Primeval Fanfic - The Only Man on Earth (part 5)
Connor slowly opened his eyes. His head felt like it was going to explode and his mouth felt like he hadn’t had a drink in months. He looked at the ceiling above and then slowly turned his head from side to side. He wasn’t sure, but he seemed to be in a hospital of some kind. He tried to sit up, but his hands and legs wouldn’t work. He looked down, and realised his wrists and ankles were fastened down to the bed with handcuffs. What sort of hospital was this!?
“Hello?” Connor called. “Nurse?”
A young girl appeared, dressed in green hospital scrubs. “Mr Temple, you’re awake at last!” she said, smiling.
“Yes, I am. Could you unfasten these for me so I can sit up?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, orders from Ms Greene. I’ll let her know the anti-venom has worked and that you’re conscious again. She’ll probably want to speak to you.” The girl headed towards the door.
“Is she in charge here? Where am I? Where’s Danny?” Connor demanded.
“Ms Greene will answer all your questions.” The girl disappeared through the door.
Connor was confused. The last thing he remembered was Danny carrying him through the Cretaceous and hearing the all too familiar sound of a T-Rex approaching. Where was this place? And more importantly, where in time was he? It all looked pretty modern here, so he supposed he was at least somewhere close to home.
“Ah Connor, good to have you back with us.” A woman had come into the room.
“Ms Greene I suppose?” Connor said. “Is this really necessary” he indicated towards his bound wrists and ankles.
“You can call me Sophie, and I’m afraid it is, especially if you’re going to be as much trouble as Danny Quinn.”
“Where’s Danny?” Connor demanded
Sophie sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m head of operations here at the ARC, and this is approximately 60 years from when you went missing.”
Connor nodded. “So, I’m in the ARC? Doesn’t explain why I’m handcuffed to the bed though.”
“Danny seemed to think we would help you get back to your own time once you were well enough. I told him we couldn’t allow that, and he got a little … angry. He’s under arrest in one of the holding cells until we decide what to do with you both.” Sophie smiled. She reminded Connor of Christine Johnson in many ways, and that made him shudder.
“What do you mean, you can’t allow us to go back?” Connor began to struggle.
“As I explained to Danny, when you failed to return, the ARC was handed over to military control and all the civilian team given new jobs. Our current team would never exist if you turn up.”
“So, you’re going to keep me and Danny prisoner here?”
“For the moment. You’ll be well looked after, and you’ll probably actually enjoy life here. From what I know of you, Connor, you’re into computers and gadgets - this will be like a playground for you.”
“I just want to go home. I have a girlfriend, my life is there.” Connor said.
“Abigail Maitland, she was quite the devoted girlfriend, refused to give up on you, if that’s any comfort.”
Connor closed his eyes. She’d never given up on him. So she did love him after all! He had to get back somehow, tell her he loved her, have her arms around him. “Abby.” He muttered. He felt weak, and felt himself drifting off to sleep.
“I’ll leave you to rest, Connor. Anything you need, just ask Lucy here.” Sophie stood up and indicated for the young girl from earlier to join them. “Lucy, please keep me informed on Connor’s condition.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Lucy said. She waited until Sophie had left the room before sitting on the bed. “Can I get you anything, Mr Temple?”
“Call me Connor, please.”
“OK, Connor. Do you want anything?” her smile was kind, and her green eyes sparkled. Her red curly hair was tied back into a pony tail, with wisps hanging around her face. Connor decided he liked her, and maybe he could get her on his side.
“I’d really like some water, my mouth feels like a desert!” Connor said.
Lucy disappeared briefly, and came back with a glass of water and a straw. She held it for Connor as he sipped.
“This would be easier if my wrists and ankles weren’t fastened down you know.” He said.
“I’m sorry, I’d help you if I could, but I’d lose my job if I went against orders.”
“I understand. Worth a try though eh?” he smiled. Lucy giggled. Connor was going to have to try another tactic.
