Fic- Close Your Eyes

[branwen_blaidd]

Title: Close Your Eyes
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: Adult- swearing, horror
Spoilers: Nothing major
Summary: Jack and Ianto go to investigate some odd readings.
Disclaimers: I own nothing!
Notes: Includes a poem called To a Child at the End of the Day by Dyfed Lloyd Evans. Thanks to both my gorgeous girls (you know who you are!) for helping me with this. Comments please!

 

 

 

“What readings are you getting exactly?” Jack asked, slamming the door behind him as he and Ianto climbed out of the SUV.

“I dunno,” said Ianto, studying the small electronic device in his hand. It flashed blue. “It’s just…blips. It might be nothing.” He looked up at the tired old shack which stood in front of them, backed by empty hills and disused fields. It made him shiver.

“Which way?” asked Jack, slipping his gun out of its holster and gripping it tight.

The sight of that gun, in the sure, confident hands of Jack, made Ianto feel a little calmer. He gripped his own gun too but lacked the confidence in his own skills which he had in Jack’s.

“This way,” he said, stepping forwards.

Jack followed him, although quickly overtook him, striding confidently towards the shack.

Ianto focused on his scanner. Typical that such things come through at the end of the day, when darkness was approaching and when all Ianto wanted to do was go to bed with Jack.

Jack paused at the door and glanced back at him. He held a finger to his lips and Ianto nodded, swallowing his fear determinedly.

Jack took a deep breath, then kicked open the door and burst inside. Ianto quickly followed him, checking out their surroundings and watching his scanner flash at him.

“There’s nothing here,” Ianto whispered, really wanting to get out of there.

“Can’t see anything,” Jack murmured. He reached out for the scanner and snatched it from Ianto’s hand. “Lemme see that.”

Ianto frowned and peered into the darkness, trying to see something. He shivered. He felt as though he was being watched and he could almost see eyes in the darkness staring at him.

“Scanner’s still picking something up. Some sort of disturbance in the rift. Bit far out but it’s possible something’s got here.”

Ianto got out his torch and switched it on. Bright light flowed out from the long black tube. He flashed it around the shack, illuminating dust and cobwebs and filth everywhere.

There was something moving in the corner. Ianto jerked backwards, backing himself against the wall and cocking his gun.

“Jack,” he hissed. “Something’s moving.”

Jack looked around, following Ianto’s eye line. His eyes widened when he saw it too, a shadow moving in the corner.

Ianto stepped closer to Jack, gripping his gun tightly.

Jack held up the scanner in one hand, his gun still tightly gripped in the other.

“There is something…”

Suddenly the something jerked towards them, teeth bared and claws extended ready to attack.

Ianto yelled, his heart thundering in his chest.

“Hey, Ianto, calm down,” said Jack. “It’s a cat.”

Ianto blinked and looked down at the ground. It was a cat; a wild, feral cat snarling at them. Jack jerked his boot in the cat’s direction.

“Go on, get outta here, moggie,” said Jack. He grinned. “Before you make Ianto wet his pants.”

Ianto shoved him. “Oh, shut up.”

Jack just chuckled, unabashed. “Right,” he said, taking Ianto’s torch and swinging it around the shack.

Ianto felt naked and vulnerable without the big heavy torch in his hand and he stepped closer to Jack.

“I think we need to stay for a bit,” said Jack. “See what all the fuss is about.”

“S…stay?”

Jack glanced at him. “You’re not scared are you?”

“No. Course not. Only…why do we have to stay exactly?”

“To see what’s going on. Right, can you go and get the lamp and the other scanner and I’ll find the best place to set up.”

Ianto really didn’t want to go out in the dark on his own to the SUV but he was obedient and he did it. He found his way in the semi-darkness towards the SUV. The moon was full and illuminated the field where they’d parked quite well. He opened the boot and retrieved the big battery powered lamp and the other scanner. He caught sight of Tosh’s baseball bat at the back of the trunk. She’d insisted on keeping it there ever since their experience with the cannibal village. He hesitated for a split second, then picked it up and brought it with him.

