Episode 6.1 of Primeval IV[]
Red flashing lights accompanied by the loud alarm bleared through the ARC making most of the employees look up, but did not jump as they used to in the old ARC. James Lester on the other hand yelled out loud from inside his office. Cursing the Anomalies and the alarm, he stood up and walked slowly over to the glass wall to look over at the Detector with Jess Parker sitting in front of it, already franticly pushing buttons on her keyboard. Her voice was heard over the alarm still blearing throughout the building; “New Anomaly located. Co-ordinates are as follows: 865'°' “42, 42 '°29 “946, 43. Getting precise location now.” Lester’s heart began to beat at a quicker pace. He did not understand completely. A few months ago the Anomalies were opening daily, not to mention the time that millions of Anomalies opened up all over the world. One even opened up in the Car Park of the ARC. James Lester’s face hardened at the thought of the creature that had run through the Anomaly in the Car Park and started climbing all over his new Car. And yet now…this Anomaly was the first that had been detected in two months.
Matt Anderson and Hillary Becker came running into the Hub and came to a halt next to Jess. Lester saw Becker say something to her, then he and Matt ran back out of the room. Lester walked slowly over to the door of his office thinking about Nick Cutter and his crazy plans than had turned out true and Danny Quinn who was now stuck some place in the past chasing after his brother who was almost insane as Helen Cutter had been. Hardly realizing what he was doing, Lester pushed open the door to his office and walked out, straightening his tie. He strode down the stairs and walked over to Jess.
‘Oh my god…’ Jess said the moment Lester had stopped at her side.
‘What, what is it?’ James asked her, unnerved by the panic and fear in her voice. But she did not need to answer. Even though James had never understood the controls on Jess’s work station, he could work out what that large red circle was hovering in the middle of a large building labelled Aspier Shopping Centre. ‘Tell the team.’ He said to Jess as he turned around and ran down the long corridor out of the Hub. As he passed various doors with many different labels on them marking which Research Lab or which Data Centre it was, James Lester could once again hear Jess Parker’s voice over the alarm still blearing around the ARC.
‘Matt, it’s in a Shopping Centre, I repeat; the Anomaly is in a Shopping Centre.’
He passed a door that was ajar. Lester skidded to a halt and peered inside it.
‘Connor!’ he yelled. Connor Temple was sitting at his desk, his eyes red and tears leaking out of them. He jerked up at the yell of his name
‘Huh? Oh…I was just…’ his voice trailed off into nothingness. Lester could tell he was upset about something, but whatever it was, that could wait. The Anomaly was the highest priority at that time.
‘There’s an Anomaly alert you know!’ Lester yelled. ‘In a Shopping Centre!’
‘Ah…right…’ Conner muttered. He jumped to his feet and pulled on his jacket. ‘Ahh…’ he attempted to clear some paper on his incredibly messy desk, obviously searching for something small. After a few seconds, he pulled his Com out from under a pile of pencils and paper. Connor turned around and grabbed his EMD from a shelf, then hurried out of the room, accidently hitting Lester in the shoulder on his way out. James walked inside the room, his eyes fixed on Connor’s desk. He reached it and picked up one of the papers. It was titled: NICK CUTTER, and all it had on it was many lines of information about the deceased Professor. Lester knew Connor misses Cutter, he had always looked up to him and when Helen killed him, Conner was almost destroyed. Yes, he knew Connor missed the Professor, but surely that wasn’t the reason Connor had become so upset that he could have missed the Anomaly Alert.
But Lester shouldn’t be looking through Connor’s things anyway. It was none of his business. He turned his back on Connor’s desk and walked out heading for the Hub again. Once he reached Jess, he pulled out a Com from a large tin and placed it in his ear. For the first time in his life, it worked without his assistance.
‘They’re on their way.’ Jess informed Lester.
