21

Ianto bikes along the outer edge road of a neighbourhood. No traffic out here. Body leaning forward on the bike.

Pushing hard.

A little further.

Reaching a mental finish line... and then he coasts. Sits up. Catching his breath.

Ianto takes a sip of water... walks his bike to the entrance of a long pedestrian tunnel. Ianto enters and slowly disappears into the shadows ahead. Bike gears clickclickclick as Ianto makes his way through the narrow tunnel... light fading on him as he goes deeper. Up ahead, a sound coming from around a tunnel corner. ...SCRATCH-SCRATCH-SCRATCH-SCRATCH. Ianto stops. Silencing the clicking of his bike so he can hear better.

The SCRATCHING gets louder... like nails on a chalkboard echoing in this concrete corridor.

"Hey - somebody there?"

No answer... but something moves. An abandoned shopping cart slowly rolls out from behind the corner... drifts to a stop. Ianto peers ahead into the darkness. Can't see around the corner up ahead. Was it the wind... or did someone push it?

"Who is that?"

The cart just sits there. Ianto leans his bike against the wall and unclips a safety light from under the seat. He starts walking toward that corner. Coiled. On edge. His red light blinking into the darkness.

"Owen? I swear to god ya bloody twat …" He quickly rounds the corner - and no one's there. Ianto regards the empty tunnel... his light still blinking when suddenly - a small rock comes skipping out of the darkness, landing at his feet. Like someone just tossed it. Ianto picks up the rock. Rattled. He moves toward the direction it came from... notices a sign on the tunnel wall: PLAYGROUND - with an arrow pointing to the exit.

Ianto runs his light across the sign, revealing that it's been vandalized. Some of the letters wildly scratched off. Just the word PLAY remains.

Ianto raises his blinking light toward the empty darkness ahead of him where the rock came skittering in from. He starts to back away... unaware that in the brief flashes of red light - someone is behind him. Just a shape. And Ianto is backing up right toward them.

Closer.

CLOSER.

He turns - and it's just empty tunnel.

His bike leaning against the wall. Ianto stares. Can't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone here.

.

.

.

Toshiko comes out the back exit from the Hub into the parking area ... nudges a brick against the bottom of the door to keep it open. She takes the sack of garbage over to the dumpster and heaves it in. Ianto does so much, especially now that there is …something… going on she does not quite understand yet.

The brick door-stop begins to slide across the ground. Sliiiding and -SHHHUNK. !

Toshiko turns to see the door has fallen shut. She steps away from the dumpster and comes over to the door. Tries the handle. !

No entry from the outside. !

"Hey! Owen" She knocks on the door, then steps back and waves her arms above her head as she tries to catch the camera "Owen! I'm waiting. ! Stuck out here alone behind the Hub."

Toshiko glances around. The bulky dumpster... her parked car... sodium vapour lights buzzing overhead. Not a soul in sight... and yet... there is a presence. Like someone out there is watching.

Toshiko bangs on the door again. More urgent. Doesn't want to be out here a second longer.

"Owen! C'mon, open up!"

There's a faint fluttering sound.!Behind her. Toshiko glances back. !Sees a flyer on her car windshield. Fluttering in the night breeze. She goes to her car, passing through a pool of overhead light.

Takes the flyer off her windshield. !Furniture Sale Saturday! She doesn't remember seeing that when she drove in this morning, mind it was dark. No way they could have got in here so it must have been put there while parked on the street.

Right?

She wads it up, and now notices something else... The word 'HELLO' written in the condensation on the driver's side window. ! The letters drip. ! Like someone was just here... having written the word with their finger. ! It seems innocent. !

Toshiko wipes it away with her hand. Stands there in the dark... As her car alarm suddenly goes off scaring the hell out of her. !

It shrills through the night air. Toshiko takes a step back... something doesn't feel right. The alarm keeps BLARING as Ianto suddenly rides down the ramp into the parking area on his bike.

"What's going on - you okay?" Ianto asks, pulling his keys from his pocket that has a copy of Toshiko's car keys. He shuts off the alarm. Silence again. Toshiko takes a final look at her car.

"Yeah. I'm good." She steps inside and pulls the door open … it ws not locked after all?

Ianto takes a moment to look back around the parking area with a feeling of impending doom.

Someone was clearly watching them.

He just didn't know why.