32

James had taken the Skiff off shore and was currently sitting off on the island's outer limits while waiting for the others to arrive. Ianto and Owen continued to sweep as the islanders stood on the dock with their rifles, looking back towards their home that deep down they knew they would never see again.

Finally the two men emerged and stood on the dock talking softly to the idiots "look… there was no sign of the missing crew members so either they bailed already or they are still out there somewhere. We have a few options. We can ring that bell until they come and attack us, or you wait here quietly and Owen keeps his guns trained on the entrance to the dock."

Everyone wanted quietly on the dock while Ianto walked along the shoreline towards the boat one more time. Something he wanted to look at closer.

..

.

"Is she OK?" Ianto asked as he helped Jack unpack the boat hat was bobbing in the water. Rhys and Andy unloading too.

"Yeah, Alice promised some Princess Flower picking thing on the others side of the island. She was so exited she didn't even wait for a kiss goodbye" Jack said with genuine hurt feelings on the mater.

Once they had the supplies on the dock Ianto nodded and Jack turned to those huddled together and started to address them.

"OK everyone listen up. We have here some of the industrial sprayers market gardens use to spray their crops by hand. These backpack tanks a gull of gasoline. You will note that they are also coloured. We dumped food colouring in them so we can see where we have sprayed. We will spray everywhere these fuckers went to our knowledge." Jack said confidently as Ianto moved to one side with the black backpack Jack had handed over, the explosives in there already primed and all they needed was the detonators to be live.

Ianto went to leave, intending to place the explosives at key points when someone asked "Why?"

Ianto froze, then turned slowly to look back them before he pointed over a the Uglies piled up "See those? Come over for a closer look."

They all gathered around and Ianto crouched to pull at the clothing of one, "See this yellow dust coming off him? It's pollen. More than just that… it's seeds. You get it? Everywhere these fucking Uglies roamed they were spreading the spores of this stuff. This is not the same Dust as in the area I was hit. That Dust was more greyish. This is from a different plant. We can't trust anything we don't grow from seeds ourselves now. This could have been anything along the area they were attacked in. Attacked. Think about it. This was not a random change of wind and an oopsie… no… We are under attack. In a month, six months… you will have plants here that might try to kill you just like their hosts here."

"Fuck"

"Ianto's right. The boat was thick with it and I found traces of it around the place of struggle in the hall" Owen agreed "It's contaminated now. I go, we clean it away. In a few years the land will be ready for life again, just not now."

They sprayed and watched for the remaining lurkers. Then they stood on the deck off shore on the larger boat and watched as Jack lit a single match and threw it from the Skiff, letting it land on the boat that went up with a booming whoosh. Then another flicked at the shore and they saw the place start to go, one on the women starting to cry softly as she turned away, the suitcase at her feet all she had left of her life here.

Once again, she was adrift.

Owen raised his hand in a symbolic gesture as he hit the trigger button and the explosions as the buildings went up were spectacular. Owen whooped and punched the air, then James yelled and pointed.

On the shore were the two Uglies they had missed. They were chasing a woman who was screaming as she tripped, fell, regained footing and ran some more.

Jack swung to Damian "you said you did a fucking headcount!"

"We did… we did. I… I don't know her" he spluttered.

"The tenth one" Ianto said softly as he clung to the railing to watch her fall for the final time, then get engulfed with fury "Nine or ten on board, remember? We had five ashore in the village, then two on the boat makes seven and those two make nine. She was the tenth fishing boat member. Probably hid in a hold somewhere locked in, finally felt safe to come out only to find she waited too long. Why we never saw those two, they've been chasing her around for the entire fucking time. If she called out, came through the village we might have saved her. She chose the wrong aversion technique, that's for sure."

"You didn't see her?"

"She was already out, I scanned that boat thoroughly Jack!" Ianto said angrily, not liking the blame being placed "She could have called out, run to anyone but she kept to the trees and was afraid. Maybe sick? We can't save everyone and they have to help themselves as well."

Those around them hung their heads as they knew they were included in that scold.

They led them to another island that was still in the process of being prepared for families and as they morosely looked around and commented on it being a smaller one, less to offer and clearly in need of a clean Ianto lost his temper, storming outside to ignore them. It's Princess Day. Did anyone bother to consider that maybe HE wanted to be with his daughter today as well? Oh no… gotta be here dealing with this shit.

What a shitty, shitty Princess Day.