Primeval Fanfic - Amnesia (part 3 of 4)
“Who are you?” the soldier asked.
“My name is Patrick Quinn, and I’m 14 years old. Look, where am I and when can I go home? And where are my friends?” the boy cried. The last thing he remembered was being chased by some kind of animal and falling through a glowing light, and now he was staring down the barrel of a very scary looking gun.
“Patrick Quinn?” the soldier said. “Do you have a brother called Danny?”
“Yes! Is he here?”
The soldier turned to one of the other men and whispered something to him. He disappeared, leaving Patrick alone with the soldier. “Your brother isn’t here, but we knew him. You’ll be safe with us, don’t worry. We just need to figure out how to get you home. Follow me.”
Patrick followed the soldier, almost running to keep up. “Where am I, and where are my friends?” he demanded.
“Your friends are dead, I’m sorry.”
Patrick stopped. He tried to fight back his tears. “That creature got them? What was that?”
“You ask a lot of questions don’t you? I’ll try to answer them on our way to the ARC. My name’s Becker, Colonel Becker, head of security. Your brother used to work for us until a couple of years ago. We knew all about your disappearance of course, and he often thought you might show up through an anomaly one day. You are currently in the year 2015, you actually disappeared almost 20 years ago.”
Patrick just glared at the soldier … Becker, did he say his name was? This was too weird. Any minute now he’d wake up and find this was all a nightmare.
--
Nathan sat up in bed. This was the second dream he’d had in the space of three days. Was this another forgotten memory or just a dream? Who was this Patrick? He suspected Connor knew, and now he was ready to try and piece things together. It was just after 7am, Connor would probably still be in bed, but Abby would be up. He dialled their number, and Abby answered.
Minutes later, he was on his way to their flat. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had a feeling he was about to start getting some answers about his past. These anomalies that Connor and Abby investigated had something to do with his memory loss, he was certain of it. When he arrived, Connor and Abby were both sat at their large dining table, a huge pot of coffee ready in the centre. This looked like it would be a lengthy chat.
“You had another dream?” Connor said. Nathan nodded, and began to relate the details to them both. Abby nodded her head as she listened. This made perfect sense, if Danny’s brother had gone through an anomaly, he would have ended up somewhere. It also made sense that he would have been found by the ARC team, and that they would know who Patrick was.
Connor leaned back in his chair and looked at Nathan, and then turned to Abby. She was deep in thought. “Abs? What do you think? Should we call Danny?”
Abby nodded. “I think we need to involve him now. He needs to know what we know.” She stood up. “I’ll talk to him.” She took the phone into her room. Her heart was in her mouth. How do you tell someone that you might have their long lost brother in your flat?! She dialled Danny’s number and waited.
“Danny Quinn?” he answered.
“Hey, It’s Abby … how are you?” she tried to sound normal.
“I’m OK, what can I do for you?” he sounded confused. Abby had never called him at home before, if she called at all it was on his mobile to tell him they had an anomaly alert.
“You’d better sit down, Danny. I’m not sure how to explain this.” She told him everything, from Connor’s first meeting with Nathan at the university, his memory loss, and his reaction at the anomaly site. Danny listened in silence. When she stopped, there was still silence, and she thought for a moment he had hung up. “Danny?”
“I’m here. I just don’t know what to think, Abby.”
“If he’s not Patrick, then he’s someone that knows a hell of a lot. That in itself needs investigating.” Abby said. The thought had crossed her mind that Nathan was not what he seemed, and she suspected he could be working for Helen like Caroline was. Someone to try and worm their way into the ARC., using poor, trusting, Connor yet again.
“You’re right. Is he at yours now?” Danny said.
“Yeah. I think he needs to meet you. We need answers.” Abby said. Danny agreed to come over as soon as he could.
--
The two men sat opposite each other without saying a word. Danny had his defences up straight away. He had had his hopes built up too many times, only for them to be dashed. He was not going to fall for it again. Yes, the younger man in front of him could be his brother, the resemblance was undeniable and his story fitted. But like Abby, he had his suspicions. Nathan stared at Danny. He did look familiar - was he really his older brother?
Connor swallowed nervously. Had they done the right thing, bringing the two together? Both men were his friends, and he didn’t want to see either of them hurt. What do you say in situations like this? He struggled with the right words at the best of times, but this was one of the most awkward moments he’d ever been in. He looked at Abby, hoping she would pick up on his struggle and rescue him. She did.
“We’re going to leave you guys alone for a couple of hours. Connor and I need to do some food shopping anyway.” She said, grabbing her car keys from the side. Connor mouthed a ‘thank you’ at her.
