It's been four years since convergence and the ARC has been shut down. After a brief spike in anomalies, they stopped. Now the ARC has been disbanded, it's members sworn to secrecy and trying to live normal lives again.
But anomalies have began opening up again. The government lied to the populace about convergence day, claiming a terrorist attack through hallucinogenic chemicals in the water supply. And everyone believed them, except people who had encountered anomalies before and seen dinosaurs with their own eyes. They knew what was happening.
So when anomalies began re-opening, these people stepped up.
Primeval: the Next Generation
Chapter 1
"I'm telling you, look at it, Steve. It's a dinosaur!" Darren exclaimed, pointing at the screen of his camera. Steve ran his hands through his shaggy blond hair and looked at the blurry image closely. His friend was right, it was definitely a dinosaur. Steve looked up at his taller friend, who was staring back with a look of glee in his eyes.
"Yep, that's definitely a dino." Steve told him, "where did you take this?"
"About half a mile into Benton Woods," Darren explained, "Mrs. Johnson wanted some woodland shots for her wildlife exhibit." Steve nodded as he moved to his computer, bringing up a map of the woods.
"Should we go now?" Darren asked, looking suddenly nervous. "It's going to get dark soon." Steve thought for a moment, Darren had a point, but he wanted to see if they could find the anomaly tonight.
"We'll bring torches." Steve said confidently, "It'll be fine."
Steve printed the map of the woods while Darren went to get the torches and his camera case. Steve shook his head, grinning. He knew Darren loved that camera almost more than life itself and he'd never go anywhere without it. Darren worked as a freelance photographer and he was always on the lookout for something new to photograph. Steve, on the other hand, was much more of a computer person, he always had been. He worked from home for a tech support hotline, answering calls every day to help the less fortunate with their computer complaints.
The two had known each other since they were eight and after graduating secondary school, they'd moved in together, splitting the rent on their two bedroom apartment. They shared enough hobbies and interests to be close friends, but not enough to get on each others nerves, they were a perfect match.
And they shared one interest most people didn't: finding out the truth behind the anomalies and what most people referred to as 'the day that wasn't real'. Steve could still remember that day four years ago as vividly as though it was yesterday. In fairness though, most people could. Dinosaurs in the streets, people with guns in black jumpsuits running around, mass chaos and carnage. Steve looked at Darren as they got into the car, they'd been at the food mart, picking up groceries when a pack of triceratops stampeded through the store. The pair had taken charge of the panicked shoppers, directing everyone into the storeroom for safety.
Then the government said that none of it had been real, there had been drugs in the waters that disguised the truth of a terrorist attack. But Steve and Darren knew the truth, they'd seen dinosaurs before and it hadn't been the first time they'd dealt with them. As if reading his thoughts, Darren spoke up from the passenger seat.
"If it is the anomalies, and dinosaurs are back," He began, "we need to tell people. They need to be warned about the dangers. I don't want another..." Darren grew silent, still unable to say her name. Steve looked over at his friend.
"Let's just concentrate on finding the proof first." Darren nodded and fell silent again. Steve thought back to his and Darren's first encounter with dinosaurs and the glowing balls of light referred to as anomalies.
They'd been in detention for creating a mess and horrible smell in the chemistry lab. It wouldn't had been as big of a deal it it hadn't been obvious they'd done it on purpose. So they were given detention one Saturday with Beth Henderson, Darren's crush. It had seemed like it was going to be a normal Saturday detention until everything went to hell in a handbasket.
A pack of Therocephalians had gotten into the school while Steve, Darren, and Beth were out of the classroom. Steve and Darren survived, Beth wasn't so lucky. They'd been saved by a man called Connor Temple who said he worked with something called the ARC. After that day, Steve and Darren began trying to find out everything they could about the ARC and anomalies.
And then, after convergence, the ARC ceased to exist. Steve couldn't find out anything about it anywhere. The pair had given up hope of finding out the truth, until one day he'd received a letter with no return address. The only thing the letter had were two words: Abby Temple.
Steve and Darren had both been at a loss about what the words meant until Darren remembered they'd been saved by a Connor Temple. Steve got back into the ARC mainframe, which had been protected by firewalls so advanced that he couldn't even begin to crack it. When Steve got back into the database, he was greeted by the familiar password screen. Steve typed in Abby Temple and suddenly, the entire ARC was open to them.
