Maybe an adventure?

Valerie Maidenhead was never one for following rules, she was always looking for a thrill or an adventure, and constantly snuck out to late night concerts. She was just fed up with her strict parents who were being even more uptight since Reese died two years. Reese was Val's older brother who was the picture of a perfect offspring, he was good looking, intelligent, popular and tame. This led to their parents neglecting Val in favour of their favourite child. Or at least that's what it felt like, so Val thought she might as well try and earn some fun and sneaks out. She's a rebel.

Naturally, being the fearless spitfire she was, when Val heard a strange sound outside that night when she was getting ready to attend a rock concert at midnight that night, she flung open her windows without so much as a hesitation and shouted into the darkness, the words "Who's there?! Come out!"

Darren froze on hearing the voice, must she interfere now? He was on his way to the neighborhood to gain one last kill before going back to work, yes the dreaded Torchwood which spared his life in order to kill alien criminals.

He slipped a knife out from his back pocket, it glinted slightly in the moonlight. He would wait, a long tedious process, yet most effective. Darren glanced upwards to the open window, it confirmed his suspicions, a female. Most likely sneaking out for an evening out.

What are you waiting for? Just kill the girl! She's at her most vulnerable, she's scared stiff.

"I know…" He hissed. "I need for her to come down first."

He was lucky he was shrouded by bushes and it was at night, his clothes managed to camouflage perfectly. He slipped the knife right back into his pocket and stepped out.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that, I was retrieving my daughter's football…I got home late and really needed this ball for her match tomorrow." He said, smiling as much as he could.

"Oh, okay. " Valerie said, looking down at the man. She never trusted people she didn't know very well, and felt uneasy around this guy. She eyed his outfit a little suspiciously but dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come.

"Hey, are you new around here? I haven't seen you around before. " Val asked, and mulled over why his daughter could've kicked her football into her garden.

Darren cocked his head slightly, a grin tugging at his lips. His favourite way of getting the trust of his victims, lulling them into a false sense of security. He knew she would be suspicious of his clothing, wasn't everyone?

"New? You could say that…I moved in a few weeks ago but haven't unpacked as work has me very busy. My daughter…she really enjoys a good game of football or Hockey and she checks out the new neighborhood by kicking her football into their garden to see whether they'd throw it back…oh, there it is!" Darren chuckled, picking up the ball. "What about you? I think its a bit late for you to be sneaking out, especially in this day and age."

He wandered around the garden in the brief silence that followed, thinking of his next move. It was similar to playing chess, one wrong move could endanger all you set up.

"Would you like to come down? It feels if I was reenacting Romeo and Juliet." Darren smiled, gesturing for her to come down.

Val smirked a little at this comment. Romeo and Juliet, a play she'd been the star in only a year ago, though obviously a little less intimate as it was in a school, but her acting skills definitely weren't ones that were easily rivalled in a high school.

"Uh, well I was gonna head out, but don't you have to get back to your daughter? I'm sure it isn't safe to be leaving a child on her own. " she said, her smirk growing, but she climbed out of her window, but sat on her window sill, still not sure to accept his request.

"My wife is looking after her and besides she's a big girl, 10 years old." Darren grinned. He then walked in another circle, looking for the front entrance to the garden.

"By the way, could you come down and…show me the way out? I'm so sorry about this rude, rude interruption."

He laid a hand on the handle of his knife. He hoped that the girl wouldn't just point to the direction of the gate, which he could so easily vault. He'd seen the gate before, but where was this girl going?

"Where you heading out to? I could join you in the process of walking with you." Darren suggested. He then muttered under his breath something that only he could hear. He looked back up and put on a face that looked slightly hopeful, he didn't taking acting classes but he was sure convincing. Darren moved the hand from the handle to the syringe he carried in his pocket.

"What do you say?" Darren smiled.

"I don't know, there's gravel in front of that gate, so my parents will hear us leaving and most likely take a baseball bat to our heads, regardless of whether they recognise me or not, they're strict people. Reason why I sneak out. Go around the back and I'll climb down, but be careful going past the big double windows, that's their bedroom. " Val replied, grinning. "You know, you remind me of my brother, he had the same expressions as you. " she said, the grin fading into a reminiscent smile. "I'm just looking for a way away from this stupid town, can't wait until I can leave this stupid place and have an exciting life, doing what I want. " Val said, changing subject, the grin returning, and she eyed him, waiting for him to start walking around, as she'd simply walk carefully on the gutter, using the roof slates to grip and she'd shuffle her way around when he got to the back gate, leading to the woods.

