Fic: Journey Man (7/11) DW
Title: Journey Man
Author: hexicode
Fandom/pairing (if appropriate): Doctor Who, Torchwood
Summary: Torchwood runs into zombies. Jack runs into the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose run into the Daleks.
Rating: technically all ages, but maybe a bit too violent for the kiddies
Warnings: violence, blood, AU
Disclaimers: The characters and settings aren't mine. No profit is being made, this is for entertainment only
A/N: This story was written during NaNoWriMo 2007. It is finished and will be posted as it is edited and proofread. Set directly after the episode Dalek and somewhere shortly after the Torchwood pilot.
oOo
The sound of the sirens was fading, just as the streaks of sunlight filtered in through the window. The snow that had fallen so liberally the previous night was gone like it had never been there. Hadn’t it been for the blood from Gwen and the two police officers, it was as if the previous night had been nothing more than a bad dream.
Owen was sitting in the squad room, wrapped in an ugly grey blanket, drinking a cup of disgustingly sweet hot chocolate that Ianto had whipped up from somewhere. Tosh was on the phone with at least four people at the same time, trying to co-ordinate a convincing cover story for the murders.
“Tosh, Owen. I’ve gone through everything. There is no sign of Jack. There is a lot of blood though, but I didn’t find his…his body,” Ianto announced as he walked into the squad room.
“He’s not dead.” Owen spoke for the first time since he’d refused to go to the hospital. He was tired and if he was honest, he just wanted to go out and get himself so drunk that he didn’t care anymore about the mess that was his life.
“He left. Walked away.” Owen wanted to be furious with Jack, but he couldn’t quite muster the energy. At least, he thought morosely, Jack was probably out of the running as far as competition was concerned. Considering that Gwen would probably never talk to him again, this is was pretty much the only silver lining.
“Jack just walked away?” Tosh asked. “I can’t believe he did that. What happened? Didn’t he say anything?”
“No.” Owen took another sip of the awful beverage. “He didn’t say anything. He ran off after this guy the locals had arrested. I have no idea who he was, but it looked like they knew each other pretty well.”
“So, what was this all about? Did you get whoever killed all those people?” Tosh asked. “If they are still on the loose, we have to do more than just tell the press what to print.”
“I’ve been listening to the police scanner and there has been nothing.” Ianto told them. “If they are still out there, they stopped killing. We had the police put up road blocks. So far nothing has turned up. So, what exactly happened last night?”
Owen put the mug down on the desk in front of him. He really didn’t feel like thinking right now and neither did his brain, but the job was calling. Owen didn’t see any drinks in his near future, so he might as well get to work. At least he didn’t have to think about Gwen that way.
oOo
Gwen hadn’t thought she would ever feel warm again, but now that she did, and her body would be content to drift off to sleep, it was her mind that didn’t let her rest.
She hadn’t told anyone, but those images that she had seen when she was locked in the freezer, the images she had thought belonged to another world, a world that was maybe waiting for them after this life, they were still there. At first, they had only come when she had closed her eyes, but they were becoming more aggressive. Even with her eyes open, they kept coming to her in flashes. She saw flourishing cities built entirely out of white stone, stunning sunsets setting fire to a purple sky, dark forests and boundless oceans. They were breathtakingly beautiful and so intense that Gwen could almost feel the breeze on her skin and the sand beneath her feet. They were like the most intense dream she had ever had, only so much more vibrant.
But as beautiful as they were, Gwen was afraid to give in. She was afraid to turn herself over to the draw of the images, because deep down, she could sense that there was something beyond the images. Something was terrible and ugly lurking just beyond the reach of her mind and it was calling to her.
Gwen sat up with a start, discarding the possibility for sleep. She reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and took a long drink. The sensation of the cool liquid flowing down her throat was refreshing, anchoring her in the present surroundings of the hospital room.
She looked around, contemplating her options when a new image flashed in front of her eyes. It was different this time. The darkness she had felt before, it was there now. Dimly lit tunnels constructed of corroded metals, piping running along the rounded walls and low ceilings. There were sounds as well, filling her head. Metal scraping on metal, dripping water, footsteps and screams. The most frightening were the screams. Howling screams that echoed along the tunnels.
