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Disclaimer:Okay, I don't own anything, and I don't gain any money writing these stories. It's for fun, plain and simple.
I realised soon after I finished the first chapter that I used spoilers (however minor) from the sixth episode of Primeval. So for this story's sake, please imagine that the sequel has already come out, Claudia is fine, Captain Ryan is still dead and Nick knows about Stephen and Helen.
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It was official. Abby Maitland was not this morning's happy person.
The sound of chirping was the thing that woke her up that morning; even though bright rays of sunlight were already making their way across her pillow, causing pinpoints of light to dance across her vision. In return she did what any other normal human early in the morning would do- promptly roll over and fall back to sleep. Then the chirping grew louder, and she felt more than heard something land on her bed. Another short chorus of chirps reverberated around her, as the pressure began moving up to her head.
Batting away the annoying sounds, or attempting to with eyes tight shut, the sleepy figure lying on the bed rolled onto her back. Unable to dispose of the constant noise, she grabbed the pillow underneath her and, in a show of early-morning spontaneous aggression she forced the pillow to impact with her head, unintelligibly muttering while doing so. Then the still-sleepy figure tried to once again, fall asleep.
It was that moment the creature chirping decided to jump on the stomach of the person on the bed. And of course, fifteen kilograms of prehistoric lizard jumping on one's stomach early in the morning is more than enough inspiration to get out of bed.
Abby groaned, throwing her pillow to the side, causing it to land on the floor.
"Right, right, I'm up," she mumbled, blinking continuously to clear her vision, and saw the blurry shape of a creature one would not normally associate with waking in the morning. "Hi Rex," she greeted, the blurriness soon fading. Wait a second...
Abby blinked. It took her ten seconds to jump-start her brain into gear, and when she finally did, she realised something. Abby blinked again.
"Rex, how'd you get out?" she questioned, mind starting to buzz with ideas and possibilities. Had she left Rex's enclosure open last night? Surely not. She distinctly recalled placing Rex in his enclosure, and sealing it. Maybe Connor had let Rex out. At this thought she nodded; it was quite likely that Connor had gotten up before she did.
Making her way out of her comfortable bed, she stretched, yawning, causing Rex to jump around excitedly, which made her laugh... although she felt like groaning. She really hadn't wanted to get up. Somehow, some reason, she felt unlucky today. Something was going to go wrong, she was sure. Of course, most peoples job descriptions didn't involve protecting the present from prehistoric and futuristic invasion. Every time she went to work, something went wrong. However, it still didn't explain why she wanted to go back to sleep. She reached for her gown, wrapping it around her, and, taking a quick glance outside, made her way to the door. Looking back once, she chose to leave her mobile lying near her bed. Deciding to force herself to feel awake, she rushed two steps at a time down the stairs, ending in a jump at the bottom, announcing her presence to all the surroundings. Rex flew down beside her.
As her eyes automatically scanned the room, the first thing they stopped on was a note, lying on the table along with the remnants of somebody's breakfast. She walked over to the table, and became aware of Connor's messy writing as soon as she could see the words on the paper.
Abby,
If you want to know where I am, I'm at the university. There are some things that I want to check on. Anyway, if you need my help, you know my number. Just remember the meeting at home office today.
See you there!
Connor
Oh, and Rex looked so comfy in his little house, so I left him in there. Hope you don't mind!
Abby had stiffened before she had finished the note. Connor hadn't let Rex out. So how did Rex get out?
"Nice place you've got here."
Well that wasn't good. An intruder in her house. How'd they get in? What was she supposed to do? A million thoughts raced across her mind as she began the seemingly slow pivot to eye her new guest.
"Is this a bad time?" Helen grinned, the smile looking eerie on her gaunt face. "I mean, I'd knock, but it seems I'm already inside, doesn't it?"
Abby's eyes widened imperceptibly. "Helen," she gasped. She should've brought her phone downstairs with her. Still, why'd Helen come here of all places? Why not with Nick, or with Stephen? Helen didn't even know Abby.
Abby's confusion must have showed, because Helen's grin widened. "That last time, when Stephen refused to travel with me, I saw you standing quite close to him. Call it retribution for Stephen's cutting remarks," Helen taunted.
