Apocalypse Rising (Book Two)

The Story of Two Tylers

Planet Earth. This is where I was born. And this is where I died.

Rose stopped writing in her journal for a second and tried to control the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She sniffed, brushing them away, actually slapping Mickey's hand away when he tried to put an arm around her. "Rose," Jackie tried to sooth.

"No, Mum," she said firmly, her voice cracking.

"Rose."

"Keep going," she said, nodding up ahead. "We're almost there."

Pete nodded and kept right on driving.

Yes, Pete Tyler. Her parallel father.

And the Apocalypse . . . was nowhere.

She bit her lip. Don't cry, she told herself weakly. Caly wouldn't want you to.

The thought of her older sister only made it even harder not to cry.

Jackie bit her lip as she watched her only daughter be reduced only to tears. She had never seen it before, but she could now, just how close she and the Apocalypse truly had been. There hadn't been many brothers and sisters she'd seen that had reacted that way. And honestly . . . she was worried.

How long would Rose last without the Apocalypse?

Rose took a deep breath and continued to write. For the first nineteen years of my life, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then I met a woman called the Apocalypse and a man called Captain Jack Harkness.

She flipped the page and barely held herself in as she saw the Ninth Apocalypse and Captain Jack Harkness in a photo in Cardiff. The Apocalypse had gotten out of her usual attire and was wearing that green coat Jack had gotten her, black dress pants, and black boots, a loose black T-shirt under her coat, her hair straight, with a black headband holding it back. It had been one of the few times the Apocalypse had given that big of a smile, and that had only been because Jack had said something to them, and they'd all burst out laughing.

She . . . never really had learned about what had happened to Jack on the Game Station. If she guessed, he'd been killed by the Daleks. The Apocalypse wouldn't leave him for any other reason, she just knew it. But, he was Jack. For all she knew, he could've gone back to the 51st Century.

She hoped he hadn't. Caly would need him now.

She took a deep breath and started writing again. A woman who could change her face, and a man who never meant more to either of us. And she took me away from home in her magical machine. She showed me the whole of time and space. I thought it would never end.

She flipped to another page to show the Tenth Apocalypse, and Rose put a hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs that threatened to come out. If one ignored her American accent, she and the Apocalypse could have been identical. The Apocalypse truly was her older sister in every way. She'd even managed to get Jimmy Stone back in prison for sexual assault. No one, not even Mickey, had tried as furiously as she had to get him in there.

And now she was gone.

"Rose."

Rose jerked her head up. "That way," she said, pointing down a different highway before she had to turn away, remembering one of the last planets they'd visited, where they'd seen creatures like pterodactyls flying everywhere.

"So, how long are you going to stay with me?" the Apocalypse had asked.

"Forever," Rose had replied.

Rose swallowed and continued writing as they pulled up past a sign that read Dårlig Ulv Stranden. That's what I thought. But then came the army of ghosts. Then came Torchwood, and the War. And that's when it all ended. This is the story of how I died.

"Rose!"

Rose jerked her head up and fumbled with the latch on the door. "Rose!" Jackie protested, even as Pete unlocked the doors.

Rose bolted out, running across the sand, ignoring the wind whipping her hair in a dozen different directions. She just kept turning and turning, praying and hoping that the Apocalypse would appear somewhere.

And then she heard her whisper from behind.

"Arkytior."

It took all of Rose's willpower not to fall apart.

***

I have a feeling I'm going to have a few dozen bullets to dodge when I'm done with this book . . . I nearly cried writing the interlude. I'm going to be a mess at the end of "Doomsday" and the epilogue.

Well, this is confirmation that yes, Rose is gone by the end of the book. But I seriously encourage everyone to stick around for Books 3 and 4. The Apocalypse is a totally different woman, and it'll be obvious. We'll get much more Jack, too, and everyone's going to be pitching in on trying to bring Rose back. We still have a mystery about the pink and yellow girl to solve, don't we? ;)

Keep an eye out for "Army of Ghosts!"