can y'all believe I left this off on an insane cliffhanger and then didn't update for 8 years? me either!

xxx

With a whoosh like the wings of a great bird and a sickly sucking sound, the last bolt of lightning vanished into thin air. As it disappeared, the light faded from Alice's eyes, taking the strange power with it. She seemed to waver, as if the outline of her body was rippling like water; then, her legs collapsed beneath her and she tipped sideways. Owen caught her just in time. He stood there for a moment, holding Alice up with numb arms. A timid thought penetrated the shocked fog inside his head. Jack. Tell Jack. Jerking suddenly to life, Owen lifted Alice's unconscious body and proceeded down the hill as fast as he dared.

He could think of nothing but running, of the hard, uneven ground beneath his feet, compacting further with every step he took. Gravity seemed to carry him, sweeping him into its firm embrace and bearing him down the incline with such speed that he could barely feel his legs beneath him. It was only when a muscle in his left forearm twitched that he came back to his body. Alice's weight seemed to descend on him and he realized with surprise that she was heavy in his arms. Somehow he'd always had the impression that her bones were hollow, that the various organs and fluids that made up the human—alien—animal—whatever—body did not exist within her, that she had no weight to her form other than that of her skin and her hair. It was ridiculous and stupid, and he hated himself for thinking of such ridiculous and stupid things at such ridiculous and stupid times, but he had no time to berate himself for it because the black shell of the SUV was bearing down on him and he was running at it full-tilt, ready to crush himself and Alice against its unforgiving armor.

Owen stopped himself just in time. Balancing Alice's head on his shoulder, he yanked the passenger side door open, threw her hastily inside, and hurled himself into his seat. He turned the key and the SUV roared to life; slamming the car into reverse, he turned it round and went speeding out of the clearing. He had just reached the road when he recalled the car phone.

"Owen, give me some good news," Jack said tersely.

"I…" Owen trailed off, unsure of where or how to begin. He looked at Alice, unconscious in the passenger seat, and shivered at the memory of her glowing blue eyes. "Something's happening, Jack," he said in a low voice. "And I haven't got a clue what it is, but you'd better tell your…friend that his charge is involved."

Owen could practically hear Jack frowning on the other end. "What d'you mean, involved?"

"Her showing up here, this crazy Rift activity…it's not a coincidence. They're connected. Maybe her arrival here was the catalyst for it—I dunno—but there's something going on here and I don't like it. Something…something possessed her, Jack. Something alien. Something from somewhere else. It was like a bad horror film. It spoke through her."

"…And what did it say?"
"It said…" Owen swallowed. "It said that the Doctor's daughter will destroy the universe."

Silence reigned. Owen couldn't really picture what was going on at Jack's end. He'd begun to wonder if the other man had hung up when Jack cleared his throat.

"Are you on your way back?" he asked quietly. Dread curled in the pit of Owen's stomach at Jack's tone, like cold steel against the back of his neck.

"Yeah."

"Good. However fast you're going, drive faster. Break some laws if you have to. This is serious."

"Jack. How serious."

Jack paused. "As serious as it's ever been." With that, he hung up.

Owen sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Clenching his foot down on the gas pedal, he couldn't help but think that this whole situation was way over their heads.