Liam was standing on the edge of a ditch. Liam's father had warned him about the ditch and how people would fall in it and break their arms and legs then not be able to get out. It meant his father would check it as much as possible. Liam had been taught to be aware of dangers such as this. Others from the village weren't. That was clear to him now. As Logan approached from behind, Liam turned. The four armed guards that had been posted to protect him were still looking into the ditch. "There's a body." Liam said, walking over to Logan. It wasn't a pretty sight and Liam tried to block it out of his head. The body had been ripped to shreds and the face was contorted with pain. Logan frowned. He had been happy as he walked over, enjoying his relaxing job. "It is a deinonychus?" Logan asked. Liam shook his head regretfully. Logan could tell Liam was sad. "It was Archie Larkin." Liam said simply. Archie Larkin had been well known in the village. He had disappeared about two years ago and the woods had been searched thoroughly. "How did he get here?" Logan asked. Liam shrugged. "My best bet is that he ran through the anomaly, it closed, and after a few minutes to him a second one reopened, two years passed here."
"Did he die of natural causes?" Logan gulped. He knew he would have to look at the body but he wanted to know what to expect before he lost his breakfast over it. "Depends what you count as natural." Liam said. He was angry at the team for being unable to stop it. He was ashamed too, ashamed that he lied for himself just long enough to think that people didn't die in their line of work and now cold hard realisation caught up with him. "I count dinosaurs as other." Logan said.
"Other then." Liam said. He didn't want to describe the body to Logan but he knew that if he didn't Logan would have to look. "At a guess, I'd say it was the deinonychus but it might not be. I'll need some pictures sent to Sammy and see what she thinks." Liam said. One of the guards already had a camera out and was photographing what they referred to as evidence as if it was just another track or claw mark. "There are claw marks and the body's only just recognisable, a DNA would confirm what I think. Remember, Archie would always wear that scarf. There's bit of that lying around and his style of clothing with it. It's definite he died in the ditch, I'm just not sure when." Liam said. Logan nodded and told Liam that he was looking rather pale. "Maybe you should go and sit down." Logan said. A guard walked over to Liam as he walked over to a tree. The guard sat next to him and Logan wasn't sure whether it was because the guard wanted to do his job or was feeling the same way as Liam. The guard couldn't have been much older than twenty. This could possibly be his first job and, even worse, his last. Logan went over and looked at the body. He felt sick as he saw it but it made it clear to him that what Liam had said was a good guess. He closed his eyes and felt sorry for Archie's daughter. He just hoped that, just because he was the ambassador for the children to the adults, he wouldn't have to deliver the horrible news.
Katie heard her radio go off as he looked over the results for the three temperature probes. She handed the results over to a scientist and then told him to check that they seemed right. She pulled out her radio. "What's wrong?" Katie asked.
"We've found a body. It's Archie Larkin. We're going to need all the necessary procedure, can you call it in for me?" Logan asked. He sounded emotionless as if he was trying to keep in control of what was happening as much as possible and fight his emotions into line. Katie tried to comfort him. "It wasn't your fault. We didn't even know it was open. We could have just guessed it had closed."
"We had no reason to believe it would close." Logan said. "I'm going to need a medic as I think one of the guards has taken badly to the sight and Liam could do with a bit of a check up too." Katie dreaded to feel how Liam was taking it. If Sammy had been there to convince them that something good would come out of it or to offer Liam a comforting hand then things might be different. They were all suffering now. "I'll sort it out. There are some medics ready and waiting for call outs. Was it a creature attack?"
"Me and Liam both think Deinonychus but we're not sure. We're hoping that sending Sammy a few pictures might help. She's the one staying in the government base and, at the moment, seems to be the only one of us who would be any good on a field mission."
Sammy stood in a room that Carmen had called the anger management room of the century, the shooting range. She wasn't wearing any of the protective gear that Carmen had offered her but had taken a version of a tranquilliser gun that fired the bullets used in weapons training. She looked at the moving targets that had been positioned at the end of the large shooting gallery. She primed the weapon and fired. The weapon was advanced and would fire several shots without the need for Sammy to prime it. She hit target after target with a smile on her face. As the bullets hit the targets she felt something vibrate in her pocket. At first she thought it was nothing but then she realised it was her phone. She flipped it open. The phone number for Liam showed up. "How you doing?" she asked.
"We've found a body." was Liam's simple and regretful reply.
Liam listened to Sammy as she comforted him, telling him that it wasn't his fault and that, if anyone was to blame, it was the ARC junior adults. He waved the medics away as they tried to treat him knowing that Sammy would do him better than any gloomy diagnosis. When he decided he had to change the subject for Sammy's sake, he asked her what she was doing without them. After a small laugh, Sammy answered. "I drew, broke apart a piece of dinosaur poo, got angry at some books, got bored, started shooting things and keep taking calls from my friends." Liam smiled at that. He wondered what she was shooting at but he guessed it wouldn't be a living thing. "And before you worry, it's a tranquilliser being fired at some card."
"I wasn't even thinking about it." Liam lied. "We're going to send you some pictures about the body. See what you think."
"When will you send the pictures over?" Sammy asked. It would help her friends if she could give her view as soon as possible. "I'll have them sent over by computer as soon as possible." Liam said. As he looked over the group, he noticed someone was missing.
Despite Logan saying that he would take the picture's along with his armed guard, one of the guards had wandered off to deliver the pictures back. He had only just been drafted in and didn't see what the fuss was about. So what if there were some strange lights in a wood and a body had been found. They couldn't possibly be linked. The body was far away from the lights everyone called an anomaly. He kept walking holding the pictures. As he stopped because he had dropped one, he heard a twig snapping. He turned, wondering what it was, confused and scared. He part of him that believed in logic, the chances were that it was just a villager having gone out for a walk, but another part of him was sure that something was up. He gasped and screamed.
Sammy sat next to the computer, a second guard, older and more experienced than the one who had just been attacked had given her a call saying that the set of pictures had just been emailed. If she could help her friends at all she would feel useful. She smiled as the email came. She was used to seeing bodies. It was day to day life with her. She opened the email and read it. The email was obviously from one of the guards because she was being called Miss Gilans, instead of Sammy. She read about where the body had been found and what Liam and Logan suspected about the body. They said it was a man called Archie Larkin. She thought about checking him up on the governments profiling system but decided against it. There was a bit of information about him and the guess Liam had given it was a pretty well educated one. She smiled, proud of how he was dealing with it. She didn't want to remember when she had first seen a body and forced herself to forget about it. She opened the picture attachments and gasped. She wasn't horrified by the pictures but by what they showed. She pulled out her phone quickly and tried to ring up one of the team.
Liam heard the scream echoing around the woods. He glanced at Logan, worried. Logan pulled out his radio. "Katie, are you OK?" he asked. Relived that she was able to answer him, he smiled and sighed. Liam picked up on it and turned to the guards. "Which one of you is missing?" they asked.
"Stones."
"OK, can you contact him?" Liam asked. He was worried. Already one person had been killed by a deinonychus and he had a horrible feeling that something was wrong. He listened to the reply and ordered for them to radio the guard. His phone rang. It was Sammy. "What's wrong?" Liam asked.
"I got the pictures." Sammy said. What she said next confirmed Liam's worst fears and he looked worried at Logan telling him what had gone wrong. "The body was attacked recently, at the most two hours ago. Liam when did you start monitoring?"