“You should try to get some sleep. You were very ill when you came in.” she said, placing the glass on the table next to the bed.
“You’re right. I do feel tired. Would you do me a favour though Lucy?” she nodded. “Will you let Danny know that I’m OK?”
“I’ll try, but I’m not really allowed anywhere near the holding cells. David might be able to tell him though.” She blushed.
“David?”
“Captain Becker, he’s the grandson of your Captain Becker. I’ll see what I can do, no promises though.” Lucy said. With that, she left Connor to sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Abby dancing around in his head.
--
Danny was pacing back and forth. He was certain all sorts of laws were being broken here, but if these people were military then there was nothing anyone could do. He’d tried befriending the soldiers who came to bring him food, but they were very professional. No-one was telling him anything, not even how Connor was. As far as he could tell, he’d been here two nights now.
There was a bang as the door of his cell was flung open. It was too early for food, so he suspected this was not going to be good. He automatically reached into his pocket for his gun, but it wasn’t there. He hadn’t had it for some time, but the habit was hard to shake off. The soldier that had entered the cell was the young Captain Becker.
“Danny, I can’t stay long, but I needed to get a message to you.”
Danny scowled. “Unless it’s to say you’re releasing me and letting me go home then I’m not interested.”
“Connor’s regained consciousness, the anti-venom has finally worked. Thought you would want to know.” The soldier said, and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Danny called. Becker turned round. “Thank you. Does he know what’s going on?”
“He’s been told, yes. Greene’s got him handcuffed to the bed, she seems to think if he’s allowed free run of the ARC, he’ll work out how to open an anomaly and get home.” He rolled his eyes and his eyebrows raised.
Danny smiled. Greene was probably right. The technology may be new, but it wouldn’t take Connor long to figure it out.
“For what it’s worth, I think they’re wrong to stop you from going back to where you belong.” Becker said. “I grew up listening to stories from my grandfather, and he made us promise that we would do everything we could to help you if you ever showed up.”
“Then keep that promise! Your grandfather and I may not have always seen eye to eye, but he was a decent man.” Danny said.
“I’m working on it.” Becker said. “Just keep your head down and do as they say. Connor is not fully fit, but when he is…” and with that, the soldier left, slamming the door behind him. Danny suddenly felt positive again. Who’d have thought help would come in the form of soldier boy’s grandson?
--
A few more days passed. Danny had persuaded Sophie Greene that he was not about to make an escape attempt, and he was allowed out of his cell during the day, as long as he was accompanied by a soldier. His first thought was to go and see Connor, and he was relieved to see his young colleague and friend looking well again. He’d tried to get them to take off the handcuffs, saying they could put Connor under guard like he was, but no-one listened.
Connor was getting frustrated. The skin on his wrists and ankles was rubbed raw where he had struggled against the cuffs. Lucy applied cream daily and helped him eat and drink. He hated being so helpless and having to rely on someone to feed him. Seeing Danny had helped a little, and he had so many questions, but it was obvious Danny couldn’t really talk.
“You must be getting pretty fed up.” Lucy said, as she wiped Connor’s mouth.
“That’s an understatement!” Connor said.
“David has a plan.” She whispered. “We’re going to help you and Danny.” She glanced over her shoulder to check they were alone. “He’s going to pass instructions to Danny later.”
“Really? Lucy, that’s … you’re risking a lot.” Connor whispered back.
“We are, but this is the right thing to do. You don’t belong here. When you came in, I was given access to your old personal files to check your medical history. It was easy to get into Abby’s files from there. I read what they did to her, she didn’t deserve that. That’s why I agreed to help.” Lucy said.
“Abby? What happened to her?” Connor tried to sit up.
“I’ve said too much, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Tell me, Lucy! I have to know.”
“She kept turning up at anomalies and the new ARC team didn’t like it. David’s grandfather, your Captain Becker, helped her escape several times, but in the end there was nothing he could do when they caught her. She died in a military prison.” Lucy turned away, she could see the pain in Connor’s eyes and couldn’t bare to look at him any more.
