Stakes on a Plane

This was my first short story for Torchwood Magazine, which was brilliantly illustrated by Ben Willsher. Torchwood Magazine is sadly no longer in print, but I've got permission to post my story here, for free. Please don't repost, just link to this page if you want to share.

Thank you to Titan and the BBC for letting me put this on here, and Martin Eden from Titan Books for tracking the permission down for me. I've pasted the story from my final text copy, to save myself hours of formatting, so any grammatical errors are my fault and not the editor's. The printed story had some additional edits, so this is the full length version.

Story notes: This was originally called "Blood of the Ferrovore", as I quite liked the old fashioned feel, but Simon Hugo, the editor of Torchwood Magazine, suggested calling it "Stakes on a Plane" instead, which was a stroke of genius/madness that I grabbed with both hands. I did several days of research to find out if a plane could land on Lloyd George Avenue, a long stretch of road in Cardiff leading up to the bay where the Torchwood Hub is located. Days. I had to change the country they were flying in from to match the plane model. Nobody ever cared if it was possible, or asked me if I had worked it out, so here it is: A runway of 6000 feet is fine for planes weighing less than 90,000kg. The Fokker F70 is 34,000kg, so wouldn't need the full 6000 feet. The engines have reverse thrust, to slow it down further. Lloyd George Avenue is roughly 0.7 miles long, which is 3696 feet. It's quite wide, although the wings would probably get snapped off as soon as it touched down, but if the traffic was cleared, there's enough road to slow to a stop, spilling over slightly into the Plass. It's just about doable. In theory. These are the things I obsess over...

Torchwood copyright © BBC Studios. Story originally published by Torchwood Magazine, reproduced with permission.

While you're here, you may be interested in my new Torchwood audio for Big Finish, called Serenity, starring John Barrowman & Gareth David-Lloyd. It's out now, and you can order it here.

"Serenity Plaza is the most exclusive gated community in South Wales. You’d kill to live there. Jack and Ianto have gone undercover as a happily married couple. There are rumours that something’s wrong at Serenity Plaza and they’re determined to investigate. But the problem is that Serenity Plaza is just so rigidly normal. Suddenly, Jack and Ianto have to confront the problems that normal couples face. Sharing a house together, doing the washing up, entering the residents’ baking contest, and hoping to win the Best Kept Lawn. Competition is fierce. Because this is Serenity Plaza. And you’d kill to live there."
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Stakes on a Plane
by James Moran

"I don't see why we couldn't charter a private jet," said Gwen, shifting uncomfortably in her narrow economy seat.
"Hey," said Jack. "I've seen enough planets die, I'm not going to help kill this one. A whole flight just for three people? Not a chance. We use commercial flights, or nothing at all. I'm trying to be more environmentally friendly."
"Yes," said Ianto. "Apart from all the gunfire, explosions, and the ridiculously huge SUV we drive around everywhere. We could all ride bicycles instead."
"That's different. There's three of us in one car, and we have a lot of equipment."
"Shame," said Ianto. "We could have special Torchwood bicycles. Torchbikes."
Jack stared out of the window, and then a thought struck him. He leaned over, and nudged Ianto. He glanced at the back of the cabin, and coughed meaningfully. Ianto raised a questioning eyebrow. Jack coughed again, louder this time.
"Sorry, I don't speak Cough," said Ianto.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine. I was trying to be subtle, and ask if you fancied joining the Mile High Club."
"Classy," said Ianto. "Very classy." He looked at Jack again. Shrugged. "Go on, then. I'll go first, you follow me down in a few minutes."
"Honestly, you two," said Gwen. "If you get caught, I'm not with you."
Ianto got up and headed to the back. Gwen flipped through her in-flight magazine, while Jack stared out at the clouds.
Seconds later, Ianto was back.
"Both of you, come with me," he said.
"No thanks," said Gwen. "Me and Rhys already joined that club."
"Just come with me. Now. We've got a problem."
They got up without another word, and followed him to the toilet. When they got there, Ianto checked to make sure nobody else was looking. And then he opened the door to show them.
Inside, a woman lay crumpled up on the ground, dead. Ragged puncture wounds in her neck. Completely drained of blood.