Gwen slapped her hands over her ears, willing the visions to stop, but they didn’t. Then as sudden the images had appeared, they receded and Gwen found herself alone again in the noisy silence of her hospital room. Panting, Gwen got up. Using the wall to steady herself, she made her way to the wardrobe. It took her a few tries to work the knob, but she eventually managed to open the wardrobe. Her clothes were still damp and stained with blood. Gwen didn’t care. She had to get away. She had to get back to Torchwood. To find answers. To prove to herself that she wasn’t losing her mind.
As she struggled with her clothes, a new wave of sounds and images flooded her brain. People, hundreds of them, were changing, undergoing the same mutations that had afflicted her. But while her transformation had been slow and painless, these people were in agony. They were screaming, writhing in pain. There were other things. Images of incredible destruction. Cities, even entire worlds were laid to waste before her eyes. The grand cities were reduced to ashes, countless bodies littering the streets. Biting her lip, Gwen struggled not to scream. She had never seen so much death and suffering. The images were infused with emotions that threatened to overtake her. They were bleak emotions - hate, fear, terror. Gwen could feel them like they were her own. It was like someone had compiled the most horrific events in history into a slideshow.
Vision and memory were mingling when images of Jack filtered into her mind. She tried to hold on to them, tried to find a point of focus in the flood of images. She tried to focus on Jack and the man from the police station that was with him now. The locations changed, but not the images - Jack being shot, Jack dying and Jack getting back up again. Sickened, Gwen rushed outside, in the quest for fresh air.
The corridors seemed to fly past her in independent motion, as Gwen was only distantly aware of her own actions as she fled from the hospital.
Only when she stepped outside and the cold wind blew in her face that she realized where she was. Her mind cleared instantly, the carnival of sounds and sights making way to an acute awareness of her surroundings. It felt like she was observing everything from far above, but at the same time her senses were sharper than ever. Her mind was suddenly able to pick up the smallest details - down to the pattern of the scarf of the woman across the streets and overhear what people were saying fifty feet away. The smell of the cars’ exhaust fumes was becoming suffocating and Gwen started coughing. Spotting a taxi stand a further down the road, she started walking with single minded determination.
She knew what she had to do.
TBC
Author: hexicode
Fandom/pairing (if appropriate): Doctor Who, Torchwood
Summary: Torchwood runs into zombies. Jack runs into the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose run into the Daleks.
Rating: technically all ages, but maybe a bit too violent for the kiddies
Warnings: violence, blood, AU
Disclaimers: The characters and settings aren't mine. No profit is being made, this is for entertainment only
A/N: This story was written during NaNoWriMo 2007. It is finished and will be posted as it is edited and proofread. Set directly after the episode Dalek and somewhere shortly after the Torchwood pilot.
oOo
The sound of the sirens was fading, just as the streaks of sunlight filtered in through the window. The snow that had fallen so liberally the previous night was gone like it had never been there. Hadn’t it been for the blood from Gwen and the two police officers, it was as if the previous night had been nothing more than a bad dream.
Owen was sitting in the squad room, wrapped in an ugly grey blanket, drinking a cup of disgustingly sweet hot chocolate that Ianto had whipped up from somewhere. Tosh was on the phone with at least four people at the same time, trying to co-ordinate a convincing cover story for the murders.
“Tosh, Owen. I’ve gone through everything. There is no sign of Jack. There is a lot of blood though, but I didn’t find his…his body,” Ianto announced as he walked into the squad room.
“He’s not dead.” Owen spoke for the first time since he’d refused to go to the hospital. He was tired and if he was honest, he just wanted to go out and get himself so drunk that he didn’t care anymore about the mess that was his life.
“He left. Walked away.” Owen wanted to be furious with Jack, but he couldn’t quite muster the energy. At least, he thought morosely, Jack was probably out of the running as far as competition was concerned. Considering that Gwen would probably never talk to him again, this is was pretty much the only silver lining.
“Jack just walked away?” Tosh asked. “I can’t believe he did that. What happened? Didn’t he say anything?”
“No.” Owen took another sip of the awful beverage. “He didn’t say anything. He ran off after this guy the locals had arrested. I have no idea who he was, but it looked like they knew each other pretty well.”
