12/04/08
Title: Time and Distance
Chapter: Four - Out of sight, out of mind.
Author: Squeezynz
Setting: Two years past S2Ep7
Paring: Abby/Connor to star, Abby/Stephen to finish
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Stephen sat in the breakfast room sipping a cup of coffee and wondering if he should go upstairs and rouse Abby. He'd spent a large part of the night at her bedside, but eventually had to abandon his vigil to return to his own bed. He wasn't exactly old at thirty five, but his back soon told him he wasn't a teenager either to be sleeping upright in an unforgiving armchair. Abby had slept undisturbed, as far as he could tell, without nightmares or other side effects from her emotional outpouring, so he'd felt alright leaving her just before dawn to catch a few hours himself.
He'd jerked awake at seven for some reason, his senses all on alert, but despite laying there and listening hard, he couldn't fathom what had pulled him from a perfectly good sleep. Unable to settle, he'd risen and gone for an hours run along the deserted country roads, frost laying heavily in the hollows and fog winding around the bottoms of the trees. It was an alien world and his lungs didn't like the cold temperature, but he persisted and returned feeling ready to face the day. The landlord had been startled when he'd appeared in the courtyard, steam rising off his body from his exertions, like a ghost wreathed in mist.
After a quick shower and change of clothes he poked his head around Abby's door. Finding her still asleep he made his way downstairs and partook of the excellent breakfast menu, making the landlady positively beam when he polished off a huge plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. Like sleep, Stephen never took opportunities of a free meal for granted, having known times when he'd had to go hungry while stalking creatures or waiting out a predator intent on eating him.
Downing the dregs of his cup, he rose to his feet only to remain where he was when a commotion broke out in the doorway to the breakfast room. A man was standing there dressed for the outdoors but shouting and gesticulating like a madman. Stephen, like the other diners, all watched the exchange with the landlord with interest.
"It was a monster, I tell you...bigger than anything I've seen in these parts!"
"It was probably a big dog Bill..."
"A bloody big dog that's killed a dozen of my best black face sheep. The vet's up there now putting another handful down because of their mauling."
"There you go, it was one of those packs..."
"Ya not listening...I saw it...'tweren't no pack of dogs...it was..." the man flapped his hands, attempting to indicate the size of what he saw. "Huge!"
"Then we'd better call the ranger and the police." The landlord suddenly realized that he and Bill were the center of attention for a fair number of their guests, many of whom were likely to be tramping or climbing in the district later in the day. Putting on his best smile, the man turned to his guests and held out his hands. "Nothing to worry about folks, just an unfortunate dog attack on a flock of sheep."
"Weren't no dog attack..." Bill said again loudly, but he was already being ushered away from in front of the guests by the landlord.
"Damn." Stephen muttered under his breath, leaving the breakfast room as casually as possible before taking the stairs two at a time. He'd been right. Something had followed him through and it was probably one of the Pachyaena's. Big brutes and likely to find a flock of sheep an easy target for a meal. Now he had no choice but to wake Abby.
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Abby awoke to the aroma of fresh coffee and Stephen sitting on the side of her bed. Both were a surprise, and both very effectively dispelled the fog of sleep from her brain in record time.
"What do you want?" She took the coffee and sipped. She knew she sounded fractious, but her head ached and her eyes felt like a small sand dune had taken up residence behind her eyelids.
Stephen just smiled at her and remained where he was. "You have to get up and get dressed."
"Why?"
"There's probably a Pachyaena wandering around the Peak District and we have to find it before it attacks anyone."
Abby stared at him a moment, then took another sip, her brain starting to clear with the injection of caffeine into her veins. "A what?"
"Big ugly scavenger, pack hunter who more than likely followed me through the anomaly that brought me here."
"And you know this why?"
"Sheep farmer reported an attack this morning on his flock. He witnessed the creature fleeing the scene. His description fits."
"I'll have to call the ARC...we need a team out here..."
"No time. Do you have anything in your car...dart gun, rifle...anything?"
"Yes, of course, I carry all that around with me all the time, right next to the spare tyre and the tool box...No! I don't have a gun!"
