21
"The Great Molasses Flood of January 15, 1919" Ianto said as he eyeballed the corpse.
"The what of when?" Owen asked as he turned to face the man on the steps.
"I was in America, Cambridge. In a previous life, like." Ianto stepped primly to one side as Jack brushed past and then continued, "Called Boston these days."
"You were in America?" Jack asked as he picked at the dead man's clothes warily.
"Connor was over there procuring" Ianto answered, "I was between lives here and wanted a break. As you may recall sir, I like the water and the boat voyage with quite nice."
"Yeah? What was her name?" Jack teased as the man's jackrt flopped back and they all groaned at the stench from the slime.
"Gina" Ianto said with a grin.
"Ah!" Owen nodded, "So. What was this molasses thing?"
"It had been cold weather but it was an unusually warm day for a January. Back then, they used it as a key component in the manufacturing of munitions." Ianto said as Owen nodded.
"I forgot that" Jack grinned across at Ianto with open affection and Ianto smiled and stepped back as the jacket pocket suddenly released it's slimy contents on the floor.
"Ew" Owen said as the car keys landed in the pool of blue gunk.
"Rum, and ethanol" Jack said as he frowned, "Produced that too."
"Exactly, therein lies the rub" Ianto said dryly and Jack grinned at Owen.
"Go on. Tell me!" Owen demanded stepping into the gunk as he leaned closer to Ianto, "Tell me about this flood."
"It was lunchtime because Connor and I were walking in Keany Square when there was a deep rumble. We knew about munitions and both looked about, thinking there had been a bomb somewhere and then a tremendous crashing, a deep growling, or a thunderclap-like bang!, and as the gun shots -like a rat-tat-tat sound." Ianto was animated and Owen transfixed as Jack watched the childlike intensity between the two men, "A wave of molasses 25 feet high at its peak, moving at 35 miles per hour!"
Owen's eyes widened at the visual image.
"The molasses wave was of sufficient force to damage the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure and tip a railroad car momentarily off the tracks. Buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 feet" Ianto huffed, "Connor and I barely had time to grab for each other before we went down, and under."
"You drowned?" Owen asked softly, his fingers plucking at Ianto's jacket as he stepped closer still and Jack watched that look of affection Ianto sometimes got as he nodded.
"Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage ... Here and there a form struggled— whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was ... Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings — men and women , even children — suffered likewise."
"We were picked up by a rush of air and hurled many feet." Ianto said, "Debris hurled about from the rush of sweet-smelling air. A truck was picked up and hurled into the harbor. Approximately 150 were injured; 21 people and several horses were killed—some were crushed and drowned by the molasses. Like me and Connor."
"You woke up though, like this?" Owen asked as he pointed at the body.
"We were swept into the harbor and luckily washed under the pilings.
We woke in the water and Connor had woken first, grabbing me and keeping us together until I revived. Our laughter must have been quite eerie as it echoed under there." Ianto huffed softly, "The wounded included people, horses, and dogs; coughing fits became one of the most common ailments after the initial blast."
"Coughing fits" Owen said softly, "The air must have been sticky sweet as well."
"Yes, breathing it in, it was so thick. People survived but then had breathing problems later" Ianto agreed, "You could probably find some stuff on Wiki about it. It was quite famous."
"So … we dump him in molasses?" Owen frowned and Ianto laughed softly.
"No, but we could try beer?" Ianto shrugged, "Maybe a beer truck overturned and a nice spillage of beer, him in the middle of the puddle? Might explain why he's wet, smells sweet and it a bit sticky. We just clean him up a bit and do a dump. The lungs closed so he didn't breathe in the gunk, that happens in drownings sometimes, right?"
"Death by beer" Owen muttered that would be a good one.
"I've not drowned in beer, I have drank meself to death a few times" Ianto said softly as he stepped away and Jack grimaced as his own despairs flittered through his mind.
"So, a beer truck." Jack clapped his hands, "Has to be Brains. Right?"
They all laughed as Ianto stepped into Jack's personal space and canted his head, reaching out to pat his chest.
Then he said those two little words that made Jack's heart sing every time.
"Yes Cariad."