Doctor Who and the Star of Arcadia - Return to the Web 4/16
Title: Doctor Who and the Star of Arcadia - Return to the Web 4/16
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Doctor (10), OFC, OMCs, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Benton, Johnson
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood or Doctor Who are mine
Summary: In the Citadel of the Time Lords, about 250 million light years away from Earth, a number of elements were protected in case they fell into the wrong hands. If an exhibit was deemed to be powerful enough to corrupt in the wrong hands it was usually destroyed, or if that was found to be impossible, it was split into segments and kept apart from itself in case it were stolen.
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is a sequel to Doctor Who’s End Game. The Whole thing starts with Doctor Who and the Cathedral of Light.
Prologue here
Two hours and three cups of coffee later, Louise Ruth paced round a board room table, the tracking device laid in the centre as if teasing her. Did she really want to put herself through this one more time? What if she didn’t come back this time? She remembered how she’d felt while lying on the floor of the Angel; how she’d miss her family, her friends, all those things she hadn’t done yet. She remembered the Wolf men, the Cybermen, the Ogrons and she shivered. Did she really know what she was doing? She thought not… but what the hell she wasn’t doing anything else constructive at the moment. Helping save the planet might look good on her CV.
Jack, Ianto and Evans were going first and if everything went to plan then they would go. The door to the board room burst open as the Brigadier made his usually explosive entrance. Agent Johnson followed closely behind, with Sergeant Howard in tow.
‘Damn Whitehall wants to shut us down now… not economical in this particular climate of unrest… blithering idiot.’ Smiling at the group his demean changed. ’Well… first group seems to have gone off without a hitch… fingers crossed. Now if each of you takes hold of the tracker I can activate it from here.’
Removing a small calculator device the Brigadier flicked two buttons on the top and a red light came on. Nervously taking hold of the tracker, each of the three seemed to hold their breath as they waited for the brigadier to activate it. Flicking another switch the Brigadier looked at the group waiting to see them disappear as did Jack’s group. Then he remembered he had to tell them something.
‘Before you go I forgot to tell you earlier that…’ The room shook and the blinds rattled as the group began to glow as if white hot the in a flash were gone. ‘Damn’, said the Brigadier. ‘I didn’t get a chance to tell them that they had to think about where they wanted to go when they touched the star point or else they could end up at the right point in time but anywhere on the planet.’ Turning towards the door he froze where he stood. He’d just remembered where he’d seen Agent Johnson before.
***
As the light engulfed them Louise Ruth realized that she desperately needed the toilet. The Brigadier’s words were lost to her, only the fact that he had something important to say before they left registered.
Hitting the ground hard Louise Ruth felt her newly mended leg jar under her as it buckled and slammed into the concrete just under the knee cap. She swore and gave out a cry of pain as she landed heavily.
Looking around she noticed Agent Johnson fall on her side and roll to her left. She knew the air had been punched out of her lungs and the pain of the fall must have hurt. Despite this Johnson continued her roll and gained her feet in seconds.
Looking around she drew out her SIG Sauer P228 and scanned the area. Nodding at Louise Ruth she walked towards her and offered her hand. Pulling her to her feet they both turned as Sergeant Howard slammed into the tiled floor with a grunt and lay still for a moment. As they both approached him he turned awkwardly towards them his pistol drawn.
‘It’s just us Sergeant… how you feeling?’ Standing Sergeant Howard winced as pain ran through his body.
‘Think I’ve cracked a couple of ribs but nothing serious. Do you think that’s what the Brigadier was trying to warn us about before we left?’ Johnson shrugged then immediately whished she hadn’t. A deep feeling of nausea filled her and turning she vomited. Realising that the other two were having similar problems she put it down to the effects of time travel. Wiping her mouth she checked the area as helped the sergeant to his feet.
‘The tracker won’t stabilise. It’s flickering from August 1966 and 63…it won’t lock onto a time. Either it’s broken or the Rani’s affected the time line here. Anyway… what we need to find out is where this is. We seem to be in some kind of tunnel judging from the tilled floors and curved ceiling.’ Just as she finished her sentence a warm draft of air hit them in the face, bringing with it a distinctive metallic smell.
‘There’s some kind of trench over here running the length of the room I think,’ Henderson said as he knelt to examine it more closely. Across from her Louise Ruth noticed, what was left of a poster, drooping from one wall. The writing was in English advertising Horlicks malted milk drink. Then smiling she saw a sign embedded into the tiles, which reads Covent Garden.
‘It’s the underground… we must be in London.’ Louise Ruth announced.
‘Must be the middle of the night when the trains stop… can’t see a thing,’ Sergeant Howard added, then went quiet as Johnson raised a hand. Behind them they heard a distinct scraping sound heading towards them. Slowly they backed up, stepping over broken masonry and cobwebs as they did so. Sergeant Howard, who was off to their right drew out his SIG and moved forward towards the sound. In the dark he had difficulty in seeing where he was going as he had not developed a workable night vision.
Covering Louise Ruth with her SIG Sauer, Johnson tracked the sound directly in front of Howard. The dragging sound grew louder as Sergeant Howard advanced on the sound.
‘Steven… back off and join us. Whatever it is don’t tackle it alone.’ Sergeant Steven Howard turned and was about to say something when a giant form wandered out of the mist that surrounded it, engulfing him in its powerful arms. For the first time in his life he felt fear.
Unable to fire his P228 at the beast, he drew his commando knife from his belt kit with his free hand and stabbed at the creature’s face. The monster’s arms locked around his back and began to squeeze. Pain filled his entire body as he continued to stab at the creature. As he began to black out from lack of oxygen, he realised that how ever much he stabbed at it no blood came from the wounds. The last thought that crossed his mind before his already broken ribs cracked and pierced his vital organs was that the creature wasn’t alive, it was some kind of robot.
Trying to manoeuvre herself, in the dark, so she could get a shot off at the creature without hitting Howard, was hazardous to say the least. The first thing she noticed as she moved was that the walls were covered in thick cobwebs that clung to her overalls and were difficult to wipe off. The places where they came into contact with her skin felt like small needles of pain throbbing through her flesh.
Stopping her advance she crouched down and, taking aim, emptied a full clip of fourteen rounds into the beast’s head. As the its arms opened, Sergeant Howard fell lifeless to the floor, his commando knife making a loud metallic sound as it hit the concrete.
