Primeval Fanfic - Too Late (part 2 of 4)
Connor was grateful that Lester was a perfectionist. The papers he had had prepared for Connor were excellent. It seems he had been given government level clearance, which got him through immigration in double quick time. His work visa and passport had been validated for six months, and now he was being directed towards a tall African gentleman in a shirt and beige trousers. “Mr Temple?” he said, holding out his hand to shake “I’m your driver, Enzi. Sir Mills sent me to take you to your hotel, and then I’ll take you on to the site at Tendaguru tomorrow” he took Connor’s cases and started to head towards the exit “Follow me Mr Temple, wouldn’t want you to get lost”
“Thanks” Connor mumbled. This was all a bit overwhelming. He was tired, lonely and afraid. He followed Enzi, who was moving quickly through the crowded arrivals area. The heat hit him as soon as he stepped outside, and despite the fact it was the early hours of the morning, there were cars everywhere. He had to practically run to keep up with the driver as he wove his way through row after row of parked cars. Eventually, they were at Enzi’s car and he was loading Connor’s cases into the boot. The car looked older than Connor, and he dreaded the journey, but it had very efficient air conditioning and a radio that was tuned to some American rock channel. About half an hour later, they pulled up at a hotel, Connor didn’t even bother finding out what it was called. Enzi helped him to check in and a porter took his cases up to his room.
“Try to get some sleep Mr Temple” Enzi said “and a good breakfast. We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow. I will pick you up at 9am”
Connor collapsed on top of the large bed, exhausted. He fell asleep almost immediately.
--
Abby had cried solidly for over an hour, and it was only Rex’s hungry chirping that shook her out of her misery. After downing several bottles of beer, she still didn’t feel any better and went to bed. Sleep would not come. She was going through everything that had happened between her and Connor recently. She’d kept her distance after the kiss, thinking he needed the space. Now he was gone, she’d been wrong, he didn’t want space, he wanted to be with her. She wanted to be with him. Why hadn’t she ever told him that? She had to tell him. Even if it didn’t bring him back, she needed him to know why she hadn’t gone after him. She needed him to know how she really felt.
The morning sun seemed cruel, poking through the crack in her curtains far too early. She rubbed her eyes and glanced over at her clock, it was just before 6am. Staring at her mobile phone, she knew what she had to do. With three hours time difference, Connor would probably be on the move already.
She tried calling him four times, but before the call could connect, she hung up, changing her mind, needing to think more about what she was going to say. Eventually, on the fifth try, she decided this was it. The call connected, but went straight to his voicemail. Hearing his cheery voice made tears well in her eyes. She blinked them back. Then the beep …. Deep breath …
“Connor, it’s me, Abby” She paused, swallowing hard, preparing herself. “So, you’re Lester’s new blue-eyed boy eh?” She stopped again, wiping the tear that was trickling down her cheek. “That’s pretty cool, I hope it all goes well for you. You deserve some happiness after …. after the way I’ve treated you. I don’t blame you for leaving. There’s so many things I should have said to you,…. maybe if I had, you’d still be here. The note you left ….. Sid and Nancy got it and chewed it up. I didn’t find it until it was too late. I would have come.” She was really struggling to speak now. “Connor …. I love you” she pressed the red button on her phone, then curled into a ball on her bed, letting out the tears she’d been fighting.
--
Connor’s alarm went off far too early as far as he was concerned. For a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was. Then he remembered. He was in Tanzania, about to start his new assignment. He should have been excited about it, and a couple of years ago, he’d have been bouncing around like a young child. As a student, he would have given his right arm, and probably his left as well, for an opportunity like this. All he could think about now was how lonely he felt. Abby had been a huge part of his life, and now she wasn’t, and he didn’t know how he was going to cope.