When he got back inside, Jack had set up on the floor, his back to the wall, holding the torch and the scanner. He’d pushed his coat out from underneath him so it didn’t get dirty. Jack patted the ground beside him.

“Come on. Park yourself.”

Ianto sat, wishing they’d brought blankets or something to sit on. He switched on the battery powered lamp. It wasn’t as bright as he’d hoped. It cast an eerie pale yellow glow around the shack. Ianto looked at the door to the other room. It was open and the room beyond it was dark.

Ianto chewed his lip. He didn’t like it that big dark empty, or perhaps not so empty, space beyond the door. He chewed his lip.

“Don’t you think we should explore that other room?”

Jack looked up at him from the scanner. “Sure.” He passed Ianto the torch and the scanner. “Go on. I’ve gotta configure the other scanner for other spectrum readings,” he said, going back to working on the other scanner.

Ianto hesitated. “Maybe you should…come with me…”

Jack glanced up and frowned. “Ianto, you’re a Torchwood officer. Pull yourself together and get on with it, will you?”

Ianto frowned. “Yes, sir,” he said quietly.

Trying his absolute hardest to pull himself together, he went through to the other room, shining the torch at every corner. He couldn’t see anything. There was nothing but the darkness and the dirt. Ianto started to breathe a little easier. His scanner wasn’t picking up anything either. There was nothing in here, nothing at all.

He turned to go. The scanner screeched. Ianto jumped and his torch flew up into the air, illuminating a tall ice white figure covered in blood. Ianto screamed despite himself and ran back to the main room.

Once back in the brighter room with Jack, Ianto felt rather ridiculous. He straightened his suit and tried to look professional.

“Jack,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“There’s something in there. I…s…saw something.” Ianto cleared his throat. “The scanner picked something up.”

Jack looked up. “Any clues on what?”

Ianto shrugged. “Don’t know.”

Jack got to his feet. “Okay, let’s have a look.”

Ianto focused on the scanner he held in his hand. He’d left the torch in the other room.

He followed Jack closely as he went through to the other room and looked around. The room was empty. Jack picked up the torch.

“There’s nothing here. What did you see exactly?”

“A…figure…with…blood.”

“Blood?”

“Yeah,” Ianto said, fiddling with his jacket buttons.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you weren’t just imagining it? You are awfully jumpy.”

Ianto glared at him. “I did not imagine it. And I’m not jumpy.”

Jack took the scanner off him, pressed a few buttons and scanned the room. “Oh,” he said and there was a long silence. “There is something.”

“I told you,” said Ianto triumphantly.

“Yes, all right,” snapped Jack. “You did bring the fucking baseball bat out of the car. If that’s not jumpy, I don’t know what is.”

“I am NOT jumpy!”

Jack glanced at him, then back down at the scanner, dismissively. “It’s…moving.”

Ianto grabbed the torch off the ground and used it to look around the room. He couldn’t see the figure but the scanner in Jack’s hand was still flashing away.

“What do you think it is?” Ianto whispered.

Jack glanced at him. “Some sort of alien life, coming through the rift probably. You know, the sort of thing we Torchwood officers deal with all the time.”

Ianto frowned. “It didn’t look alien.”

“Well, what did it look like?”

“Like a ghost.”

“Ianto, don’t be stupid.”

“I’m not being stupid.”

“If you believe in ghosts you are.”

Ianto scowled and grabbed the scanner from Jack. “Fuck you, Jack,” he said and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Now, don’t start sulking…” Jack started calling after Ianto.

Suddenly, he realised how dark it was. Ianto had taken both sources of light with him and it was completely black inside the room.

Jack looked around. There wasn’t anything there. Whatever thing it was coming through the rift, had to be some kind of alien, something non-corporeal perhaps?

Jack blinked. He realised he had no idea where the door was. He was in complete and total darkness.

“Erm, Ianto,” he said quietly.

