31
They had agreed to wait a week or two before going for the building supplies, the fear of those things still raw. Jack did not say it but also the fear of Ianto's mortality too. The infection did not spread past the drawn circle, clearly quarterizing the wound had worked but it was also clear that whatever this excretion was, it was dangerous and potentially deadly.
"Necrotizing in nature" Owe was muttering to himself as he passed Ianto and Ianto froze, swinging to glare at him before following him out to the barn where he found what he did not want to.
A rabbit was in a cage with one of it's ears in bad shape. Like… almost gone. Ianto felt sick, pointing at it "Did you do that?"
"What?" Owen spun and then looked aghast at him "No I feckin did not. Look at the poor little thing. No, I caught it in the cabbage patch. I did some swabs and it's the same stuff as the stuff on you, from the claws of a Bugger. Probably a juvenile that grabbed for it's ears. No, I found it like this. I am about ot amputate the ear to see if it can be saved."
Ianto felt bad now for accusing him but… damn. He leaned in closer and saw the eyes of the rabbit "No. It's too late. Look at it's eyes. Owen, it's in pain."
Owen moved closer and hunkered down to look as well "Yeah, but they are still clear. It's worth a shot. Take the ear, give it a massive dose of antibiotics and see if it pulls through. I know you are bleeding all over the place from your little sweet heart but we have to know. Wanna test it on one of the kids if they get scratched?"
"Dirty pool old man" Ianto huffed, knowing he was right. They did not cause this but they had to try to see if they could fix it. The pain in his side was like a dull throb and he did not want anyone to suffer, especially his kids. He thought of them all as his now.
Owen rose and started to get ready, telling Ianto the worst part was trying to anesthetize the rabbit. They are had to do and it might kill it.
"You can't just do a localized numbing or something? I mean, you have stuff there I know the doctor used to remove one of the moles from my back. It numbed and went totally dead for a while." Ianto pointed "I remember the weird tingling."
"Local anesthetic" Owen looked down "Well… it would be easier on the poor little thing's heart and I don't want it to panic … uh…. Maybe if we distract if with food. Go get some veggies from the garden and I will get it ready. Huh. I never thought of that. See? Why we work so well together."
Soon the rabbit was chowing down on the food with gusto and the ear had started to flop. Owen took a deep breath, held out the sale as he plucked up the ear and …. Sliced. Ianto slammed down the red hot blade of the knife he had been warming over a flame…. Would have preferred this on himself really but didn't have time that day… and then they watched the rabbit for a reaction.
It stopped chewing and shook it's head, looked around like something had startled it, then went back to eating.
"No blood. Good" Owen said, and then sat back with the ear in his hand, turning it over "Look. Must have been the slightest of scratches as the rabbit was running, you can see just fur gone here where it didn't' get purchase, must have just got the tip."
"Put it in a sealed container and watch it" Ianto said as he checked the rabbit again "Will it stop now the host is… well dead… or will it continue to consume the flesh?"
"Ew. If they kill someone they might continue to …. Ew" Owen pulled a face "you are so gross. And that is saying something."
"Well, maybe I am wrong but if it is a virus then it will stop but if it is some sort of bacteria it will continue. I have this horrible image of dead bodies littered everywhere with this… whatever it is covering their bodies." Ianto shuddered "then they grow some sort of pod that explodes seeds into the air and that is how they kill us."
"Holy shit… what the fuck kind of bedtime stories do you read to your little girl with that brain?" Owen gaped "Jesus. Imagine, a body shaped plant or… vines or something puffing out dust of doom. Stop it. Stop it. You are freaky."
Ianto laughed softly as he nodded "I hope it is not something that continues, that's all. Mold spores can kill… imagine what this could do."
"Stop it. I am warning you!" Owen wagged a finger at him "We don't know anything… how long have you thought this?"
"Since I saw the tendrils on my own body and freaked out a little" Ianto admitted.
"You imagined it consuming you? Shit. Look, it's looking good, it's not encroaching past the line, I think you body's natural defenses are working" Owen reassured him gently, reaching out to touch him then pulling away as he saw he still had the gloves on from handling the rabbit. "Ew… now I am paranoid. Gotta go scrub down."
Ianto knew it was silly but he was trained to be paranoid.
Right?
And the relief that his own wound had started to finally heal was raw.