Steve and Darren had access to everything the ARC team knew about anomalies, convergence, past members, technology, all of it. Together, the pair began researching how to build anomaly detectors, locking mechanisms, and EMDs. Unfortunately, the only luck they'd had was with a small handheld detector which Darren packed in his camera bag. But now, they were going to find a real dinosaur and an anomaly and help keep people safe, just like the ARC had done for them once. Steve parked the car at the front of a path into the woods.
"Let's go round up some dinosaurs." He said with a grin as he shut off the car.
XXXXX
Taylor Jensen drove alone through one of the roads cutting through Benton woods. She was angry and driving faster than she knew was safe, especially at night. She and Brian had finally split up, and though relieved, Taylor was also more than a little upset at his reasons. Brian had called them off after three months because he was tired of her "dominance".
Taylor scoffed to herself. Brian claimed she always had to be in control or she wasn't happy, but Taylor knew it wasn't true. She just liked to take command of any situation, it was just part of her personality. She shook her head again, Brian wasn't worth her time, she decided.
Taylor was so caught up in her own personal thoughts that she almost didn't hear the interference on the radio. She froze, slamming the brakes on her car to listen closer. The song on the radio was being overpowered by a noise Taylor had only heard once before in her life. She leaned in closer to be absolutely sure. It was, her radio was picking up interference from an anomaly.
Taylor sat up straighter as she looked around, hoping to see it and the people who worked with the anomalies. She heard a strange dragging noise and saw the change on her dashboard sliding towards the right side of the car. She smiled, that had to mean the anomaly was that way. Taylor got out of the car, trying to contain her excitement. She couldn't wait to see another anomaly, and hopefully see Professor Nick Cutter or Stephen Hart. She grabbed a handful of change and held her palm out, watching the coins gravitate in one direction. With her makeshift compass, Taylor walked into the woods.
XXXXX
Lucien Bell stared at his future brother-in-law and added more wood to the fire. Sitting on the other side of the fire, Ben Trent stared back. Lucien's little brother, Trey, was engaged to Ben's older sister, Alice, and the couple wanted their respective siblings to bond. Lucien, six years older than Ben, really didn't want to meet the aspiring lawyer, but Trey had insisted. So Lucien had suggested that the pair go camping, something he loved to do but didn't think Ben would have much experience with.
But to his credit, Ben had been doing pretty well, he'd managed every task Lucien had given him and done anything he'd asked. So now, the pair were sitting in silence, each trying to decide which they wanted to do less, break the silence or disappoint their sibling. Apparently Alice Trent was scarier than she looked.
"You were in the Army, right?" Ben asked, poking the fire. Lucien sighed to himself, he might as well hold up his end of the conversation seeing as he didn't have to start it.
"Six years," He replied curtly. "It was some of the best times of my life."
"Why'd you get out." Ben asked, looking more interested. Unbidden, Lucien's mind flashed back to his last tour of duty. The smoke and fires everywhere, and the smell of blood in the air, mingled with the aroma of cordite from the gunshots. His mind sent images of friends bleeding and dying, of building and humvees exploding and burning.
"Hey, hey Lucien, you okay?" Ben's voice snapped him out of his reverie and he looked around wildly. Ben eyed him with concern.
"You alright, man?" He asked, looking worried, "You just sort of zoned out on me for a minute there." Lucien nodded, still shaken by his memories.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Lucien took a deep breath, still trying to keep his breathing under control. He needed to take the attention off of himself.
"What about you?" He asked, "Trey said you were going to school to become a lawyer?" Ben nodded.
"Yeah, it seemed like a good career, I always did well in public speaking." Ben looked behind him for a moment. "Is that a rifle?" he asked, gesturing the the barrel sticking out of Lucien's tent. Lucien nodded, still trying to control the flood of memories trying to get in.
"Yeah," Lucien answered, "I brought it just in case. You never know." Ben nodded again, looking at the fire in thought. Lucien leaned back, listening to the crackle of the fire and the sounds of the forest. Then a woman screamed.
XXXXX
Darren ran through the woods following his best friend Steve as he followed the directions on the detector. On one hand, Darren's mind was going crazy thinking about how everything was going to change if they found a real anomaly. But on the other, if they found the anomaly, he had no idea what they were going to do with it. He raised his point with Steve when the former stopped to fiddle with the detector.
