In haste, the newly acquainted duo entered Will's apartment, both out of breath and bathed in sweat. Gray collapses onto the floor from exhaustion and Will shuts the door behind him.
'Flipping heck. Why do you live on the fourth floor of a place with no elevator?'
Will turns and stares at Gray directly. After all of that running to the complex and the dashing up the stairs, Will's face was far from happy.
'Location. Quality. Affordable' he said slowly, increasing the volume of his voice with every word. Gray's annoyance disappeared in that one moment, turning to guilt. Will noted that it didn't take much to either change his mind or put him in his place.
Now gathering his thoughts, he started thinking about the Thames again.
This is the man that the water thing wanted. What kind of standard is that? Looks like it'll take any human considering it tried to lure me and him in. An ex-detective and I think he said that he was a doctor. His sister was in the Navy and taught him about the movement of water? Take about lucky coincidence, but impressive. More than I could see. That's not going to go down well with her. Wait a minute...
In realisation, Will finally turn to face the couch in the living room. The Huntress has gone.
He hurries over and touches the crochet blanket. It was left behind neatly folded at the end of the couch. Still damp and certainly wet to the touch.
'Is that her?' came the confused voice of Gray behind him.
Will quickly turned and noticed that Gray was pointing over to his right. As he followed the point of his finger, he saw her. Even though the window was open just a fraction, the slight breeze blew back strands of her red hair. Her expression was calm but he could tell she was somewhat happy. She found pleasure in whatever she saw out of the window. By the way her head was tilted, she must have been looking at the sky. The stars perhaps.
'Huntress. You ok?' Will practically whispered as he watched her closely. Gray slowly lowered his finger and continued to watch her in awe. Is that really the woman he was talking about? I mean, seriously? I mean she's pretty but why is she the one with all the answers?
'Why'd you call her Huntress? Ain't she got a name?' Gray babbled behind Will.
Snapped out of his awe of the woman, he started walking until he was next to Will near the couch. Gray enjoyed the warmth of the fire behind him subconsciously.
'That's what she's called. Frankly I don't care about her real name. What I want to know is what that thing was' came Will's focused response. His attention never moved from the Huntress. Not even for a second. If anything, his seriousness was increasing.
Finally, the Huntress moved. As she started to turn around she winced in pain, grabbing her side with the left arm whilst grabbing her chest with her right. By the time she was facing Will and Gray, the glowing started again.
Will noticed the dried tears which had clearly fallen down her cheeks and the new ones forming in her eyes as well as her teeth gritting from her pain. He couldn't have felt any more empathic towards her.
Gray on the other hand went into full panic mode. Before he could say a word and run, Will grabbed him by the arm and held him in place. Gray didn't fight too hard. He just stood and gazed at the amazing spectacle before him.
'What the bloody hell is going on? I thought she'd help us, not blow us up!'
Will was astounded. This man was more stupid than he initially thought. Not to mention the fact that his out-of-place British accent wasn't helping his annoyance levels either.
'She's dying you fool. I think she's trying to heal or... or something. You said you weren't going to die. I'm right, aren't I?'
The Huntress' eyes moved to Will and they were gentle and sad at the same time. The intensity of her opal eye colour had died. They were pale and becoming lifeless. It almost broke Will's heart to watch her slowly withering away like this.
'You've got a decent memory. Gold star, buddy' Huntress answered with a hoarse whisper.
Her attention then moved to Gray. He was crouched down behind Will. Gray felt her stare and looked over Will's shoulder slowly.
'Now then, mister. He wouldn't have brought you back unless you were either helpful or a damsel in distress'
'Oi' came the sharp response of Gray as he straightened up his stance and looked at her in confidence and retaliation. Huntress smiled at this. It seemed that he had some guts after all.
'Actually, it was both' added Will.
'Both? Impressive for you. What's your name?'
Gray relaxed his body and noticed that she'd stopped glowing. Seeing her as a normal woman was much better. The glow just gave him the creeps.
'Gray Broke. I'm a doctor out at St. Armand's Clinic. Used to be at the Royal London, but an ex got me thrown out just because she broke up with me. Would say no biggie, but I'm still pretty angry at her.'
Both the Huntress and Will stared and listened. Not the best time to extend to a life story but there was no getting that time back now.
