‘Mind your step,’ Jack told Nina as he narrowly avoided putting his foot through a hole in the floor. Ianto led the way, the beeping from his scanner becoming more urgent. He pushed open a door into what once must have been a stunning apartment. Now it was little more than four brick walls with holes where the windows should have been. They headed through to what Nina guessed had been the bathroom and then. . .
Nina had never seen anything like it. A pool of orange light was floating in the air. It was wrong. It was alien.
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Nina, stepping closer towards it. She could feel her skin tingling and she wanted to reach out and—
Jack grabbed her arm, pulling her back. ‘Yeah, it looks good, but it’s dangerous.’ He grinned. ‘A bit like me.’
‘You are so full of yourself,’ she replied with a smirk.
‘Er, when you two are finished?’ Ianto sounded irritated. ‘The Rift energy’s starting to fade, so now might be a good time to get rid of the book.’
Jack handed Nina the carrier bag. ‘Do you want to do the honours?’
She took the bag from him and had one last look at the book. She felt nothing. She just wanted rid of it. She lifted the bag and—
‘Wait!’ Jack shouted. ‘Just wait a minute!’
He took the bag back from her and reached in for the book.
‘Jack?’ Ianto looked scared. ‘What are you doing? We’ve only got a few seconds before—’
‘Get me a piece of paper,’ Jack interrupted. ‘Quickly!’
Nina watched, confused, as Ianto reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook. He tore out a sheet and handed it to Jack. Jack quickly crouched down and, taking the note from the book and a pen from his pocket, began to write.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Nina.
‘Trying not to completely destroy the universe,’ Jack muttered. ‘If we throw the book back with my old note then where’s my old note come from?’
Nina’s head was hurting and, judging by the look on his face, so was Ianto’s.
‘Done,’ announced Jack, standing up. Then he grinned. ‘Look. . .’
He held up the new note and Nina could tell it was identical. The piece of paper from Ianto’s notebook was exactly the same as the note from the book. Jack put the new note in the book and scrunched up the other, putting it in his pocket. He put the book back into the carrier bag and handed it to Nina.
Nina raised her arm, swinging the bag behind her. Then she said two words to the book (which I won’t repeat here) and slung it into the orange light. The book hovered in the air, trapped like a fly in amber. And suddenly the pool of light started to expand as it fizzled urgently around the book. Two forces that Nina knew she’d never understand fought for supremacy. She and Jack watched, enraptured by the light show.
‘Erm. . . Jack? Nina?’
She was vaguely aware of Ianto’s voice behind her.
‘Just want to remind you both that we’re in a building that’s on its last legs. And we’ve just thrown an alien storybook into some Rift energy.’
A tendril of Rift energy shot out towards Nina, and she jumped back. She looked back at Ianto, who was heading towards the doorway.
‘You ever heard the word “boom”?’ he asked.
Nina didn’t need telling twice. And neither did Jack.
The three of them started to run.
They ran through the building, dodging bits of falling masonry. Metal creaked dangerously around them and the air was thick with dust. They kept running, down the stairs and into the reception area. Then they ran outside and stopped, breathing in the fresh air. They looked up at SkyPoint, watching as golden light suddenly shot out through the first-floor window panes. And then the building started to crumble so they ran again.
From a safe distance, they watched as the building became dust and Nina knew that the book was gone.
I’m flying through the rift in space and time. I’m flying and I’m crying. Nina’s tear is drying and fading and my words are disappearing as the waves of time wash me clean. I’m forgetting everything. . . I’m forgetting. . . The aliens and the zombies. . . Torchwood. . . I’m forgetting Nina Rogers. . .
I’m forgetting everything. . .
I’m forgetting. . .
I’ve forgotten. . .
And the golden light is gone. And it’s cold.
I can feel rain. It’s splashing me and I don’t like it. I want it to stop.
What’s that smell?
Roses. . .
I reach out. . . Trying to find someone. . . Something. . . Anything. . . Anyone. . .
Two shoes coming towards me. Hands lifting me. A woman. Her mind tells me she’s called Emily Holroyd. She opens me and a note falls out.
‘Dear Lord,’ she whispers. ‘I. . .’
She says nothing more, but I can see a word in her mind.
‘Torchwood’.
I want to know more about them.
