Arachnids in the UK

After our adventure with Rosa Parks, us Time Ladies tried again to get our new friends home. The three of us were running around the console, controlling the ship, "Nearly there!" said The Doctor.

"Are you sure you lot have got this under control?" asked Graham.

"Totally," I said, " New systems. Just running them in."

Soon, the TARDIS came to a stop and Yaz was the first one to the door. She opened the door and looked out, "We're home," She said, as she got out, "We're actually home!"

We got out and saw were in front of a modern block of flats, "Yes!" said Annabelle, triumphantly, "The 15th times the Charm! I knew we could do it!" I rolled my eyes.

" We're at Park Hill," said Ryan.

"That's my flat, there," said Yaz, as she pointed up.

"Wait, you live at Park Hill?" asked Ryan, "We're just up there." He pointed in the other direction.

"And I've got mobile signal again. But no messages."

"Well. it's only half an hour since you left," I said.

"What, half an hour since we were with you all were in that warehouse?" asked Graham.

"Yep," I said with a smile.

"Wow."

"So... I suppose this is it," said The Doctor.

The three humans all looked at each other, "Yeah, I suppose it is," said Ryan.

"Got you back. Guess we're done. Nice having you aboard.

"Thanks, Doc," said Graham, "It's been a blast, truly."

"Pleasure."

"What're you going to do now?" asked Yaz.

"Well, I've got to get Teddy and Annabelle back to Denver," said The Doctor, "Then, I'll be off. There's loads to see."

"By yourself?" asked Yaz.

"Yeah, I suppose," The Doctor for some reason couldn't bring herself to look at any of us to ask if we wanted to go with her.

"Do you want to come for tea at mine?" asked Yaz.

"Definitely!" said The Doctor, as she closed the door of the TARDIS, and walked over to Yaz.

"Yes, I would," said Annabelle.

"Thanks, I said, as Annabelle and I joined the Doctor and Yaz.

"I love tea," said The Doctor, "Tea at Yaz's? Amazing." She looked at saw Ryan and Graham standing there, "Are you coming? Are we all going for tea at Yaz's?"

"She didn't invite us," said Ryan.

"Don't be daft, course you're invited," said Yaz.

"All right, then," said Ryan, he walked over to join us.

Graham was looking off in the distance, "Graham?" asked Yaz.

Graham looked back at us, "I think I'll nip home first, Yaz. Maybe join you later if that's all right?"

Yaz nodded. Ryan walked over to him, "Shall I come with you?" he asked.

"I'd rather do it alone," said Graham. He looked at us Time Ladies, "Don't go without saying goodbye."

We all nodded at head to Yaz's flat, "Tea at Yaz's," said The Doctor, "I've never been for tea at Yaz's."

We were walking to Yaz's flat, and Ryan said, "Can't believe you live here. I can see this block from my window. Almost neighbors, all this time."

"I know. It's cool," said Yaz. She pointed to the door to her flat.

"Yeah."

We notice a woman up ahead talking on a cell phone. "Everything all right?" asked The Doctor.

"Fine, thanks," said the woman, "Anna, it's Jade McIntyre, I'm outside your front door. Are you in?"

I noticed there was a big spider web nearby. We walked into Jaz's flat as she called out, "I'm home! Got some mates with me," she turned and looked back at us, "They're probably all out."

Just then a man came out, it was Yaz's father, Hakim, "You've brought friends back. Sonya? Yaz has brought friends back. I'm getting food." He stepped in the kitchen.

Then a young woman came out from around a corner, "What, you actually have friends?" she looked at us, "She paying you?"

Annabele, Sonya, Ryan, and I sat at the kitchen table. While Yaz stood behind us and Hakim cooked The Doctor looked out the windows

"Look at your views. Never had a flat. I should get one, I'd be good in a flat. I could get a sofa. Imagine me with a sofa, like my own sofa, I could get a purple one and sit on it. Am I being weird?'

"A little bit," I said.

"I'm trying to do small talk," said The Doctor, softly, "I thought I was doing quite well.

"It needs work," said Annabelle, softly.

"Maybe I'm nervous. Or just socially awkward. I'm still figuring myself out," The Doctor looked at the pile of garbage, in the living room, "You really like junk. Are you collecting it, like stamps?"

"Let me tell you about this mess," said Hakim.

"Don't get him started," said Sonya.

"Dad, we keep telling you," said Yaz, "Stop picking it up. Mum's going to go crazy when she sees you've brought it home again. It stinks."

