12

"The back, the red barn!" a voice yelled as Ianto swung to look in that direction, the drones flying overhead making a whirring noise as he tried to focus on the movement in the tall corn rows. Idiots. He had told them on the first day he got here that the corn needed to be harvested and torn down, it was a hindrance. They had told him that 'the Uglies never come from that way' and they had good fencing up. They had wanted to wait until the end of September so the corn had longer to ripen and sweeten on the stalk. 'Tradition here in these parts' Idiots.

He had warned them.

Ianto ran towards the sound of the fighting and came around the barn to see four Uglies wrestling on the ground with villagers, another two still standing with what looked like fucking pitchforks. Ianto grabbed the handle of a shovel and stomped on it, snapping it off at the angle to create a spear and with open malice he plunged it into the eye socket of one of those now calmly biting the ear off one of the villagers.

The villager rolled away crying out, holding his hand over his ear as he tried to crawl on three limbs and Ianto viciously placed his foot on the skull of the convulsing Ugly to retrieve his weapon and then swing to plunge it into the neck of one of the approaching Uglies who had thought the turned back to him was an invitation.

Ianto then twirled the spear behind his back in an expert level display, before throwing it with all his might in the chest of one that had old of a woman's arm while slashing at her with a knife. A knife. Great, they had moved up from sticks and shit. They had remembered actual useful weapons. Only a matter of time before one finds a gun and remembers the usefulness of that too.

Another rifle fired and Ianto saw another group of Uglies off to the West coming fast. Fuckers had created a diversion. Clever. Sooo clever.

Ianto sighed as he removed his gun from his waistband and started to run, firing as he went and it was with grim satisfaction that he saw every bullet hit it's mark with the accuracy Jack had been proud to see when they had hunted together.

Wrong time to think of him.

Ianto refocused, swinging the gun "CHECK ALL SIDES!"

Security ran to do so, shaken by the speed and accuracy of the attack, as were many by the ruthless response of the man who had just saved some of their people with a viciousness they had never seen before.

Finally there was silence and the drones were sent up to scout for any more, Ianto doubling over to clutch his knees and focus on his breathing as he had lost his breath there, still holds his breath to fire. Something Jack scolded for.

"Stop it" Ianto said out loud to himself then straightened up to find Cory and Thomas the Village leader there.

"What now?" Thomas asked shakily.

"The drones are searching, the need to keep an eye on the tree lines though, the fuckers…. Wait. You have a firehouse, did it have modern appliances and equipment?" Ianto asked.

.

.

Ianto was searching the fire rig with deadly intent as the others watched on and Cory said "we lost almost the entire fire crew. We don't even know how to use that stuff. What are you looking for?"

Ianto appeared with some goggle in his hand and thrust them at them "Heat Signature goggles. These goggles are work to search for bodies in the remains of a house fire or a car accident at night. These can see heat in the tree line, as can this hand held scanner here."

"Oh my god, we can check to see any hiding from the drones" Arthur snatched the hand held scanner and the instruction book Ianto held out next, then off as another two men took the goggles and Ianto sat heavily on the top step of the rig.

"You are such a clever fucker" Cory said softly, "tell me. This Captain Jack and his people, he called his team. You are one of them right?"

"Torchwood" Ianto sighed, too tired to lie "We were Torchwood. Her Majesty's Alien Hunters."

Cory stared at him then said "I knew it!"

"This was not something we could have any control over. This was… I don't know. I think it was possibly manmade" Ianto told him.

"It makes me think of that movie by that M. Night Shyamalan dude. The Happening. When the plants fought back and sent out pollen in the win or something that made people wanna die." Cory said.

"I always thought that was a Alien movie myself" Ianto countered "Signs was the first one, the aliens coming to earth and trying to scout out what could harm us. Think about it, they hated water and were releasing a gas out of their wrist or something. What did that so?"

"Ohhhhhh… good one. So, The Happening was a sequel of sorts? Well… that would explain the clouds at the beginning of the opening credits. Right. Huh. You know, I would not have connected them like that." Cory laughed, "clever bastard, aren't ya."

"So I've been told" Ianto smiled softly, finally warming to this man.

Finally starting to feel like he could settle here for a while.