7
"Shit Jack hisses "They're in."
Two Turned, moving with amazing speed over the blockade.
Ianto and Jack sprint up the stairs. Behind them, we can hear the Turned, giving chase, howling. They pass level eight, nine, ten...Ianto is exhausted.
"Come on!" Jack yells encouragement.
Ianto is out of breath, barely able to speak "I can't"
Jack continues, and Ianto looks over the edge of the stairwell, to the landing below...where the two Turned appear, tearing around the corner. Jack sprints up the stairs... and Ianto sprints past him, in an amazing burst of energy and speed. They round another bend in the stairwell...then both Ianto and Jack scream. Standing directly in front of them is a Man in Riot Gear - helmet with full visor, gloves, a riot shield in one hand, and a length of lead pipe in the other. The Man lunges past both of them, barging past, where the first Turned man has appeared at the stairwell.
The Riot Gear Man swings his lead pipe and connects viciously with the man's head. The man falls backwards against the other Turned Man. Both fall back down the stairs. The Riot Gear Man turns back to Ianto and Jack. "Down the corridor! Flat 13!"
Ianto and Jack are stunned, but start to run down the corridor. The first Turned man is coming back up the stairs. Ianto looks back over his shoulder in time to see the Riot Gear Man deliver a massive blow to the Turned's head.
Ianto and Jack run towards Flat 13. The door is open, but as they approach, it suddenly slams shut.
They start hammering on the door yelling to be let in.
"Who is it?" a girl calls nervously.
"Let us in!" Jack pleads as Ianto swings to look behind them with open fear. The door opens a fraction, on the chain. The face of a girl appears. She is fourteen, pale, solemn-faced.
"Where's Dad?" she asks Ianto who looks back down the corridor. At the far end, the Man appears. He is holding the limp body of one of the Turned - and he tips it over the balcony, where it drops down the middle of the stairwell.
He calls back "It's okay, Anwen. Let them inside."
The door closes, they hear the chain being slipped off, then it opens again. Ianto and Jack enter past the pale-faced girl. The flat is council, three-bed, sixteenth floor of the block. It has patterned wallpaper, and nice but boring furnishings. It is lit by candles. The entrance hall leads straight to the living room, which has French windows and a small balcony outside. On one wall, a framed photograph hangs, which shows the Man standing beside a black taxi cab. Next to him is a middle aged woman - presumably the Man's wife. Anwen sits at the cab's steering wheel, beaming. Another photo, beside, show Anwen sat in the seat of a go-kart.
The Man follows Ianto and Jack inside. "
Come in, come in."
They follow the Man through to the living room, and Anwen recloses the front door, which has an impressive arrangement of locks and dead-bolts.
In the living room, the fairy lights hang in the window, powered by a car battery. Lit by their glow, the Man goes through a careful ritual of shedding his gear, helped by Anwen. First, he lays down the riot shield. Then he puts the blood smeared lead pipe on a small white towel. Next, he removes his gloves - and places them beside the bar on the towel. Then he folds the towel over the weapon and gloves, and puts it beside the riot shield. Finally he removes the visored helmet.
Ianto and Jack watch him.
They look pretty rattled, not really knowing what to expect. After the Man has finished shedding his gear, he turns. "So... I'm Rhys, anyway."
He extends his hand to Ianto and Jack. Ianto hesitates very briefly, then shakes it. "I'm Ianto"
"Jack."
Rhys beams, and suddenly he seems much less frightening and imposing. If anything, he is just as nervous as Ianto and Jack.
"Ianto and Jack. Good to meet you. And this is my daughter, Anwen." Rhys says turning to Anwen "...Come on, sweetheart. Say hello."
Anwen takes a step into the room, but says nothing.
"So... so this is great. Just great. It calls for a celebration I'd say. Why don't you all sit down, and... Anwen, what have we got to offer?"
She quietly replies "We've got Mum's creme de menthe."
An awkward beat.
"Yes, her creme de menthe. Great. Look, sit, please. Get comfortable. Sit tight while I get it." Rhys moves.
Jack, Ianto and Anwen all stand, until Jack gestures at the sofa. "Shall we?"