Removing what looked like a weapon of some sort, the creature aimed it at the body of Sergeant Howard. A thick stream of cobweb-like substance accompanied by a sweeping, rushing noise covered the SAS soldier’s body almost hiding it from view amidst the smoking fungal-like web.
Without a backwards glance the lumbering creature turned and moved onto the station platform, heading away from Johnson. Louise Ruth, who hid in a nearby alcove rummaged inside her bag and produced the night vision glasses she’d taken from a dead Ogron.
‘Catch,’ was all she said as Johnson turned in her direction and with one hand caught the glasses. Examining them for a second she placed them on her head and was stunned at the clarity of vision they gave. Without looking back she ran after the creature careful not to make too much noise.
As the beast waddled slowly along the side of the platform Johnson ran towards it and with all the energy she could muster slammed her right leg into its right hand side, just as its wobble brought its weight onto its left leg. Johnson’s momentum unbalanced the creature causing it to fall left and over the side of the platform. It hit the metal tracks in a shower of sparks that sent the creature into a series of fits and jerks. Finally it lay still, as smoke bellowing up from where it lay. Turning she removed the glasses and smiled. She’d noticed a poster on the wall opposite, which read, ‘Mind the Gap.’
Slowly Louise Ruth emerged to see Johnson examining Sergeant Howard’s body.
‘Is he…’ Louise asked afraid at what the answer may be.
‘Yes… he died bravely.’ Picking up his commando knife, agent Johnson passed it across to Louise Ruth.
‘That creature… I’ve a feeling I’ve seen it before somewhere but I can’t put my fingered on it,’ Louise Ruth said, not wishing to look down at the deceased sergeant. Retrieving his SIG, still clasped in his dead hand, Johnson ejected the clip and placed it in her belt kit.
‘Whatever it was it seems impervious to bullets. I put a full clip in its head and it didn’t even notice I was there. If you remember let me know… it may be important.’
Dropping the now empty gun into the leg of her cargo pants, she snapped off the bottom of the Sergeants ‘Dog Tag,’ and placed it in her pocket. Removing the glasses from her pants pocket she nodded, ‘Thanks, they’re quite useful.’
Without looking back she moved back onto the platform, her SIG Sauer filled with a new clip. Removing a small mag light, she played it across the concrete strewn floor as she moved. Dust covered everything telling Johnson that this particular part of the underground hadn’t been used in a while.
The light from the torch cast small shadows on the curved ceiling sending them dancing with each step they took. Louise Ruth removed the tracker from her shoulder bag and passed it to Johnson. A red light pulsated on the top and a reading showed on the small LCD screen.
‘Well we’re at the right time but the direction is all wrong.’
Louise Ruth looked mystified. ‘What do you mean wrong?’
Johnson held the tracker forward and turning showed that the signal was stronger if they headed directly through the platform wall. ‘Ahh… I see. Logically that would mean it’s not in one of the underground tunnels but on the surface.’
Johnson nodded enthusiastically. ‘Of course you’re right, I thought I was going daft there for a minute. Pity we didn’t have a map of the underground we…’ Johnson was cut off by Louise Ruth’s voice as she spoke on her mobile phone.
‘Laura… I know… I’ll talk to him later. Look, I need a favour, where are you? Great can you bring up a map of the London Underground…? I don’t care if you’re on Facebook… just get a map up.’
Louise Ruth looked up at Johnson, placing her hand over the phone as she did so, to mask her voice. ‘A gift from the Doctor. It works anywhere and in any time zone.’ Removing her hand from the phone she again gave her attention back to her sister.
‘Who’s died…? Why would I want to know that? I don’t even like Boy Zone… I don’t care if he was gay or not.’ Louise Ruth looked so frustrated Johnson thought she was about to throw the phone away. Then her face cracked in a smile and she began to breathe again. ‘Right send it to my phone… I’ll pay for it, just send it… okay… and I love you too… I don’t care; he’s goofy and has bad teeth… I’ll keep looking… I am happy… In fact I’m so happy I could shit… I’ll talk to dad when I see him… love you bye.’
Louise Ruth hung up, a look of exasperation clearly showing on her face. Looking down at her phone she pushed a few buttons then looking up pointed directly ahead of her. ‘Leicester Square’s this way. We’ll probably be able to get onto the surface there.’
With her pronounced limp showing clearly, Louise Ruth walked on with Johnson bringing up the rear, a smile clearly showing on her face. Deep down she wished she’d had a sister. She wouldn’t have minded how annoying she was. The closeness of friends and relatives was something she’d never known. Putting it to the back of her mind she continued forward letting the ‘mag’ light guide them.
Agent Johnson stopped when Louise Ruth placed a warning hand on her shoulder. Dropping into a crouch she pulled Johnson with her into a dust covered alcove that kept them out of sight of the platform.
Flicking off the mag light Johnson’s ears strained to hear the sound that had alerted Louise Ruth. Suddenly the entire area illuminated in a bright light as lights flickered on overhead, almost blinded them. A cobweb covered sign on one wall told them it was Leicester Square.
Holding a finger to her lips Johnson pointed at a group of three men dressed in army fatigues as they march past while unwinding cable from a large drum behind them, along the tunnel. Now the place was lit they could see layers of dust covering not only the platform but the tracks as well, which indicated to Johnson that no trains had travelled down the line for some time.
Stopping to attach a second drum to the already laid cable, one of the soldiers turned back the way they had come as a noise, like a muffled cry, filtered through to them across the platform.
‘Sir… sir… I heard something?’ The second soldier shook his head.
‘Getting a bit jumpy aren’t you Weams?’
‘It’s no wonder Staff.’ Weams said while gazing nervously round the platform.
‘We connect up the new drum now Staff?’ the third soldier asked as he lowered the drum to the ground next to the already placed cable.
‘Yes… alright Corporal.’
‘Good thing we fixed these lights in’it.’
‘You can say that again,’ Weams said still unsure of why they were in the London Underground when it had been shut down for the last six months.
A second noise alerted Staff Sergeant Arnold who picked up his rifle and walk cautiously towards the sound.
‘I told you I heard something didn’t I Staff,’ Weams said stepping behind the sergeant for protection.
‘Yer…come on.’ Hiding behind a wall, in an alcove Staff Sergeant Arnold quietly waited for whatever was following them to show itself. Moving slowly out of her hiding place Agent Johnson watched as a young girl, sporting pigtails and a man wearing a kilt walked casually onto the platform.
‘I’m sorry,’ the girl said in a frightened voice. ‘It hurt.’
