4

They were travelling along a ridge line as the Fat Man talked animatedly with Jack and Owen. The two Torchwood men were keeping pace with the three hillbillies on their matching Spiders as Andy reluctantly hung back with Gwen. Toshiko was between the two groups, in a world of her own as she occasionally whooped and took off to enjoy closing the gap.

It was mid afternoon and they had enjoyed their picnic lunch, listened to Hayden's amazing stories of madness and were about to turn around after placing the last trail camera. This is when it happened.

Owen turned to say something and Hayden yelled at him to stay on the trail, Owens snarled reply lost as his wheels met air and to everyone's horror he gracefully slipped over the edge into the gully below.

"Ah fuck. Would be Owen" Jack sighed as he stopped and ran to the edge to look down, and finding Owen a few feet below laying on a small ledge against the embankment, having rolled clear and he was unscathed even as his Spider was barely visible in the brambles below.

"Well, bugger me" Hayden said as he peered over beside Jack "That's gonna be a bitch to get out."

"Looks like some timber in there, let's see if we can rope it out" Jack offered as he reached back without looking, knowing Toshiko was already coming with the rope from one of the many bags on Gwen's ATV.

They attached the rope and tried to pull it out with the ATV but it was wedged in there good and deep, Haden worried about damaging it. After cursing a blue storm he sighed and rubbed his face and then the three men gathered to mutter and one removed his hat to slap against his leg with clear annoyance "Come on. We need to get help."

"OVER HERE!" Owen suddenly yelled and they all turned to look over by the water' edge in the distance.

"Tell me you did NOT go to the water to pee. You know that's wrong right?" Clay lamented.

"No… look" Owen was excitedly pointing, "Watch where you step. Look, in the mud."

They approached and Toshiko cursed in Japanese, and then ran back for the ATV and their bags of tricks. Jack lowered himself in reach out and splay his hand over it was awe, "Wow… look at this. Gotta be… what… a size eighteen? Any NBA players in there woods?"

"No" Hayden said tonelessly as he and the other two local glanced about, suddenly nervous as the team cast an impression of the huge footprint with the excited glee of those who have no idea the hornets' nest they were kicking.

Now they HAD to go ask for help.

.

.

The house was more like a colonial homestead with the huge wrap around veranda on both levels and judging from the old sofas all over it, it was a favourite hangout. As they rolled into the front yard children scattered from a swing set yelling for their mama and one of them, the little girl, hesitated to look back with inertest before remembering the rule with unwelcome visitors.

The woman who came out onto the porch was large. Not fat, don't get me wrong. She was solid, sturdy with some sweet curves and those childbearing hips that now had hands on them "Hayden Cromb. What the fuck!"

"Ma'am." Clay tried to smile sweetly as Jim-Bob shouldered past him.

"Is the Man Jones about?" Jim-Bob asked with no fanfare, knowing she hated fluffing "We lost a Spider Biker over the ridge and found a… footprint."

She seemed to stare into his very soul, then she turned to look into the dark interior of the house "David? Go find him please while you and your sister make yourselves scarce now!"

She turned back to them and her annoyance came off her in waves as she stepped forward and closed the door behind her, something that surprised the team who were expecting an invitation inside even as the three hillbillies took steps back. Then she motioned to one side of the veranda and they saw an area set up with a huge table made from a split tree trunk.

They moved there and started to set up their stuff, talking animatedly as they enthused over their find and the three hillbillies distanced themselves on sofas at the other end of the veranda with a morose feeling to them.

Ianto stepped out of the house, his hair wet like he had been washing up and he scanned the three man who seemed to squirm a bit, then turned his head to look at the team that had not noticed his arrival yet. He then refocused on Hayden and raised an eyebrow.

"The little squirrely bastard drove one of my Spiders over the ridge and it's stuck in the briar patch. I can't get it out, I need help" Hayden said softly, then swallowed thickly before adding "And they found a footprint near the water while I wasn't looking."

"A footprint?"

"Yeah! A bloody brilliant one" Andy yelled over at them, noticing Ianto there for the first time "Come look. It's a 'squatch for sure!"

Ianto pulled a face at the abbreviated term for a Sasquatch and walked over to look at the impression now sitting on the table. Hmmm. Rhiannon followed him with confusion over his obvious look of annoyance at her. He stared at the plaster cast on the table, then up at her as she made a soft noise and headed inside the house, the door slamming solidly.

"Shit, we cause trouble here?" Andy asked.

"No. No, she is just not in the mood for visitors. One of the kids is supposed to be on a timeout. Come on… show me where you got this and where the Spider is, yeah?" Ianto tapped the map and as they leaned in to show him.

"Right, come back in the morning and I will have it here" Ianto said as he straightened up and Jack looked at him with surprise.

"Won't you need help?" Jack asked "We can help."

"No" came the flat reply "I don't need help. I know the spot well, know this entire place like the back of my hand. Come back tomorrow for it."

"Thanks Mister Jones, Sir" Hayden said in a small voice.

It was not until they were powering away that Jack wondered how the hell he thought he could get that thing out of there on his own. Maybe he had others in the house, is that why they were not invited in?

Fuck, had they interrupted a family thing?

Jack hated upsetting the locals.