"I can't just leave it there," said Hakim.

"Why do we have to have it?" asked Sonya.

"Well, I thought maybe that as your sister is a policewoman..."

"Police officer," said Yaz.

"And she said she'd do something about it," said Hakim.

"I did, and they're looking into it."

"Well, not fast enough. It's a disgrace."

"Don't keep it in the kitchen. Put it down the chute."

"It's evidence! And you know what it's evidence of?

"A conspiracy," said Yaz and Sonya, together. I looked at the Doctor and her ears perked up.

"Exactly," said Hakim, "A total conspiracy and getting worse."

"I love a conspiracy," said The Doctor. I put my hand to my head, I knew I wouldn't be getting back to Denver anytime soon. Not that I was any hurry to get back to Denver.

Sonya looked at Ryan "So, are you and Yaz...?"

"Mates," said Ryan, "We were at primary school together."

"Just mates, then?"

"Yeah."

"That's good," said Sonya.

Just then Yaz's phone rang, "Hi, Mum…." She said as she answered it, "What, now? I'm just in the middle of... Fine." Then she hung up.

"Is she all right?" asked Hakim.

"Yeah. She forgot something. Asked if I'd drop it at work for her," Yaz grabbed her keys and looked at The Doctor, "She's got a new job, posh hotel opening. Do you mind if I nip out quickly?"

"Need any company?" asked The Doctor.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"We'll look after your friends," said Hakim, "I'm going to make pakora."

"Dad, don't," said Yaz, "He's terrible at pakora."

"We never meet your friends. She never brings anyone around."

"Married to the job," said Sonya.

"At least I've got a job to be married to," said Yaz, "Bye."

"Hope you don't crash."

"Girls, now..." said Hakim, as Yaz left.

"Sisters," said The Doctor, "I used to have sisters. I used to be a sister, in an aqua hospital. Actually, turned out to be a training camp for the Quiston Calcium Assassins."

"Going off on one again," said Ryan.

The Doctor was looking at the mail on a table, "Ooo, you've got a parcel to pick up. Left with a neighbor."

"Yeah, I've been trying to get that for days," said Hakim, "Couple of doors down. No reply."

"Do you want me to go get it while you make your terrible pakora?"

"Doctor!" I said.

The Doctor, Ryan, Annabelle, and I went to get the package from the neighbors, "No word from Graham?" I asked, Ryan as he looked at his phone.

"You think I should've gone with him?" asked Ryan.

"You know him better than me."

"Not much."

We got to the neighbors' door and the woman from earlier was still there, "Still no answer?" asked The Doctor. The woman shook her head no, "We've got a package to pick up for number 34. Think she took it in. You a friend?"

"We work together at the uni," said the woman, "She hasn't been in for a few days. Didn't call in sick, isn't answering her messages. Thought I'd drop by, see if she's okay." The Doctor went up to the door and looked in the mail slot. The woman looked at Ryan, "I'm Jade."

"I'm Ryan," he said, "That's the Doctor, Teddy and Annabelle."

"Hello, Anna?" said The Doctor through the mail slot, "It's next door but one. Have you got a parcel for us?" She stood up and looked at us, "I mean, I could open the door."

"What, like, break it in?" asked Jade.

"No, just sort the lock. If you thought it was appropriate. If you're worried about her."

"I am."

The Doctor took her sonic out of a fanny pack she was wearing and pointed it at the door. It unlocked at we went inside. The place was full of cobwebs, "Anna?" I called out. But there was no response, "How long did you say it'd been since you'd seen her?" I asked Jade.

Ryan tried a light switch, "Power's out."

"A few days," said Jade as she answered my question.

"Lot of cobwebs for a few days," said Ryan.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said Annabelle.

"Whoa," said Ryan as we entered the kitchen. There were cobwebs from floor to the celling. It looked like something out of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, " This is proper weird now," he said.

"Yep," said The Doctor. Jade was looking at some of the cobwebs, "Did Anna ever mention she had a problem with spiders?" asked The Doctor. Jade shook her head no. "Let's take a look downstairs."

We walked to Anna's bedroom and went inside, the room was dark, "Anna?" said The Doctor.

"Is she in here?" asked Ryan.

We saw a figure siting "You okay?" asked The Doctor. She moved closer to the figure in the bed, "Anna?"

Ryan pulled back the curtains and let light poured in and we could see the figure in the bed was wrapped up in a cocoon of spiderwebs. "Oh, my days!" said Ryan.