‘It’s only a cobweb… come on,’ the young kilt wearing man said, with a tone of reproach and in a broad Scottish accent.
‘Well, well, well, would you believe it,’ the staff sergeant muttered, levelling his rifle at the pair of newcomers, ‘the Babes in the wood,’ gesturing with his rifle.
Agent Johnson watched helplessly as the two young people nodded and followed the soldiers. ‘Lets get these two back to Goodge Street before we bump into anything else,’ the corporal added; Weams’ nervousness seemed to be infectious. As the group disappeared from view, agent Johnson stood and dusted herself off. Reaching out a hand she pulled Louise Ruth to her feet.
‘Come on… let’s go.’ Replacing the mag light into her belt kit Johnson removed the tracker which pointed up the tunnel where the soldiers had emerged from. ‘What’s that way?’ she asked as Louise Ruth examined her phone.
‘Piccadilly Circus… we’re actually on the Piccadilly line. But if we go that way…’ she gestured with her left hand, ‘Charring Cross is closer, but we’d need to change to the Northern line… we can get out there,’ she said as she continued to examine her phone.
‘Aren’t the soldiers on the Northern line?’ Johnson asked.
‘Yes… but they’re headed in the opposite direction towards Tottenham Court Road.’ Agent Johnson nodded then took Louise Ruth’s arm and helped her down towards the tracks.
‘Stay there for a second… you can’t be too careful.’ Removing Sergeant Howard’s SIG she threw it across the tracks. ‘No current… I thought so… the soldiers were walking across them but I thought I’d check just in case.’ Louise Ruth nodded and following, headed off down the darkened tunnel, away from the soldiers towards Charing Cross.
Near the end of the tunnel a light glowed and pulsed in front of them and Agent Johnson could see movement. Pushing Louise Ruth to one side she drew out the SIG and pointed.
Adjusting her eyes to the light Louise Ruth noticed two of the beasts walking in the strange waddling motion she had seen earlier. The lumbering giants seem to be checking a pile of cobweb-covered boxes, their glowing eyes illuminating the darkness around them. As they moved across the platform she realised that the pulsating light was coming from a set of crates covered in cobwebs. Looking closely she came to the same conclusion that agent Johnson came to at the same time. It wasn’t the crates that were pulsating, it was the cobwebs.
The beasts finally left the platform heading off in the opposite direction. Moving forward Louise Ruth felt Johnson’s restraining hand on her shoulder. Looking up at the platform she noticed, for the first time that had made it to Charing Cross Station.
Through the darkness they saw a figure emerged from beneath the platform, as if he had been hiding from the creatures. Pulling himself upward onto the platform the figure took the shape of a man dressed in a black suite, white shirt and sporting a black dickey-bow tie.
‘If he’s an enemy of the beasts… won’t he be a friend to us?’ In the dark Louise Ruth could sense Johnson’s head shaking.
‘In my experience the enemy of my enemy can kiss my arse as well.’ Louise Ruth held back a laugh and was about to reply when the tunnel was rocked with an explosion that threw them both to the ground. This time Louise Ruth landed on her side and was thankful her leg was protected. After the dust cleared they both gazed back at the boxes.
‘The cable the soldiers were laying… must have connected to those crates containing explosives,’ Johnson said as Louise Ruth coughed out the dust from her lungs as the sound of the confined explosion finally subsided in her ears. Looking across at the platform, what was left of the crates still glowed with an eerie light that lit the tunnel all around. The man they had seen earlier had disappeared.
Nodding towards Louise Ruth they headed back the way they had come passing through Leicester Square and back onto the Piccadilly line back towards Covent Garden. Remembering the stun gun Ianto had given her to replace the one she’d left on the Rani’s TARDIS; Louise Ruth removed it from her shoulder bag and held it in front of her.
After what seemed like ages wandering around in the dark they came to the next platform. Louise Ruth checked her phone then looked up at the station sign as they approached the platform.
‘We must have passed Covent Garden in the dark. We’re at Holborn Station now.’ Johnson put an arm out to stop Louise Ruth when she noticed movement in front of her. Before them a group of ten soldiers all fully armed wandered about on the platform adopting defensive positions. Behind them a tall figure walked forward wearing a black cap, adorned with Scottish tartan and sporting a regimental badge on one side. Louise Ruth gasped in shock as she realised who the figure was.
‘Colonel Stewart all the men are present and ready, sir.’ The colonel nodded and gestured towards two men standing at the entrance to the station at the foot of a set of stairs.
‘’Who are those blighters and what are they doing?’ The Staff sergeant looked across at the two men and winced.
‘Evans… put that cigarette out and get your rifle before I insert it where the sun doesn’t shine… You too corporal, move it on the double.’ Turning back towards Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, the sergeant nodded.
‘Drivers, sir… waste of space if you ask me, especially Evans. You know the Welsh; if it’s not sheep it’s each other.’ Ignoring the sergeant’s observations the colonel turned towards his men.
‘Right… on my word we’ll advance in close order down the tunnel towards Tottenham Court Road then change tunnels to Goodge Street Station where we will relieve Pemberton of command and sort this thing out once and for all.’ Before them were piles of ammunition boxes ready for transportation. They contained high explosives to be used against whatever creatures inhabited the underground tunnels.
Louise Ruth moved out of the shadows and was about to move forward when Johnson put a restraining hand on her shoulder for the second time that day.
‘I don’t think that’s the Brigadier, well at least not yet.’ Louise turned towards Johnson then looked back at the man on the platform at Holborn Station.
‘What do you mean… it has to be him?’ Johnson leaned closer to Louise Ruth’s ear so she could lower her voice to a whisper.
‘For a start he’s wearing Colonel’s rank not Brigadier’s and he looks different somehow... Check out his eyes.’ Looking closely Louise Ruth realised what Johnson was referring to. Despite the similarity in ages the eyes were different. It was as if the age and pain had left his eyes.
‘We have gone back in time I suppose. It must have been before he joined UNIT.’
‘Or before setting it up… he founded the thing… probably on the strength of what happens today against those beasts.’
‘Yetis… they’re called Yetis,’ Louise Ruth added. Johnson looked bemused in the half light. ‘When I was on the Doctor’s TARDIS for the first time I asked for directions to the toilet and he told me to turn right at the yeti and that it was some kind of robot which hadn’t been decommissioned.’ Johnson nodded, and then looking at the movement taking place on the Holborn platform drew out the SIG and backed away from the tunnel taking Louise Ruth with her.
