6

Jack is the first to reach the battleground... the frightened Hinnimol pup scurrying back to hide under the bracken. He follows the bloody ground and crushed underbrush to the top of the slope... looks down to the mass of flesh at the bottom.

"Christ Almighty." The soldier who followed at his heels splutters with horror as they both see the huge creature below.

"Ianto!"

No answer. And all they can see is the Hinnimol, so they scan the trees.

"Oi! YAN!"

Still nothing.

So Jack takes off down the slope... losing his balance but rolling back to his feet. He reaches the Hinnimol... sees Ianto's arm sticking out on the other side of the carcass. .

"He's down here!" Jack roars as he uses all his strength to push the Hinnimol off, as the other men scramble down. But he can't budge the massive carcass... not until Stubbs Bill and Pig nervously join in with the others... shoving the animal over, revealing the bloody mass that is Ianto...his throat is torn wide open... scalp peeled back from just above his eyebrow, hanging off the skull... stomach and chest a gruesome design of gashes and cuts.

Stubbs's legs give out... he drops to a knee and vomits.

"Oh, Jesus." Wally whimpers as Jack and Owen pull him clear of the bloody ground.

"He's tore to pieces." Pig says with open awe as he watches the man he had just accidentally kill lean over to kiss his love goodbye.

"Least he took that thing down with him." Sully says with sorrow, shaking his head as he prepares to help carry a corpse out.

Then somehow, Ianto gasps... this horrible, guttural moan as Jack and Owen continue to work, the medical kit open and being scattered in the white snow as Jack leans over to …kiss?... Ianto again.

"Holy Christ, he's alive." Wally and Stubbs fall to their knees beside Ianto as they stare at the immortal man openly snarling at them while clutching Ianto to him possessively. Ianto looks up at the men, tries to focus through the blood and pain. His breathing is just a gurgling wheeze... bubbles forming along the deep gashes in his throat with each gasp.

"Get me some water." Owen demands in an attempt to move them away and he starts to wave the sonic scalpel to try and close the wounds as Jack whispers softly to Ianto that he is doing fine.

Stubbs tosses Owen his canteen. He empties it over Ianto' throat... his face and scalp. The water hits the wounds and immediately transforms to blood.

"Oh, Jesus... Jesus." Fitz repeats as he paces, looking and then looking away.

Ianto lifts a trembling hand to his throat... feels the gaping wound. His eyes widen in horror. He COUGHS... the air splashes blood up from the open wounds in his throat.

"It's okay, babe." Jack croons softly "You're going to be fine."

"I want a dry area to lay him and blankets, he's in shock" Owen snaps and Jack starts to come back to himself as he sees Ianto's panic dying even as he rallies, his good hand gripping Jack's with growing strength.

"The rest of you spread out... scout a circle around us. Fitz, you and Mathew take west and north. Wally and Sully south and east. Watch for anything that might've heard that shot." Jack barks, "The rest of you set up the camp, let's get Ianto dry and warm before we look at evacuation plans."

So the men hurry off to their positions.

Ianto is like a shredded rag doll... dazed eyes staring up at them as they work on his wounds... wrapping the bandages around his throat... laying his scalp back over his skull, and tying another bandage around it and under his jaw to hold it in place.

A solider wipes the blood from Ianto' face. "It's gonna be fine, Mr. Jones."

Owen glances down to the puddle of blood oozing out from under Ianto towards his knees... oozing out from beneath Ianto. "Roll him over... easy."

They gently push Ianto onto one side, revealing deep, jagged gashes running across the width of Ianto' back. Owen stares at the open flesh, ready to panic again... but he doesn't. Instead he looks to Jack. "Get me the secondary kit. We need to stitch his back up."

Pig digs out a smaller kit...hands it to Owen. Owen digs in it and removes a bottle. "I'm sorry for how this is about to burn, Yan."

Owen pours the pale blue liquid over Ianto' back. And the pain must be excruciating, because Ianto lets out a horrible wail. Jack's roar of anger joins in as he sees the little pup peeking out from the undergrowth and they finally know why the beast attacked.

Jack resists the urge to rise and kill the entire bloody Hinnimol crew.

They were breeding?