Ianto and Jack take the sofa. Anwen stays standing.
"Where are the bloody glasses?"
"Middle cupboard." Anwen answers her father.
"No! The good ones! This is a celebration!"
"Top cupboard."
Another short, uncomfortable pause. Anwen looks at Ianto and Jack from her position near the doorway. Her expression is blank and unreadable.
"This is your place, then." Ianto says and Anwen nods. "It's nice."
Anwen nods again.
Rhys re-enters. Rhys is beaming, holding the creme de menthe, and four wine glasses. "
There! I know it isn't much but... well, cheers!"
The moon shines above the tower block. Ianto, Jack and Anwen all sit in the living room, sipping creme de menthe. Rhys is disconnecting the fairy lights as he talks, and pulling the curtains closed, rather systematically checking for cracks along the edges.
"Normally we keep the windows covered at night, because the light attracts them. But when we saw your petrol station fire, we knew it had to be survivors... So we hooked up the Christmas tree lights. Like a beacon." Rhys exaplined, finished with the guests on the sofa, he sits on the armchair.
"We're grateful." Jack assures him.
"Well, we're grateful you came." Rhys huffs "I was starting to really worry. Like I say, we haven't seen any sign of anyone normal for a while now."
Ianto looks around "There aren't any others in the building?"
Rhys shakes his head.
"And you haven't seen any people outside?" Jack asks now.
Rhys' eyes flick to Anwen. Then he says softly "We haven't left the block for more than two weeks. Stayed right here. Only sensible thing to do. Everyone who went out..."
"Didn't come back." Jack guesses.
"And there's two hundred flats here." Rhys waves a hand around "Most of them have a few cans of food, or cereal, or something."
Jack sees that he needs assurance so nods "It's a good set-up."
"It isn't bad." Rhys agrees happily as he puts a hand on Anwen's shoulder, and gives it a squeeze. "We've got by, haven't we?"
Ianto is in the bathroom, inspecting himself in the mirror. He is just finishing shaving his beard off, and has had to use the razor dry. He has cut himself several times. Ianto does a couple of last dry strokes with the razor, and winces as he cuts himself again. He uses spit to wipe away the blood.
Then, from outside, Rhys speaks."You okay in there, Ianto?"
"Yes." Ianto calls out "Fine."
Sorry we couldn't spare the water but... it's the same with the toilet. The, er, flush doesn't work. I'm afraid you have to use the bucket." Rhys says through the door and Ianto opens the door and Rhys winces "Have to empty it each morning. We just chuck it over the balcony... No mod cons here."
"It's fine." Ianto assures him.
"Well, look, it's pretty late. I'm going to turn in. We've got a spare room. Are you and Jack...?" Rhys looks uncomfortable.
"I'll take the living room." Ianto says firmly.
"Oh, right. I mean, yes... So, good night then, anyway."
"Good night, Rhys." Ianto says softly and Rhys smiles, then heads to his bedroom. Ianto feels his way down the dark corridor back to the candlelit living room. Jack is standing by the window. He looks around when Ianto enters.
"Very spruce." Jack motions at Ianto's face.
"Very shredded." Ianto agrees.
"Uh-huh." Jack snorts as Ianto sits on the armchair, and Jack moves to look at a picture on the wall - the photo of Rhys' family and the black cab.
"So what do you make of them?" Ianto asks after a while.
"They're desperate. Probably need us more than we need them."
Ianto considers "Jack ...I think they're good people."
"Good people?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's nice." Jack folds his arms as he looks at Ianto "But you should be more concerned about whether they're going to slow you down."
"Right. Because if they slowed you down..."
"I'd leave them behind." Jack finishes.
"In a heartbeat." Jack nods "Yeah."
"I wouldn't." Ianto sighs softly as he sees where this is going.
"Then you're going to wind up getting yourself killed." A moment. Then Jack stands. "I'm going to get some sleep."
"Jack - you think I don't get it. But I do get it. And I know I'd be dead already if I hadn't met you." Ianto calls after him.
Jack hesitates at the door - then turns. "Sure."
"No, look - I mean thank you."
"And I mean sure. Good night, Ianto." He moves, leaving Ianto alone.
