DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN, DON'T SUE!

Chapter 3: No Shelter

"We're recruiting more members? I thought only a handful of people were to be involved in this, Lester." Matt asked angrily.

"Actually, I'm reinstating them. Shaggy and Daphne, meet the new, well new to you, team leader, Matt." Lester explained.

"It-it's-I'm Connor." Connor stuttered.

"I'm Abby." Abby smiled.

"The ARC you knew is gone and the secrecy we had was compromised." Lester explained pacing his office, breaking the brewing awkwardness.

"Yeah, but, you replaced us?" Connor inquired slightly offended.

"Thank your good friend Helen bloody Cutter!" Lester shouted slamming his hands on his desk.

"Sir, we've got another anomaly alert." Jess announced over the speaker system.

Connor, Abby, Becker, and Matt looked at Lester.

"Well, that's your queue; get going before we have another crisis on our hands." Lester ordered.

"Wait," Connor interjected. "Don't we at least get a shower and a shave, first?"

Everyone, save for Abby, looked at Connor.

"What? I like to look good for the creatures." Connor responded.

Abby knew how Connor felt. They'd probably both feel better after getting cleaned up before; but Lester apparently wasn't feeling very sympathetic at the moment.

"We'll finish this little chat later," Lester shooed turning his chair, so his back was to them.


Connor, Abby, Becker, and Matt reached the Main Operations room where Jess was waiting for them, the location all ready for them.

"Where is it?" Matt and Connor asked at the same time and paused to look at each other than back at Jess.

"It's at an abandoned factory, not far from here." She answered grabbing her jacket.

"We'll handle it. You stay here and handle operations." Matt ordered Jess putting his jacket on as he, Becker, Connor, and Abby walked toward the garage.

"But," Jess pouted as she returned to the ADD and put her earpiece headset in, ready to help out from a distance.


As they unloaded at the site, Matt handed Connor and Abby the guns that the ARC members apparently now used.

Connor looked at it and he and Abby handed them back to Matt.

"What?" Matt asked confused.

"We only use tranquilizers, unless we're dealing with future creatures."

Matt handed the guns back to them, grabbing his gun and slamming the trunk. "Then, pretend there's a future creature in there somewhere."

"Let's go." Matt ordered as he led the way into the abandoned factory.

"Where's Danny when ya need him?" Connor asked looking at Abby.

"Sorry." Abby shrugged apologetically.

"Here, you guys might want these." Becker said handing them the hand-held anomaly detectors.

"It's good to see that we're not completely lost in the Twilight Zone!" Connor exclaimed kissing the device as Abby dragged him into the abandoned building.


They were all barely 30 feet into the building when the anomaly disappeared all together off of the detectors.

"Maybe these things are defective." Matt said flicking the device with his fingers.

"It's not defective. I personally created them." Connor replied offended.

"What happened? Did you guys find the anomaly?" Jess asked from over the headset.

"No, it disappeared." Matt responded. "But we're going to keep looking, just in case a creature came through."

"Be careful," Jess added. "That building is really old and is condemned, so, mind the floors and the ceilings."

"Yep," Matt replied turning to Becker, Abby, and Connor.

"We're going to have to split up to cover more ground." Matt announced. "Keep your comms open and call if you find anything. If it attacks you, kill it. Questions?"

Connor raised his hand, "yeah, have you not seen the horror films?"

Matt shook his head. "Meet back here in 20 minutes."


Connor looked up at the catwalks overhead and looked at Becker, who was the only other person still standing there. "Guess I found my spot."

"Hope you don't have vertigo." Becker patted him on the back as he ventured in another direction.

"After living in the Cretaceous, there are very few things that scare me anymore." Connor muttered to himself.


Connor wandered up onto the catwalks. The fragile structure creaked viciously beneath his feet.

"Yeah, maybe, this wasn't one of my better ideas." Connor spoke as he looked over the edge at the depth of the fall he'd endure if the catwalk gave way.

He slowly inched across the catwalk breathing heavily.

He slightly laughed to himself. It was strange how after not doing this for several months, he was back in the saddle as if nothing had ever happened. Other than the fact that he hadn't shaved or had an actual shower in those several months, unless of course you counted jumping into the lake he and Abby had found to cool down several times.