"Three hours ago." Liam said. His voice was shaking. "But that means, the deinonychus are out here. They couldn't have gone back in." Liam suddenly felt very small and very scared. "They're still here!" he whispered, scared.
Katie heard as Logan delivered the news over radio. "They're ordering an evacuation. Get out of here." Logan said.
"What?" Katie said.
"There's a pack of deinonychus in the woods." Logan said. Katie could tell he was running. She looked at the anomaly confused. "But they haven't come through."
"They've been in the woods since we came. Both Sammy and Liam are saying that the body we found was killed two hours ago. Sammy's sure of it." Logan said. Katie looked at the scientists. She slowly put her radio down. Her heart was beginning to thunder. She knew what the creatures could do and they terrified them. She didn't want to see anyone die. She was sure of that. "There are creatures in the wood!" she shouted so everyone would hear her. All the scientists looked at her and two guards rushed over. "We've been told to get you out of here at the smallest chance of a creature attack." Katie nodded and began to walk with the guards.
Sammy ran into the main room. She watched as workers began dishing out instructions for a full evacuation. She pulled on one of the headsets that all the worker were wearing and turned it on. Working quickly she hooked the headset up to the radio that her team had. She needed to make sure they didn't make a mistake. She was worried because there was nothing she could do. "OK, I'm here." she said talking into the radio of all of her friends. She had worked out how she could set it so she operated with the choices of who she could talk to. "They're ordering a full evacuation. It means that everyone is leaving and the adults will be called in or they will contain all the dinosaurs until they can kill the or drive them back."
"Are you sure we should evacuate?" Logan asked. Katie agreed that they should leave while Liam wasn't sure. Sammy wasn't sure either. "I don't think you should be evacuated but I don't get much choice." Sammy said. Logan then asked her to turn off the radio connection with the others. When Sammy did it, Logan told her, "I can't do this. I've got one person killed, another possibly, a full evacuation and dinosaurs."
"It happens, you need to just believe in yourself. Pretend that you know what is happening and understand what to do."
"Is that what you do?" Logan asked.
"Nope, I really do know what I'm talking about." Sammy said.
Katie was walking through the wood with the guards. She was nervous and fighting with herself to not run. The creatures were deadly and fast. They could be attacked and killed before they could make a call for help. She kept thinking about Logan, surprised the thoughts didn't resort back to her parents and little brother. As they walked, they came across a puddle of blood. Katie picked up her radio and called up Sammy. "What's wrong?" Sammy asked. Although Sammy did seem marginally worried, she wasn't allowing it to escape that much. "Are deinonychus attracted to blood?"
"They aren't know for their sense of smell but they won't stray far from a kill if there's meat left." Sammy said. Katie wondered if Sammy was talking from past experience. It sounded like she was and that offered Katie a tiny amount of comfort. It helped even more when Logan's voice came through. "See Sammy, they consult you, not me."
"Be quiet." Katie hissed, worried that Logan was talking a bit too loudly down the radio. The radio made the sounds quieter and she was worried that Logan was being too loud on the other end of the radio. Logan apologised quietly. Sammy didn't and carried on talking just as loud. "Have you found a body?" Sammy asked. Katie shook her head and looked down at the puddle. "Blood." Katie said. "I'm guessing the body is near by."
"Katie, get out of there." Sammy whispered down the radio. "Armed guards might not be enough to stop them." Katie put the radio down and looked round. She offered harsh and quiet orders to the guards. "We move quickly and quietly." she nodded at the puddle. "The creatures." she whispered.
Logan was worried. He had heard the conversation between Sammy and Katie after Sammy had put him 'on hold'. He had been able to tell what was happening and had to have interjected to calm Katie down. He was scared for Katie. He had Liam with him and probably more armed guards than Katie. They were also further out of the woods so they could escape quicker. Katie was right near the anomaly and Logan guessed the deinonychus would like to stay near the anomaly to begin their hunts. Katie would be most likely to be seen by the creatures. He glanced at Liam. Logan nodded at the guards. "You on look out?" Logan asked. The guards nodded and smiled. He looked at Liam who smiled. "I'll be fine." Liam said but he wasn't sure. Logan smiled back. "We move, get out to the woods and regroup."
"Fine by me. How's Katie?"
"She'll be fine, I hope." Logan said.
"Gilans!" Corporal Walsh barked. Sammy shuddered and winced but continued offering out help through the headset. Corporal Walsh didn't like the idea of being ignored, especially by someone like Sammy who was meant to have been being punished. Corporal Walsh pulled the headset off. "Gilans, you are meant to be in your room."
"Well, I'm evidently not." Sammy said. She turned back to the computer trying to get back to the team, knowing they were more important than the man. Corporal Walsh looked unimpressed. "Get to your room now, Gilans!" he ordered, pointing towards the door as if he was dealing with an unruly five year old. Sammy didn't want to but she knew she had to do as he said. If she got pushed even more then she might be able to not stay in the team and then she would never be able to help. She knew she had to do something to help though. She was frustrated that all she could do and not be punished for it was sit in her room. She wasn't going to stand for it any longer. As Corporal Walsh moved to allow Sammy to go pass, she sprinted away down the corridor.
Katie didn't like it. Communications with Sammy had gone quiet and the boys weren't talking either. Every shadow scared her as if she expected a deinonychus would jump out. She smiled at the guards who were looking around cautiously and aware of everything that was happening. Katie wasn't sure what to do. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold her own against the dinosaurs like the guards and she felt helpless. Sammy would be able to defeat the dinosaurs with her knife or her calm and quick thinking way of accessing a situation. Liam knew the woods better than anyone, he could run the creatures into a trap or ditch. Logan was just brilliant. He had the leadership role and could think under pressure. She had seen them all in training and what she had done wasn't very good. Scared she looked around the woods and then heard snapping twigs behind her and the guards. Frightened she turned and looked behind her.
Logan and Liam reached the edge of the woods. There were loads of guards standing round, creating a parameter around the woods. They were handing out guns to all the men. They were preparing to 'cleanse' the woods. Liam and Logan dreaded what it meant for not only the dinosaurs but also the time streams. Logan looked at Liam's worried and disgusted face as he watched the men. "I don't like it." Liam said. He was annoyed that Logan wasn't doing more to stop them but he was even more worried about Katie. It was obvious that Logan was even more nervous then Liam was about Katie. He looked sick with worry. A guard looked at the two of them and ushered them towards a car. "You'll have to wait in here at the moment, call us if you get into trouble." They climbed into the car and sat down in the seats. They felt as frustrated as Sammy did. They needed to help Katie but there was no way into the woods without being shot at and then they would be attacked by the creatures as soon as they got into the wood. Katie might be shot even when she left the woods. Liam lent back. "This is so annoying!" he moaned.
"I'm worried about Katie." Logan said.
"She'll be alright." Liam said although he didn't even believe it himself.
Katie watched in horror as one of the guards was knocked down by a leaping creature. He struggled for a few seconds as the creature savaged at him and then fell flat on the floor. The second guard was panicking. The shoots he fired went wild, hammering into the trees, not a single one it their mark. While all this was going on Katie pulled out her radio. She ignored what was happening around her. "Logan, I love you." was all she said down the radio simply. Katie then turned back to the scene. She was face to face with a deinonychus. She gasped and dropped her radio.