"My God, Anna," said Jade.

"I'm sorry," said The Doctor.

"Spiders don't do that. Do they?' asked Ryan.

"Wrong question, Ryan," I said, "You should be asking 'Where's the spider that did this?'"

"You think it's still in here?"

"Maybe." I said.

We started looking around the room and we saw a wardrobe. The Doctor and Ryan moved toward it, The Doctor started to count, "Three, two..." Then, they opened it. There was just clothes inside.

Ryan looked under the bed and a few moments later jumped to his feet. Then a huge spider about the size of a small dog crawled out from under the bed, "Look at the size of it!" said Ryan.

"No sudden moves," said Annabelle, as we all slowly backed toward the door.

"It's domestic but it's way too big," said Jade, "It's not harmful."

"It suffocated your mate," said Ryan.

"Let's put a door between us," said Annabelle, as she reached the door handle, "When I say 'Now' everybody out…" She opened the door, "Run!"

Once we got out of the room, The Doctor said, "Ryan, keep it in there. Back in a sec."

Us Time Ladies went upstairs and started going through the kitchen.

"We're out, it's contained," said Ryan, "Only a spider. Big spider, but only a spider. Not mad keen on spiders."

"Er...," said Jade.

"What? Doctor, it's coming through!"

Jade joined us in the kitchen, "Can't keep it in the bedroom. Rubbish chute. Maybe that's how it got in. Could we drive it out through there?

"And set it loose across the city?" I said, "No, we need to keep it isolated here."

Just then The Doctor found a small bottle of vinegar and a tube of garlic paste, "Ryan, get up here!" she said. She then put garlic paste across the ceiling at the top of the stairs, along the wall, and across the floor. Then, she sprayed vinegar on the floor and on the ceiling just as Ryan was coming up, "Oi, you just covered me in vinegar. "Spiders' feet are their noses, and they hate the smell of garlic. And the acetic acid in the vinegar means it won't come any further."

Just then we heard the door breaking, "Where is it?"

We heard skittering and then we looked up and saw the spider on the ceiling. I reached the line of garlic and came down. It reached the line of garlic on the floor and stopped. The Doctor knelt and said to it, "Hi. We don't mean you any harm. You're not supposed to be this big and you're definitely not supposed to attack humans. You stay here, until I figure this out. Deal?" The Doctor stood up and said, "Let's go."

Once we were safely on the deck outside the flat, Ryan said, "Oh, I did not like that."

I walked up to Jade and asked , "Jade McIntyre, who are you? I saw you check those cobwebs, and they didn't faze you at all." Jade had a worried look on her face.

Just then Graham came running up panting, "Hey! You'll never guess what I just found in the loft room."

"It better not be a massive spider," said Ryan.

"Yeah. Like a big spider had just shed its skin."

I looked back at Jade and said, "Jade, your friend has died, and I think you know more than what you're telling us."

"This isn't the first incident," said Jade, "Something's happening with the spiders in the city. They're out of control."

We walked down the street and across a bridge, "The place where Anna worked with me, it's just over the way," said Jade, "I'm a research fellow in zoology, specializing in arachnids and arthropods. But spiders are our main focus, and we're seeing something very wrong in their behavior right now."

Jade took us into her laboratory, Us Time Ladies looked at some of the specimens while Jade talked, "We reckon there could be around 21 quadrillion spiders on the planet in total."

"So, what sort of research are you doing in here?" asked Annabelle, as we turned to look at Jade.

"We're interested in utilizing the genetic strengths of arachnids. Ordinary spider silk is as strong as steel or as tough as Kevlar."

"That still don't make me like them," said Graham.

"Ooo, fun fact," said The Doctor, "if you weave dragline spider silk as thick as a pencil, it's strong enough to stop a plane in flight."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. I've had to deal with it. Well, me and Amelia Earhart. You'd like her, she's a right laugh."

I shook my head and looked at Jade, "So, what else are you doing in here?"

"I've been working on an enzyme to increase the lifespan," said Jade, "Spiders can keep growing for as long as they live."

"That spider in Anna's flat was way bigger than a normal household spider," said Ryan.

"Yeah"

"Did Anna have access to your experiments?" asked Annabelle.

"No, she was on the admin team," said Jade, " Everything we do here is secure. We discard all carcasses responsibly through a specialist company. Unless she was taking things without us knowing, but... she's not that kind of person. I should notify the police."

"What is it you wanted to show us?" asked The Doctor.