‘If I’m right it’s going to get really interesting around here any second.’
From the opposite end of the tunnel bright lights swam and danced into view illuminating the tunnel around them as they moved. Johnson ran forward and at the top of her lungs shouted, ‘Yetis to your left.’ All ten soldiers aimed their weapons in her direction with the exception of the Colonel. He was the only one that turned towards the left as the Yetis came out of the tunnel with space-aged guns at the ready.
‘Form up on me two ranks rapid fire,’ Colonel Stewart shouted, turning his men to face the impending danger. As the yetis advanced towards the soldier’s position the fungus advance with them, glowing and pulsating as it crept along the tunnel. Shots ran out, sporadic at first them more controlled as the evidence of their strikes slammed into the advancing yetis. The shots, aimed at the approaching giants echoed in the tunnels around them. Impervious to bullets, the lumbering yeti advanced their glowing eyes eerie in the darkness of the tunnel.
‘I read about this in the UNIT files the Brigadier made me read. Perhaps he knew.’ Moving forward she sort out the bulk of a yeti carrying a control pyramid. Taking careful aim she fired a double tap of two rounds that shattered the glass sending shards flying off into the darkness. To her dismay its destruction seemed to have no effect on the advancing yeti.
Two soldiers ran forward throwing grenades as they went and firing Sten guns from the hip. The 1942 British 9mm submachine guns were as good as the day they were manufactured but still had no effect on the yeti. As the two soldiers turned to run one of the yetis raised a long rifle-like weapon and aimed it at the retreating soldiers. The web gun engulfed the two soldiers who both screamed in agony as they fell to the tracks. After a moments twitching they finally lay still. Without stopping the yeti continue their attack smothering soldiers and weapons alike.
Still standing at the mouth of the tunnel Johnson was almost pushed to one side as Evens, the driver, pushed passed her in his headlong run for safety, leaving his fellow soldiers to die where they fought.
Seeing his men fall around him Colonel Stewart removed a pack of grenades from his dead sergeant and removing the pin from one dropped it in the bag. Counting as he backed away from the advancing horde he threw the bag which exploded between the oncoming yetis. With any luck, he thought, the high explosives in the packing cases would be ignited as well. It would mean his death but judging from the way things were going, that seemed inevitable anyway.
As the shrapnel tore into everything in its vicinity, Johnson and Louise Ruth looked on as blocks of concrete fell from the ceiling, one striking the colonel knocking him unconscious. As the shockwaves reverberated all around him he fell to the ground with a feeling of failure and devastation. Not one single yeti had been harmed. Not one of the boxes of explosives had ignited, just his luck. The last thing he saw was a dark haired woman wearing black cargo pants unloading a full clip into the advancing army of yetis and running towards him as if trying to protect him from the inevitable.
Stepping forward, Johnson dropped the empty clip from her SIG and thrust in another one, chambering a round as she did so. Running towards the colonel she raised the pistol ready to fire but was stunned when she realised that the yeti had stopped moving.
Surrounded on all sides by the yetis imposing forms Johnson bent down and examined the colonel. A close examination confirmed the fact that it was an earlier version of the Brigadier and he was still alive. Removing an antiseptic wipe from her belt kit she removed the colonel’s cap and wiped the already drying blood from the centre of his head. Returning the cap to his head she rolled him over into the recovery position and stood just a Louise Ruth joined her.
Looking around she realised that a high pitched rhythmic beeping noise was emanating from the yeti that surrounded them.
‘I think someone’s communicating with them.’ Johnson stated as Louise Ruth backed away from them, wondering if they had been given new orders to attack them.
‘I think we should leave.’ She said stating a fact that had crossed both their minds. Just as suddenly as it started the beeping noise stopped. But instead of attacking, the yeti, as one, turned and walk back the way they had come.
‘What should we do with the Brig… err… Colonel?’ Johnson said looking down at the unconscious Colonel Stewart. Louise Ruth smiled as she walked backwards towards the relative safety of the darkened tunnel.
‘Leave him here. He’ll come to no harm… he can’t… we’ve seen him back in 2010.’ Johnson nodded as she followed Louise Ruth’s retreating form.
‘I suppose it must have been what we did back in 1963 when this happened…err… now… I mean… shit, let’s go.’ Turning, they both headed off back down the track towards the Leicester Square interchange.
‘Tell me… what was it like when you were injured by the wolf man? Touch wood I’ve never been shot or injured so far.’ Johnson placed a hand on her forehead as she spoke, as if it were made of wood.
‘The first thing I realised was that I was on the floor in the ladies bathroom. One moment I had been standing, trying to get out of the Rani’s TARDIS as quickly as I could and the next moment I was on the floor with seemingly no moments in between.’ Louise Ruth’s voice reverberated in the darkness but was met with only silence. ‘That gave me a real shock and the first thing I thought was that my arse hurt from obviously falling. A thought quickly followed by… ow.’ Johnson smiled, realising that her adrenalin and dropped significantly in her body for it to register pain.
‘Then what did you feel?’ Louise Ruth grimaced in the darkness.
‘My…everything… started to hurt… really badly… The only way I can describe it was like a painful leg cramp that just got worse and worse. At this point I decided that it wouldn’t be too melodramatic of me to shout ‘ow’ very loudly. I’d never had a chance to really mean it before’
Following the tunnel all the way to Piccadilly Circus, they left the massacre behind them, as well as the advancing fungus and moved as quickly as Johnson’s mag light would let them. As they headed towards a set of steps, light shone above them inviting them beckoning them. Together, Johnson’s SIG at the ready, they both headed upwards, ready for anything. Moving, at a slow pace, they finally reached the exit with a sigh of relief.
‘It’s daylight,’ Louise Ruth stated unnecessarily. ‘Why weren’t the trains moving and why so much dust and cobwebs?’ Finding their way to freedom temporarily barred by a metal gate Louise Ruth looked out through the bars into the welcome daylight and fresh air as Johnson picked the lock on the gate.
‘Probably something to do with the creatures no doubt,’ Johnson added as the gate sprung open.
Looking out Louise Ruth felt a little uneasy. ‘Seems a little quiet for the middle of the day,’ she noticed. Pointing towards a newspaper stand opposite, Louise Ruth stood still as a cold shiver ran down her back. Advertised as the Daily Mirror the papers headlines state that, Londoners flee! Menace spreads. The cause of her shiver was apparent when Johnson noticed for the first time an old man covered in the same web-like substance lying next to the stand he must have worked at.