Stephen grinned at her sarcasm and cross expression. "You know you're adorable when you're crabby in the morning."
"I'm not crabby. We can't do this on our own..."
"Who's this we? Oh, I'll need the keys to your car, and that magic credit card..." He held out his hand as if she had all those on her person.
"Oh no you don't. No one drives my car but me, and that credit card is not for the purpose of buying anything I don't approve of!"
Stephen shook his head, not abashed one iota by her ferocious scowl. "Then get that delightful backside into the shower and get dressed. You have fifteen minutes or I leave without you."
Abby blinked at him for a moment, reading the truth in his eyes. He would leave her if she didn't get a move on.
"Get out of my way oaf...fifteen minutes? I'll be ready in ten!"
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"I don't see why we can't wait for a team to arrive." Abby grumbled, tooling the Toyota into a parking spot outside Armstrong's Gunsmith in Stockport. Stephen ignored her, getting out of the car and resting his arm on the roof while he checked out the shop front. Most of the display was for fishing gear, but he could just make out a gun rack at the back of the shop.
"Come on Abby, we have to hope they have something usable in stock. What's the credit limit on that card?"
Abby, in turn, ignored him, taking her time to lock the car then rummage in her bag for her wallet before slinging the whole lot over her shoulder. Looking up she found Stephen standing on the kerb with his arms folded, watching her.
"What?" Abby asked, feigning innocence.
Stephen led the way inside and headed straight to the back, Abby on his heels. The proprietor saw them coming and came out from his workshop behind the counter, noting the way Stephen was already assessing the stock on display and finding it wanting.
"You want something for a specific purpose sir?"
Stephen rested his hands on the counter and eyed the man appreciatively.
"Very specific."
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Less than an hour later they were leaving Stockport and returning along the Glossop Road, bypassing the turning for the hotel and heading up into the hills via the A57, affectionately known as Snake Road by the locals.
"We have a perfectly good armory back at the ARC with any number of specialist rifles and dart guns." Abby observed, shooting a quick glance at her passenger who seemed absorbed in the passing scenery. "We didn't have to buy up half the blasted shop."
"Think of it as an investment in our continuing good health." Stephen replied, turning to smile at her.
Abby fumed, but kept driving until Stephen suddenly slapped his hand down on the dashboard, almost scaring her half to death and ordered her to stop. Braking hard, she did so. "Now what?"
"Wait here." Not bothering to explain, Stephen left her sitting in the car and loped off up the cutting beside the road, heading across the moorland.
"Arrogant macho control freak!" Abby yelled after him, yanking the steering wheel and pulling the car as far over to the left as possible. She leant forward and rested her forehead against the wheel, her head still pounding despite the two panadol swallowed with her hasty breakfast at Stockport.
She unclipped her seatbelt and sat back, closing her eyes. She supposed she should be more concerned about Stephen's avowal that there was a Pachyaena roaming the moors somewhere nearby, but her gritty eyes and sore throat made her less than enthusiastic about tramping about looking for the wretched thing, especially as she wouldn't have the back up of her team with all the latest electronic tracking devices and weaponry.
"When did I get so soft?" She chided herself, remembering how little they'd had in the early days, their entire store of hardware able to be packed onto the back of a ute together with the four of them. She must have dozed, the warm midday sun powering in through the windscreen making the car snug against the chill she knew was in the air outside. The door opening suddenly made her swing around in surprise, realising belatedly that she hadn't locked the car doors while she napped.
Stephen leant down and peered at her, his narrowed eyed assessment of her making up his mind for him.
"You go back to the hotel, I'll start from here and track my way back," he was wearing a back pack that she hadn't seen before.
"Not on your life. I'm responsible for all this gear and I'm perfectly able to keep up with you."
"Abby...you're tired, cranky and we could be out all night looking for this creature."
"Your point being?" She had exited the drivers side and glared at him over the roof. A small van passed them and honked, Stephen waving to the driver before turning back to face her.
"You're not exactly a hundred percent yourself," Abby reminded him.
