[And I'm back with a new chapter, obviously with this particular half I didn't have much leeway to how far from the original storyline I could go but rest assured that the next half will have enough original action to counteract the minor lack in this half :) but that is by no means permission to skip this one because it's just as important. (and it's fun)

(by the way I'm breaking the rules a bit to get this up as I'm at school and the computers are technically for work use only...well since I started writing my spelling HAS vastly improved :D ) ]

I dreamed I was missing, You were so scared

But no one would listen, Cause no one else cared.

After my dreaming I woke with this fear.

What am I leaving When I'm done here

Linkin Park – Leave Out All the Rest

Countrycide: Part 1

'I hate the countryside, it's dirty, it's unhygienic. And what is that smell?'

'That would be grass.' Gwen dead-panned as they sat squished into the SUV.

'It's disgusting.' Owen told her.

Winter laughed and got up from her position lying in the boot. She leant on the headrest in the small window between Gwen and Toshiko and glanced over their shoulders.

'Are we nearly there yet?' she sang.

'Oh no!' Owen groaned. 'No, no, let me out please!'

'Are we nearly there yet?' Gwen joined in as they continued the stream of questioning until Jack told them he was getting a headache.

Winter slipped her earphones back in and lay back down on the floor. It was now the first week of November and they were off on, what Jack had described as, a road trip. They had all packed a few bare essentials and Jack had somehow managed to fit three tents into the boot, still leaving enough room for Winter.

The SUV pulled to a stop and everyone hopped out. Winter had wiggled through the gap between the tents and the roof in a very unladylike fashion, landing in Ianto's outstretched arms. They pulled apart quickly and he walked over to the small van at the side of the road. Winter rounded the SUV and helped Jack spread the map out over the bonnet.

'Seventeen disappearances within the last five months,' Jack said as he surveyed the horizon, 'the police are clueless.'

'Now there's a surprise,' Owen joked, 'no offence PC Cooper.'

'The last know whereabouts of each one is somewhere around here.' Jack indicated a small circle on the map.

'All within a 20 mile radius,' Tosh confirmed.

'Anything else linking them?' Gwen asked, tucking some hair behind her ear.

'None of the bodies have ever been found. These people just fell off the radar. No patterns in age, sex, race. One minute they're here the next, pffft, gone.'

'Pffft? Is that a technical word Captain?' Winter teased.

He smiled at her and turned back to Gwen, 'We don't know enough about it to be certain and it's increasing in activity all the time.'

'Oh come on,' Owen called from the roadside, 'Aliens aren't gonna bother hanging around out here. Probably some sort of weird suicide club with people choosing the same spot to end it all. God knows, if I had to spend too long up here I'd want to top myself.'

They piled back into the SUV and headed for their chosen camp area. Winter slipped her i-pod back out of her pocket and flicked through a few pictures to pass the time: Jack, Jack, Pip, Ianto, Tosh and Owen, Ianto, Ianto and Pip, Ianto and Jack, Jack and her, Pip, the hub, Ianto, Ianto, Ianto…

She flicked back to her music, shaking her head. Suddenly surviving a night with Owen seemed the least of her problems.

When they finally pulled up to the campsite Gwen and Toshiko stared at the bundles before them in mild confusion.

'I thought we were using proper tents?' Gwen said.

'These are proper tents,' Jack called back, 'Nemo and I used one while we were trapping the moncrieff a year ago, she knows how to set them up.'

They turned to her and she sighed, slipping her I-pod back into her pocket and rubbing her hands together.

'Right… poles.'

TTT

In half an hour they managed to set up two tents. Owen and Jack argued as they threw the last one from the trunk and Winter joined Owen to help him get the tent up. He looked gratefully over to her side as she slipped the poles together.

'So how come you know all this then?' He asked.

'Oh you know me,' she grinned over at him, 'I'm good with all types of poles.' She winked and he laughed copying her pole and then attaching the roof pole to the two sides.

'So what have you got against camping?' she asked as they slid the poles into the tent material and attached the guide ropes.