Piccadilly is a Circus 5/16
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Doctor (10), OFC, OMCs, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Benton, Johnson
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood or Doctor Who are mine
Summary: In the Citadel of the Time Lords, about 250 million light years away from Earth, a number of elements were protected in case they fell into the wrong hands. If an exhibit was deemed to be powerful enough to corrupt in the wrong hands it was usually destroyed, or if that was found to be impossible, it was split into segments and kept apart from itself in case it were stolen.
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is a sequel to Doctor Who’s End Game. The Whole thing starts with Doctor Who and the Cathedral of Light.
Prologue here
Two hours and three cups of coffee later, Louise Ruth paced round a board room table, the tracking device laid in the centre as if teasing her. Did she really want to put herself through this one more time? What if she didn’t come back this time? She remembered how she’d felt while lying on the floor of the Angel; how she’d miss her family, her friends, all those things she hadn’t done yet. She remembered the Wolf men, the Cybermen, the Ogrons and she shivered. Did she really know what she was doing? She thought not… but what the hell she wasn’t doing anything else constructive at the moment. Helping save the planet might look good on her CV.
Jack, Ianto and Evans were going first and if everything went to plan then they would go. The door to the board room burst open as the Brigadier made his usually explosive entrance. Agent Johnson followed closely behind, with Sergeant Howard in tow.
‘Damn Whitehall wants to shut us down now… not economical in this particular climate of unrest… blithering idiot.’ Smiling at the group his demean changed. ’Well… first group seems to have gone off without a hitch… fingers crossed. Now if each of you takes hold of the tracker I can activate it from here.’
Removing a small calculator device the Brigadier flicked two buttons on the top and a red light came on. Nervously taking hold of the tracker, each of the three seemed to hold their breath as they waited for the brigadier to activate it. Flicking another switch the Brigadier looked at the group waiting to see them disappear as did Jack’s group. Then he remembered he had to tell them something.
‘Before you go I forgot to tell you earlier that…’ The room shook and the blinds rattled as the group began to glow as if white hot the in a flash were gone. ‘Damn’, said the Brigadier. ‘I didn’t get a chance to tell them that they had to think about where they wanted to go when they touched the star point or else they could end up at the right point in time but anywhere on the planet.’ Turning towards the door he froze where he stood. He’d just remembered where he’d seen Agent Johnson before.
***
As the light engulfed them Louise Ruth realized that she desperately needed the toilet. The Brigadier’s words were lost to her, only the fact that he had something important to say before they left registered.
Hitting the ground hard Louise Ruth felt her newly mended leg jar under her as it buckled and slammed into the concrete just under the knee cap. She swore and gave out a cry of pain as she landed heavily.
Looking around she noticed Agent Johnson fall on her side and roll to her left. She knew the air had been punched out of her lungs and the pain of the fall must have hurt. Despite this Johnson continued her roll and gained her feet in seconds.
Looking around she drew out her SIG Sauer P228 and scanned the area. Nodding at Louise Ruth she walked towards her and offered her hand. Pulling her to her feet they both turned as Sergeant Howard slammed into the tiled floor with a grunt and lay still for a moment. As they both approached him he turned awkwardly towards them his pistol drawn.
‘It’s just us Sergeant… how you feeling?’ Standing Sergeant Howard winced as pain ran through his body.
‘Think I’ve cracked a couple of ribs but nothing serious. Do you think that’s what the Brigadier was trying to warn us about before we left?’ Johnson shrugged then immediately whished she hadn’t. A deep feeling of nausea filled her and turning she vomited. Realising that the other two were having similar problems she put it down to the effects of time travel. Wiping her mouth she checked the area as helped the sergeant to his feet.
‘The tracker won’t stabilise. It’s flickering from August 1966 and 63…it won’t lock onto a time. Either it’s broken or the Rani’s affected the time line here. Anyway… what we need to find out is where this is. We seem to be in some kind of tunnel judging from the tilled floors and curved ceiling.’ Just as she finished her sentence a warm draft of air hit them in the face, bringing with it a distinctive metallic smell.
‘There’s some kind of trench over here running the length of the room I think,’ Henderson said as he knelt to examine it more closely. Across from her Louise Ruth noticed, what was left of a poster, drooping from one wall. The writing was in English advertising Horlicks malted milk drink. Then smiling she saw a sign embedded into the tiles, which reads Covent Garden.
‘It’s the underground… we must be in London.’ Louise Ruth announced.
‘Must be the middle of the night when the trains stop… can’t see a thing,’ Sergeant Howard added, then went quiet as Johnson raised a hand. Behind them they heard a distinct scraping sound heading towards them. Slowly they backed up, stepping over broken masonry and cobwebs as they did so. Sergeant Howard, who was off to their right drew out his SIG and moved forward towards the sound. In the dark he had difficulty in seeing where he was going as he had not developed a workable night vision.
Covering Louise Ruth with her SIG Sauer, Johnson tracked the sound directly in front of Howard. The dragging sound grew louder as Sergeant Howard advanced on the sound.
‘Steven… back off and join us. Whatever it is don’t tackle it alone.’ Sergeant Steven Howard turned and was about to say something when a giant form wandered out of the mist that surrounded it, engulfing him in its powerful arms. For the first time in his life he felt fear.
Unable to fire his P228 at the beast, he drew his commando knife from his belt kit with his free hand and stabbed at the creature’s face. The monster’s arms locked around his back and began to squeeze. Pain filled his entire body as he continued to stab at the creature. As he began to black out from lack of oxygen, he realised that how ever much he stabbed at it no blood came from the wounds. The last thought that crossed his mind before his already broken ribs cracked and pierced his vital organs was that the creature wasn’t alive, it was some kind of robot.
Trying to manoeuvre herself, in the dark, so she could get a shot off at the creature without hitting Howard, was hazardous to say the least. The first thing she noticed as she moved was that the walls were covered in thick cobwebs that clung to her overalls and were difficult to wipe off. The places where they came into contact with her skin felt like small needles of pain throbbing through her flesh.
Stopping her advance she crouched down and, taking aim, emptied a full clip of fourteen rounds into the beast’s head. As the its arms opened, Sergeant Howard fell lifeless to the floor, his commando knife making a loud metallic sound as it hit the concrete.
Removing what looked like a weapon of some sort, the creature aimed it at the body of Sergeant Howard. A thick stream of cobweb-like substance accompanied by a sweeping, rushing noise covered the SAS soldier’s body almost hiding it from view amidst the smoking fungal-like web.