"Similar to your brother, huh? Where is he now?" Darren asked as he went around the back and followed the girl. He checked if his knife was still there, which it was. His smiled faded slightly as she 'insulted' his part of town, it was a rather nice area, especially once he had taken out all the 'trash.'

"Baseball bat or not, you sure are keen on getting out…"

He began walking towards the girl, pretending to keep an eye out and watching her back. The syringe was going to be used soon.

Not just yet, be patient.

"What would you do if your parents had woken up and found you were missing?" Darren inquired, truly intrigued at how strict one's parents could be.

Twigs cracked underneath his feet and an owl hooted, before swooping down and snatching a mouse and flying off with it. It was time, he took a long drawn out sigh before plunging the syringe full of sedative into her neck.

"Yeah, my brother died a while back, but don't worry, I'm over it. " she said, walking as she kept her back to the guy "And as for my parents, they just don't let me do anything, they want me to be the image of perfection like Reese, but after he died, well, let's just say they got even more touchy than they were. " Val said before he plunged a syringe into her neck. She felt woozy, and the last thing she thought before she blacked out was why he would do this.

Darren had dragged her to the furthest part of the woods, into a barn and pulled out the knife. For the first time, he had a proper look at the girl and cocked his head. There was that feeling again, the feeling that he shouldn't do this, his boss hadn't authorized it.

Who cares whether she authorized it or not, kill her.

"I can't do it!" He screamed, slamming his knife down on the ground and gently waking the girl up. He held his head in his hand for a while before deciding he should get out of there.

What the hell are you going?! You live and strive on killing.

"Of a girl? No…I can't do this anymore." He grumbled to himself, walking away slowly but thinking twice and climbing up a tree and resting against it for the night was nearing the end and the morning was soon to come.

Valerie was gently woken up, she'd had the strangest dream...

That's when she saw him quietly retreating into a tree and resting there, and she eyed him curiously. He looked resigned and Val had seen that look before.

It was the look Reese had given her after that argument they'd had. That was the last time she'd seen Reese. She slowly stood up and considered running far, far away, but an aching in her heart brought upon her by the thoughts of her brother urged her to approach the tree and she looked up at him.

"Who are you?" she said to him, determined to find out why he'd do what he did.

"Who am I?" He gave a sound, which intended to be a laugh but came out as a harsh raspy noise. He turned his head and looked down at the girl.

"I work for Torchwood. Turn me in if you want. I couldn't really care less and you see that knife back in the barn? Bury it there." Darren sighed. He looked back in front of him as dawn approached. A beam of light hit his face, highlighting the dark shadows on his forlorn face.

He jumped down, catching his fall by a branch, which snapped and he landed on the floor. If the girl was going to say anything, he hushed her as a ear piercing scream echoed back to where they stood.

"It sounded like it came from you're house." He started rushing over there.

"Oh for Christ's sake!" Valerie said, frustrated. She ran back into the barn, and saw the knife glinting in the early morning light, but she turned back and ran back to the man. "I don't think I could turn you in, you could've killed me, but you didn't, come on, I'm not that bad, but, I could do with someone who actually has some muscle on them. Please, that's my Mum's scream. " Valerie pleaded, desperately, she couldn't let another loved one get harmed.

Darren knocked down the door, the father was in the corner, pleading for his life as a shadow covered him. He advanced upon the intruder and got him into a headlock, the man thrashed and bashed himself against walls, attempting to get Darren off. His grip, accidentally, loosened and the man was able to flip him over the table.

Darren jumped back up, rugby tackling the man into the nearest wall and pinning him there. He glanced back to the girl, "Tend to your father!"

Finally, the man was drained of all strength and was dragged out the house and no more was heard from him.

Darren walked back in, nonchalantly, and stretched out his hand to the father. "Sorry sir to burst in but I heard the scream and came to see what I could do to help, I'm the farmer in the field over the road. How is the wife?"

Valerie obeyed the man's command without hesitation and crouched next to him. "D-dad? Are you okay?" she stammered nervously. The guy whose name she still did not know approached and introduced himself as a farmer. Her father replied with a weak "She's gone. ". Valerie saw his pained look and pulled back the stained part of his dressing robe and saw a ghastly stab wound. Instantly, she was overwhelmed and stormed outside, and saw the body of the intruder, lifeless, on the ground. She kicked him what felt like a thousand times and felt tears running down her cheeks, she was gritting her teeth.

