THE HIVE

Chapter Nine

After asking a couple of people for directions, they finally found the cafeteria. Jack ordered a cheeseburger, chips, and Coke while the Doctor and Rose ordered tea. All three of them carried their food to a nearby table and sat down.

"Okay, we're alone; now tell me what's going on."

The Doctor sighed, glanced at Rose, and began to speak.

Rose sat in silence, her cup of tea cold and untouched. She was listening to the Doctor and Jack talking to one another, hardly daring to believe her ears. Jack was immortal and the Doctor knew that all along? He had abandoned Jack because he was afraid of his immortality? It was hard to imagine the Doctor being afraid of anything let alone Jack. Jack had been furious at that and had hurled accusations of abandonment and narrow-mindedness. The Doctor had tried to explain that it was second nature for him to flee from things that were wrong which made him even angrier. The only reason he didn't lose it and scream at the Doctor was because they were in a public place.

The other thing that floored Rose was the fact that she was the one responsible for his immortality in the first place. She felt guilty about that especially when she learned he had been alive for over a hundred years. But Jack had looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile and she knew that he didn't blame her for anything. Still, it filled her with pain. The Doctor had filled her in on most of the things that had happened that day, but he never mentioned this. She understood on one level why he did it, but on another level she couldn't believe that he had abandoned his best friend like that. Especially after all the fun times they had together. She had missed him so much and she assumed he really had stayed behind to rebuild the Earth. If she had known he had been in Cardiff all along, she would have persuaded the Doctor to go see him and would have used all her feminine charms to make him do it.

She didn't say anything though. She just let the two men talk through all the hurt and pain and anger. Eventually, they had gotten past that and reached a point where they were chatting calmly and laughing like old times. Finally, after about an hour and a half, the Doctor finally apologized for abandoning him and Jack gladly accepted, happy that his friends were finally back in his life.

By the time they had gotten through everything two and a half hours had passed and they were the only ones sitting in the cafeteria. They had gotten past the personal issues and were now concentrating on solving the problem of the wasps.

"So by the time you got Jeremy back to the…what did you call it?"

"Hub." Jack said.

The Doctor nodded.

"By the time you got him back to the Hub, the mutation was pretty much complete?"

Jack nodded.

"Then it only took another hour or so before it was finished."

He sighed.

"Now, he's just a huge wasp. There's no sign he was ever a human being to begin with."

"And he called himself Swarm?"

"Yes, he said all of these wasps referred to themselves that way. They are linked together by a collective consciousness. I'm sure the fact that he's trying to get out has more to do with the queen commanding him than his wanting to be free."

The Doctor sighed.

"And now Monica is about to share his fate," he said grimly "Were you telling her the truth when you said you could treat her back at the Hub?"

Jack shook his head.

"No, I was just telling her that to calm her down. I'm at a complete loss for what to do for these people."

He gave the Doctor a hopeful look.

"Do you know anything about these wasps?" he asked.

"No, I know just as much as you do."

"Damn," Jack muttered putting his head in his hand. "I was hoping you ran across these things before."

"No, I've dealt with other insect species, but not wasps."

"Well, I did a bit of research on the internet just to familiarize myself with wasps in general since I figured these things would have some of the same characteristics as Earth wasps. Now, before Jeremy changed, he did mention a queen. So, there has got to be a hive somewhere near here. Question is, where?"

"Wasps…Earth wasps generally choose dry, dark places to make their nests." The Doctor replied.

"So, that would mean any building in London then." Rose said.

The Doctor thought.

"Yes, but I'm guessing these wasps, or at least the queen, has a higher level of intelligence than their Earth counterparts. If that's true, then I'm sure they would have chosen an abandoned building where there would be no chance of someone finding and killing them."

"Both Jeremy and Monica were attacked in the city, so that is a possibility," Jack said. "But, then again, they can fly so they could have a nest somewhere outside the city limits as well."

"Did Jeremy say anything about that before he mutated completely?" the Doctor asked.

"No, he did say there was a hive and he had to return to it, but he didn't say where. He said there were many of them now so either there were a bunch on the ship or they've been busy since they got out."

"So far only two people have been stung," the Doctor mused. "But they were both in the city and police witnessed it. They could have been out in the country and gotten several more people without anyone knowing it. I suspect they've done so. The cells on the ship were tiny which means there weren't very many on board. I'm sure they've made every effort they could to strengthen their numbers before someone captured them again."

Jack shook his head.

"So, we have to act fast to find a way to stop them before the hive gets too big to handle."

He let out a ruthful laugh.

"Don't happen to have a 50 foot can of bug spray in the TARDIS, do you?" he asked.

"Nope, sorry, right out of that."

"Thought not."

He looked down when he heard his mobile ringing. He pulled it out of his coat pocket.

"Harkness," he said.

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other when they heard someone yelling frantically on the other end.

"Oh shit, can you guys hold them off until I get there?"

He sighed.

"No, Ianto, it won't take me two hours, trust me. I have a very fast way to get back to the Hub. Just keep holed up inside and don't let any of them sting you and above all, keep Jeremy and Monica from getting out. I'm on my way!"

He closed the phone.

"The guys got back to the Hub with Monica and a wasp ambushed them right outside it. They managed to get inside before they got stung. But, its trying to get in and both Jeremy and Monica are going nuts trying to break out of the holding cells we have them in. How far away is your TARDIS?"

"Not far,"

"Can you get me inside the Hub? I need to help them!"

The Doctor nodded.

All three of them leapt up from the table and ran out of the cafeteria.

Gwen gasped as she squatted down behind Ianto's desk. The wasp was banging its body repeatedly against the front door trying to get in. The door was vibrating with every hit and Gwen was sure it wouldn't be long before it broke in. The others had run down to the cells trying to secure Jeremy and Monica while she volunteered to stay behind and guard the door. Now she was sorry she didn't ask one of them to stay behind with her. She checked her gun making sure it was ready should the wasp gain entry and attack.

As she heard another bang and the door shuddered, she looked over and breathed a sigh of relief when Ianto ran over to her, gun in hand.

"They've gotten Jeremy and Monica secured." Ianto said squatting down beside Gwen. "Tosh is making sure the rest of the Hub is secure and Owen went to grab a tranquilizer gun and some darts."

They both gasped when the wasp hit the door and it nearly gave way.

"I hope Owen has a big gun and plenty of tranquilizers then because we're gonna need them." Gwen said. "God, I wish Jack was here."

"I just talked to him and he's coming. He said he had a way to get here quickly." Ianto said.

"I hope it's faster than the speed of light because this wasp is about to break down the bloody door and get us." Gwen said.

Just then, they heard Tosh let out a shocked yell and heard a strange wheezing sound coming from somewhere inside the Hub.

"Oh Christ, now what?" Gwen said.

She stood up.

"TOSH? WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S THAT SOUND?"

There was a pause.

"IT'S JACK, HE'S HERE!" she yelled back.

Gwen and Ianto looked at each other.

"HOW'D HE GET BACK IN THE HUB?" She yelled.

"My friend has excellent transportation," Jack said running into the room. "And now that I'm here, what's going on?"

He gasped when there was another loud bang at the door.

"All hell's breakin' loose, that's what's going on." Gwen said. "I hope your friend brought a bazooka with him because I have a feeling that's the only thing that'll keep us from being killed!"

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews will be posted! Constructive criticism will e-mailed to the author.