When I wake up to go to school one morning, Juno tells me to have a lay-in. 'What's going on?' I ask. 'Why am I not going to school?'
'We're going down to Cardiff today, and we want to make good time.'
'Why are we going to Cardiff?'
'I have a friend down there that wants to meet you.' I nod, listening to her. 'I'll get some bags for you so you can start packing.' I nod again, climb out of bed, and open my wardrobe. Juno leaves to find some bags I can use as I start taking several pairs of trousers out and fold them up. I pick out several t-shirts from my chest of drawers and fold up almost all my clothes when Juno returns. I pack them up and start choosing my books and toys. By the time Juno returns with her bags packed, I almost finished. All I must do is choose between two of my favourite biographies to take with me in the car journey.

I decide to take both books and help Juno take our bags downstairs so Howard can load the car up. A neighbour is looking after the dog, so we do not have to worry about him. We climb into the car, and I have my two books with me, and I start reading one of them.

Thankfully, the traffic does not slow our journey too much, and we reach Cardiff. Howard checks us into our hotel room, and we start settling in before exploring. We go around some of the sites of the city. Our last stop is at the Bay close to our hotel. I smile up at the Water Tower and see the water flowing down the metal object.

Then, someone catches my eye.

He is wearing a white t-shirt, a blue shirt, navy trousers held up by a belt and suspenders and a dark blue coat. His entire ensemble makes him look like he stepped out of a history book about the Second World War. He looks at me, then smiles and winks. He points further down the Bay, towards the dock, then walks in that direction. Does he want me to follow him?

I glance back; Juno and Howard are busy. They will not notice me missing for a few minutes at least. I start running in the direction the man pointed towards and slow down when I approach him. 'Did your parents ever tell you not to trust strangers?' He asks in a slight American accent. He turns to me, and I realise that he has blue eyes and messy brown hair. He holds his hand out to me. 'Captain Jack Harkness.' I shake it.
'Emma Smith-White.'
'Ah, I heard about your parents. Sarah Jane and Ruby asked me to keep an eye on you but keep at a distance.'
'They said that?' We turn to the sea and stand there for a while.

'Do you want to know why your parents left?'
'Mummy reported on an innocent company. They could not cope with a child slowing them down, so they left me behind.'
'Only the last part is true.' Jack says and turns back to me. 'The company Sarah Jane reported on was corrupt. Someone set her up. Ruby knew about that and warned me that whoever did that could come for you. That is why they left, to keep you safe and to make those following your parents think you knew nothing, which you didn't until now.'

We continue standing there for a few minutes more. 'Juno and Howard must be looking for me.'
'I already texted them, they know you're with me. You were meant to meet me anyway.'
'Was I?'
'Yeah.' Jack smiles at me. 'I want to show you Torchwood.'
'Okay.' Jack leads us down a dock to a visitor's centre obscured by the Bay There is a window in the door, but old newspapers are covering it. 'Few people come down here because it is hidden, makes it perfect for a secret base.'

We walk inside the visitor's centre. There is a small desk covered in leaflets and a computer. A noticeboard is on the wall, full of information and fun things to do in Cardiff. Next to a noticeboard is a clock, and a doorway with beads hanging down, separating the visitor's section from the staff. Jack walks behind the desk and hits a button. The door slams shut and part of the wall opposite the beaded door pulls away to reveal a corridor behind it. 'Come on, Emma, there's so much to see here!'

The corridor is made of grey bricks, and the floor seems to be made of concrete. Surely that is not the best idea if you are by the sea? But I know nothing about building, so I cannot say. The lighting is low, and I almost squint to see where I'm going. A door opens one end of the corridor. 'You go down that way,' Jack says before he walks down the stairs nearby. 'I'll see you there!' I walk into a metal room, and the door shuts behind me. I feel myself going down, and realise that I walked into a lift. Behind me, two pieces of metal move; one moves up, the other moves down. Jack is waiting for me when I step out. A giant cog is to one side, it must act as another door. I walk down the concrete steps and see a computer station. Two people are working on it; one of them is Asian with shoulder-length black hair, and she is wearing a purple top. I cannot see who the other person is from where I'm standing. I walk past the cog and the metal gates, and they shut behind me. There is a workstation, and I see someone wearing a metal mask with a window. She is also wearing a yellow coat and protective gloves.

'We're underneath the water tower,' Jack whispers to me.
'Why are you showing me all of this? I'm not meant to know about this.'
'You're right,' Jack nods. On the other side of the water tower, there are different rooms, one of them has two walls made of windows. 'That one there,' Jack points to the window I was looking at, 'is the meeting room.' There are many different levels, and all of them have railing and stairs. The woman takes her mask off and looks at the two of us.