He had an hour before Enzi would be coming to pick him up, so he quickly showered, pulled on a clean t-shirt and jeans, and went downstairs for breakfast. He didn’t know how long it would be before he got to eat again, so he ate as much as he could without being sick. He remembered his malaria tablet, and made a mental note that he had to make that a part of his daily routine here. As he finished his third piece of toast, he checked his watch, almost 9 o‘clock. Back home, it would only be 6 am and he would be snug under his duvet sound asleep. The thought made him yawn. Enzi would soon be here to pick him up, so he dragged his cases round to the reception area, handed in his room keys and waited. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket and switched it on, he hadn’t used it since Heathrow. He waited whilst it tried to connect to a signal, nothing. He tried a manual set-up, still nothing. “Great” thought Connor “All the preparation I did, and I never thought to check if my phone would work here” Annoyed, he switched it off and shoved it back in his pocket, just as Enzi arrived. His new life was about to begin.
--
Abby had almost not gone to work. She’d spent all day Sunday trying to keep occupied, cleaning, tidying, sorting, anything that focused her mind on something other than how empty the flat felt. The whole time, her phone was by her side. Surely Connor would have got her message by now? It was only later that afternoon that it dawned on her that he would probably be out of signal range. She didn’t know where in Tanzania he was, but she was guessing that wherever he was heading would be in the middle of nowhere. She gave up waiting for his call, and began to attack the bathroom armed with a bottle of bleach and a pair of rubber gloves.
Monday’s were always difficult, but this was particularly bad. It felt weird driving there alone, usually Connor would be messing about with the radio whenever a song came on that he didn’t like, but she hadn’t even bothered switching it on this morning. Danny and Becker were already in the meeting room, Lester had told them on Friday he wanted to speak with them all first thing Monday. They were deep in conversation about some documentary that had been on over the weekend, something to do with the SAS. They exchanged the usual pleasantries, “How was your weekend?” Danny smiled.
“I’ve had better” Abby said. She couldn’t make eye contact. Danny sensed straight away something was wrong.
“You OK?”
But before Abby could answer, Sarah raced into the room just ahead of Lester. He wasted no time getting started
“Thank you all for being so prompt, I won’t keep you long”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Connor?” Sarah said. Abby closed her eyes, she knew what was coming.
“This meeting concerns Connor. He’s been placed on special assignment, working with a team in Tanzania to set up their own anomaly research centre. He flew there over the weekend, and will be working with them for six months, longer if necessary”
The team all looked at each other. Danny caught Abby’s eye, now he knew what was wrong with her. As Sarah and Becker began asking Lester questions, Danny mouthed “Do you need to talk?” to Abby. She nodded, and he motioned for her to follow him.
“I take it this was a much of a shock to you as it was the rest of us?” Danny said. He’d taken her into the room he used as his office, although he’d never really been officially assigned it. Abby could only nod. “Great opportunity for Connor, I envy the kid. It’ll be strange without him around though”
Abby looked at Danny through watery eyes. “He left me a note. It’s my fault he’s gone”
“How do you work that one out?”
“I’ve hurt him because I couldn’t admit my true feelings, and he can’t stand to be around me”
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Emotions weren’t Danny’s strong point, especially someone else’s. “I’d always assumed you two were an item, you act like you’re a couple”
“I messed up. I was too late to stop him leaving, and now….” She was determined not to cry in front of Danny. He half smiled at her, not really knowing what to say. “I’ll be OK, Danny. I just need to get used to the idea he won’t be around”
“You don’t have to be here you know” he said. “Go and spend a few days at the reptile house. I’ll call you if we get an anomaly alert”
She wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but being in the ARC without Connor around was almost as bad as being in the flat without Connor around. At least the zoo didn’t have anything that would keep reminding her of him. “Thanks Danny” she said, briefly touching his arm as she left.
--
Connor had a feeling that things were about to get very interesting. He’d been here less than 48 hours, and he was already being thrown into the thick of things. He was in the back of a speeding land rover, bouncing through the rocky terrain. The driver, Dave, was the unofficial leader of the group. He was a ranger on the nearby national park, it was his photograph of the mauled lions that sparked off this whole adventure. He was in his thirties, Connor guessed, and very tall and imposing. He was the tough guy, muscular, knew how to handle a rifle, and he claimed he had once wrestled with a crocodile that had attacked a small child out in the park. Connor liked him, he felt safe amongst all the wild animals with a man like him.
