Author's Note: Written for torchwood_las. The prompts were "journey" and "book" with a 600 word limit.
Diane set her navigation equipment toward the southeast and glanced down at the shrinking cityscape below her. She had so many reasons to leave Cardiff, and she had started listing them the second the plane's wheels had left the ground. She'd never liked the city, and even during her old life she had tried to avoid it. It had been too dark, dreary and filled with people who seemed as a gray as the rain that constantly fell on them. Worst of all, Diane Holmes thought that none of the citizens of Cardiff knew how to look up. They were reasonable people who kept their feet on the ground and their eyes in front.
The engine roared around her as she took the plane higher, and her heart raced.
This was probably why Cardiff was the only place in the world a crack in time could exist without anyone noticing. John, her fellow accidental time traveler, was just a prime example of that traditionally British nature.
John thought Diane was mad, and she thought he was no better. He was beyond a relic. He was closer to something found on an archaeological dig. John wouldn't make it month, because he didn't want to, and Diane had a hard time gathering an iota of sympathy for him. She might not make it a month either, or another hour, but at least she didn't look dead in the eyes.
The plane leveled off, and Diane sighed in relief. Being in the air, without a thought about coming down, calmed her. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about staying. Owen Harper, sharp as a razor and just as quick to cut, had been tempting. For someone so cynical and modern, he really was little more than a boy. He'd shown her books and magazines that detailed how far women had come, but still acted shocked when a woman could keep up with him.
His adoration, in the end, had been her reason. Owen had his own path to take. Maybe she'd put him on the right one, but it didn't change that it wasn't a trip they were meant to take together. None of them were capable of keeping up with her. All of Owen's claims of budding love and loyalty weren't entirely true. He was desperate to be in love, and find someone to love him.
Diane didn't know what had happened to Owen to put him in that condition, but it wasn't her job to fix it, and he would've expected her to try. Owen wasn't looking for someone to have an adventure with; he was looking for a shield. He, like all of his friends, looked at the sky in fear and hid underground.
The wind patterns changed suddenly, the weather conditions showing signs of turbulence, and a spike of adrenalin shot through Diane. It wasn't like she was trying to get home. There wasn't anything for her there either. She just wanted to go… somewhere. Diane didn't want to spend her days hiding from life, and pain, and the unknown.
Cardiff was gone. Buried underneath the clouds. The plane was trembling and, in the distance, a gold and green light glimmered just above the horizon. Diane gripped the controls, as if she could calm the metal and glass with a firm touch, and pulled the plane in the direction of the unearthly phenomenon.
Before she hit the shimmering light force, Diane Holmes gave one last thought to Owen Harper. "Good luck," she whispered. "Owen, try to-"
Not even the sky heard her last words.