There were eyes looking at him from the corner of the room. Red eyes.

“Ianto!” he called and the eyes blinked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw a line of light near the floor, past the figure.

Jack took a deep breath.

“Now, don’t be silly,” he muttered to himself. “I’m a big strong captain, leader of Torchwood and ex-time agent. I’ve faced cybermen, daleks, slitheen. I’m not scared.”

The figure just looked at him.

Jack bolted, racing for the door, flinging it open, jerking through it and slamming it behind him.

“Jack?” Ianto said, blinking at him.

“There’s…erm…definitely…something.”

Ianto straightened. “A ghost.”’

“I don’t know what it is, Ianto. But we need to sort it out. What does the scanner say?”

Ianto consulted it. “The readings are strong. Whatever that thing is, it is registering.”

Jack shivered. “Really gives you the creeps, doesn’t it?”

Ianto smirked. “Yes, it does.”

Jack looked at him. “All right, all right. I’m sorry for being shirty with you before.”

Ianto’s smirk turned into a smile. “That’s okay. What are we going to do?”

Jack thought hard. “Where’s my bag?”

“In the car.”

“Oh. Shall I…erm…get it or…will you?”

“I’ll get it,” Ianto said, heading out with the torch.

Ianto headed outside, leaving Jack with the lamp. In a strange way, he felt braver now that Jack was kind of scared too. Ianto walked back to the car and climbed inside to find Jack’s bag. It had the remote rift manipulator inside it and only Jack understood how to operate it.

He found the bag on the floor in the back, stuck under the seat. Ianto scrambled down on the floor and tugged at it.

His body jerked as he finally yanked it free and suddenly, there was bright blinding light all around. Ianto shielded his eyes and the whole SUV began to shake.

When the shaking stopped and the light faded, he scrambled up, jerked for the door and found he couldn’t budge it. He tried all the doors but none of them would budge. They weren’t locked and he had the keys. But whatever he did, he couldn’t open any of the doors.

He grabbed hold of his torch and hit the window directly with the end, right in the centre. Nothing happened.

Ianto swore and tried again. Still nothing happened.

“Fuck,” he breathed.

He rooted through his pocket for his mobile and called Jack.

“Ianto, what is it?” He sounded tense and agitated.

“Jack, I’m locked in.”

“Did you lose the keys?”

“No. Something happened. There was a light and all the doors locked.”

“All right, I’ll come out. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Ianto hung up the phone and waited for Jack to come to him.

 

                                          * * *

When Jack got to him, Ianto was fairly sure he couldn’t get out at all. He’d even tried shooting his gun at the window but it had simply hit the window and fallen to the car floor, completely useless.

Jack banged on the window. “Where are the keys?”

“I’ve got them here.”

“Open the window.”

“It won’t open, Jack. I’m really locked in.”

“Have you tried starting the engine?”

“What good will that do?!” Ianto shouted, really getting frustrated now.

Jack held his hands up in surrender. “All right, all right.” Jack frowned, thinking hard for several minutes.

“Okay, have you got my bag?”

Ianto held it up. “Here.”

“Okay, open it. There’s a big sort of scanner in there. Have you found it?”

Ianto withdrew a big metal scanner. It didn’t quite look like their ordinary scanners. It was much bigger and it was made out of the same old fashioned material as the rift manipulator back at the hub.

It had a big keypad and a fuzzy black screen with big white numbers on it.

“What do the numbers say?” asked Jack.

“Erm, four five seven two.”

“Okay. Type in six nine nine six.”

Ianto did as he was told, wondering what exactly what was going to happen.

“Now hit that big black button on the bottom.”

Again Ianto did as he was told and the scanner began to vibrate. It flashed, then screeched. Ianto kept a tight hold on it and glanced at Jack whose eyes were dark.

“Jack, what’s…”

Suddenly, Ianto’s entire world began to shake and there was a bright white light all around them. Jack took several steps back away from the vehicle.