A similar car smashed into the car Liam and Logan were in. It spun the car slightly and shocked the waiting Logan and Liam. They tried to open the door but realised it was locked. At first they thought something was wrong and that a creature had flipped the car. Both boys were ready to smash their way out if they was a creature. Soon they found that it wasn't a creature at all. The two boys watched as the driver of the other car got out. They didn't seem a bit upset about the crash and looked completely unscathed. "Sammy!" Liam shouted. The guards turned around and just saw the cars; they didn't see Sammy who had ducked out of view behind it. She pulled out her knife and, crouching below the window, she worked on the lock, trying to either pick it or get at the wiring underneath. The guards starting wondering round and checking the crashed car. She smiled but waited for a few seconds, her hand resting on the handle. Making sure she wasn't seen, Sammy climbed into the car and ducked down between the boys feet. Logan and Liam did their best to hide her from any guards who might happen to look in. "What on earth are you doing, Sammy?" Logan hissed, partly happy she was there but also horrified. Sammy looked up at him. Now the two boys could see her up close they could see she had a bruise on her forehead but she could have come off worse from the crash. "I'm here to help." she whispered back. Liam and Logan looked at the car and then back at Sammy, amazed. They had certainly not been expecting it. "How do you know how to drive?" Logan asked.
"The car is government listed. It means I could have speed all I wanted and officially not have been breaking the law. Government conspiracies." she said. "I can drive pretty well apart from I can't always reach the brakes."
"Good thing you weren't going that fast." Liam said. As the guards suggested that one of their cars must have been left with the handbrake off. Seeming happy with that conclusion, they went back to guarding the wood. "So what are we going to do?" Sammy asked, wondering why the boys had been locked in the car in the first place. Logan looked at them and shook his head. "We should find Katie. She's stuck out in the woods."
"OK, why are we wasting time sitting around? We should be helping her." Sammy said. The boys shook their heads.
"How? All those guards would stop us and even if we did get past them they could shoot us." Liam pointed out.
"Leave it with me." Sammy said with a daredevil and crafty smile.
Katie bit down a scream as the deinonychus moved it's head from side to side. It was clicking and chirping, seeming to be enjoying it. Backing away, she almost lost her balance. Her mind was racing; her heart thundering. She kept glancing around for a way to escape but couldn't find one. She felt herself being backed against a tree and her hand pressed the bark. She glanced at the deinonychus and remembered what Sammy had done before. Katie began to climb.
Sammy opened the door, slowly and quietly. She climbed out, ducking under the door. Liam and Logan followed her. The crouched there for a few moments and surveyed the guards fully. They tried to predict the movements of them. The guards kept blocking the way to the woods and it seemed as if it would be impossible for them to get across. Then Sammy had an idea. Sammy had her bag with her and pulled out a torch from her bag. She aimed it into the crashed car's wing mirror so the light reflected off with a flash. The guards picked up on it and all the guards turned to look at the mirror, wondering what was wrong, almost expecting an anomaly to be there. Sammy pushed the boys to the left, around the other side of the car. They walked round and as the guards still inspected the crashed car, they ran into the woods. The other guards didn't notice them.
When Liam reached the woods. He breathed a sigh of relief. Sammy's makeshift plan was working so far and it was the best plan they had either way. Logan seemed pleased enough by it. Liam suddenly realised something was wrong; Sammy's jacket had something lumpy underneath it. At first he thought it was something from the crash and that Sammy could be in intense pain but he realised that if it was then Sammy would be bleeding. "What's that?" Liam whispered, not putting anything past her. Sammy pulled off her jacket and pulled a gun off from where she had strapped it to her back. Sammy smiled. "Don't panic; it's only a tranquilliser." Sammy said. Liam nodded slowly and Logan looked at them. He seemed angry that they were wasting time but was thankful that Sammy had been as well organised as to prepare herself with a weapon. "Come on." he said. Liam and Sammy nodded loyally and, Sammy pulling her jacket back on, they darted off.
Katie pulled herself up the tree. Her hands were sticky from sweat as she worried she would be unable to pull herself up. She had slipped a couple of times but had managed to fight to keep her balance, knowing even the slightest mistake could mean her death. Swinging herself up onto a branch, Katie let herself relax a bit. She sat on the lowest branch in the way she had seen Sammy do so. She had a cut on her head from where a deinonychus had snapped at her and her clothes were torn by the climb more than the creatures. Katie watched as the creatures snapped at her feet. They were getting closer to reaching her with every jump as they became braver. She didn't want to try to move upwards or move her feet because she was worried she would fall and be killed. She simply clamped her hands onto the branch in an attempt to stable herself. Every time a creature leapt at her she moved as a reflex and nearly fell off each time. She almost thought that she was going to die but continued to fight it. A gun shot rose through the air. Shocked, she lifted her hands to her ears and moved back. She suddenly realised what she had done when she felt herself begin to fall. Katie tumbled, screaming, off the branch and onto the floor. She hit hard and yelped in pain. She tried to force herself up but she was knocked back by her terror as the deinonychus turned to her. The deinonychus snapped at her but another gun shot scared them off. Katie watched as the creatures ran off and looked around. Liam, Logan and Sammy ran over. Sammy held her gun up and pointed the gun after the creatures ready to shoot at them if they chose to attack again. Logan held out a hand to Katie and helped her up. They hugged each other and Liam looked at Sammy. She shrugged and primed her gun, ready to fire. Katie began to cry onto Logan's shoulder. "The two guards died, they got killed." she sobbed.
"It's OK." Logan said softly. "You are going to be fine."
"What are we going to do?" Liam asked. Katie pulled away from Logan slightly but still held his hand tightly. "We get out of here." Logan said in a most authoritative voice he could manage in the situation. Liam shook his head. "We can't do that." Liam said with as much courage as he could muster. "If we leave now, then they'll kill the creature!" Liam shouted.
"If we don't then the creatures will kill us!" Logan shouted back. Katie could tell the anger was festering between them. Sammy was still facing outwards after the dinosaurs in case they wanted to attack them again. "Keep it down." she hissed. "They'll come back if they hear us."
"We're leaving then." Logan said. Liam began to protest and Logan realised that he was only angry because of what had happened to Katie. Liam and Sammy were the only two of them thinking straight. "I'm sorry, I..."
"Don't worry. We're in the woods now. Lets deal with these creatures."Liam said. He looked at Sammy. "It's a good thing they're scared of gunshots because of what you did to one of them." Then he realised Sammy was still ashamed that winning an advantage had meant the death of one of the creatures. He tried on comfort her with a smile but she didn't dare look. "So what's the plan, Logan?" Sammy asked. Logan thought for a second and then smiled. He squeezed Katie's hand. "We go and find the creatures."
"This is mad, you're mad." Katie said turning to Logan. She leant forwards and kissed him on the cheek. "I think I love mad."
