Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. If I did, Janto would've happen much sooner.
I want to thank sd4ianto and sandysan2013 for their review. Thank you again :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Out of the Rain
Eliza and Mark quickly made their way after the paramedics, her jacket in her hands and slightly out of breath. Her eyes widened upon seeing Ianto Jones waiting in the hall and she tugged Mark back. "Give me your glasses" She murmured, taking off her hat, letting her black curls flow over her shoulders as she put it on top of Mark's head.
He frowned but complied, fixing the hat slightly. His eyes flicked to the hospital hall and his eyebrows rose in understanding "I thought you wanted them to notice us" He frowned confused.
Eliza rolled her eyes as she slipped in her jacket, brushing her hair in a tight ponytail, the glasses framing her bright turquoise eyes "I do, but not when something like this happens. They need to focus on what kind of creature sucks all the water from the victim's bodies. Just like we need to"
The duo walked inside, just as the young nurse and Ianto walked quickly to a room "There's been another one" Ianto said, making Eliza and Mark's eyebrows rose. They gaze at each other and hurried after them.
"Who's she?" The familiar American accent was heard, as Jack glanced at the nurse "We don't know. A young couple found them" The nurse explained as Eliza and Mark both exclaimed at the same time "We're not a couple"
Jack eyed the duo though his gaze flicked to the Restaurant Owner's again. He pressed his hand on her chest, put his face close to her nose and mouth "The same" He murmured "Heartbeat but no breath"
Mark's eyes flicked to the young woman next to the victim they found, a frown on his face "Her mouth's been drained of moisture" Owen mumbled.
As the three Torchwood 3 members left the room, soon reunited with a fourth member, Gwen Cooper, Eliza and Mark were hot on their tail, though keeping at a distance not to look suspicious. "This makes no sense, they're almost dehydrated and possibly brain-dead, and yet somehow they're still with us" Owen frowned, looking at Jack.
"So, some part of them had been taken elsewhere" Jack scrunched his nose in thought "Well, that's impossible" Owen scoffed, as they rounded a corner. "For the body to be alive, there must be a life force somewhere. Yet they're separated it, and stolen it" Jack explained. Ianto frowned, tilting his head "Who has the power to do that?" Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair "I don't know. But we need to find out fast. Two people chosen at random. Who's next?" He looked worriedly at the others "Whatever's doing it has the whole city to choose from" Gwen murmured. Jack sighed, as they opened the doors "Or the world"
Eliza and Mark glanced at each other and nodded simultaneous. That was far more worse than they first thought. "We'll go back to the Electro. We need answers" She murmured, tugging him in the other direction, the umbrella shielding them from the harsh rain.
-#-
Mark huffed and scrunched his nose gazing around the small office the boy, Jonathan, was using to edit the films. Eliza was sitting on a chair, gazing at a roll "Found it" As the film rolled, they both huddled in front of the small monitor, gazing curiously.
The footage starts just as the last one did, with a complete different footage of the blessing of a ship. Suddenly, the silent film changed, showing various acts. First the strong man lifting weights, next two men in turbans juggling fire-lit pins, then two clowns making various faces. Next came the high-wire act, then Jack with a gun pointed at his own temple, dressed in some kind of safari kit. Eliza quickly stopped, as Mark let out a low whistle "Man, I knew he was old, but not /that/ old" He mumbled, blinking twice. Eliza rolled her eyes chuckling and continuing the movie. The whole circus group were waving to the camera.
Eliza leaned back in her chair with a frown, nibbling at her bottom lip and fiddling with her ponytail "There's something missing" She murmured, and that was the only thing Mark needed to start the film again, frame by frame "There. There was a woman there" She pointed, making Mark jump slightly. The film slowly continues, and Mark stopped it again "And there was the Ring Leader. A man with a top hat. Funny moustache" Eliza nodded, and their eyes locked "What do you think it is?" He raised an eyebrow, and he frowned when she shrugged. "That's…worrisome" he mumbled, swallowing.
