Liam watched as the creature attacked Walsh. He fired as many shots as he could to try and deter the creature but no matter what he did it wouldn't move. Walsh was fading. Liam doubted he would last much longer. Liam doubted that, even if he freed Walsh, the man would survive. Logan ran up behind him and the two fired shots at the creature. It kept attacking Walsh and Liam frowned. The creature turned to look at Logan and Liam and Liam continued to fire shots. Logan stopped him. "Back away slowly." Logan whispered to Liam. Only then did Liam realise what Pudding was about to do. Pudding was about to attack.
Jenny stood at the door, holding the gun. She could hear the sounds of gun shots echoing along the corridors and shouted. Whoever was shouting she couldn't tell nor could she make out the words but she could tell that someone was shouting. Suddenly Katie and Sammy ran past, heading the way the boys had gone. When they saw her guarding the door, Katie continued to run but Sammy stopped. She paused. "Open the door." Sammy said. When she got curious and confused looks of Katie and Jenny, she offered them a cool smile. "I've got a plan."
Liam ducked into a lab followed by Logan. They closed the door and pressed against is, hope that Pudding wouldn't be able to open it. Liam looked around the lab and then ran into the room. He began to madly search in the cupboards. Logan watched Liam, confused. "We're in a science lab! There's loads of stuff we can use to defend ourselves which could probably save our lives." Liam said. He opened a draw and smiled as he found a set of electrical equipment. He found a plug near the door. "Logan, I'm going to need you to move soon." Liam said as he finished the circuit. Logan leapt towards him and Liam drove the wires forwards as Pudding leapt. There was a flash of blinding light and Logan found himself calling out Liam's name. He hoped his friend would be alive. When the light faded down, Pudding was thundering back down the corridor. Liam was looking shaken. He dropped the wires with a shaking hand. "I'm never trying that again." Liam said and Logan smiled. "I won't make you."
Sammy was holding one of the cubs like it was a baby in her arms. Jenny watched as Sammy paced the corridor, talking quietly to the cub with soothing words. Katie smiled at Jenny, trying to tell her to have faith in Sammy but felt herself begin to question Sammy's plan. "OK, you do know what you're doing right?" Katie asked, whispering to Sammy.
"Of course." Sammy said. "Who's a little tiger cub? Yes you are, yes you are."
"Sammy, you do know that Jenny can see you right?" Katie said. "And what even is this plan?"
"I'm going to bring the mum to us. If the cubs are with us then she's bound to attack us." Sammy said. Katie couldn't see how it was a good thing but guessed somehow it would help. Sammy produced her radio seconds later. "We think Walsh is dead." Liam's voice came through the radio wavering. Sammy threw the radio at Jenny, who jumped but caught it. "What did you say?"
"We think Walsh is dead and the tiger's still running around." Liam said. "She might be on your way." Jenny frowned and told the girls the news. The two girls had a different reaction. Katie seemed panicked, holding the gun tighter in her grip. Sammy seemed calm, still holding the little cub and letting a daredevil smile flood onto her face. "Good." Sammy said.
Pudding thundered towards the corridor. She was hunting down her cubs, frightened that others like her past attackers would be killing her cubs. She chased down the winding corridors, listening out for the sounds of her cubs. She would kill anyone hurting her cubs. She turned a corner and heard the sound of her cubs. They didn't sound frightened but that didn't mean they weren't in danger.
Katie watched as Pudding leapt towards Sammy. She knew what she was meant to do, remembering the plan that Sammy had quickly detailed for them. Jenny helped, firing shots at Pudding. Pudding would recognise Sammy which was why the big cat was attacking the teenager. Sammy was already prey that had escaped once and now she was holding one of the cubs. In the past Pudding would have a right to believe that Sammy was attacking the cub. Katie kept firing shots but wasn't aiming properly, she was scared that if she shot Sammy it you be as good as a real bullet. Pudding took another bounding leap, about to hit Sammy. Suddenly a final shot dug into Pudding which knocked the giant creature to the ground. Sammy smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "What are we mean to do with her?" Katie asked. Sammy knelt down to check Pudding over. The cuts were healing quickly and Pudding seemed healthier than Sammy would have expected from what had happened earlier. Katie looked at Sammy and when the girl stood up she hugged her. "Sammy, you are really a miracle worker." Katie said. Even Jenny seemed happy with the outcome of Sammy's almost suicidal plan.
Liam and Logan walked slowly towards Walsh. They were both dreading what they were bound to see. "Jenny," Liam said down the radio. "Call a medic, even if the tiger is caught or not."