The deinonychus were eating the bodies of the guards. Logan ducked out from behind a tree and watched the creatures for a second. They seemed so savage but also had a strange and dangerous brilliance. Liam looked at them. According to what Sammy had said he wouldn't be able to out run them but he was the best at climbing out of the three of the people not able to use the gun. He had volunteered as well. He wasn't sure whether Logan and Katie were in position or not so he waited for a few more seconds. Then he shouted, "Hey, over here!" The deinonychus turned to look at him. They saw him and flicked their head about a bit. When they saw him, Liam looked at the tree. He was standing near the wrong one. He gasped and slowly, trying to make sure the creatures didn't attack him before he was read, he walked over to the tree. The creatures growled at him and Liam climbed up the tree. The creatures began to snap at him. Liam pulled out his radio. Katie and Logan were sharing a radio which meant Sammy had one as well. "Sammy, it's a go." Liam said. He heard the gun shots shattering through the silence. Suddenly the creatures turned and saw Sammy standing a way off. "What are they doing?" Liam asked. The creatures hadn't run off, scared off the gun shots. "They've realised that the gun isn't going to hurt them unless I aim at them and," Sammy sighed down the radio, "they've seen me." Liam gasped as the creatures forgot about him and walked towards Sammy. He could just see Sammy through the trees. "They've got good eyesight." Sammy explained. "Is there a place in the wood were there are loads of trees close together?" Liam hadn't thought about it before but then realised that the deinonychus' tails would stop them from running fast. He thought for a few seconds. "A hundred metres to your left." Liam said. He watched as Sammy disappeared to her left followed by the deinonychus.
Katie and Logan pushed the final large metal box into place. They both nodded and checked the pathway they had made with the boxes would probably be enough to herd the creatures and if not Sammy would get enough room to shoot at the creatures. Katie pulled out her radio and realised Liam was trying to get her attention. "The plan's gone wrong!" Liam said. Katie looked at Logan frightened. "What about Sammy?" he asked. Liam paused for a few seconds and Logan and Katie wondered what was wrong. "Last I saw of her the deinonychus were after her."
"Which way is she going?" Katie asked. Maybe Sammy would have the intelligence to run to where the anomaly was. There was a pause from Liam as he tried to work out whether Sammy was reading the right way or not. "She's going the wrong way." Liam said, realising his advice was stopping her from completing the plan. Katie winced. She tried to come up with what to do. She handed the radio to Logan, their leader, hoping he could get things back on track. "Liam, come here as quickly as possible, there's safety in numbers and we'll be able to think about what to do with Sammy."
Sammy turned round and pointed the gun at the creatures. They had had to slow down because of the trees but she couldn't get a clear shot from where she was. She was tired. She couldn't run that fast again. She doubted she could even climb the tree quick enough. She knew a deinonychus was faster than her. A deinonychus would reach her and she would be within it's biting distance, killing her or badly injuring her. Everything looked bad and would probably end with her death. She slowly reached into her pocket and, without even pulling out her hand, pressed the button on the radio. She pulled the radio out of her pocket and smiled. "Liam, you know what you told me." she said. She shook her head. "I just thought you should know, you were right. I do..." she never finished that sentence. She looked at the creatures and realised what that they were getting closer, ready for the kill. She ran towards the nearest tree and knew she would never reach it in time. She reached into her pocket hoping to pull of the same trick she had done before. She knew it probably wouldn't work twice but she had to do something.
As Liam walked over to the two of them he got Sammy's message and was worried. He knew that in films when people sent out messages like the one Sammy had just sent they were going to die. He was terrified about Sammy but knew that he had to keep a cool head. Logan and Katie were worried too but they hadn't heard the message. "Heard from Sammy yet?" Logan asked. Liam shook his head, knowing that saying it in words would give away the fact that he was lying. Sammy deserved that, if they were her dying words, they were treated with secrecy. Katie wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. "OK," Logan said, deciding that the team needed a decisive leader, "we'll radio the outside team and get them to drop off some weapons. If we can't get any weapons, we'll tell the men and get them to rescue Sammy." He didn't like the idea of telling the men about what they had did but Sammy's life was at risk and she would probably do the same if it was one of them at risk. Liam agreed reluctantly. Katie nodded. Logan smiled at the two of them. "Radio Sammy, ask her to keep relaying us the information about her location." he said pointing at Liam. "One of us will need to watch the anomaly while the other goes and collects the guns."
"I'll stay here." Katie volunteered. "Since you're the leader and meant to deal with the problem of adults."
"Liam, stay with her and keep in contact with Sammy." Logan took a deep breath. "I'll get the guns. You've got your orders then." Logan said. He trying to seem brave but didn't feel like it. He watched as Katie went over to a box near the anomaly and reset up the camera. Liam looked at Logan as he turned to leave. Then he turned back and both boys whispered to each other. "Sammy will be alright, won't she?" Liam asked. Logan couldn't answer and wouldn't either. He knew he would have to predict bad news if he was being realistic and he guessed it would be his job to be so. Logan turned to Liam. "Look after her." he whispered nodding towards Katie. "I will." Liam said.
Logan ran through the woods. If all the creatures were attacking Sammy, Logan guessed they couldn't attack him but it didn't really fill him with confidence. He ran faster, worry about Sammy driving him. He looked up and realised the sun was setting. If the creatures got out now, during the night, no one in the whole village would be safe. The creatures could slaughter everyone in the village before anyone could even work out what was happening. Logan had to stop them from killing Sammy and the villagers. He knew the villagers were probably what the guards would call higher priority but Sammy was important to the team. Sammy was the dinosaur expert of the team and a large part of it. He was willing to risk his life for her to be safe. She would do the same for them anyway. Logan suddenly skidded to a stop and looked around. He pulled out his radio and radioed the main centre. "We need tranquillisers down here now. You've seen the creatures, send the correct dosage, A.S.A.P." Logan said down the radio. When he was sure they got the request, he started running off again.
Katie and Liam sat on a box next to the anomaly. "Why have you set that up again?" Liam asked, looking at the camera pointing at the anomaly. Katie shrugged. "If we don't survive this, they'll need to know what's come through either way. The team they send in will need help." she said after a while. She paused. "Liam, what is up with you and Sammy?"
"I wish I knew." Liam said. He guessed that Katie needed to talk about something and his love life seemed to fall into the category of conversation for a time like this. "I begin to fancy Sammy, she holds my hand, she holds Logan's hand. I started to try and change so she liked me more. She ran away. She kills a creature, I go to Stephanie, Sammy gets punished." Liam said. "I tell her I love her, she winces." Liam realised suddenly how quickly things were going. Katie smiled at him. "Maybe Sammy just doesn't like you." Liam shook his head and then looked at Katie. "Does she really not like me?"
"I don't know. No one knows what goes on in Sammy's mind." Katie said with a smile. "You like her a lot."
"That's an understatement. I don't think I've loved anyone any more then I love her. She's brilliant. She smiles as she saves lives and wants the best for the creatures and..." Liam paused and looked down. "And she doesn't love me back. I will never be enough for her. Think about it, there's me, stuck here with you on look out duty and then there's her, fighting for her life against the deinonychus and I can't even help her." Liam said. Katie thought about saying something but thought what had come first to mind was a bit cruel. "Sammy is a strange girl to say the least, maybe what she wants is..." she didn't continue. She didn't want to. Tears were rolling slowly down Liam's cheeks.
Logan gasped, realising he was lost. Liam would be better at this job. He tried to work out where he was but his haste stopped him from thinking clearly. He saw movement to the side and heading towards it. There was about five deinonychus snapping at the ground. Sammy's gun laid discarded several meters away. Logan suddenly saw red. If they had killed Sammy he wasn't sure what he would do but he knew it would be worse than death. He felt like killing every single one of them, changing the past so they never even existed. He snatched up the gun and fired on the creatures. As he fired he hit at least two of the creatures and they recoiled in pain. Logan fired again and the two creatures he had hit tumbled to the floor. The other creatures looked at their fallen comrades and ran. Logan watched them go and turned to the creatures that had been snapping at the floor in some sort of viscous feeding frenzy. He had been sure it would have been Sammy's remains. A discarded jacket lay on the floor, torn to shreds by the teeth of the creatures and dripping with blood. Logan could tell that if there was anything else left of Sammy it would be somewhere else. Suddenly there was a creaking from inside the tree nearest to the jacket. Logan jumped back and aimed the gun. His heart was beating so fast Logan was surprised it hadn't burst but he was also thankful it hadn't. He fired a warning shot at the ground and ordered, "Come out with your hands up!" He hoped it was a human. "Who is it?" asked a familiar voice.
