Du caa y funmt eh y knyeh uv cyht
Yht y rayjah eh y femtvmufan
Du rumt ehvehedo eh dra byms uv ouin ryht
Yht adanhedo eh yh ruin.
Toshiko pulled out her keys from her small black bag she had slung over her shoulder, letting them dangle, jingling slightly from her slim fingers. Stepping up to the front door of her block of flats, she slid the small golden key into the lock and pushed the door open, letting it swing silently closed behind her. She stopped for a moment, leaning back against the smooth wood, enjoying that first moment of quiet she loved when she stepped into the spacious foyer of the flats.
Then, sighing, she opened her eyes once more, and walked forwards, heading towards the stairs. Looking over at the board to see if she had any messages, she was surprised to see that it was completely blank. Normally there was at least one message on there for one of the six flats, even if it was written by them, like "Buy milk" or "feed Betty's cat". But there was nothing except the gleaming smooth white.
Shrugging slightly, Tosh continued on her way up the red carpeted stairs in front of her, heading for the lift. Her flat was on the fourth floor, a spacious and comfortable living space that she had grown to love. It was her only sanctuary from the madness of her working life and Torchwood.
Stepping up to the polished metal doors, she pushed the small arrow button for up, which lit up a glowing red colour. Humming slightly, Tosh fiddled with the keys in her hand, making them jingle in time to the tune in her head.
Suddenly she became aware of a presence next to her, and she looked round. A small boy was standing there, no more than seven or eight years old, wearing dark blue jeans and a red GAP hoody. His sandy coloured hair was brushed back neatly, and he was staring at the grey doors of the lift, as if unaware of Toshiko being there.
"Excuse me, are you alright?" Tosh asked him nervously. She was unaware of any children living in the flats, or of any families in the building who might have a child come to visit. There certainly wasn't anyone new in, unless they had moved in over the past two days, and she thought that very unlikely.
The boy didn't answer, and Tosh didn't ask him again. Perhaps he was a child of one of the residents' friends or something, and was too shy to talk to strangers or something.
There was a soft 'ping', and the lift doors slid smoothly open with a quiet hiss. The familiar lift voice entered into the empty corridor, saying "Doors opening. Lift going up." No one got out, so Tosh stepped forwards and into the small room, followed by the boy, who stood in the opposite corner, watching her intently. Shaking off a sudden nervous feeling that washed over her, Tosh pushed the button for the forth floor.
"Which floor would you like?" She asked the boy, for some reason unable to meet his eyes. They were too dark and unnerving.
The boy didn't answer her, merely continued to watch her with those strange black eyes, and as the doors hissed quietly closed, Toshiko realised that something definitely wasn't right.
Owen Harper strolled casually down one of the busy main streets of Cardiff's mazelike centre. He didn't really feel like going home just yet, and he'd only said he'd had things to do at home to get off work early. Now he was free for the rest of the calmly fading afternoon, and the cool breeze that pulled at his short brown hair and black leather jacked was helping to clear away the remnants of the smells of Torchwood, including that of the fast decomposing body of the Ilnæd.
Stopping for a moment, Owen leaned over the black railing that ran around the edge of the docks, and looked out over the gently rolling ocean. Small sailing boats bobbed about on the gentle swell of the waves, and further out there were the silhouettes of much larger ships carrying cargo and passengers. The faint roar of an aeroplane came rushing over his head, and he looked up as the huge machine pulled itself up into the sky.
After a moment, he pulled back from the railings and began strolling once more down the road, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets. His long fingers felt something cool and square in his pocket, and he pulled it out, stopping as he did so. Tosh's data gig. He'd borrowed it earlier that day and forgotten to give it back. He swore under his breath. She'd be looking for it later. Glancing at his watch, he turned around, and began heading in the opposite direction, towards Tosh's apartment. It'd only take a few minutes to get there, and he had time.
Looking both ways, he crossed the busy road at a jog to avoid the many cars, buses and taxi's that filled the city. Toshiko's apartment was the nearest to the Hub out of the three of theirs homes, and Owen was soon making his way up her street.
Stopping outside of the apartment block, he glanced upwards at the building, before pressing the bell button for floor four, Tosh's apartment. The slight breeze that had seemed so nice on the main road seemed to be amplified down the narrower road, and he shivered slightly as the wind sliced through his clothes.
After a few moments, he pressed the button again, and called through the intercom
"Tosh? Tosh its Owen. I've got your Data gig thingy here, and I thought you might want it back. Plus, I didn't really want to have to carry it around with me all night."
No answer. Then:
"They're frightened. They're always frightened. Then the nightmares come. If they weren't frightened then they wouldn't come"
The young child's voice came through the intercom, strange and muffled, sending a chill down Owen's back.
"Who's that? Tosh are you in there?"
"The Japanese girl doesn't like to dream. And they're so complicated. All that data, takes so long to comprehend. But she's clever. Oh yes, oh so clever. Little Toshiko Sato, so clever, yet so alone."
"What have you done to her?" Owen's voice was low and dangerous as he spoke into the little speaker.
"Only shown her what she already sees. Just more real. Isn't that what they asked?"
Static suddenly sounded over the speaker, and Owen jumped back slightly as sparks flew out of it with a loud popping noise.
"Tosh!" he shouted, before grabbing the door handle. Whatever was up there was not human, and whatever it was, it didn't sound like the type of thing you casually invited over for a cup of tea and a chat.
The door was, as he had expected, locked. Owen swore loudly, hitting the solid wood in frustration. Suddenly, he remembered Toshiko casually mentioning a spare key hidden behind the square of wood that portrayed the number "42", the house number for the apartment block. Shifting the wood aside, he grabbed the key from the small gap behind it, stuffed it into the lock, and shoved open the door, which banged against the wall behind it. Throwing the key back into place and sliding the wood back over it, Owen cautiously entered the building, keeping his hand in his pocket on the handle of his gun. He didn't dare take it out in case one of the other residents saw him.
He was glad that he'd shoved it into his pocket for once, instead of the back of his trousers where he normally kept it. It was more accessible in his pocket. Stepping forwards, his dark eyes scanned the foyer of the block. Empty and silent.
Hurrying forwards, he headed over to the lifts and pressed the up button, which lit up red. The hallway was so quiet. Too quiet.
He could hear the whir of the lift as it slowly descended towards him, and the annoying voice of the lift woman telling the empty box what floor it was on.
There was a soft ping as lift arrived, and Owens grip on his gun tightened as the doors slid smoothly apart.