"Point taken. Here..." He threw her one of the empty back pack's they'd bought. "Fill this with whatever you think we'll need for an overnighter. I'll carry the guns and ammo."
"What about my car?"
Stephen ducked down then appeared with a folded map that he laid out on the roof and studied for a second or two. He stabbed at the map with his finger. "Alright. Here. There's the head of a walking track with car parking. We'll drive along to that and leave it there. Then we'll cut across country and start our search."
Half an hour later they were kitted out and the car was a distant yellow speck against the green behind them. Abby shifted the straps of her pack and let it settle against her shoulders, her lips tightly compressed against the pull of the weight on her back. Stephen walked ahead of her, his head bent as he studied the ground. They had left the main track and were heading south west, back towards a tiny village nestled among the peaks, called Edale, where the sheep attack had taken place the night before. Stephen hoped to pick up the tracks of the Pachyaena long before then, setting a cracking pace that Abby struggled to keep up with.
Two hours into their trek and Stephen held up his hand, crouching down to inspect the ground. Abby was glad of the rest, quickly letting the heavy pack fall to the scrubby grass before she joined it, pulling her drink bottle out of a side pocket to take a swig.
Stephen rose up and took his own pack off, laying it down gun side up, to make for easy access. Catching the water bottle thrown to him by Abby, he took a long swallow, before recapping it and throwing it back to her.
"It's here. Only a few hours ago. And there's more than one."
He waited for her to absorb those facts before speaking again. "They've had nearly seventy two hours to explore this area and find a den, a food source and water. We have to hope the weather stays in this holding pattern until we find out where they're based. If it's a breeding pair they'll stay close together, if not, they could already be looking for separate hunting grounds. The sheep are too tempting and easy to ignore, but these are intelligent hunters. Once the news gets out, it'll only take a few potshots by the local farmers to send them to ground and make our job more difficult."
He caught the muesli bar Abby tossed his way. "We'll stay on this ridge. It overlooks the valley and their current food source. If we can find them before the farmers we have a good chance of potting them both before any serious damage is done."
"Don't you mean any more serious damage? They've already killed a number of sheep."
"I was thinking more along the lines of someone thinking they're only dogs and getting too close. These aren't dogs...these are much bigger, faster and more cunning. They have no fear of humans and are likely to treat a man the same way they did the sheep."
Abby munched on her bar and nodded. She was glad she'd had the foresight to leave her tramping boots in the back of her car from the last time, along with her other bits of recreational outdoor gear. Stephen had supplemented his meager wardrobe with everything necessary at the gun shop, the gunsmith positively rubbing his hands with glee at the size of the bill once it was toted up. It could easily have been the biggest sale he'd seen in years.
Still, she would be glad to get her boots off when they finally made camp. They might be the most comfortable and broken in that she had, but they were still covering some pretty rough ground.
They set off again soon after, Stephen paying even closer attention to the ground, sometimes stopping and staring off into the distance his hand raised to halt their progress, that same hand left hanging in mid air until he was satisfied the way was clear. Abby watched and listened and tried to pay attention, the spectacular scenery often distracting her so that she had to jog to catch up with him after admiring a particularly fascinating geological formation.
At length it was clear they wouldn't have much more daylight ahead of them, Stephen calling a halt and looking around for somewhere to pitch camp for the night. They had been following a ridge above the Kinder Reservoir, heading in a northerly direction, the view quite breathtaking looking down towards Birch Vale and Hayfield on the Glossop road. Stephen had been stopping more and more often, his fingers brushing over the ground at his feet, tracing the indentations of paw prints and scuff marks. They'd passed a mutilated sheep carcass further back on the trail, the animal ripped apart, leg bones snapped like twigs, the skull shattered. The fact it had been dragged so far before being consumed spoke volumes about the stamina and strength of the creatures they were tracking.
Stephen led them down into a dry stream bed that in a downpour would flow over the ridge and down into the reservoir. It was lined with stunted trees and scrubby brush providing a wind break and some cover if it rained in the night.