"The government." Logan said. He recognised the voice but it could just be someone from the village. He wasn't about to get his hopes up about Sammy still being alive because he doubted she was. He doubted even Sammy would have been able to escape from the creatures "You are under arrest for trespassing." Logan said. When he saw who it was he gasped. It wasn't Sammy, it was his mum. She hugged him tightly. "Logan, what's going on?" she asked. His mother was dressed in overalls and had oil on her face. "Mum, you need to leave the woods, the men will understand. I'll escort you." Logan said. He was trying to keep a cool head but knew he was panicking. "What are those things?" his mum asked, her voice lined with pure terror. She looked terrified and it didn't help Logan feel any better either. "They escaped from a zoo." Logan lied. He felt guilt but knew that it had to happen. His mum looked at the gun and Logan knew he would get unanswerable questions flying at him soon unless he changed the subject. "Did you see a girl, brown hair, my age?" Logan asked. He looked down at Sammy's jacket and noticed a strange smell coming from it. He knelt down beside it as his mum answered. "No, I saw those things attacking this jacket and then I hid in the tree." Logan opened the jacket and gasped. There were large chunks of meat cat food in the jacket. He guessed it was one of Sammy's tricks. "Good old Sammy." he muttered then turned to his mum.
Liam and Katie gasped as noise began to come from the anomaly. They shot each other worried glances. It was getting dark and they didn't want to be hunting down creatures in the dark. Liam ducked down behind a box and Katie did the same. Quietly Katie flipped open a box and pulled out a hand gun. She had seen the men pack the gun away, choosing to use their larger guns. She knew that neither of them would be very good with it but Liam probably would be a better shot than her. He had grown up living near nature and his father did have a collection of tranquillisers. She handed him the gun and he shot her a disgusted look. If looks could kill Liam would probably have had the dinosaurs dead by now. Katie turned back to watch the anomaly. Suddenly a small figure ran through. Liam leapt over the box, throwing the gun away, and was by the figure's side in a second. They both hugged and Katie stared at them both. "I thought I would never see you again." Liam whispered into Sammy's ear. She was covered in cuts and blood but Liam didn't care. She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. "Cat food." she whispered into his ear and he smiled, not caring what she meant. Liam felt tears run down his cheeks as Sammy hugged him back. "Don't you dare do that again."
"If you give me a list of what I can do, it'll probably be shorter." Sammy said. Liam laughed at the joke and then pulled back far enough so he could look into Sammy's eyes. "I was so worried." he said. He leant forwards to kiss her and Katie watched them in awe of it. Before the two managed to kiss, Sammy seemed up to it like Liam, Katie interrupted. "What's that noise?" Katie asked; she had wanted to wait but the chirping noise was getting louder. Liam didn't care but Sammy pulled away. "Duck." she told Liam. Liam didn't react in time. Suddenly Sammy was lying on top of him as she pressed him down onto the floor. Katie watched in horror as a creature ran through. Sammy and Liam were in its path. Suddenly Katie laughed. The dinosaur was shorter than them and had a harmless beak. "What?" Sammy said as the creature danced around in a panic. "I'm sure it was bigger than that." she said. Katie and Liam were giving her looks of confusion and happiness. "What is it?" Liam said as he watched it as it panicked. Sammy began to explain wearily. "It's a dryosaurus."
Logan walked along with his mother. He had no radio so he couldn't contact any of his team. He wished he had had the initiative to borrow Liam's or Katie's radio. Then at least he could check on Sammy. He couldn't tell what was happening and why she had stuff her jacket with cat food and he wanted to know. He knew that Sammy's safety should be his second priory and that the citizens, in this case his own mum, should be above it but that couldn't stop him from worrying. He wished he hadn't have had the logic to get Katie and Liam to watch the anomaly so he could know that they at least were safe. He held the gun tightly in his fear. "Why have you got a gun?" his mum asked. Logan kept on walking even though his mother had stopped. He stopped seconds later and couldn't bare to face her. He thought long and hard about to say. "I found it." he said, it wasn't like it was a lie either. "I was going to take it to the people who own it."
"What are you doing back here?" Logan's mother asked. Logan sighed, not sure what to say. He didn't want to result to lying to his own mother but he knew that it was his job to keep this sort of thing under wraps. "Please don't lie to me, Logan. No lies, please. What are you doing with what gun?" his mother begged. Logan turned back to her. He didn't want to have his mother caught up in stuff like this or attempting to pull him out of the team but he also knew that he couldn't live with himself if on his first mission he ended up lying to his mother. "I can't tell you anything. I can't tell you why I have this gun or why I'm here." he said regretfully. He felt really bad about what he was being made to do. Logan's mother didn't pick up on how bad Logan felt. "Why not?" she shouted. Logan winced, thinking it might draw the deinonychus to where they were and he didn't want his mum to be hurt. "Logan James Wiles! Tell me!" she bellowed at Logan. He guessed that she was frightened by the fact that her only child was carrying a gun when she had believed him to be at a private school and he couldn't blame her. When she got frightened she panicked and shouted. Logan knew it was a bad defence mechanism. "Stop shouting." he warned her, quietly and calmly. He wasn't about to order his panicking mum about but he wasn't going to let her bring out their deaths with her shouting. His mum continued and Logan knew he would have no choice but to tell her. He could vividly imagine the creatures running through the woods towards them. "Those creatures aren't from a zoo. They are dinosaurs." Logan said slowly. "Deinonychus, to be precise, and they'll kill us if they find us. It you keep shouting then you're going to attract them and get us both killed." He looked at his mother. "Do you believe me?"
"I don't know." his mother said, unsure. She shook her head and Logan sighed, upset. He knew his mother didn't believe him but it was the truth. "Lets get out of here." he said and wondered away holding the gun.
Sammy, Liam and Katie watched the dryosaurus. It was about the same height as them. It had a long neck for something it's size and slender legs. It chirped quiet happily, it's long tail like a rudder, straight out behind it. It had a beak which it was using to eat the pile of leaves that had been placed in front of it and it was a green camouflaged colour. Katie thought it looked strange but Sammy was convinced it was cute and having a good go at make sure that the others felt the same way about it. Liam seemed interested in the creature but wasn't making the same 'oh' and 'aw' noises Sammy was making whenever the dryosaurus even moved. Liam and Katie were trying to work out what it was and what to do with it while Sammy was using her knife to collect twigs and leaves for the creature as it ate. "Lets get it back through." Sammy said standing up. "If it runs then we'll lose it forever." Liam nodded and stood up, moving towards the creature. Sammy took some of the twigs out of the pile and handed them to Liam. Katie took some herself and held them out to the dryosaurus. Sammy then began to lead the creature back through. She stopped in front of the anomaly and then threw the twigs behind her. The creature backed away from the anomaly and turned tail. It sprinted away off into the wood. Sammy looked at the creature, confused, and then Liam realised what was wrong. "Sammy," he whispered. "Do you know where the creatures are?"
"No." Sammy admitted. She turned around and stared at the anomaly. "They can't have gone back through." Sammy said.