"We've caught her." Jenny explained. "How's Walsh?"
"Fading, I think." Liam said. He handed Logan the radio as he knelt down, looking for signs of like. He could barely hold down his stomach as he looked at what was left of one of their teachers. He could hear Logan talking in the background as he looked away and felt himself unable to hear anything properly. He couldn't think, knowing that he could have been able to stop Walsh from having to go through what he had just been through. They should never have run off. He knew they had saved the others in doing so but they should have never left him alone. One of them could have go ahead while the other should have been there to look after Walsh. Logan kept talking and the two boys stood near Walsh, not sure what to do.
"Jenny, are you medically trained?" Sammy asked. Jenny nodded and Sammy suggested that she wanted to help Walsh, hopefully sending one of the boys back to help them. Jenny walked away, having not picked up on the fact that Sammy had a plan formulating. Sammy wasn't trying too hard to keep it under wraps but a bit had gone towards making sure that Jenny didn't pick up on it. Katie had picked up on it. "Another conspiracy against the adults?"
"No, just something they won't be too happy about. The anomaly that Pudding came through has closed and won't open for a long time. We have no where to keep her or her cubs except..."
"Except what?" Katie asked but she knew what to expect.
"If Walsh is unable to teach us and we need the specialised training it'll take them a while to replace him, it'll mean that the training dome will be empty until a replace is found. It's a perfect habitat for Pudding and her cubs. You saw her in it when she chased after us, she was great. We could feed her and then find some sort of home for them later." Sammy said. She wasn't completely comfortable with the idea but knew that if she showed that then the idea would never go ahead. She also knew that it was either keeping them locked away or letting them be killed. Katie liked the idea but still wasn't really sure if it would work. "What happens if Pudding gets out? Then she would still be free to hunt everyone down." Katie asked, worried. If they had to constantly hunt Pudding down, maybe it would be so safe to let her live right next to them. Sammy smiled, making it clear that this was probably the part of the plan she was proudest about. "Me and Liam both saw the survival dome before. She's managed to leave claw marks in it but that's all. The doors are lockable and we've all been locked inside before. There's probably a way to drop in food from the vents or something like that and there are CCTV cameras dotted around the place. She'd never had to get out and she won't go into a mad frenzy so long as no one human goes into there with her. Chances are we could look after her and make sure the adults treat her well and she would have no need to escape." Katie could see the reasoning in Sammy's plan but also could tell it was a huge risk on Sammy's part. It was clear the plan could be traced back to Sammy and the teenager punished even more if the adults decided against the plan. The teenager may be even kicked off the team. Katie had already decided that Sammy was one to take these risks to protect the things and people she cared about, Pudding and her cubs fell into that. Then they heard footsteps and Logan ran up to them. He was met with a hug from Katie and a smile from Sammy. "It's good to see you again." Sammy said. Logan got the idea that Sammy wanted to ask how Liam was but wasn't about to. "Liam's fine as well. Bit shaken up but you can expect that from what he's having to deal with." Logan said. Sammy nodded and then turned back to the creature. "We need to move her and the cubs into the survival dome before she wakes up." Sammy explained. Logan looked at the large creature and wondered whether Sammy was mad. They could never lift that. Katie was the one who came up with the solution. "A trolley. You know, like a medical tray on wheels, but a big one. We could go to the medics and pick one up."
"There isn't enough time." Logan reasoned. They all could tell that he was right. If they went to the medics and back and then onto the survival dome they would be risking their advantage over Pudding. Sammy sighed and made it clear that she had been keeping this as a final option. "Stephanie's got one. She uses it to get in deliveries of food." Sammy said. "She's close enough."
"Do you really want to trust her again?"
"Do we even have a choice?" Sammy countered.
Stephanie sat in her lab. She was scared, having seen Logan sprint away having been delivered bad news by Sammy. She hadn't even been able to continue with the work she had been doing. She heard a knocking at the door and slowly walked towards it. She noticed her hands were shaking as she opened the door. Sammy and Logan stood there. They pushed inside and Sammy acted as cool as she could but was clearly allowing the anger in her voice to creep in. Logan guessed it was to show Stephanie that she shouldn't cross her. Stephanie's eyes were fixed to the guns that they were both carrying, wondering if Sammy was back for revenger for what she had done involving Pudding. "We need your deliveries trolley." Sammy said simply. She gave no reason because she didn't want to. Stephanie could almost guess why but didn't want to. Logan seemed to be fine with the idea but he had been fine with keeping the supposed to be dead tiger in Sammy's room. "We just need your deliveries trolley and then you can stay in here for as long as you want." Logan said. Stephanie looked at the two of them, mostly at Sammy. "I don't see what Liam sees in you. You're going to get the team disbanded."
