Chapter Two
Jack wandered around the room. It was just an old room nothing unusual. The only mildly strange thing was that the furniture and the possessions where still there, it looked like either someone had left in a hurry or they had died and there had been no one to care enough to come and clear the place. Jack picked up one of the pictures that stood on the fireplace, the man in it looked vaguely familiar. Jack wondered if he had known him, or if he had been a past lover. No there might be many, but Jack always remembered them, and he hoped they always remembered him. He supposed he had just seen him around. He put the picture down again, that's when he heard it.
"Tosh are you alright down there?" Owen called down through the hole.
"I think so, just a bit bruised. I can't move though" she called back
"I'm coming down" he said putting his torch in his mouth and preparing to climb down.
"No, Owen it's not safe. Those floor boards could give way too" she was quiet for a moment, but Owen could hear movement.
"There's a door in the corner, there must be some stair down here somewhere.
"I'll find them. I'll be down as fast as I can"
"Just watch out for any more rotten floor boards"
"You must help" an ethereal voice said behind Jack
Jack turned around, but there was no-one there. "Where are you?"
"I cannot show myself, I do not have the power, you must help"
"Help with what?"
"They must be found"
"Who?"
"They are lost in time, they must be returned"
"Who must I find?"
"I know you can do it Jack"
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"
But there was no reply; the voice wasn't there any more.
Owen found the door through the gloom, which lead to the room he though Toshiko was in. There were all sorts of things stacked against the door. "Tosh are you in there?"
"Owen thank god" came the muffled reply.
"I'll be in as fast as I can" Owen said as he started to move the things that where blocking the door "There's all sorts of crap here"
There were tables and chairs amongst other things in the way. Eventually Owen managed to move them out of the way. But the door was jammed or locked shut, Owen hit it in frustration.
"Owen!"
"I'm getting there, babe the doors stuck"
Toshiko was trapped by a fallen bookcase, try as she might she was unable to move it on her own. She didn't like the room she was in, it gave her a bad feeling. She heard Owen at the door trying to bash it in. After a few times he made it in, stumbling in when it finally gave way.
"Owen, thank god"
"They definitely made doors to last back then"
"Hurry up and help me. I don't like it"
"Funny I though you love being trapped under a book case" he joked as he went over to help her.
"No it's this room, I don't like it. Something just moved over there" she said with terror in her voice.
"Probably just a rat"
"I hope not, it was human sized"
It was then Owen realised the feeling he'd had when he'd entered the room, the feeling of being watched. Not by Tosh but by unseen eyes. But it was worse than that, it was an evil feeling of foreboding. A feeling of death, he'd met death, hell he'd even defeated death, he knew what it felt like.
"We've need to get out of here, now!" he said with a renewed effort to free Toshiko.