The team were flying back to Cardiff from Amsterdam, where they'd cleaned out a nest of Ferrovores - that was the name Jack had given them, nobody knew what they were really called. They were small, ping-pong ball sized alien parasites that entered the body through the mouth, and took root under the breastbone, right next to the heart. Once they were inside, they took over the host body completely, safe in their protected position. They needed constant supplies of iron, so the host would have to drink human blood to keep the Ferrovore alive. The best way to kill them was by ramming something sharp through them while they were in the host body. You could shoot them, of course, but it was a lot more difficult to aim at a moving target that's inside someone's chest. A knife or stake was usually more effective.
Like many myths and legends, vampires had several elements of truth to them. Ferrovores were just one of those.
The team had travelled over to investigate when they found reports of people turning up dead, drained of blood, with bite marks in their neck. The last time Jack had to deal with Ferrovores, they'd wiped out a whole town in Eastern Europe. So when this new nest popped up, Jack was determined to make sure he got them all this time. And he thought he'd managed it, too. Until now.


"Great," said Jack. "One of them must have escaped. It's on board with us now."
"Yeah, but who is it?" said Gwen. "Could be anybody." "We'll find them," said Ianto. "They need to keep feeding on blood to survive, we'll watch out for them."
"We need to do something now," said Gwen. "We can't just let them feed, there are over eighty passengers on this flight."
"They'll be easier to spot once they start killing," said Jack.
"True," said Ianto. "But they'll be stronger, too We can't let them keep feeding, they'll be too powerful for us."
It was true. The Ferrovores secreted a Calcium-like substance into the bones and muscles of their host, elongating and sharpening the teeth, making the body much stronger and faster. It was temporary, and caused terrible damage to the tissue, which was why the hosts only lasted about a day. But while they were alive, they were incredibly strong and fast.
"Brilliant," said Gwen. "If we had even one scanner and a gun, this could be over in two minutes."
They weren't able to bring any of their weapons or equipment onto a commercial flight, so a local contact in Amsterdam had loaned them what they needed. But right now, they were unarmed, and unequipped. All they had was Jack's wrist communicator, which wasn't any help.
"Of course," said Ianto, "If we were on a private, chartered flight, then we'd have all our stuff with us."
"Yeah," said Jack. "And the Ferrovore would still be on this flight, and we'd never know it had come to the UK. It would reproduce, find more hosts, and kill a lot of people. Which will happen if we don't figure out who it is."
They stared at the passengers, from the back of the cabin.
"So what do we do?" asked Ianto. "We land in an hour."
"We've still got our IDs, yes?" said Gwen. "Do we have any authority on a flight? Between countries?"
"Technically, no," said Ianto. "We're flying from Amsterdam, so legally we're either under Dutch law, or the authority of the pilot. Bit of a grey area, though."
"Good," said Jack. "I can work with grey areas." He looked around the cabin, and spotted the nearest air steward, a brunette girl in her 20s. Jack grinned, a hunter spotting its prey. He turned to Gwen and Ianto. "Watch this. I'll have her eating out of my hand."
He flashed her his most dazzling smile.
"Hi," he said. "My name's Captain Jack. From Torchwood. What's your name?"
"Maggie," she said. "What's Deutsch-wood? And are you using that toilet? Only you're all blocking the aisle, and we're about to do Duty Free now, so would you mind just returning to your seats?"
"Yep," said Ianto. "Eating out of your hand."
"Very masterful," said Gwen. "I got weak at the knees, there."
Jack ignored them. He took out his ID, and gave it to Maggie, the smile disappearing. "Okay Maggie," he said. "Here's what's going to happen. You show this ID to your captain, and tell him to call London and ask the Home Office who I am. We've got an emergency situation, and it's very important that I have everyone's full co-operation."
Maggie took the ID, suspiciously. "Torchwood. Never heard of it."
"Please," said Jack. "Someone has just been murdered, and if we don't act fast, more people will die."
"What are you saying? There's a terrorist on board?"
"Something like that. Please don't scream, but look at this."
He briefly opened the toilet door. Maggie gasped, but didn't scream. She stared at Jack accusingly. "Did you do that?"
"If I did, I'd be pretty stupid showing it to you, wouldn't I? Do I look stupid, Maggie?"
Maggie looked at him, and eyed up his clothes. "No. You do look a bit mental, though."
"This is going really well," said Ianto.
"Please," said Jack. "We have to catch the person who did this before we land."
Maggie took the ID, and pointed to the back of the cabin. "Fine. But wait back there. If you try to come near me when I'm at the cockpit door, I'll scream blue murder."
"Fair enough."


