"Moshi moshi," said Jack into the cellphone. He was not too sure what else to say. The corridor felt silent around him.
Ianto raised his eyebrows. He mouthed the question 'who is it?'. Jack shrugged then turned away slightly to listen better to the caller.
"Watashi no namae wa... 'Harkness' desu." Jack replied. He knew his accent was terrible.
Ianto tapped his shoulder. "So not Tosh then?" he whispered. "That's what was bothering you up until a few seconds ago.
Jack covered the face of the phone and spoke aside to Ianto. "I've no idea who it is."
"Ah. You are English," said the distant woman's voice from the phone.
Jack put the phone back to his ear. "No," he replied. "But I'm an honorary local. Are you visiting somewhere near here?"
"Hai. Sorry, Mister Harkness." She sounded young, but she sounded confident. "Yours must be the nearest cellphone to my location. I need your help. Are you in the basement portion of the hospital?"
"Yes. And can I assume you are too?" He looked around for movement at the ends of the corridor. Ianto followed his lead and reached for the pistol in his waistband.
"Hai. You must assist me. I am in need of assistance now." Her voice was clear, but not hasty. There was no obvious activity or sound of distress in the background.
"We're here to help," said Jack. "Can I call security?" He paused. "Do you need the police?"
"I'm not sure that is the kind of help I need," she said flatly. "Please come to the room Four Ninety-Three. Can you find that?"
Jack looked at the gloomy anonymous doors. The numbering continued from Tosh's room.
"Sure," he said. "Easy as one - two - three."
"I said Four Nine Three. Do you need help with the numbers?"
"No thanks," he laughed. "It's just something people say." He turned back to Ianto share the joke, but Ianto was shrugging. The phone disconnected without further explanation.
"A damsel in distress?" asked Ianto.
"How do you know it was a lady? I rescue all sorts." His eyes twinkled in the gloom.
"That was your 'well hello' voice that you reserve for the ladies." Ianto looked a little jealous.
"Do I have one for men?" Jack laughed. "How does that go?" He raised his eyebrows.
Ianto frowned. Perhaps he had revealed too much. "We should get back to the matter at hand," he said. "Does your new-found friend know where to find our colleague?"
Jack shrugged. "It seems too obvious for them not to be connected. Is Tosh's room still there."
They both turned to look at the blank wall. "I guess not," said Ianto. "Okay. We look for your friend's room and then, if we find out she just needs her pillows fluffed up, we come back here and try something more technical."
"It's a deal," said Jack slapping his friend on the shoulder. "Walk this way."
Ianto sighed and looked back at the hidden room. "Sorry," he whispered."
:::
Tosh braced herself against the door and pulled it open. She noticed the red stain that her handprints left behind, but she was not yet sure what it was. Her whole day had become one big confusion.
"Are they there?" said McGill from the bed in the corner. "There must be someone there." He turned his head in a futile attempt to see more.
Tosh leaned out warily into the cool breeze of the corridor.
"Nope," she giggled. "Nada. The coast is all clear." She wiped a feverish sweat from her brow.
McGill struggled to sit up. "There were dozens of those things out there. I'm surprised Captain Harkness and your man Jones could get back in here. I'm surprised they're still alive."
Tosh looked again into the gloom. "No. No-one is dead. Or I should say that no-one is here. So they're not dead… here." She looked back at McGill on the bed. He had been fun for a few minutes, but had shouted a lot in a way that scared here. And then he had taken up too much room on the bed and said scary things about her best friends. "I'm going for a walk," she decided.
McGill reached randomly ahead of himself. "No. Stay here. Or wait. Wait until I can get up. Give me a minute." He pulled awkwardly at a gown which he assumed was hospital wear. It fitted tightly around his shoulders. "Tosh?"
He was met by silence. He realized that she had gone. "Tosh?"
A thin voice trailed in the door from down the hall. "Ssh. You're still giving me a headache. Are you coming or not?" She sounded much more alert than she had been so far.
"Wait," McGill tried to say. He swung his hairy legs off the bed and aimed for the floor. Despite leaning forward as much as he could, the soles of his feet hung loosely in the air. He wondered he was finally at thfor a moment if the whole room had changed its dimensions. He let the feet swing and feel the close swish of air that suggested the floor was near. He tilted forward further and fell much further than he would have thought. But it was only his changed perceptions, and his cold toes hit the floor firmly and solidly.
He stood up carefully, his head dizzy, and tried to remember where the wall was. With a few cold, careful steps, his outstretched hand knocked against the paper towel dispenser above the wide sink. He felt along the odd shapes and fixtures on the wall until he was finally at the wide-open door.
"Tosh?" he called. He could only hear silence in the corridor. There was a distant hum of air vents and electric cables in the roof above, but no sound of people or any other living thing.
As he stepped into the hall, a small hand gripped his wrist. He jumped with surprise.
"Don't be frightened, Mr Doctor," said Tosh. "Just don't look. You're lucky you can't see."