'Hello, Captain,' she says with a smile. 'Back from your walk?'
'That's right, Suzie,' Jack nods. She has thick, dark hair and brown eyes. 'This is Emma Smith-White.' Suzie gives me a nod and a small smile, then she turns off the machine she was using.
'Emma better know what she's getting herself into.' Jack leads the three of us up the stairs towards the computers and his office, and I realise that the other person must be a medic judging by the white coat he is wearing. The woman in purple starts giggling.

'I can't do this!' The medic exclaims, pushing his chair away from the computers. He has short, dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. 'I'm sorry I'm rubbish. I give up!' I notice that he has different badges on his coat. The woman turns to us, and I realise that she is wearing dark glasses. She is grinning as the medic talks.
'He set me off!'
'Well, that lasted 0.2 seconds,' Suzie says.
'Hey, what's a kid doing in the hub?' The medic asks.
'Doctor Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato,' Jack gestures to each of them in turn. 'This is Emma Smith-White. She's staying with the Bakers at the moment while her parents are on the run.'
'How do you know so much about my parents?'
'Juno told me, I hope you don't mind.'
'I guess I shouldn't; as a child, I cannot change what people say about me.'
'But you could.' Jack leads me into his office and shuts the door behind me. He hangs his coat up and offers me a chair. He sits on a chair sitting in front of a crowded desk full of papers and alien artefacts.

'Do you know what Qetesh are?'
'Yes, they are soul stealers.'
'I met a Qetesh hybrid before, while I was working with an older version of Torchwood.' Jack's gaze seems to be a million miles away. 'Back then, Torchwood wanted to eradicate aliens. Torchwood One does. They're in London, so I suggest you watch out.'
'And what about this Torchwood?'
'Torchwood Three wants to help. I haven't told the rest of the team what you are, you should make the decision for yourself. Emma, I want to help you.'
'You said that I could change what people say about me. How can I do that?' Jack hands me some folders.

'Torchwood was set up by the Royal Family in 1509 to document alien threats.'
'That was when Henry VIII came to the throne.'
'That's right. It was set up because Emma warned them about what will happen. Henry was worried and set it up.'
'I warned him?' Jack nods.
'That is if you are Henry VIII's wife.'
'Henry thought I was,' I turn away and look at the rest of the Hub. 'So did my friends. But they're all gone now.' I smile at the steel and concrete building. 'It feels like time stops here; that is what I need right now.'
'Time speeds up here.' Jack warns. 'We have so much to do; you caught us on a quiet day.'
'Oh.' I turn back to Jack. 'What sort of work do you do here?'
'Mostly catching aliens and learning what we can to help the human race.' I feel my cheeks drain of their colour. I am part alien, but I am also part human. What side would Jack see me on? 'Don't worry, you'll be safe.' Jack smiles at me.

Someone knocks on the door, and I turn to see Suzie walk in. 'Suzie, great timing,' Jack smiles. 'I hoped to speak with you before Emma leaves. I want you to act as a go-between for Emma and Torchwood. Can you do that?'
'Of course,' Suzie nods. 'Emma seems like a nice girl. I'd love to spend more time with her if that is all right with you.' Jack and I nod, and Suzie smiles.
'We're here for the weekend, so we'll have plenty of time.' Suzie smiles then she returns back to her station to work.
'It will be best if I get to know Suzie before I go,' I say. Jack nods, and I head out of his office to find Suzie. She looks up and smiles when I approach her.

'Hi, Emma, what can I do for you?'
'Hi Suzie, I thought it would be best to get to know you if you're going to act as a go-between for Torchwood and me.' Suzie nods.
'I'm almost finished here. Give me five minutes, yeah?'
'Sure,' I smile. I look around the Hub and still feel a sense of awe. It is so unlike any other building I entered before.

'Guys, we need to go. Someone reported someone else with a red blob thing eating people in the woods,' Jack says. 'We need to get there, fast.'
'I can come with you,' I say.
'No, Emma. You need to go back to Juno and Howard. If you get killed in the field, not only will they kill me, but so will your mums. That is the last thing I need right now.' Jack and the rest of the team file outside, and I head out with them to find Juno and Howard.

They are where I left them. 'Hello, Emma. Jack said you were with him. Is everything all right?'
'Yeah,' I say, still feeling slightly worried about what was happening. Innocent people are dying- could I help? We go back to the hotel, and I explain what Jack and the others are doing.
'It's too risky,' Howard says. 'We promised Ruby and Sarah Jane that we would protect you.'
'But I want to help. This will be the first alien I met since Mum and Mummy left. I could help solve this without anyone else dying.'
'Out of the question,' Juno shakes her head. 'If Sarah Jane and Ruby wanted you in trouble, you would have gone with them.'

