Chapter 8 the nightmare on Tyler manor
As Rose cradled the upset alien in her arms she noted on how cold Romana had become, her constant shivers added to her worries. Had she fallen ill? The shock from the dream had made Romana scared, even in the real world. In came John with that sympathetic look painted on his face. He sat beside Rose and offered a hand to wipe the tears away from Romana's eyes. But the water works never ended. After a while Romana thought it was ok to stop snivelling and come clean.
"Rouen what's wrong you really scared us, please tell us no more hiding" Rose panicked. She too had also begun to shake. John put his arm over her shoulder in attempt to calm her down.
"There is things what I haven't told you things I can't tell you" said Romana softly. She rejoined them on the bed and faced her head towards her knees. This was the chance to tell them the truth so she didn't have to hide in the shadows any longer.
"I've been running from something and now it's come back for me", the truth made her feel better. But Rose and Johns complexions didn't change, they needed more.
"I've been having nightmares the past few nights, but there all different, every night", she paused and looked at her knees again as if looking for answers within herself.
"Go on" Rose encouraged, she was desperate for her to continue. "Each night it's a different thing, the first was a girl holding a balloon trapped in a mirror". John's face seemed to drop, his eyes suddenly swelled with fear.
"The second one was a young man trapped in a scarecrow but then about four o'clock in the morning they were both stood outside with a pump lady". John's face seemed to drop lower, any more and his chin would touch the floor.
"And then just now a man just unravelled his self from chains". Before she could say anything else John tore the conversation apart, he stood in rage and marched up and down the bedroom floor, his eyes fixed in front and his hands behind his back.
Before he could do anything else Romana fell back on to the bed and her eyes glued shut. Any attempt to wake her up failed as Rose learned shortly; John came to her side as he also tried his best to wake her up. What had made her fall to sleep so suddenly? Her mouth slowly opened as black smoke gathered around her face, her eyes snapped open to expose clouded pupils. The fog started to gather at the end of the bed to reveal the silhouette of a cluster of people stood closely together. As the smoke cleared the group became clear and John's first fears had been realised. Stood proud at the end of Romana's bed the family of blood in all their glory.
"Well well, well what do we have here, if it isn't The Doctor you haven't changed a bit have you, still going under John Smith are we" dragged on father, his chuckle sent a shiver down Rose's spine. The rest of the family joined in with the short lived laugh. Romana still lay lifeless on the bed.
"How did you all escape, I finished you all years ago" John raged through his teeth, his eyebrows narrowed and his eyes fixed on them, Rose had never seen him so mad.
"We used your little friend here to do our bidding, her dreams were powerful enough to release us all, something you aren't capable of" son replied to John's question.
"No but I'm not The Doctor you remember, I'm half human and if you don't believe me take a whiff".
All of their noses acted as one as they inhaled John's sent. But instead Romana's aroma filled their delights.
"But I have to ask, why Rouen?"
"Hasn't she told you, I bet she tastes great" son closed his eyes and dreamed of Romana's thick, warm blood, like any vampire monster would. No one had nosiest Rose slip under their radar as she edged towards Romana's bag to search for something useful. As her slim fingers rummaged through Romana's possessions her hand clasped something that felt burned. Her search had found her the watch Romana had burnt out on her arrival. As Rose glared upon her prize everything reminded her of Jack Harkness, a friend who owned a watch of a similar kind. She was well aware of its power and what it was capable of. She slipped back to the bed at John's side. The testosterone still smelt in the air, the two middle aged men were locked in a duel, their eyes transfixed on one another. Rose's slender finger on the button, waiting for the right moment.
"It will be such a shame when she's gone, she would have had a happy life ahead of her, be we need to survive so we'll be on our way now" said son calmly, his hands stretched out ready to grab Romana.
"Oh your going alright" Rose shouted at the top of her voice, she held the watch up in front of her, her finger held in the button hard so she wouldn't let go. Behind the family a huge portal ripped the room in two, papers from the desk in the corner flew around in the crazy out of control winds. Mother was the first one to go; her weight was no match for the worm hole. Second was father, head first. Daughter's balloon pulled her in as she refused to let the vortex take possession of it. Son held on the post of the bed, but his short bitten finger nails were no match for the slippery polished pine wood, the words "we'll be back" echoed down the tricoloured tube as Rose released the button and it closed.
"Rose you did it" exclaimed John as he threw his arms around her, his expression now much happier.
"But it's not over yet, we need to get Rouen out of here, the family know where we are now and they can always find their way back".
"Any way where did you get that?" asked a perplexed John.
"From Rouen's bag over there" replied Rose. They both looked over at the same time to stare at Romana's ratty old bag hung over the desk chair.
"Go and pack some things and meet me at the front of the house at midnight so we can make our get away" John stated.
"Do you think this is some sort of survival show, since when did everything become about protecting a girl we don't even know, plus how are we going to tell my parents?" Rose confirmed.
"Since I knew what she might be, and we're not going to tell them" John's face said it all. Rose ran down the hall to follow her orders and pack a bag, John gathered all his strength and heaved Romana over his shoulder to also grab her bag in the process, she was still unconscious from the uncanny events of earlier. Down the hall Rose ripped open the wardrobe and started to pull out clothes of Johns and her own, then slipping them all in a backpack she started to question what John was hiding from her.