The team waited at the back of the plane.
The captain and Maggie walked down the cabin towards them.
"I'm Captain Andrew Taylor," said the captain. He handed the ID back to Jack. "Sorry I took so long, but the person I spoke to at the Home Office wasn't your biggest fan. Kept going on about all the trouble you cause."
"Yeah, we have our disagreements," said Jack.
"What's going on?"
Jack opened the toilet door again, and showed him. "We need to find out who did that, and we have less than an hour. If they get off the plane when it lands, we might never catch them."
"You don't know who it is? Not even a clue?"
"No. But we know their friends, and how they operate. Trust me, we'll find them. But you have to let us do what we need to do."
"Fine. Maggie, give them full access, whatever they need. Just don't cause a panic."
"We'll try."
Captain Taylor nodded, and headed back to the cockpit. Maggie stared at Jack, Ianto and Gwen. "So. What do we do first?"


Ianto strolled up the aisle, slowly, talking to each passenger in turn. "Duty free, sir? Madam? Duty free?"
In the other aisles, Gwen did the same, while Jack stood up at the front watching them both, trying to catch any unusual reactions.
Ianto was called over by an overly tanned yuppie. "Oi! Oi, you!"
"Yes, sir?"
"I ordered an orange juice five minutes ago, from the other dizzy tart. Where is it?"
"Sorry about that, sir. I'll go and find it for you."
"Why didn't she bring it? What's her name? I want to make a complaint about her."
"As I said, I'll go and get your orange juice."
"I'm not letting this go. I want her reprimanded."
"Right."
"It's not good enough, you know. I paid a lot of money for this ticket."
"Yes," said Ianto, bending right down into the man's face, and talking quickly and quietly so nobody else could hear. "And that entitles you to a flight, and a flight only. It does not entitle you to be rude or aggressive to people who are working really hard to deal with annoying idiots like you. Now, if you don't shut up and stop complaining, I'll punch you until you're unconscious. How does that sound?"
The man stared at him, terrified. Ianto nodded at him, and walked on. "Duty free, madam? Sir?"
Gwen was having her own difficulties in the other aisle. It's very hard to get a sense of who someone is, when they're staring at your chest while talking. After a few minutes, she took advantage of this, and opened another shirt button. Most of the men - and several women - became putty in her hands, and were clearly not hosts for the Ferrovore. The ones who were immune to her charms would look her in the eye, and she could tell by their pupils if they were anxious or not.
Each person they spoke to seemed normal. But then, they would. The Ferrovores were very careful in their host body. But no matter how careful you are, you're bound to make a mistake, even a tiny one. Gwen was just asking another man if he'd like any Duty Free, when she spotted a drop of blood on his shirt collar. She rendezvoused at the top of the cabin with Jack and Ianto.
"Seat 44C," she said, quietly. "Don't look!"
"Well how are we going to see him, then?" asked Ianto. "We have to look."
"I know! Just... do it subtly."
Jack and Ianto glanced over.
"Looks normal," said Jack.
"Duh," said Gwen. "Course he does. But he's got blood on his collar."
"Okay," said Jack. "So what now? How do we play this?"
"We need to draw him out, to make sure," said Gwen. "One of us should act as bait." The other two turned to look at her. She sighed. "And that'd be me, then, I suppose."
