Author's Note:
This chapter switches P.O.V.s more than most, sorry if it gets too confusing. The wonderful OC Caspar (he's brought in later in this chapter) belongs to Squabble, who kindly let me borrow him:-) He first showed up in her fan fiction "Survivors" which an awesome fic you should be sure to check out.
And as always, thank you so much to everyone for reading and reviewing!
"I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me, when a moment came that stopped me on a dime." ~Tim McGraw
Nick's P.O.V.
We hadn't seen it coming. We hadn't been able to speak soon enough. It had just…happened. It had taken twenty-seven years for Claudia Brown to become the woman she is and come this far, yet it had only taken a split second to very possibly end that life. It took everything I had not to let my body fall into the shocked, catatonic state it so desperately wanted to. At the moment, I was barely clinging to a small sliver of reality.
One minute she had been standing there, alive and well, and then something had lunged for her and both she and the large dinosaur had fell forwards into the anomaly. The creature that had lunged for her had not been one of the peaceful herbivores, but Connor said he had no idea what it had been. It had only been there for a moment after emerging from the small thicket of woods and then attacking Claudia, but it had been unlike anything we had seen before. So large, yet so fast it had become a blur when it ran.
I stared at the blank space where the anomaly had been not five seconds ago. It was closed, leaving Claudia trapped on the other side. I heard Connor's voice trying to pull me from my trance, but I was immobilized. It wasn't until Lester slapped me hard across the face that I came to, and I blinked slowly as I tried to return to reality.
"Cutter," Lester said, trying to get my attention.
"Professor?" Connor said from where he held his compass and waited for the magnetic field to return.
"Snap out of it Cutter," Lester said, shaking my shoulders.
I numbly turned to him, surprised when his expression was one of worry. Abby stood next to him, watching me with a similar concern. I imagine I must have made quite a sight to them, standing there silently and not responding. Joseph walked over to stand on my other side.
"Nick, if we are going to find Claudia, then we need you're help. You know more about the anomalies than all of us combined. Now wake up, and we'll figure out how to get her back," Joseph said in his quiet voice, and the words get her back brought me fully back to earth. I turned to Joseph, who sighed in relief.
"He's back," he said.
"I never left," I snapped.
"Yes you did, you took a lovely little trip to La La Land," Lester said.
"We need to figure out if the anomaly has somehow moved. When that one opened underwater that time, it moved along the course of a fault line. If this anomaly operates the same way then we should be able to pinpoint the direction of the fault line and predict where the anomaly will reopen," I said, my mind turning furiously. I mentally consulted everything I had ever learned about the anomalies, working my thoughts overtime.
"I'll get a map," Stephen said.
I nodded and he left to go find a map whilst Joseph and Connor tweaked the compass again, trying to further extend its range.
"We'll find her," Abby said, walking over to stand next to me and laying her hand on my arm.
"I know," I lied. Because honestly, there was no guarantee when or if that anomaly would reopen.
Claudia's P.O.V.
I woke up to the smell of something burning. My body ached from head to toe, and I had no idea where I was. I tentatively opened my eyes to scan my surroundings. I was lying on the ground next to a fire, which was well contained and currently providing warmth against the cold and bitter air. I heard footsteps coming closer and I scrambled into a sitting position even as my aching muscles screamed in protest.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," said a male voice.
As he stepped forward and the firelight illuminated his features, I saw that he looked about as bad as I must. Scratches marred his face and blood matted his hair. He also didn't look very old, I would put him in his mid twenties at most. In spite of his injuries, he was handsome, with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked hoarsely.
"Vlad Caspar. I've been stuck here for a year and a half," he said, motioning to the woodland surrounding us to show me what he meant by "here."
"Where are we?" I asked, pulling a lock of hair from my eyes.
"No idea what period, but we're in the Prehistoric times," he shrugged, sinking down onto the ground next to me. Something about his relaxed posture and easy acceptance of the fact he was in Prehistoric times made him seem approachable. I didn't know him, but I had a gut instinct that I could trust him.
"So what's your name?" he asked me.
"Claudia. Claudia Brown," I said, wincing as a shooting pain went through my arm.
The man next to me must have noticed the small movement. "Yeah, you took a pretty rough fall when he predator knocked you though," he said.
"Predator?" I repeated.