'Ok, Gray Broke. How did you fit in with the helpful part? What did you see exactly?'
'He saw the impossible' responded Will in Gray's place. This threw Gray off slightly.
'I mean, he asked me if I noticed anything about the Thames and I told him. The river has no current. It's all, just still water. Makes no sense if you ask me, I mean, how can a river have no current?'
The Huntress nodded in approval. 'Well done. I really am impressed. Let me ask you something Gray, do you really want to get involved with what's happening here? If you don't, you've gotta leave right now and forget everything that's happened here. You've never met me or Will. But if you do stay, what I can promise is adventure beyond belief, incomprehensible danger and a thrill of a lifetime.'
'How come he gets a better offer than I did with a similar speech?' Will argued.
'Oh, don't get picky!' she refuted.
Gray's attention turns to the floor as he thinks. Whilst doing so, he subconsciously moved his hand to his chest and started holding onto a dog tag around his neck. Huntress took close note of it. It was standard issue for those in the force. Army, Navy and Air Force. It certainly wasn't his own, so it must belong to someone close to him. It seemed that some of her earth studies were actually paying off.
After a long silence and patience from both the Huntress and Will, Gray raises his head in confidence and rolls his shoulders back. 'I shall assist you, Huntress.'
Will couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'She's an alien, not the queen.'
Gray's eyes suddenly widen in shock. 'Wait, she's not a human infected with something. She's like, a real alien!?'
Now the Huntress is rolling her eyes. 'Or for the love of, argh!'
Pain strikes her. This time, straight in the hearts. There was no holding back any longer. It was her time. She starts limping over to the open kitchen area and collapses. Will starts rushing to help her, but she raises her arm in warning. She's now glowing again all over her body and intensely at that.
'No! Get back, both of you! Grab Gray and take cover behind the couch. This could get really bad really quickly. Move!'
Taking no time to question her, Will grabs Gray again and pulls him behind the couch. They both watch from over the top at the Huntress.
'You've done this before, right?' Will shouts to her.
A tear rolls down the Huntress' face as she looks down at her hands and body, glowing brighter and brighter. Her body parts start growing numb and start feeling very cold. Her mind starts fading and it was becoming hard to concentrate.
'No! Never had to regenerate before. Kinda scared, actually. Huh, now that's a first'
She struggles onto her feet and spreads her arms out wide. She closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the ceiling. 'Oh well. New life, new body. Let's see what awaits on the horizon.'
No sooner had the word "horizon" left her mouth did the process start. The glowing became so bright that her physical appearance couldn't be seen. Both Gray and Will were being blinded by the light and hid quickly down behind the couch. The whole apartment shook violently and the noise was deafening.
Outside of the apartment, the golden light could be seen clearly through the window if anyone had bothered to look. The adventure had just begun for Will, Gray and their new ally. The Huntress.
* * *
Far in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean within a mysterious black spot upon many of earths radars, a sunken ship lies deep down on the ocean floor. The HMS Discovery. A large naval ship which was originally designed for warfare.
Within this ship, sea life had already moved into the wreckage and certain types of coral and plant-life were actually thriving upon its ruined hull. Atop the ship at the bow was a gaping circular hole. Many cables and debris surrounded the area. Something once resided there and was once clearly part of the ship.
Down in the bridge and within the weapon rooms, all of the technology and weaponry was gone too. Anything dangerous or worth something had been stripped and taken away.
Another thing which was lacking were corpses. True, they may have floated away or been eaten. Discomposing and being lost at the ocean floor were other possibilities. However, with a crew as large as the Discovery's, there should have been one body left inside the ship at the very least.
This dark and empty memory sat whilst there was still movement all around. The ocean began to swirl in an unnatural manner. The current had no shape or form as it started a whirlpool around the whole ship.
The hull should have been coming apart and the integrity should have degraded, but the opposite was happening. The water began forming into ice around the holes in the ship. The water inside the ship itself started bursting back into the open sea, removing all species of sea life. From small fish to a large manta ray which had made a home inside of the lower decks. The impossible was happening right now and no one had a single clue.
In a manner of seconds, the ship started floating back up to the surface, now free of water on the insides and free of holes along the once damaged hull. She could float again. The question was, was she going to sail? Not only that, but by who?