"Do we have any idea what we're going to do if we do find this anomaly?" Darren asked, looking at his friend. Steve looked up from the detector.
"I was just wondering the same thing, actually." He admitted. "Really wish we'd gotten those EMDs online."
"Or the locking mechanism." Darren added, looking around. After a moment, Steve shrugged.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He said casually, tapping the detector again. "Ah, here we go, picked up the signal again. It's close." And Steve was off. Darren looked at his running friend in amazement. It really wasn't that surprising, it was classic Steve. His motto was improvise, adapt, and overcome. Darren's motto, if he ever decided he needed a motto, was more along the lines of plan, panic, plan again, drink a lot, go for it, improvise. It wasn't perfect but it worked, sometimes. Steve called his name and Darren looked up.
"Coming." He shouted back. Of course, despite not planning, he'd still follow Steve anywhere on any stupid idea, it was just who he was. With a groan, Darren took off after Steve.
After only a few more minutes of running, Darren and Steve stopped at the entrance to a clearing, both awestruck by the sight of the anomaly. Neither of them had seen the one that had opened in their school, they'd only seen the pictures in the ARC database. None of which could have prepared them for the beauty of the sight before them. Darren's entire attention was focused on the shifting and refracting lights that made up the portal to the past.
Thinking fast, he walked closer to the anomaly and pulled his camera out of his bag. The camera, his pride and joy, had been a graduation gift from Steve. Darren's parents were both alcoholics who drank away every spare cent they had and Steve's parents never seemed to care about him at all. He'd spent the night at Darren's once and told him that his parents hadn't even noticed he was gone. So when they graduated from secondary school, they'd gotten each other a gift. It was also a thank-god-we-didn't-get eaten-by dinosaurs gift, but they didn't tell other people that.
When he got his camera ready, Darren took several shots of the anomaly. Steve looked at him with a triumphant grin.
"We found one, mate." He said, still smiling, "We really found one."
Suddenly, Darren heard someone trampling behind them through the underbrush. He and Steve both turned around simultaneously to see a pretty young woman with shoulder length blond hair step into the clearing where the anomaly was located. Darren was sure her expression of shock matched theirs. he noticed she had her hand outstretched and was had a handful of change sitting on her palm. The small coins were moving towards the anomaly and Darren realized the woman must have used them to find it. Steve, as usual, recovered from shock first.
"If you're looking for the bus," He said, indicating the coins in her outstretched hand, "You just missed the last one. You'll have to walk back home now, good night." But the woman ignored him and walked forward, staring intently at the anomaly. Darren grabbed her arm, stopping her from going anywhere closer. She glared at him and wrenched her arm free. Darren tried to explain the dangers that could come out of the anomaly, but he couldn't make anything come out of his mouth. He gave an inward groan, he always got like this around beautiful women for the first time. Luckily, Steve was there.
"You're gonna have to excuse my friend," He said, moving in front of the girl, stopping her progress again. "This is our science project and he gets a little defensive when people get too close." The blonde woman looked at Steve in shock.
"Science project?" She said angrily, "Do you think I'm stupid? This thing isn't man made, anyone can see that. You and your friend are just two guys who found something in the woods and tried to claim it. You have no idea what it is you've found or how dangerous it can be."
Steve and Darren first looked at each other and then the woman in surprise.
"I think," Steve began slowly, "We both know more about this than we thought. I'm Steve Banner and my quiet friend is Darren Richards." Darren gave a small wave, still watching the woman anxiously to see her response.
She relaxed slightly, looking at the pair of them before looking at the anomaly again.
"Taylor Jensen." She said finally "So you do know what this is?" She asked, gesturing at the anomaly.
"It's a tear in space and time." Darren said, forcing himself to speak. "They're called anomalies, this is the first one that's been recorded in years." Taylor looked at him, but Darren focused on the ground, unable to meet her eyes. Darren felt embarrassed and angry at himself. He was twenty years old, he should be able to talk to a woman by now. Luckily Steve stepped in again.
"How exactly did you find out about anomalies?" He asked, looking her up and down. "No offense, but you don't look like the usual 'I-saw-a-dinosaur' conspiracy nut. Plus, we'd have seen you at the conventions." Taylor looked at Steve in surprise.
"I didn't know there were other people who knew about these anomalies. I thought it was only the ARC." Darren looked up in interest.
"You've met the ARC?" He asked excitedly, "Who'd you meet?"