A fire was out of the question, but a small gas bottle burner was enough to produce a pan of boiling water for a welcome hot drink.
Wafer thin rubber mats were all that separated them from the stony dirt, Abby thinking longingly of the soft bed back at the hotel, her sleeping bag a poor substitute. They had only one lamp which Stephen hung from a branch, the hissing light dispelling some of the night but none of the cold.
Abby watched as Stephen worked on the guns, cleaning and loading, checking and rechecking the sights before setting each one down within easy reach of his sleeping bag. Despite them being similarly dressed, Stephen appeared to be unaffected by the drop in temperature while Abby wondered if she'd be much more than an icicle by morning. Banging her gloved hands together she tried to warm her fingers, stamping her feet at the same time and drawing amused looks from her companion.
"Shit it's cold." She muttered, more to herself than him.
"Surprising, isn't it? You'd expect it to be warmer for May, but at these elevations, it pays to dress warmer than you would for the foothills."
Abby pulled her beanie down further over her ears and hunched her shoulders, sure she'd be suffering frostbite before long. "I'm cold."
"Then get in the sleeping bag. Try to rest. I'll be on watch."
"But you have to sleep too, and we haven't changed that dressing today."
"I took care of it this morning," he hedged. Abby looked at him sideways then shrugged her shoulders.
"Fine. Wake me in five hours," she checked her watch. "It'll be midnight then and I'll take over."
She waited for him to protest or make some smart comment. When he didn't she paused in wriggling down into her sleeping bag. "I mean it Stephen...wake me. I'm as competent as you with one of those," she pointed to the gun.
"Never doubted it. I'll see you at midnight." He tipped her a mock salute, the light from the lamp glinting off his teeth.
Abby hunkered down in her sleeping back and tried to ignore her cold feet. She briefly wondered if she should have checked her cell phone before calling it a night, but then she remembered her conversation with Connor and the desire to make contact evaporated. Let him stew and wonder what she was doing, it would serve him right if she was eaten by a ravening carnivore, her bones left to bleach in the sun until some tramper wandered off the designated track and found their camp with her mortal remains.
To her surprise, she did sleep and well, until an unearthly howl made her jerk awake to find Stephen's hand muffling her mouth.
"Don't make a sound," he whispered, removing his hand and passing her one of the rifles. "Time to prove you're as good as you say you are." He remained crouching beside her as she eased herself out of her sleeping back and quickly put on her boots. "Ready?"
"Ready," Abby replied, her eyes quickly becoming accustomed to the starlit landscape around them. The gas lamp had been turned down to barely on to help with their night vision, Stephen moving off to the side and Abby following. Stephen had suspected the creatures would likely investigate their small campsite, positioning himself now so that he and Abby could cover both directions at once while sheltered against a low tumble of large rocks. The predators would have to come down into the shallow wash to reach their prey, hopefully silhouetting themselves against the skyline and making perfect targets for him to pick off. If they chose another route, both he and Abby would see them whichever direction they came from, able to defend themselves from a frontal attack while the rocks protected their backs.
Another howl split the night and he felt Abby shiver against his side.
"They're just testing us to see if we'll break cover," he whispered.
"I know. It's just such a gawd-awful noise." She saw something move and drew in a sharp breath.
"Where is it?" Stephen asked, Abby drawing off the glove on her trigger hand with her teeth.
"I think it's in the camp," Abby whispered back, a loud clatter a second later confirming it.
Stephen didn't move from his position facing away from the camp. He was sure the other one would be circling around to attack from behind, trusting to Abby to fire if she sighted a target.
He was right on the money when he saw movement higher up the stream bed, the animal moving silently from shadow to shadow, closer with every stride.
"I have the second target in my scope," he reported, raising the rifle to his shoulder and sighting along the barrel. Visibility was difficulty and he had to check several times before he had the creature square in the sights. The shot sounded like a cannon firing, the howl of the large predator echoed by its mate who leapt, only to be met by a shot from Abby's gun, the animal dropping instantly to lay still among the river stones.
"Mine's down, not moving," Abby said, her voice a little unsteady. Steven kept his eyes on the spot his target had been last seen in, the deep shadows hiding it's carcass.