"You did." Liam said.
"I'm different." Sammy said. "I'm human and I understand the anomalies." Katie and Liam raised their eye brows first at each other and then at Sammy. "How do you understand the anomalies?" Liam asked. Sammy shrugged and smiled to herself, walked towards the trees. Suddenly there was a noise from behind the anomaly. Katie looked at them. "Maybe they just want to go back." she said but all of the children backed away, not completely convinced.
When Logan reached the edge of the wood he realised that the men hadn't even noticed they were gone. The men were shocked that he wasn't still sitting in the car and even more shocked to find that Sammy and Liam were in the woods as well. The men saw him and his mum. "What on earth are you doing, Wiles?" one of the guards shouted. Logan turned to the man and took his radio. "My team are in the woods. The deinonychus are still running about. Sammy, Liam and Katie are still alive and need a bit of help. I'll need..."
"Stop right there, Wiles. If the team are still in there then we are going to get them out. You wait here and control the rescue." the man said. Logan didn't want to. He knew he had to help his team. They would be desperate to rescue him if it was him so he wanted to do the same now. "Mum, please, distract them, I need to save my team." Logan said. His mum looked confused for a moment and then nodded as if she understood what to do. Logan walked over to a truck and pulled out a couple of cases. He opened the cases and smiled at the guns inside. He checked they were tranquillisers and then pulled them out. He now had three guns and he knew who he was going to give the guns to. He then looked at the guards. His mother had broken down into tears and the men were surrounding her. Logan smiled, he knew that his mother was uneasy about what he did but she was helping him to save his friends even if she didn't understand it was life and death. Then he disappeared back into the wood.
As the creatures spread around the anomaly Sammy realised what they were doing. "They've realised we know this place. They're trying to herd us through the anomaly onto their turf." Sammy said. Liam found himself wondering whether the creatures were bright enough to do that but Sammy seemed convinced they were. He wasn't about to argue. "So what do we do?" Liam asked.
"If we run forwards then they'll kill us. If we run back we go back in time. You decide." Sammy said.
"Back in time." Katie said. Liam nodded and then Sammy smiled. They all stepped back and were engulfed in the light.
Logan saw the creatures. The child was looking for his friends and saw the anomaly. He had stolen a radio and was wondering what to do with it. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to reach any of his friends but it would also give him hope that if he was in trouble he would be able to contact someone if he needed help. He also wanted to know that he could find his team if he wanted to. He guessed and dreamed Sammy was still alive but wasn't sure and wanted to call her. He pulled out the radio and tried Sammy. "Sammy?" Logan asked. She didn't answer and there seemed be to no signal. "Katie?" he asked, trying his girlfriend. When she didn't answer, he began to panic. Sammy might not answer because she was being Sammy and wasn't going to answer any radio calls but Katie would. Katie would answer to find out what was happening. He called up Liam and Liam didn't answer either. "Liam? What's wrong?" Logan said down the radio. No one was answering and it worried him. What had happened to the team?
Katie recognised the place they ended up. The log was still broken from where she had landed on it. Liam and Sammy were running in seconds, losing themselves in the dense forest. Katie followed them as they ran and could tell the deinonychus were chasing after them. "We need to find somewhere to hide." Sammy shouted back instructions. It was her element and she seemed most in home in the past, neither of the other two wanted to argue with her about her judgement. Sammy stopped and skidded around. "Left!" she shouted and they all ran to the left.
Liam stopped and bent double, panting. Sammy had lead them to some sort of waterfall and they were shielded behind it under a canopy of rock. The run had been punishing in the heat but the worst part had also been the best. They were in the past! He was so invigorated and terrified by the idea of time travel that all the fear of the deinonychus had long since melted away. Katie was also panting but Sammy seemed unaffected by the heat or the run. She was standing as still as possible and, when Liam noticed the four dark shapes through the waterfall, he realised that the creatures were still around. He froze, remembering what fear was, and all the children watched silently as the creatures looked around for them. Everyone of the children knew that if they reached out they would be able to touch the creatures through the waterfall and it caused each of their hearts to pound. It would only take the creatures seconds to break through the water and kill them all. One of the creatures moved closer to the waterfall and Sammy slowly ducked, pulling the others down with her. They all pushed back as far as possible and made themselves as small as possible, hoping that they couldn't be seen. The spray from the bottom of the waterfall splashed them but they ignored it, looking up at the creature. The head of the deinonychus broke apart the water to allow itself to go through to search for the teenagers. As the creature searched around the cave Sammy and the others crouched directly under it so they couldn't be seen and stayed as still as possible. Then with calls to the others in the pack, the head withdrew, the shadows left and all the children deflated a little as they sighed with relief. "Good work, Sammy." Liam said as he gasped. Sammy was still nervous. She turned to the others. "We can't stay here. We have to get back to the anomaly. It could close with us on this side." Sammy said. Liam looked at her and then at Katie. He frowned and knew what Katie was about to say. "You still didn't tell us how you managed to come back through our anomaly." Katie pointed out. Sammy looked annoyed and confused, offering her two team members a stare. "You want to go through that now? Bearing in mind we're in the past, hunted by deinonychus and" she said, "we have to leave otherwise we'll be stuck here. Because if you do then I guess you two will be staying here." Sammy said turning to leave. She sounded hostile as if the question had angered her greatly. It probably had. Katie followed her, knowing that it could and would have to wait, but Liam didn't. He stood there still and turned to face the other way, facing the stone wall. He knew that if he faced Sammy he would be unable to stay angry at her. He forced himself to remember every time Sammy had rejected him or ignoring his attempts. He forced himself to remember the name Oliver and Sammy directly lying to him about it. "Sammy, you think you can just lie to us and keep secrets, you can't! None of us can trust you." he said. "None of us want to trust you!"
"What do you mean?" Sammy asked, turning back to face Liam. Katie could see a spark of pain in Sammy's eyes as she looked back at Liam. "I mean you keep acting like you want to help but when we ask for you to tell us the simplest thing you won't." Liam said. "We don't even know your real name and now we're asking for something that might save our lives and you won't tell us that either! Just tell us how you managed go walk through that anomaly while you were meant to be fighting of the deinonychus."
"Because it's me and I..."
"Sammy, the truth. I don't want to go anywhere with a lier." Liam said. His voice wasn't loud or angry any more but it was very grave and truthful. Sammy knew there was no chance he was lying. "We can't trust you, Sammy. Your stupid games are going to get us all killed."
"Liam, we have to go. If we stay here then we'll all die." Sammy said. Liam knew she was right but just wanted a bit of truth from Sammy, just one tiny little bit of truth. "I'm not making you stay, no one is. You and Katie can go at any time. You do what you think is best Sammy and do what you want to do. Go on, see if I care." Liam still didn't turn even when Sammy walked over to him. She let him face the wall and kept herself behind him. She whispered something into his ear and Katie wondered what she was saying. What ever she had said worked and Liam nodded. All his want for truth had gone and Katie got the feeling that Sammy and Liam had both got what they wanted. "OK, I'm with you." Liam said.