He shrugged, 'I just like to have my home comforts with me.'

Gently they pulled the tent into a standing position.

'You know, TV, fridge,' he hammered in the ropes on his side and then hers, 'beer, a sofa,' he stood up they stepped back from the tent, 'nice fit girl in my bed.'

She laughed and shook her head, heading around the other side with a mallet to hammer in the support lines.

By the time the tent was done Gwen had started a game. 'Oh come on, it's just a bit of fun, who was the last person you snogged.'

Winter rolled her eyes and sat down on the benches shuffling a pack of tarot cards she had stuffed into her bag. She thought she had lost them years ago.

'You even sound like an eight year old, who the hell says snog?' Owen asked.

Winter stifled a giggle with a snort and Ianto came to sit next to her.

'Mine was Rhys.'

'Yeah well, there's a surprise.'

'Tosh your go.'

Toshiko looked nervous and uncomfortable, 'It's easy for you.'

'Oh come on, spill the beans.'

She seemed to have a sudden rush of confidence, 'Owen.'

He stood up shocked, 'What?'

Gwen looked over at the two of them, 'Really?'

'Tosh, love in your dreams.' Owen scoffed.

' Three am, Christmas Eve in front of the millennium centre, waiting for a cab, I had mistletoe.'

Owen looked up from his bag, 'Christmas, you've not had a snog since…'

'No,' all confidence gone, Tosh backed away to the other side of Winter.

'Well lucky me eh?' Owen said as he sat down.

'So who was yours?' Toshiko called over.

He looked up a mischievous expression on his face. This wouldn't end well.

'Gwen.'

Everyone looked up at the pair, even Jack.

'When was this?' Toshiko asked quietly.

'It was complicated,' Gwen replied weakly.

'Didn't take you long to get your feet under the table.'

'What?'

'So was it just a kiss or…'

'Tosh, leave it.' Gwen said coldly.

Winter raised her eyes to the heavens at the sudden wave of uncomfortable tension that had descended on the camp and watched as Jack sat down. Owen waved his cutlery at him.

'Jack?'

'Are we including non-human life forms?'

Everyone laughed and Winter marvelled at how easily he had broken the dark mood.

'Oh! You haven't.' Gwen gasped.

'You're a sick man Harkness, that is disgusting,' Owen told him.

He smiled cheekily.

'I never know when he's joking.'

Jack laughed but didn't give a definitive answer.

'It's my turn is it?' Ianto asked from the corner.

Winter looked up with a worried expression on her face. Before she would have said that Ianto would never do anything he thought would compromise her privacy but after all the confusion she had caused him she wouldn't blame him.

He glanced at her for a second then looked down at his hands. 'It was Lisa.' The mood swept back over the camp almost as quickly as it had left.

'Ianto I'm sorry.' Gwen spoke.

'Sorry she's dead or sorry you mentioned her?'

'I just didn't think.'

'You forgot.' He reached over and took one of the cards from Winter's hand turning it over.

'We should get some firewood,' Owen decided.

'I'll give you a hand.' Gwen followed him into the woods and Ianto handed Winter the card. Toshiko left to sort out her sleeping bag and Jack moved over to sit in her vacated seat.

'So what is it?' he asked motioning to the card.

'The Tower,' replied Winter quietly. 'Devastating events.' For a moment they both looked at the card. She slid it back into the pack and wrapped them back in the cover.

'But tarot's a load of guess work anyway,' she reasoned. 'We just take the situation we're given and attach it to the meaning the cards gave. Like filing down a puzzle piece to fit with another.'

'Still lets be on the look out, there are, people disappearing out here,' Jack replied.

Winter snorted and put the cards back into her satchel.

'Come on Jack the only thing likely to kill us out here is Owen's cooking.'

And that was when they heard the screams from the forest.

Jack took off like lightning. Winter and Ianto close behind and Toshiko bringing up the rear. They found Gwen and Owen about fifty yards into the trees staring at what appeared to be a human skeleton on the floor.

