TWO DAYS AGO. Snowstorm. A single man in a rowboat - the STRANGER - forges through the icy waters toward the coast. It's hard to say how old he is - 20s, 40s? - because he's so filthy and red-eyed and yet so fiercely driven. In shadows behind him stands the eerie, forbidding ship which brought him this far. Hitting the edge of the ice, the Stranger clambers out of his boat and trudges inland, smiling thinly as he sees the boat drift away, no use to him anymore

We follow the Stranger through the wide, eerie twilight of the Wales wilderness - blasted by the wind yet persevering, too yearning and wild-eyed to slow down -As he crests a small ridge of ice, we see a clutch of lights shimmering in the distance: STEDMAN, WALES. An ancient outpost of a town, an oil and mining outpost ringed with derricks and tundra. The Stranger grins as he sees Stedman twinkling through the snowstorm, and presses onward.

A man stands, back to the setting sun, his face cloaked in shadows - until he turns thoughtfully, the light gradually revealing a handsome and soulful gaze. He is Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood watching the local town's Police Officer Billy Cruise, earnest, 40s, wearing a badge and shining a flashlight into a snow bank west of Stedman "Weird!"

"Ain't it? Who'd do a thing like this?" Billy frowns. A their feet is a smouldering, eerie hole in the snow - filled with burned Cell and Satellite Phones -Jack kneels down to examine the fire pit, baffled as Billy continues

"Someone got a little upset about roaming charges?" Owen asks as he looks over at them from where he is pissing in the snow with open glee.

"Stealing satellite phones would make sense, you could hock them, maybe run up charges on someone's account. But burning them?" Jack rises from his crouch to look in the direction of the town.

"Kids? Pulling some prank?" Billy surmises.

"There'd be a message. "Fuck you" to their parents or the world or whoever." Owen answers as Jack walks up toward the summit, thoughtfully

After considering for a moment Jack turns to face them "Best place to solve this is the Diner, Billy. Get people talking, they'll gossip and figure it out for us."

Billy watches as Jack keeps hiking toward the crest. The last golden arc of the sun gleams, silhouetting Jack, as Owen comes to join him.

Owen stands studying his friend "You okay?"

Jack stares out at the sun quietly, wistfully "Yeah, I only -(a beat) Last sunset for a month, some years it's easier to take, y'know?"

Jack turns, not ready to say more, and Owen knows better than to ask. Shoving his feelings down deep, Jack hikes back toward the SUV waiting at the bottom of the slope. The Doctor had fucked up, plain and simple. He had misjudged something and now the Earth turned in a strange dance, Wales suffering a darkness that was once Alaska's. Whatever it was … or whoever it was that now stalked the earth, he knew they were finally coming his way and his only comfort was that Ianto was not here to see this.

At least he had the sense to leave Jack months ago.

I mean … Torchwood.

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The residential side of Stedman. Homes are built on stilts to avoid the stresses of ice and critters in their foundations. All the homes have crawlspaces underneath, of varying sizes. Four huskies are barking from behind the fence of the Rhodes residence - dogs deeply unhappy about something - A shadow passes - the dogs follow the shadow angrily - until suddenly there is a gleaming flash and hiss of a blade - the sickening slice of a knife into flesh, and the barks are replaced by horrifying whines of pain.

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Jack's SUV is moving at the edge of town, Jack and Owen pull over beside a huge snowplough swerved crookedly onto the shoulder. The back is covered with a tarp; a stream of oil drips from the truck bed. Working under the open hood is Lew Jaimson, late 50s, thick bearded, an ox of a man with the social skills to match. Billy has stopped and is getting out of his prowler, Jack rolls down his window to listen.

"Little problem?" Billy calls out.

Lew snarls with not a single glance up "Nothin' I can't handle my own fuckin' self."

Billy gets out of his SUV, circles the vehicle, pulls a leaking gas can from under the tarp. "This for generators?"

"Mostly."

"I can't have it leaking all over the roads, Lew. I'll have to cite you for that." He pulls out a citation book, scribbles away as Lew rants.-

You don't HAVETA cite me. You don't have to do anything. That's why we live up here, innit? So we gotta little freedom?" Lew roars "Why don't you run on home so you can cuddle with that cute wifey of yours? One of us oughta get laid tonight, at least …"

Billy rips a ticket blithely, tucks it in Lew's parka "Happy motoring"

"I'll add this to my collection."

Jack climbs back in the SUV and starts the engine then leans out the window to call out to Lew "Lew's not so bad. Why do you bother writing him up?"

"He lives all by himself in that cabin on the south ridge, y'know? A little citation now and then reminds Lew he's part of this town." Billy grins "He's right, though"

"About what?" Owen asks.

"You should split from me now coz I will head home. The wife always likes the first night of the Dark"

Jack gently smirks as the man's radio blares with the voice of his elderly dispatcher, Helen "Billy, come in, Billy."

"Roger, Helen"

"You better get over to John Rhodes'… something bad's happened to his dogs"

Jack glances at Owen, puzzled and concerned"

"What the hell?" Billy mutters, grimacing up at Jack who is still watching him silently. "This what you are here for?"

"Soon find out" Jack calls back as he motions for Billy to lead the way.