Eliza rubbed her hands over her face, under the glasses and sighing loudly "So there's a creature that can manifest itself from a movie, takes the last breath of a human and leaves them in a comatose-state. What else do we know? Um…There must be something about the rain" She nibbled on her bottom lip, getting out of the chair and walking to the doors, frowning "They manifested after Electro rolled that film"
The duo left the room, as Mark started to type on his PDA. "There was a legend. My mam told me. Something about…" He scrunched his nose "A traveling show. She used to say I should hold my breath so they won't steal it" He shrugged, still typing "She used to say they came out of the rain" he murmured.
Eliza sighed, as they made their way back to their hotel. It was silent and almost empty, the only light being the one from the lobby and their room. She opened the laptop quickly, sitting cross-legged on the bed "Alright, we need to search of any similar cases." She murmured.
Mark chuckled and sat next to Eliza, laying on his back "Now I see why they appeared now. The Electro is the last old cinema left untouched in Cardiff. And since the cinema probably killed the traveling show, this is the perfect revenge" She nodded, eyes glued to the screen.
He quickly stood up, making Elizabeth jump slightly and move her eyes from the blinking screen "There had been other victims. A family this time" She swallowed, sighing softly "Go, I'll still look into these" With a nod, Mark made his way quickly out of the hotel, running to the hospital.
-#-
Mark entered the quiet hospital, just as the nurse spoke to Jack and Ianto "Those words, From Out Of The Rain, I'm sure I've heard them before. Oh, I remember, it was Christina. She was a patient" Mark swallowed, staying by the door to listen to them "Here?" Jack murmured, making her shake her head "No, at Providence Park. It's a psychiatric hospital" Ianto nodded "I know"
"I used to work there. She was a full-time patient, been there since she was a child. She was a strange one. Whenever anything, any kind of entertainment show was laid on, she became scared. She'd run away and hide" The senior nurse continued "Did she say why?" Jack asked, making her nod "Yes. She said they were coming to steal her last breath. Poor love" She shook her head.
Jack and Ianto shared a look, frowning. Mark leaned slightly to hear what they were talking "I think we've just found ourselves our first witness" Jack murmured. As the couple walked to the door, Mark bumped into Ianto, slipping a microphone in his jacket. "Oh, sorry" Mark offered an apologetic smile to Ianto, as he smiled politely "No problem"
As Ianto and Jack walked towards the doors, Mark flipped his PDA smirking and typing. He put a Bluetooth headphone in his ear, grinning brightly when he heard Ianto and Jack talking. He quickly hurried back home, the grin never leaving his lips.
-#-
Eliza and Mark were both huddled on the bed, listening to the conversation between Jack, Ianto and Christina. "Christina, tell us about them. The people who came out of the rain" Jack murmured.
"There was music-Hurdy-gurdy music, acrobats and a man with fire in his hands" Christina's voice was clear, as Ianto chuckled softly under his breath. "Who else was there?" Ianto asked. "A man in dark clothes, and a woman. A beautiful young woman in a silvery costume. She seemed to glisten" She continued "They touched you, I can sense it. They touched you as they passed by" Eliza and Mark shared a frown.
"Tell us about the man, Christina" That was clearly Ianto's voice, followed by Christina. "Oh. Uh, he spoke to me. He asked if I would like to join the traveling show. He took a kind of flask out of his pocket. It was polished like silver. I asked him his name. Oh, I shall never forget it. I never shall. He said he was the Ghostmaker. He wanted to ... take my breath and put it in his flask. He said I could travel with his circus, I would be in his audience forever. I turned and ran away as fast as I could. People went missing from the village that night. My mother, my father ..."
-#-
Eliza and Mark were in the local library. Mark's glasses were perched on her nose, her hair curled in a low ponytail "Alright, here we go" She murmured, putting an old newspaper on the table where Mark was typing on the laptop .
"Missing people in 1898, a small village, Wellsfield, disappeared after a traveling show visited the village" She crossed her arms, sitting in a chair next to him. "And an article from 1901 with the same cause"
"I found some article from 1911. Listen: "Police and doctors were left both amused and baffled when Mr. Alfred Mace insisted that his dead wife could be brought back to life providing a certain flask could be found"." Mark looked up at Eliza frowning "So we have to find that silver flask, which apparently contains the 'last breath of each victim'. Sounds easy" He offered a small smile.
Eliza sighed, rubbing her temples and scrunching her nose "With us? Nothing's ever /that/ easy" She murmured. "We need to get back to Electro. Let's go"
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