[Fic] Gástgerýne - Part 2/5

[jie-jie.livejournal.com]

Title: Gástgerýne
Author: Jie Jie
Pairing: Colin/Ryan
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1906
Summary: Set during the Britline era. Ryan and Colin seek shelter from a storm inside an abandoned lighthouse. But are they truly alone in there?

Night had fallen. Ryan and Colin sat huddled together in the dimly lit room, sharing body heat and listening to the storm which raged outside.

“Hey, you awake?” Ryan asked. Colin yawned loudly and nodded against his shoulder.

“I'm awake,” Colin said, though he had been starting to drift. “What's the plan?”

“Well, we can either wait to be rescued or rescue ourselves.”

“I vote we rescue ourselves,” Colin said firmly as he tried to push himself to his feet, grimacing as a shot of pain raced through him the moment he put weight on his twisted ankle. He managed to stand, with a hand from Ryan, and leaned heavily against the wall. Ryan picked up the lantern and turned to examine the door.

“Why did it have to be made of metal?” He lamented. “Rotting wood, that's what you want in this situation.”

“The hinges are on this side,” Colin pointed out. “Maybe we can take the door off.” The highest hinge was in easy reach for Ryan, he ran his free hand over the metal. His fingers came away covered in dark orange rust.

“I need a some pliers or a screwdriver or something.”

Colin bit his bottom lip, silently berating himself. He owned a Swiss army knife complete with Phillips screwdriver. It was currently sitting uselessly in the luggage that he had thrown into their rented cottage. Ryan searched through the heap of rusted items at the back of the room in the hopes of finding something useful.

“A gas can, two lamps, and a load of mangled chicken wire,” he announced his findings with disgust.

“So nothing we can fashion a radio out of then?” Colin's quip fell flat when Ryan didn't respond. The taller man looked up into the darkness of the lighthouse thoughtfully. Colin felt his stomach clench with nerves, he could almost hear Ryan's train of thought. He didn't like where it was going.

“Maybe there's something up there we can use,” Ryan said, already heading towards the staircase. His foot hadn't even hit the first step when he felt a strong hand wrap around his wrist. When he looked at Colin he could see real fear in his eyes, it was an emotion he'd never seen in his lover before. “What's wrong?”

“Don't go up there,” Colin felt like an idiot even as he said the words. He couldn't explain it, not coherently, but the thought of what lay at the top of that spiral staircase triggered a real primal fear inside him. It made his skin crawl and his stomach churn. And he knew that wasn't going to be enough to stop Ryan from going up there.

“It was just an echo,” Ryan said as he tried to extricate himself from Colin's grip. “Colin, you're acting like one of my kids, let go of my arm.”

“Let's wait until it's light,” Colin offered in compromise. Tension drew out between them for a long moment before Ryan finally relented.

“Okay, we'll wait,” he said with reluctance. He moved away from the staircase, a smile pulled at his lips as Colin still did not loosen his grip. “It's going to be a long night.” They moved back to the wall and Ryan helped Colin sit down on the cold concrete floor. He sat the oil lamp down next to them and moved to snuff it out. His hand wavered as he thought of Colin's fear. “Should I turn the lamp off?”

“Sure,” Colin said with false certainty. He had already felt like a fool once today, he couldn't bear for Ryan to think less of him again. “We should save the oil.”

“Night Col,” Ryan placed a kiss to Colin's brow before he extinguished the lamp. “We'll get out of here in the morning,” he could feel Colin's heart race as the darkness enveloped them but he did not comment. Instead he wrapped his arms around Colin's shoulders and held him tightly. It took a long time but eventually the two men drifted off into a light sleep.

Some hours later, Ryan was pulled from his uneasy slumber when Colin turned stiff and trembled in his arms.

“What...what's wrong?” he asked, voice rough with sleep.

“Listen,” Colin whispered. Ryan fell silent, his ears straining to pick up any sound. For a full minute he heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing and Colin's beside him. He began to think that Colin had imagined the sound in a dream but then he heard it. Footsteps. Slow and deliberate, echoing down through the lighthouse. There were only three of them and then silence once more. “Tell me you heard that.”

“I heard it,” he admitted, feeling chills down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room and everything to do with fear of the unknown.

“I'd kill for a scotch right about now.”

Ryan chuckled quietly, he'd been thinking exactly the same thing. They sank into an uneasy silence for a while but the noise did not come again.

“Maybe it was just a bird,” Ryan said finally, though he didn't sound convincing even to his own ears. He could picture the dubious look that Colin was undoubtedly giving him in the darkness.