Without a backwards glance the lumbering creature turned and moved onto the station platform, heading away from Johnson. Louise Ruth, who hid in a nearby alcove rummaged inside her bag and produced the night vision glasses she’d taken from a dead Ogron.
‘Catch,’ was all she said as Johnson turned in her direction and with one hand caught the glasses. Examining them for a second she placed them on her head and was stunned at the clarity of vision they gave. Without looking back she ran after the creature careful not to make too much noise.
As the beast waddled slowly along the side of the platform Johnson ran towards it and with all the energy she could muster slammed her right leg into its right hand side, just as its wobble brought its weight onto its left leg. Johnson’s momentum unbalanced the creature causing it to fall left and over the side of the platform. It hit the metal tracks in a shower of sparks that sent the creature into a series of fits and jerks. Finally it lay still, as smoke bellowing up from where it lay. Turning she removed the glasses and smiled. She’d noticed a poster on the wall opposite, which read, ‘Mind the Gap.’
Slowly Louise Ruth emerged to see Johnson examining Sergeant Howard’s body.
‘Is he…’ Louise asked afraid at what the answer may be.
‘Yes… he died bravely.’ Picking up his commando knife, agent Johnson passed it across to Louise Ruth.
‘That creature… I’ve a feeling I’ve seen it before somewhere but I can’t put my fingered on it,’ Louise Ruth said, not wishing to look down at the deceased sergeant. Retrieving his SIG, still clasped in his dead hand, Johnson ejected the clip and placed it in her belt kit.
‘Whatever it was it seems impervious to bullets. I put a full clip in its head and it didn’t even notice I was there. If you remember let me know… it may be important.’
Dropping the now empty gun into the leg of her cargo pants, she snapped off the bottom of the Sergeants ‘Dog Tag,’ and placed it in her pocket. Removing the glasses from her pants pocket she nodded, ‘Thanks, they’re quite useful.’
Without looking back she moved back onto the platform, her SIG Sauer filled with a new clip. Removing a small mag light, she played it across the concrete strewn floor as she moved. Dust covered everything telling Johnson that this particular part of the underground hadn’t been used in a while.
The light from the torch cast small shadows on the curved ceiling sending them dancing with each step they took. Louise Ruth removed the tracker from her shoulder bag and passed it to Johnson. A red light pulsated on the top and a reading showed on the small LCD screen.
‘Well we’re at the right time but the direction is all wrong.’
Louise Ruth looked mystified. ‘What do you mean wrong?’
Johnson held the tracker forward and turning showed that the signal was stronger if they headed directly through the platform wall. ‘Ahh… I see. Logically that would mean it’s not in one of the underground tunnels but on the surface.’
Johnson nodded enthusiastically. ‘Of course you’re right, I thought I was going daft there for a minute. Pity we didn’t have a map of the underground we…’ Johnson was cut off by Louise Ruth’s voice as she spoke on her mobile phone.
‘Laura… I know… I’ll talk to him later. Look, I need a favour, where are you? Great can you bring up a map of the London Underground…? I don’t care if you’re on Facebook… just get a map up.’
Louise Ruth looked up at Johnson, placing her hand over the phone as she did so, to mask her voice. ‘A gift from the Doctor. It works anywhere and in any time zone.’ Removing her hand from the phone she again gave her attention back to her sister.
‘Who’s died…? Why would I want to know that? I don’t even like Boy Zone… I don’t care if he was gay or not.’ Louise Ruth looked so frustrated Johnson thought she was about to throw the phone away. Then her face cracked in a smile and she began to breathe again. ‘Right send it to my phone… I’ll pay for it, just send it… okay… and I love you too… I don’t care; he’s goofy and has bad teeth… I’ll keep looking… I am happy… In fact I’m so happy I could shit… I’ll talk to dad when I see him… love you bye.’
Louise Ruth hung up, a look of exasperation clearly showing on her face. Looking down at her phone she pushed a few buttons then looking up pointed directly ahead of her. ‘Leicester Square’s this way. We’ll probably be able to get onto the surface there.’
With her pronounced limp showing clearly, Louise Ruth walked on with Johnson bringing up the rear, a smile clearly showing on her face. Deep down she wished she’d had a sister. She wouldn’t have minded how annoying she was. The closeness of friends and relatives was something she’d never known. Putting it to the back of her mind she continued forward letting the ‘mag’ light guide them.
Agent Johnson stopped when Louise Ruth placed a warning hand on her shoulder. Dropping into a crouch she pulled Johnson with her into a dust covered alcove that kept them out of sight of the platform.
Flicking off the mag light Johnson’s ears strained to hear the sound that had alerted Louise Ruth. Suddenly the entire area illuminated in a bright light as lights flickered on overhead, almost blinded them. A cobweb covered sign on one wall told them it was Leicester Square.
Holding a finger to her lips Johnson pointed at a group of three men dressed in army fatigues as they march past while unwinding cable from a large drum behind them, along the tunnel. Now the place was lit they could see layers of dust covering not only the platform but the tracks as well, which indicated to Johnson that no trains had travelled down the line for some time.
Stopping to attach a second drum to the already laid cable, one of the soldiers turned back the way they had come as a noise, like a muffled cry, filtered through to them across the platform.
‘Sir… sir… I heard something?’ The second soldier shook his head.
‘Getting a bit jumpy aren’t you Weams?’
‘It’s no wonder Staff.’ Weams said while gazing nervously round the platform.
‘We connect up the new drum now Staff?’ the third soldier asked as he lowered the drum to the ground next to the already placed cable.
‘Yes… alright Corporal.’
‘Good thing we fixed these lights in’it.’
‘You can say that again,’ Weams said still unsure of why they were in the London Underground when it had been shut down for the last six months.
A second noise alerted Staff Sergeant Arnold who picked up his rifle and walk cautiously towards the sound.
‘I told you I heard something didn’t I Staff,’ Weams said stepping behind the sergeant for protection.
‘Yer…come on.’ Hiding behind a wall, in an alcove Staff Sergeant Arnold quietly waited for whatever was following them to show itself. Moving slowly out of her hiding place Agent Johnson watched as a young girl, sporting pigtails and a man wearing a kilt walked casually onto the platform.
‘I’m sorry,’ the girl said in a frightened voice. ‘It hurt.’
‘It’s only a cobweb… come on,’ the young kilt wearing man said, with a tone of reproach and in a broad Scottish accent.