"You are very tempting," said Ianto. "Lovely neck. If I was a Ferrovore, I'd totally go for you."
"Actually, that's a good point," said Jack. "We don't know it's not one of us."
"Well, it's not me," said Gwen. "I'd know. Wouldn't I?"
"By all means, keep talking about this until we land," said Ianto. "Or we could go with the bloke with blood on his collar."
"So how do we prove it's him?" said Gwen.
"We improvise," said Jack, and headed towards seat 44C.
"I was hoping he wouldn't say that," said Ianto, as he and Gwen hurried after him.
Jack smiled at the man in 44C. "Hi! Terribly sorry to bother you, but would you mind coming with us for a minute?"
"What? Why?"
"Just for a minute. We need to adjust your seat, it's loose. Won't take a moment. Health and safety, and all that."
The man sighed. "Okay, fine."
He got up, and Jack pointed towards the back. "Can't block the aisles, sir. Could you come this way? We'll get you a free drink, have you back in no time."
The man walked ahead. Jack glanced at Gwen and Ianto, shrugging. They followed Mr 44C to the back of the cabin, into the galley.
"Right," said 44C. "I'll have a beer, thanks."
Ianto grabbed a can from the fridge, and handed it to him. The man drank it quickly. "God, I'm so thirsty," he said. "These flights always dehydrate me."
The Torchwood team glanced at each other. They tensed up. Ianto had a plastic knife in one hand, Gwen was holding a tray, and Jack edged towards a nearby fire extinguisher.
"So," said Jack. "Got some blood on your collar, there."
44C grimaced. "Oh, great. This is a new shirt. Cut myself shaving this morning, thought I'd stopped it. Air pressure must have started it again. Look."
He showed them a tiny cut on his cheek.
"Shaving, eh?" said Ianto. "Or drinking?"
44C looked at him, baffled. "Shaving. Have they done my seat yet?"
Jack grabbed him and pressed him up against the wall. "Ianto!"
"Get your hands off me!" said 44C, panicking.
Jack held the man's neck, while Ianto poked and prodded around the man's breastbone and stomach. He looked inside his mouth.
"Jack. It's not him."
"What?"
"Can't feel anything, normally there's a swelling and a hard ridge. And his mouth is clear, it'd have clotted blood on his back teeth where the parasite forced its way in."
"What the hell are you people on about?" said 44C. "This is outrageous."
Jack released him. "Sorry sir, security check. You matched the physical description of someone on the no-fly list."
"What was all that about a parasite?"
Jack glanced at the others, flailing slightly. "Well... that's what we call them. Terrorists. They're a parasite on the world."
Gwen smiled at the man. "You can go back to your seat now, sorry for the trouble. Here, have another beer."
The man took the beer, grumbling to himself, and went back to his seat. Jack looked at Gwen.
"I'm sorry!" she said. "I thought it was him, we all did."
Suddenly, there was a scream from the front of the cabin.
"That'll be the Torchwood signal," muttered Ianto, as they all ran. A woman was standing in front of the toilet at the front of the cabin. Inside was another dead body, drained of blood, its throat torn out. Jack closed the door, and Ianto led the frightened woman back to her seat. Nobody else had seen the body yet, luckily.
Maggie hurried over.
"What's going on?" she said. "This isn't a terrorist, it's something else. And why are you beating up my passengers?"
They glanced over at 44C, who glared at them.
"I'm sorry," said Jack. "We can't tell you."
"Come on Jack," said Gwen. "We need help. She knows this plane inside out."
"Okay," said Jack. "Lock that door, and I'll tell you."