Logan ran towards the anomaly and gasped. His team were missing and there were signs that the creatures had been there. He pulled out his radio and tried each member of his team again. None of them answered. It was almost as if none of them had any signal. He was worried, either his team were dead or... He stared at the anomaly in fear. Or they had gone through. He hoped it was the second but he couldn't tell. He used his radio and called up the guards. He was met by barked orders and nasty words. "Do you know where the others are?" he asked, interrupting the shower of words and insults. The man replied no and Logan looked at the anomaly. He wasn't sure what to do and then decided. He needed to find his team and if they had gone through they would need guns. If Sammy had been with them then he could guess that was where they had gone and he was dreading even giving the other option a moment's thought. He sighed to himself but soon found himself smiling with the very idea of what he was about to do. Then he walked forwards and into the light.
Carmen walked into Sammy's room. She looked around and saw that the girl was missing. "Sammy?" she called out. She pulled out a radio and called Sammy. No one answered. She pulled out her phone which was linked to the security cameras. She found a camera that showed the exit of the building. The camera showed Sammy climb into one of the cars with a gun in her hand and then, after spending a few minutes on the job of hot-wiring the car, waved at the camera and sped off. Carmen smiled and found it hard to contain the laughter that was brewing due to Sammy's actions. Sammy's cheek and ingenuity was something to be marvelled at. Carmen then realised what Sammy had done. Not only had she broken the rules of her punishment but now she was an unlicensed and under-age driver carrying a dangerous government licensed tranquillising weapon having stolen a government car from the parking lot of a government building. That didn't even include the details of where Sammy's inevitable destination was, how danger it was and the general fact that a direct order from a government official who could have Sammy locked away had just been broken by the teenager. Carmen was about to radio in Sammy's escape when curiosity got the best of her and she pulled up another camera showing footage from minutes before, wondering how the girl had even managed to escape the building. Sammy was walking down the corridor, panting. She was holding two tranquilliser guns and one was strapped to her back. She was stopped by two guards, who recognised her. "Should you really be out here, Miss Gilans?"
"There's a creature." Sammy said, pretending to be out of breath an slightly scared. Carmen smiled at the footage, impressed. "They need back up." Sammy continued, handing the two guns to the guards. They nodded and one turned to Sammy, asking whether she needed an escort to help her out of the building. Sammy had refused the escort saying that the creature attacking needed all hands on deck. Carmen watched as Sammy smiled and ran down the corridor seconds after the men had disappeared around a corner and then the corridor was empty. Carmen pressed a button on her radio. "Sammy's escaped." she said simply.
Katie wondered what Sammy had told Liam but he hadn't questioned her again. Sammy was walking in front of them, her knife in her hand, ready to protect her friends. Katie was walking next to Liam. The boy seemed to be taking everything in. "There's a pack in the area." Liam said, pointing at a pile of dung. "I'm guessing meat eaters." Katie looked at Sammy.
"How recent?" Sammy asked. They all knew what the dung meant. It meant that it could give them some idea of how far away the deinonychus were. "I'm guessing it was done after we came through." Liam said. Sammy nodded as she knelt down beside it. She ran a hand through it and Liam did the same. Katie watched in disgust. She wasn't sure what to do and thought that what the two were doing was gross. "Defiantly meat." Liam said. He moved it closer to his face and smelt it. "Fresh." he decided.
"Yep." Sammy agreed. Katie turned away as Sammy licked a spot of the dung off her hand and nodded. "Meat." she said. Liam did the same. He guessed he would have to get used to tasting the samples like Sammy was. He grimaced as he tasted it but could tell it was obviously the excrement of a meat eating dinosaur. "You two done yet?" Katie said, still looking away. She wasn't going to look at them as they ate the dung. Sammy and Liam stood up, each with a handful of poo. Sammy lent down to a couple of large ferns and wiped the poo off her hand and Liam copied her since he didn't want to wipe his hand clean on something poisonous or dangerous. "We're clean." Liam said. Katie turned round to face the two of them. She shook her head and wondered whether she would end up acting like that if she stayed in the past any longer than she had to. "You are both disgusting." Katie said. She could feel her stomach only just beginning to settle down and even then she still felt sick. Sammy looked at her. "It helped." Sammy said, convincingly. It seemed neither of the two who had eaten the poo had felt ill from the disgusting task. "We should get going, the creatures might still be searching for us. The closer we get the anomaly the safer we should be." Sammy added. Liam looked at her, trying to work out whether to trust her or not. What she had said back then had made some sense but he wasn't sure whether or not they would survive this. He smiled at Sammy and decided that he would follow her until he died. Katie nodded. She wanted to get back and see Logan. She was just as worried about him as much she was worried about herself.
Logan felt the sudden waves of heat as he stepped free of the light. He gasped at the beauty of the land and turned around, taking it all in. It was like the survival dome but so much more exciting, knowing that he might be the only child to have been there. He hoped he wasn't because it meant his team were all dead. He turned back to the anomaly, considering if he should go back through, just to make sure he wasn't just dreaming it all up. The shining white anomaly stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of greens and browns that were the undergrowth of the Cretaceous area. He smiled at the wonder that he could see. Then he remembered why he had come and he turned back. He wasn't sure what he was doing. He might never find his team in here. He thought about going back but his team were there. Sammy could probably look after herself. Liam would stay by Sammy's side and certainly knew enough about survival to last a couple of days, maybe even weeks depending on how much Sammy wasn't telling them. Katie was the person he was the most worried about. Not only did he love her but he knew that she was the least suited to the past. Sammy and Liam would look after her but there where times when they wouldn't always be there to protect her. He looked back at the anomaly and tried to remember everything about where the anomaly was. Then he disappeared deeper into the wood.
The guards decided that the anomaly needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. They had already called up the adults team and had asked them to come down and deal with the creatures but they were busy and would be for at least a few days. They were also planning to set up a constant watch on the anomaly so if anything even thought about coming through they would be shot. They had also been given the go ahead to arrest Sammy, Logan and Liam for trespassing on a government site.
Sammy stopped and put her hand up. The others behind her fell silent and looked at her. "What's wrong?" Liam asked. Their hearts were pounding like drums as they expected that the creatures might be attacking. Everyone listened out for a sound that might had frightened Sammy. Sammy was glancing around. She signalled for the others to creep back into the shadows of the trees and stand behind her. She hoped she would be able to save herself with the knife but wasn't sure. She saw movement a few metres away and then saw a figure run towards them. Katie pushed past Sammy and was soon hugging the approaching figure. "Logan?" they all said, amazed that their leader had reached them. They looked at him and waited for him to tell them what do to. The boy handed Sammy and Liam guns and kept one for himself. Liam looked at the gun and Sammy reassured him it was simply a tranquilliser. Logan smiled at them as Sammy lead Liam away to give him a quick lesson about what he could and Logan took Katie's hand. He turned to her. "I was worried."
"So was I." Katie replied. "And I missed you."
"Well, I found my mum."
"Did you tell her about us?" Katie asked. Logan shook his head. "There was a lot I didn't tell her." Logan said gravely. He looked at Katie for a few seconds and she could tell her had hated lying to his own mother. "We need to get back to the anomaly." he said, turning to Sammy. Sammy shook her head. "It's getting dark. The creatures will be able to see us better than we'll see them and we're on their turf. We should find somewhere to sleep and then go back the anomaly."
"What if it closes?" Katie asked. She looked at Sammy trying to work out what she was thinking. "It's still too dangerous to move on in the dark." Sammy said.
"OK." Logan said. "And where do you suggest?" he asked. Sammy glanced around and smiled.