The other person in the group today was Johanna. She was also a park ranger, she’d been the one who took the call on the radio when the tourist saw the lions being attacked, and was first on the scene. The tourist had been rambling, saying he’d seen a dinosaur, Johanna tried to calm him and convince him it was a large crocodile .. and then she saw it too. “I’m no fool, Connor” she had said when relating the tale “They tried to convince me otherwise, but I know what I saw. It was a Raptor.” Connor was not sure how to take her. She was quite young, maybe even younger than Abby, but seemed to be older in her mannerisms. Her long blonde hair was kept tied back in a tight ponytail, and her face was freckled and tanned, the hallmarks of someone who spent most of their time outdoors.
“We need to take a left down here” Johanna shouted to Dave above the noise of the engine. Dave swung the vehicle round the corner without braking, and Connor was thrown onto his side. Johanna looked behind and laughed “Hold on Connor, it gets worse than this!” Connor just gave her a look. “The sighting is just near where we found those lions”
They parked up in a clearing, and Connor could see straight away where the lion attack had happened. Trees nearby had their bark shredded, scarred with claw marks. “These are fresh” Dave said, pointing to one tree in particular. “Same kind as before. Looks like our velociraptor is back” he began loading his rifle with tranquiliser darts
“I’m no expert” Connor said “but if this is a velociraptor, then you’re gonna need a bit more than that. That’ll just graze it”
Johanna smiled “Do you think the ones we use on elephants will work?” Connor nodded, and watched as she pulled out a large gun from the back of the land rover and loaded it. The three of them then settled in a hidden spot, waiting for the velociraptor.
“You had many dealings with these things?” Dave asked.
“A couple. We had a family of them trapped in a shopping centre once” Connor winced, remembering the day very clearly, he’d shot Abby in the leg with a tranquilliser dart and she fell asleep. She didn’t let him forget that one in a hurry.
Dave heard it first, a rustle in the bush and then a growl. Connor froze. He was actually more scared of the possibility it could be a lion than the fact it could be a dinosaur. Johanna raised her gun, concentrating hard, whilst Dave moved further forward. He beckoned Connor to follow. Just ahead of them was the unmistakeable sight of a juvenile raptor. Dave’s mouth dropped open and Connor grinned “It’s a beauty eh?”
“Magnificent!” Dave whispered “and yet terrifying. Is that really a dinosaur?” Connor nodded, then beckoned for Johanna to join them. She was shaking, both with fear and with excitement. Connor, without thinking, rested his hand on her back, a protective gesture he often used on Abby.
The raptor caught their scent, and looked straight towards them. “Dave, I think we need to ….” Connor didn’t have time to finish, the raptor began to move towards them
“Shoot it Jo!” Dave shouted. He had already tried two shots, but as predicted, his darts had little effect. Johanna was frozen to the spot “JO! Shoot it now!”
Connor could see the fear in her eyes, he knew he had to act fast before the raptor got any closer. He grabbed the gun from her and fired several shots in the general direction of the creature. He held his breath, waiting for the raptor to be on top of them … instead, he saw it slump to the ground.
“Nice shot, Connor!” Dave said. Connor grinned, that was a sentence he never thought he’d hear!
“Yeah, good one” Johanna said, her voice trembling.
“What do we do with this now?” Dave said. They all looked at each other. Good question.
“Umm …at home we would try and take it back through the anomaly it came through” Connor said. “But as we don’t know where this one came from….”
“Seems wrong to kill it” Johanna said. “Its done nothing wrong, its just lost, trapped in the wrong time period” she looked sad. Connor knew how the raptor felt, he’d been there too.
“We don’t kill anything unless we have no other choice. Cutter always insisted on that. He said it could mess up the whole timeline and change the present. Do you have a secure enclosure at the park? Somewhere with an electrified fence?”
“Yeah, at the medical facility. We could take this beauty there until we figure out what to do with him” Dave said.
As they drove to the medical facility with the sleeping raptor dragging behind them, Connor gazed out of the back, smiling. All he needed now was to track down the anomaly. Yes, things were going to be very interesting here, and for the first time in months, the old Connor was back.
