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.
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.