Unfortunately, at that moment, a large raptor leapt out of the anomaly and stared at the three people standing less than ten feet in front of it. Taylor screamed.
XXXXX
Ben Trent rushed through the woods after Lucien, silently hoping that whoever screamed was still alive. He and Lucien had heard the scream and Lucien had snapped into full soldier mode. He'd grabbed a torch and his rifle, ordering Ben to stay at the camp. But Ben wasn't going to let Lucien go off into the woods on his own, so he grabbed a torch and went with him. Lucien had been about to object, but decided against it.
So the pair set off running through the forest in the direction of the screams. Lucien had taken the lead and Ben followed, trying desperately to keep up with the other man, who was clearly in better shape. Suddenly, Lucien veered off to the left.
"I heard something." He called back to Ben. Ben nodded, trying to conserve his energy by not talking. As they ran farther ahead, Ben heard the sound of running water. They had to be close to the stream that cut through the middle of the woods. Lucien stopped running ahead of Ben and seemed frozen in place. As Ben caught up, he could see why.
Backed up against the stream were three young adults, all of them around Ben's age. They looked terrified and exhausted. It was the thing that was causing them to back up that caught Ben and Lucien's attention. It was a raptor, a full grown, male raptor. Lucien seemed frozen, the rifle hanging limply by his side. Ben nudged him.
"Can't you shoot that thing?" He asked frantically. Lucien shook himself out of his shock and held the rifle up against his shoulder.
"I can't get a clear shot." He said in a low tone. "I can't hit it from here, there are too many trees in the way." Ben looked around in desperation.
"What about if the raptor was over there?" He asked, pointing to an opening in the tree line to the right of their position. Lucien shouldered the rifle again.
"Yeah," He said confidently, "I could hit it there. But how're we going to get it there?" Ben gave a grimace. Lucien looked at him in shock.
"You aren't serious?" He said in astonishment. Ben nodded
"Shoot fast." He muttered. Then Ben took off, heading in the direction of the raptor, which was still advancing slowly on the three people backed up against the stream.
As Ben ran towards the raptor, he began yelling as loudly as he could, his earlier exhaustion forgotten with the rush of adrenaline. The raptor turned his head in confusion, looking at Ben.
"That's right," He yelled, waving his arms, "look at me. You don't want them, I look much tastier." His yelling was working, the raptor began turning his body to face Ben. And then it sprinted at him, utilizing it's unnatural speed. With a hurried curse, Ben began running towards the opening for Lucien to shoot.
As he got nearer, Ben turned to look at the raptor, which was still gaining. Unfortunately, by taking his eyes away from where he was going, Ben sacrificed his coordination, tripping over a root and sprawling across the ground. He rolled on his back just in time to see the raptor jump for him.
Ben saw the raptor's body take the impact before he heard the shot fired. The raptor was pushed sideways by the force of the bullet, knocking it off balance and causing it to land several feet to the right of Ben before falling on it's side.
Ben scrambled to his feet hurriedly as Lucien came running up. Ben also saw the three people that had been cornered by the raptor coming over as well. As Lucien and the others' got there, the raptor tried to lift itself off of the ground. Lucien fired one shot into its head and the raptor collapsed, never to get up again. Ben looked at Lucien gratefully.
"Nice shot," He panted, "I owe you one." Lucien grinned back at him, clearly still pumped on adrenaline.
"You owe me a lot more than one." He said, slinging the rifle back on his shoulder. Ben looked at the three people they'd just saved. There was a shorter man with shaggy blonde hair, a taller, skinny guy with long, dark hair, and a beautiful young woman who didn't look as scared as she should given the circumstances. They all looked at each other for a moment. Finally the shorter guy spoke up.
"You know, for a bunch of people living in the 21st century, nobody really seems that surprised about encountering a velociraptoraptor in the woods."
"Utahraptor," Ben corrected automatically, "Late cretaceous era, I'd say. Full grown and male. Definitely one of the most dangerous creatures of the time." Lucien looked at him with confusion, Ben just shrugged. "I study paleontology in my free time, I like dinosaurs."
"That doesn't answer my question by the way." The blonde guy said, gesturing at the dead raptor. "I almost got killed by that thing, but I know why I'm not surprised to see it. What about all of you?" Ben looked at the scared group of people.
