Deconstructing Eden
Summary: An excavation raises questions that only the A.R.C can answer and to that end the team is sent to Turkey to investigate an ancient sight with a reoccurring anomaly. A string of unexplained events and haunting occurrences sets the whole team on edge as they soon realize that they are in a fight for their lives.
Spoilers: Through the end of series five.
A/N: This story is Connor/Abby centric with some Jess/Becker tossed in. It is also not a sequel to "Whispers in the Dark". I do have an idea for that one but nothing solid yet. Feedback is love :)
Chapter One: Fallen Empires
"Line coming down!," Abby didn't even chance a glance upward at the call as she yanked her body flush with the wall, tucking her head against the rock while she waited for the line to fall.
"I know, I know, but what are the odds?" Becker's voice echoed from below her and she realized that he was still on his mobile. Abby waited for the thunk of the line against the rock beside her before she gave her head a shake and positioned herself to push off and repel again.
She hadn't gone more than ten feet when she paused next to Connor who had tangled himself in mid fall, now twisting with the rope as he faced opposite the wall instead of towards it. "Trouble?"
Even after two months of engagement, after a year in the Cretaceous, after everything and this, he still looked embarrassed to be found dangling and tangled. And yet Abby found it endearing. "I've never quite…" Connor began before giving it up with a sharp exhale, "Yeah. Can you just…"
She chuckled as she quickly made her way over to help right him and set him back on course, this time matching his pace. They were rappelling into a canyon, towards a cliff side city deep below where an anomaly was said to open on a regular basis, never to be closed, by any team that had studied it. So far the only threats that had come through were a few types of larger than life scorpions and a colony of ants that were wreaking havoc in the near vicinity.
The Turkish government had just gotten the ants under control and they didn't want to tackle the problem for a second time, so they had reached out to other Anomaly research organizations to help them close the anomaly. Connor's methods had already been tried but they were hoping that once he got a better reading and understanding of the thing that he could come up with a different way to close it off.
"No, it's beautiful," They passed Becker who was poised at a stop in mid gleeful conversation with Jess. "I know! I thought it would be more blandish too." Abby swallowed as she saw his smile fading. "I miss you too."
"They seem to be getting along well," Connor chanced once they were out of ear shot.
"They do," Abby gave a nod in agreement as she looked down to gauge their progress. They were about halfway with a five member crew from the Turkish Anomaly research center waiting for them at the bottom. They had come straight from the airport off a four and a half hour flight to the canyon and were now feeling the lack of sleep that departing at 3 in the morning offered.
"I was thinking," Connor nearly entered another spin as he was cut off when he slammed into the cliff wall and then quickly gained his bearings. Abby paused until he was ready to move again.
Finally as they both breathed a sigh of relief she chanced a glance in his direction. "You were thinking what?"
He'd forgotten by the look on his face, until now that it and she saw him quickly overcoming the adrenaline rush to come back to his original conclusion. "I was thinking that we should set a date in June," He smiled her way and nearly lost his footing again.
"Eyes, on the wall darling," She coaxed him with a growing smile. He had to have been thinking on a wedding date quite hard to let it interrupt this tricky jaunt to the bottom, "Why June?"
"We can have it outdoors," Connor offered. "I thought maybe at the Gardens."
"Depending on which garden, they may be booked already," She didn't want to burst his bubble but she was trying to be realistic. "If you want to wait for the gardens though we can wait until next summer," She offered.
"No," Connor said it so quickly that Abby's gaze shot upward and she missed a crucial foot hold on the wall, sending her slipping down the wall in a painful full body hug of the Hoodoo(rock material) before her.
"Abby," Connor's called out as he rushed to make it to her side, just as she gained her bearings.
Abby gave him a bloody smile with her split lip to reassure him as her elbows and knees ached from the impact. "Maybe we should save this conversation for the hotel." She wanted to have it as much as he did, but they needed to make it to the bottom without any more incidences. She nearly lost her smile when she saw the disappointment mingling with his relief that she was alright and she stroked his cheek with her free hand. "It's alright, we'll talk about it soon, I promise." She kissed his lips softly before releasing him. "Let's get to the canyon floor," She prodded.
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"I can't wait," Jess swallowed tightly as she disconnected the call with Becker with a sigh.
"Have they landed?" Lester called from the towering second floor walkway that overlooked the pen where she sat. Jess twirled the seat around away from the consoles to give him a nod. "Keep me informed," And with that and a pop of a manila folder against the railing he was on his way back towards his office.
Lester was nearly there when he happened by a usually vacant break room. He was halfway passed the threshold when he realized that the room was packed, the lone television in the corner captivating the scientists and soldiers that made up the A.R.C. personnel.
He soon realized why.
"The quake was registered as an 8.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey, a record quake to usher in the celebration of the New Madrid Earthquake Sequence bicentennial. Officials are already reporting that this is the most prolific disaster to strike the Eastern states since Hurricane Katrina. Extensive damage in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi is being reported at a staggering pace, with one such report claiming that the city of New Madrid has collapsed into the growing fissure."
Amidst the voice of the anchor visuals coming in from cell phone cameras and new crews in the field interspersed with photos played in the background, grizzly scenes of destruction on a vast scope. Lester felt a flare of worry sinking in deep as more fuel to the sinking fire of global doom was heaved onto the pyre.
They knew the anomalies were one symptom of the polar shift, but Matt's explanation was seen through the eyes of a world on the brink of destruction through man made interference. Was this the beginning of Earth's natural disastrous finale to the convergence aftermath? He pushed off the doorframe of the break room, leaving the mesmerized masses to gawk at the television while he headed back to his office to find out what more he could.
His instincts were choked on the number of dead about to be tallied.
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"It's beautiful," Abby was absolutely beside herself as she looked into the cavernous wonder that was the underground city they had come to inspect. It hadn't garnered the fame of such cities as Derinkuyu, mostly because the government had kept it a secret, but it was absolutely breathtaking.
She, Connor, Becker, and Matt made it down in one piece to find that Turkey's best kept secret was merely a few feet away, just under the cliff wall they had traversed.
It should have been listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, inside the humongous cavern that spanned hundreds of feet upward, and thousands outward, there was a stone city that was immaculately preserved, literally carved out – the whole cave man made. It shouldn't have been here. It was pristine needing the modern tools of man to make it a reality, and yet here it was, mocking evolution, the tools dating back as far as 26,000 years ago.
And in its very heart was an onyx cage built around the largest Anomaly they had ever witnessed. It was a sacred sight worshipped by the people of the area and it was beautiful. Countless people had disappeared through it, but only two of late, members of the Turkish A.R.C. No one in recorded history had ever returned.
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A/N: Next Chapter Lester's fears become a reality as Connor makes a strange observation of the Turkish anomaly. I won't be able to update this as frequently as "Whispers in the Dark" but it should still be timely.