Something in the Water (22 page)

‘Using coughs and sneezes,’ Owen said. ‘Reproduction via contagion.’

‘But she was the first one, the progenitor. She came through the Rift, and is inextricably linked to the Rift, and thus all the other water hags are inextricably linked to her.’

‘Which helps us how, exactly?’ demanded Ianto. There was an edge of panic in his voice as he continued to watch the water hags materialising in the stream. ‘What are they coming through here for? What do they want?’

‘Control of the Rift?’ suggested Toshiko. ‘Perhaps they know about the Rift Manipulator. The reproduction by contagion is a bit hit-and-miss for invasion purposes. Control of the Rift could help.’

‘What if it’s control of us they want?’ suggested Gwen. ‘Control of Torchwood? They know we’re the only people that can stop them.’

‘
Were
the only people,’ Owen corrected. ‘Past tense.’

‘Jack would know what to do,’ said Ianto.

‘Jack’s not here!’ Gwen yelled at him.

He was practically blind now. They were so deep and the water was so black and murky that he couldn’t see his own hands, or the face of the creature in front of him. They were locked in a tight embrace, each trying to squeeze the life from the other, to exploit a moment of weakness neither would allow the other to sense.

Jack felt his grip on her loosening. His fingers, cold and rigid with the effort, had long since lost any sense of feeling, but he could tell, nevertheless, that she was slipping from his grasp. It was almost as if she was dissolving before him, the constituent parts of her breaking away and turning to liquid as they fought. And then, quite suddenly, there was nothing in his arms except water and a residual cloud of mud and blood.

He panicked. He was utterly disorientated, unable to tell what was up or down or how deep he was. If he tried swimming in any direction it could be the wrong one, taking him down further. But to allow himself to go limp, to hope that he would eventually float to the surface, would be to accept defeat. Saskia hadn’t simply dissolved. She’d escaped.

And then there was the current, the deep swell beneath the waves that could suck him down, deeper and deeper and further away from the shore. He could feel it now, tugging at him, rippling through the freezing water all around him, clawing and dragging at him. And, in a distant part of his own mind, now as dark and cold as the water which surrounded him, he could hear the mad screech of laughter.

The tower was a mass of churning water and slime. The hags were forcing their way through the Rift, right at its very core, taking on solid form as the water cascaded around them. Particles of sand and mud and a thick syrup of mucus were combining in the torrent, clumping together to form faces and hands, arms and bodies.

‘They
do
want the Rift Manipulator,’ Toshiko realised. ‘They want to open the Rift right up, use it to tear the world apart so they can rebuild it for themselves.’

‘Get the guns,’ said Owen, heading for the armoury.

‘It’s no use,’ Ianto roared. ‘It won’t stop them, not for long enough.’

A large pustule of mud and seething matter bulged from the centre of the tower and suddenly unfolded long, angular legs like a giant insect emerging from its chrysalis. The limbs were a gnarled, twisted coagulate of mucus and soil, skinned by the moss and lichen which had covered the base of the tower, streaming with filthy water.

A head emerged, the face carved into a hideous mask full of sucking orifices and sharp black teeth like nails. Glowing spots opened up across the lump of matter, blinking yellow, like eyes emerging from the dark.

‘What is it?’ Gwen asked weakly, staggered by the overwhelming sense of wrongness which surrounded it. It shouldn’t be here, not just in the Hub, but in her world. Alien was too small a word for it. It was an unnatural imposition on the Earth, an infected scab on the surface of her planet.

Toshiko swallowed, unable to take her eyes off the creature as it fought its way into existence via the Rift. She could hear alarm signals blaring and see, in the corner of her eye, the madly flickering images on her workstation as it monitored the process. Every sensor she had trained on the Rift was jangling. The Rift was being abused; forced to vomit this abhorrence into time and space.

‘Look!’ Ianto pointed, quite suddenly, his arm held out like a signpost. His eyes were wide, fixed on the disturbance at the base of the tower as the creature struggled madly out of its spatio-temporal womb.

There was something else with the creature. A figure clinging to its back like a rider on a runaway horse. Dark hair plastered to his head, white teeth bared with primeval effort. Arms clad in the tatters of a blue, soaking shirt were being wrapped around the creature’s head.