Winter instinctively turned away and buried her face in the first steady object she found. Ianto. His arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close. Neither Jack nor Ianto mentioned her previous comment. They didn't need to.

'Ianto, go get us some police tape would you.' Jack asked.

'You ok?' Ianto whispered.

Winter pulled away from him and nodded, carefully glancing at the body. Owen was poking at it with a stick and that just made her feel even worse. She leant up against a tree and wrinkled her nose in disgust, choosing to admire the way the light hit Jack's hair rather than stare at the stripped bones.

Ianto returned quickly and began setting up a clear perimeter.

'Well' Owen concluded, 'It's not Ellie Johnson, that's for sure. This is a male, late 40's, 50's, wasn't killed here. No blood spatter or signs of struggle. Must have been brought here after he died.'

'Why do that, it's not like they tried to bury him here.' Gwen asked, turning away from the corpse.

'Maybe you disturbed them and they ran away,' Tosh replied.

'Or maybe it's a warning,' Ianto added. 'Whoever's responsible, marking out their territory.'

'Cause of death?' Jack asked.

'Impossible to say, body's been stripped of the flesh and body organs so all that's left is the carcass.'

'Why do that either?' Winter asked, crossing her arms tighter, 'there must be some reason there's no flesh on the body. You don't kill someone and then go to all the trouble of carefully stripping them apart for a bit of fun.'

'Could the weevils have come out this far?' Toshiko asked.

'No, weevils don't finish of their victims like this.'

A car engine started up and everyone turned to look.

'Is that ours?' Gwen asked.

Jack leapt to his feet, 'Yep.'

They all raced to the campsite but they were a fraction too slow, arriving just in time to watch the perpetrator run over their tents and drive off with the SUV.

Jack let out a frustrated yell and Winter turned to glare at Owen, 'I gave you the keys.'

'Sorry,' he moaned.

'My i-pod was in there!' she yelled at him, 'and my weapons.'

He backed off and she stormed over to help Tosh salvage some things from the tents.

'Alright I said I'm sorry,' he yelled back at her as he picked up some wooden pegs.

'Basic security protocols Owen!' Tosh yelled.

'Oh get off your high horse Tosh I was carrying that stupid gear.'

'What the whole time?'

'Well then I was trying to put that bloody tent up, and then…well yeah I…sort of… forgot that I'd left them in there but I'm sorry, I'm human, I ballsed up.'

'Looks like that body wasn't a warning. More of a decoy,' Jack told them.

Winter stood up and threw the packets in her hand into the tent bag.

'That would mean we've been watched since we arrived.' Gwen concluded.

'I don't like that idea.' Winter told them, shivering slightly.

'Tosh can you get a tracking signal?' Jack asked.

'Already done.' Ianto yelled back.

Winter weaved over to him as he waved the device in his hand in the air.

'I took the liberty.'

She glanced over his arm at the readings, 'It's currently 3.4 miles west from here.'

'Gunning at 90 no doubt, you steal a piece of equipment like that you drive straight on 'till morning,' Jack sighed.

'Actually no it's been stationary for the last four minutes.'

Jack looked over at Ianto quizzically.

'I'd go so far as to say it was parked.'

'There's a small village in that area. Other than that, nothing for 30 miles,' Gwen showed Owen the district on the map she had been scanning.

'Call me suspicious but this has all the hall marks of a trap.'

Winter nodded in agreement and shuffled on the spot. This was not how she had been planning on spending her weekend.

'Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.' Jack told them. 'Anyone fancy a walk?'

Toshiko and Ianto followed Jack a few meters but Winter was stopped by Owen.

'Are you kidding, we know there's a trap and we're just going to walk straight into it. I vote we walk to the nearest road and hitch a lift home.' Winter sighed.

'Look, no offence Owen, but if it's choice between walking into a trap we know about with Jack and walking into the unknown with you I'll take the trap every time.'

She heard Jack laugh in the distance.

'But by all means, you and Gwen go hitch-hiking with strangers in the dark.' She shrugged and skipped off to find the rest of the group.