‘Good.’ James replied. ‘God knows what kind of havoc a Tinotops or a Spikeasourus will case in a Shopping Centre…’
‘Very tough, James, but it’s Triceratops and a Spinosaurus.’ Matt replied through his Com, hearing Lester on his own. Lester did not reply.
Five minutes later, the Team had arrived at the Shopping Centre to find it empty. Jess had already ordered the evacuation of the place it had emptied like a hole in a water jug.
‘Jess we found the Anomaly,’ Connor said through his Com. ‘…And a body.’ He bent down over the body covered in blood. ‘Definitely a creature attack. Young female…something’s taken a bite at her…’
‘Matt, we’re picking up another Anomaly!’ Jess said in a panicky voice.
‘Where?’ Matt asked.
‘It’s in the Shopping Centre, but it’s on the other side to where you are.’ She replied.
‘Right, Abby and Becker, you two split up and try to find the creature that’s come through this one. If you find it, let us know. Connor, lock the Anomaly and move the body somewhere-’
‘Thanks very much.’ Conner interjected, glancing at the gruesome body.
‘And Emily, you’re with me.’ Matt continued as though Connor had not interrupted. Abby and Becker nodded and ran off in opposite directions, Becker towards the Food Court and Abby towards a Shoe Shop.
Connor bent down and pressed a few buttons on a portable keyboard he had with him, then one on the Anomaly Locking Mechanism. At once the Anomaly shards were pulled into the centre to create a sphere, and the Anomaly locked. He stood up and looked at Matt.
‘We’ll get going.’ Matt said to Connor who nodded. He and Emily ran off in the opposite direction.
‘Oh…yay…’ Connor said. ‘So Becker and Abby get to find the creature, Matt and Emily are off finding the other Anomaly, and I get to clean up a dead body…that’s made my day.’ Connor looked around.
‘Jess, can you see if there are any shops nearby me that sell any tarp?’ he asked through his Com.
‘Hey, I can’t do everything with this computer you know?’ Jess replied. ‘Sorry, you’re on your own for this one.’
‘Great…’ Connor repeated. He walked along the path Becker had run off to. It wasn’t long before he found a shop that contained tarp. He pushed the door open and grabbed a large piece, then hurried back to the Anomaly site. Connor was about to start wrapping the body up when he realized he was missing something. Shaking his head, Connor returned three minutes later with two rubber gloves on his hands. He rolled out the tarp and dragged the body onto it. Then he rolled the tarp back up with the body. A minute later, he had finished dragging the body away from the Anomaly where they could identify who it was later on.
‘Now what to do…?’ Connor asked himself. No sooner had to words escaped his mouth, however, when there was a loud yell of shock and pain in the direction of Becker’s path, Connor also heard it on his Com.
‘Becker!’ Connor yelled through his Com. ‘Becker, are you okay?!’ there was no reply.
‘Connor, get down there and find out what’s happened, Abby, go with him.’ Came Matt’s voice from the Com.
Without hesitating, Connor tore down the path Becker had gone and pushed open the double doors into the next corridor. Connor found himself in the middle of an incredibly large part of the Shopping Centre with shops everywhere. Three seconds later Abby burst into the room after Connor.
‘Come on!’ she yelled, running past him. Connor nodded and sped after her.
‘BECKER!’ Connor bellowed, still running. ‘BECKER!’
‘Y-…yeah…’ Becker’s faint, shaking voice crackled through the Com’s and at the same time, Connor and Abby heard him just around the corner to the bathrooms. Abby and Connor looked at each other for a fraction of a second, and then hurried around the corner.