‘Jack,’ said Gwen disbelievingly.

‘It’s Saskia!’ Jack bellowed, digging his fingers into the craggy hide beneath him. The skin of the creature was not yet fully hardened. The carapace cracked beneath him and his fingers touched the cold jelly inside. ‘It’s Saskia!’

Owen picked up his gun, aiming with a certain, two-handed grip. His limbs felt a surge of strength and purpose. He pumped round after round into the exposed throat, walking towards it step by step, gaining confidence with every bubbling squeal of pain it let out.

Gelatinous mucus welled out of the bullet holes as the leathery skin split and cracked under the assault. Jack shifted his position on the beast’s shoulders, wrapping his arm tightly around the snarling, slavering head until he could start pulling backwards. He dug his feet and knees in and heaved. The head was pulled back further and further, tearing the flesh at the neck where Owen’s shots had already weakened it.

And then, in a rush, it came free. The throat split open, exposing the raw matter inside. Jack began to fall as the creature thrashed reflexively, but he kept hold of the thing’s head as he went, wrenching it completely free. Trailing thick strands of mucus and congealed blood, Jack and the head hit the concrete floor with a sickening crunch.

The decapitated body shuddered and collapsed, falling back against the tower, legs quivering. Water flowed over it as the struggles grew more feeble, dissolving the areas less formed.

Gwen and Ianto ran over to help Jack. He was coughing up water while trying to climb to his feet.

‘Stay there,’ Gwen said. ‘Lie down, lie down. It’s all right …’

‘No,’ he said. ‘No, I want to stand. Want to.’

With their help, he stood.

The water was running freely down the tower, undisturbed. There was no sign of any other water hag. The remains of Saskia Harden lay in a heap at the base, half-submerged in the swilling water in the basin. Long strands of mud and lumps of moss trailed away through the water as it began to disintegrate.

‘Followed her,’ gasped Jack, chest heaving. ‘She came through the Rift. Hung on to her, let her drag me through in her wake. Had to kill her. Had to. Only chance.’

‘Take it easy,’ Gwen urged. ‘You’re in no state to talk.’

Owen handed Jack a metal flask and he sucked greedily from it for a moment, pushing his wet hair back from his face with his free hand. ‘Had to do it, then, while she was reforming,’ he continued. ‘She was vulnerable. Only chance.’

‘I can’t believe it’s over,’ said Toshiko. She stepped down to survey the damage, reaching out to touch Jack on the arm.

‘It’s gone,’ Jack nodded. ‘For ever.’

Ianto peered at the floor. ‘Made a heck of a mess, though.’

TWENTY-NINE

Later, when Gwen was inspecting the perfect white dressing that Owen had put on her hand and Toshiko was busy at her workstation, recalibrating the Rift monitors, it all seemed so quiet.

The Hub was nearly silent, except for the hum and bleep of the computers and the quiet trickle from the water tower.

With her good hand, Gwen speed-dialled Rhys on her mobile. He picked up straight away. ‘Gwen? Where are you?’

‘I’m OK,’ she said, sidestepping the question only slightly. It was so good to hear his voice. She’d been bottling up the worry about him, and now she had to make sure he was all right. ‘How are you? Is everything all right?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Bit of a cold coming on, though, I think. Heater’s not been working in the cabin. You?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘You been involved in all this epidemic emergency, then? Sounds like your sort of stuff.’

‘Yeah, a bit.’

‘Thought I had it for a while,’ Rhys laughed. ‘They’re talking about a big immunisation programme on the news. The whole country – starting with the men. It should be women and children first, shouldn’t it?’

‘Rhys, are you sure you’re OK? You’re not infected?’

‘Nah. Takes more than a bit of a sniffle to knock me down, love.’ She heard him sneeze. ‘Say, when are you coming home, then?’

‘Soon,’ she lied. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling OK. I’ve just got a few things to clear up first. It’s mad here.’

‘Sure, no worries. See you later. Take care!’

