Consequences

by Cartmel, Andrew,Lidster, Joseph,Llewellyn, David,M

  And, ignoring the WTF expression on Jess’s face, Nina Rogers strode off.

  ‘This man, “Captain Cheese”.’ The blonde woman smirked then continued. ‘Do you know his real name?’

  Nina looked up from the manuscript, slightly irritated at the interruption. She shook her head. ‘Well, I didn’t back then. But I’m trying to tell this in some kind of order.’

  The other woman nodded and smiled. ‘That’s fine. I was just wondering when you first met him.’

  ‘I. . . I guess it was. . .’ Nina tried to shake off the grey fuzziness. ‘Well, I think I saw him at the hospital when the. . . you know. . . the zombies invaded.’

  ‘OK, well, carry on.’

  Nina sighed as the bus stopped yet again. ‘Why are there so many stops? If people weren’t so bloody lazy. . .’

  She trailed off as she became aware that Jess wasn’t—

  ‘No, wait!’ Nina stopped reading and looked up. ‘I had seen him before, I remember.’

  ‘When was that, then?’

  ‘It was before the Daleks invaded. I was in a club. One in the Bay that’s closed now. Which isn’t surprising cos the music was shite. But I was at the bar with some mates when he came running past. There was a guy in some kind of monster costume and he was chasing him.’ She paused, confused. ‘I’d forgotten about that.’

  The blonde woman nodded, clearly trying to look sympathetic. ‘Seems like there’s a few things you’ve forgotten.’

  Nina took a sip of water from the glass the woman had given her when she’d arrived. ‘I’ll just. . . I’m just going to carry on reading.’

  Nina sighed as the bus stopped yet again. ‘Why are there so many stops? If people weren’t so bloody lazy. . .’

  She trailed off as she became aware that Jess wasn’t listening. Her mate was busy applying lip balm, flicking through a copy of Heat and having her own little rant.

  ‘I mean, was he expecting me to call him? After that? No bloody way. I don’t care how bloody fantastic his thighs are, I don’t do being stood up.’

  Nina nodded and smiled. She’d long ago realised that Jess rarely required a vocal response.

  ‘Rhodri Lloyd is dead to me. Because of him, I had to go out with Tess!’

  Nina grinned over at her friend. ‘I thought that was my fault.’

  ‘Oh yeah, I’m blaming you as well. But this is me, Jess Montague, Officially Giving Up On Men.’

  Nina laughed and turned to look out of the window. Then, she stopped laughing. Because through the glass she could see a man. A man holding a sign reading ‘Horoscopes – this way. Only £5!’ And she remembered—

  The man on the telly was calling for them. He was calling them by their star signs, and he was making them walk. She was trying to stop Jean when the American ran past her.

  ‘Let her go!’ he said. ‘Just get indoors, and lock yourself in.’

  Then he continued running, calling for Ianto. Ianto. . .

  Nina Rogers was sitting in Cardiff University’s Library and she was trying not to look like she was staring at the Fit Bloke. She was meant to be reading the book that lay open in front of her but she was kind of finding it hard to care about the Ottoman Empire. Especially when she could Definitely Not Stare at him. Dressed immaculately, he obviously wasn’t a student. She’d always liked a bloke in a suit, and this one filled his out nicely. He was standing, looking a little lost, in the History section. Fiddling with his cuff-links, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

  And Nina knew that something would happen. Because it wasn’t just that she fancied him. She knew him.

  She’s standing at the bar, watching him chase the monster through the nightclub. . . And she’s looking out of the hospital window, watching him and Captain Cheese fight off the zombies. . . And she’s standing in WH Smith’s, and she’s watching as he rugby-tackles the orange man with the glowing copper ball. . . And he’s looking up at her and grinning and she’s grinning back and—

  ‘Put your tongue away!’

  She jumped as Jess appeared behind her. ‘Honestly, Nina, why don’t you make it a bit more obvious and get your tits out?’

  Nina tried to smile. Tried to pretend that everything was normal. ‘He’s fit, though, isn’t he?’

  Jess shrugged and sat down next to her. ‘If you like the lost little Welsh boy look.’ She yawned dramatically. ‘OK, I’ve been and I’ve looked at the books. There’s lots of lovely books in here and I’m sure they’re all fascinating, but we could be in the pub.’