There was Becker, sitting slumped against the wall, covered in blood and his arm practically destroyed. ‘Jess, get someone down here right now. We need heavy back-up and medical staff.’ Abby yelled to Jess in a hurried voice. ‘I’m on it.’ Was her reply. Becker gave a low groan and slid down slightly. ‘Becker…’ Connor muttered. ‘What was it? What was the creature?’ But Becker was barely conscious, in no condition to answer Connor. ‘But what about your Dating Calculator? Abby asked him as Becker passed out. ‘Left it at the ARC.’ Connor said apologetically. ‘The back-up and medical staff have arrived, Connor.’ Jess said. ‘They should be with you in seconds.’ ‘Thanks Jess.’ Connor replied as the double doors opened again and in came seven medical staff and eight soldiers. ‘You can leave him with us.’ One of the medical staff told Conner and Abby who nodded and walked off. ‘Matt, Becker’s being well looked after and we’ve got heaps of back-up that should be with you in a sec.’ Abby informed Matt via Com’s. ‘Thanks, Abby.’ Matt replied. ‘The Anomaly’s locked and we’ve confirmed that no creature has come through this one. So we’re going to come back and help you two look for the creature.’ ‘Or creatures…’ Connor muttered back. Connor and Abby split once they had exited the large room, Abby leaving in her Shoe Shop direction and Connor taking a different path.
‘Come on, Matt, I know there must be more than that.’ Emily said, carrying her Com in her hand so Jess, Connor and Abby couldn’t hear them speaking. Matt met Emily’s hard gaze, also holding his Com in his hand, thinking about what to tell her. ‘You said you were going to get your phone, but when I found you, you were still standing there looking at something. And,’ she persisted as Matt begun to form counter-arguments, ‘once we got to the Anomaly, you didn’t have your phone!’
Matt stopped walking and stared at Emily who stopped as well. They met each other’s gaze and held it for many long moments before Matt finally spoke.
‘I told you I was going to get my phone.’ Matt started and Emily nodded slowly. ‘Someone was walking towards me. I couldn’t see who it was because it was dark down at the end. Then when he was right in front of me, he said something.’
‘What? What did he say?’ Emily asked.
‘He said “Go back…You have to go back.”’ Emily stared at him for a few seconds more.
‘Then what?’ she asked.
‘That’s all he said.’ Matt replied.
‘And who was he?’ Emily asked. Matt could see she was just as confused as he was. He decided not to confuse her even more.
‘I-…I don’t know. It was too dark.’ Matt said unconvincingly. Emily looked at him in an
“I-Know-That’s-Not-True” way. She held his gaze for three seconds longer before Matt replied.
‘It doesn’t matter who it was.’ He said, starting to walk again leaving Emily behind him.
‘Matt!’ she yelled, running after him. ‘Tell me! Why don’t you want to tell me?’ but Matt did not answer. He merely put the Com back in his hear and shook his head. Rolling her eyes, Emily mimicked him and put her Com back on too.
‘Matt!’ Connor’s voice came loud and clear through the Com. ‘Matt, we need your help. We’ve got the creature but it’s-’ Connor was cut off as he began yelling with pain…then he was silent.
‘Connor!’ Matt yelled as he started running. ‘Abby, what’s happened?!’
‘Hang on!’ Abby yelled. The sounds of an EMD being fired could be heard through the Com’s, then there was a loud thud. ‘Got it! Matt, Connor’s been attacked, get down here!’
‘Where are you?’ Emily asked.
‘Near the Anomaly!’ Abby said. ‘Matt, Emily, the creature’s a-wait…The Anomaly’s open! How could that-?’ but then Abby also begun to scream in pain. ‘NO! NOOOO-’ and then Abby’s Com stopped.
‘Matt, Abby’s black box signal went through the Anomaly!’ Jess yelled sounding terrified.
‘We’re heading there now!’ Matt said as he and Emily charged around a corner. They were almost there. He could see the glow of the Anomaly, and then-
Abby was right: the Anomaly was open. And there Connor was too, his Temple was bleeding heavily and his leg was destroyed like Becker’s arm had been. There was also a Future Predator on the ground, lying motionless on its back. Matt turned around and looked at the Anomaly. If Abby had been dragged through there by a Future Predator…she was already dead…
…To Be Continued….