Reaching his friend in less than two strides, Peter fumbled slighting in his rush to undo the blindings wrapped around Stefan's hands.
The sustained injuries on show were minor. Bruises, cuts, a swollen eye… But there was no telling until he woke up and until they reached medical help whether or not he had been seriously hurt. Peter couldn't entirely be sure but he knew that they had fallen harshly, hitting their heads on at least one occasion. There might be internal damage that might prove fatal without care only a hospital could provide.
To reach such a place now, it would be easier to travel to the moon.
"Let me take a look at him."
The Doctor barely managed to crouch down, the sonic screwdriver out and pointed towards Stefan, before Peter rounded on him.
"Get away from him!" He snapped. "You've done enough already to -"
"I'm just going to scan him and see if everything is okay. You don't need to do this on your own anymore, Peter. Right now, I think you could use the help, don't you?"
It didn't take long for Peter to think the offer over. Stefan was injured and they were still far from safe. They hadn't found Jane Wilson yet, and wouldn't until Karugon came to and showed them where to go. It was time to set aside any remaining shreds of pride and work together. Shuffling back slightly, Peter nodded in agreement and allowed the Doctor to work.
The sonic screwdriver buzzed away for a few moments before the information travelled back to the Time Lord.
"How bad is it?" Peter questioned. "Is he…"
"He's going to be fine." The Doctor told him kindly. "Just a few scrapes and a mild concussion, no internal injures."
Backing this diagnosis up, Stefan finally woke up.
He groaned in protest of the pain his throbbing head was causing as his eyes fluttered open. Blurry-eyed and uncoordinated, it took a few seconds for his brain to catch up with what he was seeing in front of him.
"What the hell?" He moaned. "What..."
"Hey, it's okay. You're fine." Peter told him, beaming with relief. "Just a bump to the head."
Stefan's confusion only grew as he looked from Peter to the Doctor and then over at the two limp forms of Kalagan and Karugon that were laying sprawled out on the ground. It didn't take a second glance for him to see that his concussion was not causing double vision. There were two Peter Argents in the room. Tom Richardson had appeared again, dead once again. Surrounded by a pool of blood, this one had a large hole in his chest.
"Peter, what… w-what happened?" He demanded to know. "Those bodies over there…"
"You missed a bit of the action," Peter explained. "Remember we thought they were shape-shifters?"
"Oh, right. Wait…" Stefan realised. "How do I know you're the real Peter, then? You could…"
But the lieutenant had been expecting this question. There was always the possibility of becoming compromised by the enemy, especially in a situation like this where they could transform themselves into anyone. Knowing Stefan as well as he did, however, it did not take Peter longer to come up with a piece of information that only the two of them knew to be genuine.
"Yeah, I could be one of those things." He replied, smiling. "But do you remember right at the start of Year Eleven when we tried out for the rugby team? I went to take a kick and hit the post."
"You still didn't use to your newfound strength. The frame bent and the whole thing came crashing down." Stefan said with a nod. "Tell me what you said next?"
Peter smiled fondly at the memory.
"I didn't say anything, just stood there and stared like an idiot." He replied. "Good thing Mister Sharples put it down to wear and tear of the school equipment."
Stefan instantly relaxed as he took a second glance at the two aliens his friend had taken down.
"You do have a way with handling situations, Peter. This is Austria all over again."
"There were several of them in Austria, thank you very much." Peter retorted. "Besides, I wasn't going to hang around. Not when they had those gigantic stingers."
"I know, I know. You've mentioned the stingers." Stefan groaned. "I've lost count how many times you've told me about those giant bloody stingers."
"Sounds like quite the tale." The Doctor added, smiling. "But maybe for another day. How do you feel, Stefan? Let's get you back on your feet, shall we?"
Between him and Peter, the corporal was soon up off the floor and stood back up. Leaning up against them until the room stopped spinning, Stefan turned with some curiosity to the Time Lord. He knew that both himself and Peter had told him and Rose to leave, but he wasn't half surprised to find that they hadn't.
"How do they transform?" He questioned. "Is it just be seeing what we look like?"
It was Rose that answered him first.
