madbottoms | Choices - Chapter 18 Part 2 (Reply)

Title: Choices

Chapter 18 – Hell Bent – Part 2

Pairing(s)/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Owen, Tosh, John, OCs

Rating: NC17 (overall)

Warnings: supernatural themes, violence, m/m pairing

A/N: Things are about to heat up again. Hold on for the ride.

18 – Hell Bent - Part 2

JACK

o-o-o

When we get back to Ianto’s, Owen and Tosh are sitting on the hood of Tosh’s car in the car park, and I’m trying to remember when I told them where he lives. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“Gearing up to kick my ass, no doubt,” Ianto says.

“Well, you deserve it.”

He looks at me from under an arched eyebrow, making me tingle all over.

We pull into the car park and I work to get myself together as they bounce over to us. I’m happy to see Owen looking almost himself again. Today was his first day back at school after his dad, and he’s been pretty down.

“We came to kidnap you,” Tosh says, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

“You’re coming with us on our regular nights out,” Owen adds.

“It’s not ‘night’ and it’s not Wednesday. What’s the deal?”

“Just shut up and do as you’re told.” He smirks.

I step forward and hug him. “How you holding up?”

He looks confused for a second then says, “Fine.”

“Did your dad come home today?”

He glances quickly at Tosh and back. “Yeah.”

“He’s doing okay?”

“Yeah.”

I wait for him to elaborate but then decide he must not want to talk about it. “So what’s going on?”

“You’re coming with us.”

“Sorry. Ianto and I are kinda busy,” I say.

He looks at me, and I see his eyes drop to the crucifix under my shirt. “No, it’s okay…I think you should go.”

I glower at him. “I thought we had plans.” At least I did. Plans involving cool sheets and warm bodies…

“Go ahead, Jack.” He steps away from us, scanning the immediate area and buildings with growing concern on his face.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he almost growls. “Just go.”

Something’s not right. I force my eyes away from Ianto and scan the car park then shift them to Owen. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he says with a sparkle in his eye.

When I turn to kiss Ianto goodbye his eyes are still darting.

“What’s up?” I whisper in his ear as he leans down.

“Nothing. I’ll see you later.” He kisses me, and I force myself to let him go.

I slide into the back of Tosh’s car. As we pull out of the car park, Tosh keeps looking at me in her rear-view mirror.

“So, really. What are we doing?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” she says into the mirror.

“How did you know where to find me? I never told you where Ianto lives.”

Tosh glances at me in the mirror again. “Yeah, you did. Remember that time at school?”

“Actually, no. So…” I look back at Ianto’s complex, fading into the distance, “this is a little weird, don’t you think?”

Owen turns to look at me. “You’ve been blowing us off for Lucifer. You left us no choice.”

Lucifer? Suddenly alarms are ringing in my head. I work to stay calm. Panicking isn’t going to help anything. I feel the weight of the crucifix against my chest and breath into it. “Yeah, I guess. Sorry. But what about Tosh and Tommy? They’re just as bad.” I watch for a reaction.

They share a quick glance, then Owen turns back to me with a grin and says, “Yeah…I had to kidnap her too.”

Wrong reaction. Shit! And as I look at him, I notice for the first time that his eyes are glowing red. Just a little behind his grey irises, but enough that it’s noticeable in the shadows of the car.

I don’t know what’s going on. Except I’m pretty sure I’m fucked.

I look for a spot to bail but by now we’re out of town and there are no more stop signs. We’re heading out into the middle of nowhere. Tosh’s driving much faster than usual, or I’d open the door and jump. I’m trying not to freak as I look out at our surroundings…and then I get it. We’re heading up to the quarry.

We park near the trail into the swimming pit, and I open the door an start to move away from the car.

Owen—or whoever this is—swings behind me in a flash. “Hey, where are you going?”

That’s a really good question. Where am I going? I look up the dirt road. The main road is at least half a mile away and the dense woods are quiet. Too early for the groups of summer swimmers. There’s nowhere to run. “Nowhere. So, what are we doing here?”

“Just hanging out. Maybe skinny dipping. Sound good?”

Yeah, sounds great. “Not really up for skinny dipping. Water’s freezing.”

Owen shoots a glance at Tosh, and his eyes flash red. “We’ll have to huddle up for body heat,” he says with a lascivious grin.

This is bad. I’m really starting to freak out now. I watch Tosh slide her keys into her shorts pocket as she heads up the path. Owen is hanging back, waiting for me to go first. I follow Tosh, reluctantly, trying to figure out how to get those keys.

We wind our way down the wooded path, and when we get to the quarry, Owen saunters over to the edge and sits on a rock. His eyes flash, and an evil smile turns up the corners of his mouth. “I say we get naked. The water looks great.”

“Mmm…sounds good,” Tosh says, eying me with that same gleam. “But I gotta take piss. I’ll be right back.” She slinks off into the woods. Crap—there went the keys.

Owen gets up and comes over to where I’m standing. “You look so uptight. Chill,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the rocks. He’s as hot as Ianto ever was. He sits me down and stands behind me, rubbing my shoulders, then starts pulling my shirt over my head.

I yank it down. “It’s way too cold for that. I’m serious,” I say. I don’t turn to look when I hear him growl. I need to think, but my heart is thundering in my ears, making it hard to concentrate. Then I hear the faintest rustling in the woods. I look up and exhale the breath I’d been holding in as he walks out of the trees, silky black hair shining in the sun. Thank God. “Ianto,” I say, shaking Owen off and standing up. I take a step forward, but then he lifts his head.

“Hello, Handsome Jack,” he says with a wicked gleam in his glowing red eyes. “I’m Saxon. Remember me?”

