The Universe: Owen's Story - part six
Here's part six... enjoy.
The Universe: Owen's Story - Part six
The pod bounced along the ground of the strange plant. Inside it Owen and Toshiko were thrown around like clothes on a spin cycle. Finally the pod stopped bouncing and settled in its final resting place. Owen tried to look at Toshiko but the crash had broken his neck and he wasn’t able to move. “Tosh” he whispered as the darkness took once again.
He didn’t know how he had gotten there or what the strange new feeling in his chest was. Actually now that Owen thought about there were a lot of strange new feelings, he could feel again…when did that happen? The feeling in his chest…could it be? was that his heart beating? He placed his hand on his chest and felt the unmistakable beat of a human heart. He looked around the strange hospital in this new world. It was bright and airy there was no way it was an NHS hospital… it was too nice. Vaguely he remembered his neck had been broken on impact that was fixed too. How was this possible? He was dead how could anyone heal dead skin? How could they have a cure for death?
Toshiko. Where was she? He sat up in his bed all thoughts of medicine forgotten for the moment. He swung his legs over the side of his bed noticing that his ribs had healed as well, he ran his fingers across his face there was no cut beneath his left eye any more. This was incredible and impossible. He shuffled over to the curtain around his bed and pulled it back. The sight that greeted him wasn’t one he could have ever expected. Being Torchwood he thought he’d seen it all but this was something else. The ward, if it could be called a ward, was filled with aliens all of them with illness that Owen was sure he wouldn’t be able to pronounce.
Many of the aliens were different colours, textures and shapes to what Owen thought they should be. There was a man who was bright orange and flowing in mid air. In the bed next to him was a large fat man who appeared to be turning into stone. Owen tried not to share, but found it hard not to until something drew his eye. At the far end of the ward as a large head in some sort of massive jar. Drawn by it Owen walked towards it mouth wide open. He hadn’t noticed the nurse sat beside it until she spoke, “do you know the face of boe?” she asked. Owen almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. When he looked at her he was shocked to say the least. She was a cat, a woman that was a cat as well. She was wearing a nun’s uniform, a cat and a nurse and a nun. Is this what Jack meant when he said the universe was wonderful? Owen doubted it.
“Umm…” Owen was shocked by his lack of vocabulary. But his was finding it hard to talk since there was a deep, old voice filling his head. He looked at the face in the jar.
“Is that you?” he asked it.
The voice in Owen’s head laughed, “Doctor Harper my, my it has been far to long my old friend. I have waited for a thousand life times for this moment… there is something that I must tell you…it will save your life”
Owen stood frozen to the stop listening intently to the voice in side his head, it knew so much was so old…yet so familiar Owen thought he knew him but it couldn’t be… “Jack?” he asked the face of boe. It smiled, Owen stepped forward and pressed his hand to the jar a tear ran down his face. Strangely it felt good to cry. Owen and the face of boe stood looking at each other for a while silent conversation pasting between them.
“Do you remember Ianto?” Owen asked inside his mind.
“He is but a faded memory to me now, sadly both him and our Evelyn are so faded that I can’t remember what they looked like. Sometimes I find I can’t recall the smell of his aftershave or his surname… he is so distant, but he is one of the few lovers that I can remember”
“Jones, his surname was Jones” Owen thought towards the face in the jar. He concentrated on what Ianto looked like showing the face of boe a picture of him in his mind’s eyes. Inside his head the face chuckled.
“Ah blue eyes, funny how you forget these details…his eyes were one of his best features.” Owen didn’t want to know what the other ones where and was glad that this version of his Captain didn’t tell him.
“Do you remember what happened to him?” thought Owen.
“I find it hard to recall such hardships of former lives, funny how I gave birth to entire race and watch as it grew, developed and died while I lived on yet recalling how I lost Ianto still hurts more that any of that ever did…Manger wanted to hurt me and he did, I may have killed him but…he broke my heart.”
“And Ianto?” Owen was desperate to know if the team ever found each other again, if Torchwood did its job and armed mankind against this future.
“Died, aboard the Titanic…” the face sighed and a tear formed in his eye before mixing with the rest of the liquid in his jar.
“OWEN,” a voice cried out from the end of the ward. He turned to see Toshiko running towards him. She practically pounced on him, her wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
“The nurses are cats,” she hissed in his ear.
“I know,” said Owen, “notice anything different about me?”
“Your warm…”
“I’m a live”
“How?” she didn’t let go of Owen. Owen wondered if this was out of happiness or fear.
“That’s not the weirdest part…the face in the jar is Jack” slowly she let go of Owen and turned to see the huge jar with the face of boe in it. He didn’t want to tell her that he didn’t know how he came to live again, because if he questioned it then it might disappear and he couldn’t stand the thought of going back to that half- life.
Toshiko stared at the face for a long time; Owen turned towards the window and looked out at the strange new world out there. It was filled with tall buildings, flying cars, a couple of moons and lush green grass. He pressed his nose against the window for a better view briefly he closed his eyes and listened to his own breathing. Somewhere at the end of the ward the lifts binged. Owen turned to see what Toshiko was doing, tears ran down her face as she hugged the jar. Owen felt sure that the face of boe was communicating silently with her as well.
Owen glanced up the ward, feeling awkward about intruding on their moment. He couldn’t believe his eyes there he was, the man that brought down Torchwood one, Queen Victoria’s worst emery, the one and only…the doctor. He froze momentarily, they had to get out of there, and taking on the Doctor wasn’t a good idea, people died around him. Quickly he crossed the floor towards Toshiko and grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her behind the massive jar warning the cat - nun - nurse not to mutter a word about their presents.
