Fic - Future Foe Scenario (part 3)
Title: Future Foe Scenario
Author: Prehistoric Cat
Rating: 15
Characters: Abby, Danny, Connor, Burton, Jess
Genre: Gen
Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended
Warnings: Spoilers for series 4
Burton's evil plans slowly reveal....
The anomaly alarm sounded louder than usual, and Abby closed her eyes and winced in pain. She'd had this headache for three days now and it was getting worse. She stood by the console as Jess honed in on the co-ordinates, trying to focus on the screen.
“Are you still feeling rough, Abby?” Matt said. She nodded. “Look, you should go home and get some rest. We can handle this.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, then nodded to Becker to get moving. Abby would normally protest at being left behind, but she wasn't in the mood to argue. She watched the team grab their weapons and race out, then slumped down on the chair next to Jess with her head in her hands.
“Abby, you should take Matt's advise. I bet you're coming down with flu or something, there's a lot of it about.” Jess said sympathetically.
“Hm. Maybe.” She rubbed her head and closed her eyes again. “I did think it was just a hangover- Danny and I did have a fair bit to drink the other night after Connor left.”
“Hangovers don't last this long, Abby. You need to go home and get yourself tucked up in bed!”
“Yes, Mum!” Abby managed to raise a smile then glanced at her watch. “I'll wait until Five, then we can go home together. I should finish that report for Lester on the progress of the upgrades to the menagerie.” Making her way over to a quiet office, Abby had a feeling that something wasn't right here. She rarely got headaches, and certainly not this bad or for this long. Maybe a long soak in the bath and an early night would help; she hadn't been sleeping properly for some time now.
-o-
Technically, he wasn't trespassing. He was officially still an ARC employee so therefore he could sit in the car park and no-one could do anything about it. Becker had tried to remove him on Burton's instructions, but Danny was staying put.
He'd been watching the comings and goings of the ARC ever since he and Abby had failed to convince Connor that Burton was using him for his own evil intent. Being an ex-copper, some habits were hard to shake, and a stakeout was right down Danny's street. He had come to recognise the regular ARC staff; what time they arrived and what time they left; who parked in which space; who popped outside for a sneaky cigarette. He was looking for something, or someone, out of the ordinary - some kind of sign that Burton was up to something now that Connor had created an anomaly.
Three large black vehicles sped out through the security gates and Danny smiled to himself. So much for being inconspicuous! If the sparkling light of an anomaly or a prehistoric beast didn't attract attention, then Captain Becker and his entourage certainly would, especially when they start brandishing around those rather silly looking guns they now had to use. It made Danny almost relieved he was no longer a part of it all.
Leaning back in his seat, he adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could keep an eye on vehicles coming in through the gate whilst he watched the main door. His stomach growled; stakeouts were hungry work and he was glad he had a chocolate bar in the glove box to keep him going. He'd got about half way down it when he spotted a small white van pull up at the security booth. On the side it said “Watkins Veterinary Services” with a local phone number. Danny sat up. He'd not seen this van before, and it struck him as being slightly odd. What was an outsider doing coming into the ARC? Surely Abby dealt with the veterinary side of things and if she needed help she got it from her old friends at the zoo? He memorised the licence plate and the phone number, then rang Abby's mobile.
“Abby - does Watkins Veterinary services mean anything to you?” he said.
“No? Why do you ask?” Abby said quietly.
“It could be nothing; maybe its a sales rep or something.” Danny was not convincing himself. He watched the van get waved through security; again that struck him as unusual. They were letting a non ARC vehicle straight in without checking it over? “Can Jess hack into the DVLA computer and check a license plate for me?”
Abby gave a cough. “Jess doesn't do hacking.”
“What kind of computer geek is she!?” Danny sighed. “Never mind, I'll try one of my contacts in the Met. I'll call you later.” He disconnected the call, then tried ringing the phone number on the side of the van. As he suspected, the line was just dead. He also had a feeling that checks on the license plates would draw blanks as well but he texted the details to his friend anyway.