"They use blood. They need it to live longer." She said. "Peter, they had him on the table and -"
"Wait, what?" Stefan immediately questioned, turning to his friend. "Mate, do they hurt -"
"I'm fine, Stefan." Peter insisted. "I dealt with them, and found out where Jane Wilson is."
He let out a reluctant sigh as the Doctor coughed quite loudly and with a degree of clarity. "With a little bit of help, I suppose." He admitted. "Though you did deliberately disobey my orders, Doctor?"
The Doctor smiled at him.
"It's more fun when you break the rules." He countered. "Isn't it, Rose?"
His companion had not been listening. She had already done the maths.
"Doctor, Karugon said there were six of them." She stated. "There's still one more of them we haven't seen yet. Where is it?"
"Yes, there is." The Doctor considered. "One which I think will be the leader of this little pack of theirs."
Peter and Stefan had begun to retrieve their stolen equipment. All their weapons but the shotguns were there, the guns most like lost forever to the darkness when they had fallen. Their protective vests and rucksacks were missing too. Knowing that the two creatures were responsible, Peter wasn't too worried about needing them for the moment and strongly suspected that they had been stored away somewhere nearby.
Looking over what gear they did have, he was relieved to find that most of it had escaped damage. His foldable baton seemed to be the only casualty, the metal rod dented and twisted beyond repair. Tossing it aside, he turned to Stefan.
"Anything busted?" He asked. "I've lost my baton but otherwise I'm all good."
"Yes, I think we got knocked around more," Stefan replied. "It's just my radio. Must have landed on it."
The hardened plastic casing was cracked down the middle, exposing the tangled mess of torn wiring and broken circuitry boards inside.
"We can worry about that when we get back to the surface," Peter told him. "Right now we need to find our missing girl and get out of here."
"What about the other creature?" Rose asked. "They're still down here somewhere. What if we come across them?"
Peter shot back one of his smirks and he confidently cocked back his gun so that it was ready to fire.
"Oh, I'm counting on it."
Karugon stumbled over a loose rock and nearly fell to the floor as he was aggressively shoved forward by Peter. With his hands handcuffed behind him, he only just managed to regain his balance as he straightened back up again.
The creature was still under the guise of the lieutenant and had been forced to lead the way through the series of caves towards wherever it was Jane Wilson was being held.
"There's no need to push me!" He protested. "I'm going -"
He was cut off with a wince as Peter jabbed the barrel of his gun into his back.
"I'll decide what's required, Karugon." He told him. "Remember, you're no longer bulletproof in this form and the second you try anything…"
Karugon whimpered at the idea of what might happen as he felt the gun being pressed deeper into his spin.
Rose couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sorry for the alien. He was rightfully scared, and Peter had reverted to his arrogant and mean default setting. Topped with the fact that he had just stabbed his brother to death, albeit in self-defence, it was hard not to condone the way he was handling things.
"Doesn't it bother either one of you that he still looks like Peter?" She ventured. "Stefan, he is your best friend?"
"I'm not fooled by what someone looks like, Rose." He told her, shaking his head. "There's a difference between looking like something and acting it."
It was a very odd way of putting things, and Rose wondered if he was still referring about Karugon. There were too many deceiving appearances floating around tonight. Alien creatures who could become anyone and anything, the Doctor who looked so human and yet was not. Then there was Peter…
After about half an hour, it became quite obvious that Karugon had either been lying to them about knowing where Jane Wilson was or was for some reason delaying in taking them to her.
Rose recognised the cave they had just stepped into. It was the one with the metal table and ornament she and the Doctor had passed through after sneaking in through the tiny passageway. They were nearly back at the creature's ship, and there didn't seem anywhere else left to search.
"We've already been in here." She said. "Me and the Doctor. This is where that other tunnel ended."
Peter's patience was paper-thin at best. But now it had all but vanished completely.
"Where are you leading us, Karugon?" He barked. "Why aren't you taking us to the human girl?"
"I am!" He insisted. "It's just a little bit -"
That was as far as he got.
Peter grabbed hold of Karugon by the neck and slammed him up against the wall of the cave, pressing his face into the sharp rocky surface so that it was scratching his face. Trying to wriggle free, Karugon couldn't move as the lieutenant held him firmly in place.
