all the guest commentators that I can't write back to! And a special shout out to margie-me who's only on chapter twenty, so she might burn out before she gets here BUT if she does get this far, you're fantastic and thank you for your chapter comments!


-1933-

-The Dust Bowl-

Calypso struggled to stay standing when she arrived, a powerful gust unbalanced her and she staggered to regain her balance. The wind didn't subside, but grew stronger around her. She raised an arm to block the worst of the debris that battered her and tried to make out her surroundings.

There was a small two-story house some distance away, with a covered porch that shaded the entry; beyond that there was only a barren field. Everything else disappeared into a brown haze that was no doubt caused by the winds that now buffeted her. The light had a strange yellow glow to it and she turned to see what could cause such an effect in the middle of the day.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the towering wall of dirt that was closing in. It reached further into the sky than she could have imagined, and it stretched out beyond where she stood, swallowing everything in the monstrous dust-filled cloud. She stumbled backward as she realized the storm wasn't just moving, but moving fast. She turned to run but movement in the imposing wall caught her attention first.

A man burst forward wearing a long blue jacket that was covered in a thick layer of dirt. He spun as he emerged and fired a pistol into the swirling sands. The shots sizzled as they penetrated the storm and illuminated small pockets of the gloom with an unusual brightness for bullets. She thought she spied something darker further in, but it was hard to see in the twisting wind.

"Not a good time for sightseeing!" The man said as he spotted her across the field, headed her way in a hurry.

"What are you shooting at?" Hunting in this kind of weather seemed absurd and he had the sort of urgency that struck her as relevant.

"We've got incoming." He turned as he reached her and fired again into the oncoming darkness. This time she was certain she saw something, but was hard pressed to describe exactly what as it didn't seem any more solid than the dirt that disguised it.

"I don't understand what that means." The winds were strong enough now that she had to shout to be heard.

"Generally," he said with a grin as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along. "It means we run!"

She had no time to protest, and with the distance between herself and the enormous dust storm shrinking, she wasn't inclined to. She opted to ask her questions later and focused on keeping up with the man as they both ran for the house. The winds caught them quickly and it wasn't long before they were swallowed into the chaos. The house disappeared before her, but she knew it hadn't been more than a few paces in front of them. Her heels struck the wooden porch and she allowed herself a moment of relief as the man pounded on a door they could hardly see.

"It's me!" He bellowed, using the collar of his jacket to block out the assaulting debris. "Open up!"

Calypso didn't notice the dark creature slink up to her side until she felt a chill on her arm. She shrieked in surprise and the man yanked her sideways, pulling her out of the things grip. He shot twice into the middle of it, the black stain shattered when struck, and was swept away with the wind.

The door finally swung open and they both tumbled inside, the air was blissfully still and Calypso fell into a coughing fit to clear her lungs.

"Who's this?" There was a woman with deeply bronzed skin at the door, tall and sturdily built. She didn't look particular impressed with Calypso who had finally caught her breath.

The man shrugged as he tossed his coat over a chair and shook his hair like a dog, trying to clear the worst of the dirt. "Thought she was one of yours. Found her wandering outside."

"She's not." The woman reached for the shotgun that was balanced against the wall.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude-" Calypso backed away quickly, realizing the woman was between her and the door. Her arm still burned from where the creature had touched her, but it didn't worry her more than the shotgun.

"Alona," the man strode forward, a charming grin on his face. "It's alright. I've got it handled. How's Akando?" He nodded toward the next room. Calypso realized there were more than a dozen people in the living area that was through the first hall. One of them was an elderly man laid out on the sofa, another was a young man applying a compress to the elder's forehead. They both shared Alona's dark coloring and her stern brow.

"He's still feverish," Alona said, softening slightly as her hand slid away from the gun. "He needs medicine."

"Well it's a good thing I made it to the Henderson's farm, isn't it?" He smiled as he pulled a bottle out from his back pocket and held it out for Alona's approval.

The frown relaxed from her face and was replaced with the hint of a smile as she nodded. "Thank you Jack, that was real kind of you."

"Whatever I can do to keep the flock happy." He winked at Alona, who fought back against smiling any further. Her eyes returned to Calypso and the warmth drained out of them. "I'm not feeding her from our stock. We've got enough mouths as it is."

"Not a problem, I'll take care of it. Tell Akando I expect him to be ready for poker tonight. I'll just get her up to speed." He nodded toward Calypso and led her down the hallway as Alona disappeared into the living room. "So," he turned his charm toward Calypso as she finally felt her heart rate returning to normal. "What's your name?"

"Calypso," she spotted more people in the kitchen, they all looked just as ragged as Alona had. Tired, thin, and covered in a layer of dust, just like everything else in the house. Jack grabbed a lamp as they rounded the stairs and began to descend.

"They never put electric in down here, it's mostly just for food stores anyway." The yellow flame flickered against the narrow stairway walls until it finally opened up into the chilly stone basement. It was split into several smaller rooms, most of them empty, but she thought she spotted a pantry to their left. He continued to the far end where there were several closed doors reflected in the lamplight.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" She finally asked when he came to a stop in front of one of the doors.

"Well, I'm Jack. I came across this group of people, oh…" he thought about it for a moment. "Maybe a week ago. The storms have been pretty common, but they're getting worse. And they haven't stopped."

