"Hello?" A voice said from the other end of the phone line.
"It's Ellie." I replied.
"Oh, hi Ellie. I didn't think you would call." Jack said astounded.
"Well, you asked me to so I did." I answered.
There was an awkward silence.
"So…have any more questions for me?" I asked.
"Yeah, why did you choose call me? Why did you even trust me in the first place?" He questioned.
"I trusted you because I felt like I knew you. As in, I felt like I'd known you for a long time." I replied.
"Ok. Listen. I have lots I want to talk to you about." He said quickly.
"What, that you're my father…" I answered.
"Huh-what?!" He reacted.
"I can so tell you're lying with the 'huh-what'." I responded, mimicking him.
"Well…yeah, then I guess I am your father." He said.
"How did you know?" He quizzed.
"We have similar accents and you're just as strange as I usually am. Also, you were asking me rather personal questions and straight away reacted when you saw another man in the picture of me and my mum." I explained.
"Is you mum around now?" Jack questioned.
"No. She hasn't come back." I exclaimed.
"What, since the weekend!?" He asked rather shocked.
"Urm…yeah."
"Has she contacted?"
"…No…"
"Have you tried calling her?"
"Many times. It went straight to voicemail."
"Ok. Well, I have to go. Listen, contact me yeah. Tell me what happens but don't tell her I've contacted you or that you've contacted me."
"Ok."
"Bye."
"Bye."
[3 Days later – 1 ½ weeks since Helen and Martin were last in touch]
I was happily sleeping when my phone vibrated. I looked at the caller ID to see the name 'Mum'. I sprung up and quickly answered it.
"Mum!?" I asked with a worried tone.
"I'm sorry. This is Maggie Clements. I'm a Doctor at Clements Hospital. I have some bad news." She said slowly.
My breath hitched.
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.
"I'm afraid your mum and dad-"
I stopped her.
"Step Dad." I corrected her bluntly.
"Sorry. I'm afraid your mum and step dad were involved in an accident." She explained. "They urm - they both died earlier today."
My heart stopped and my world slowed.
We continued to talk for a bit before I hung up. I grabbed my phone and legged it out of the door and to the bus station.
I dialled the only person I felt as though I could trust.
"Jack?" I asked as he answered, struggling to speak through my tears.
"Ellie, what's wrong?" He asked concerned.
"Come to the bus station." I said before hanging up.
I waited for 15 minutes before a car pulled up on the other side of the road and he came running over to me.
"Ellie?" He asked, pulling me into a hug.
I broke down into tears and sobbed into his chest.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Mum…Mum and – Martin." I managed to say.
He pulled me out of the hug and wiped my tear stained cheeks.
"They're – dead." I whispered.
"Come with me. Now." He said.
Jack pulled me to his car and we drove away.
I sat in the front passenger seat staring out of the window. We'd been driving for about 10 minutes but neither of us had said anything. I knew Jack was probably waiting for me to start so I felt like I should just get it over with.
"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.
"Remember the card I gave you with my phone number on?" He asked, looking at me for recognition. I nodded.
"It said Torchwood on it. That's where we're going." He said. "How are you feeling?" He quizzed.
"Ever lost someone?" I questioned.
"Yes. Many." He answered.
"Well then you can probably tell how I'm feeling right now." I confirmed.
"It will get better." He stated.
I stayed silent and the next 5 minutes was complete silence.
"Why are we going to 'Torchwood'?" I said, looking at him curiously.
"Because – your parents death wasn't accidental. It was murder! Someone was trying to kill them and now they want to kill you. Right now, Torchwood is the only safe place for you. That's why we're going." He lectured.
"Why did they want to kill them, and now me? I enquired.
"You don't know?" He asked, looking rather surprised. I shook my head.
"Ever noticed anything strange about your mum?"
"No." I said hesitantly.
"You hesitated."
"No I didn't."
"You have noticed something weird, haven't you?"
"Fine…I have. Mum could – do things." I said. "And I think you know what I mean by that." I added.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He answered.
"Is that why they wanted to kill her?" I asked, my eyes tearing up again.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Do you have any – you know…powers?"
"Urm…I don't know. Mum said they start when your 13 and I am 13 but no powers have developed. Though, I didn't try." I replied.
He stopped talking as he parked the car on the side of the road and got out. I quickly followed him to a narrow building, but he stopped on the pavement.
"Why have you stopped?" I asked.
"Stand here." He ordered.
I quickly stood next to him and the floor moved beneath us. We were going down into the ground!
It stopped and we got off. I looked around in astonishment, turning in circles on the spot.
"This is Torchwood!?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes. Do you like?"
"It's a strange place, but yeah – I like it." I answered.
He guided me through the room, which was definitely something more than a room. We made it to a door and I followed him through to what must be his office. He sat down in the chair and signalled for me to join him. I sat on his lap and he pulled me into a hug.
"It will be ok you know." He whispered into my ear.
"Will it. Those people want to kill me and they're not gonna stop till I'm dead." I answered.
"I promise to keep you safe." He said.
So…I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You're probably thinking: Whoa, you rushed into things but as you'll learn: I am impatient.
I have a few ideas of things I want to include but wanna know what you guys think!
Rachel :) xx