The van had disappeared around to the back of the ARC towards the large doors that led into a loading bay area. Danny got out of his car and crept around, hiding between a couple of parked cars so that he could see what was going on. The driver of the van was unloading a plastic animal carrier from the back, probably big enough for a large dog like a Rottweiller. It was also incredibly heavy if the fact the man was struggling to pick it up was any indication. He was delivering something, not taking something away - a creature perhaps? The man took the animal carrier inside then reappeared, obviously having a conversation with someone as he came out, but Danny wasn't close enough to hear what was being said and couldn't see who it was he was talking to.
As the van sped away, Danny felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Was that license plate number correct? No record of it on the database.” The message said. It didn't surprise him. He was going to have to rely on Abby doing a bit of snooping to see what had just been delivered.
-o-
Connor was sat, waiting impatiently for Burton. He'd been told to meet him in the small lab next to the menagerie that Abby and Matt used. It seemed like an age since he'd spent any time in here. He used to like watching Abby do her work, and sometimes they'd sit and chat if Matt wasn't around. That was before all the disagreements had started. He was curious as to why Burton had asked him to meet here and not in his own lab, and it felt a little uncomfortable being here whilst the others were all out on the anomaly call. He knew he'd be annoyed if one of them went into his lab when he wasn't there.
Absently, Connor twirled a pen around in his fingers whilst he took a good look around. Some of Abby's drawings were spread out across a desk and he could see she'd made notes on them; measurements, observations. She'd done that in the Cretaceous, although she'd been restricted to the tiny pages of her diary. It made him smile to see that she'd kept up that habit because he knew she had found a little comfort in taking time to try and make sense of the new things they were seeing.
“Connor, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I had a phonecall from the Minister, and since James isn't here, I had to deal with it.” Burton came in, full of smiles.
“It's OK, I haven't been here long, and it's actually nice to get out of my lab for a while. I'd almost forgotten what the rest of the ARC looked like!” He laughed, but stopped when he saw Burton's serious face. “Why are we here?”
“I need your assistance. We took in a new creature today; it's currently in quarantine but I'd like you to take a look at it.”
“Really?” Connor was puzzled. He knew the team were still out on the call, and as far as he was aware there hadn't been any creatures left behind at any of the previous anomalies they'd dealt with in the last couple of weeks. “Where did it come from? And wouldn't it be better to wait for Abby to get back? She's the best one to be looking at it to make sure it's not carrying any diseases.”
“This creature has been living as part of a private collection for a number of months. The person that found it believed it was just a rare breed of dog and held it with the intention of training it as a guard dog to protect his collection. However, after viewing the reports of the creature incursion at Jennifer Lewis's wedding, I recognised the creature as a Hyenadon.”
“Wow! The guy's lucky he didn't get his hand bitten off at least!” Connor was wide eyed, remembering his own encounter with Hyenadons at the wedding.
“Indeed. The gentleman concerned was more than willing to hand it over to us on the proviso we kept quiet about where it came from. That's why I'd prefer Abby not to be involved at the moment. I'll get it brought in right now so you can take a look.” Burton stood up and went over to the air lock separating the menagerie from the lab. Connor was puzzled and uneasy. This was Abby's territory; possibly Matt's as well. They wouldn't take kindly to him interfering.
A few moments later, Burton was dragging in a large animal carrier. Connor could hear the snarling creature inside pushing itself against the sides of the carrier in an attempt to get out. It was going to need sedating before they even attempted to release it, otherwise it could get very nasty after being kept in a confined space. “We should wait for Abby to get back.” Connor said.
“Oh, Abby's here. I understand she hasn't been feeling too well for the last few days and I think she's shut herself in one of the small offices to work quietly on her own. Best not to disturb her when she's not feeling one hundred percent.” Burton's voice seemed odd, and Connor saw something in his eyes that made him uncomfortable.
“I didn't know Abby was ill?” Connor said, concerned.
“The pressures of the job are getting to her, I fear.” Burton said. “The poor girl just hasn't readjusted back into the modern world, and then losing her boyfriend...” he shook his head.
Connor felt his chest tighten. He'd known Abby had struggled when they first came back but he thought she'd sorted herself out. She got on well with Matt and had even warmed to Becker somewhat. If he was responsible for her being ill, he couldn't bare it!
“Yes, it wouldn't surprise me if she was suicidal, I've seen it before... young girl, stressful situation, relationship ended badly...” Burton continued. His face changed, making Connor almost squirm.