TTT

The walk was fairly uneventful, no one really said much and Winter just strolled next to Ianto wishing she had her I-Pod with her. Finally the little village came into view and everyone stopped.

'Why would anyone wanna live out here?' Owen asked.

Winter stood next to him and shrugged, 'Don't ask me, I'm a city girl through and through.'

'Has the SUV moved?' Jack asked and everyone looked to Ianto. He shook his head as he studied the readings.

'Not for, an hour now.'

He led the way down the hill and they approached the houses cautiously. It was so quiet that Winter felt incredibly uncomfortable. She was used to the hustle and bustle of London and Cardiff. Even in the Hub at night there was generally a humming coming from some machine or other. The closer they got to the houses, the more she wanted to walk in the opposite direction but there was no way she was leaving the team now. She hopped over the water streaming from the fountain and stood evaluating her surroundings. Nothing to climb, she'd have to stick to the ground. That wasn't good and once you were out of the main village you could be seen for miles. There was no where to run to. However there was a lot of cover and it was possible to hide in between. It appeared stealth was going to be the key word in this surrounding.

Jack led them onto the gravel and turned to give orders. 'Tosh, Winter, Ianto. Follow the signal, find the SUV. Owen, Gwen,' he turned away from them all and glanced up at the stone buildings, 'let's see if there's any room at the inn.'

Ianto motioned over to the right and set off in that direction. Winter followed slowly. This didn't feel right at all.

TTT

The Barn they came across was boarded up with yellow and red wood. The glass was smashed and the roof was un-kept. It looked harmless enough, still, she would be much happier when she had her sword grasped tightly in her hand. 'It's just half a mile up here' Ianto told them as they walked closer.

Toshiko looked worried and fidgety, she snatched the equipment from Ianto's hand. He didn't grab it back. It was obvious she was scared and if fiddling with technology made her feel better then it could only be a good thing.

'At least we've still got this; the rest of my stuff was in the vehicle.'

Ianto smiled and took one route up to the door of the building. It didn't budge.

'I could try and climb up.' Winter offered.

If Toshiko could have her technology why shouldn't she get the height advantage she was yearning for? Ianto looked up at the windows, taking in the broken glass and the gutter piping falling of the side of the building. He shook his head. A sharp cry sounded from the distance. They all turned around, spooked.

'What was that?' Toshiko asked.

'Just a…fox or something,' Ianto replied.

Winter grasped his hand like a lifeline and stuck with him as he turned to check the back of the barn. They wandered past some dead birds and garden equipment as he rounded the corner he let go and threw his hands in the air. She bent down ready to attack the person behind until she realised it was Tosh. This whole place was giving her the jitters and for a moment she wondered if she would have been better off going with Jack.

The dead rabbits hanging from trees, swayed in the wind and she followed Ianto up onto the hill.

'We should carry on straight up there.' He yelled.

Winter turned to get Tosh's reply but she was gone.

'Ianto!' she said quietly.

He turned to look at her and then back at the house. She looked terrified and he could see why. Toshiko was no where to be seen.

'Tosh!' he yelled.

There was no answer. Everything was just as silent as before.

'I want to go home Ianto' she said, her voice breaking slightly. 'I don't want to be out here, I want to go home. With you. And Jack. And the rest of the team. I want to chase weevils and Aliens. I don't want to die Ianto.'

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. 'You're not going to die, stay calm and stand right here, don't go anywhere.'

She nodded sharply and he noticed she was shaking like the leaves in the trees. He stroked her cheek and ran back over to the house.

She moved a few feet, her heart pulling her to stay at his side but he had told her to stay still so she did. He had pulled out his gun and continued yelling for their friend. She fidgeted quietly on the spot but heard the sound of a struggle and a yell and broke her promise.

She raced around the corner where she had seen him walk and found herself face to face with a hooded figure. She turned to run but they grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. Something smacked into the back of her head and the last thing she saw was a pair of cold grey eyes staring back at her.

[Review, or you never know, Winter may stay lost for ever]