“You have our mobile numbers if you…” Connor said. Danny and Nathan merely nodded. “OK, um … see you later I suppose.” He practically ran after Abby - shopping had never seemed so attractive.
--
The silence was deafening. Nathan swallowed the last of his coffee and sat staring into the empty mug. Danny coughed nervously.
“What happened to your brother?” Nathan said at last.
“We never really knew. He and a couple of his friends disappeared from an old house they had broken into. We believed them to have been murdered, but no bodies were ever found.” Danny said, matter-of-factly. He was determined not to let his emotions take over.
“I’m sorry. That must have been terrible.” Nathan carried on staring into his empty mug.
“The case was closed, and for 14 years my family had no resolution, we couldn’t even have a funeral for Patrick to begin the grieving process. It destroyed us as a family. My parents divorced, and now they’re both dead.” Danny leaned forward and poured himself more coffee. He indicated for Nathan to pass him his mug and he re-filled it. “Then, a few months ago, I was called out to some intruders at the house where Patrick had disappeared. Those intruders were Abby and Connor, and another person from the ARC. They were investigating a creature, and something called an anomaly. After that, I believed Patrick could still be alive, that he’d gone through the anomaly and was safe somewhere.”
Nathan nodded. He thought about his dream.
“So what’s your story?” Danny asked. “Abby told me that your name isn’t really Nathan.”
“No. About ten years ago, I woke up in a hospital. I had head injuries, and no memory. The doctors did everything they could, but I had no idea who I was or where I had come from. Eventually, they had to help me start living a normal life again, and with the help of social workers and psychologists, Nathan Griffiths was born. They helped me get into college where I discovered I had advanced computer skills, so that was what I pursued.”
He continued. “After seeing the anomaly the other day, I’ve had two different dreams. I don’t know if they’re just dreams, or if they are memories that I’ve had buried away somewhere. In the first one, I’m with Colonel Becker, and he’s being attacked by a creature and yelling at me to save myself by going through the anomaly. I think that was when I was found ten years ago. In the second, I’m a 14 year old boy, and Becker is telling me my friends are dead and asking if I have a brother called Danny. He said the year was 2015 and that I’d been missing for nearly 20 years.”
Danny took a deep breath. “OK. I’ll buy your story for the moment. If Patrick - you - went through an anomaly at that house, you ended up 20 years in your future, 5 years from now. You were taken back to the ARC by Becker, and they presumably spent a few years trying to get you home. If that is the case, then you’ll recognise the ARC and some of the staff at least.”
“I agree.” Nathan said.
Danny stood up. “Come with me.”
--
Abby and Connor were sat in the cafeteria of the supermarket. “You OK, Conn?” Abby said. She was concerned about him, he looked very tired. He nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. “Are you sleeping properly?”
Connor sighed. He couldn’t hide anything from Abby. “Not really. I’m a bit confused.”
“This whole Nathan thing is confusing. I think we have to leave it him and Danny to sort out now though. If they want to find out for certain if Nathan is Patrick then that’s up to them.” Abby said.
“It’s not just that.” Connor said, blushing.
Abby had a feeling she knew what was bothering him. “Has Nathan made a move on you?”
“You noticed it too then?” he said. “I did think it was my imagination running away with me.”
“You’re a good looking guy, Connor, and sweet and kind and … why wouldn’t someone find you attractive?” Abby said. “How do you feel about it?”
“I don’t know, Abby. I’m not gay, but I just… like being with him. It’s different to how I feel when I’m with you, and it’s different to how I feel when I’m with Duncan. I don’t know.” His head dropped, he couldn’t look Abby in the eyes.
She took his hand and squeezed it. “Connor, you can’t help who you fall in love with, it doesn’t matter if it’s a woman or another man, if there’s an attraction….”
Connor pulled away angrily. “I never said I was in love with him, Abby!”
Nicely handled, Abigail! She thought. “I’m sorry, Connor. I’m just trying to help. I think you should go with whatever your heart tells you is right.” She took his hand again. “I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m just trying to make sense of it all really.” He squeezed her hand and forced a smile. “I’ll go and pay for these, then maybe we should head back to the flat.” He stood up, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and made his way over to the till.
Abby watched him, her heart aching. Connor meant more to her than she could say, and she hated seeing him like this. He was caught up in something he didn’t understand, and she feared he was about to be hurt. Then she thought about Nathan, and Danny. Three men in her life who were confused and emotional - and she was caught in the middle of it all.
Connor strolled back over, his mobile in his hand and a worried expression his face. “Danny just called. He’s taken Nathan to the ARC, and thinks we should go there too - Nathan’s had more flashbacks.”