“Just hold on tight,” he called. Ianto held onto the door handle as the shaking got worse. The light became unbearably bright. Ianto squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly, everything stopped.

Ianto opened his eyes. There was a glow around the SUV.

“Out! Quick!” Jack called.

Ianto tried the door, found it opened and he darted out and over to Jack, still clutching the scanner and Jack’s bag.

“How did you do that?”

Jack grinned and took the bag and the scanner off Ianto. “This is linked via my wrist strap to the rift manipulator. The SUV, with you inside it, was being affected by the rift. Somehow. I disrupted the rift’s pattern temporarily.” He glanced back at the SUV. The glow disappeared and the doors clicked closed again.

“Guess the pattern’s back to what it was before. Come on.”

They went back inside.

“What are we going to do?” asked Ianto.

“We’ve got to manipulate the rift a little more.”

“Good thing we’re connected to the rift manipulator then.”

Jack grinned. “Well quite. Stay close to me, okay?”

Ianto nodded, feeling secretly glad of the excuse to stay by Jack.

“Switch your torch off,” murmured Jack.

“Why?”

“Because we need to be in the dark. I’ve already switched off the lamp. Just stay close.” He passed the original scanner to Ianto. “Keep an eye on the readings.”

Ianto watched the numbers oscillating on the scanner. He knew what they meant. The rift was going crazy.

They stepped inside together. Jack found Ianto’s hand and held it tightly as they found their way through the darkness and into the shack.

At first there was complete darkness. Just the dim blue glow from Ianto’s scanner and the paler whitish glow from the scanner connected to the rift manipulator.

Ianto gazed around in the darkness, seeing nothing. His and Jack’s hands, entwined together, became clammy but they didn’t let go.

Then Ianto saw it. The white in the darkness.

His fingers tightened around Jack’s hand and Jack followed his eye line and saw it too.

Jack raised the scanner in his hand and input another four numbers. Suddenly, the whiteness became firmer, clearer and Ianto could see the figure properly for the first time.

It was a man. Sort of. He was tall. Ridiculously tall. He towered over Ianto and Jack. His face looked almost normal now and there was even a little colour in his cheeks. But he was covered in blood. His eyes were grey-blue, like Ianto’s but his brow was bleeding so heavily that his eyes were all red. Bloody tears dripped from his eye and he reached out to them.

“Help,” he strained.

Ianto wanted to run away. Something about looking at the “ghost” or whatever the sort of man was, made him want to scream and lurch with sickness. It was as if his entire body was being attacked with emotion.

From the tight grip he had on Ianto’s hand, Jack seemed to be suffering from the same phenomenon. Some sort of mind control perhaps? Psychological warfare?

Ianto held his nerve. It was going to be okay.

“Can you hear us?” Jack asked.

The figure moved closer. “Blood,” he hissed. “They’re coming. They have us.”

Ianto gazed into the ghost’s eyes. He saw fear in those blood red eyes. He wanted to help. He took a step forwards.

“No, Ianto,” Jack barked. “Keep back.”

The pale face turned towards Jack and blinked slowly at him. “You can help us. They came in swathes. They ripped us, tore us, took over our minds. We hurt each other. Please, you can help.”

“We can’t do anything for you,” said Jack. His voice was hard, wary.

“They’ll come for you,” hissed the ghost and he looked right into Ianto’s eyes.

Ianto cried out. He could see the blood, see the death, inside his head now. It took over his body, sent shivers through his flesh. He could smell the death, smell it coming for him. It filled his nostrils with sickness and he couldn’t breathe.

He could see people everywhere, reaching out for him and crying for help. A teenaged boy, bleeding from the ears, reached up to the dark sky and cried for his mother.

Ianto gasped, struggling for breath as he watched a girl younger than him struggle as a hefty man squeezed the air out of her throat.

Blood trickled over torn flesh. Vicious burns spread across white skin. 

Ianto choked on the blood he could feel rising up in his throat. It mixed with bile, burned his mouth.