  Nina grinned. Even when she knew the world was wrong. Even with the suited man standing just a few paces away, Jess could somehow make everything seem normal.

  ‘No!’ She wagged a finger at her friend. ‘No pub. Not until we’ve done some work.’

  Jess put her head in her hands. ‘I’m so bored. And there’s no decent totty in here.’

  ‘I thought you were Officially Off Men?’

  Jess laughed into her hands. ‘Yeah, right.’

  ‘You are so pathetic.’ Nina reached over and pulled Jess’s hands away from her face. ‘Rhodri Lloyd stands you up and you’re Officially Off Men for all of an hour and. . .’ Nina trailed off. Jess was looking at her blankly. ‘Jess?’

  ‘Who’s Rhodri Lloyd?’

  Nina felt the world lurch. She gripped Jess’s hands, then flinched, recognising the expression on her friend’s face. It was the same one she saw in the mirror every morning.

  ‘You said he was dead to you.’

  Jess giggled. ‘Are you pissed?’

  ‘Less than an hour ago. On the bus. You were talking about him. He was meant to be taking you out last night. You were just telling me about him!’

  Jess shook her head. ‘I’ve really no idea what you’re on about.’

  Nina’s grip on Jess’s hands tightened. ‘You saw him last week in Exit. Said he looked like Sam Warburton. He was meant to be taking you to Abalone’s.’

  ‘As if I’d go there. It’s a dive.’ Jess laughed then pulled her hands free. ‘I swear you’re losing it.’

  Nina Rogers just looked at her friend. And she knew that the world was wrong. And she tried to fight it but she could feel the panic rising. The same panic she’d felt in the hospital and the toy shop and the supermarket and WH Smith’s and all those other times she’d witnessed Hell on Earth and she knew that there was nothing she could do. She felt her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at an uncomprehending Jess. Jess Montague, the one normal thing in her life. Jess who’d just forgotten the bloke she’d been talking about all week.

  ‘Nina?’

  ‘I think. . . I think you’re right. Oh God. I am losing it.’

  Jess’s face blurred as the tears came. And Nina Rogers started to sob. She didn’t care where she was. She wasn’t even sure she knew where she was. She only knew one thing. And that was that there was something wrong with her. And that it wasn’t going to go away. The universe hated her and the world was broken. Hot tears poured down her face. ‘I just want it to stop!’

  ‘Handkerchief?’

  Nina blinked and looked up.

  The suited man had crouched down between her and Jess. He was holding up a pristine white handkerchief.

  She took it, apologising. ‘I’m not normally like this. I’m sorry.’

  ‘It’s OK.’ The man smiled. ‘I’m Ianto Jones and I’m here to help.’

  And, for just a moment, the world stopped spinning.

  Nina Rogers was crouched on the floor at the back of Cardiff Library. Her old friend, Jessica Montague, and her new friend, Ianto Jones, were sitting on either side of her, and they were listening as she told them her story.

  ‘I’ll skip a bit now as I’ve already told you about the airport and the zombies and that.’

  The blonde woman poured them both some more water and nodded.

  ‘So yeah. I told them how I kept finding myself in places and how I kept seeing him. This Ianto Jones and his mate.’

  ‘And what
did he say?’

  ‘So when did it all start?’

  Nina looked over at Ianto and shook her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t even know what it is.’

  They were crouched between shelves of old dusty books in a rarely used part of the library. Nina turned to Jess who was sipping whisky from her hip-flask. ‘You’re quiet. Don’t you believe me?’

  Jess laughed coldly. ‘Yeah, I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the aliens, Nina, of course I believe you. I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me.’

  Nina reached out to hug her but Jess pulled away. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know what it was. I still don’t. I just keep finding myself. . . at places with him.’ She nodded over to Ianto who looked uncomfortable, his legs squashed up into his chest.

  ‘It’s not me,’ he told her. ‘It’s Jack you’re following.’

  ‘Captain Cheese?’

  Ianto suddenly let out a huge laugh, surprising Nina. ‘Oh, he’ll love that.’

  Nina grinned over at him. Quiet, studious but with a sense of humour. Yeah, she could see this working. Jess wasn’t smiling though.