"Stay here, I'll check on mine." He patted her shoulder before leaving, circling the rocks and making his way up the slight incline. When he reached the spot he knew he'd seen the creature he found blood but no body. Cursing, he swung around and hurried back to the rocks. A sound to his right made him bring his gun up but the male Pachyaena was faster, knocking the weapon out of his hand and pouncing, Stephen bringing his arm up to protect his head as he rolled.
Abby heard the scuffle and stood up, squinting to see what was taking place. She could hear Stephen grunting as he tried to avoid the claws and teeth of the predator, as well as the snarls and growls of his attacker, but they kept moving in and out of the shadows and Abby couldn't get a clear shot of the creature without risking shooting Stephen.
"I can't see it!" She screamed, raising the rifle again only to let it drop in frustration. "Stephen!"
"Shoot the bloody thing, it's ripping my arm off!" Stephen's shout came from the left, Abby swinging around and taking aim, the shot catching the predator high in the shoulder and making it snarl and howl in pain and rage. Abby reloaded and advanced, able to see it now, Stephen trapped under it's body as it stood at bay, its formidable mouthful of teeth bared in a frightening snarl. She fired again and this time hit it square in the head, the beast dropping heavily to the ground and pinning Stephen beneath it. The silence that followed was almost deafening, Abby drawing a sobbing breath as reaction set in. She shook from head to toe, but still had the presence of mind to take care of the gun before running over to help Stephen.
With him using his legs, and Abby hauling for all she was worth, they managed to roll the dead Pachyaena off, Stephen managing at last to get to his feet, one arm held close to his chest.
Together they stumbled down the slope back to the camp, Abby collecting both hers and Stephen's gun and carrying them back. After securing the weapons she approached Stephen who had sat down rather heavily on his sleeping back, his arm still clutched against his chest. Abby fiddled with the gas lamp to turn up the flame, the increased light showing the true extent of damage done to Stephen's arm. Blood soaked his sleeve and dripped steadily down his front, staining his jacket and trousers.
Abby took one look at his pale face and scrabbled for her pack. Pulling out the first aid kit she went to work. Stephen didn't utter a word, too busy biting his tongue to keep from screaming, concentrating on staying awake while Abby cut away his sleeve and put pressure on the deep puncture wounds leaking his life blood onto the ground.
"Hold this...as tight as you can..." She positioned his free hand around his wounded arm to keep the pressure on, then pulled her own sleeping bag over and rolled it up to position behind him to keep him upright. "Stephen..." when he didn't answer her, she tried again, "Stephen...I have to call for help. If I don't you could bleed to death...I can't afford to wait until morning to see what needs to be done, you could be dead by then. You need more than I can do. You need medical attention now. I'm going to walk down to the ridge above the reservoir and get help."
Not waiting to hear his response, she snagged one of the torches and her cell phone, plus something from the bottom of her back pack and set off.
Stephen watched her light bob its way down the stream bed until he lost it from sight. Cursing his current bad luck, he clutched his arm and willed the blood to stop finding a way past the thick gauze. He zoned out for a short time because when he opened his eyes Abby was back, her hand now holding the padding around his arm, his own hand laying lax at his side.
"They're on their way Stephen...just hang on, please hang on...only a little longer."
He tried to tell her he wasn't worried in the least, his eyes refusing to stay open and his head feeling a little like a helium balloon. Abby moved closer, his head falling heavily onto her shoulder when he passed out.
Abby had to move him when the helicopter arrived, using the torch to signal when they got close enough. They sent down a basket and winched Stephen aboard, then Abby with their gear. The ride to the ARC took only thirty minutes air time, the medic aboard getting a drip in Stephen's hand and a pressure bandage on his wounded arm.
An hour later and she was following a gurney from the back of the ambulance into the purpose built hospital wing of the ARC, the medical team swarming over Stephen, cutting off his outer clothes, causing Abby to sigh over the waste of all that government money spent on outfitting the man, only to have them reduced to rags. Just as the gurney was wheeled into an examination room she heard her name called.