‘Well, well, well, would you believe it,’ the staff sergeant muttered, levelling his rifle at the pair of newcomers, ‘the Babes in the wood,’ gesturing with his rifle.
Agent Johnson watched helplessly as the two young people nodded and followed the soldiers. ‘Lets get these two back to Goodge Street before we bump into anything else,’ the corporal added; Weams’ nervousness seemed to be infectious. As the group disappeared from view, agent Johnson stood and dusted herself off. Reaching out a hand she pulled Louise Ruth to her feet.
‘Come on… let’s go.’ Replacing the mag light into her belt kit Johnson removed the tracker which pointed up the tunnel where the soldiers had emerged from. ‘What’s that way?’ she asked as Louise Ruth examined her phone.
‘Piccadilly Circus… we’re actually on the Piccadilly line. But if we go that way…’ she gestured with her left hand, ‘Charring Cross is closer, but we’d need to change to the Northern line… we can get out there,’ she said as she continued to examine her phone.
‘Aren’t the soldiers on the Northern line?’ Johnson asked.
‘Yes… but they’re headed in the opposite direction towards Tottenham Court Road.’ Agent Johnson nodded then took Louise Ruth’s arm and helped her down towards the tracks.
‘Stay there for a second… you can’t be too careful.’ Removing Sergeant Howard’s SIG she threw it across the tracks. ‘No current… I thought so… the soldiers were walking across them but I thought I’d check just in case.’ Louise Ruth nodded and following, headed off down the darkened tunnel, away from the soldiers towards Charing Cross.
Near the end of the tunnel a light glowed and pulsed in front of them and Agent Johnson could see movement. Pushing Louise Ruth to one side she drew out the SIG and pointed.
Adjusting her eyes to the light Louise Ruth noticed two of the beasts walking in the strange waddling motion she had seen earlier. The lumbering giants seem to be checking a pile of cobweb-covered boxes, their glowing eyes illuminating the darkness around them. As they moved across the platform she realised that the pulsating light was coming from a set of crates covered in cobwebs. Looking closely she came to the same conclusion that agent Johnson came to at the same time. It wasn’t the crates that were pulsating, it was the cobwebs.
The beasts finally left the platform heading off in the opposite direction. Moving forward Louise Ruth felt Johnson’s restraining hand on her shoulder. Looking up at the platform she noticed, for the first time that had made it to Charing Cross Station.
Through the darkness they saw a figure emerged from beneath the platform, as if he had been hiding from the creatures. Pulling himself upward onto the platform the figure took the shape of a man dressed in a black suite, white shirt and sporting a black dickey-bow tie.
‘If he’s an enemy of the beasts… won’t he be a friend to us?’ In the dark Louise Ruth could sense Johnson’s head shaking.
‘In my experience the enemy of my enemy can kiss my arse as well.’ Louise Ruth held back a laugh and was about to reply when the tunnel was rocked with an explosion that threw them both to the ground. This time Louise Ruth landed on her side and was thankful her leg was protected. After the dust cleared they both gazed back at the boxes.
‘The cable the soldiers were laying… must have connected to those crates containing explosives,’ Johnson said as Louise Ruth coughed out the dust from her lungs as the sound of the confined explosion finally subsided in her ears. Looking across at the platform, what was left of the crates still glowed with an eerie light that lit the tunnel all around. The man they had seen earlier had disappeared.
Nodding towards Louise Ruth they headed back the way they had come passing through Leicester Square and back onto the Piccadilly line back towards Covent Garden. Remembering the stun gun Ianto had given her to replace the one she’d left on the Rani’s TARDIS; Louise Ruth removed it from her shoulder bag and held it in front of her.
After what seemed like ages wandering around in the dark they came to the next platform. Louise Ruth checked her phone then looked up at the station sign as they approached the platform.
‘We must have passed Covent Garden in the dark. We’re at Holborn Station now.’ Johnson put an arm out to stop Louise Ruth when she noticed movement in front of her. Before them a group of ten soldiers all fully armed wandered about on the platform adopting defensive positions. Behind them a tall figure walked forward wearing a black cap, adorned with Scottish tartan and sporting a regimental badge on one side. Louise Ruth gasped in shock as she realised who the figure was.
‘Colonel Stewart all the men are present and ready, sir.’ The colonel nodded and gestured towards two men standing at the entrance to the station at the foot of a set of stairs.
‘’Who are those blighters and what are they doing?’ The Staff sergeant looked across at the two men and winced.
‘Evans… put that cigarette out and get your rifle before I insert it where the sun doesn’t shine… You too corporal, move it on the double.’ Turning back towards Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, the sergeant nodded.
‘Drivers, sir… waste of space if you ask me, especially Evans. You know the Welsh; if it’s not sheep it’s each other.’ Ignoring the sergeant’s observations the colonel turned towards his men.
‘Right… on my word we’ll advance in close order down the tunnel towards Tottenham Court Road then change tunnels to Goodge Street Station where we will relieve Pemberton of command and sort this thing out once and for all.’ Before them were piles of ammunition boxes ready for transportation. They contained high explosives to be used against whatever creatures inhabited the underground tunnels.
Louise Ruth moved out of the shadows and was about to move forward when Johnson put a restraining hand on her shoulder for the second time that day.
‘I don’t think that’s the Brigadier, well at least not yet.’ Louise turned towards Johnson then looked back at the man on the platform at Holborn Station.
‘What do you mean… it has to be him?’ Johnson leaned closer to Louise Ruth’s ear so she could lower her voice to a whisper.
‘For a start he’s wearing Colonel’s rank not Brigadier’s and he looks different somehow... Check out his eyes.’ Looking closely Louise Ruth realised what Johnson was referring to. Despite the similarity in ages the eyes were different. It was as if the age and pain had left his eyes.
‘We have gone back in time I suppose. It must have been before he joined UNIT.’
‘Or before setting it up… he founded the thing… probably on the strength of what happens today against those beasts.’
‘Yetis… they’re called Yetis,’ Louise Ruth added. Johnson looked bemused in the half light. ‘When I was on the Doctor’s TARDIS for the first time I asked for directions to the toilet and he told me to turn right at the yeti and that it was some kind of robot which hadn’t been decommissioned.’ Johnson nodded, and then looking at the movement taking place on the Holborn platform drew out the SIG and backed away from the tunnel taking Louise Ruth with her.
‘If I’m right it’s going to get really interesting around here any second.’