  ‘Who are you?’ She jumped to her feet and looked down at Ianto. At both of them. ‘What’s Torchwood? And what’s happened to me?’

  Nina looked up at her. ‘It’s like how I keep forgetting things. You’ve forgotten Rhodri.’

  ‘I haven’t forgotten him. There’s been no Rhodri.’

  Nina took out her mobile. Flicking through photos, she found the one she was looking for and held it up.

  Clearly irritated, Jess took the phone. Then: ‘Oh, hello! He’s lovely!’

  ‘That’s Rhodri.’

  ‘Yeah, like I’d forget that.’

  ‘He stood you up.’

  ‘Maybe he had a reason. I’m sure there was a good reason. Have you got his number?’

  ‘Jess! He was with his girlfriend when we met him.’

  ‘Well, clearly they’re not happy together. That’s not my fault.’

  ‘We went through this before. How would you like it if—’

  Suddenly, Ianto stood up and took the phone. He closed it and grinned at them both. ‘Maybe another time, ladies?’

  Nina blushed. ‘Yeah. Sorry. So. . . is it me? Has something happened to me?’

  Ianto looked as if he wanted to put a hand on her shoulder but couldn’t. He straightened his tie and looked past her. ‘I don’t know. You’ve been forgetting things, and now so has she.’

  ‘After she told me. She forgot after she told me.’

  Ianto nodded. ‘When did she last talk about the lovely Rhodri?’

  Jess stepped in between them. ‘I am here, you know. Hello.’ There was a pause, then she stood aside. ‘When did I last talk about him?’

  ‘On the bus. On the way here.’

  ‘So she came here and then she forgot him.’

  Nina nodded but. . . ‘Wait, isn’t that a bit of a coincidence? Are you saying something happened here? On the day we meet you?’

  Ianto shrugged. ‘Whose idea was it to come here?’

  Jess yelped. ‘Nina’s! It was Nina’s idea to come here!’

  ‘I am here, you know.’ Nina sighed. ‘Yeah. It was my idea to come here.’

  There was a pause.

  ‘Is anyone else really confused?’ asked Jess.

  Ianto reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a fancy mobile phone. He started to scan the shelves, and they all listened as the phone thing beeped quietly. He turned to face them and raised an eyebrow. ‘You not going to ask me what this is, then?’

  The two girls shrugged. ‘Boys and their toys,’ said Jess, offering Nina a swig of whisky.

  They all listened as the machine beeped. In the distance they could hear people turning pages, making notes, studying, quietly flirting but there, at the back of the library, it was silence. Except for the monotonous beeping, and—

  ‘Can we have some quiet in the library, please.’

  All three of them jumped as one of the librarians, an elderly woman who clearly hadn’t smiled for forty years, appeared around the corner. Nina and Jess were both amused to see Ianto blush. Fumbling, he put the phone thing back in his pocket and apologised profusely.

  ‘What are you doing back here, anyway? Nobody uses this section.’ The librarian tutted. ‘The books aren’t on the curriculum, apparently.’

  Before Ianto could speak, Nina piped up. ‘Doctor Manning asked me to get something for him. He reckoned it’d be back here. Said it was rare or something.’

  The librarian nodded and turned to leave. Then she stopped and stared at Nina. ‘Doctor Manning?’

  ‘Head of History? Tall guy. Beard. Likes a. . .’ She mimed swigging out of a glass.

  The librarian shook her head, clearly confused. ‘So they finally pensioned off Doctor Challis, did they? Poor woman. . .’ Murmuring to herself, she left them to it.

  Nina turned to Ianto and frowned. ‘Doctor Challis left years ago. She’d know that.’

  ‘Perhaps she just forgot. . .’ suggested Ianto, but Nina knew he didn’t believe it either.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ she asked.

  ‘I should call the others in,’ Ianto replied. ‘Get the library shut down. Investigate properly and—’

  Suddenly, the lights went out.

  For a second there was darkness, then a siren sounded as emergency lights lit the room in a sinister green. The siren continued as Nina and Ianto turned to look at Jess. She was standing under a fire alarm, smoking a cigarette.

  ‘I did this once before when I came here with some bloke. Good way to get some privacy.’ She shrugged. ‘We’d better hide, though.’

