Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood
The first thing Jack Harkness saw upon gasping back to life was the rusty warehouse ceiling. The first thing he was aware of, was that he was lying in a puddle of his own blood. He sat up and winced as an intense pain shot up his left arm. The immortal raked his head, desperate to recover the memories of what happened before he died. Jack staggered to his feet, taking a few unsteady steps forward. He paused when his boot hit something solid. Jack looked down and saw a severed arm, battered and taking on a purplish blue tint, the nails black with dirt. More limbs were scattered across the floor, splatters of scarlet agains the concrete.
As he took in the images, Jack remembered he hadn't been traveling alone.
"Ianto? Gwen?" Jack called, voice rough. His echo reverberated back mockingly. "Ianto?! Gwen?! Anybody?" Jack's heart was beating vehemently against his chest. Everyday brought another lose, each one deleteriously scrapping away Jack's mentality. Deep beneath his subconscious, Jack knew the facade would fall completely if Gwen and Ianto became a part of those statistics.
Through the grimy window panes, the thin light of a setting sun cast shadows against the captain's face. Time was slipping away and it'd be dark soon. Jack found the exit door and limped over to it. Maybe they'd escaped and were back at the Hub now. He could picture them clearly in his mind.
Gwen sitting on the old sofa, Rhys' arms wrapped in a comforting, protective, embrace around her.
Ianto pacing, a habit he'd picked up from Jack, and glancing every now and then at his pocket watch, itching to break his promise of waiting for their captain to return instead of going back out to search.
Jack almost convinced himself that it would be okay, they would be okay...when he saw the crimson on the wall. Dripping letters, smudged and barely legible. But he could read the message just the same, and he knew what it meant...
...And it shattered his heart.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...Why...Why did I do that? *curls up in a corner*