18

Ianto had found stairs in the back, climbing them to find what he had hoped he would. The flat roof with high sides had some chairs and a table up there. This was a staff hangout for a smoke break.

He turned to find Jack behind him "this looks good Tiger."

"Yes, we can put a chair in opposite corners and then sit to watch for the Bugs. If we are sitting, peering over the lip of the wall here, they can't see us and we will be able to be still if there is one out there. Standing and moving will alert them."

"I think we need at least two up here" Jack agreed "a large area to watch, then one downstairs peeking around the tarps now and then. If we don't have any lights, the moonlight should be enough to light the area for us. Damn, it's looking like clear skies, so bright moonlight and stars?"

"I agree. I think us two up top first, then each hour one of us goes down to check on things down below. Rhys and Andy can spot us after midnight, then early in the morning Mickey can be topside while we sort breakfast then we can all be alert" Ianto nodded.

Jack found this a good idea and reached for Ianto, a soft kiss to reassure them both. They felt exposed out here in the middle of nowhere, they held on tight. Ready to fight.

"I am hungry" Ianto declared, heading over to move the chairs around and Jack helped make the roof a good battlement, then they accepted some food that Rhiannon brought up, telling them the kids were happy. They talked about the plan for sentries and agreed to let the kids rip more toys open to play with, creating such a mess. But hey… end of the world right?

"Silly isn't it" Ianto said softly as he sat watching them while Mickey and Rhys was topside "I feel the need to pay for them. Place some money in the till with an apology note that no one will ever see. Silly right? Like money even means anything now."

"No, it means you are still human. Remember the old ways that will now fall away" Jack shrugged "I have no idea what this planet will be like in a year… two… we need to be prepared for things never coming back. Life will never go back, we are forever changed."

"These kids will never know the thing we did, they have to learn a whole new world. For them, it's probably going to be easier" Andy agreed.

"Right, me and Ianto will go topside with … what are you doing?" Jack asked as Ianto took off into the store part.

"Clothes. I am looking for a big jacket!" came the muffled reply. Jack grinned as he pulled his Great Coat on as he knew Ianto lamented not having something warmer too. Outside at night, they would be cold.

They were soon topside with opposite corners so thy could see out over the flat land before them, blankets around them with Ianto feeling a bit silly in a huge jacket that was two sizes too big, and comfortable as well with good down filling.

As they watched the landscape below their eyes adjusted to the dark and they could see shapes, movement and with the moon getting higher they eventually saw what they didn't want to.

Bugs.

There were groups of three or four moving in sync like fucking backup dancers, their weird crabbing gait disappearing into that gazelle like lopping as they heard or smelt something on the wind. Then they moved with accuracy and speed. Jack knew he jumped involuntarily in his chair a few times before reminding himself that they could not see him.

The ones that really worried him were the ones Ianto worried about as well.

The loners.

They moved differently, were larger than the other ones and seemed to have a purpose. No hesitation, checking the air or scanning around them. They moved in a singular direction without even registering things, even other packs. Whick seemed to try to move around them.

In fact, it looked like they were afraid of the larger loners.

"What do you think of those big bastards?" Ianto asked softly as he crouched by Jack's chair watching the latest loner as it made a pack scatter.

Jack replied "The groups or on scouting missions. Seeking, looking around and finding safety in numbers. These loners are not rouges like we first thought. They are like… a big brother or something to the smaller ones. They seem to be like…."

"Like the groups are soldiers and the loners are the SAS." Ianto muttered, then added as an afterthought "or the assassins"

Jack tuned to lo at him with surprise and nodded "You know that makes sense. Tracked in the daytime by one. Not a group like this. So, the smaller ones find the humans and somehow let the bigs ones know who do the job of killing."

"If we continue along the military track… Maybe the small ones grow to be big ones, maybe that is why the big ones are rotting and dying. Their lifecycle is not so long? As they mature and become smarter they don't need to travel in packs anymore?" Ianto canted his head as he considered something, and Jack was used to this now knowing his brain was coming up with another explanation, he was chewing an idea out before speaking. After a while Ianto added "Or, the pack members die one by one, leaving just one."

Jack looked out into the dark, "So they all start as bands of small numbers, as they die, the others become stronger and wiser. Fuck, it'd how they are learning. One steps on a landmine, the others will now look for landmines. Clever. Yeah… I wonder how long they live."

"If we work on the most logical assumption, these ones rotting and strong as fuck with nothing to lose that we are fighting against are the end of lifers. Right? So maybe they were the originals? So… six months on the outside?" Ianto sat down now, leaning against the small wall "these are the cannon fodder. Like… these are the elite SWAT? Jason Bourne kinda fucks?"

"ERGH"

"God. I feel colder just thinking about it" Ianto finally admitted "Come on. I will get some hot chocolate and you watch that entrance from the main road. At least they seem to prefer roads and pathways at night, the daytime ones maybe are the older ones and then the freaks?"

Jack nodded made sense to him too. These ones moving in the dark were juveniles.

So they were breeding?

Was this an occupation? Or just an annihilation of mankind?

These theories might be all wrong but damn... they made for nightmare material. And as Ianto pondered, were they breeding somehow down here? If so they would never all die out eventually like Jack had hoped, would they.

Fuck.