Abby almost snarled. HowdareHelenuse her against Stephen? How dare her! Abby took three steps forward and leant against the couch, watching Helen the entire time. "Well, make yourself at home," was Abby's reply through gritted teeth.
Helen's grin, if it was even possible, widened further. The smile, however, was contrasting sharply with her eyes, which were cold and harsh, seemingly like Helen had x-ray vision; seeing through everything her eyes passed over. Abby shivered. Helen's eyes were scary.
Breaking the silence that had crept up like a fog, Rex flew over the heads of Abby and Helen, landing on the television set and consequently posing, as if for a camera.
Abby mentally grinned. Trust Rex to break up the tension in the air. Then she frowned. How did Rex get out? It was obvious; Helen had let him out. But why?
Abby cleared her throat. "Why did you let Rex out?" she questioned, hoping that the prehistoric lizard would fly further away from Helen.
"It's not right to make ancient creatures stay around your backyard. You should know that this Coelurosauravus doesn't need frequent walks."
Abby's blue eyes narrowed. "Rex is not a dog!" she exclaimed angrily. Rex started a set of chirps, as if agreeing. Abby opened her mouth to clarify why she had kept Rex, but thought better of it. After all, Helen didn't have to know everything. Instead, Abby said, "Why are you here?"
Abby saw a first; Helen frowned. It was small, but the smile had left her face. "To be honest, I need some help. A lot of help," Helen stated.
Abby's brow lowered in confusion.
"Why me?" she asked, then elaborated. "I mean, why come to me for help when Nick is your husband?"
"Because I need to be sure of co-operation," Helen's eyes narrowed. Once again, Abby shivered. "I need to be sure of help."
"Oh," was the first thing Abby could think of. "Still, why me? What made you so sure that everyone will co-operate if you came to me?"
"Because this way I could have a hostage."
That was a scary prospect. Hundreds of thoughts raced through Abby's head, revolving around Helen kidnapping her and threatening her, while Stephen and the others were powerless to assist. All because Helen needed help. What kind of help would require so much forcefulness on Helen's part? What would Helen actually need help with? Even so…
Blue eyes evenly met hazel. "I'll fight you. I swear. You won't get me without a fight."
Helen tilted her head to the side, brown hair falling over her eyes. "Who said you were the hostage?"
"What?" Once again, Abby was confused. "Then who…" she trailed off, shocked.
Helen had reached behind her, grabbing something out of the shadows made by the furniture. It was a cat cage. And inside, munching on something that looked suspiciously like chocolate…
"No. You can't. Not Rex." Any and all tolerance she had of Helen had washed away in an instant. Abby was furious. It was fine that Helen would threaten her; she could look after herself. But Rex couldn't. Rex couldn't defend himself against Helen. And that thought both terrified and angered Abby.
"I can, and I am," was the sneering reply. "I planned this all out, you see. Make sure that other boy was out, lure this Coelurosauravus into the cage, and make sure Nick and the rest of you follow my demands."
There was a tense silence.
"And if you don't, you'll never see your little dog again."
That did it. Abby ran toward Helen, bunching her hand into a fist. She pulled her fist back, and thrust it forward with all her energy.
Helen caught it.
Breathing heavily, Abby stared into the face of…of what? A human? A betrayer?
Helen smirked.
Abby's eyes made a swift change- from furious anger to focused rage. Ripping her hand from Helen's grip, she leant backwards, twisting her body, and performed a low sweeping kick.
It was Abby's turn to smirk.
Caught by surprise, Helen released the cage that held Rex, and fell backwards. The cage fell to the ground with a thump, Rex chirping indignantly.
Falling down on hands and knees, Abby crawled over to Rex and began unlatching the lid. "Don't worry Rex. It's okay now. I'm getting you out of there." She opened the lid, and Rex flew out, chirping happily.
Once freeing Rex was out of the way, the next thought of Abby's was phoning for help. Knowing her mobile was upstairs, she pulled herself to her feet and walked over to the phone.
She picked it up, and began punching in numbers. She couldn't ring the police; Helen was technically dead. So she was ringing Stephen. But she never even got close to finishing the number. With a startled gasp, Abby toppled forward, leaving the phone dangling off the hook.
For Helen was standing behind her, a look of grim satisfaction on her face and a knife in her hand.
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TBC…
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The next chapter should be out sometime next week. Please read and review!