Primeval: Second Anomaly to the Right, and Straight on 'Til Morning
By Ldynwaitin
Chapter Two – Testing the Waters
Connors excitement after finding the solar panels soon cooled down as the day grew longer. He carried the device all around the tree keeping it in line with the sunlight. For three days he concentrated on the device. The power fluctuation continued to wade and ebb, until on the fourth day late afternoon, they were sitting down eating the last of the raptor meat when he saw a glow from the device that set his heart fluttering. Reverently picking up the back of the device he snapped it on. Once they were together he saw the glass end of the device flowing with mini waves.
"Abby," Connor whispered. "It's there, I see Cutter's map of the anomalies."
Abby looked carefully at the device. She saw the swirling curls that made up the map that Cutter created so far away into the future. "I see it Connor, but can it get us back to our own time?"
Connor really had no idea just how much power it took to open an anomaly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. "Well, I haven't figured out that part yet," he reluctantly admitted. "I was happy just to see the thing glowing."
Sitting back he stared at the object. "We're going to have to make a decision."
Abby sat up on her knees, "What's that?"
Connor moved forward, he showed her the object. "If this thing works then we have to decide, do we go back the way we came, or the way Danny and Helen went?"
Abby sat back on her heels, she never really thought about what would happen once they got the device working. "Well, I think the way we came is not an option. Last time we were there the room was filled with future predators. I say we try to find the way Helen and Danny went and go from there. If it does work, we can hopefully catch up with Danny and take him home with us, if he's not home already." She nodded at the device, "Can it show us where the nearest opening is located?"
Connor tilted his head and squinted one eye, "Well that's the tricky bit, not sure exactly how to do that. My guess will be trial and error."
Abby stood up and spread her arms, "Well we got nothing but time on our hands. Let's hope there's more trials than errors."
It was the next morning they decided to try out the device at a slim time between the night predators going to sleep and the day waking up. Connor chose to do it next to the waterfall. It was a large open area, room enough to run if need be. Holding his breath he pressed down on one of the buttons. He saw the familiar map snake up and into the glass end of the device.
"Let's dip our toe in the water and see how warm it is," Connor said, as he closed his eyes, and pressed the next button. Once he realized the device didn't explode he opened his eyes and saw a point on the map glow brighter.
"That a good sign?" Abby asked him.
"Well, we aren't drowning so I guess it's not a bad one," he replied. "Now all I need to do is open the anomaly." The device suddenly felt very warm in his hands. Then a beam of light shot out, Connor and Abby jumped back as they saw an anomaly actually open up before them.
"What the…," Connor gasped. "That wasn't suppose to happen."
"Can you tell where it goes, and when?" Abby asked him.
Connor shook his head, "Not sure. I know how to make them open from watching what Helen did, but I have no idea how to get any information about them."
"We don't have much time before the day predators wake up. Guess we'll have to do that another time."
Connor agreed, he aimed the device at the anomaly and pressed the button he knew would close it. He felt the device suddenly grow cold in his hands, sizzle and blank out. "Abby," Connor said, trying to keep the panic from his voice, "It's not working."
"It can't be out of power so soon. Let me see." She wanted to grab the device from his hands but he held it tight to his body, looking very hurt. She realized she had just stepped on his toes, she quickly began to back up to the trees. "Sorry, see what you can do to make it work, I'll keep an eye out for any predators."
He cursed himself for making her feel bad, but the device was his problem to work out. He wanted to be her hero, not the other way around. Opening the device he was anxious to see what went wrong. As he struggled to snap it open, he heard a roar coming from the anomaly. Slowly he began to walk back until he bumped into Abby.
"Connor, what is wrong with…" She stopped talking when she heard the roar as well. "Don't like the sound of that," she whispered.
"Me either," Connor agreed. "I have to get this thing workin' before somethin' nasty crawls out o' there." Hiding behind a tree he quickly opened the device and carefully examined it, searching for something that would be an easy fix.
The roar suddenly began to get louder. Abby held her poison tipped spear in front of her. As the roar came closer Abby tilted her head, "Connor, I think I know what it is, it sounds just like a Saber tooth Tiger."
"Smilodon," Connor corrected her as he fiddled with the device.
"Yes, I know they were also called Smilodon but I like to call them Saber tooth tigers, sound's more impressive. Smilodon sounds too nice."
"Well Smilodon takes less time to say, and it's also their name." Connor heard a low growl. "You don't have to be mad at me, I didn't name them." He stopped what he was doing as Abby tapped his shoulder. He saw her pointing at the anomaly. Looking around the tree he was shocked to see the large head of a Saber tooth tiger poking through the anomaly. An animal that lived in the Pleistocene period was now poking its head in the Cretaceous.
Abby moved to stand behind the tree with Connor. "You have to get that thing closed," she softly said through clenched teeth. "NOW!"
