Soaked to the skin, Jack, Ianto, and the others walked the fifty yards to the cabin in hope that the only person living on the small island would allow them to stay for a while.
If he didn't?
They were going to stay anyway.
Lloyd led the way as they silently trudged their wet, shivering bodies to the main door—the only door—of the cabin.
He then peeped over to see the Hitchers still at the water's edge, growling and gnashing, but reluctant to cross and even go in at knee-depth after what had happened to some of their companions from before.
He then looked at the tied up rowing boat on his side of the water. Maybe one day they'll need it. He then looked to his left. To his left was the Hitchers and The White Horse pub in the background. To his right was a place he had never been to before.
It was a mass of trees, a forest, and the sight of it alone made his frame shudder.
Lloyd smiled thinly at Junior and put his arm around his only child. Said Lloyd in a whisper, "If this guy refuses to let us in, then we still take it."
Ianto shivered, "We can't do that."
"If we don't," Lloyd nodded over back to the pond where the infected were waiting for them, "then freezing out here or going back out there is the only three options we have left."
"I don't know," said Ianto. "It seems wrong."
Gwen moaned, "We've been through a lot of shit in such a short space of time, and managed to come through it, unlike the Hortons, that James fellow, Stripy Steve and now Sue."
Ianto was saddened when she mentioned Sue's name.
Jack agreed, "I'm not giving up now."
"But what about them?" Ianto pointed over to the pond. "They're not going anywhere for now."
"We'll just have to ride it out, man," Lloyd chipped in, "and hope the old man has got some food to keep us going for a couple of days. If they somehow learn how to swim, we're gonna have to drag that boat across this small island and travel that way,"
"Right, guys." Ianto pointed at the door to the cabin and added, "Shall we knock? I don't know about you, but I'm freezing my balls off here."
Lloyd turned and knocked the door. All of them shivered as their clothes dripped, and waited as patiently as they could for the door to open. Lloyd sighed and knocked again. "If there's no answer by the third knock, I'm going in regardless."
Nobody responded.
There was still no answer and Lloyd knocked once more with more ferociousness, and placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to try it. He twisted the knob and gave the door a gentle push. He was surprised to see it open and gaped at his companions in surprise.
Lloyd took a hesitant step inside and said 'hello' a couple of times to alert the owner that he now had company. Once they were all inside, Lloyd shut the door, immediately putting the place into darkness. Lloyd opened the door again to provide some kind of light and could see the cabin was as basic as it could be. It was one big room. It had a sink, a gas cooker, an old couch and a mattress in the corner of the place where the old man obviously slept, but there was no old man.
Lloyd went through a few of the drawers. The first drawer had dozens of candles, and he smiled when he found a lighter in the next drawer. He then walked around the room and began to light the four stumpy candles that were already scattered around the place. The place soon lit up once the four flames began to dance.
"Where the hell is he?" Ianto asked, referring to Rob Round.
Nobody answered, because nobody knew.
"I'll check out the back." Ianto began to head for the door. "His rowing boat's still there, so he must be about somewhere."
Ianto took a short walk around the cabin, his wet feet dragging through the bracken and long grass, and once he reached the back of the place the mystery of the missing Rob Round had been solved.
Ianto put his T-shirt over the face and his footsteps made the buzzing flies disperse a little once he got closer to the decomposed body. Ianto had to look away once he saw the maggots writhing excitedly out of the man's eye sockets, and was convinced he was going to be sick. He gulped in a few deep breaths of air and seemed to have kept the little food he had left in his stomach.
He had no idea how Rob Round had died, but judging by the state of his body he had been dead for weeks.
Natural causes?
That's the problem with living on your own, especially when you're an old man, Ianto thought. If anything happens, there's no one to come to your aid.
He took another gape at the body and guessed that he could have had a heart attack whilst he was outside, collapsed, and never got back up again. Whatever way he died, it removed the problem of trying to persuade the owner if they could stay or not.
Ianto returned to the cabin to see the others sitting down on the couch and at the table, all had towels wrapped around their shoulders.
"Great." Ianto smiled. "You found towels."
Lloyd put his hand to the side of him and threw one at Lloyd, which he caught. "And one for you."
"Any sign of the old man?" Gwen shivered next to Junior, and her teeth began to chatter.
"He's dead," Ianto bluntly said. "His body's round the back. Looks like he's been dead for weeks. Probably a heart attack or something."
"We found some food in a cupboard," announced Junior. "Some tins and stuff. No milk or anything."
"I don't think the guy has a fridge." Ianto spoke up.
"The water from the sink will keep us hydrated." Jack took a walk over to the cupboard and could see tins of beans, ravioli and tuna. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to keep all four going for another two days.
"I'm exhausted." Ianto groaned, and tried to joke, "It's early evening. I think I'm gonna find a corner and sleep for a day."
"Do you think we should keep a watch tonight?" asked Lloyd.
"Defo." Gwen scratched at her dark hair and said, "I can do the first stint. Ianto can do the last if he's that tired."
"But what's the point if they're over there?" Junior spoke with tiredness in his tone.
"Just to be on the safe side." Jack smiled at Junior. He could see he was nervous. "If they somehow become brave enough to try and cross, or even quickly learn how to swim across, which I doubt, then someone needs to inform the rest of us what is happening."
"And if they do?" asked Junior, unsure he wanted to hear the answer.
Lloyd intervened, "Then we untie the rowing boat, drag it across the island and put it into the water on the other side and head to the other side of the land, where the forest is."
"I don't want to go into the forest." Junior shook with the cold and his nerves.
"Neither do I, son. But I don't want to get taken either."
"What's that noise?" Ianto stood up, and all of them now stood, in silence, listening to the faint sound of engine noises.
Lloyd peered out of the door and squinted his eyes upwards.
Above him he saw two low flying jets scream past, and watched them until they were just spots in the sky. He felt a presence from behind and turned around to see Jack and Ianto behind him, all trying to get a look at what had been causing the noise.
"That's a good sign, isn't it?" Ianto spoke from behind.
Lloyd nodded. "I think so."
He wasn't so sure.