This started out as a sort of character exercise, but now it's turning into a story of its own. Same Primeval storylines, but with a new character, hopefully every episode from the beginning, in order, but we'll see how it goes.

Chapter 1

First Encounters

Enter some new characters…

Nick Cutter ran after the creature, followed by the others. But where it went astounded all of them. It hung in midair, glittering slightly, like shards of a window frozen in space just after being smashed. The light reflected off it, so that it looked like individual sunbeams had been caught in the glass. The team stopped, staring at it in awe, hardly daring to believe their eyes.

"Where did it go?" Claudia whispered, not taking her eyes of the mystery that hung in front of her.

"Home." Nick answered simply.

Suddenly, a loud shrieking filled the clearing, and everyone ducked, looking for the source of the noise. A figure, indistinct in the dark, leapt through the anomaly, followed by another figure. The team drew back as the two figures faced each other, ignorant of their presence.

They were both girls. One had long, straight black hair tied back, the other had short, brown, slightly wavy hair that hung loose to her shoulders. They were staring at each other, the brown-haired one in hatred, the black-haired one in sadness, and perhaps confusion, thought Stephen, shifting slightly so that he could see the two girls better, whilst being completely obscured himself.

"What have you done?" The black-haired one asked despairingly.

"You drove us to it," the other girl snarled. "Your family gave us no choice. What could we do? Sit back and watch you destroy everything? We had to act. We are at the edge of a cliff, Joanna, and it's not my fault if you don't like what you see at the bottom."

"We were doing fine until you ripped everything apart, Maria. Don't you dare try to turn this round onto me!"

The team watched the two girls, becoming increasingly concerned. Who were these girls? What were they talking about? Most importantly, Cutter thought, what did they know about the creatures?

Claudia stepped forward suddenly, intending to intervene. At the sound of her footsteps, both girls spun around, startled, argument forgotten.

"Wait!" They both shouted, holding their hands out in front of them. The brown haired girl, Maria, glared at Joanna, then, without warning, leapt at her. Joanna heard the movement and dodged, Maria falling to the ground. Before Joanna could move again, Maria desperately pulled her down by her legs, and the two girls struggled on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Cutter and Stephen both started running forward at the same time, but before they reached the fight, the frenzy of movement stopped. Joanna had ended up on top, Maria pinned down underneath her.

"This isn't helping!" Joanna hissed, unaware of Cutter and Stephen slowly creeping forwards. "Fighting won't help anyone, it just makes everything worse. You should know that by now." Maria writhed helplessly, but Joanna had her at her mercy.

Suddenly, Cutter and Stephen leapt forwards, grabbing Joanna and hauling her off Maria. Maria sprang up, a triumphant grin on her face, and started to walk slowly backwards, towards the glittering thing. Joanna struggled in Stephen's arms. "No!" she screamed. Cutter, realising they may have made a mistake, tried to grab Maria, but it was too late. Waving goodbye cheerfully, she slipped back through what Cutter was now certain was a gateway to the past.

Stephen let go of Joanna, who fell and began to beat the ground with her fists. Feeling hopelessly out of their depth, the team looked bemusedly at each other. Abby knelt down beside her and touched her arm gently. She span around and stood up, looking scared, and backed slowly towards the anomaly.

Stephen motioned for the others to stay back, and then crouched down slightly, so that he was lower down than her. Avoiding eye-contact, he acted as he would with a frightened animal. It worked. Joanna stopped backing away and looked at him cautiously.

Stephen held out his hands, to show that he meant no harm, and crept forward, step by step, very slowly, all the time speaking softly, "You're all right. I won't hurt you. Its ok.", over and over, repeating himself, trying to reassure her. When Joanna edged backwards, he stopped, then when she stood still again, he stepped towards her once more, always avoiding her eyes, always keeping lower than her, so that she wouldn't feel threatened.

When he was about 3 feet away, he stopped and straightened up, still avoiding Joanna's eyes. He waited for her to speak first.

"Who are you?" Joanna asked, her voice quiet and shaky from fear. She tried again. "Who are you?" she asked more strongly.

Stephen spoke softly, still worried she might spook and run. "My name is Stephen Hart. I'm here because of this." he gestured towards the glittering thing.

Joanna smiled, her eyes still fixed on Stephen. "I know you are. Everyone is. I was … delayed." She edged backwards, like a crab, still keeping an eye on Stephen in case he moved. He stepped back, giving her some space. Putting her hands at the edge of the shards, she nodded.

"Three creatures have come through, one carnivore and two herbivores. One herbivore has returned. Do you know where the others are?" she asked Stephen. Before he could answer, Abby stepped forwards, holding Rex tightly in her arms.

Joanna nodded. "He must go back. This is not where he belongs." Abby nodded reluctantly, not wanting to let Rex go.

Suddenly, Joanna's head snapped round, and she shifted, ready to run. Stephen looked around sharply, trying to spot the threat. In the distance, he could here the roar of an engine, growing louder as it came closer. Then, a black 4x4 burst through the trees. It stopped, and military-looking men climbed out.

Joanna looked terrified. "You brought them here!" she shouted at Stephen.

"No…" he tried to say, but Claudia cut him off.

"I did. This could be a threat to national security. We can't risk hordes of creatures coming through. Who knows what damage they could cause." She said, avoiding Joanna's eyes.

Joanna looked desperate. "I could have handled this! I would have done! It's my job!" She looked at the soldiers, advancing towards her, and she lost her nerve. "I have to go." She said.

"Joanna…" Stephen said, and Joanna looked at him.

Smiling sadly, she said, "Call me Jo."

Then she was off, darting through the trees. The soldiers went to follow her, but stopped at a command from Claudia. "Let her go."

Cutter and Stephen stared after her, Cutter frustrated at the loss of possible knowledge, Stephen just wondering…

Hope you like it! Should have more up pretty soon, but review if you want more, or want certain events, and I'll see what I can do. Review please!