Maggie shook her head at Jack. "You must think I'm an idiot. Let's wind up the trolley dolley, she won't know any better."
"It's not like that, I swear," said Gwen. "Okay, look. Ignore everything Jack just said. Someone on board is murdering people. That person, for whatever reason, feels the need to drink blood. They're mad. You've seen the dead bodies, you know that part's true. We need to figure out who it is, and stop them. If they get off when we land, they'll get away and kill more people.."
"Fine," said Maggie. She glanced at Jack. "Why didn't you say that in the first place? You need to work on your people skills, mister."
"Tell me about it," said Gwen. "Is there anything you can think of that might help?"
Maggie stared into space for a moment. "When this nutter drinks the blood. Do they absorb it into their system?"
"Yes, why?"
"We could drop the oxygen masks - I can increase the amount that comes through, it won't hurt anyone."
"How will that help?"
"Oxygen makes the blood go brighter red. Most people, that won't show under their skin. But if your lunatic has got the blood of two extra people inside, they'll go a bit red in the face."
"Maggie, I could kiss you," said Jack.
"Join the queue, mate," said Maggie.


Two minutes later, the oxygen masks dropped down. Maggie was on the PA system immediately.
"There's nothing to worry about, ladies and gentlemen, just a slight drop in cabin pressure. Please place your oxygen masks on until the pressure rises again."
Jack, Ianto and Gwen walked up and down the cabin, watching.
They saw him immediately. An elderly man, sitting in one of the seats, with a bright red face. He saw them looking at him, hissed, and launched himself over the seats at Jack, with surprising strength and speed, exposing his long, sharp teeth.
The passengers screamed, as Jack tried to fight off the Ferrovore. Gwen tried to pull him off, but he knocked her sideways with a vicious headbutt. Ianto ran over with a fire extinguisher, and slammed it down on the back of the man's head. The man turned to attack, but Jack grabbed his arms, so that Ianto could slam the extinguisher into the man's head again, and again, until he was knocked unconscious.
"Quick!" said Jack. "The alien's still awake, it'll be dumping chemicals into the host body to wake it up. We haven't got much time."
The team dragged the man's body to the back of the cabin.
"We need something sharp!" shouted Gwen.
Ianto looked around quickly. And saw a man with a cast on his leg, and a metal crutch. He ran over, and grabbed the crutch. "Sorry, be back in a sec," he said. He ran back, and handed it to Jack.
"That'll do," said Jack. He snapped the crutch in half, giving it a ragged, sharp end, and lifted it up over the man's chest. Gwen and Ianto held the man's arms, as Jack rammed the crutch down, hard.
The crutch went through the skin just under the breastbone, and splattered blood everywhere. The man shrieked, hissed, and slammed his arms and legs on the ground, until the alien parasite died. The man's body slumped back, motionless.
Maggie watched in horror. "Is that it? Is he dead?"
Jack nodded. "He was dead the moment that thing got into him. We just finished it off. Let's go and tell Captain Taylor it's over."


Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Maggie approached the cockpit door.
"Just don't know what I'm going to say about it when we land," said Maggie. "I mean, who's going to believe me?"
"No need," said Ianto. "We'll take care of it. It'll all be a tiny in-flight incident, barely mentioned in the news."
"You can do that?" said Maggie. "Wow. That's pretty cool." She knocked on the cockpit door. "It's Maggie."
The door opened. And they all stood frozen to the spot.
Captain Taylor was dead, slumped in his chair, neck ripped open, and drained of blood. The co-pilot, Daniel, stood over the corpse, with blood all over his mouth and sharpened teeth, caught in the act.
"Another one!" said Maggie.
"Get him!" said Ianto.
But Daniel was already launching himself at Jack. The two men rolled down the aisle, trading punches. Daniel picked up Jack and flung him to the back of the cabin. Ianto and Gwen followed, but Daniel was too fast.
"Get into a seat!" shouted Jack. "I'm taking him off this plane!"
"What do you mean, 'off this plane'?" shouted Ianto. He saw Jack dragging the bloodthirsty Daniel towards the emergency exit. "Oh."
At the back, Daniel tried to bite Jack's neck. His teeth elongated further, and became even sharper. Jack tried to keep the teeth away, but the Ferrovore was too strong.
"Oh, whatever," said Jack, and let the creature bite him. With his hands free, Jack shoved them both over to the exit door, and yanked down the emergency lever. WHOOSH! The door flew off, and both Jack and Daniel were sucked out.
The passengers screamed, and the plane lurched alarmingly. Air rushed through the cabin, and out of the open door. Gwen leaned over to Maggie.
"Who's flying the plane?" she shouted, over the roar of the air. Maggie shrugged, looking scared.


Gwen and Ianto struggled into the cockpit, and sat in the seats.
"Brilliant," said Gwen. "Just brilliant."
Ianto spoke into the PA system. "So, er... don't suppose anyone on board knows how to fly a plane, do they?"
Silence from the passengers.
Ianto coughed. "Never mind, just curious. Don't panic, everything's under control." He switched the PA system off and turned to Gwen. "We're all going to die."
Maggie came in. "Do either of you know what you're doing?"
"No," said Gwen. "Jack can fly a plane. But he got off."
The radio crackled. "Can anyone hear me??"
Gwen took the radio handset. "Jack? Where are you?"
"Falling towards the ground, very quickly. Our Ferrovore friend is too, so he'll be dead soon enough."
"What about you?" said Maggie.
"Jack can't die," said Gwen. "Long story. Jack, we need to land this. Can you talk us down?"
"Yeah. You should be ten minutes away from Cardiff airspace, the autopilot will keep you going until then. I should have woken up by that point."
"Let's hope so."
"Okay, here comes the ground. Oh man, this is going to hurt."
SPLAT! The sound came through loud and clear on the radio, and everyone winced.
"Well then," said Gwen. "Now we wait."