"Stop lying to me!" Peter shouted. "You and your family have been a pain in my neck all night. I'm done giving you chances, Karugon."
"Why should I help you anymore?" The creature bit back. "You came down here, killed my brother! All for the sake of one pathetic -"
Rose gasped in horror as Peter drew out his gun and jammed it against Karugon's neck. For a terrifying moment, she thought that he was going to pull the trigger. His eyes were shining again and it was not going to be long before his anger would overtake any remaining hesitations.
"Be very careful about your next words." He hissed. "Otherwise they're going to be your last."
Kalagan opened up his mouth to speak but then thought better of it. Nodding in agreement, he stifled a cry of relief as Peter lifted his gun away and spun him back around. There were a few lines on his face where the skin had caught against the stone, but he was otherwise unhurt.
"What are you?" The alien questioned, staring at Peter. "You're not like them at all, are you?"
"Keep pushing your luck, and you'll find out."
Without waiting for Karugon to tell him otherwise, Peter shunted the alien forward again and in the direction of the doorway, they had not yet gone through.
Watching him go, Rose was not the only one to hesitate in following after him.
The Doctor had a disapproving frown on his face whilst Stefan looked quite unsettled. Could it be that he was scared of his friend? No matter how close they were and regardless of a shared childhood, was it possible that there were times when Peter's alien nature became difficult to witness?
She wanted to ask, but Stefan caught her eye and shook his head as though he already knew what she was about to say.
"It's fine." He said in a low whisper. "He'd never… You know."
"Maybe with you here, Stefan." The Doctor mused. "Come on."
Leaving no room for further conversation, the Time Lord followed after Peter and out of the cave.
The spaceship looked even bigger now that they were at ground level. Even in such a dishevelled state, the large black structure towered above them as Peter and Stefan cautiously lead them all towards it, dragging Karugon along as they went.
"I don't remember seeing this?" Stefan questioned, turning to Peter. "Did you…?"
"No. I was out, same as you." He replied. "But it's the perfect hiding place, wouldn't you say so?"
Stefan nodded in agreement as he turned to Karugon.
"Is she inside?" He asked. "What about the other creature? Where are they?"
Karugon had gone silent again. He merely shrugged back and refused to give anything away. Perhaps he was frightened of igniting Peter's fury again, but he did not indicate one way or the other of what awaited them inside the ship.
"It doesn't matter." Peter decided. "Guard him, Stefan. I'll go in and check it out."
Stefan nodded and stepped forward so that he was now right next to Karugon. With his gun out and aimed at the alien, he was ready to put him down the moment he tried to do anything that he didn't like.
"Be careful, mate." He warned. "Could be a…"
Peter's head snapped around towards the ship, he was suddenly alert and on edge as his attention was caught by something only he seemed to have detected. Sound, smell… It wasn't clear just yet. But the cave was completely deserted and the only noise was the echoes of tiny droplets of water dripping down from the roof into the large pool of water.
Thirty seconds passed without anyone daring to move or speak.
"Eyes on, Stefan," Peter whispered. "We're not alone."
It was only by watching the lieutenant could Rose tell that something was going on within the confines of the ship. But then a loud clanging sound somewhere within the metal hull confirmed that he was right.
"Who's there?" Stefan called out. "Come out of the ship and show yourself!"
Silence followed. Whoever it was had heard him and stopped in whatever it was they were doing.
"This is Lieutenant Peter Argent from the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," Peter announced. "Get out of the ship or we're coming in!"
Rose hadn't realised it, but she'd been holding in her breath again.
Then she heard footstep clicking against a metal floor as they moved towards the open doorway. Footsteps…. As in two legs, and not ones in possession of razor-sharp claws. Rather unsteadily, a young woman emerged and clumsily lowered himself down from the ship.
She looked as though she'd been dragged backwards through a bush and then on through several more. Caked head-to-toe in mud, she was shaking uncontrollably, her flame-coloured hair was a tangled and matted mess adorned with a few twigs and leaves. It was clear that she had not slept in all the time she had been missing and had most likely not had anything to eat or drink either.
"Oh my God!" Rose gasped. "That's her! Jane Wilson!"
