The Water

Ch 8


Alex's feet were falling asleep. His feet had never fallen asleep while he was standing up before, so it was quite the experience. One he was not enjoying very much. Alex took a few steps, trying to urge the pins and needles out of his legs.

Instead of relieving his pain, he tripped on something, cursing quietly as he hit the ground. He picked whatever it was up, glaring at it angrily despite the fact that it was too dark to discern its identity. He hated it when inanimate objects made a fool out of him. He really did.

"God Damnit kid, are you trying to tell the Leviathan where we are?" Bristoll hissed, his voice sounding like an unholy mix between a snake and some sort of feral dog. Alex frowned.

"It's not like it even matters. It'll find us eventually, and we're still inside the police station. We basically traded our first death trap in for a smaller one."

"Yes. I was wondering about that. Cas, why haven't you teleported us out yet?" Agent Smith asked. Alex heard the rustling of cloth, and he had had much experience being privy to conversations he couldn't see (mostly when he was stuffed in a locker or blindfolded by one of the jock squad) to identify someone's embarrassed shifting.

"I…do not have my full powers back yet. I could attempt to teleport again, but there is just as much chance that we would end up in the same room as the Leviathan as there is of us escaping. The only reason I did so before was because…well…we were so close that being teleported even closer was very improbable."

"Great, so we're trapped here?" Bristoll asked.

"Essentially." Agent Novak replied, her voice even but laced with just a hint of exhaustion that made Alex think that continuing to argue with her would just be incredibly rude and pointless. The room was quite again.

A sliver of light appeared in the room. 'At least now we know where the door is,' Alex thought. He hadn't been able to tell in the dark.

"Honey, I'm ho-ome," The Leviathan's voice was sickly sweet, and when it peered its head in it was sporting a smile filled with an impossible number of sharp teeth. Alex panicked, throwing the object in his hands at the beast.

He had no doubt that everyone in the room was surprised when it jumped back, screaming as its faced sizzled and burned. It fell to the ground, writhing, and for the first time Alex didn't feel sick about watching something in pain.

"What the fuck," Bristoll sounded like he expected the beast to jump up and yell surprise. When it didn't, he stepped forward and examined the object Alex had thrown, "Seriously? Soap takes these things down? These supposedly immortal creatures, which have rampaged through the country for weeks, and suds are their greatest weakness?"

"It makes sense. Leviathans are creatures of the water. They, for lack of a better word, pollute the substance, so it makes sense that a cleanser should injure it." Agent Novak sounded surprised, the emotion in her voice the strongest it had been since Alex had met her.

"What now?" With the crisis averted, Alex had thought he could calm down and take control of his situation. Instead, he just felt more flustered (and, perversely, a little bit upset that it was over).

"It isn't dead." Agent Smith said, looking down at it with something like pity in his eyes as the thing writhed on the ground. Alex would have been offended, but Smith looked like the sort of person who would have felt pity for the devil himself were he to have the opportunity. Agent Novak nodded and, with a flick of her wrist, a long, shiny blade appeared in her hand. Alex didn't even have it in him to be surprised.

"If we separate the head from the body, it will be unable to reform. It will not truly kill it, but I believe it will cause it to lose consciousness. Either way, it will prevent it from continuing its rampage." Without waiting for confirmation from any of the others, she stepped forward and, with one clean stroke, decapitated it. The body went still, and Novak picked up the head, holding it at a distance from the rest of the corpse.

"I trust that you can dispose of the body? My partner and I will take the head." Bristoll nodded.

"I'll just…call Clay and tell him this is all over."


The Doctor didn't want to think about how much it hurt to see River's body covered in blood and black goo. He had almost managed to come to peace with their situation, but this…


"Well, I gotta say, you two seem to be damn fine Hunters if I do say so myself. Which I can. It's one of the perks ta bein' the oldest salt in town. Thanks fer solvin' our Leviathan problem." Cliff clapped a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. The smaller man winced.

"Oh, it was nothing. We were just glad to help." The Doctor caught Cas nodding wordlessly in his peripheral vision.

"Well, if you ever need any help, don't hesitate t' call." Cliff handed the Doctor a card. The Timelord took it, smiling.

They walked into the next room of the PD, where Alex was waiting for a ride home. The boy was sitting on an interview table, picking nervously at a loose string on his sleeve.

"Hello Alex." Alex looked up and smiled nervously.

"Hi Agent Smith."

"I have a question for you, Alex," The boy silently raised an eyebrow, so the Doctor continued, "I think you know by now that my partner isn't human," Alex snorted, "Yes, yes, I know. Quite obvious. But…I must admit that that is not the only…difference we have from normal people. For instance, my name isn't-"

"Agent Smith? Yeah, I figured. If I was going around hunting monsters, I wouldn't be telling people my real name either."

"Yes. Well. Most people call me that Doctor and I'm…well…I'm a time traveler, for lack of a better word. I have a blue box called the TARDIS, and I travel everywhere in time and space with my companions. I can take them around the universe, travel with them for years and years and still get them home for dinner. Would you be interested in that?"

Alex seemed to consider the Doctor's offer for a moment, then smiled apologetically at him.

"If you asked me five minutes ago, I totally would, but…Cliff sort of offered to…umm…teach me how to Hunt. Most of the things in this town I'd leave in a second but…I think this might actually be something I want to do." The Doctor nodded.

"Well, enjoy the Hunting," The Doctor paused for a moment, then handed Alex a card with a phone number scribbled on it in shaky black letters, " If you ever change your mind, you can call me at this number." The boy wouldn't call. The Doctor had a certain sense for when a person was likely to grow bored of their situation and give him a ring, and Alex was not one of those people. The only reason he would have joined the Doctor was because he was an outcast in school and life, but now ostracization from his peers wouldn't matter. He had found a place. The Doctor smiled slightly: the boy could succeed at his chosen path, but it would take a lot of work.

Alexander Mulch had a lot of work to do.


A/N: YAY THEY KILLED IT. (In the most anti-climactic boss fight ever, but still)

Next chapter is going to be some filler and some foreshadowing, but not much else….barring I accidentally a plotline, that is.