He found himself coughing up blood, could feel it dribbling down his chin but he couldn’t look away from those bloody eyes in front of him.

“Stop it!” Jack yelled.

Ianto felt Jack’s hand on his back, holding him securely.

“Help,” Ianto coughed.

“Ianto, breathe. It’s not real.”

“Help…them,” gasped Ianto. “They…need…help…please.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” hissed Jack. “It’s in the future. We can’t stop it. It’s got to happen.”

Jack pushed Ianto back and stepped into his place. Ianto squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will the sight from before him.

Jack stood right in front of the ghost and held up the manipulator in his hand. “You must go back,” he said in his firmest voice. “You cannot be here.” He pressed buttons, pointed the manipulator forwards and executed the command.

The shack began to shake. Dust and cobwebs fell from the ceiling and the ghost disappeared, leaving only emptiness behind him.

Jack let out a breath and turned to Ianto, who was still coughing. He took him firmly by the shoulders and looked firmly into his eyes. “It is not real. You are not choking.”

“Blood,” Ianto gasped.

“There is no blood,” Jack said, in that firm voice. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped at Ianto’s chin. “See? Just saliva.”

“I could…see it,” Ianto whispered, horror in his voice.

Jack put his arms around Ianto and pulled Ianto’s face against his strong chest. “But it wasn’t real. It’s over now.”

Ianto let out a long breath and allowed himself to feel comforted by Jack’s strong, solid presence.

 

* * *

 

After tidying up and doing a few more scans just to check everything out, they were back in the SUV and driving back to the hub. Ianto was glad to leave and tired after everything but there was something on his mind.

“Jack, is…what I saw…true?”

“It was just a vision,” said Jack, looking ahead at the dark road.

“I know but…the ghost…he came from the future so…it must be true. One day…”

Jack frowned and bit his lip. “It…well…”

“Just tell me. I’m not a little boy. I can handle it.”

“All right, all right,” said Jack and smiled a little. He glanced at Ianto. “It…will be real. But there’s nothing we can do to change it.”

“But…”

“What?”

“Well…war. Does it ever end?”

“I dunno, Ianto. I really don’t know.” He reached out and took Ianto’s hand. “But at least we’re doing our bit, eh? We’ll always do what we’ve gotta do and maybe we can make a little difference that way, hmm?”

“I suppose so. Still…I wish…I wish we could have helped him. I wish we could help everyone.”

Jack cupped Ianto’s hand and stroked his hair, glancing briefly away from the road to meet his eyes. “I know. It’s never really enough, is it? No matter what you do, there’s always going to be more.” He looked back at the empty road. “But we’ll do what we can.”

He smiled. “Now, you go to sleep, mister. All that freaking out must have you tired.”

Ianto stuck his tongue out at Jack. “You were scared too!” he teased.

Jack laughed. “Yes, I was. And I was glad to have you there. You and your baseball bat.”

Ianto smiled. “It’s Tosh’s.”

Jack chuckled. “Whatever.” He stroked Ianto’s knee. “Go on. Close those eyes.”

Ianto closed his eyes and to his surprise, Jack began to whisper a poem in that soft, reassuring voice.

 

“Sleep now, for all is past,

the day is gone and done

and even daylight slumbers, fast.

So close your eyes and dream

if giant oaks in summer light,

with eagles soaring in their flight

or trout that jump in trickling book

Where rainbowed mayflies flit

and kingfishers shall perch and sit

as hidden in the grass you wait

watching as the world unfolds

those tales that only riverbed may tell

in hazy, light, summer light

So drift away on wings of sleep

to dream of things as they shall be

And as in memory

they also seemed to be for me

so many, many years ago

Now sleep, and night shall pass

tomorrow brings another dawn

with all its boundless majesty.

Now sleep, my child, and rest

that day, renewed, shall surely come

For now, though, close your eyes

and sleep – just sleep

and all of this shall come to pass.”

 

And Ianto fell asleep, lulled by Jack’s voice and feeling peaceful and settled inside.