Anythingdrabble Challenge 160 - Flat out

[m_findlow]

Title: Flat out
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Owen, Ianto
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG
Notes: Written for Challenge 160 - Flat at anythingdrabble
Summary: Owen and Ianto's rift retrieval has an unwelcome start to life in the big city.

'You're sure these are the coordinates?' Owen asked as he gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on the cars moving all around him.

'This was the last known location according to Tosh's readings,' Ianto confirmed.

'Well, just keep your eyes peeled in that case whilst I try and pull us over into the emergency lane,' Owen said, trying to cut across three lanes of speeding vehicles. Nobody seemed to be paying any mind to the blue flashing lights that clearly stated they should get priority access.

He finally pulled over into the lane and killed the engine, getting out of the car to join Ianto in looking around. Whatever it was, it had probably gone up into the verge along the motorway to hide out. God knew if he was an alien on a strange planet that's what he'd do. He found this planet strange and incomprehensible and he'd lived here all his life.

'Found anything yet?' he called out to Ianto, still searching under bushes and taking care not to startle anything.

'Um...'

Owen rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. 'It's a simple question, Ianto. You either have or you haven't.'

He looked up at where the Welshman was standing and pointing at something all the way across on the other side of the motorway. It was round, brown and furry and about the size of a small buffalo. And it had just wandered out into the path of a very large lorry which hadn't slowed in the slightest as it mowed the creature down.

'Oh, bollocks,' Owen swore as the pair of them made their own hurried and perilous weaving across the road, trying not to meet the same fate.

Cars swerved around the flattened creature and the two men that stood by the side of the road. Ironic Owen thought, since they hadn't much bothered when it had been alive. The lorry had done a job on it, plastering its furry body to the bitumen.

'Jack's going to kill us,' Owen said, looking at his teammate. Maybe they should throw themselves out in front of a lorry rather than face Jack's wrath.

'There wasn't much we could have done,' Ianto argued. 'Have you ever tried to shut down an entire section of the M4?'

Owen set his hands on his hips and tried to look anywhere but at the squashed mess of alien.

'Give us a hand, yeah?'

'What?' Owen asked.

Ianto looked at him. 'What?'

'No, I asked what first. You said give us a hand.'

'No, I didn't.'

'Course you did.' Jesus, Ianto was losing it if he couldn't remember what he'd just said.

'Not him! Down here!' came the voice that was clearly not Ianto's.

Owen looked down in disbelief at the furry pancake of a corpse on the road. 'Did that thing just talk?'

'Yes I can talk, now can you help me up? I hate when this happens. I'd have sorted myself out except I ended up flat on my back.'