Well, trouble seems to find me well enough. As the sky begins darkening, I know that I must do something. If I don't, more people could die. I pretend to go to sleep and wait until Juno and Howard are asleep. I wake up, dress as quietly as possible and sneak out of the door.

When I get to the nearest wood, I lift my face and smell the air. There are at least two aliens in the woods, and they are the same species. I smile and begin to climb one of the nearby trees so I would have a vantage point. When I get a fair way up, I look down to find a human at the bottom of the tree- with a red blob.

It must be the alien that Jack was talking about.

I see the red blob move away, then ram itself into the tree. The tree begins shaking, and I cling on in fear. When it crashes into the tree again, I feel the vibrations within it. It wants to tear the tree down and kill me. I look to the nearest tree. When the tree sways towards it again, I jump towards the next tree. I grab onto a branch and scramble up. I crawl to the trunk and cling to it when the blob crashes into the tree I'm on. Whenever the tree I am on starts shaking, I start jumping to the next one. There are a couple of close calls, but I keep going until I get near the middle of the wood.

The tree I am on isn't close to any other trees. I look down, and the red blob is backing up, ready to charge. I look to the nearest tree. Is it possible to get there?

I decide to risk it. When the tree starts shaking, I run and jump towards the next one.

My fingers miss it by millimetres.

I feel the air rushing past me as I plummet to the ground. The cold earth crashes into me, and I scream. I try to move my legs so I can run, but I can't move one of them. 'Come on!' I growl. 'Now is not the time to get a broken leg!' I try to stand and find a stick that looks sturdy enough to hold my weight and start limping away. On the way, I find another stick to use as a weapon. I turn and face the enemy. It roars in my face; I can feel its warm breath and cringe at the smell. I close my eyes and throw one of my sticks to the ground. It was stupid for me to not leave a note to Juno and Howard explaining where I went. At least then they would know what happened to me.

'OI!' A familiar voice yells. 'Get away from the kid!' I open my eyes but can't see anyone. Another red blob appears from behind me and roars at the one in front of me. The person moves forward, but the red blob that just appeared growls at them. They retreat. 'The kid is mine,' she places a hand on my shoulder. The figure is about to flee when I see Torchwood approaching it with weapons. They shoot it down, and Jack stares at me.
'I thought I told you to stay with Juno and Howard!'
'I don't follow the rules given to me by strangers,' I growl, then I see Mummy.

Then I feel pain shooting through my leg again. I lose grip on the stick and crash into the ground. The woman helps me up, then I realise who she is.
'Sarah, I think her leg's broken!' Mummy runs over and helps me get up. I use both of my parents for support as we slowly stumble through the woods.
'I'm sorry you had to see that, Emma,' Mum says when we get out of the woods. 'We ran so you wouldn't get hurt.'
'Well, I want to stick with you two now.' Mummy sighs.
'We couldn't explain it to you before, Emma. What year are you in?'
'Year six,' I say. 'Why? Is it important?'
'Yes, it is. But before we tell you everything, we should get that checked out.'
'We can do that at Torchwood,' Owen says. 'I am an official doctor, so I can check Emma out.'
'Thanks, Owen,' Mum smiles, and we drive back towards the Bay.

Juno and Howard are waiting by the visitor's centre, and gasp when they see me. 'Emma, we were worried sick when we couldn't find you,' Juno says when she runs up to me. 'What happened?'
'We think Emma broke her leg,' Mum explains. 'She was out in the woods, trying to attract the creature's attention.'
'Emma, we told you not to go into the woods.'
'Too bad I didn't listen,' I grin. We go into the Hub, and my parents pass me to Owen so he can work on me. He gives me a sedative, and I go to sleep.

When I wake up, my parents, Juno and Howard are with me. 'You took some stupid risks,' Juno says. 'We promised your parents to look after you.'
'Listen, when Torchwood gets involved, it will be difficult to look after her,' Mum says. 'But at least they see her as a friend rather than a threat. It will be better if she has a connection with Torchwood.' I slowly sit up, and Mum and Mummy help me.
'I'm sorry to say this, Emma, but we have to leave in a few days,' Mummy says.
'Why? Are you still on the run?'
'No, but there are still people looking for me. It will be best if we remain apart because if people find out about you—' Mummy shakes her head. 'No, it's best if you stay with Juno and Howard. You can keep in contact with Torchwood.'
'But I want to go with you.'
'Emma, it's too dangerous,' Mum says. 'If we could take you with us, we would. But we are living in a caravan, and that isn't an ideal place for you to grow up. We'll try and keep in contact this time, okay?' I nod, and my mums smile.

After a couple of days, my leg is in a cast. Mum and Mummy are ready to leave me under the care of Juno and Howard again. We make our goodbyes and leave the city.