I don't own anything.
Connor and Abby stepped out of the anomaly, greeted by guns and men in black uniforms.
Connor was unshaven, black stubble speckled his face. His hair was matted and clumped with dirt and blood. Dried mud flaked on his cheek and his poorly-stitched wounds were caked with blood. The arms of his jacket were ripped off and his shoelaces were shredded into flimsy strings.
He looked exhaustedly at Abby, whose hand he was holding. Her hair was long, grown-out, and ratty. She nearly had dreadlocks. She was banged up too. Her pants had turned from grey to tan with ground-in dirt and stains. Her boots were no longer black. They were scuffed and torn.
He squeezed her hand.
"Get down on your knees and put your hands up!" one of the officers yelled.
A look of shock flashed across their faces. They got on their knees and put their hands up. Abby was furious and frustrated, after all this time she and Connor still weren't free and safe.
"Hold on," said a voice. A very familiar voice. "Connor and Abby? God, I thought you'd died."
Becker stepped into the circle.
"Becker!" Abby yelled.
"Oh, man," Connor gasped.
Abby and Connor looked at each other once. Abby rocked onto her tiptoes and hugged him.
"Connor! We did it! We're actually back!"
"What do you mean? Of course, we are," he bluffed, as if he knew all along that the anomaly they found in the woods would lead back to modern day England.
Abby leaned away from Connor, looked him in the eyes, and then kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm not going to cry," Connor promised himself, but he felt a tear roll down his cheek. "Damn," he cursed.
"Alright guys, let's pack it up, lock the anomaly, and go back to the A.R.C."
Becker gestured to the stationed guns and surrounding vehicles.
"Becker, you have a lot of explaining to do," Abby remarked happily. "Oh, my God, it's so great to be back!" Abby bent over and laughed. "Un-bloody-believable!"
"Come on then. Let's go," Becker asserted.
The three of them piled in a grey truck, which was not like the ones they were used to though.
Becker began to explain, "Tinted windows, bulletproof frame, four-wheel drive and all terrain, bigger trunk for storing, more seats for back-up-"
"More cup holders!" Connor said.
Becker shot him a look.
"Sorry, mate. It's been a while," Connor mumbled.
"This is going to get so old so fast."
Abby sighed. "Anyway, what's happened since we left?"
"Anomalies still pop up. We have some new people on the team, since our animal specialist, encyclopedia, and yobby leader were gone, but they're annoyingly amateur. They're even worse than you two. They'll be demoted when Lester sees you're back. He really hates them."
"Why weren't they with you?" Abby asked.
"Not much for field work. We have to send them pictures and then get the orders sent back from the A.R.C. It's really tedious and the creatures have a knack for getting way before we get our orders back."
"Nice to know we were missed," Connor joked, "If only because we suck less."
"What about Danny? You haven't said anything about Danny!" Abby shouted, panic-striken.
"He hasn't come back yet," Becker said solemnly.
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Connor yelled.
"Connor, we'll find him somehow. You still have the anomaly-opening device, right? You can try to figure it out, make a new one, then we can go to site 333 and get him," she half-heartedly assured him. "You can figure it out, Conn."
She pat his shoulder from the backseat. He put his hand over hers and held it.
"Thanks, love," he said.
"Love?" Becker questioned.
"Shut up," Abby said, as her cheeks flushed bright red.