Connor swallowed back the tears he could feel welling up. “Thank you.” He whispered. Lucy turned back and squeezed his hand.
“Won’t be long now. You’ll be home and back with her soon.” She said. “Stay strong.”
--
Danny turned the piece of paper over and over in his hands. The plan seemed simple enough, although its success relied on Connor being able to find the right anomaly on the computer database and programming it into the opening device. He had every confidence in Connor’s ability, but was 15 minutes enough?
His mood was good, not even the taunts from Sophie Greene could spoil it. Tonight he would be back home, assuming all went to plan. He stopped by the medical wing to say hi to Connor. Did Connor know what was going to happen? He wished he could say something, but the soldier watching him prevented anything more than just casual chit-chat. He hoped Connor was up to this. Although he seemed to have fully recovered from the snake bite, he’d been immobile for several days. They may have to run, and Connor would likely struggle to even walk. Danny contemplated the thought that, yet again, he may have to carry Connor through the anomaly.
As Danny was forced back into his cell for the night, he began to grow nervous. The staff were all leaving. As planned, young Captain Becker was on guard duty. It would only be a matter of minutes now.
The door banged open. “Go, now! All the security systems are offline. I could only program in a delay of 15 minutes before the backup system kicks in. That’s the most I can give you!” Becker yelled. He handed Danny the anomaly opener. “Good luck.”
Danny nodded a thank you, and ran towards the medical wing. Lucy was there, unlocking the handcuffs that had held Connor down. He was sitting up, rubbing his wrists.
“Danny! This is it!” he grinned
“I know, but we have to be quick. We have less than fifteen minutes, and its all down to you to get us out of here!” the urgency in Danny’s voice made Connor practically leap off his bed.
“Owwww!” his legs didn’t feel like his own.
“Lean on me, Connor.” Lucy said. She hooked her arm under Connor’s arms and somehow they managed to stagger along the corridor to the main operations room.
“The database is on this computer.” Young Becker said. Connor sat on the chair and began searching for the files he needed. The others could only watch, helpless. Time ticked on, and Connor was getting angry with himself. His wrists hurt and his fingers just wouldn’t move as fast as he wanted them too. He let a small growl of frustration.
“Take a deep breath, Connor. We have seven minutes…” Danny said. He chewed his bottom lip and tapped his foot nervously. He glanced at Becker and Lucy. “We need more time! Is there anything you can do?”
“The security systems have an automatic back up, I’ve held them off as long as I could.” Becker said.
“Got it!” Connor yelled. “It’ll take us back to about 2 weeks after I left.” He was already downloading the details to the console where he had connected the opening device.
“Come on, come on!” Danny said. Four minutes left. How long did it take for the data to load onto the device?
“I’m going as fast as I can!” Connor snapped. He was watching the screen … 85% … 86% …
“I know, I’m sorry.” Danny said. “We’re really pushing it though.”
98% …. 99% … “It’s done!” Connor grabbed the device out of the console. He pointed it towards the centre of the room and pressed the button. An anomaly had never looked as beautiful as the one that appeared at that moment.
“One minute! GO!” Becker yelled.
“Come with us. You’re going to be in so much trouble…” Connor said.
“We can’t, Connor. We both have relatives in your time, it could cause all sorts of problems.” Lucy said. “Go, before it’s too late.” She hugged Connor and kissed his cheeks, then hugged Danny. “Take care.”
“Thank you, both of you, for everything.” Danny said.
Connor turned back and looked at Lucy and Becker with sad eyes. What was going to happen to them now? He whispered a ‘thank you’ through the lump in his throat.
Danny grabbed Connor’s arm and pulled him through the anomaly. Lucy and Becker were left staring at the glowing ball for a few seconds until it disappeared. They grinned at each other, just as the alarms went off.