"Reports of unusual spider activity in Sheffield over the last three months, from the police, pest controllers, and to us here," said Jade as she moved to a rolling white board. She turned it over to reveal a map of Sheffield. with lots of dots on it. I put on my glasses and started to examine the map. Jade continued, "Rare sightings, an increase in numbers, spiders you don't normally see at this time of year."

"Something's wrong with the spider ecosystem in South Yorkshire," I said.

"Exactly. But we don't know what. They have nothing in common. Different species, different quantities. Some are large massings, some have been a profusion of web-building. I can't work out if they're confused, or angry or scared."

"Or trying to send a message," said The Doctor. She picked up a marker and started to connect the dots.

"What are you doing?" asked Jade.

Soon all the dots were connected, and it looked like a giant web with a big empty space in the middle, "Where's that?"

"That's the new hotel complex being bult….Scheduled to be opened soon" said Jade, "Us Time Ladies looked at each other.

We went to the hotel, and I called Yaz phone when she answer I said, "Jaz, it's Teddy. Are you at the hotel where your mom works?"

"Yeah."

"Can you let us in?"

A short time later we were inside, The Doctor when up to Yaz's mom and hugged her, "Hi, Yaz's mum."

"Najia," she said. Then she looked at her daughter, "Yaz, they can't be here."

"Najia, you made a very awesome human," said The Doctor, "Tell me what's going on."

Then we heard screams and gunshots, "Was that gunshots?" asked Ryan.

"Come on," said The Doctor.

We ran off in the direction of the screams and gunshots. We ran down a hall and saw a man come out of a room. And I couldn't believe who it was. It was Jack Robertson; he was an American businessman thinking about President. "You are joking," I said.

"No way," said Annabelle.

"Oh, no," said Jade.

The Doctor took out her psychic paper and showed it to him, "Crisis investigators. You just ran really quickly out of a room looking really scared. Tell me exactly what's going on, omitting no detail, no matter how strange."

"A giant spider just smashed through my bathtub and took out my bodyguard, Kevin."

"Right. Very succinct summary. Well done. You just wait here with my... people. A spider smashed through a bath. Right." The Doctor and Yaz went in the room.

Robertson looked at us, "Hey," said Ryan.

"Hey," said Robertson.

"You're that bloke," said Graham.

"Yeah."

A short time later, The Doctor and Jaz rushed out of the room, "Did you see it?" asked Robertson, "Did you find him? Where's Kevin?"

"We need to move out of this area, quick," said The Door, "It's too dark, too deserted. Spiders love that. We need to go somewhere bright and busy."

"No, no, no, no, no. We need to get as far away from that thing as possible."

"I'm with him," said Ryan.

"I know the way out," said Najia.

"Everyone, follow Yaz's mum," said The Doctor.

"It's Najia."

We all ran down the hallway and down the escalator that hadn't been turned on yet. We returned to the lobby and the doors were covered in cobwebs. "Oh, that's bad," said Ryan.

"We just came in that way," said Yaz, "How have they done so many webs so fast?"

Us Time Ladies took out our sonic screwdrivers and started to scan the cobwebs. "Never mind that," said Graham, "let's just get through them."

"No, this can't be happening," said Robertson, "This is a protest. One of those eco-protests, huh? This isn't spiders. Spiders can't do that."

"These spiders can," I said, "Those aren't normal cobwebs. They know we're here and they're trying to seal us in."

"They're trying to make the whole hotel their web," said Jade.

"And we're the flies," said Annabelle, "We're not leaving. We must find out why they're here and stop them getting any further. We need to find a safe haven," she looked at Najia, "Najia, any thoughts?"

"Kitchen?"

"Lead the way."

A little while later, we were walking in the kitchen, "Ah, good. This'll do. Okay, thinking. Need to be quick, spiders are moving fast. Why is this hotel the epicenter of spider activity?"

"Wait!" said Robertson, " Nobody talk until you tell me what you're all doing here." He paused a moment, "'Spiders.' Plural?"

"Very plural. Sorry, I don't know who you are."

I sighed. Roberson laughed a little, "Oh, really? Cos you must be the only person on the planet that doesn't."

"Are you Ed Sheeran?" asked The Doctor, as she looked at the rest of us, "Is he Ed Sheeran? Everyone talks about Ed Sheeran round about now, don't they?"