Hearing her own name, the woman's chocolate brown eyes darted in Rose's direction and widened with disbelief.
"P-please... Please, c-can you help..."
Rose was already running towards her, arms stretched out wide in order to pull her into a much-needed hug. But then a strong hand grabbed hold of her and pulled her back sharply, preventing her from getting any closer to the distressed woman.
"Rose, stop!" Peter ordered. "Let me handle this."
"But she needs help." She protested. "Just let me…. Oh!"
The creature yet to emerge wouldn't have just let Jane go, and the woman didn't look anywhere near strong enough to escape on her own. There had to be a reason why she had been allowed to walk out of the ship. As Peter let go of her arm, Rose watched apprehensively as he approached Jane. She could see the seriousness in his eyes that told her of the danger they could still be in.
"Who are you?" The woman questioned as Peter neared her. "I don't know... What's happening?"
"Miss Wilson, my name is Peter Argent," Peter replied. "I've been sent here to rescue you."
"There are these things! They took me and..."
She started to cry.
Peter's expression instantly softened but he was still hesitant to reach out towards the poor woman to comfort her. Doing his best to keep his voice kind, he knew that he couldn't relax. He couldn't put away his gun either. There was still a creature loose somewhere, and it was almost certainly watching them now.
"I know that you've been through a lot and I promise that I'm going to get you out of here." He told her. "But it's very important that you tell me where you last saw the creatures that took you."
"I don't know." Jane gasped between sobs. "I haven't s- seen..."
"That's okay. You've done so well, but my priority is getting you to safety."
Jane had spotted Stefan and the others stood in the distance. She stared at them for a moment, tears still running down her cheeks.
"Is there just the just the four of you?" She questioned, calming herself down slightly. "Those creatures -"
"Are nothing I can't handle," Peter assured her. "We also found Tom Richardson. You know him, don't you?"
"Oh, yes." Jane agreed, sniffing loudly. "Yes, where is he?"
Rose's heart sank. She didn't know what had happened to him. After everything that she had already been through, how could she possibly be told what terrible fate had befallen the man she loved?
Peter words were cold and blunt as he delivered the news.
"He's dead." He told her. "Got his throat ripped out by a very ugly looking bat monster. Sorry."
But just a Rose had half a mind to march right over to the lieutenant and slap him very hard across the face, she noticed that Jane Wilson had stopped crying. Her face no longer bearing the marks of the ordeal she had been through. There were no screams of grief or distress either.
Then the woman smiled in a way that made her blood run cold.
"Ah…" Jane breathed, smiling coyly. "I sense that you're no longer fooled by my appearance? What gave me away?"
Taking in her dishevelled form for a little while longer, Peter half-circled around the last of the alien creatures as she fixated a curious gaze upon him.
"Two things." He informed her. "There are five of us, not four. So either you're really bad at maths or you didn't bother adding in Karugon over there because you already know who he is regardless of what he looks like."
"Yes." She confirmed. "Our kind can -"
"Smell each other a mile off, yes. Which brings me to onto the more obvious observation."
"Which is?"
Stepping forward, Peter sniffed in deeply and inhaled her scent. It was a damp, putrid smell that reminded him of rotting flesh and had nothing to do with their current surroundings. The creature looked human enough, but underneath she was still the same nightmarish creature who's kind had brought so much terror to the New Forest.
Leaning in towards her ear, Peter whispered into it.
"I know what humans smell like." He replied. "You stink of something else entirely. Death and misery… It matches the vile mess you are underneath your stolen face."
The carbon copy of the real Jane Wilson had her attractive face and slender body. But there was a glint of wickedness in her eye, a sense of confidence that was coming from someone that was much older and had seen far more than any human could even fathom seeing.
"I can say the same about you? Lieutenant, was it?"
"Call me Peter." He said, smirking. "What's your real name, Jane?"
"Karina." She responded. "I am the leader of our pack. Karugon is my nephew."
"Along with Kalagan, I presume?" Peter promoted. "Not to mention two or three others?"
Karina frowned with suspicion.
"You've met them all?" She asked curiously. "Yet you're still alive?"
"Yes, I am." He laughed. "Which means that they're not."