30
Apart from a little wind trying to sneak into the cracks of the boarded-up living room window, Ianto felt that the house and outside was serene. Before breaking the bad news to the others about Steve, he walked into the living room to peer through the cracks.
His eyes were greeted by beautiful green hills, the sun beating down.
The only thing that ruined the scene was the crashed jeep on the road belonging to Sue, which was also decorated inside with her son's brains.
Ianto shook his head. It was an awful experience seeing her son die like that, and it must have taken a lot of guts for Jack to take him out. It was guts that he never had.
Seconds from moving away from the area where the window used to be, Ianto's heart almost stopped when he saw the gowned man. For an individual, infected or not, that had been hit by a car, he seemed in good shape.
He walked nonchalantly past the guesthouse and then suddenly stopped. It glared at the damaged vehicle; then scowled 360 degrees around the area. He then quickly twisted his neck to his right and from that distance Ianto could see the Hitcher in the back of his neck, its wide possessed eyes, dried blood over it and mandible.
Ianto held his breath as the thing seemed to be glaring at him; but it was impossible for it to see Ianto, wasn't it? Despite this frightening episode, and the basement being only a few yards away in the kitchen, Ianto's legs refused to move.
He wasn't budging.
I hope to God that these fuckers don't have some kind of super sense of smell.
Ianto took a step back from the area where the window used to be and opened the shotgun, making sure there were shells in as he was unsure whether he had put them in or not; he had.
He then snapped the gun shut and went back over to peer through the boarded up window.
The gowned man had vanished.
Ianto produced a small gulp, and could feel the carotid pulse banging from the inside of his neck. "Shit. Where are you?"
He took a step back once again and decided to go back to the basement.
Jack needed to know about the presence from outside, but at the same time he didn't want to increase their consternation.
What was he to do? Keep his mouth shut? Or tell them the truth? It was bad enough he had to tell them Steve had just committed suicide.
A sudden smack against the wood made Ianto yelp in fright. He stumbled backwards, dropped the shotgun and fell over Angela Horton's body. The back of his T-shirt began to soak up the blood on the floor, and he quickly got to his feet and tried to reach for the gun.
After hearing the commotion, Jack had made an appearance and another smack against the wooden boards was heard, and this time the splitting of wood was clear.
This thing was throwing itself at the place, desperate to get in. Another smack saw the wood split and the possessed demon stuck his right arm fully in to grab at anything he could.
Ianto picked up and raised the shotgun, but Jack was quicker to react and rammed a steak knife into its arm, just above the elbow, and into the bicep.
It withdrew its arm and made an awful cry, almost like a prehistoric cry, and both humans ran to the basement and quickly locked themselves in before they were attacked.
"What is it?" Rhiannon was hiding in the corner, and neither Jack nor Ianto answered her.
They bolted the basement door shut and listened to the racket the infested person was creating. After thirty seconds the noise and its screaming had stopped.
Now what?
Ianto and Jack remained sitting on the top of the steps and were both heavy breathing; their intake and outtake of breath were done together.
Ianto then said, "It seems to have calmed down. One thing for sure, we can't stay down here anymore."
"And go where?"
Ianto shrugged his shoulders. "Does this place have an attic? I'd rather be trapped above than down below."
"What difference does it make?" Jack spoke with contempt. "If you're trapped, you're trapped. And where in the blue fuck is Steve?"
"He's dead." Ianto decided not to sugar coat what he had seen, and told them straight. "I found him in an empty bath. He'd cut open his wrists."
"For fuck's sake." Jack began pacing the floor. "Are you okay?"
Ianto released a sarcastic smile. "Well, it's something I'm...we're becoming used to now, isn't it?"
"And how did that thing attack the house?" asked Jack. "Were you making a noise?"
Ianto answered Jack, and wasn't incensed by the accusation. "I think it...smelt me. I can't think of any other reason why it did what it did. I'm pretty sure it didn't see me. Or maybe it was when I snapped the shotgun shut."
He was unsure.
"Well, this seems to get better and better." Jack was still pacing the floor, determined to wear out the carpet, and added, "Why do you think that thing was wearing that gown? You reckon it was an escaped mental patient or something?"
Ianto nodded. "I think it must have come from a hospital. It was probably attacked like many others, but I have no idea how it ended up in the middle of nowhere."
Ianto took his T-shirt off and put on a spare that was sitting in the corner of the basement.
Another black one.
He then turned to Tosh. "How are we all gonna get through this...without being infested?"
Tosh shook her head, the expression on her face was blank. "We're not sure."