He froze when his anomaly detector started to beep again.

Suddenly, it got very bright up on the catwalks. Connor looked forward to see the anomaly about five to ten feet in the doorway at the other end of the catwalk he was currently on.

"Guys?" Connor called over the comm. "I think I found the anomaly."

Connor felt a light tug as if he were being pulled forward. He noticed the anomaly had magnetically fixed onto his gun that he had draped over his shoulder.

"Um, if you could speed it up that'd be great!" Connor added.

"We're on our way," Matt answered.


"Matt, the anomaly's opened again." Jess called over the comm.

"Yeah, Connor found it." Matt replied rushing to get to the anomaly and his team mates.


It had pulled Connor to the end of the catwalk, before he managed to get the gun off and it flew into the anomaly.

He walked closer to the anomaly, so that he was mere feet away from it. However, he didn't notice the figure standing behind him.

"Connor!" Abby shouted from the catwalk as she, Becker, and Matt danced across the rickety structure toward Connor and the stranger.

As Connor turned to greet his friends, he noticed the figure and his expression drastically changed as he noticed the stranger, who proceeded to push Connor through the anomaly and promptly close it on him.

Abby stopped dead on the catwalk in shock that after just escaping from the anomalies, she'd just lost Connor again.

Matt and Becker chased the stranger once they were clear of the catwalk. Unfortunately, the stranger possessed the ability to open and close anomalies and escaped into another one, leaving Becker, Matt, and Abby in the dark, abandoned factory.


"Dammit!" Matt and Becker shouted together.

Abby was still standing on the catwalk muttering. "He's gone. Oh my God, Connor's gone."

Matt looked at Becker, "we need to get her out of here and get back to the ARC before something else happens.

Becker nodded as they draped the strap of their guns over their shoulders and walked over to Abby.

"Come on, Abby. We need to get back to the ARC." Becker spoke as he and Matt grabbed her arms.

"No, we gotta stay. We-we need to find him! Connor!" Abby protested as they dragged her from the building.

"Let go of me!" She cried.

"I'm sorry, Abby; but he's gone!" Becker shouted over her cries.


Connor landed on the forest floor. It took him a few seconds to clear his blurred vision. He looked around for the anomaly that he was just pushed through; but it was gone.

He looked at his surroundings. He was in some sort of forest and there were no people in sight, at least at the moment.

"Why? I just left here!" He cried.

"Connor?" A voice called behind him.

He turned to see a familiar face, with light red hair, wearing some sort of 12th century garb.

"Jenny?" He asked confused. "Please tell me I ended up in the woods outside a Renaissance faire." He begged.

"Did you hit your head?"

"Maybe?" Connor asked still confused.

"We're in 1192 and I'm Claudia Brown, remember?"

Connor fell to the ground unconscious.

Claudia ran to his side to make sure he was still alive.

She looked around before calling for help. "Robin! Will!"


Becker, Matt, and Abby stood in Lester's office with their heads down.

"So, after splitting up, some phantom with magical anomaly powers attacked Connor, sending him into the anomaly, closing it behind him and then disappearing into an anomaly themselves?"

"Unfortunately, it's correct, sir." Becker answered.

"I suppose this means Doctor Burton's going to be taking over, then?" Matt asked sourly.

Lester looked off into the distance, took a deep breath, and returned his attention to the trio. "Fortunately, no."

"What do you mean, 'no.'? We lost a team member." Matt retorted.

"Well, technically, he's dead to begin with, and no one other than the people in this room and I assume Jess, are the only ones, who knew that Temple and Maitland returned." Lester explained looking to Becker.

Becker nodded, "my men have been sworn to secrecy."

"Right, so Abigail Maitland can be undead-tagged and then we move on." Lester explained leaning back in his chair.

"Move on?" Abby spoke, "I lost my flat mate and best friend and you just want me to move on?"

"I suggest you lot return to you duties and help Miss Maitland with her living situation and other obstacles." Lester ordered ignoring Abby's comments as he turned to a stack of papers on his desk.


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