-Chapter 4-

As his mental fog began to clear, Danny saw that Becker and the soldiers were already at Abby's side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine," she said as Connor fussed over her. She looked fairly shaken and was bleeding from several places on her arms and sides, but she was able to stand on her own and walk.

Danny stood slowly and joined them, still a little disoriented. Becker turned to him as the soldiers hastily bound Connor's hand and the worst of Abby's wounds. "Did you complete your mission?" he asked. Danny nodded. "Good. We need to move now."

Becker turned and motioned at his men, who surrounded the three civilians like prisoners. They moved as quickly as possible with the group's collective injuries toward the Future anomaly, which was now visible through the narrow tree trunks.

When they reached it, Becker signaled for them to stop. He motioned toward the anomaly and two of the soldiers stepped forward with guns raised, disappearing through the fragmented light. They returned moments later and nodded the "all clear."

Becker glanced at Danny, Connor, and Abby before the entire party moved silently forward to pass through the anomaly and into the Future. It was much darker than the Cretaceous, and not just because the anomaly had opened inside a building. The sky outside was overcast, and everything had a slightly fuzzy look, as if in perpetual fog.

Becker led the team through the empty building and into the street, moving quickly. Danny was wondering why he would lead them out into the open like that when he noticed the line of snipers across the rooftop of a building straight ahead. With the Future Predators lurking in the shadows, it was safer to walk in the open where the snipers would have a clear shot in the event of an attack.

As they approached the building, the door nearest them swung open to reveal another squad of heavily armed troops. The Arc team was whisked inside without a word and led to the center of the building. Becker and two of the soldiers showed them into a small room and bolted the door behind them. The room was lit with a single lantern hanging from a hook in the ceiling and there were crates of ammunition and military rations lining the walls, with a few empty ones arranged in a circle in the center of the floor.

"It should be safe to speak in here," Becker said, "As long as we keep our voices low." He gestured at the empty crates and the three travelers sat down gratefully. Becker turned to one of his men. "The last reconnaissance team should be back by now. Make sure everyone is ready to move as soon as Ms. Page unlocks the anomaly. We have thirteen minutes." The soldier nodded and left, the other bolting the door behind him before standing guard.

Becker turned back to Danny and the others. "You're lucky the second anomaly opened when it did; lucky my men and I were so close when we detected it. Why weren't you using the weapons I gave you?"

"We had to use the stun grenade on some raptors yesterday," Danny said, "And your gun…"

"Yes, my men found it in the building where that anomaly opened. Predators?"

Danny nodded.

"Well you're all going to need weapons to make it back to the first anomaly." Becker walked to the wall on his right and opened a crate, pulling out three pistols and handing one to each of them. Then he opened another and pulled out anti-stab vests. "We believe the Predators are assembling somewhere close by, preparing for an attack. It could be at any moment, so we have to get to the anomaly as quickly as possible. If you-" Just then there was a pounding at the door as the sound of machinegun fire reached them from across the building.

"Sir!" came the voice of the soldier who'd just left them, "We're under attack!"

o0o

"Wait here," Becker said to Danny, Connor, and Abby. He put his hand on the shoulder of the man guarding the door. "Stay with them." He unbolted the door and opened it enough to slip out into the clamor of battle outside.

Danny, Connor, and Abby looked at each other and stood to put on the vests and load their pistols. Several tense, silent moments passed between them before they heard two banging knocks on the door. The soldier opened it to reveal Becker, who was out of breath and covered in blood and gunpowder. "Everyone's in position," he said.

He motioned for them to follow and turned to lead them toward the building's front exit. The snipers from the roof and upper floor were downstairs and all the rooms on both levels were now boarded up, as well as the opening at the top of the stairs. The hall running the length of the first floor was packed with armed soldiers, all standing stoically in ranks despite the battle raging at the front doors. Anything they couldn't carry without losing maneuverability was left behind.

Becker marched Danny, Connor, and Abby toward the front of the line of troops. "They knew we'd be coming out the door closest to the anomaly," he said, referring to the Predators. "We're trying to lure them around back, but we're running out of time."

He left them to stand behind the soldiers from the Cretaceous and approached the sealed door. They'd already cleared all the old cars and debris out of the street in front of the building, so the anomaly was a straight shot. They just had to get through the Predators. Becker checked his watch and saw that the anomaly might already be unlocked; they had to move now. He signaled to his men and threw open the door.

o0o

There were Predators everywhere. The squadron of troops fighting them off had given up trying to draw them around the side of the building and was focused on simply keeping them away from the doors.

The rows of soldiers inside began pouring out as those already fighting pulled in to come up at the rear. Becker and his select team fronted the line with Danny, Connor, and Abby just behind, followed by everyone else. The men on the outer flanks had shields to protect the regiment from shrapnel and the claws of any Predators who managed to get too close.

They moved as quickly as they could toward the anomaly, pushing their way through the sea of creatures who were trying to cut them off. The pace was slowed somewhat by the difficulty of aiming at moving targets and running in tight ranks, but Connor was still struggling to keep up. Abby grabbed his elbow to keep him from stumbling, and Connor suddenly looked up in horror and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her with him to the ground.

They rolled into the legs of the soldiers behind them as the place where they had been was occupied by a snarling Predator that had leapt over the shields. It was slashing wildly at anything it could reach while a sea of weapons swung around to aim at it. Most of the soldiers surrounding the creature weren't in a position to fire since if they missed they'd hit one of their own, but from their position on the ground just meters from the beast, Connor and Abby had a clear shot.

Once the creature was down, several men stepped in to haul it back out of the way as Danny helped the others to their feet. "Nice shot," he said.

"Thanks very much."

Connor winced in pain as he tried to stand, accepting Abby's offer of support. The entire company had stopped when the creature broke their front ranks, taking the opportunity to set up and aim more complex weaponry to drive the Predators back.

Becker made his way toward the Arc team. "Are you three alright?"

"Never better," Danny said. "But we need to get everyone moving again. Make a final run for it."

Becker nodded in agreement. "The Predators should be driven far enough back now, but not for long. We'll need to move much faster this time to reach the anomaly before it locks." He whistled a command to the troops. Immediately, the heavy weapons were holstered and everyone was back in line as they prepared to run full speed for the anomaly. A few explosions were heard behind them as the soldiers in the rear threw grenades to cover their flight.

Becker reached the anomaly first and stood beside it as everyone else ran through, firing into the charging mass of Predators.