--
Abby was following Danny, her hand resting on her tranquilliser gun just in case. They'd been alerted to this latest anomaly about half an hour ago, and an eye witness claimed to have seen "a giant tiger" roaming around. It wasn't the first time Abby had encountered a Smilodon, and she recalled the best way to handle them was not to let them sense your fear. Sarah was sat by the anomaly, setting up the locking device, whilst she, Danny and Becker went in search of the creature. Something didn't feel right to her, she'd fallen behind Danny and couldn't see him now, and although she knew Becker and a couple of his men were somewhere, she couldn't see them either. Instinctively, she turned around, trying to work out what was bothering her. Then she realised. Usually, Connor would be close by, never allowing her out of his sight. Until now, she hadn't thought about just how much she relied on that fact. He was just always there, never questioning, never expecting anything from her in return. She missed the protective hand he would have placed on her shoulder or her back by now.
Suddenly, she found herself flailing on the ground. "Damn!" she yelled. She'd tripped on some exposed tree roots, and her ankle felt sore. She undid her boot and rubbed it, noticing it was already swelling. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she chastised herself.
"You OK?" Becker's voice said.
"Yeah, I just stumbled that's all" she was embarrassed, and began getting back onto her feet.
"It's just you seem a bit ... distracted"
"I'm fine" she snapped.
Danny had turned back to come and look for them. "What happened Abby?"
"She fell" Becker said
"As I said, I 'm FINE!" she said, stomping off. Both men stood and watched her. She turned "Are we going to find this creature or not?"
"Abby, you're anything but fine. It's not like you to wander off alone, and it's definitely not like you to fall. Go back to the anomaly site and help Sarah" Danny said
"Danny....."
"No arguments. Your mind is elsewhere at the moment, and that makes you a danger to yourself and the rest of us. You're officially off field work until you've cleared your head"
She knew Danny was right. Her head was elsewhere. Tanzania to be precise. She blinked away the tears she felt welling up, and with a sigh, turned to go back to the anomaly site. "Abby" Danny said, softer this time "We all miss him, but we have a job to do here"
"Sorry" she whispered. She slowly made her way to where Sarah was. This was another thing that wasn't right. The anomaly locking device was Connor's job, although he had allowed Sarah to operate it occasionally. As she approached, Sarah looked up and smiled, then realised something was wrong and stood up to help Abby make her way to sit in the car.
"What's wrong, Abby?" Sarah could see the pain in Abby's face, but knew it was more than just physical pain.
"I fell, that's all" Abby whispered. "Wasn't concentrating properly"
Sarah nodded. "Weird being at an anomaly without Connor eh?" She placed her arms around Abby, and was shocked at how tiny and vulnerable she was. Abby had always seemed a confident, no nonsense kind of person to her, but without Connor at her side, it was like part of Abby was missing.
--
"Connor! I think I see it!" Johanna shouted. She was stood up inside the land rover, searching the landscape through her binoculars. Connor stood up beside her and she handed him the binoculars. "Just over there to the north, by the trees"
Connor grinned "That's it, that's the anomaly!" Dave turned the vehicle and sped off towards the glowing ball. They parked up beside it and Connor leapt out. He never grew tired of seeing these, each one felt like the first. Dave and Johanna were stood open mouthed.
"So, the creatures come through these?" Dave said
Connor nodded. "They're rips in time, if you like. Let me show you something really cool!" he pulled out the compass he always carried in his pocket and handed it to Dave, watching the needle spinning wildly. "And this ... watch...." he found a pen in his other pocket and let it go, watching it get sucked into the magnetic field of the anomaly. He laughed and grinned broadly at Dave and Johanna. He loved that trick, and he still got a kick out of showing it to anyone who had never encountered an anomaly before.
"What does all that mean, Connor?" Johanna said
"Magnetic and electrical interference. That's how the detector works in a nutshell, its like looking for pirate radio stations. Ours is constantly scanning for any fluctuations and sets off an alarm .... we get a fairly precise location, and head off there, and then use the handhelds to get a more accurate location" Connor realised he was babbling, but this stuff really excited him. Dave and Johanna looked at him
"So, when do we get one of these detectors of yours? Dave said