Coming to a halt in front of the swing doors she stared through the panel of clear glass a second longer before turning to face her boss.
"I've been called away from a very important meeting Ms. Temple. I certainly hope the reason behind your emergency is sufficient to warrant it."
"It is Sir Lester. Look." She pointed through the observation panel and stepped back.
Lester looked a second later, his eyebrows climbing to his hairline. "Good God."
"What did that is being unloaded into observation room two, if you care to see them."
"Them?"
"Two Pachyaena's, one male, one female. They came through the same anomaly Stephen did."
"How long ago."
"Three days at least."
"And I am hearing about this now because?"
"I...well...you see..." She stopped when Lester held up his hand.
"Keep me apprised of his condition. I expect you to have a full report on my desk by morning."
Lester raised one imperious eyebrow until she nodded. "Right then, I'll be off. Let's hope they left me some dessert."
Abby watched him until he turned the corner before returning to the infirmary. The medical team were still working so she turned away and wandered down the hall to observation room two. Considering it was close to midnight there were plenty of staff on hand to carry out the necropsy on the Paleogenic creatures she'd shot and killed. A surge of professional pride swept over her when she realized she had, in fact, bagged both of them, Stephen only winging the male before it jumped him.
A door further down swung open and she was surprised to see Connor, his head down, headphones in both ears, a folder in his hand. She remained where she was, not moving as he walked closer and closer. He drew level and she thought he would pass her by, his step faltering when he spotted her.
Slowly pulling the ear plugs out he let them fall onto his shoulders and stared at her.
"Abby!"
"Connor."
They stared at each other for a moment, then Connor noticed the blood liberally soaking her jacket front and sleeves, plus her blood caked hands.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
"Someone got hurt." Abby told him simply, not sure how he would react to the news about the return of Stephen Hart into their lives. It had been hard enough when Stephen died, now to have him back, but not the same man as they remembered, was going to cause all sorts of problems.
Connor had already made one and one add up and looked back down the corridor to the medical wing. "You're here with him?" Then not waiting for her answer he set off to see for himself.
"Connor wait!" But it was already too late, he was staring through the glass at the patient inside.
When Abby stood beside him he turned to stare at her, his expression going from startled surprise to rage in the blink of an eye.
"This is what you wouldn't tell me...this is your mystery man?!"
"Connor it wasn't like that..." She flinched when he flung his arm up, stepping back from her and pointing at the man on the gurney.
"Why didn't you say, why keep it a deep, dark secret? Stephen Hart risen from the dead...that's front page news Abby! But what do you do? Break the bastard out of jail, shack up with him in some hotel in Glossop and then...then I can only guess, from the way you're dressed, you must have traipsed all over the moors and somehow got him injured."
"Would you at least stop shouting?" Abby asked, rubbing a hand over her face and leaving behind a streak of red. She glanced into the medical bay and met the angry scowl of the head nurse, his sharp jerk of the head telling her to move on and take the argument elsewhere.
Connor followed her down the corridor, his anger radiating out like a force wave. Abby ignored him and led him to the observation bay, pointing at the two dead creatures, one of them already half dissected.
"That's what we were doing out there...that's what injured him," then she pointed to herself. "I shot them both...Stephen only winged one before he was attacked. I shot them both dead and saved him, in the dark, on my own." From somewhere inside her she felt an upwelling of sadness, taking the edge off her temper. A fatalistic acceptance that whatever she and Connor had had, it was gone and she wanted nothing more to do with him or their ill fated marriage. "If you want to know the rest I suggest you read my report after Lester has," she drew in a deep breath. "Now...I'm going to get out of these clothes, take a shower and get started on my report. I don't care what you do, just don't get in my way."
She heard him call her name but kept on walking, her head high and her back straight. When she turned the corner and entered the locker room she all but collapsed against the wall, her legs shaking and ready to give out on her. After a moment she managed to lock her knees and stagger to her locker, stripping off her blood stained clothes before walking into one of the stalls and letting the scalding hot water wash everything away.
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to be continued...