I put my hand on my forehead. Then, Roberson said, "I am not Ed Sheeran. I am Jack Robertson, and this is my hotel. Just one hotel in an incredibly successful chain of hotels, which is just one small part of my business portfolio, as featured in Fortune Global 500. Does that ring a bell?

"Should I look impressed right now?" asked The Doctor, as she looked around, "Is that impressive?"

"He's running for President in 2020," I said.

"Ed Sheeran?"

"No! Him," I said as I pointed at Robertson.

"I haven't declared my intentions yet," said Robertson, "But, look, we're talking about spiders!"

"See?" said Annabelle, "Typical politician. Avoiding the question."

"I am not a politician. I'm a businessman and I know how to run things."

"I've heard you're only running cos you've hated Trump for decades," said Jade.

"Please don't mention that name," said Robertson, " Look, I was just attacked by a spider the size of a bathtub, and it's all her fault." He pointed right at Najia.

"I told you," said Najia, "I know nothing about this."

"Mum, don't even talk to him," said Jaz, "He fired you."

"What?" said The Doctor, "He didn't. You didn't. You can't be President if you fire Yaz's mum."

"Najia," she said.

"I hate spiders," said Robertson, "Phobia-hate."

"Oh, man, me too," said Ryan, "And there's loads knocking about right now."

"I will not have them in my hotel."

"I mean, you're running for President," said Graham, "it could be espionage, you know, targeted directly."

"At you by Russians," said Ryan.

"That's possible," said Robertson, "There are a lot of people that would like to see me dead."

"Funny, that," said Najia.

"See?"

"They don't need giant spiders," said Jade, "They'd just pop a tiny poisonous one on your pillow."

Ryan cringed and Roberson looked right at her and said, "You've really got to stop saying stuff like that."

Yaz looked at Us Time Ladies and asked "So, what do we do?"

"Why are you asking them?"

"Cos they're in charge, bro," said Ryan.

"Says who?" asked Roberson.

"Says us!" said Graham, Yaz and Ryan.

"How do you all know each other?" asked Najia.

"Mum, can you shut up a second?" said Jaz.

"Okay, we need two things," said Annabelle, "Blueprints for the hotel and a captive spider."

We all looked at Robertson, "I'm not getting near the spider."

Graham, Ryan, and Jade went to get a spider while Roberson took the rest of us to the office to look at the blueprints. We started looking over the blueprints and Robertson said, "That can't be accurate. It doesn't even have my panic room marked on it."

We all gave him a look then I looked at Najia, "Any issues with spiders before today, Najia, here or at home?"

"My home?" she asked.

"One of your neighbors had a spider problem," said The Doctor, "The link between both places is you."

"I knew it," said Robertson, "And I'm going to litigate you until your last breath, Nadia."

"It's Najia. And I've done nothing."

"Are you sure?" asked The Doctor, as we looked through the blueprints.

"Sorry, but who are you three?" How'd you know my daughter? Why have I never met any of you before?"

"Oh, not now," said Yaz.

"Yes, now," said Najia, "It's not a difficult question."

"It is a bit of a long answer," said The Doctor.

"Well, I've got time."

"But we haven't. Not right now."

Najia looked at The Doctor and then at Yaz, "Are you two seeing each other?"

"I don't think so," said The Doctor, "Are we?"

I rolled my eyes. Then Yaz said, "We're friends. I owe the Doctor and her nieces my life, quite a few times over."

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"Please can we not have this conversation now? And not in front of him."

"Oh, I'm enjoying this," said Robertson.

"How long did it take you to build this hotel?" asked Annabelle.

"Five years," said Robertson, "We have fifteen of these hotels throughout the world now. Repurposing former industrial sites into luxury leisure venues."

"Repurposing?" I asked, "What was the site before?"

"I don't have... clarity on that."

"I do," said Najia, "Coal mines. This was mining land."

Najia was reading a blueprint as she took down a service corridor, to a door that would take us to the abandoned mines under the hotel. "We've just passed the entrance to the back of the spa. We should be here now."

"You're not going down there," said Robertson, "It's too dangerous."

"I eat danger for breakfast," said The Doctor. She looked at Yaz, "I don't, I prefer cereal. Or croissants. Or those little fried Portuguese... Never mind, it's not important."

We reached a door covered in warning stickers, "Ha! See?" said Robertson, as ran up to the door and pointed at the stickers, "Look at this. Keep out. Danger of death. You are not authorized to go in here."

"Dude, I've all the authorization I ever need," said The Doctor. She took out her sonic and shorted out the keypad next to the door. She looked back at us, "I call people 'dude' now."