They climbed up a tree and they talked to each other quietly. Logan told them what had happened to him and they told him what had happened to them. Logan then told them about how he had managed to reach them. "Does anyone know the way back the anomaly?" Liam asked. Katie was drifting off to sleep under the protection of one of Logan's arms but both Sammy and Logan seemed alert and awake. Liam felt sleepy but he wasn't about to show it. "I think I know the way." Logan said. Sammy nodded and Liam felt happy about her acknowledgement. Sammy was sorting through her bag and pulled out her note book. She finished her drawing of Logan and showed him then she wrote Logan's name underneath it. Logan thought the drawing was brilliant even if he couldn't see it very well in the dimming light. "Where did you learn to draw?" Logan asked. He remembered all of the drawings he had seen in the notebook and how good Sammy was at art. "I spend lots of time getting bored. I practised drawing when I got bored or when I was captured."
"Captured by who?" Liam asked, concerned and curious. He longed to know more about Sammy's past so he could really get to know the girl he couldn't stop loving. Sammy smiled and the setting sun made her face become a mixture shadows and light. "Lots of people." Sammy said simply. It was clear she had picked up on Liam's attempt to get information from her. "Can I look in your notebook?" Liam asked. Sammy shook her head. She opened her notebook to a certain page and turned it round to face Liam. There was a drawing of the whole team running towards them. The sabre tooth creature from the base was chasing them. It was a brilliant drawing and Liam also thought that they were going to break out of the drawing. Liam wondered why he had been included in the drawing but smiled as he saw that he was holding Sammy's hand and Logan was holding Katie's. Despite how good it was, the drawing was missing one thing. It didn't have Sammy holding Logan's hand. As Sammy showed Logan, Liam was left wondered whether holding Logan's hand had meant anything to Sammy at all. He had been holding hands with Sammy in the drawing, not Logan. "Who's going to take first watch?" Sammy asked, looking down. None of the boys seemed too excited, in fact both were exhausted and Katie was already asleep. "OK, I'll do it." Sammy said. Liam looked around as he felt himself falling asleep. He just hoped that Sammy would be able to stop any attacks.
Liam found Sammy nudging him to wake him up in the middle of the night. He guessed it was his time to take a watch but part of him wanted to sleep some more. He was still very tired. "Seen anything?" he asked her, sitting up next to her.
"Nothing dangerous." Sammy said, moving closer to him. The air around them was cool, refreshing but at the same time annoyingly humid. They sat in silence, Liam staring at Logan and Katie. The two were snuggled up close and Liam wished him and Sammy could be like that. "Did you mean what you said?" Liam asked. "Do you still mean it?" Sammy found herself unable to stop herself from nodding. Terrified of what she had said, she bit her lip and told him that she was going to get some sleep. She laid down and turned away not looking at Liam. He let her sleep, unsure whether to believe her or not. As Sammy lay there, pretending to be asleep. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Logan was half asleep when Sammy climbed down the tree they had been sleeping in. He watched her as she stopped at the bottom and pulled something out of her pocket. Glancing at Liam, it was clear the boy who had once been on guard had drifted off and Logan couldn't blame him. Going back to watching Sammy, Logan knew that he couldn't just let her wonder off so climbed down and hid behind the tree. "You can come out now, Logan." Sammy said without turning round. She was sitting on the ground, looking out through the mass of tall trees that towered above them both. "What are you doing?" Logan asked as he walked round. He took a seat next to Sammy and wondered whether she was looking at anything important. "Just thinking." Sammy said. She stared down at her feet for a few more seconds and took a deep breath. "Do you want to spend your whole life doing something like this?" she asked, turning to him. Logan thought hard for a few seconds and then answered. "I would say yes but I don't think so, at least not truthfully. Well, not at the moment anyway but we've only just started. Don't be scared off or anything like that but, yeah, I want to start a family when I'm older I suppose. One that isn't always in danger of being eaten. It would be nice." Logan said. "What about you?"
"I don't think I will ever be able to stop." Sammy said. "Believe me, I've tried" She shook her head. "There needs to be someone to stop the creatures and that someone is currently me. If I could stop I probably would but I don't really truly think I could ever live without it. I love doing this too much and I need to do it. It's all my life is, my whole life." Sammy said. Logan thought for a second and turned to her. "Sammy, I just want the truth. Who is Oliver? That boy you talked about. I won't tell Liam if you don't want me to."
"You sound like Liam." Sammy said and a smile spread across her face at her own mention of the boy's name. She let the smile fade and continued. "This group isn't the first group to fight anomalies. Nor is it going to be the last. Oliver knew about the anomalies and I knew him. He was one of my best friends, more than just that." She looked at Logan, her face suddenly worried and vulnerable. Logan wondered whether or not Sammy's friends had sat beside her in the way he was doing now and she had been able to act as innocent and scared as she was now. "What I told you, you won't tell anyone else, will you?" she asked. Logan promised he wouldn't. He knew that Sammy needed to have someone she could trust, if only with the vague details. He also knew Sammy didn't want to talk any more about herself. "OK, now I'll tell you about my problems." Logan said. He smiled at the girl and then looked upwards at his other friends. "Well, I really love Katie but this life is a bit rubbish when you try to work out a romantic gesture." Logan said. Sammy smiled. "I thought you might be the expert in romantic gestures that include dinosaurs. I was thinking some prehistoric flowers or something."
"Last true romantic, aren't you? Not very romantic myself but here goes. Well, you could try saving her life, that always works." Sammy suggested with a smile. Logan laughed and patted Sammy on the back. "No, that's your job. Seriously though, you do such a good job at saving our lives so I don't think that'll work." Logan said. Sammy thought for a second and then pulled out her notebook. She flicked through the pages and then stopped when she found the right page. She read through it smiling. "OK well, in the past there are loads of great ponds with brilliantly clear water, surrounded by cliffs, full of great water plants that make it look like a mystic cove. If you can find one of them, it's always a winner. There's also brilliant sun sets in the past and the future isn't so bad if you know where and when to look..." Sammy said. Logan nodded but knew that he wanted a less adventurous romantic show to start off with. "There's loads of places you could take her but there's also this." Sammy continued. She had realised that the dates she was talking about had already been done and had been all been very dangerous and hard to pull off. Smiling, she pulled something that looked like a rock out of her pocket and handed it to Logan. "What is it?" he asked, staring at it, turning it in his hands. It looked like some sort of small tooth and it was attached to a bit of string. "It's a troodon tooth. A troodon's a type of dinosaur. I've drilled a hole in it and it'll make a good necklace." Sammy said. "It's not much but it's completely unique."
"It's like the one you carry." Logan said. He had noticed Sammy carried a necklace in her pocket since she had first turned up at ARC junior. Whenever she didn't talk she even resorted to playing with her knife, drawing or reaching into her pocket and turning a piece of string in her pocket. He had guessed it was a necklace. He had never actually seen her wear it around her neck and she had never given any of them a long time to look at it. She pulled out the necklace and showed it to Logan. It had a larger dagger-like tooth on it and three letters marked into it. The letters were neatly carved out and Logan wondered what they meant. "ASG?" he asked. Sammy didn't answer, she just turned away and tucked the necklace back into her pocket. "Put it on." Logan said. "It's special to you. Put it on." Sammy looked at the necklace and then pulled the necklace on slowly. She reach out and held the necklace in her hand and then smiled. Then the two got back to silently looking through the tree of the wood. Logan didn't ask any more questions about it as he tucked the necklace Sammy had given him away into his pocket.
By the way I don't own Primeval. I do own ARC JUNIOR however.
I'm sorry I keep forgetting disclaimers!