“So, what was this all about? Did you get whoever killed all those people?” Tosh asked. “If they are still on the loose, we have to do more than just tell the press what to print.”
“I’ve been listening to the police scanner and there has been nothing.” Ianto told them. “If they are still out there, they stopped killing. We had the police put up road blocks. So far nothing has turned up. So, what exactly happened last night?”
Owen put the mug down on the desk in front of him. He really didn’t feel like thinking right now and neither did his brain, but the job was calling. Owen didn’t see any drinks in his near future, so he might as well get to work. At least he didn’t have to think about Gwen that way.
oOo
Gwen hadn’t thought she would ever feel warm again, but now that she did, and her body would be content to drift off to sleep, it was her mind that didn’t let her rest.
She hadn’t told anyone, but those images that she had seen when she was locked in the freezer, the images she had thought belonged to another world, a world that was maybe waiting for them after this life, they were still there. At first, they had only come when she had closed her eyes, but they were becoming more aggressive. Even with her eyes open, they kept coming to her in flashes. She saw flourishing cities built entirely out of white stone, stunning sunsets setting fire to a purple sky, dark forests and boundless oceans. They were breathtakingly beautiful and so intense that Gwen could almost feel the breeze on her skin and the sand beneath her feet. They were like the most intense dream she had ever had, only so much more vibrant.
But as beautiful as they were, Gwen was afraid to give in. She was afraid to turn herself over to the draw of the images, because deep down, she could sense that there was something beyond the images. Something was terrible and ugly lurking just beyond the reach of her mind and it was calling to her.
Gwen sat up with a start, discarding the possibility for sleep. She reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and took a long drink. The sensation of the cool liquid flowing down her throat was refreshing, anchoring her in the present surroundings of the hospital room.
She looked around, contemplating her options when a new image flashed in front of her eyes. It was different this time. The darkness she had felt before, it was there now. Dimly lit tunnels constructed of corroded metals, piping running along the rounded walls and low ceilings. There were sounds as well, filling her head. Metal scraping on metal, dripping water, footsteps and screams. The most frightening were the screams. Howling screams that echoed along the tunnels.
Gwen slapped her hands over her ears, willing the visions to stop, but they didn’t. Then as sudden the images had appeared, they receded and Gwen found herself alone again in the noisy silence of her hospital room. Panting, Gwen got up. Using the wall to steady herself, she made her way to the wardrobe. It took her a few tries to work the knob, but she eventually managed to open the wardrobe. Her clothes were still damp and stained with blood. Gwen didn’t care. She had to get away. She had to get back to Torchwood. To find answers. To prove to herself that she wasn’t losing her mind.
As she struggled with her clothes, a new wave of sounds and images flooded her brain. People, hundreds of them, were changing, undergoing the same mutations that had afflicted her. But while her transformation had been slow and painless, these people were in agony. They were screaming, writhing in pain. There were other things. Images of incredible destruction. Cities, even entire worlds were laid to waste before her eyes. The grand cities were reduced to ashes, countless bodies littering the streets. Biting her lip, Gwen struggled not to scream. She had never seen so much death and suffering. The images were infused with emotions that threatened to overtake her. They were bleak emotions - hate, fear, terror. Gwen could feel them like they were her own. It was like someone had compiled the most horrific events in history into a slideshow.
Vision and memory were mingling when images of Jack filtered into her mind. She tried to hold on to them, tried to find a point of focus in the flood of images. She tried to focus on Jack and the man from the police station that was with him now. The locations changed, but not the images - Jack being shot, Jack dying and Jack getting back up again. Sickened, Gwen rushed outside, in the quest for fresh air.
The corridors seemed to fly past her in independent motion, as Gwen was only distantly aware of her own actions as she fled from the hospital.
Only when she stepped outside and the cold wind blew in her face that she realized where she was. Her mind cleared instantly, the carnival of sounds and sights making way to an acute awareness of her surroundings. It felt like she was observing everything from far above, but at the same time her senses were sharper than ever. Her mind was suddenly able to pick up the smallest details - down to the pattern of the scarf of the woman across the streets and overhear what people were saying fifty feet away. The smell of the cars’ exhaust fumes was becoming suffocating and Gwen started coughing. Spotting a taxi stand a further down the road, she started walking with single minded determination.
She knew what she had to do.
TBC