--
Abby woke with a start. Her mobile was ringing. She glanced at the clock at the side of her bed, just after 3am. This had better be good! she thought. The display on the phone told her it was Becker calling. He’d taken the night shift at the ARC again.
“What’s up?” she muttered, still half asleep.
“We had an anomaly alert five minutes ago, it was at the race track.”
Abby sat up, suddenly wide awake. “Is it Connor?”
“I’m on my way there now with a back up team. It was only open for a few seconds, could just be a glitch.” Becker said.
“I’m on my way.” Abby said, she was already out of bed and searching for some clothes. A few seconds was long enough for Connor to come through. It had to be him! She was shaking, what if he was hurt? What if he’d changed?
The drive to the race track should have taken 20 minutes, but at this time of night the roads were clear and Abby could put her foot down. She was there within 10 minutes, and as she pulled in and drove towards where the ARC vehicles were parked, she knew it was more that just a glitch. There was a lot of activity, and as she got out of her car, she heard a familiar laugh.
“Connor!” she shouted, running towards the vehicles. She couldn’t see him at first, but as the group of soldiers stepped aside she saw him. It was like the rest of the world had stopped, and Connor was the only thing that existed.
“Abby!” he shouted back, and he tried to run towards her. “Owww!”
“You’re hurt!” Abby was at his side, wrapping her arms around him.
“It’s nothing. Had worse.” He said. It felt good to be in her arms and he pulled her closer. After a few minutes, she pulled away and thumped him in the chest.
“Owww! What was that for?”
“I’m going to kill you, Connor Temple! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these last two weeks!?” she squeezed him tightly again.
“Hey, Abby. Don’t be too hard on him.” Danny put his hand on her shoulder. She turned round, mouth open.
“Danny? Oh my god! He found you!?” Abby released Connor and hugged Danny.
“Of course, did you ever have any doubt?” Danny grinned. “Connor’s my hero right now!”
“I think you played quite a big part too, Danny.” Connor said.
Abby eyed both of them suspiciously. Then she noticed the wounds on Connor’s wrists. It looked like he’d been tied up or something. She held his hands and questioned him with her eyes. He pulled his hands away and circled them around her waist.
“Explanations later, Abs. Danny and I have quite a story to tell. But right now, I just want to get home.” He whispered into her ear. “I owe you a few apologies… and Becker.”
“You know there’s nothing going on between me and him don’t you? He’s been a good friend, but that’s all it is Conn, friends.” Abby said.
“I was stupid. I wasn’t me for a while, and I wasn’t thinking straight. This time away has put a few things back into perspective. I love you, and I know you love me. I shouldn’t have had any doubts about that.” He kissed her softly on the lips.
“No, you shouldn’t have had doubts, didn’t I tell you what you meant to me?”
Danny coughed. “Sorry to break up the happy reunion, but Becker wants to know who needs a lift?”
“We’re OK. I’m taking Connor straight home. We have some catching up to do.” Abby said. “What about you Danny? Where will you go?” She recalled the first night that she and Connor had come home. They’d had to sleep at the ARC because their flat had been let out to someone else.
“That new guy, Matt? He’s arranged for me to stay at a bed and breakfast near the ARC. I’ve got a ‘debriefing’ in the morning, although Connor’s already pretty much filled me in on what’s happened since I disappeared.” Danny smiled. He suddenly felt very tired. “I’ll see you kids tomorrow.” he turned and slowly walked towards Becker’s car, a huge grin on his face.
Abby took Connor’s hand. “You ready?” she said.
Connor nodded. “I think I finally worked out what I should be doing whilst I was away.”
“Oh?”
“If I’d done my job properly, Danny and I would have been home days ago. As of tomorrow, Connor Temple is back!” he grinned, and kissed Abby.
“Pleased to hear it.” Abby said. “Now let’s get you home.”
Home. That sounded good. Finally, he could enjoy being in a relationship with Abby - to her, he was the only man on Earth that mattered, and he liked that idea a lot.