"That sand storm is common?" She asked, bewildered that such a hulking event could be anything other than an anomaly.

He gave her a calculating look. "You're not really from around here, are you?"

"I'm…" she struggled to answer. "I'm just passing through." She found it was best to answer as obscurely as possible. The fewer stories she made up, the less likely she was to be caught in a lie. She was curious as to how long she'd been out of the world, but she didn't think it was a good idea to outright ask the date.

"Yeah, thought as much. You don't look dressed especially 'depression era dust bowl farmer' It's hard to harvest wheat in heels." He grunted as he lifted the wooden bar that rested against the door keeping it shut. "Not that you don't look lovely." He added with a wink.

She looked down at her beige silk dress, the one she'd been wearing at the manor. It wasn't especially exotic, but the fluttering skirt clearly painted her as a stranger to these parts, even if it was now caked with a thin layer of dirt that permeated everything.

"But surely the storms have to stop sometime."

Jack opened the door with a chuckle. "Funny you should mention that. They did stop briefly. Right when you showed up." She opened her mouth to protest when he shoved her bodily into the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Hey-" She spun around and threw her weight against the door, but it didn't budge. There was a single table in the room where a lamp gave off a faint enough glow to show there was no handle on this side. With a sinking heart she heard Jack drop the wooden beam back across the door. "Jack, let me out right now." She poured every ounce of authority she had into her voice because if he didn't let her out, she didn't have any idea what she was going to do.

"And," Jack's voice drifted through a small venting window in the door. "More interesting than the thirty foot radius of clear air around you, was just outside when that Shade grabbed you. If you were like us, you would have disappeared with it. Popped up to that god forsaken ship with the rest of the people they've taken. But you didn't. You're still right here. And I'm betting that's because you're one of them."

"Jack, I don't even know who you're talking about." She battered her fists on the door again, this time out of frustration rather than any real hope that he'd open the door.

"Now, I'm a modern fellow." He continued, ignoring her pleas. "So I'm not much for senseless killing. But I'm going to need you to tell me where those people are. Or I'm going to have to keep you down here until you change your mind."

"I don't know where- if you let me out, I'll help you look." She promised desperately.

"Oh, and if you could convince your boss to give it a rest with the wind? I'd really appreciate that. I mean, the sand is getting everywhere. Not just inside, but everywhere. I've got sand coming out the- well. It's becoming a real problem. Obviously, the priority is the people. But anything you can do to talk them out of using a giant sandblaster down here would be much appreciated."

"I don't-"

"Ah, Jackie boy. You've finally brought me something interesting." A voice behind her caused her to jump. The corner of the room was still dark, despite the lamp, but she was certain she'd heard someone.

"Yeah, they were out of magazines. Thought you might be bored. Plus, since she's on board with the whole 'hunting people for sport' thing, you two probably have lots to talk about."

"Oh yes," the voice was almost familiar, but there was a sinister tone to it that chilled her enough to cause her to press her shoulder blades back into the door. "This will make things quite interesting."

"Jack," she tapped against the door again. "I'm not hunting people. There's someone in here, let me out this second or I'll-" Black leather boots stepped forward into the light and the shadows melted away from the man's face as he stood in the middle of the room.

"Hello sweetheart," his mouth quirked into a pleased smile and he shook his floppy brown hair back from his face. "It's been a while."

"Oh thank goodness." The fear left her in a flood as she recognized him. "Doctor, you frightened me half to death." She ought to have been angry with him, but she found she was too exhausted to muster up the energy and his odd behavior left her feeling uncertain.

"Wait- Doctor?" Jack's voice changed from the disinterested confidence to alarm immediately. "You know the Doctor?"

"Of course she does. We go way way back. We're quite… familiar with each other." He still wore his curious smirk and Calypso worried he'd been stuck in this room for far longer than a week.

"Are you alright? Has he hurt you?" She crossed the room, desperately needing to wrap her arms around him when she heard Jack scrabbling on the other side of the door.

"Hold it!" He shouted as the door flew open, he had his pistol at the ready as he burst in. "Don't move!"

"I thought you said you weren't a killer?" Calypso said in a tense voice, but she obeyed him and stayed where she was. The Doctor lurched forward, falling short of reaching Calypso. She heard the rattle of chains as he strained, and she realized his arms were bound.

"I'm not. But that's also not the Doctor," Jack said as he grabbed her elbow. "Don't touch her." He warned the Doctor. Calypso realized a little belatedly that he wasn't aiming the gun at her, he was aiming it at the Doctor.

"You've rather taken care of that. Or did you forget chaining me to the floor." The Doctor rattled his arms irritably. "But there's nothing to keep her from touching me." He lowered his hungry gaze to her own and she shuddered. It was his eyes, the normal calm green was gone. Now they surged and swirled as though something living was swimming in his pupils.

"I… don't understand… " she stammered as she let Jack pull her back to a safer distance. She wasn't entirely afraid, but the urge to reach out for him had been summarily squashed.

"Well," Jack said, finally lowering his gun when he was sure the Doctor couldn't reach them. "That's what happens when one of those Shades runs into a Time Lord."

"What does that mean?" She turned on Jack, irritated with his calm demeanor. She was prepared to shake answers from him, if needed.

"It means," The Doctor said with the same sick grin he'd been wearing since she arrived. "That it's complicated."