"I don't know what else to call it. It's not your average dinosaur, though. Seriously creepy," he said.
"By the way, the thing I fell through is an anomaly," I explained.
"Was an anomaly," he corrected. "Whatever an anomaly is, the one you fell through isn't there anymore," he said.
A feeling a dread began spreading through me, and I felt the blood leave my face. If the anomaly was gone, then that left me with one option. I was stuck. Trapped here with a man I didn't know. Trapped here without Nick.
"I take it from your expression that the big white hole closing is a bad thing?" he asked, absently fingering the strap of a large military gun that was lying next to him.
"A very bad thing," I agreed.
"Super. Well, I'll go hunt some food down for us. You hang here and yell if any creatures get too close. I won't be far," he said, rising to his feet and picking up the rifle he'd been fiddling with as we talked.
"Thank you Vlad," I said.
"Please, call me Caspar. Vlad makes me sound like a bad Dracula knock off," he laughed.
I found it admirable that he could even laugh in a situation like this. We were trapped in a world of dinosaurs with no way home, yet still he cracked a joke like the predicament didn't even bother him. After being here for a year it may not bother him anymore, I mused. I was grateful that he had brought me here, lord knows had I been left out in the open I would be dead by now. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the tree behind me, trying not to think of Nick and the possibility I may never see him again.
Nick's P.O.V.
"If my theory is right, then the anomaly should reopen somewhere around this area," I said, laying my finger down on the area of the map that represented downtown Asheville.
"How do we know where exactly downtown it's going to open?" Connor asked.
"That's the problem. We don't. We're going to split up and all take a different part of downtown and watch for anything suspicious that might lead us to an anomaly," I said.
"Lovely. So if we see a T-Rex strolling down Main Street, then we should probably keep an eye out for a large glittering white hole?" Lester asked sarcastically.
"I could without the sarcasm, but yes, that pretty much sums it up."
"Wonderful," he muttered.
"Are we ready to go then?" Stephen asked.
I nodded and we again split up into our rental cars, heading for downtown. I felt a small pang when the large estate disappeared in the rearview mirror, for it reminded me of when I had told Claudia I would try to make sure we found the time to explore a bit before returning to London. I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt and tried to keep my mind on the task ahead of us.
Claudia's P.O.V.
"Well, for something that came out of the Prehistoric era, this isn't half bad," I said after tentatively taking a bit of the small mammal Casper had skinned and cooked over the fire for us.
"It's the best we'll get around here," he shrugged.
"I suppose so," I said offhandedly, distracted by my thoughts. "Can I ask you something, Caspar?"
"Shoot," he said.
"This is kind of personal, but when you got trapped here, did you leave anyone behind? Did you get separated from anyone you cared about?" I asked.
He pursed his lips thoughtfully and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I'm a military guy, and I left some friends behind that probably never stopped looking for me," he said.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I said sympathetically, knowing exactly where he was coming from.
"What about you Claudia, did you leave anyone?" he asked, stretching his long legs out in front of him and resting his back against one of the many trees behind us.
"Yes," I nodded, my yearning for Nick at that moment nearly overwhelming me.
"Friend? Relative? Boyfriend?" he asked.
"Boyfriend," I said.
"Well that sucks," he said without sarcasm, seeming to genuinely feel sorry for me.
"Yeah, it does," I said with a bitter laugh.
"Who knows, maybe one of those big white holes will open again and you can go home," he said.
"They're called anomalies," I said.
"Big white hole, anomaly, call it what you will but we could really use one right now," he said.
"Undoubtedly," I agreed.
"You get some sleep, I'll keep watch for anything that wants to have us for dinner," he said, rising to his feet and clicking the safety off the large machine gun.
"I don't feel right sleeping while you have to stay awake and make sure I don't get eaten," I protested.
"Na, I enjoy keeping watch. It's been way too long since I've gotten to play target practice with one of the dinosaurs running around. They started shying away after I shot six of them," he said as if it was disappointing that they no longer came around.
"Ah," I said, deciding I liked the man's quirky sense of humor, even if it was a bit odd.
I enjoyed having someone's company and I appreciated his protection. I fell asleep listening to the sound of Caspar's pacing and Nick's image behind my eyes, holding on to the latter like a lifeline.
"I'm miles from where you are. I lay down on the cold ground and I, I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms." ~Snow Patrol