I look at him and what I thought was Ianto morphs into a skinny blond guy with a maniacal grin. It sends chills up and down my spine. I know I should run, but my feet and glued to the ground, and I’m feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Owen slink off up the path.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the night we met in front of your house.” His voice is velvet, and I feel my legs go soft. He steps forward till he’s right in front of me. He steps forward until he’s right in front of me. He touches my face and traces a burning path across my cheek bone. “Everything is fine, Jack. It’s going to be great.” His hot hands slide around my waist, pulling me to his burning body.

The black fog permeates my brain as I melt into him. He feels like Ianto, and I can’t help but lose myself in his touch. When his lips touch mine I can barely breathe. My hands slide around him and I press into the curve of his body, but then some little corner of my mind shouts, “No.” I pull a deep breath and try to think. Almost instinctively, my hand gravitates to the cross around my neck as I fight to hold on to my remaining shred of conscious thought. With my last scrap of free will, I pull back from the mist, look up at him and smile.

Then I yank the cross from my neck and jam it into his eye.

A bestial howl shakes the woods as he drops to his knees, clawing at his bubbling face. He shimmers for a second, almost like a mirage, as something terrifyingly grotesque peeks out from under his skin.

The smell of rotten eggs instantly clears my head. I turn and run full speed up the path without looking back. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when I get to the car. Is there a car? Were Tosh and Owen ever really here? I don’t know what’s real.

I’m trying not to scream in fear and frustration, and everything is a green blur as I stumble up the path, so I don’t see Owen lying there until I trip over him and land face first in the dirt. As I scramble to my feet, I hear something moving through the woods towards us. Saxon. Damn!

I grab Owen under the arms and drag him, but we’re moving too slow and he catches us. I prop Owen against the tree and step in front of him prepared to fight, as he bursts out of the trees and onto the path.

“Jack! Thank God!” Ianto grabs Owen and throws him over his shoulder. “Let’s go!” He grabs my hand and we run up the path. When we get to the road he throws Owen into the back seat of the Shelby with Tosh, who’s lying there unconscious.

We climb into the car and he slams the doors.

“Jesus, Ianto! What…” But then I remember.

Saxon! He was in a black Shelby Cobra that night. This isn’t Ianto. It’s just another trick.

My heart stops. “Oh, shit!”

“What is it, Jack? Are you okay?” The Shelby fishtails as he guns the engine, sending gravel flying behind us.

I look in the back seat at Tosh and Owen, then back at Saxon. What do I do? I breathe and try to think. And when I look back at the road, there’s a tall, flaxen-haired girl standing in the middle of it. The girl from Ianto’s bed. “Oh, shit!” I say again.

I expect Saxon to slow down, but instead he stares out the windshield, determined, and speeds up. I bring my arms up, expecting her to come crashing through the windshield, but instead, she evaporates.

When we get near the main road, I grab the steering wheel and yank. The car swerves to the right, narrowly missing a tree before Saxon yanks the wheel back and brings the car up onto the dirt road.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Go to Hell!” I yell and try to grab the wheel again, but he pushes me back.

“Jack, please! Stop trying to kill us, will you?”

I look into his eyes. God, he looks so much like Ianto. And then it hits me…what he said when he found us on the path. He’d said, ‘Thank God.’ Would Saxon say that? Would Ianto? “Ianto?”

“Who were you expecting?” The rasp from the back seat makes me jump and the smell of rotten eggs chokes me.

I turn to see the real Saxon—I think. But he doesn’t look like Ianto anymore. In fact he doesn’t even look human. There’s no mistaking what he is: steaming, crimson skin, flat, pinched face, and horns, with one clawed hand around each of my friends’ necks. But what really gives him away is the black ooze dripping from where his left eye once was.

Ianto slams on the brakes and I nearly slide off the seat into the dash. Then he turns and points a glowing fist at Saxon.

“Do you really want to do that?” Saxon says, shaking Tosh and Owen’s unconscious bodies. “Course, Jack didn’t come out all that worse for wear, did he?” A grimace pulls at his leathery lips, exposing a mouthful of fangs. “Go ahead. Give it a shot.”

IANTO

o-o-o

“Ianto?” Jack says, urging me with his eyes.

“I can’t,” I say, dropping my fist. “He’s right. If he doesn’t shield then it would kill them.”

“Good boy.” Saxon smirks menacingly.

“What do you want?” I say.

He coughs out a hysterical giggle. “You have to ask? I thought you were smarter than that, being a First Level and all.”

Unholy Hell.

I look back at Tosh and Owen. Can I sacrifice them for Jack? My head says yes, but my annoying new conscience says it’s wrong. Plus, if we survive, Jack would never forgive me.

“So how is this supposed to work?” I ask past the lump in my throat.

“Jack gets out of the car,” Saxon says, gesturing to the side of the car, where, Lucy is now standing, a scowl gracing her flawless face, “and he and I have a little party in the woods,” he finishes with a heinous grin.

I look at Jack as he reaches for the door handle, the tangy citrus scent of his terror replace with the spicy-sweet of clove and currant—his soul, ready for the taking. My hand shoots out involuntarily and grabs his wrist. He tries to pull away, but I shake my head, pleading with my eyes.

“There’s no other choice, Ianto,” he says, his expression calm, resigned.

He tugs his arm away and I let him go, my mind racing. Pushing open the door, he looks back at me one last time before climbing out and standing next to Lucy. With a burst of brimstone, Saxon is there, slamming Jack’s door.

I pull slowly forward and watch in the rear-view mirror as Saxon takes Jack’s wrist and starts to drag him towards the woods.