“That doesn't sound like Abby. She's stronger than that.” He knew Abby had been through much tougher times than this and he refused to believe what he was hearing.
“I know that, and you know that … but it would be very easy to convince others that she isn't coping, especially if she were to be found... say... slumped over her desk with a half empty bottle of pills intended to be used on one of the creatures.” Burton's eyes darkened. “An autopsy would find arsenic in her system and it would be assumed she'd taken some of the pills to end her sad, pathetic, life.”
“But why would you want … Oh my god!” It suddenly hit Connor what Burton was alluding to. “She's not ill at all is she?”
“Clever boy, Connor. I've been adding a tiny amount of arsenic to her carton of milk in the morning, knowing she's the only one that uses that particular type. She's slowly being poisoned.”
“You bastard!” Connor took a swing for Burton, feeling a rage inside like he'd never known. The man he had admired so much was trying to murder Abby!? Burton was ready for him and moved to the animal cage, placing his hand on the bolt. The creature inside was snarling; eager to get out.
“Its such a shame Abby listened to Danny Quinn, she signed her own death warrant and yours too. Danny I can deal with in other ways.” He slid the bolt across and ran to the door of the lab. Connor gave chase, but the door was slammed and electronically locked from the outside. Burton spoke over the intercom. “Its been a pleasure working with you, Connor. Thanks for all your help.”
“Open the door!” Connor yelled. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the Hyenadon easing itself out of the carrier.
“I'm afraid I can't do that. You know too much and I can't risk you exposing the project now.” Burton gave a laugh and took a step back so that he could see Connor through the window. The Hyenadon sprang out and leapt straight at Connor, snapping and growling at him.
Connor grabbed a stool and held it out in front of him, the legs aimed towards the creature. Despite the fact he was shaking from head to toe and could barely speak from sheer terror; he believed that he could hold off the creature. The others would be back soon, or maybe Abby would come out of the office to get something from the lab? As he watched the thick globules of drool hanging from the creature's jaws, Connor felt his heart beat harder and faster. He wanted to scream, run and get out of this lab and find Abby; but it was like the fear had frozen him to the spot. He'd been in situations like this before, but there had always been somewhere to escape to or someone to back him up. He was alone, and it was all his fault. If he'd listened to Abby right from the start, none of this would have happened.
“I admire your bravery, Connor!” Burton said over the intercom. “Your time in the Cretaceous served you well. However, if the creature doesn't kill you, there's something else that will.” He walked away, and Connor glanced sideways, wonder where he was going.
Burton went over to Jess's console and pressed a few buttons. An electronic voice announced “Scan activated.”. Taking a deep breath and smiling to himself, Burton calmly walked away.
“Let me out!” Connor yelled, spotting the beam of light that was slowly moving across the room towards him and the Hyenadon. He knew exactly what would happen once that light hit the creature.
-o-
Jess was monitoring the virus scan that she was running on Lester's computer. He'd been complaining it was running slow, so she'd offered to do some maintenance on it. It still had another 25% to scan so she decided to go and see if Abby was OK. If truth be told, Jess was worried about her flat mate and had been for a while. Abby was not one for opening up though, and despite Jess's best efforts to get her to talk she was still no wiser as to what was wrong with Abby. She had an idea it was something to do with Connor though.
Making her way down the stairs towards the main hub, she noticed something flashing on one of the screens on the ADD console. “Damn!” she said. If something had gone wrong whilst she wasn't monitoring it...
She was puzzled to see that the security scan had been activated - after the disastrous trial run she thought Connor had disabled it. Before she had chance to switch it off, the screen flashed “Creature detected.” and an alarm sounded, giving the order for immediate evacuation.
“What's that alarm, Jess?” Abby said, poking her head around the door.
“Lockdown!” Jess said, panic evident in her voice. The computers were all shutting themselves down, and the ARC was rapidly emptying.
“What the hell is lockdown?” Abby came over to the console, looking at the screen. “Creature detected?”
“It's a security procedure Philip had installed. If the scan detects an escaped creature in the ARC, it shuts everything down and locks the creature in the room it's in.”
