4
Five rolls, Ianto calculated in his head as Owen argued with Jack that he really, really needed the scythe hanging on the wall and Ianto sighed as he cut into the talk, "I need the one behind the tractor."
"We have enough" Owen said, then swung back to Jack. "Like death, I can be scary if I can cut up the black table cloth. No? …..ah…..Like…a scarecrow then? I can make one? Jack?"
Ianto rolled his eyes and walked over to seize the roll of chicken wire, yanking at it himself. Then Jack was there, lifting it and carrying it as Owen frowned, "Look, I said we don't need it."
"Ianto wants it, Ianto gets it" Jack said calmly.
"Favouritism"
"Yeah, makes the world go round" Jack replied jauntily and Owen snorted, then looked around, "Now where the hell are they?"
They walked around the shed to find Ianto picking flowers as he spoke softly to Crypto about Mica, the scrape of nails making them all look up as it approached.
"Shit" Owen said softly.
Ianto remained on the ground with his hands full of flowers as Jack raised the Webley and they all jumped as it barked. Its shoulder swung back and it continued to advance.
"For fucksake man, the head" Owen said with his arms flailing, "All zombie movies tell you to shoot them in the head!"
Jack did.
It fell.
"Happy now?" Jack asked.
"Yep, box of fluffies me!" Owen grinned then turned to the remains of the house. "Man, this sure did burn."
"Overkill" Ianto admitted, "I was too tired to dig graves and thought it was still a possible contagion site so I burned it with the bodies inside."
"Lucky you didn't burn the outbuildings" Owen pointed out and Ianto shrugged.
"Didn't really care at the time" Ianto sighed, "I was tired, hungry and still in shock."
"Well, it did a good job." Owen pointed out, "What you call a cleansing."
"Owen…Gwen…am I just being prickly?" Ianto asked as they watched Jack stalk the body and poke at it gingerly with his foot.
"Nah. She gives me the utters too" Owen agreed guessing what he meant, "Grief is a funny thing. We all react differently, I am hopeful that given the fact she has a nice bloke that she isn't always a cow."
"Me too"
The two men took a moment to grin at one another … bonding and all that.
Then Crypto made a soft chuffing noise and Ianto turned to see what he was looking at. It was another one, ambling along.
"Look at that" Owen said and Jack rose from the one he had been poking to look, they all stood and watched it calmly move past. It didn't look at them, attack or even seem to be aware that they were there then Owen sneezed.
It was am immediate reaction that shocked them, the person dropping to all fours and coming at them with speed they had not seen before, Jack firing at it and cursing as its weird gait made it difficult to hit the head until it was closer.
"Get behind me" he yelled as he took a shooter's stance and aimed carefully, Ianto and Owen moving back as Crypto leapt into the trailer amongst the wire. Smart fellow.
The Webley fired again and Ianto grabbed up a garden stake, flinging it at the thing and it speared it in the shoulder pining it to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Good shot!" Owen crowed and they approached, looking at the thing as it slathered at them, snapping and making weird noises of rage.
Bang
It slumped on the ground, the spear still holding it slightly at an angle.
"Yuck" Ianto grimaced.
"You know something, you are a bloody natural born zombie killer" Owen said as he slapped Ianto's shudder and Ianto made a noise as he swung to face him, his snarl making Jack leap between them with a shout of surprise.
"Hey."
Ianto slumped into Jack's arms and clung to him, wanting the entire world just to crumble away as Jack held him and soothingly rubbed his back.
"Shit. Sorry mate, come on. Let's go sit down yeah?" Owen said as they went over to the trailer and Crypto emerged to check if they were OK. "Oh yeah, we are fine thanks for remembering us."
Crypto laughed.
"OK?" Jack asked and Ianto nodded.
"Sorry Owen, I just…Lisa ya know?"
"Shit" Owen felt like a total utter wanker now and he slumped against the trailer as he tried to think how it would have felt if it were Katie, but Tosh muddied the thought and he found himself thinking about her, the horror more real. "Shit."
"You know, that word grates after a while" Ianto said as he sat in the jump seat, "Please stop it."
"Sorry, my default word" Owen said as he sat on the trailer with Crypto, "You know I like you, right? I am a twat, it's also a default thing."
"It's OK Owen, I like you too" Ianto smiled as he forgave him.
"He is growing on me"
Owen frowned as he tried to work out if Crypto was paying him a compliment or taking the piss.
Teeth glowed in the grin like a nuclear reactive Cheshire cat.
Taking the piss then.
Bastard.