Here's chapter three for you all. Sorry it's been ages. Frantic revision for french orals has been forced to come first Anyway, thanks for all the reviews from everyone! I didn't realise how much people liked it!
Next chapter coming soon!
Dni funmt ec toehk
Dni baubma yna tyshat
Oad fa cdemm ku oh mejehk
Yc ev hudrehk femm ryja luhcaxiahlac
Oad huf drao lusa
Yht byhel yht cunnuf femm naekh
''floor four. Doors opening"
The cool voice of the lift operator echoed out into the empty corridor as the lift doors open smoothly with a sigh. Owen raised his gun once more, no longer worried about being seen.
He'd tried to contact Jack at the HUB, or any of the others, but there had been no reply. Something was jamming the communication lines. They weren't so irresponsible to have all of them switched off, especially not Ianto. But not even he had replied when Owen had called them at least six times since entering the building. He was on his own.
No one in sight, he stepped out into the short corridor, keeping one eye on the large windows that lined one wall. Tosh's door was just opposite him, and he edged forwards cautiously. The entire building was silent, as if frozen in time somehow. Owen crept noiselessly across the softly carpeted floor of the corridor, trying to breathe silently.
Reaching the red stained wooden door, Owen stood to the side and put his ear up against the wall, listening for any signs of movement. Nothing.
"Tosh? Its Owen. Can you hear me?" He shouted through the door, gun raised, tensed ready in case whatever it was in there with her came bursting out of the apartment to attack him.
No reply.
"Tosh!" He called once more, louder this time. He knew she was here. She always headed straight back to her apartment when she left work. "Tosh, I'm coming in."
He waited for a moment in case the thing reacted to this. When nothing still happened, he stepped round in front of the door, and took a deep breath…
With a crash, the door flew open, and Owen stepped into the entrance hall of Toshiko's flat, gun raised, finger on the trigger, ready. Keeping his eyes alert and covering himself from all sides with the weapon, Owen cautiously headed through further into his friend and colleges home.
He was worried, but refused to let it show, or interfere with his concentration. Instead, he pushed it to the back of his mind and continued onwards through the flat. It was silent still. He'd heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing, his own heartbeat, his voice since entering the building, as if someone had hit the mute button on everything except him. Oh yeah, and the door of course. That had made a pretty loud noise as he had less than carefully forced it open.
Stepping up to the entrance to the lounge area, Owen stood with his back against the wall, checked behind him, before peering around the corner into the living space, tensed in case he had to jerk back from any attack. Nothing. The lounge was deserted, full of Tosh's simple yet stylish furniture, with a TV in the far corner, and by the opposite wall…
"Tosh!" Owen took one last look around the room, before hurrying in and across to Toshiko, who was slumped, unconscious against the wall. He crouched down beside her, and pulled out the small medical kit he carried in his pocket at all times. Snapping the box open, he was about to begin checking her over, when she moved slightly and let out a soft moan.
"Tosh? Tosh can you hear me?" Owen asked her urgently, whipping out his small pen-torch from a pocket in his jacket, flicking it on and checking her eyes.
"Owen?" She murmured, her voice dull and groggy.
"Yeah it's me Tosh. What happened here?" Owen put his arm round her and helped her to stand, leading her gently over to one of her long blue sofas and sitting her down carefully. She began to speak slowly, and Owen listened silently as he checked her over for any signs of damage.
"When I came home there was – there was this boy standing by the lifts. He seemed to just have…appeared as I reached them, and he didn't answer me when I asked him where he was going. There's no kids here…no relatives either as far as I know. Ow!" She winced as Owen gently touched a small scar on her forehead. The underneath was bruised, and there was some dried blood covering the wound, making it look worse.
"I must have done that when I fell." She continued, wincing slightly as Owen continued checking her over. "The boy followed me into the lift, and when he looked at me I could tell that there was something unnatural about him. His eyes – they were so dark. Black as the void. He did something to me when he looked at me, making my head feel like it was being split in half with a blunt blade. It was as if I had no control. Then I started seeing things – as if he put them there. Nightmarish things…things I've only ever seen…not even in my imagination. The next thing I remember, I was in here. He was standing, looking at me from over there." She pointed to the far corner, which was darkened as it was away from the long windows. Light still streamed in from them, showing them the fading light of the summer's day.
"He said something to me as he stood there, though his voice wasn't that of a seven year old boy. It was something older. Much older. Timeless. Neither male nor female. Then I blacked out."
"It should have been recorded onto your internal security system. We'll get the tape, then take it back to the HUB. See what the others think." Owen began putting his medical equipment back into its small black bag. "You seem to be alright medically, though I'll give you a proper check over when we get back. Think you can stand?"
Tosh clambered to her feet, a little shaky but stable.
"I'll be alright I think. Thanks." She added quickly as Owen turned to the door, "For, you know, coming up here for me and all."
"S'all right." Owen mumbled, not meeting her eye, "I only meant to return your Data gig." He pulled it out of his pocket and tossed it to her gently.
"Oh…right. Thanks…Owen" Tosh replied shyly, looking down at the small instrument in her hands.
The two of them were silent for a few minutes as they headed out of Toshiko's flat, pausing only to lock the door, before heading left slightly down the corridor to the small, private security room Tosh had had installed after she had begin working for Torchwood. All of them had one, and each had a direct link to the HUB, as well as a separate recording room nearby.
Slipping inside, Owen neatly ejected the tape and slotted in a new one, before the two of them headed back to the lift, not meeting each others gaze as they descended in the small enclosed box.