I want to know their stories. . .
Nina Rogers was avoiding the emergency services. Jack and Ianto had told her that would be easier than trying to explain what had happened to SkyPoint. Luckily, there’d been so little of the building left that its final demise had had little effect on the surrounding area. Nina was walking away from it. And away from Torchwood.
‘How are you feeling?’ Ianto had asked.
She’d told him that she felt fine. Better than fine. She tried to find a nice way to describe it. Something beautiful and romantic. But she’d never been good with words, so the only way she could describe it was that it was the same as having a night off from the drink. That morning where you woke up refreshed rather than lurching into consciousness desperate for water.
She felt alive.
Jack had said they could still help her if she needed it. That they had a special magic pill that would clear recent events from her mind. She’d said no. She’d had enough of alien things in her head. She just wanted to go home. See Rianne. Check up on Jess. She’d had enough of Torchwood.
Then she’d kissed Ianto on the cheek and given him her number in case he ever decided to go straight. He’d laughed, linked arms with Jack and strode off.
And Nina, feeling alive, was going home.
The End
‘Except, it’s not the end, is it?’ asked the woman.
Nina’s head felt muggy as she closed the manuscript. ‘No. . .’
‘You wanted it to all be over, but here you are, telling me what happened.’
‘I have to tell my story. . .’ Then Nina looked up at the woman. ‘Why? Why do I have to?’
The woman reached over and took her hands. ‘It’s OK, Nina. . .’
Nina blinked back tears. ‘I thought it was all over. . . We got rid of the book but. . . it’s still in me. It’s still in my head.’ Then she looked up. ‘Help me, Gwen.’
The blonde woman smiled. ‘You worked out who I am, then?’
Nina smiled back, despite the pain. ‘I saw you, just briefly, at the hospital, and I heard you outside Jackson Leaves.’
‘And Jack mentioned my name,’ replied Gwen, letting go of Nina’s hands and taking off her wig. ‘Sorry, I needed you to tell me the full story. You needed to get it out of your system while we. . .’
She trailed off, looking down at Nina’s glass of water.
‘That drug Jack offered me,’ said Nina, quietly. She tapped the glass, watching the water ripple.
Gwen nodded. ‘It’ll stop the book’s residual effect on you.’ She stood up and moved around the desk. She sat down next to Nina and put her arms around her. ‘Ssh. . . You’re going to be OK. We all are.’
Nina looked up. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re going to forget us. You’re going to forget Torchwood. But you’ll know. . . Deep down, whatever happens, whatever aliens or monsters come here. . . you’ll know that we exist. Torchwood isn’t just a story. We’re real. And we’re here to protect you.’
Nina nodded because she be
lieved Gwen. Her eyes were closing. She felt so tired. She was vaguely aware of the door opening and two men entering. They looked familiar. She turned back to the woman who told her she was with friends.
And she let herself be led out of the office by the three. . . people. . . She was outside now. It was warm. Sun in the sky. She smiled as her eyes closed. And the last thing she saw was three pairs of feet walking away from her.
Nina Rogers was waking up in the street and she was confused. As if she’d just forgotten something.
‘I really need to have a night off the booze,’ she muttered, standing up. Her mum would be mortified if she ever found out her precious little girl had passed out in the street. The funny thing was, she thought to herself as she started the walk home, she didn’t feel hung over. In fact, she felt great. Better than great. She felt. . . alive. And for some reason, she found herself grinning.
‘Sorry,’ she said as she bumped into a man walking in the other direction.
‘It’s all right,’ he said, smiling back at her. Nina felt her heart skip a beat. The man was fit. And she’d always liked a bloke in a suit. She wondered whether to chase after him but decided against it. She had revision to do, and Rianne was cooking lasagne tonight.
As she reached the corner, something made her stop. She turned back and saw that the man had stopped as well.
He smiled and gave her a wave.
Then, straightening his tie, the man in the suit turned away from her and was gone.
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Recent titles in the Torchwood series from BBC Books:
Contents
Torchwood: Consequences
The Baby Farmers: David Llewellyn
Kaleidoscope: Sarah Pinborough
The Wrong Hands: Andrew Cartmel
Virus: James Moran
Consequences: Joseph Lidster
Torchwood Consequences: Nina Rogers
Consequences Page 19