“Can you tell where it is?” Abby said. “I know all the EMDs are out with the field team, but I can use a tranquilliser gun.” She turned to go to the store where her medical equipment was kept, but suddenly felt very dizzy. Her eyes wouldn't focus and when she tried to move her stomach lurched and she clutched at it in agony.
“Abby?” Jess was at her side, rubbing her back. “Sit down, you're not well.” She noticed beads of sweat on Abby's forehead.
Abby pushed her away. “I'm fine, I just moved too quickly.” She straightened herself and took a deep breath. She tried to walk again but her legs felt like lead; something was very wrong here. “Jess. I need you to go into my lab and get some things out of the metal cupboard.”
“Of course. Tell me what you need.”
Abby tried to think what she wanted, but her mind was blank. “Just get... it looks like a gun... and there's some capsules ...” She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Jess realised Abby was struggling, so she just decided to grab anything she could and hoped seeing it would jog Abby's memory.
That was when they both saw him; pinned into the corner of the lab by the creature. “Connor!” Abby screamed. Finding a strength from some hidden reserve, she ran to the window and banged her fists on it. “Connor!”
He looked up, and for the first time in weeks they made proper eye contact. She could see Connor yelling her name back, but she couldn't hear him. He looked terrified; his eyes wide and glistening with tears - but there was something else too that appeared the second he saw her. Hope. “We have to get him out of there, Jess!” She said.
“The doors are electronically sealed, and now that the computers are all shut down there's no way we can open them.”
Abby grabbed a chair and threw it against the window, hoping to break it. Deep down she knew it was useless; the ARC was made to be bullet proof, but she was desperate. “OK, so there must be a way of over riding this lockdown right?”
“There is, but it can only be done by Philip... except Connor knows a back way in.”
Abby rolled her eyes. Burton had made sure he was nice and safe, and the only other person who could solve this problem was trapped. She pressed herself against the window, forcing back tears as she watched Connor.
“There's something else you should know.” Jess said quietly. Abby turned to face her. Jess bit her bottom lip. “The point of the lockdown is to kill the escaped creature. It gets trapped in one room and then...”
“What Jess?”
“The air is sucked out of the room. Connor's probably got twenty minutes before....”
Abby began to sob, unable to hold back her tears any longer. It seemed completely hopeless.
Author: Prehistoric Cat
Rating: 15
Characters: Abby, Danny, Connor, Burton, Jess
Genre: Gen
Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended
Warnings: Spoilers for series 4
Burton's evil plans slowly reveal....
The anomaly alarm sounded louder than usual, and Abby closed her eyes and winced in pain. She'd had this headache for three days now and it was getting worse. She stood by the console as Jess honed in on the co-ordinates, trying to focus on the screen.
“Are you still feeling rough, Abby?” Matt said. She nodded. “Look, you should go home and get some rest. We can handle this.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, then nodded to Becker to get moving. Abby would normally protest at being left behind, but she wasn't in the mood to argue. She watched the team grab their weapons and race out, then slumped down on the chair next to Jess with her head in her hands.
“Abby, you should take Matt's advise. I bet you're coming down with flu or something, there's a lot of it about.” Jess said sympathetically.
“Hm. Maybe.” She rubbed her head and closed her eyes again. “I did think it was just a hangover- Danny and I did have a fair bit to drink the other night after Connor left.”
“Hangovers don't last this long, Abby. You need to go home and get yourself tucked up in bed!”
“Yes, Mum!” Abby managed to raise a smile then glanced at her watch. “I'll wait until Five, then we can go home together. I should finish that report for Lester on the progress of the upgrades to the menagerie.” Making her way over to a quiet office, Abby had a feeling that something wasn't right here. She rarely got headaches, and certainly not this bad or for this long. Maybe a long soak in the bath and an early night would help; she hadn't been sleeping properly for some time now.
-o-
Technically, he wasn't trespassing. He was officially still an ARC employee so therefore he could sit in the car park and no-one could do anything about it. Becker had tried to remove him on Burton's instructions, but Danny was staying put.
He'd been watching the comings and goings of the ARC ever since he and Abby had failed to convince Connor that Burton was using him for his own evil intent. Being an ex-copper, some habits were hard to shake, and a stakeout was right down Danny's street. He had come to recognise the regular ARC staff; what time they arrived and what time they left; who parked in which space; who popped outside for a sneaky cigarette. He was looking for something, or someone, out of the ordinary - some kind of sign that Burton was up to something now that Connor had created an anomaly.