The Universe: Owen's Story - Part six
The pod bounced along the ground of the strange plant. Inside it Owen and Toshiko were thrown around like clothes on a spin cycle. Finally the pod stopped bouncing and settled in its final resting place. Owen tried to look at Toshiko but the crash had broken his neck and he wasn’t able to move. “Tosh” he whispered as the darkness took once again.
He didn’t know how he had gotten there or what the strange new feeling in his chest was. Actually now that Owen thought about there were a lot of strange new feelings, he could feel again…when did that happen? The feeling in his chest…could it be? was that his heart beating? He placed his hand on his chest and felt the unmistakable beat of a human heart. He looked around the strange hospital in this new world. It was bright and airy there was no way it was an NHS hospital… it was too nice. Vaguely he remembered his neck had been broken on impact that was fixed too. How was this possible? He was dead how could anyone heal dead skin? How could they have a cure for death?
Toshiko. Where was she? He sat up in his bed all thoughts of medicine forgotten for the moment. He swung his legs over the side of his bed noticing that his ribs had healed as well, he ran his fingers across his face there was no cut beneath his left eye any more. This was incredible and impossible. He shuffled over to the curtain around his bed and pulled it back. The sight that greeted him wasn’t one he could have ever expected. Being Torchwood he thought he’d seen it all but this was something else. The ward, if it could be called a ward, was filled with aliens all of them with illness that Owen was sure he wouldn’t be able to pronounce.
Many of the aliens were different colours, textures and shapes to what Owen thought they should be. There was a man who was bright orange and flowing in mid air. In the bed next to him was a large fat man who appeared to be turning into stone. Owen tried not to share, but found it hard not to until something drew his eye. At the far end of the ward as a large head in some sort of massive jar. Drawn by it Owen walked towards it mouth wide open. He hadn’t noticed the nurse sat beside it until she spoke, “do you know the face of boe?” she asked. Owen almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. When he looked at her he was shocked to say the least. She was a cat, a woman that was a cat as well. She was wearing a nun’s uniform, a cat and a nurse and a nun. Is this what Jack meant when he said the universe was wonderful? Owen doubted it.
“Umm…” Owen was shocked by his lack of vocabulary. But his was finding it hard to talk since there was a deep, old voice filling his head. He looked at the face in the jar.
“Is that you?” he asked it.
The voice in Owen’s head laughed, “Doctor Harper my, my it has been far to long my old friend. I have waited for a thousand life times for this moment… there is something that I must tell you…it will save your life”
Owen stood frozen to the stop listening intently to the voice in side his head, it knew so much was so old…yet so familiar Owen thought he knew him but it couldn’t be… “Jack?” he asked the face of boe. It smiled, Owen stepped forward and pressed his hand to the jar a tear ran down his face. Strangely it felt good to cry. Owen and the face of boe stood looking at each other for a while silent conversation pasting between them.
“Do you remember Ianto?” Owen asked inside his mind.
“He is but a faded memory to me now, sadly both him and our Evelyn are so faded that I can’t remember what they looked like. Sometimes I find I can’t recall the smell of his aftershave or his surname… he is so distant, but he is one of the few lovers that I can remember”
“Jones, his surname was Jones” Owen thought towards the face in the jar. He concentrated on what Ianto looked like showing the face of boe a picture of him in his mind’s eyes. Inside his head the face chuckled.
“Ah blue eyes, funny how you forget these details…his eyes were one of his best features.” Owen didn’t want to know what the other ones where and was glad that this version of his Captain didn’t tell him.
“Do you remember what happened to him?” thought Owen.
“I find it hard to recall such hardships of former lives, funny how I gave birth to entire race and watch as it grew, developed and died while I lived on yet recalling how I lost Ianto still hurts more that any of that ever did…Manger wanted to hurt me and he did, I may have killed him but…he broke my heart.”
“And Ianto?” Owen was desperate to know if the team ever found each other again, if Torchwood did its job and armed mankind against this future.
“Died, aboard the Titanic…” the face sighed and a tear formed in his eye before mixing with the rest of the liquid in his jar.
“OWEN,” a voice cried out from the end of the ward. He turned to see Toshiko running towards him. She practically pounced on him, her wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
“The nurses are cats,” she hissed in his ear.
“I know,” said Owen, “notice anything different about me?”
“Your warm…”
“I’m a live”
“How?” she didn’t let go of Owen. Owen wondered if this was out of happiness or fear.
“That’s not the weirdest part…the face in the jar is Jack” slowly she let go of Owen and turned to see the huge jar with the face of boe in it. He didn’t want to tell her that he didn’t know how he came to live again, because if he questioned it then it might disappear and he couldn’t stand the thought of going back to that half- life.
Toshiko stared at the face for a long time; Owen turned towards the window and looked out at the strange new world out there. It was filled with tall buildings, flying cars, a couple of moons and lush green grass. He pressed his nose against the window for a better view briefly he closed his eyes and listened to his own breathing. Somewhere at the end of the ward the lifts binged. Owen turned to see what Toshiko was doing, tears ran down her face as she hugged the jar. Owen felt sure that the face of boe was communicating silently with her as well.
Owen glanced up the ward, feeling awkward about intruding on their moment. He couldn’t believe his eyes there he was, the man that brought down Torchwood one, Queen Victoria’s worst emery, the one and only…the doctor. He froze momentarily, they had to get out of there, and taking on the Doctor wasn’t a good idea, people died around him. Quickly he crossed the floor towards Toshiko and grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her behind the massive jar warning the cat - nun - nurse not to mutter a word about their presents.