22
Predictably, the hours dragged to the early morning, and little sleep occurred within the group.
Some dosed off and kept others awake with their snoring. Some cussed in the darkness, whilst Ianto and Joan spent some of the night getting to know one another, by whispering to one another in the darkness.
James had told them to shut up twice, but Joan had told him bluntly to 'eat shit'.
Joan had a potty mouth on her, but Ianto thought strangely that it was an endearing quality for Joan, as she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself whoever the individual was.
Owen was quite taken and asked her if she wanted to adopt him more than once.
Baby Micha cried intermittently while David was eerily silent, wanting his Mother as he stared owlishly at everyone, his teddy bear missing.
Gwen still lamented her 'Rhys' while cuddling up to Owen and Jack resisited the urge to point out the fact that she hadn't thought of Rhys while with Owen but held it back as he watched Toshiko slip into the other armpit, defiantly staring Gwen down as she laid her head on Owen's chest forcing Gwen to turn her face.
Well done little dragon.
Ianto had miraculously managed three hours sleep, and his eyes widened once Christopher spoke up. "Right guys. Watch your eyes."
Because they were in the basement, they were still in the darkness, and they knew what Christopher meant. They covered their eyes in preparation for the sixty-watt bulb the owner was about to put on.
The light filled the room, and Angela and James were still sleeping. It was apparent that each person, with their sheets and pillows, had tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible during the night.
Christopher Horton then walked up the steps to the door that led into the kitchen.
"And where the fuck are you going?" snarled James, now awake. His nervousness was making him irritable and he stood to his feet, ready to approach the owner of the place.
"Its morning," Christopher spoke up. "And we can't stay in here forever. People need to eat, to drink."
"To go for a piss," Joan said bluntly, which made Ianto smile.
Stripy Steve looked unnerved with Christopher standing next to the door, and James wasn't too impressed either.
"This is my place!" Christopher snapped, noticing some of the looks he was getting. "I'm not hiding in my own basement. It's my responsibility to check to see if the place is safe. If it is, then we can go back to the ground floor of the house. For those who still don't feel safe, you can stay down here."
"It should be safe," Stripy Steve spoke up, trying to convince himself. "We never heard anything during the night, did we?"
The group shook their heads.
Christopher put his shotgun under his arm and slid back the bolt. "It needs to be checked out all the same."
Ianto tucked his gun into pocket and yelled, "Wait up! I'm coming with you."
"Ianto?" Rhiannon said softly and he distractedly waved her down.
With his heart in his mouth, Ianto remained behind Christopher, as the huge fifty-six-year-old gently pushed open the basement door. Both men looked at one another, unsure what to do next.
Jack slid up beside them, he Webley drawn and he nodded to show he was coming as well.
Christopher stepped outside of the basement and into the kitchen.
Angela told him that she loved him, but he never responded back verbally, he just looked at her and flashed a smile. Ianto was next to step out into the kitchen, and he turned to Joan.
"I'm gonna close the door now. Make sure it's bolted, just in case..." Ianto couldn't finish the sentence.
"Just in case you don't make it?" she said.
Ianto half-laughed and shrugged. "I don't know."
"If your they're still human, but infested theory is true, then you'll know where we are anyway, won't you? If you get hitched, your brain could still remember that we're here, in the basement."
"I'm not sure it works like that." Ianto threw his arms in the air, shook his head in defeat and admitted truthfully, "I haven't a pissing clue."
"You have such a potty mouth" Jack whispered, leaning in and kissing him gently before stepping around him into the kitchen.
The men hesitantly walked through the dusky kitchen and Christopher signalled for Ianto to stop walking. The fifty-six-year old leaned over the kitchen's sink and peered through the blinds, and looked out onto his back garden.
"Anything?" whispered Jack.
Christopher shook his head. "No, but it's as foggy as hell outside. That's the trouble when you live in a hilly area, even at this time of year."
He went to grab the doorknob of the kitchen with his left hand, shotgun in his right, and twisted the knob ever so slowly. He pulled the door open and looked down the hallway where the front door could be seen. It was still closed and looked to be still on its hinges.
Ianto's face looked relieved. "I know we never heard anything last night, but at least that confirms that no one tried to get in."
Christopher agreed, but then held his shotgun horizontally with both hands.
"We'll check the place out, just to be on the safe side, then the people in the basement can get themselves a drink, go to the toilet..."
"We should put the TV on. See if this thing is being contained, or if there's been any other kind of positive progress."
Jack nodded. "After we've checked the house."
Once the guest living room was found to be vacant of anything untoward, the nervous men crept upstairs to check the bathroom and every guest room. Everything was how it should be, and this made Christopher feel relaxed a little. He leaned the shotgun against the wall of the landing, and stepped into his own room that faced the front of the house. He drew the curtains back and Ianto walked and stood next to him.
It was probably a view that Christopher Horton had seen many times before, living in the barrens, but it made Ianto's spine shudder in fright.
It was seven in the morning, and the whole of the barrens appeared to be suffocated with thick, dense fog. Ianto couldn't even see the road that should have been twenty yards from the place, and with what had occurred the evening before, as well as the images on the TV, it was a chilling sight to behold.
"Come on," Jack beckoned. "Let's get the others out."