33

"What do you mean, we have to go back to the firehouse" Jack repeated with confusion.

"Owen and me were talking and came to the shared conclusion that since those things are part human, they have the same weaknesses as us" Ianto explained patently "When we were there we focused on water since they don't like it. I think because a few of them drowned, they learned it was dangerous. I think we can do the same with fire. We need those fire things for starting a back burn."

"A driptorch?"

"Yes! Also, we can create some flame throwers" Owen started to jiggling in his chair as everyone turned to stare at him, his arms flapping as he tipped over and would have hit the floor if his Lone Wolf Pack Partner had not caught the chair.

"Slow down there partner" Ianto laughed softly "Let's see if fire hurts them or scares them. If it's like water, we only need to get a few of them all to fear it."

"You think they have a Hive mind" Mickey asked with interest.

"Well, they all seem to know to stay away from water. If this is based on some of them drowning then how would they all know, unless it is in their DNA or they were told. If there is a nest and a queen, then it stands to reason that is who is calling them back home each day for rest time. It might not be rest time, but information sharing time."

"The more you talk abut it, the more I believe it" Mark handed Marcus the plate of sandwiches that was being passed around and Marcus nodded his agreement, then he handed the plate to Clive.

"I would like to be wrong, I would love to be but where are the military? Where did they go? They were wiped out as easily as most of us were. They did not see this coming, those Buggers were crafty fuckers and I think it is not over yet. It started with abductions and experiments, now they have hybrids roaming around killing us" Ianto paused to look at Owen who grimaced and nodded so Ianto added "and those injured but mange to get away still have the venom from the claws in their systems and it will slowly kill them, then consume them. The virus fungal in nature and when the body is consumed the plant will then give off spores. I do not know yet if this is to cover the earth in a pant that changed the atmosphere to one more conducive to the real aliens up in the mother ships, or if it is hazardous to us. Maybe both."

Owen launched into the rabbit story and Ianto sat back, still uneasy about even telling everyone and as he had predicted, Toshiko was angry with Owen for keeping the rabbit a secret, for fiddling with it and then with Ianto for letting him.

"Tosh, he is a grown arsed man. Also, a doctor with training in pathology, as you yourself are. I know you want to look too, right?" Ianto argued back.

"It sounds… like something we need to stay the hell away from. This is not our problem. Now you are one of those who agrees that there must be bunkers full of scientists and smart fuckers all looking at this too, those who were scooped up for security reasons along with the heads of state and such right? They will be working on the same theories and no doubt have working labs in place!" she looked over at the children and shuddered "I do NOT want that here."

"I agree. I don't either. But how long before an infected cow comes near the fence? Is there a rabbit somewhere out in the field already decomposing into a landmine?" Jack asked back "We need to know how to defend ourselves if they come for us. Even if the army tries to fight the damn things wherever they are, they keep doing their own thing, can't be helpful to us here. How long before they got this far? If they ever could get to us to save us? We gotta save ourselves! We need to think about here and now."

"So those drip things… they start fires? Don't firefighters put them out?" Francine asked as she settled in a chair.

Boris spoke in his heavy Russian accent, startling everyone as he rarely did so "they do controlled burns to there is no fuel for a large fire."

"Yeah, you're right." Jack smiled at the huge man "a controlled burn off makes a fire break. No fuel left, the fire stops like it met a moat."

"Back to the moat" Heather said softly as she folded napkins they never used. Nervous to even be talking about those…. Things.

"I still like that idea" came her husband's reply.

"I think they both have merit. We build that moat, a wall as well… then in that wall we can put some piping and outward facing outlets. Just have corks on those outlets so it can be blown out. Those fuckers come we turn on the gas, filling the lines then set fire to it, the corks blow out will shoot out the pipes into the fuckers. They will learn!" Rhys said with his arms folded.

"You are a violent sod" Andy laughed softly at him.

"I like that idea. But… gas? Freaks me out. We could fill pipes with oil or something though, then it will not just blow out but stick and continue to burn but not come back at us?" Ianto suggested.

And so they began the plans for not just a moat, then a chest high wall with piping inside it to send the fuckers to hell.

So violent this lot.

Revenge was in the air.