She closed the phone and bit her lip. She wanted to see him, to be sure that he wasn’t infected, but she needed time in the Hub to recover. Just another half an hour, and then she would go home; get something to eat with Rhys, go to bed. She’d have to think up a suitable story about her hand.
No, I cut it on a piece of broken glass. Stupid, really. Serves me right
. That would have to do instead of
No, I had it sliced open while I was helping to save the world again, you know how it is
…

Walking down the steps leading to the Autopsy Room, Gwen could see Ianto on the lower level. He had an assortment of buckets, mops and detergents at his feet. He worked with a steady efficiency, his face impassive, unreadable. He was clean and back in his suit, but there were wounds inside, she knew that.

Owen followed her, hands in pockets. He looked as tired and hungry as she felt.

Jack came out of his office, pulling his braces into position over a fresh shirt. He’d washed and changed and the scars were already beginning to disappear. There might have been a distant, drawn look in the blue eyes as they surveyed the Hub, checking on each of his team in turn and every workstation, but that was the only indication of the ordeal he had been through.

When he caught sight of her watching him, a great, white smile broke across his face. ‘What you lookin’ at?’ he asked mockingly.

‘I dunno,’ she said. ‘Label’s fallen off.’

There was a quiet bleep from Toshiko’s workstation and she swivelled around in her chair. ‘Rift’s back to normal.’

‘You mean after all that there’s nothing wrong with it?’ Owen asked.

‘No, I said it’s back to normal.’ Toshiko waved a hand across the displays. ‘All chronon discharge has vanished.’

‘No more sparks,’ said Jack.

‘Whatever was happening before, it must have been the result of the Strepto incursion,’ Toshiko nodded. ‘Saskia must have been trying to bring it all to a conclusion.’

‘She did that all right,’ said Owen.

‘With a bit of help from us.’

Another alarm rang, and the Rift monitors flashed. Toshiko whirled in her seat. ‘Uh oh. Energy spike in the Leckwith area. Something’s coming through …’

Owen joined her. ‘I recognise that energy signature. It’s the Hokrala lawyers. They’re sending another writ.’

‘Let’s go, everybody,’ Jack said loudly, clapping his hands for attention. ‘Welcoming party to the SUV now. Full kit. Let’s go!’

He headed for the exit, grabbing his coat as he left, long strides carrying him to the cog-wheel door. He didn’t even look back. He knew the others would be right behind him.

Also available from BBC Books

TORCHWOOD

ANOTHER LIFE
Peter Anghelides

ISBN 9780 563 486534
UK £6.99 US$11.99/$14.99 CDN

Thick black clouds are blotting out the skies over Cardiff. As twenty-four inches of rain fall in twenty-four hours, the city centre’s drainage system collapses. The capital’s homeless are being murdered, their mutilated bodies left lying in the soaked streets around the Blaidd Drwg nuclear facility.

Tracked down by Torchwood, the killer calmly drops eight storeys to his death. But the killings don’t stop. Their investigations lead Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Toshiko Sato to a monster in a bathroom, a mystery at an army base and a hunt for stolen nuclear fuel rods. Meanwhile, Owen Harper goes missing from the Hub, when a game in
Second Reality
leads him to an old girlfriend …

Something is coming, forcing its way through the Rift, straight into Cardiff Bay.

Featuring Captain Jack Harkness as played by John Barrowman, with Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones as played by Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoki Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd, in the hit series created by Russell T Davies for BBC Television
.

Also available from BBC Books

TORCHWOOD

BORDER PRINCES
Dan Abnett

ISBN 978 0 563 48654 1
UK £6.99 US$11.99/$14.99 CDN

The End of the World began on a Thursday night in October, just after eight in the evening …

The Amok is driving people out of their minds, turning them into zombies and causing riots in the streets. A solitary diner leaves a Cardiff restaurant, his mission to protect the Principal leading him to a secret base beneath a water tower. Everyone has a headache, there’s something in Davey Morgan’s shed, and the church of St Mary-in-the-Dust, demolished in 1840, has reappeared – though it’s not due until 2011. Torchwood seem to be out of their depth. What will all this mean for the romance between Torchwood’s newest members?

Captain Jack Harkness has something more to worry about: an alarm, an early warning, given to mankind and held – inert – by Torchwood for 108 years. And now it’s flashing. Something is coming. Or something is already here.

Featuring Captain Jack Harkness as played by John Barrowman, with Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones as played by Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoki Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd, in the hit series created by Russell T Davies for BBC Television
.