Just then Jade came up to us, "Doctor, I need to speak to you."

"We need to do it as we walk. There's something behind this door people want to keep locked away." She went through the door then Annabelle and I followed her.

"Oh, sure, it's a party," said Robertson, "Everybody can come."

"Thanks," said Jade, as she followed, "Doctor, I've seen these spiders before."

Yaz went in but Robertson tried to stop Najia. "But you…"

"You're not the boss of me anymore," said Najia.

The tunnel was almost pitch black but, Yaz found a switch to turn the lights on, "Nice work, Yaz," said The Doctor.

"No, not nice work," said Robertson, "None of you are allowed down here."

"Are all your hotels built on repurposed sites?" asked Annabelle.

"Well, that's the business," said Robertson, "I mean, every city in the world, big or small, has an area that they want repurposed. Maybe it's not too pretty, maybe it's never been used, maybe it's an industry that's died. We go in and we help them figure it out. We get a good deal, but we give them world-class facilities. It's a win for everybody."

"A network of mining tunnels could explain how the bigger spiders are moving," I said, "But the question is, does that make your hotel their target or their base?"

"What is that smell?" asked Najia.

The tunnel opened into a cavern with cobweb covered objects hanging from the ceiling, "What are they?" asked Yaz.

"Oh, my God!"

"You guys, stay back," said The Doctor, "Keep an eye out for me." She ripped opened one of the objects and inside was a mummified woman.

Robertson walked up to her, "Oh, my God."

"Do you know who this is?"

"Her name is Frankie. Look what they did to her."

"Why are they in cocoons?" asked Yaz.

"I think they're being stored as food," I said.

"Spiders don't eat people," said Jade.

"I said they're being stored. They haven't eaten them. They're outsized and confused. All their behavioral patterns have been disrupted. How did they get like this?"

"It doesn't make any sense. This is not what spiders do."

The Doctor opened another cocoon inside was a man, "I presume this is Kevin."

"Yeah," said Robertson.

"Doctor, Teddy, and Annabelle!" called Yaz from the other size of the cavern.

"You don't need to go any deeper!" said Robertson.

Us Time Ladies walked over to herm "What is it?" asked The Doctor.

"Look," said Jaz. We walked a little further and Yaz asked, "Have you seen what's down here?"

We looked down at another cavern at it was filled with garbage, "It's landfill," said Jade.

"Is that what the smell is?" asked Najia, "It goes on for miles."

I scanned it with my sonic, "And down."

Robertson jointed us and Najia asked, "Your hotel's built on landfill?"

"I have a lot of companies, okay?" said Robertson, "JLR does corporate waste disposal. They're very efficient, very highly rated internationally."

"You fill up disused mines with landfill waste and build a luxury hotel on top?" asked Annabelle.

"Smart business planning. Perfect vertical integration."

"All your hotels are built this way?" asked Najia.

"Not quite perfect, I'm afraid," said The Doctor, "Not quite efficient. A blocked-in site pumping out methane and sulphides and trichloroethylene. never mind the specialist material that haven't been properly preserved. A soup of toxic waste, incredibly badly managed. I mean, there's no outlet for it. It's just building and marinading and becoming more and more toxic. It's a botched job."

"I didn't know," said Robertson.

"Yes, you did," said Naja, "That's what she was telling you when I saw you. That woman, Frankie." Robertson scoffed and Najia continued, "She was telling you this site was unsafe."

"Okay, all right, you're right. That's why I came here. Apparently JLR was a little overzealous in cutting corners and worried about keeping the bottom line instead of doing the right thing. But I just sign the contracts, okay? I expect other people to do their jobs. This is not on me."

"Don't you even care?" asked The Doctor.

"Look, I'm going to pay you all off. You'll never have to work again."

"I like working," said Najia, "Do you know the worst thing? Bits of this is leaking out above here. It's in my kitchen. My husband's right. It's a conspiracy. Do you have any idea how annoying it is when my husband's right?

"Look, I've never even been down here," said Robertson, "It doesn't even add up."

"It does for me," said Jade, "JLR Disposal. JLR takes the waste from our lab. Our aborted experiments and our spider carcasses."

"And they're all in there," said Annabelle, "Your spider carcasses in his toxic waste."

"Not my fault," said Robertson, "I didn't know anything about spider carcasses."

"Course you didn't," said Jade, "You don't know anything. You just avoid taking any responsibility. I'm running through our work, stuff we shut down. Spiders bio-engineered for stronger cobwebs, prolonged life."

