Trusting the Enemy

Chapter 6

            Their long lizard bodies were milling around the group as they stood on higher ground. Shylah and the others had ran out of ammo, Jack had told them Owen was on his way but she wasn't sure they'd be alive for Doctor Harper to save. As if reading her thoughts a black and dark purple face of one of the aliens appeared over the edge as it rose up on its hind legs, its black eyes stared at her coldly.

"We need to move!" Tosh shouted as a dark blue and sea green scaled alien snapped at her ankles as it jumped.

"That's great Tosh I should've thought of that!" Jack replied sarcastically. "Why don't you show us where?"

Ianto pressed closer to Jack as the aliens started following the first two's examples. "Mind calling Owen and telling him to hurry?"

Shylah was about to agree when teeth sank into her leg and pulled her down. Gwen shouted in alarm and grabbed her arms. "Guys help me!"

She felt the others start pulling her back up but she screamed in pain as the creature below yanked down harder. "Let go! For crying out loud let go!"

"You'll die!" Gwen pulled harder to bring her back up.

"You're going to get me ripped in half!"

"Better that than dead!" Tosh replied.

The alien won however, she felt their grip slip and the sharp teeth and claws sink deeper into her skin. Thankfully the beasts liked to fight over a good meal and her attacker was quickly the victim as other hungry lizard monsters turned to face him, which gave her time to scoot away.

Gunshots rang through the air once more and an annoying voice shouted down at them. "I heard you needed a lesson in aim! Let me show you how to kill the beasts with a bullet!"

"Just get down here!" Gwen shouted back. "Shylah's going to be killed!"

"Shylah?" She recognized Outcast's voice and when she looked up the woman was staring down at the monsters in terror. "By Gallifrey... hold on!"

"Get back here!" Owen shouted; looking rather harasses as he tried to save them and stop Outcast.

"Leave her!" Jack shouted. "Just help us!"

Shylah felt hot breath on her neck and gave another cry of pain as a crimson alien clamped its powerful jaws on her shoulder and dragging her deeper into the sleek scaled bodies. Finally being dropped by a dead one's blown out skull where she struggled as claws sank into her side as the beast held her down.

"Shylah, hold on!" Outcast was climbing over the warehouse railing and Shylah saw the glint of handcuffs hindering her movements.

"No!" Shylah's voice cut off as the creature grabbed her throat.

She felt blood run out of the wounds but her gaze was fixed on her friend as Outcast jumped down into the mass of bodies and quickly disappeared. The others didn't seem too pleased with what the Time Lord had done.

"Get out of my targets!" Owen shouted down as he reloaded and started firing again. "Now!"

"No!" Outcast's voice rose above the growls and gunshots. "I can't."

"You stupid-" He cut himself off as a shadow from one of the creatures appeared behind him.

A shriek made everyone freeze and the weight on Shylah's throat lifted as the creature gave an answering cry. The aliens parted ways and an obsidian black creature walked through; its white underbelly and red eyes seemed to glow as he stared past all of them and at Outcast.

"So it does work." Outcast looked down at something Shylah couldn't see. "Get out, all of you. This doesn't distract them for long."

"Shylah hesitantly rose to her feet before limping heavily over to where Jack was helping the others get to the stairs where Owen stood watch, ready to start shooting again.

"We can escape, come on!" She shouted back a bit hoarsely.

Her friend turned, a glowing orb in her hand. "So can I, now run before I change my mind!"

Shylah felt Jack start dragging her towards the exit as she stared worriedly at her friend. The smallest of the creatures below were as tall as Jack, the one standing before Outcast was twice the size almost. Then the scene disappeared from sight and she was outside once more, noon light baring down on her.

"Tosh, get the car!" Jack ordered. "Owen, see if she's okay."

Shylah glared at the man as he switched places with Jack. "She's going to die because of you!"

"Her choice." Owen replied as he examined the bites. "You have some broken ribs but you're lucky it didn't crush your spine. You'll be fine once we set them."

She saw him start wrapping gauze around her ankle and expected pain to shoot through her... instead she felt nothing. "I can't feel it."

"Feel what?" Owen asked, not looking at her.

"My ankle..." Now that she paid more attention she realized she couldn't feel her shoulder either.

"What about this?" She saw him press harder against the bite but pain didn't shoot through her.

"No." Worry crept into her voice.

"Shit." He stood up and ran over to Jack. "Who else was bitten?"

"Tosh, but it wasn't too bad w-"

"Get her back here now!" Owen shouted. "Ianto, go find her before she wrecks the car!"

"What is going on Owen?" Jack shouted, aware that the longer they stayed the more likely it was Outcast wouldn't hold the creatures inside off.

"Poison! The bites are slowly destroying the nerve cells... if it reaches the brain then they'll die."

Jack cursed but this time his voice was drowned out by angry screeches from the building, looking away from the people and towards the ground entrance, Shylah could see Outcast running out of the building... her cuffs looked like they'd been disintegrated and broken.

"It works on more than just nerves..." She whispered and the others seemed to notice what she'd seen.

"Gwen! Help Owen and Ianto get Shylah and Tosh back to base." Jack ordered before running down the fire escape to follow Outcast. "I'll get answers."

"Good luck with that." Owen scoffed as he motioned for Gwen to help Shylah. "That bloody woman won't tell you anything unless it benefits her."

"Hey!" Shylah glared at him. "She's just cautious around people like you give her a break!"

"You'll die if we 'give her a break'." He replied before stalking off to help Ianto with Tosh, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car now.

Shylah really hoped not, she hoped Torchwood could find the antidote first; she didn't come here just to die. For one guilty moment she wanted Jack to get the information from Outcast in any way possible, then realizing what that meant she mentally winced, she was dying but that didn't mean she wanted her friend to lose all her trust in humans for good. By the time Gwen helped her limp to the truck though, she realized she'd lost feeling in her throat and her chest was starting to go numb. Shylah held back the panic she felt as she realized she'd die within the hour at this point.

Looking over at Gwen, she could see the same look of knowing in her eyes and Owen's. She tried to put on a brave face but knew it was failing miserably. Torchwood One would never come back after she died and she doubted Ianto wanted another one, once she was dead it would disappear forever except in memory.