"So … CCTV has him arriving into the district from this road" Jack said as they roared along the country road, turning off the main drag and the last the cameras to head out towards the barrens.

"Great" Ianto sighed "road trip?"

"Well … there has to be somewhere out here he came from. Maybe a lab? A clinic?"

"A space ship? Your Anus?"

Jack glanced at Ianto and decided for humour in the face of a droll expression "Well … maybe they dumped him out in the barrens and he found his way back" Like a cat?"

"Or homing pigeon" Ianto said, his face changing, "Cariad, you might not be that far wrong. Look up there, that garage. Turn in, there are Heddlu there."

Jack swung in and they got out, approaching the nearest officer who did not see the TORCHWOOD insignia on the SUV, only the two men entering a crime scene "Fuck off, no rubbernecking."

"You fuck off" Jack replied without breaking stride while flicking his wallet open "no badge for you in a second laddie boy!"

"Laddie boy?" Ianto snorted softly "really sir?"

"Well … may be a bit distracted Ianto" Jack waved an arm, the chaos testimony to the struggle that had ensued.

They walked into the carnage, the car half on the hoist but leaning precariously to one side as the blood smeared on the far side still on the hoist showed something had hit it with great force, enough to not only move the vehicle but leave a large bloody dent. The cause of the dent was laying on the floor nearly, torn to pieces. The remains of overalls showing it had once been a man.

"Not enough to reanimate?" Jack guessed.

"so hungry, it ate him rather than have him join the collective" Ianto agreed "But… was he the only one here?"

"Three were working" a detective walked out of the office to look at them "Other two are unaccounted for."

'But let me guess, the blood is theirs too?" Jack grinned "Only one body but you suspect three victims? Enough carnage for three? Show us the other two sites."

The detective looked from Jack to Ianto and recognised the suited man's frown, straightening up and nodding "One in the office here, the other out in the store. Looks like all three were attacked in the same way, messy and vicious but only the one partially dismembered body."

"Devoured" Ianto corrected gently "Partially devoured. These people were attacked and one was eaten. The other two unfortunately are now infected with the same viral contagion and are loose to attack and infect too. Like … rabies."

"Shit. You are joking, right?"

"No. We need to know who they are, how fast they can travel and when this happened to work out the radius to hunt them in. If they get to civilisation, they will attack. It will spread. This is a priority one mission now detective. Tell your people, do not try to reason with them, do not approach, do not apprehend. If they see them … shoot them down. They are not human anymore. I am afraid you have mutated beings now that will only kill and create ore."

"Like zombies" the detective snorted with amusement "Pull the other one mate!"

"Sir, they have one under the water tower out in the west field. It's cornered." An officer ran towards them with glee "They say she's just a girl. There's six of them and just her."

"Christ" Jack spat and he and Ianto ran for the SUV

Just a girl.

They would try to wrestle her down, no matter what they said the idiots would try to cuff her themselves and in so doing let a being with the strength of ten men get hold of one of them.

Then another.

Then another.

Fuck.

.

.

.
Jack drove through the fence not caring for the noise in Ianto's throat as the front grill complained, and then they were bouncing across the field heading for the distant windmill. They were too late, already too late and as they skidded to a dusty halt Ianto was already firing from the window.

Four zombies were racing towards them, their Heddlu uniforms torn and bloody as the 'just a girl' ran in the other direction.

Jack jumped out and started to chase her as Ianto slid out to stand and calmly gun down the officers. The Heddlu detective arrived and could only watch as one got to Ianto who shot it at point blank range, its head whipping back as it crumbled.

"NO!" the man cried out as one swung to him and Ianto sighed, shooting it from behind as hit was almost to the stunned detective, falling to snarl and snap at him with its spine severed.

Ianto calmly walked over and looked the detective in the eye "See? No recognition there. You are just meat. Just meat to it. It wants to eat you. If not eat, then infect. You become one. Want to go home and kiss your wife? Hold your children? Or go to bed feeling well only to wake wanting to eat her throat out?"

"Christ"

"We are out into the open. We are not infected, we are OK. Had they bitten us, had they gotten within range to share their breath with us … you would already be dead, my bullet already in your brain." Ianto said calmly as he looked around then started to walk on the direction Jack had run.

The detective looked at the thing that was trying to bite the ground in order to get to his foot. He grimaced with horror and brought his heel down on its head, crushing it and then he stepped back feeling ill.

"Christ"