Connor looked down at the device, he tried to block out the growling of the Smilodon as he concentrated on finding out why the device wasn't working. Then he saw it, a small piece of hair. Thin, but it was able to connect two circuits, shorting out the device. Picking out the hair, Connor began to snap the device closed. He peeked around the tree and saw the front half of the Smilodon was now standing through the anomaly.
It was sniffing the air, no doubt wondering what the unusual scents were. Connor saw Abby holding her spear. She was prepared to fully take on this very dangerous creature if need be. He looked down at the device, it was beginning to reboot, the lines of the map began to form. Hearing a low growl he saw that the Smilodon was looking at their tree. Connor spun around to hide behind the tree, he could see that the device was ready to use.
"Get ready Abby, in case this doesn't work," he warned her.
"Wait!" Abby hissed. "Let me try to get it to go back in."
Connors eyes went wide with shock, "Abby, that thing is a killer."
"Please, let me try," she pleaded. "It'll be cut in half."
"If I see it comin', I'm closing it." His finger hovered over the buttons on the device.
Pulling out her sling, Abby quickly searched for a rock. Finding one, she began to load her slingshot. She swung the sling around, until she reached a good speed, then she jumped out from behind the tree and let the rock go, she pumped her fist in the air in triumph as the rock landed on the Smilodon's eye. Stinging from the hit, the prehistoric tiger jumped back. That's when Connor rolled around the tree and pressed the button to close the anomaly. The glowing of the gate faded, with the growls of the tiger.
"Brilliant," Connor panted. He was frightened that they would have a full grown saber tooth tiger on their hands. "At least we know it works."
"Yes," Abby said with a grin, "Now all we need to do is find the right one to take us home."
The next few days Connor tried to familiarize himself with the workings of the device. Each day he found a new function, until one day he found the most important one. He was working on the device as Abby was cutting some branches to feed Methuselah. Keeping one eye looking for any dangerous dino's, the other eye was on the device. Pressing down a button, he softly whispered, "I wish you'd show me where the next portal can be opened." He was startled as the device began beeping, then he saw several dots blinking on the threads of the anomaly map.
"I am a fully paid up, card carrying complete idiot," he shouted.
"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, Connor. You're not a complete one," Abby said. She was picking up several fresh cut branches. Connor ran up to her, and showed her the device. "I was looking at this device all wrong, Abby."
"Where does the idiot part come in?"
Connor held the device in his hands, "Show me where the nearest anomaly is located." The device beeped a few times, and a small light blinked on a line on the map. "See," he said, "Complete idiot."
Abby shook her head, "Sorry, you're dragging me into your idiotcracy, come again?"
Connor's head moved back, "That's not a word, is it?"
Abby tapped the device, "You were saying?"
"Yes," Connor held up the device. "All the time I was looking at the device with the eyes of our time. Well not this present time, but our present time, or our future present time compared to this time." Getting a very angry look from Abby, he snapped his mouth shut, "I'll just explain."
"Yes," she coldly replied.
"This was made at a future time from our time line, commands are executed in a future way, not our twenty first century way. In our time we press buttons, but in the future, all they have to do is give a verbal command, and bang! It gets done."
"So all this time you've been pressing buttons and all you really needed to do was just tell it what to do?"
Connor nodded his head, "Yep, that about sums it up."
Abby dropped her branches and threw her arms out. Connor cringed, expecting her to hit him. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek, "Connor Temple, you're the smartest man on the planet."
Connor's frown curled to a grin, his eyes glowed brightly, "Thanks," he humbly replied, touching where Abby kissed him. "Wait, I'm the only man."
Breaking off the hug, she picked up the branches, "See, I was right. Now lets hurry, once morning comes we can find the anomaly that Helen and Danny went to and use it to hopefully find Danny waiting for us on the other side."
Connor threw the device in the air and caught it, "Right then, time we got back to our time."
He rushed to catch up with Abby when he felt his ankle give out, and he stumbled. Righting himself he looked up in the sky, "Don't like the feel of that," he said.
"Don't like the feel of what?" Abby shouted ahead.
Connor caught up with her, "Me ankle. Last time it felt like this, we were hit by that big wind storm. Right now it's aching nearly as bad as when I originally hurt it, think somethin' bad is on the way?"
Abby waited under the monkey puzzle tree for Connor to bring down the rope ladder, "Oh, you are such a worrier,"
"Me gran' always said that was a good thing," he said in a hurt voice.
Abby leaned towards Connor, "Believe me, there is no storm coming, I'd bet my life on it. We're going to spend our last night here sleeping peacefully. Then wake up in the morning, find the way back home, and finally bid goodbye to the Cretaceous and hello twenty first century."
Connor wanted nothing but Abby's prediction to come true. Unfortunately, knowing how their lives have run since first finding an anomaly, he knew this scenario would most likely be farthest from the truth.