  Jess Montague was in the library and, before Ianto could move, she’d reached over and pulled him between two sets of shelves. She pressed herself against him, feeling his chest against her. She watched as Nina hid under a desk, then she grinned and looked up at Ianto.

  ‘You’re pretty fit under that suit, aren’t you?’ she whispered.

  She laughed as he blushed.

  ‘Oh, don’t be so soft. I don’t do boyos.’

  ‘I’m not a—’

  She reached up and put a finger to his lips as a security guard strode past them. Jess could feel her heart racing. She’d no idea what was going on but this was a hell of a lot more fun than revising. She turned to check that the security guard hadn’t seen Nina when—

  ‘Sorry, can you just stop a minute?’

  Nina looked up at the blonde woman. ‘What?’

  The woman frowned. ‘Well, it’s just I thought you. . . I thought Nina was our main character. You’ve suddenly cut to Jess’s point ofview.’

  Nina grabbed the glass of water, mostly to stop her hands shaking. ‘It. . . it had happened again.’

  ‘What had?’

  ‘The thing. You know!’

  The woman shook her head. ‘I don’t know, Nina. You tell me.’

  Nina took a deep breath. ‘The book,’ she whispered.

  Ianto gingerly took the book off the shelf. It was bound in old, peeling leather and it looked ancient. Oh, and it had stopped glowing. Nina looked over at Jess who was staring at them, blankly. ‘You all right?’

  ‘What happened?’ Jess shook her head. ‘One minute I’m smoking and the alarm’s going off and the next. . . What’s that?’ She pointed over at the book Ianto was now scanning.

  ‘It’s apparently. . . mostly safe,’ he replied before putting the scanner away. He opened the book. ‘Oh.’

  Nina looked down at the page. ‘Oh.’ She looked over at Jess. ‘Erm. . . It’s about you. Well, this bit is.’ She started to read:

  ‘Jess Montague was in the library and, before Ianto could move, she’d reached over and pulled him between two sets of shelves. She pressed herself against him, feeling his chest against her.’

  Jess looked down at the book, and Nina felt for her. Her best mate was clearly freaked out.

  ‘After the security guard had passed,’
explained Ianto. ‘we came back out from where we were hiding. You were just standing there when. . .’

  Nina took her friend’s hand. ‘This. . . beam of light. It was like a torch. It shot out of the book, out of its pages and it just. . . zapped you.’

  She watched as Jess struggled to understand. She was clearly determined not to cry, but Nina could feel her hands trembling.

  Ianto turned back to a previous page. He started to read.

  ‘Jess Montague was standing at the bar and she was like seriously well out of it.’ He smirked. ‘Not exactly Shakespeare.’ He continued to read. ‘She looked over at the fit bloke who was dancing with his mates and she decided that she was going to have him. She needed to do something what with Nina being in one of her Boring Sober Moods. She liked Nina, she really did, but sometimes she found her mate so—’

  He stopped reading as Jess quickly reached over and closed the book. For once, she had nothing to say.

  ‘It’s all right,’ said Nina.

  ‘Did you come to this section earlier?’ asked Ianto, gently.

  Jess nodded. ‘I. . . I think so. I was just. . . Well, I was just walking about so I could tell Nina I’d done some work.’

  ‘It must have taken your memories of Rhodri then,’ explained Ianto.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Nina. ‘It was my idea to come here. . .’ She trailed off as Jess stared at her.

  There was an uncomfortable pause. Ianto cleared his throat. ‘So, this book takes your memories and turns them into a story. Right. I suppose I’ve seen stranger things.’

  Nina stared down at it. It looked like an ordinary book. Old. A bit tatty. There was nothing wrong with it but it was wrong. She could feel it reaching out to her. Pages rustling in her mind. Then she let out a cry as—

  —surged up and out of Gran, pouring through the air vent, the sofa, and streaming in wild tentacles through the little old lady’s ruptured body. At precisely the same time the outer walls of the office gave in, pouring bricks and concrete and steel and dust down into the tiny room—

  She fell back against the shelves, terrified. Suddenly the library seemed so small. So oppressive. Old dusty books surrounding her, threatening to smother her. ‘Why me?’

  Jess laughed bitterly. ‘It’s my memories it’s taken!’