"Let's move this," He pointed to the raptor, "Somewhere where it won't be found by anyone else, and then we'll sit down and talk. We have a camp near here we can rest at." The blonde guy nodded.
"Fine, I'm Steve, by the way." He said, extending his hand. Ben shook it.
"I'm Ben Trent," he responded, "and the big man with the big gun is Lucien Bell." Lucien nodded to the others.
"We can finish introductions after we take care of this body." Lucien said, "Can anyone think of somewhere we can dump it?" Steve grinned as he looked at the others.
"I have just the place." He said with a smile.
After an hour of grunting, swearing, dragging and lifting, Ben and the other guys managed to get the raptor back to the anomaly site and shove it in. Now they were standing back, Lucien with his rifle trained on the anomaly, waiting for it to close.
Looking at the glowing ball of light, Ben was taken back to nine years before when he'd seen the same thing in the Forest of Dean. He looked over at Lucien and thought about what Steve had said. No one really had seemed that surprised about seeing a full grown raptor in the middle of Britain, including Lucien. He wanted to ask, but Lucien had ordered complete silence in order to focus on the anomaly.
Suddenly, the anomaly grew, expanding outwards. Ben took a step back in surprise as Lucien tightened his grip in his rifle. But as soon as it stretched out, the anomaly collapsed back in on itself, winking out of existence. Ben and the others let out a sigh of relief. Lucien put his rifle back on his shoulder while the dark haired boy, who Ben learned was named Darren, shook his head as if trying to stop thinking about the anomaly. Ben looked around at the exhausted group of people.
"Let's head back to our camp and we can swap stories." He suggested. The others nodded their agreement and Lucien led the way back to the camp.
XXXXX
Steve sat around the fire, holding a cup of coffee and looking at the other four people he'd just shared an unbelievable experience with. After a moment, the stockier guy, Ben, who'd distracted he raptor spoke up.
"Ok," He began, "Obviously we've all had experience with these time-portals before."
"What did you call them?" Darren asked suddenly.
"Time-portals." Ben answered, "Why, what do you call them?"
"They're referred to as anomalies." Steve cut in. "Everyone calls them anomalies."
"How do you know everyone calls them anomalies?" Ben asked. Steve sighed.
"There are bound to be people who just call them 'time-portals', but everyone in the know calls them anomalies."
Taylor made a skeptical noise. "And you two are 'in the know' " she asked condescendingly. Steve puffed out his chest in indignation.
"Yeah," he responded testily, "ever since we hacked into the ARC mainframe, we've been 'in the know' " Ben looked around with confusion, but Taylor and Lucien seemed impressed.
"I must have missed something," Ben said, looking at Steve, "but what's the ARC." Steve stared back in disbelief.
"I thought you knew about anomalies." He said, "Anyone who's ever had contact with an anomaly has met someone from the ARC." Ben shook his head.
"Not me," He stated, looking around at the others, "I met a woman called Abby who worked at the zoo and was going to take my lizard back to the zoo. She said my lizard was a brand new breed of lizard and she wanted to see where I found him, so I took her to the Forest of Dean and-"
"Wait!" Steve interjected suddenly, "You found the Forest of Dean anomaly?"
"I guess so, why?" Ben replied. Steve's eyes widened and Darren leaned forward.
"That was the first recorded anomaly." Darren told him, "The ARC was formed in the Forest of Dean. Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart, Connor Temple, Abby Maitland, Oliver Leek, they were the first people to try and figure out what the anomalies were, they were the original ARC team members." Steve punched the air in victory.
"This is so cool." He said, his voice getting louder with excitement, "You were there for the first anomaly, you met Professor Nick Cutter."
"I've met Cutter." Taylor cut in.
"So have I," Lucien added, "and Abby Maitland." Steve looked at the others with a look of shock.
"You all met Cutter?" He asked in amazement. They met the old-school ARC, before the invention of locking devices and EMDs. Darren shared his look of surprise.
"Your anomaly experiences were way before ours, then." Steve stated after a moment.
"You still haven't answered my question," Ben pressed, "What's the ARC and why is it so important?"
"It stands for the Anomaly Research Center." Darren explained, "They were the only people who knew about anomalies and it was their job to contain them and the creatures that came through."
"The dinosaurs?" Ben asked.
"It wasn't always dinosaurs," Taylor said, looking at the others, "I got trapped in the Silurian era with giant sand scorpions."
