The Second to Last Timelord

The first thing I was fully conscious of was the weight on my back, it wasn’t heavy, it was just there. Then I was aware I could feel it not on just my back but my whole body from my head to the heels of my feet. I was thinking how easy it was to carry when I realized I wasn’t carrying it but rather the opposite, it carried me. As my brain began to function I realized the weight became more tangible, I could feel the smooth warmness of it.
Absently I thought this must be a cloud and I am floating in heaven.
I could have contentedly stayed like this untroubled, unaware, forever. Here there was no up, no down, no wrong or right, and most importantly no pain.
The thought of pain made my finger twitch ever so slightly, and I realized I could move if I wanted. Stubbornly I stayed still.
This state of calm serenity was like a dream however, and the harder I clung to it the further it slipped away.
My hand twitched again in frustration, this time the movement brought a sound.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The sound too was tangible, and annoying. It started soft but grew louder till I was irritated enough to clench a fist.
I could feel something sharp in my palm, it was beginning to hurt. This was no heaven, for heaven brought no pain. With a gasp my eyes flew open.
The brightness was blinding, and I blinked a few times to get used to it. As soon as I could see again my attention went to my hand, still clenched. The pain I realized was my own nails digging into the palm of my hand.
I rubbed it with my other hand though now I realized the pain hadn’t been that great at all.
Now having figured out I wasn’t dead I took the time to take a look at my surroundings. The cloud had been a bed, and wasn’t nearly as comfortable as it had been in my waking mind. The walls were plain, save a single whiteboard wiped clean and a window. Two bedside tables sat just as bare. (A single glass of water sat to my left). And the beeping was easy to understand, because I was hooked up to a heart monitor. These were all things one would expect in a hospital room.
An IV was in my left wrist, witch was a bit sore too but I hadn’t noticed that before. I pulled it out and examined the small hole it left. I could also tell there was something on my head; this I soon found was a small tiara like thing. And judging by the fact that my heart apparently flat lined when I took it off, it was used to measure my core functions.
I sat up with a groan and rubbed my temple, the constant ring of the machine was giving me a headache. I looked over hopefully to see if I could turn it off but there were so many controls I was afraid I would break it, or worse make it louder, so I left it alone.
Another look about the room revealed a chair at my bedside; this is where someone would wait over me. This is where they would be if when I woke up.
Sadness overtook me when I realized nobody was there. Did I have anyone? I found myself thinking for I remembered nothing. I didn’t remember a bit of my past.
Finally just as the first tear fell an image came to me.
A tear stained worried face of a mother, she would care. But she hadn’t come, and my image was of a war. Only a dead mother wouldn’t sit and wait by their child’s bed. For I knew this was my mother I saw.
Outside my door I could hear a commotion but I ignored it lost in thought.
What if she were like me? Alive only, still unconscious.
The door suddenly burst open neatly bursting my train of thought. “She’s awake!” the person yelled. Suddenly I realized my flat lining would have been noticed.
He (for now that they were in the room I could tell it was a he) walked across the room and – to my tremendous relief – turned the monitor off.
He took my hand and examined it, gently as if he were afraid to hurt me. “How do you feel?” he asked me as he pressed on one of my knuckles.
I was about to answer but got totally side tract by what my hand was doing. As the man pressed on the knuckle my fingernail changed.
With a yell of surprise I pulled back my hand. But it had returned to normal again.
“That was a claw” I said quietly, “I had a claw.” My voice was raspy and I suddenly felt parched.
“Here” he offered me the water from my bedside table when my hand flew to my throat. I ignored his offer.
“What did you do to me?” my voice broke.
“Drink and we’ll talk.” He persisted. I took the water seeing the conversation would be going nowhere without my doing so. The cool liquid felt even better than my calm state had been, and soon the glass was empty.
I wanted to ask for more but I needed answers first. “What was the claw thing?” I asked less freaked and more clearly this time.
“That” he said taking the glass from me and setting it back down “we were hoping you would explain.”
I shook my head slowly trying to get an image like I had with my mother but nothing came. “So you didn’t do it?” I asked quietly trying to remember anything.
“All we did was stabilize it. When we acquired you, you were half form and constantly changing.”
Millions of questions ran through my head, “Acquired? Half form? Changing? Stabilize?” I couldn’t pick one question. He flinched at the word acquire.
“Ok bad choice of words. You were found more than half dead on the streets of London, with a tail and cat ears. The local hospital had no idea what to do with you and contacted the government and you were transferred to us.”
“So you’re the government?”
He laughed, “Hardly, even the prime minister doesn’t know everything we do here.”
This brought me to silence because I couldn’t have even told you who the prime minister was any more than I could tell you what day it was.
“Then who are you?”
“My name is Kenneth Cooper, and I was sent to welcome you to TORCHWOOD” he smiled brightly as if this explained everything.
“And stabilizing me?”
“As I said” he got more seriously “ you wouldn’t stay in one form. We had to do a lot of research on your DNA alone.” He paused and pointed at the IV bag “that was just applied yesterday, the second we came out with it. You went back to a human form and healed at an unbelievable speed. Not that you hadn’t already gone through extensive healing. When they found you it was hard to tell but you had at minimum, a concussion with massive head trauma, three broken ribs, paralyzed from the waist down, probably blind and def. and most of your right shoulder was shattered. Not to mention the massive blood loss.”
He looked at me and I could see the apparent awe.
I looked down at my own hands curiously, almost surprised they weren’t black and blue. Not a single joint in my body was stiff.
I looked across at the chair and again remembered my mother. “Did you find anyone else?” I asked desperately.
Nodding he replied “yes, and she is in the same state you where in yesterday.” My hopes soared maybe I wasn’t alone maybe I had someone who cares, who even knew what was going on.
“Let me see her!” I exclaimed ready to jump right out of bed.
Kenneth handed me some clothes witch I readily put on (his back turned of course) and I was ready to see my mother.
The halls looked like any other hospital halls, with numbered doors and large windows with curtains drawn. Nothing like a secret government place. But I suppose a hospital is a hospital no matter what way you cut it.
We came to a room exactly like mine, except there was a beeping inside. It never crossed my mind that I shouldn’t be able to hear the beeping through the thick walls, or Kenneth’s heart beat as he opened the door.
My own heart sank. What lay on this bed was barely recognizable. Half dog, half human it was exactly as Kenneth had described I had been. But one thing was for sure it was not my mother.
I tried to hide my disappointment, though why I don’t know. “why isn’t she normal yet?” I asked surprisingly calmly.
Kenneth seemed to notice my comparative lack of enthusiasm, but didn’t comment on it in stead he answered my question. “she hasn’t been given the formula yet, she’s so young we didn’t want to give her the drug without testing it.”
I nodded slowly “I was your only viable test.” I said not harshly.
“we did extensive tests on your DNA first” he said apologetically anyway “it stabilized your blood, but the only safe dose has to be taken once every six hours or its back to this state or worse. Complete uncontrolled mutation.”
I nodded and looked down at the little mutant girl, and wondered absently if she would remember anything either. “you can start her treatment now.” I said sitting in the chair next to her bed, the chair that wouldn’t be empty when she woke up.
Kenneth nodded but asked before leaving “do you remember her?”
I shook my head but I could feel a gentle pull “no, but it feels like I should.” I answered. And with that he walked out of the room.
I took the girl’s hand, witch was furry and a bit paw like “don’t worry your not alone.” I whispered to her quietly.