It was just another, what seemed to be an ordinary day at the Anomaly Research Centre. Connor was in his lab, working on a new project, Becker was in the armoury polishing his EMDs, Matt was in his office, and Jess was tapping away on the ADD. Suddenly, the alarms sounded, causing everyone to immediately stop what they were doing and rush over to the computer screens. Connor and Abby met in the corridor on their way to the ADD, both glad there was finally something more practical to do with the day.
Once they reached the ADD, Jess was already giving the anomaly's where-abouts to Becker and Matt. "The anomaly's on the other side of the Thames, in an abandoned block of flats." Jess said. "It doesn't look like there's been an incursion… yet." she added. There were still some active cameras about the place, probably there to warn off any unwanted squatters. The building must have still belonged to someone.
"Let's go then." Matt said, grabbing a black box and heading to the car park to get the cars ready to go. He programmed the location of the flats into each of the SatNav devices as the rest of the team prepared themselves for the job of locking the anomaly. Suddenly, Jess spoke over the comms, "Matt, a young child just walked through the anomaly. I can't tell what gender, it's too blurry."
Matt seemed shocked at this, "Jess, we're going now. Keep an eye on the CCTV footage for us, and tell us if he or her seems to be leaving the site."
The team rushed to the site, Connor set up his anomaly locking device, ready to close it when the time was right. Just to be on the safe side, he used his date-calculator to find the time that the anomaly led to. It read 2025. "That's funny…" he though aloud. "Abby, come here a second." he said, calling the blond over to him. "Look at the date on the calculator. It's the closest we've ever got. Closer than the Victorian Era."
"What? That's ridicul-" she was cut off by her surprise that the date was in fact, very, very close to the current day's.
"Maybe Becker will let us go through, seeing how close the date is." Connor said, wondering what was within the bright light.
"I doubt it." she responded. "But… it would be pretty awesome to see the world 14 years into the future…" she added.
"Matt, the child is on the top floor." Jess said, informing him of the youngster's where-abouts.
Matt raced up the stairs to the top floor, and was surprised to see the teenager sitting in a corner against the wall. "Hello?" he said, unsure of how close to her he should get. "Who are you? Why are you here?" he asked. He wasn't going to ask about where she came from right away. He didn't want to scare her, or force her into answering too many questions. "I'd like you to come with me, please." he said, moving closer to her. The girl was wearing all black. And her face was covered by a scarf, her hair pulled back into a long pony-tail. Suddenly, the girl jumped up and attempted to make a run for it. She was quick. If Matt didn't know any better, he would of thought that she had had ninja training. Maybe he was right. He was following her, trying to keep up. He spoke over the comms, "Becker, I need you to find a girl. She's about 14 years of age, she's wearing black, her face is covered and she's fast. Really fast."
Back near the entrance to the anomaly, Abby and Connor were talking, just talking about their strong interests to see what was through the anomaly. "Connor, lock the anomaly. We've a problem. Lock it now." Matt said through the comm. Doing as he was told, Connor went over to the anomaly locking device and locked the shining ball of light. Nothing could come through or go back through. "Done." he replied.
Becker had found the girl perched on a beam at the top of the building. He slowly walked into the room, cautiously stepping over cloths and rotting wood.
"Shit." the girl whispered as quietly as she could. She was pretty sure he could hear her breathing from where he was now. She was pretty high off the ground, and even with her skills, she doubted she could drop from the position completely silently.
She'd thought he'd finally left when she saw a bright light searching the room. If he didn't find her exactly, he'd most likely find her shadow. She was busted anyway, and there wasn't a real reason why she shouldn't not turn herself in, apart from the fact that she was going to ruin the surprise for her parents.
"I know you're in here." Becker announced. His voice echoed around the room.
"Fine. I'm here." the teenage girl unravelled herself from the ball she had curled up into in the cramped space she was in. She jumped down from the beam and walked over to the man. "Hello Uncle Becker." she said, grinning, and pulling her scarf off from around her face.
"What?" Becker shouted, confused. "You're coming with me." he said, and took hold of her arm. "Matt, I've caught her. Meet us at the anomaly site."
Back in front of the anomaly, Connor, Abby and Matt were already talking about the situation with the girl who had ventured into the past. Becker soon came through the door frame, with the youngster.
"What are we going to do with her?" he asked, pushing her over to Matt.
"I'll take her back to the ARC, get her questioned." he replied.
Back at the ARC, things were running smoothly. That was until Matt returned with the young girl. "Why do I have to be questioned here? Here of all places?" she screamed. While walking through the entrance to the ARC she covered her face again. She didn't want to be recognised in the future, when she really was this age.
"It's the rules." he replied bluntly, taking her into the interview room and setting her down in a chair.
He began with a simple question.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Nicole."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 14."
"How did you get here?"
"I walked."
"Through the anomaly?"
"No."
"We saw you come through it, there's no point in lying, Nicole."
"Okay. Yes."
"And why are you here?"
"I came here by accident. I was time-travelling. Oh gosh, my parents are going to kill me, aren't they?"
"No, I'm sure they won't. Maybe I can find them for you in this year. What are their names?"
"Connor and Abigail Temple."
Matt was gob smacked. He now understood why she didn't want to show her face around the ARC. She was going to be known in the future. She was going to work here. That explained pretty much everything. "Thank you… If you don't mind, I'm going to take you to a room, where you'll stay whilst we figure out what we're going to do with you."