Three large black vehicles sped out through the security gates and Danny smiled to himself. So much for being inconspicuous! If the sparkling light of an anomaly or a prehistoric beast didn't attract attention, then Captain Becker and his entourage certainly would, especially when they start brandishing around those rather silly looking guns they now had to use. It made Danny almost relieved he was no longer a part of it all.
Leaning back in his seat, he adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could keep an eye on vehicles coming in through the gate whilst he watched the main door. His stomach growled; stakeouts were hungry work and he was glad he had a chocolate bar in the glove box to keep him going. He'd got about half way down it when he spotted a small white van pull up at the security booth. On the side it said “Watkins Veterinary Services” with a local phone number. Danny sat up. He'd not seen this van before, and it struck him as being slightly odd. What was an outsider doing coming into the ARC? Surely Abby dealt with the veterinary side of things and if she needed help she got it from her old friends at the zoo? He memorised the licence plate and the phone number, then rang Abby's mobile.
“Abby - does Watkins Veterinary services mean anything to you?” he said.
“No? Why do you ask?” Abby said quietly.
“It could be nothing; maybe its a sales rep or something.” Danny was not convincing himself. He watched the van get waved through security; again that struck him as unusual. They were letting a non ARC vehicle straight in without checking it over? “Can Jess hack into the DVLA computer and check a license plate for me?”
Abby gave a cough. “Jess doesn't do hacking.”
“What kind of computer geek is she!?” Danny sighed. “Never mind, I'll try one of my contacts in the Met. I'll call you later.” He disconnected the call, then tried ringing the phone number on the side of the van. As he suspected, the line was just dead. He also had a feeling that checks on the license plates would draw blanks as well but he texted the details to his friend anyway.
The van had disappeared around to the back of the ARC towards the large doors that led into a loading bay area. Danny got out of his car and crept around, hiding between a couple of parked cars so that he could see what was going on. The driver of the van was unloading a plastic animal carrier from the back, probably big enough for a large dog like a Rottweiller. It was also incredibly heavy if the fact the man was struggling to pick it up was any indication. He was delivering something, not taking something away - a creature perhaps? The man took the animal carrier inside then reappeared, obviously having a conversation with someone as he came out, but Danny wasn't close enough to hear what was being said and couldn't see who it was he was talking to.
As the van sped away, Danny felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Was that license plate number correct? No record of it on the database.” The message said. It didn't surprise him. He was going to have to rely on Abby doing a bit of snooping to see what had just been delivered.
-o-
Connor was sat, waiting impatiently for Burton. He'd been told to meet him in the small lab next to the menagerie that Abby and Matt used. It seemed like an age since he'd spent any time in here. He used to like watching Abby do her work, and sometimes they'd sit and chat if Matt wasn't around. That was before all the disagreements had started. He was curious as to why Burton had asked him to meet here and not in his own lab, and it felt a little uncomfortable being here whilst the others were all out on the anomaly call. He knew he'd be annoyed if one of them went into his lab when he wasn't there.
Absently, Connor twirled a pen around in his fingers whilst he took a good look around. Some of Abby's drawings were spread out across a desk and he could see she'd made notes on them; measurements, observations. She'd done that in the Cretaceous, although she'd been restricted to the tiny pages of her diary. It made him smile to see that she'd kept up that habit because he knew she had found a little comfort in taking time to try and make sense of the new things they were seeing.
“Connor, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I had a phonecall from the Minister, and since James isn't here, I had to deal with it.” Burton came in, full of smiles.
“It's OK, I haven't been here long, and it's actually nice to get out of my lab for a while. I'd almost forgotten what the rest of the ARC looked like!” He laughed, but stopped when he saw Burton's serious face. “Why are we here?”
“I need your assistance. We took in a new creature today; it's currently in quarantine but I'd like you to take a look at it.”
“Really?” Connor was puzzled. He knew the team were still out on the call, and as far as he was aware there hadn't been any creatures left behind at any of the previous anomalies they'd dealt with in the last couple of weeks. “Where did it come from? And wouldn't it be better to wait for Abby to get back? She's the best one to be looking at it to make sure it's not carrying any diseases.”