Once he had woken up, Jack was back on the radio. He talked them through disengaging the autopilot, decreasing speed and altitude, and there was only one slightly tricky part left: the landing. The plane was over Cardiff, while Gwen and Ianto struggled with the controls.
"You're doing great," said Jack. "Now you just need to stay on course for Cardiff airport."
Gwen and Ianto glanced at each other. "Yeah, I don't know if that's going to work," said Gwen. "We're off course already. We'll have to land where we can."
"Okay, can you see any clear ground coming up? Whereabouts are you?"
Gwen stared at the city in front of her, which was getting very close. "Er. Cardiff. We're approaching the Bay soon."
"Okay, you're doing fine. Just keep doing what I told you. Any clear ground at all? Or a stretch of road? Needs to be a long stretch."
Ianto pointed. "There. Lloyd George Avenue. It's about three quarters of a mile long."
"That's good. You're in a Fokker F70, normally for the bigger planes they need at least six thousand feet to land, three quarters of a mile is just a bit less than that."
"It's just under four thousand," said Ianto. "Quite a bit less than six thousand."
"It'll do. Lucky you've got reverse thrust on there, means you need less space to land."
"Yes," said Ianto. "Lucky. We're so incredibly lucky, to be crash landing in the middle of Cardiff."
"Hold on a second, while I call Swanson. Oh, she's going to be so mad at me..."


Once Swanson had arranged for the road to be cleared, there were no occupied cars on Lloyd George Avenue as the plane approached.
"This is such a bad idea," said Gwen.
"Well," said Ianto. "At least we don't have that boring transfer from the airport. We're landing right in the middle of town."
The plane touched down on Lloyd George Avenue, bumping and shaking violently. The wings smashed through several trees and lampposts on either side, until about halfway down the road when they sheared off altogether.
"Slow down! Stupid bloody plane!" shouted Gwen.
"Just keep applying the brakes," said Ianto.
And still the plane kept going, smoke rising from the ragged tyres, all the way down the road.
"Are you slowing down?" said Jack through the radio. "The reverse thrust from the engines should help."
"Wings fell off," said Ianto. "No engines. So no reverse thrust."
"We're coming up to Bute Place," said Gwen. "We're still going too fast. We're running out of road!"
The plane bounced over the traffic island just in front of Roald Dahl Plass, and kept going. Smoke poured up from the squealing tyres, but still the plane kept moving. It went straight through the bollards, and took out a couple of trees.
They were now heading for the water tower.
"Oh, please don't let us break the tower," said Gwen, wincing.
The plane was still moving, but slowing down. It was mere yards away from the tower now. In the cockpit, the tower seemed to fill their view through the windows. Gwen closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.
The plane finally came to a halt, just in time. The nose gently pressed against the tower, making a metal panel bend slightly inwards with a spanging sound.
"You can open your eyes now," said Ianto.
"Did we break the tower?" she said, keeping her eyes closed.
"Nope. Just dented it a bit."
Gwen opened her eyes. "Oh thank God..."
Maggie came back into the cockpit. "Well done," she said. "Thanks for getting us down safely. Good luck with spinning this, though. 'A tiny in-flight incident'? 'Barely mentioned in the news'?"
Gwen and Ianto sighed. "Swanson's going to go berserk," said Gwen. "We've trashed half the city. I tell you something though, I'm never getting on a plane again."
"Statistically speaking though," said Ianto. "Flying is still the safest way to travel."
The other two just looked at him.
"Everything okay?" asked Jack, on the radio.
"Seems to be," said Ianto.
"Good," said Jack. "In that case, can someone come and pick me up?"
"Sure," said Ianto. "Where are you?"


Jack looked around. He was in a field, standing near the mushy stain that used to be Daniel the co-pilot. "Er," he said. "Good question. Somewhere in Wales."
"Narrow it down a bit, maybe?" said Ianto.
"Never mind. I'll start walking. When I find a road sign, I'll call you back."
"You do that," said Ianto. "I hear it's very environmentally friendly."

The End