“...Must have been one fat pigeon,” Colin muttered. Ryan smiled, his fear subsiding a little as he took comfort from his company. He rested his head on Colin's shoulder and slowly fell back to sleep.

*

Morning bought nothing but pain to both men. Sleeping with their backs against a cold brick wall and their backsides against unforgiving concrete had temporarily crippled them both. Even such a small task as lifting his head from Colin's shoulder caused Ryan to hiss with pain. Re-kindling the gas lamp felt like an insurmountable challenge but he managed it in the end. Colin had fared no better. He felt like a man three times his own age. It was when he tried to stand though that he experienced real pain. A lightning bolt of pain tore through him, stealing his breath and forcing him to blink back tears.

Ryan was right there, urging him to sit back. He moved the lantern closer to Colin's ankle and grimaced at what he saw there as he rolled up his pant leg. The flesh surrounding his ankle had swelled up into a goose egg and parts were starting to bruise up into an impressive deep purple colour.

“Stay there,” Ryan said as he eased off Colin's sandal, glad that he hadn't been wearing a proper shoe. “Looks like you've sprained it pretty bad.”

Colin ran a hand over his face, surreptitiously drying his eyes. “To make things that bit better.”

“Okay, I'm getting us out of here,” Ryan got to his feet and grabbed hold of the oil lamp. Colin's eyes widened with alarm as Ryan headed for the stairs.

“Wait, I'll come with you,” he tried to lever himself to his feet without putting any weight on his injured ankle.

“Don't be an idiot. It's fine, I'll be fine.”

Colin slumped back down to the floor, defeated by his own body. “Stop saying 'fine', are you forgetting about the footsteps?” There was a pause as Colin considered just how ridiculous his words sounded. “Okay...I know it sounds stupid. Just, be careful, okay?” Ryan's expression softened and he crossed the room, bent down and pressed a quick kiss to Colin's lips.

“I'll be five minutes,” he promised. Without wasting another second indulging Colin's paranoia he headed for the staircase and started to climb. The lighthouse became brighter the higher he climbed as the weak light from the morning sun penetrated the gloom. His legs burned as he climbed up and up the metal staircase. The paint on the central handrail was peeling away, revealing patches of ominous rust. Ryan hoped that the disused staircase would withstand his weight. Finally the staircase ended and he was confronted by a solid wooden door. Memories of the fear he had experienced the previous night washed over him and it was a long moment before he could gather enough courage to place his hand on the door handle.

He paused for a long moment, straining to hear any sign of life inside the room but everything was quiet. Ryan steeled himself and turned the handle. He pushed and pulled at the door but it didn't give. It was locked. There was a keyhole just beneath the door handle, Ryan dropped to his knees and pressed his face against the door. The room on the other side was bright and airy. He could see the huge lamp that dominated the room and the massive storm windows which stretched from floor to ceiling. Not spotting anything of interest Ryan got back to his feet and turned to head back down the stairs.

He had only taken three steps before there was a loud click from the door behind him. Ryan froze and slowly turned around. The door remained closed but Ryan walked back towards it. He reached out towards the door handle, trying to ignore the way that his hand trembled. This time when he turned the handle the door opened.

“Fuck me,” Ryan breathed quietly. He pushed the door gently with his fingertips and it swung open as smoothly and silently as if it had been oiled yesterday. Slowly he stepped inside the lantern room. It was in much better condition than the rest of the lighthouse. The floorboards were whitewashed and sunlight shone through the large storm glass windows. He let out a shaky laugh of relief as he looked around the thoroughly normal room. The only object in the room, other than the lantern, was a old wooden rocking chair. It faced the ocean and Ryan noted with unease that it was completely free from dust.

He walked the circumference of the room, looking down at the beach below for any signs of life. It was completely deserted. Ryan felt his stomach sink. There was nothing here to help them and no one out there to save them either. It wasn't looking good.

*

At the bottom of the lighthouse Colin was waiting anxiously. How long had it been? It felt like more than five minutes. His hands wrung together in a nervous gesture which was doing nothing to calm him down. He should be with Ryan, facing whatever the hell was up there, not sitting on his ass and just waiting for something to happen. He couldn't wait any longer. Colin took a deep breath and called for his partner as loud as he could.

*

With one last glance at the outside world Ryan turned and headed back towards the doorway. He pulled on the door handle, relieved when it opened easily under his hand.

“Ryan?!” He paused as he heard Colin's voice echo up from the base of the lighthouse. He moved to step out onto the staircase but was jerked to a halt when a cold hand gripped his shoulder and a woman's voice spoke right next to his ear.

“Ryan.”

To be continued...