"Because spiders can keep growing as long as they live," I said.

"What if our waste included something that we thought was dead, but was still just alive?

"And with enough food in all that waste to survive, and enough toxicity to mutate and to keep on growing."

We rushed back in the kitchen, just as Graham and Ryan rushed in from the other direction, "We've found out what's going on..." said Yaz.

"Massive spider in the ballroom!" said Ryan.

"How massive?" I asked.

"The size of a large van," said Graham.

"Wow, that is massive," said Annabelle.

"It must be the mother and the rest are the babies," said Jade, "Some stayed here, some went out into the city, their pheromones disrupting the spider eco-system, causing other spiders to behave abnormally."

"Of course," said The Doctor, "Najia, you were never the link. Your colleague, Anna. What if she had the same pheromones on her, accidentally calling out to a spider that had gone out hunting from this hotel? All these spiders answering the same call, because in the end, every living thing has the same instinct. To come back home."

"That's very touching," said Robertson, "But there's a plague in my hotel and it needs to be fixed."

"Show us your panic room," said Annabelle.

Robertson took us to his panic room. It needed a thumb print and a retina scan to open it, "It looks like a bank vault," said Graham, as Robertson opened it.

"My lockdown palace," said Robertson, as we all walked in, "I have one in every hotel, just in case it's needed. Not finished yet, but still."

Yaz pulled the door closed, "What's in the boxes?" asked Ryan.

"Food, water, entertainment system, a book. I could survive in here for six months if I needed to. And I've got a huge stash of weapons, enough for all of us. Enough for two guns apiece."

"Oh, mate, they're not going to like that," said Ryan, as he pointed at Us Time Ladies.

"No, we don't," said The Doctor, as we walked up to him, "You are not shooting those creatures."

"Told you," said Ryan.

"They're mutants," said Robertson.

"Caused by you," said Jade.

"Your carcasses, lady, not mine."

"Whatever happened, there are living, breathing organisms out there and we treat them with dignity. So, here's what we're going to do…"

"Shoot them!" Robertson interrupted.

"We're not going to shoot them!"

"What's wrong with you people? What is wrong with this country? Why don't you do what normal people do? Get a gun, shoot things, like a civilized person." Robertson looked at Annabelle and I, "You two know what I mean."

"What?' I asked.

"You and your daughter. Your both American. You know what I mean."

"Just because we are American doesn't mean we go around shooting innocent things."

"Besides, I've got a much better idea," said Annabelle, "The Spiders are roaming this hotel searching for food. We're going to lure them in here with the promise of food, then deal with the spider mother in the ballroom."

"Once they're in here, what happens?" asked Najia.

"We shut them in and isolate them," said Jade.

"You're going to let spiders use my panic room?" asked Robertson.

"They deserve a humane, natural death.

"Shooting's quicker."

"So how are you going to lure them?" asked Graham.

"That's the one thing I haven't worked out," said Annabelle, "Spiders gravitate to their food through vibration. Anyone have any ideas?"

There was a pause then Ryan said, "Easy. Raze." He looked at Yaz, "Am I right?"

Yaz just looked at him, "I don't know what you're saying."

"Yaz, you're so uncool right now," said Ryan.

Ryan linked his phone to the entertainment system in the panic room and booming music with a lot of bass started to play. He looked at us, "Sheffield's sickest grime station!"

We all took various positions to watch the spiders move. Annabelle, Yaz and Ryan were in the service corridor; The Doctor and Jade were in the kitchen; Robertson was at the door of the panic room; and Graham, Najia, and I were in the lobby. "Go on, you disgusting things," said Najia.

"Can you believe they're actually moving towards that music, eh?" asked Graham.

"I know I can't," I said.

Once all the 'small' spiders were in the panic room, Yaz, Ryan, Najia, Annabelle, The Doctor, and I meet at the indoor swimming pool, "You three, into the spa," said The Doctor, "Get every bottle of essential oils that you can."

"What are we going to do, spa it into submission?" asked Najia.

"Pretty much," said Annabelle.

"Meet you outside the ballroom," I said.

A short time later, The Doctor, Annabelle, Yaz, Ryan, Graham, Jade, and I walked into the ballroom. We were all armed with sprayers. We saw the spider trying to climb the wall, "Ooo! Very big spider," said The Doctor.

"What have we got?" asked Ryan.