"It isn't always the past either," Lucien added, "I was attacked by some sort of future evolution of the sea lion."
"How did you get into the ARC's systems?" Taylor asked suddenly, "I would've thought they'd have people on guard for that."
"The ARC's been shut down." Steve said, shaking his head. "Do you all remember the day that wasn't real?" Ben and the others nodded. "That was something called convergence."
"We're not entirely sure about the science behind it," Darren cut in, "but basically the Earth tried to adjust itself, which is what caused the anomalies in the first place."
"And eventually, the adjustments culminated in convergence, which was hundreds of anomalies opening up all over the world." Steve finished, "Mass chaos and destruction."
"What's that have to do with the ARC?" Lucien asked.
"Well," Steve explained, "after convergence, there was a huge spike in anomalies. And then, all of a sudden, they stopped. No explanation as to why, they just stopped. After that, the ARC was shut down."
"This is perfect." Ben said suddenly, "All we have to do is find the old ARC members and tell them the anomalies are back." Steve shook his head sadly.
"I wish it were that easy."
"Why isn't it?" Taylor asked.
"We saw a note on each of the personnel files in the ARC database," Darren answered, "They're all under government surveillance."
"The government tried very hard to keep the anomalies secret." Steve added, "They don't want the old ARC running around again, especially when they think it's all over." Ben frowned, looking confused.
"There's no way the government would try to hide anomalies if they popped up again." He protested, "They'd have to reinstate the ARC." Steve leaned forward.
"Have any of you ever heard of Duncan Greene?" He asked, looking around. The others shook their heads.
"Exactly." Darren said, "After convergence, Duncan Greene went public. Said he had information about the dinosaurs, anomalies, everything. Went against the government's story about chemicals."
"Quite a few people were ready to believe him." Steve added, picking up the story. "Not everyone was believing the story about drugs and terrorists."
"I never heard anything about someone speaking out against the government's story." Lucien said, looking thoughtful.
"You have to know where to look." Steve replied, "It wouldn't have been covered on any major news network, but below the surface, Duncan was spreading the word about what really happened."
"We dismissed him as a conspiracy nut as well." Darren said, "We knew the dinosaurs were real, but we didn't think a lot of other people knew the truth as well."
"Then Duncan said he had a friend, Connor Temple, who knew a lot more about the anomalies than he did." Steve added. "We decided to find this guy."
"What happened?" Taylor asked with interest.
"It took us weeks to find him." Darren answered. "He'd gone off the grid a few years before convergence and he kept his location hidden. By the time we found out where he lived..."
"It was too late." Steve finished. "The whole building had burned to the ground."
"Duncan was never heard from again." Darren concluded. Lucien sat up straighter.
"You expect me to believe that the government killed a man for talking about anomalies and then burned the building he was staying in?"
"We're not one hundred percent sure he was killed." Darren corrected, "He stayed under the radar for years. It's possible he got out and burned the building to fake his own death."
"He had to have known someone would come after him for talking about anomalies, I'm sure he was prepared to run, we just don't know if he got away or not." Steve added, looking over everyone's shocked faces. "We just know that the ARC is under constant surveillance and the only man who knew anything outside of the ARC is missing in action, possibly dead. We're on our own here." Ben perked up.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean we?" He asked suddenly, "There is no we. We were attacked by a raptor, that's it."
"Someone has to control these anomalies." Darren said angrily, "The five of us are the only people who know about them, it has to be us. Otherwise, people will get hurt."
"We'll get hurt if we try to keep doing this. We barely survived tonight!" Ben yelled back, temper rising.
"So what?" Darren asked, getting to his feet. "You're just going to go home and pretend this never happened? Meanwhile, creatures could be coming through all over Britain and killing hundreds of innocent people. Are you really that selfish?" Steve watched his friend with concern. He knew this was an important issue to Darren, but he'd also never seen him get this angry before. Luckily, Lucien stepped in.
"Look, everybody just calm down." He said soothingly, "Let's think about this." He looked at Steve, "Is there anything we actually can do about the anomalies?" Steve looked at Darren, who was still standing up, pacing slightly.
"Yes," Steve replied honestly, "Connor Temple discovered that an electrical current can lock the anomaly shut. He created a device that, while it couldn't close anomalies, it could keep creatures from getting out of it."
"If you know there's such a device, why didn't you bring it with you tonight?" Taylor asked.