Darren stood there, tending to the father's stab wound as best as he could and once he did, the father was outside, trying to comfort his daughter. He would allow the girl to let off some steam, as he checked the mother's condition.

Blood splattered against the walls, all over the place, vivid wild streaks painted the painted the walls. He stepped back outside the room and joined the two grieving people outside.

"Sorry about not being able to save her…" He said, addressing both the father and the girl but mostly to the girl.

He began to walk off, rage once again rushing to his head. He will track down the person that hired this man and kill him or her. He arrived at the barn, digging up the blade. He wiped it clean before placing it in the back pocket. He looked back at the girl and the father, if he could understand emotion, he would be crying along with them.

Valerie's father retreated into the house, leaving her outside on her own. She seen the man disappear as swiftly as he'd appeared. A burning feeling that was definitely determination flared within her, and with her father's words before he'd left being "You. You will leave me too soon. Do it before I die inside for a third time. " she felt she wasn't wanted and headed in the direction the guy had left, she saw him retrieving his blade and said to him "My father. He said he wants me to leave before I die here. I'm not going to just let them do this to my family...I have to stop this. ".

Darren began to shrug his shoulders, the sun was nearly finished with ascending into morning. He turned the blade over and pointed the handle at her.

"Then, keep him safe. Don't kill yourself, because that is daft. But keep him safe. He's all you have left."

He climbed back up the tree and decided to get at least some rest before returning back to head quarters. His eyes closed and he allowed for the warmth to send him off to sleep. To be honest with himself, he didn't fear the girl would run around terrorizing the city and hopefully she would be able to have some sort of adventure within her life.

Val watched him climb up the tree and fall asleep, and she retreated to her home. She crumpled to the ground against the wall of her house. What was her life now?

She was determined to take this upon herself. Then she had an idea. What was that place the guy said he worked for? Torchwood...yeah, that was it. She pushed herself off the ground, a brief second of amusement as she saw she was still in her ripped black jeans, her red high tops, her band tank top and leather jacket on top. She was going to find this place no matter what it took, and stay until they understood she wanted to find her mother, which her father had described as "gone" not dead. She got up and got on her motorbike, put her helmet on and set off, and she would find this Torchwood place which seemed to be where people like the guy worked.

He opened one eye, enough to see the woman rush off to her motorbike, he then climbed off the tree and jumped the rest, a dust cloud gathering where he jumped.

"Myriam, teleport me back to HQ."

"Okay, bad day?"

"Tell you later."

A beam of light engulfed him and he was once more back at his so-called office. Myriam approached with caution, she knew better than to get on the bad side of Darren. "So, what happened? Target managed to get away?"

He shook his head, seating himself in her chair. He informed her that the target was eliminated. "But I was passing a house, someone heard me and I thought she would be a good victim, lead her into a barn but a scream erupted from her house…she rushed back and i followed. Father was attacked and the mother 'gone' apparently."

Myriam took in the new information, her eyebrows raised. She hadn't seen Darren this affected by a mission for a long time. Whether it was bad or good, she had not the foggiest idea.

"By the way, their daughter's heading here, so I think it would be best I tag along?" Darren said, smirking slightly, but still held a bit a sadness.

The biggest problem Val had finding this place was that she had absolutely no idea where it was, but wasn't going to give up any time soon. She travelled for what felt like ages on her motorbike trying to find the place called "Torchwood". Something told her she was getting closer and closer, but she knew exactly where she was, she'd travelled enough on her own to know the place. She thought it was time for a break, and stepped off her motorbike and pulled off her helmet, and turned the corner to find herself somewhere she was yet to have visited.

Darren sat at a local cafe, a latte balanced on his hand. He wasn't really sure why he had let her go, the boss had a right yell at him and he wasn't in the killing mood. It was odd.

The roar of a familiar motorbike. He looked up and saw that the girl had arrived. He shook his head and attempted to not be spotted. He handed the waitress his cup and asked for another one, paid the tip and walked out the kitchen doors.

"Sorry, sir. You are not a member of staff, please go back to your booth."

Darren shrugged his shoulders, grasping the man by the shoulder. He didn't want to kill him…yet.

"Let me out of the back door, otherwise you'll won't just find yourself with a bruised shoulder but completely dead." Darren said.

The chef nodded his head quickly and he let go, none of the other chefs noticed as they were all too busy in their own little bubble.

Darren slipped out of the back and peered around the corner, seeing the girl. A cat tipped over the bin next to him, which surely most of the chefs had heard and probably the girl too.