"I ran." Ianto deadpanned. "I was twelve."
"Oh. But didn't it follow you?"
"Yes."
"You said it was fast – "
"It is. I'm sorry Jack but I can't remember how I got away."
After a while more of fruitless searching and several near pedestrian casualties Jack was just about ready to give up. It was around this time that he noticed Ianto rubbing his arm where the scars had been left. At first Jack said nothing but the closer they came to the house Owen and Gwen were investigating the tighter Ianto's grip on the scars became.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine." Ianto replied through gritted teeth.
They walked towards the back gate of the house but when Jack touched it Ianto jumped backwards as if he'd been whacked with a hot iron. Jack rushed over to him.
"What's wrong?"
Ianto continued to back away.
"Being too close – hurts."
"Show me your arm."
For a moment Ianto stubbornly did nothing. Jack waited until he reluctantly pulled up his sleeve to reveal the sucker scars. Then they both gasped. The skin was bleeding vigorously. Ianto winced and started to make his way back down the hill. It was at this point that Gwen called Jack through the comms. Bizzarely the pain in Ianto's arm lessened and the bleeding stopped once Gwen had finished speaking. He let out a sigh of relief and let go of his arm. The blood stained his hand but he was not willing to sacrifice a suit just to clean himself up a bit. Jack looked at Ianto's arm and then his face. The Captain opened his mouth to say something but Tosh cut his short through the comms.
"Jack I think I've got some info on the creature."
"We're on our way."
It didn't take them long to find Tosh. They were already halfway down the hill when she called. She was sitting inside the SUV examining her computer screen. Jack tapped the window. Tosh flinched but when she realised who it was she opened the car door.
"I've been scouring the archives and I think I may have found it."
"Have you got any pictures? It would be nice to know what to look for." Jack said.
Tosh swivelled her palmtop round. The alien seemed to be just a blob of tentacles. It was pitch black and seemed to excrete some kind of lubricant which Jack imagined would make the creature very fast when chasing prey.
"It's an Aledor. It feeds on heat energy." she explained.
Jack glanced at Ianto.
"That's it." the young man confirmed.
"But if it feeds off heat why does it affect our minds?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out." she said, turning the palmtop back to face her. "Ianto are you okay?"
Jack glanced at him. He looked paler than normal.
"Sorry?"
"Are you okay?" Tosh repeated.
"Yeah, fine."
"You've got blood on your hand."
Ianto nodded.
"Comes with the job."
Jack frowned at this comment.
"Let's get you cleaned up." He said.
"Jack I'm fine." Ianto protested half-heartedly.
This was when the Captain saw red. He was tired of Ianto hiding himself.
"YOU'RE NOT! I'm beginning to see Owen's point – why won't you tell us anything!" Ianto's pale face remained infuriatingly calm. "I thought you were past keeping secrets after Lisa!" Jack raged.
For a minute there was silence. Judging by the shocked look on Toshiko's face, it was clear that the Captain had gone too far this time. Ianto's guard fell and the raw emotions present in his eyes made Jack instantly regret his words.
"Hypocrite." Ianto spat, before turning on his heel and marching off into the town.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jack bellowed.
"To get a coffee!" Ianto shouted back.
Jack made to follow him but Tosh put her hand on his shoulder.
"Give him some time."
Reluctantly jack hung back. He took a seat next to Tosh and put his head in his hands. After several minutes of this he removed them and peered over Tosh's shoulder. Ianto was right but there was no point moping over the truth.
"Any luck?"
Owen and Gwen manipulated the old lady into getting them more coffee for the third time that day. As soon as she was out of earshot Owen began to complain.
"This is going nowhere! She won't even leave us alone for more than ten minutes, how are we supposed to check out the house?"
"Quit your whining, I've got an idea." Gwen announced and went into the kitchen after the old lady. "Where's the loo?"
Owen snorted, annoyed that he hadn't thought of the idea. It was the oldest trick in the book. He turned on his headset knowing that Gwen would do the same.
She quickly made her way upstairs noticing that up there it felt slightly warmer. She opened the first door on her right to reveal a bedroom. It was painted a faded blue and the car design on the duvet told her it was a boy's room. Unlike her own bedroom this one was impeccably tidy. Gwen frowned. That was just unnatural!
A quick glance in the room next door told her that the old lady was not a tidy person. The cream coloured floors were bordered by clutter. Gwen decided to search the boy's room first, starting with the suspiciously spotless desk.
"You found anything yet?" said Owen's voice through the comms.
"No."
It was true. As Gwen raked her way through the desk drawers all she found were old toys and books. There were far more books than toys. Six out of seven drawers were devoted purely to their storage. Gwen wondered why the kid had hidden them away in drawers instead of putting them on his bedside shelf.
She approached the shelf curiously to see that it was covered in toy weapons. This surprised her. The kid did not seem the military type judging from his reading material. Somehow Wuthering Heights and guns did not go together. So why was the child trying to project such an image in the first place?
"Hurry up! I have no idea what I'm doing to this boiler and I think the old crone is cottoning on!" Owen hissed.
"Just keep her downstairs. I'll be with you in a minute."
Gwen entered the old lady's room and had a quick look round. There was a picture of a man wearing army uniform on her bedside table. Although the double bed took up most of the room there was a clear divide between the two halves. One side was decorated with models of tanks, guns and even contained a few medals. There was another picture of the same man on the wall, this time wearing a Debenham's uniform. His arm was tucked firmly around a young woman who Gwen recognised to be the lady downstairs.
"Gwen I don't have all day."
