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Ianto pulled his walkie-talkie from his belt and clicked it three times in quick succession. Three clicks came back. Owen now knew that they were not to use them, radio silence was in effect. If nothing else, it would give him the heads up to be alert, something was amiss.
Owen appeared across the courtyard and looked over at Ianto who quickly signed about the fishing boat and Owen nodded, signing back that they needed to continued to work. If they find 'alives' one click, followed by two. If they find Uglies, one click followed by four. Or just gunshots would work too, then he grinned manically.
Ianto agreed with a thumbs up and they took off. Some might say they should stick together and for normal men, this is true. But these are Torchwood men. They were like three Normals with their training and moxie. They also had one more thing normal men did not seem to have… a touch of madness.
Ianto had his gun raised as he swept the area, then he took a deep breath and opened the door to the hall. His worst feared were realized as a man rose from the crouched position behind some sofas, blood smeared across his face as he stared at Ianto with confusion, then screamed.
Ianto knew that scream, remembered it well.
With a soft curse he turned to leave, only to find the exit covered by another Ugly. Now that was stupid. Something he would scold himself about later. Stupid. Sloppy. Ianto fired. It called two more Uglies from a side room, one with an arm almost completely severed from its arm as it waved it about spraying blood everywhere. Ianto started to calmly empty his clip, taking a moment to drop the spent clip and slam another in as he called out.
A voice answered weakly. "Thank fuck."
Dominic appeared with a blood covered face and a large butcher knife, staring at Ianto with wide eyes "Fuck, are they gone?"
A woman pushed push them to grab a medical kit and then turn to check a bite on his arm. He continued to stare at Ianto in silent question as Ianto held up a finger and canted his head, listening to something.
Faint gunfire.
"No, lock the door after me" Ianto barked, running from the hall in the direction he knew Owen would be, slamming into the operational offices to find Owen struggling with a man much larger than himself. A man Ianto had never seen before. He had a yellow slicker and matching waterproof trousers on.
Right. A fisherman.
Ianto emptied his second clip with glee.
Finally it was silent and Ianto stood taking deep breaths as he looked around and counted two dead Uglies, Owen must have dispatched the first one, then the second one attacked. Ianto then opened the door to step outside. Any other Uglies would have come at the sounds they had made. They do not hide. They do not do covert. Nope.
None left.
Five total?
"I don't get it" Dominic said shakily as they met in the courtyard "We were all doing so well. It was a fucking brilliant night last night. This morning I woke up to this bullshit. People screaming, running and these Uglies… these… who the fuck are they?"
Damien had moved over to look at the one Owen had been fighting as the bodies were all loaded onto a trailer for disposal "Weird shit man. I don't know him either. The ones from the hall attack spot… I don't recognize them either. It this from another boat or island we don't know about?"
"These are from a boat… the boat on your beach over there. A security sweep every six hours of the shoreline would have found it… like we suggested" Ianto pointed in the general direction "No idea of the origin but if they had worked out a way around their fear of water we are in deep shit now."
.
.
Ianto had boarded the luxury fishing boat that was now listing to one side in the deep sandy beach. The first thing he noticed was the dust. Thick dust with a slightly yellow tint to it all over the deck and bulwarks. It was on everything like someone had opened a bag of flour on the deck and shook it.
He ran a finger through it on the filleting table and considered things. Then he went to the wheelhouse and noted the mess in there, headed down to the sleeping berths and galley then on to the engine room, noted the mess in there.
Considered.
Didn't like it one bit and got a little case of the Utters… shooting topside to take a deep cleansing breath.
"Gross" he said to himself softly, his hands still shaking. Another deep breath and he tried to think logically as he headed for the side of the boat to jump off.
He exited to find the others waiting nervously and Owen was first to speak "So"
"So. Looks like a fishing weekender. These men likely all mates, off for a weekend of boozing, eating bad and fishing occasionally to take a fish home for Her Indoors." Ianto replied as he jumped down into the sand "It also looks like there were more than those we encountered originally on board."
"So what do you think the story is?" Owen asked, stepping closer and reaching out to touch him like it was to help steady him in the soft sand, not comfort himself that he was OK.
"I reckon there were ten… nine or ten on board. Looking at the sleeping bags in the cabin below, the four berths were taken, three more on the seats down below and if you factor in the captain who would sleep n the wheelhouse on the cot up there… at least one awake overnight to make sure they don't drift into anything. Nine? Ten tops… one of the sleeping bags might have been a spare but… I think ten. Yeah, overloaded but again… weekend warriors… so they headed off and it all started on the shore. Either they didn't know or tried to get back but wherever they tried to land the Dust was waiting."
"How can you be so sure?" Duncan asked.
"it's all over the boat. Thick. I go, they came close to the shore and close to a crop, it blasted them full force. All of those topside turned within seconds. No time to get sick, none of them immune… or maybe one or two that were inside. There are signs of a struggle in the wheelhouse, rather gory. They either made their way down the hatch into the sleeping area where they were finally killed or a second person was down there and attacked as well."
"Shit" Owen said softly "So… direct and advanced exposure causes immediate turning, no either or."
"I think so."
"Well, that's some happy shit, ain't it?"
Well the happy shit is the fact we killed five… another two murdered by their own mates on the boat… makes seven. Not nine or ten. We have at least two more somewhere" Ianto replied sagely and Owen groaned, turning to look back towards the settlement with horror.
"Well… fuck. Can we just take off and nuke it from space?"