“This creature has been living as part of a private collection for a number of months. The person that found it believed it was just a rare breed of dog and held it with the intention of training it as a guard dog to protect his collection. However, after viewing the reports of the creature incursion at Jennifer Lewis's wedding, I recognised the creature as a Hyenadon.”
“Wow! The guy's lucky he didn't get his hand bitten off at least!” Connor was wide eyed, remembering his own encounter with Hyenadons at the wedding.
“Indeed. The gentleman concerned was more than willing to hand it over to us on the proviso we kept quiet about where it came from. That's why I'd prefer Abby not to be involved at the moment. I'll get it brought in right now so you can take a look.” Burton stood up and went over to the air lock separating the menagerie from the lab. Connor was puzzled and uneasy. This was Abby's territory; possibly Matt's as well. They wouldn't take kindly to him interfering.
A few moments later, Burton was dragging in a large animal carrier. Connor could hear the snarling creature inside pushing itself against the sides of the carrier in an attempt to get out. It was going to need sedating before they even attempted to release it, otherwise it could get very nasty after being kept in a confined space. “We should wait for Abby to get back.” Connor said.
“Oh, Abby's here. I understand she hasn't been feeling too well for the last few days and I think she's shut herself in one of the small offices to work quietly on her own. Best not to disturb her when she's not feeling one hundred percent.” Burton's voice seemed odd, and Connor saw something in his eyes that made him uncomfortable.
“I didn't know Abby was ill?” Connor said, concerned.
“The pressures of the job are getting to her, I fear.” Burton said. “The poor girl just hasn't readjusted back into the modern world, and then losing her boyfriend...” he shook his head.
Connor felt his chest tighten. He'd known Abby had struggled when they first came back but he thought she'd sorted herself out. She got on well with Matt and had even warmed to Becker somewhat. If he was responsible for her being ill, he couldn't bare it!
“Yes, it wouldn't surprise me if she was suicidal, I've seen it before... young girl, stressful situation, relationship ended badly...” Burton continued. His face changed, making Connor almost squirm.
“That doesn't sound like Abby. She's stronger than that.” He knew Abby had been through much tougher times than this and he refused to believe what he was hearing.
“I know that, and you know that … but it would be very easy to convince others that she isn't coping, especially if she were to be found... say... slumped over her desk with a half empty bottle of pills intended to be used on one of the creatures.” Burton's eyes darkened. “An autopsy would find arsenic in her system and it would be assumed she'd taken some of the pills to end her sad, pathetic, life.”
“But why would you want … Oh my god!” It suddenly hit Connor what Burton was alluding to. “She's not ill at all is she?”
“Clever boy, Connor. I've been adding a tiny amount of arsenic to her carton of milk in the morning, knowing she's the only one that uses that particular type. She's slowly being poisoned.”
“You bastard!” Connor took a swing for Burton, feeling a rage inside like he'd never known. The man he had admired so much was trying to murder Abby!? Burton was ready for him and moved to the animal cage, placing his hand on the bolt. The creature inside was snarling; eager to get out.
“Its such a shame Abby listened to Danny Quinn, she signed her own death warrant and yours too. Danny I can deal with in other ways.” He slid the bolt across and ran to the door of the lab. Connor gave chase, but the door was slammed and electronically locked from the outside. Burton spoke over the intercom. “Its been a pleasure working with you, Connor. Thanks for all your help.”
“Open the door!” Connor yelled. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the Hyenadon easing itself out of the carrier.
“I'm afraid I can't do that. You know too much and I can't risk you exposing the project now.” Burton gave a laugh and took a step back so that he could see Connor through the window. The Hyenadon sprang out and leapt straight at Connor, snapping and growling at him.
Connor grabbed a stool and held it out in front of him, the legs aimed towards the creature. Despite the fact he was shaking from head to toe and could barely speak from sheer terror; he believed that he could hold off the creature. The others would be back soon, or maybe Abby would come out of the office to get something from the lab? As he watched the thick globules of drool hanging from the creature's jaws, Connor felt his heart beat harder and faster. He wanted to scream, run and get out of this lab and find Abby; but it was like the fear had frozen him to the spot. He'd been in situations like this before, but there had always been somewhere to escape to or someone to back him up. He was alone, and it was all his fault. If he'd listened to Abby right from the start, none of this would have happened.