From the opposite end of the tunnel bright lights swam and danced into view illuminating the tunnel around them as they moved. Johnson ran forward and at the top of her lungs shouted, ‘Yetis to your left.’ All ten soldiers aimed their weapons in her direction with the exception of the Colonel. He was the only one that turned towards the left as the Yetis came out of the tunnel with space-aged guns at the ready.
‘Form up on me two ranks rapid fire,’ Colonel Stewart shouted, turning his men to face the impending danger. As the yetis advanced towards the soldier’s position the fungus advance with them, glowing and pulsating as it crept along the tunnel. Shots ran out, sporadic at first them more controlled as the evidence of their strikes slammed into the advancing yetis. The shots, aimed at the approaching giants echoed in the tunnels around them. Impervious to bullets, the lumbering yeti advanced their glowing eyes eerie in the darkness of the tunnel.
‘I read about this in the UNIT files the Brigadier made me read. Perhaps he knew.’ Moving forward she sort out the bulk of a yeti carrying a control pyramid. Taking careful aim she fired a double tap of two rounds that shattered the glass sending shards flying off into the darkness. To her dismay its destruction seemed to have no effect on the advancing yeti.
Two soldiers ran forward throwing grenades as they went and firing Sten guns from the hip. The 1942 British 9mm submachine guns were as good as the day they were manufactured but still had no effect on the yeti. As the two soldiers turned to run one of the yetis raised a long rifle-like weapon and aimed it at the retreating soldiers. The web gun engulfed the two soldiers who both screamed in agony as they fell to the tracks. After a moments twitching they finally lay still. Without stopping the yeti continue their attack smothering soldiers and weapons alike.
Still standing at the mouth of the tunnel Johnson was almost pushed to one side as Evens, the driver, pushed passed her in his headlong run for safety, leaving his fellow soldiers to die where they fought.
Seeing his men fall around him Colonel Stewart removed a pack of grenades from his dead sergeant and removing the pin from one dropped it in the bag. Counting as he backed away from the advancing horde he threw the bag which exploded between the oncoming yetis. With any luck, he thought, the high explosives in the packing cases would be ignited as well. It would mean his death but judging from the way things were going, that seemed inevitable anyway.
As the shrapnel tore into everything in its vicinity, Johnson and Louise Ruth looked on as blocks of concrete fell from the ceiling, one striking the colonel knocking him unconscious. As the shockwaves reverberated all around him he fell to the ground with a feeling of failure and devastation. Not one single yeti had been harmed. Not one of the boxes of explosives had ignited, just his luck. The last thing he saw was a dark haired woman wearing black cargo pants unloading a full clip into the advancing army of yetis and running towards him as if trying to protect him from the inevitable.
Stepping forward, Johnson dropped the empty clip from her SIG and thrust in another one, chambering a round as she did so. Running towards the colonel she raised the pistol ready to fire but was stunned when she realised that the yeti had stopped moving.
Surrounded on all sides by the yetis imposing forms Johnson bent down and examined the colonel. A close examination confirmed the fact that it was an earlier version of the Brigadier and he was still alive. Removing an antiseptic wipe from her belt kit she removed the colonel’s cap and wiped the already drying blood from the centre of his head. Returning the cap to his head she rolled him over into the recovery position and stood just a Louise Ruth joined her.
Looking around she realised that a high pitched rhythmic beeping noise was emanating from the yeti that surrounded them.
‘I think someone’s communicating with them.’ Johnson stated as Louise Ruth backed away from them, wondering if they had been given new orders to attack them.
‘I think we should leave.’ She said stating a fact that had crossed both their minds. Just as suddenly as it started the beeping noise stopped. But instead of attacking, the yeti, as one, turned and walk back the way they had come.
‘What should we do with the Brig… err… Colonel?’ Johnson said looking down at the unconscious Colonel Stewart. Louise Ruth smiled as she walked backwards towards the relative safety of the darkened tunnel.
‘Leave him here. He’ll come to no harm… he can’t… we’ve seen him back in 2010.’ Johnson nodded as she followed Louise Ruth’s retreating form.
‘I suppose it must have been what we did back in 1963 when this happened…err… now… I mean… shit, let’s go.’ Turning, they both headed off back down the track towards the Leicester Square interchange.
‘Tell me… what was it like when you were injured by the wolf man? Touch wood I’ve never been shot or injured so far.’ Johnson placed a hand on her forehead as she spoke, as if it were made of wood.
‘The first thing I realised was that I was on the floor in the ladies bathroom. One moment I had been standing, trying to get out of the Rani’s TARDIS as quickly as I could and the next moment I was on the floor with seemingly no moments in between.’ Louise Ruth’s voice reverberated in the darkness but was met with only silence. ‘That gave me a real shock and the first thing I thought was that my arse hurt from obviously falling. A thought quickly followed by… ow.’ Johnson smiled, realising that her adrenalin and dropped significantly in her body for it to register pain.
‘Then what did you feel?’ Louise Ruth grimaced in the darkness.
‘My…everything… started to hurt… really badly… The only way I can describe it was like a painful leg cramp that just got worse and worse. At this point I decided that it wouldn’t be too melodramatic of me to shout ‘ow’ very loudly. I’d never had a chance to really mean it before’
Following the tunnel all the way to Piccadilly Circus, they left the massacre behind them, as well as the advancing fungus and moved as quickly as Johnson’s mag light would let them. As they headed towards a set of steps, light shone above them inviting them beckoning them. Together, Johnson’s SIG at the ready, they both headed upwards, ready for anything. Moving, at a slow pace, they finally reached the exit with a sigh of relief.
‘It’s daylight,’ Louise Ruth stated unnecessarily. ‘Why weren’t the trains moving and why so much dust and cobwebs?’ Finding their way to freedom temporarily barred by a metal gate Louise Ruth looked out through the bars into the welcome daylight and fresh air as Johnson picked the lock on the gate.
‘Probably something to do with the creatures no doubt,’ Johnson added as the gate sprung open.
Looking out Louise Ruth felt a little uneasy. ‘Seems a little quiet for the middle of the day,’ she noticed. Pointing towards a newspaper stand opposite, Louise Ruth stood still as a cold shiver ran down her back. Advertised as the Daily Mirror the papers headlines state that, Londoners flee! Menace spreads. The cause of her shiver was apparent when Johnson noticed for the first time an old man covered in the same web-like substance lying next to the stand he must have worked at.
Piccadilly is a Circus 5/16