Not So Happily Ever After.
This is my first attempt at fanfic, would appreciate any advice, all reviews are welcomed.
Torchwood and the Torchwood characters belong to BBC and Russell Davies.
This takes place after COE, so a bit of a spoiler.
Jack didn't stay long on the freighter, just long enough to bounce to a pub at the edge of the universe. He'd been here before and knew what to expect. He came prepared to forget. The place was a typical low life pub; dank, dark, smelly, full of the scary types, you know the types that would kill you just for looking at them wrong, course Jack has nothing to worry about. He walks in hands stuffed firmly in his pockets; he looks quickly around the room sees what he needs and heads straight for it. As he strides pass the bar, he stops long enough to order a drink, then continues to the back of the pub where he sees an empty booth. He flops down into it facing the front so he's able to see all that is going on, not that he really cares, he just likes to sit facing that way. A moment later the barkeep arrives with a bottle and a glass. Jack hands him a crystal –the local currency- and pours the liquid into the glass and swallows it down. The drink, besides being an ugly dark green, is vile, putrid, it's bitterness equalling his own, but after a few glasses it begins to work it's magic on him. It starts to numb his mind, ease the pain, minutes later he's slouched over on the table, and he stays that way until the barkeep comes over to wake him up and ask him to leave.
" Come on pal time to go, I have to lock up."
Jack stares blankly as his mind comprehends the request and he stands and stumbles towards the door. Once he reaches it he goes outside, turns and heads down an alley to his right. He finds a dark corner, stumbles into it and quickly passes out. Once the darkness falls again as if on cue, he awakes, slinks over to the pub and heads for his booth, orders a bottle and waits. This is now Jacks life, and he likes it that way.
The barkeep, needing something to call him by, and being too afraid to ask his name, started calling him The Loner. Jack wasn't bothered by it, he never really spoke that much, but noticing the man had very blonde hair, Jack began calling him Blonde, but most nights he said nothing and just nodded as he walked by.
" Evening Loner, the usual?" It was a rhetorical question he already knew the answer.
Day in day out, same old routine for a couple more weeks that is until one night things happened a little differently. Jack, as usual, had his glass and bottle, but this time when Blonde was ready to lock up, Jack had enough of everything and everyone and he lost his temper. It was late and there were only a few customersleft in the pub. When the barkeep tried to pry him from the booth he didn't react as he normally did, insteadhe reacted violently. Jack never said a word; just stood up, a bit unsteadily, grabbed Blonde by the throat held him up in the air and looked him in the eyes, then tossed him to the other side of the room. Hetook some crystals out of his pocket and threw them across the floor at him. The few who were left in the pub, moved in a hurry, clambering for the door. Jack sits back down. On the other side of the room the bartender grasped his tender sore throat, saw the crystals, quickly gathered them up and pocketed them. He looked at Jack, remembering a moment ago nothing but pure rage in his eyes, now he saw only hollowness there. Blonde thinking it wasn't worth the fight reaches for his pocket feeling the crystals clumped inside.
" Stay there as long as you like. Whole place is yours."
He hurries to the door, locks it, then ducks out behind the bar. From then on a new routine takes place each night. Every evening Blonde comes downstairs opens the pub he turns on the lights andgoes over to the bar grabbinga bottle and a clean glass. Hewalks to the booth, sets it on the table, takes away the empty bottles, and the dirty glass, and watches as Jack drinks himself into another catatonic state. Jack pays no attention to him; he just drinks and tries to forget. After his violent outburst no one bothered him, on occasion the bartender offers him something to eat only to be greeted with disagreeing headshakes and low grunts, he then sets another bottle on the table and walks away. The only time Jack moves from the booth is to go to the rest room. He goes, comes back and crashes back into the booth, grabbing the bottle and pouring another drink.
Chapter 2 already in progress. Again please review, and thanks to my Beta Reader JIJ!