Ficlet: Coming Back From Death

[bk_forever]

Title: Coming Back From Death
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Every Jack death.
Summary: What is it really like for Jack when he comes back from death?
Word Count: 261
Written For: My own prompt ‘Torchwood, Jack, the pain of coming back from death,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.



Jack doesn’t really like to talk about it; bad enough that he has to experience repeated deaths and resurrections without having to relive them to satisfy other people’s curiosity. But if pressed he’ll tell you that it’s like being dragged across broken glass.

That doesn’t really capture the sheer agony he experiences though; he’s not sure anything can. Dying hurts, and sometimes he takes a long time to die, but coming back?

How to you put into words the sensation of bones knitting together, nerves re-growing, tissue and muscles and organs reforming? It’s exactly the same as being injured in the first place, only in reverse and much slower.

You know how it feels when your arm goes to sleep, and the painful tingle when you get the blood circulating through it again? Imagine that sensation magnified a thousand times and applied to your whole body. Then imagine the feeling of sharp, icy knives tearing through your chest as you take that first breath, re-inflating your lungs as your heart hammers painfully against your ribs.

Every nerve ending is hyper-sensitive and scraped raw, even darkness feels painfully bright, and the smallest sounds make your eardrums feel like they’ll explode even while the rest of your body feels crushed beneath the weight of your own existence. Small wonder that he flails in blind panic during those first few moments of life, grasping for anything he can find in order to anchor himself.

No, Jack doesn’t like to talk about it, and he’d give his life to never have to experience it again.


The End

Comments

[akawho.livejournal.com]

No wonder he grabs onto Ianto like a lifeline, and no wonder Ianto does his best to be there for him when he comes back.

[bk_forever]

It's a pretty harrowing experience for both of them.

Thank you.

[owensheart.livejournal.com]

Brilliantly written account of Jack coming back after dying.

great fic

[bk_forever]

Thank you! It was quite an ordeal to write, thinking about what he must go through each time!

[nightchild78.livejournal.com]

You did a fantastic job at translating Jack's horrendous experience. This is absolutely heartbreaking. As long as he has Ianto by his side, he has at least a reason for coming back.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, coming back to Ianto makes the pain worthwhile.

Thank you, it was a tough one to write.

[too-beauty.livejournal.com]

Poor Jack! It really must hurt a lot!

[bk_forever]

It would be horrible. I feel so bad for him.

Thank you.

[maldeluxx.livejournal.com]

That really sounds like a nightmare - I don't envy him at all *brrr* O.o

[bk_forever]

Me neither, being immortal isn't as much fun as people think!

Thank you.

[black59.livejournal.com]

Brrr
I immediately think of Ianto. Luckily Jack was.
for tingling, I know: I had a cervical problem where I had pins and needles in the hands and arms. Especially at night, making an unpleasant awakening.

[bk_forever]

I hate waking up with pins and needles in my arms!

Thank you.