Another huge load of thanks to my reviewers: Ravenja70, milady dragon, I I I Jemm I I I, Marian Locksley, specialfrancine, lollzie, L.A.H.H., gernumblies and Steph! I was especially amused by all the comments about Gwen – more on that later. But for now…
Chapter 3
"Owen!"
"What?"
"That is sick, that is just completely sick!"
"What is it, Ianto?"
"He's gone and stored a load of alien body parts in the fridge, Jack! And they're not even on the meat shelf!"
"April fools, Ianto!"
"Owen! You are cleaning that fridge out now!"
"I don't suppose that's an April Fools…?"
Ianto glanced at his watch and allowed his tension level to drop a little. "Nope. Sorry, Owen. It's just past midday. You'll find the cleaning equipment in the cupboard down there. Yes, the one by the armoury! Honestly, have you never cleaned anything round here before?" Ianto turned back to Jack. "Shall I call Gwen back?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, do that. Tell her it's getting silly and I'm ordering her back now."
***
She couldn't see what they were, but she could tell that there was more than one. She could see the eyes, glowing. They didn't seem to have noticed her yet.
"Gwen?"
Gwen jumped slightly as Ianto's voice came in over the comms. She cupped her hand over the earpiece – his voice sounded so loud.
"It's past twelve, and Jack says it's getting silly. He wants you back. Now." Ianto paused. "Are you there, Gwen?"
***
"She won't reply!" Ianto shouted over his shoulder to Jack.
"Probably wants to scare us into thinking she's dead or something." Owen replied from where he was reluctantly scrubbing out the fridge.
"I can hear her breathing."
***
Shit. Could anything else? Gwen tried to calm her breathing down. It was hard. Her leg was throbbing, and every time she moved the slightest bit lances of pain shot up it. She was hiding the torch's light, but she could just make out shadowy shapes slinking over to where the cat was lying. The air in the cellar smelt even more rank than before, the scent of fear adding to the mix. Ianto was talking again.
***
"She's gone quieter now."
Owen laughed. "Heard what you said, I bet. Hey, Gwen!" He turned his comms on. "Pretending you're dead won't work. And anyway – you're the fool now! So get your sorry arse back here!"
***
Gwen closed her eyes. In the background she could hear the… No, she didn't even want to think about what was happening to the cat. But she didn't want to listen to Owen either.
***
"What's she doing now?" Jack called.
Ianto shrugged. "Just trying to breathe quietly. There's something else in the background, but I can't tell what."
Jack clicked on his own earpiece. "Gwen, I want you back here now. There's work to do, and if your ego's hurt then tough. Otherwise you can sit out there all day. Your choice." There was no reply, so he signed off.
***
It was deathly silent in the cellar, apart from the sound of gnawing and a faint snarling and the rapid beat of her own heart. She thought she could hear someone else breathing over the comms, but she wasn't sure.
Then the other noise stopped and the only sound was her heartbeat. Far, far too loud.
And she swore the shadows were getting nearer. Like they were creeping up on her. Surrounding her.
She clutched her bit of wood, but she already knew that one rotten chunk of floorboard was not going to help her. Desperately she swung the torch beam round, and saw the murky shapes vanish back into the shadows, shrinking away from the light. She was safe - as long as the torch battery lasted.
***
Ianto listened carefully to the slight hitch in Gwen's breathing, trying to work out what was going on. A little seed of doubt was starting to form in his mind. He switched off the comms.
"Jack?"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering… What did Gwen say to you?"
"Something about being trapped in a cellar with a broken leg and a dying cat." Jack sounded very disparaging.
"Oh. Right."
***
She wished she had a gun.
She wished she had a spare torch.
She wished she had more batteries.
She wished she had painkillers.
She wished she had chosen to start searching on a different floor.
She wished there was phone signal.
She wished it was any other day.
She wished she'd said goodbye to Rhys properly.
She wished they would believe her.
***
Ianto cradled his head in his hands, trying to remember the sound he had heard in the background. Had it sounded anything like a cat? Part of him said; no, it was just Gwen being silly. And Gwen could be like that, yes. But spending that long sulking?
He searched their data base for reports on the warehouse they'd dispatched Gwen too. No reports of strange occurrences at all – in fact the last reference to it anywhere was in a council report saying that it was due for demolition, as it was structurally unsound. Maybe that was where he had heard about it. There weren't even any reports of missing cats in the area that he could find.
But the niggling feeling still remained.
***
The torch beam was getting gradually fainter. How long had she had it on for? Several hours, give or take. And how long before they came looking? And even if they did come looking, how many hours would it take them to find her? She scrunched herself up tighter into the wall, biting her lip to stop herself crying out at the pain in her leg.
They weren't going to come looking. Jack had said so himself.
Ok, quick poll: Who wants Gwen to be eaten? And who would rather she was rescued? Or of course there is also the huge range of possibilities in between, going from 'slightly injured' to 'severely mauled' (for all you Gwen-haters out there who really want her to suffer).
Her future is in your hands…