"Peppermint and tea tree oil diluted with water," said Annabelle, "Natural Spider Repellent. I'm hoping this'll help us herd it out."

"You want us to herd out a giant spider?" asked Graham, "They're attacking people."

"Stop a second," said Jade. We all stopped. Then, Jade said, "Can you see that?"

We watched at the mother spider keep trying to climb the wall, but she keeps sliding down, "It's grown too big," said The Doctor.

"She's suffocating," said Jade, "She's got too big to breathe efficiently. Even moving around in here, it's using up what little oxygen she can absorb. She won't survive for long. She's more scared of us than we are of her."

"I'm so sorry this has happened to you."

"So, what do we do, just leave her?" asked Graham.

Just then, Robertson entered with a handgun, "No. Absolutely not," said The Doctor.

"My hotel, my rules," said Robertson. Us Time Ladies moved closer to the spider, "I am the future President of the United States. How's this for fire and fury?"

"No, don't!" I shouted. Robertson fired and shot the spider. She fell on her back nearly hitting us.

Annabelle and I turned and faced him, then Annabelle said, "Put the gun down! She wasn't a real threat. She was dying anyway."

"Ah, well, then it's a mercy killing,"

The Doctor turned and faced him, "I don't see any mercy in you," she said.

"I don't need your approval, Doctor. This is what the world needs right now. This is what's going to get me into the White House," then Robertson, then turned and left.

"God help us all," said Graham.

Later, The Doctor, Annabelle and I were in the control room of the TARDIS. "So," said The Doctor, as she was flipping switches, in preparation for departure, "You and Annabelle heading back to Denver?"

Annabelle and I looked at each other, "About that…," I said, "I put in my letter of resignation before we left…"

"I quit my job too," said Annabelle.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well," I said, "We didn't know you were traveling again."

"Last we knew you were watching Great Aunt Missy," said Annabelle.

"I wouldn't call Missy a Great anything," said The Doctor.

We all laughed, then The Doctor said, "I would have gotten you two but me and Nardole had met this young woman… Her name was Bill… and I didn't want to just spring you two on her plus you two seemed to have a good life in Denver.

"Yeah, we did," I said, "But, it was nothing like traveling with you."

"Plus, this is home," said Annabelle, "This is the only life I've ever know… It was nice to act like a human for a while but that itch."

The Doctor smiled, "I know exactly what you mean…" Then the three of us hugged. Just then, there was a knock. I looked at a screen on the console and saw Ryan, Yaz and Graham. Pressed a button on the console and the door opened. The three humans walked in, and The Doctor said, "Proper goodbye this time."

"About that," said Ryan.

"Do we have to?" asked Graham as he stepped forward, "You see, Doc, the thing about grief is it needs time. I don't want to sit around my house waiting for it to go away, cos that house is full of Grace, and it makes it so much harder. But, er, being with you three and seeing all these things out there, it really helps."

We stepped closer to the humans and The Doctor looked at Ryan, "What about you?"

Ryan stepped close, " Do you really think I want to go back to working in that warehouse? No way."

The Doctor looked at Yas and said, "Yaz, you wanted to come home."

"I know,' said Yaz as she stepped forward to join her friends, "I love my family, but they also drive me completely insane. I want more. More of the universe. More time with you three. You're like the best people I've ever met.

"You're all pretty awesome," said Ryan.

"You're all right, I suppose," said Graham.

I smiled and said The Doctor said, "We can't guarantee that you're going to be safe."

"We know," said Yaz.

"Do you really?" said Annabelle as we stepped forward, "Because when we pull that lever, we're never quite sure what's going to happen.

"That's okay," said Ryan.

"You're not going to come back as the same people that left here," I said.

"But that's all right. I think that's good,' said Graham.

"Be sure," said The Doctor, "All of you, be sure."

"Sure," said Yaz.

"Sure," said Graham.

"Deffo," said Ryan.

The Doctor smiled, "Look at you," she looked at all of us, "My gang. No, still doesn't quite work."

Annabelle smiled, "How about Team TARDIS?"

Yaz smiled, "We'll take that."

"Welcome aboard. Properly," said The Doctor," Oh!" she ran over to the dematerialization lever, "Do you want to do it together?" I smiled. The five of us went over to The Doctor and we all put a hand on the lever, "I love this bit," she said. Then, we all pulled down, starting the TARDIS on our first true adventure together as Team TARDIS.

AN: Remember, if you like this story, Review, Favorite and Follow. It gives me motivation to keep going!