Darren sat down suddenly, "Because we can't get it to work yet." He admitted.
"The blueprints on the database are for the original prototype Connor Temple designed." Steve explained, "We know by going through mission reports that the device underwent several upgrades and modifications. We're building the prototype, which is bound to be bulkier and less effective."
"Also," Darren added sullenly, still glaring at Ben, "Connor was funded by the government. I'm a freelance photographer and Steve works as tech support in a call center; our funds are a little more limited."
"So you've been trying to build your own locking device even though you didn't know there were any more anomalies?" Ben asked.
"We like to be prepared." Steve answered with a grin.
"So have you had any luck building something from the ARC?" Taylor asked, looking at Steve.
"Yes, actually," Steve responded proudly, pulling the detector out of his pocket."This is a handheld detector. It has a radius of one mile, but it works. We proved it tonight." Lucien held out his hand and Steve passed over the detector.
"It looks like a mutated SatNav." Lucien said turning it over in his hands. Steve laughed.
"Well, it basically is a mutated SatNav." He replied, "The original ARC detector worked like a game of Hot or Cold. The anomaly gives off radio interference, so they would walk around with their detector listening to a beeping sound. When the beeping got louder, they were close. I married the motherboard of an old SatNav to a basic detector, so when we find one, we get directions as opposed to a beeping." Ben looked impressed, as did the others.
"That's pretty well done." He complimented, "You two really are serious about controlling these anomalies, aren't you?" Steve and Darren nodded. "Well, I guess I'm in too." Ben looked directly at Darren, "You were right, someone has to help."
"As we proved tonight, you'll get yourselves killed if I'm not there." Lucien added, "Count me in."
"After I went through an anomaly, I asked Cutter if I could work with him someday." Taylor said, "I guess I'm getting my wish." Ben nodded, looking around at the others.
"I guess this makes us the new ARC team." He said. "Let's keep people safe."
XXXXX
The ringing was driving her crazy, she had to find some way to stop it. With a groan, Jessica Becker rolled over on one side and grabbed her phone off the bedside table. She looked at the time before answering the call, it was two in the morning.
"Hello?" She answered groggily, "Who is this?"
"Ah, Mrs. Parker, sorry, Mrs. Becker now, thank goodness you're up." Jess stared at the phone in confusion.
"Lester?" She asked after a moment, "What's wrong, why are you calling me at two in the morning?"
"It's my computer." He said after a moment, "I'm having a problem with it." Jess held in a monumental groan. Only her former boss would call this early to complain about a computer.
"There's nothing I can do about it now." She said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"But it's the computer you gave me for Christmas." Lester said, slightly emphasizing the word Christmas. Jess sat up in bed straighter, 'the computer you gave me for Christmas' was their code. The anomalies had begun re-opening. Jess looked over at Becker, still sleeping soundly next to her.
"What kind of error is it?" She asked, trying to keep her voice level.
"It says there is a Benton virus." Lester responded. "There were some pop-ups earlier, but it's gone away now."
"Do you know if the anti-virus program I installed kicked in?" Jess asked, analyzing everything Lester had said. Benton had to refer to Benton woods, which were several miles out of town. And he said the pop-up had gone away, meaning the anomaly had closed.
"I'm not sure," Lester replied, "I hope so. It runs scans on my computer all the time, I think it's up to the challenge. I hope it is anyways." Jess nodded, even though Lester couldn't see her.
"Well, bring it to the cafe on West Rayne and Third and I'll take a look at it." Jess told him.
"Perfect," Lester replied, "I'll see you at nine."
"Eight," Jess replied, "not all of us are retired."
"Eight it is, then. See you tomorrow Mrs. Par- Becker." Lester hung up the phone.
Jess sank back into her bed, now too anxious to sleep. She hoped the two boys she'd given ARC access to were able to handle the anomaly. She felt horrible putting two innocent people in harm's way like this, but Matt had always felt the anomalies would come back, and he and Lester agreed, someone needed to be ready to respond. So Jess had mailed Connor's secret back door password to the boys, she hoped they had survived their ordeal. Jess moved closer to Becker, who instinctively put his arm around her in his sleep, and closed her eyes. Tomorrow, things were going to get a lot harder.
AN: Well, there you go. A bit different from Primeval High, but I think it'll turn out well. I don't plan on all of them being this long, but we'll see. Please review and let me know what you think.