“I admire your bravery, Connor!” Burton said over the intercom. “Your time in the Cretaceous served you well. However, if the creature doesn't kill you, there's something else that will.” He walked away, and Connor glanced sideways, wonder where he was going.
Burton went over to Jess's console and pressed a few buttons. An electronic voice announced “Scan activated.”. Taking a deep breath and smiling to himself, Burton calmly walked away.
“Let me out!” Connor yelled, spotting the beam of light that was slowly moving across the room towards him and the Hyenadon. He knew exactly what would happen once that light hit the creature.
-o-
Jess was monitoring the virus scan that she was running on Lester's computer. He'd been complaining it was running slow, so she'd offered to do some maintenance on it. It still had another 25% to scan so she decided to go and see if Abby was OK. If truth be told, Jess was worried about her flat mate and had been for a while. Abby was not one for opening up though, and despite Jess's best efforts to get her to talk she was still no wiser as to what was wrong with Abby. She had an idea it was something to do with Connor though.
Making her way down the stairs towards the main hub, she noticed something flashing on one of the screens on the ADD console. “Damn!” she said. If something had gone wrong whilst she wasn't monitoring it...
She was puzzled to see that the security scan had been activated - after the disastrous trial run she thought Connor had disabled it. Before she had chance to switch it off, the screen flashed “Creature detected.” and an alarm sounded, giving the order for immediate evacuation.
“What's that alarm, Jess?” Abby said, poking her head around the door.
“Lockdown!” Jess said, panic evident in her voice. The computers were all shutting themselves down, and the ARC was rapidly emptying.
“What the hell is lockdown?” Abby came over to the console, looking at the screen. “Creature detected?”
“It's a security procedure Philip had installed. If the scan detects an escaped creature in the ARC, it shuts everything down and locks the creature in the room it's in.”
“Can you tell where it is?” Abby said. “I know all the EMDs are out with the field team, but I can use a tranquilliser gun.” She turned to go to the store where her medical equipment was kept, but suddenly felt very dizzy. Her eyes wouldn't focus and when she tried to move her stomach lurched and she clutched at it in agony.
“Abby?” Jess was at her side, rubbing her back. “Sit down, you're not well.” She noticed beads of sweat on Abby's forehead.
Abby pushed her away. “I'm fine, I just moved too quickly.” She straightened herself and took a deep breath. She tried to walk again but her legs felt like lead; something was very wrong here. “Jess. I need you to go into my lab and get some things out of the metal cupboard.”
“Of course. Tell me what you need.”
Abby tried to think what she wanted, but her mind was blank. “Just get... it looks like a gun... and there's some capsules ...” She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Jess realised Abby was struggling, so she just decided to grab anything she could and hoped seeing it would jog Abby's memory.
That was when they both saw him; pinned into the corner of the lab by the creature. “Connor!” Abby screamed. Finding a strength from some hidden reserve, she ran to the window and banged her fists on it. “Connor!”
He looked up, and for the first time in weeks they made proper eye contact. She could see Connor yelling her name back, but she couldn't hear him. He looked terrified; his eyes wide and glistening with tears - but there was something else too that appeared the second he saw her. Hope. “We have to get him out of there, Jess!” She said.
“The doors are electronically sealed, and now that the computers are all shut down there's no way we can open them.”
Abby grabbed a chair and threw it against the window, hoping to break it. Deep down she knew it was useless; the ARC was made to be bullet proof, but she was desperate. “OK, so there must be a way of over riding this lockdown right?”
“There is, but it can only be done by Philip... except Connor knows a back way in.”
Abby rolled her eyes. Burton had made sure he was nice and safe, and the only other person who could solve this problem was trapped. She pressed herself against the window, forcing back tears as she watched Connor.
“There's something else you should know.” Jess said quietly. Abby turned to face her. Jess bit her bottom lip. “The point of the lockdown is to kill the escaped creature. It gets trapped in one room and then...”
“What Jess?”
“The air is sucked out of the room. Connor's probably got twenty minutes before....”
Abby began to sob, unable to hold back her tears any longer. It seemed completely hopeless.