"I'm doing what's right for everyone. Maybe you should try and do it sometimes instead of just thinking about yourself." Sammy said. She walked past Stephanie without another word and reappeared with the trolley. The trolley was a large one with a metal grill bottom, a metal pole frame and a set of added bungee cords to keep whatever was carried on it from falling off. Sammy headed towards the door without another word and Logan turned to Stephanie. "That is the sort of thing we need more of in this team." He directed it towards Stephanie because he didn't care if she told everyone what he had said and the leadership be past on. He made to make a point. Then he left, following Sammy. Stephanie watched the two children go and then sat down to continue work on her samples.
Liam watched as Jenny tried to revive Walsh. They were still lying in the corridor with Walsh still not showing any life signs but they knew he was alive at least. Liam felt helpless. The others were probably thinking up a plan about what to do with Pudding and putting that plan into action. All he could do was wait by Jenny's side waiting to find out the outcome that he had probably caused. Suddenly something hit him over the head. Whatever it was had been roundish and small but he had still felt it. Jenny seemed obvious to it as whatever had hit him rolled across the floor towards him. It was a small piece of paper, Sammy's hand writing was on it. It said only five words but Liam chose to act upon them. "Jenny, wouldn't it be safer if we did that inside one of the rooms? We can't be sure that Pudding with stay subdued." Liam said. Jenny saw the logic in what he was saying so carefully, picking up Walsh was slowly as they could, they moved him into a nearby room. Liam hung back in the corridor for a few seconds and then put a thumb up round the corner. The note had said, 'get out of the corridor' so Liam had done just that. As he walked into the room, he saw the rest of the team, Logan and Sammy were pushing Pudding while Katie was juggling the cubs. Liam bit down a laugh as he watched the group ran by. He watched as Sammy smiled at him and mouthed thank you. Then the team were gone. Liam thought about going after them, so he could help but he knew he was helping more staying with Jenny and stopping her from finding them where ever they were going. He guessed he was needed to stay there.
They reached the survival zone and stopped outside. Sammy began to work on the code, trying to guess it while the others looked over Pudding. "She's still breathing." Katie said.
"Of course, she's a little soldier she is. She jumped off the edge of a cliff and still survived." Sammy said.
"We're going to need to tell the adults about her." Logan said. He knew that all of them were acting as if it would never have to happen but they could all tell that sooner or later they would have to tell an adult. They were pretty much denying that it would have to happen. "We'll need to make sure no one goes in there to complete a training exercise and we'll need a way of getting Pudding food." he continued.
"Stephanie already knows that we're up to something. Truth is I doubt she won't tell the adults." Sammy said. "At least if we change the codes to the survival dome then no adults can get in."
"Are you really changing the codes?" Katie gasped as she saw Sammy working quickly on the door. Sammy nodded. "I'll tell you them later." The door slid open and Sammy nodded for them to push the sabre-tooth inside.
Stephanie watched the footage from her computer and frowned. Sammy had a right to doubt her. She could see that now. She could tell how Sammy felt about her but the harsh words that Sammy and Logan had both said were still very present in her mind. She could understand their loyalty if it was truly a person, if it wasn't a mutated creature that had no hope for itself. It was a mutated creature, completely alone in the world apart from it's cubs. Sammy must understand that. She hadn't seen what Sammy had typed in on the code pad but could tell that it was a complex code. As the children walked into the dome, Stephanie realised something they had missed. The men would still be in there. She thought about doing something but Sammy and Logan seemed to think they could handle everything and anything. She ignored it and got back to her work.
Pulling the trolley though the survival dome was a breathtaking amazing experience. Above the group were massive monuments to nature and they were pulling a powerful predator and it's cubs through the undergrowth. Logan didn't care that the trolley was hard to pull through the undergrowth and that it kept getting stuck in the roots of trees or caught in the trailing plants on the floor. He kept looking at Sammy who was walking with him, pulling the trolley with him. He also glanced back at Katie a lot, she was walking behind them, holding the cubs. He wanted to make sure that Katie was alright. She was frowning and Logan could see no reason for Katie to be upset. "What's wrong?" he asked her. Katie didn't answer at first, trying to find a way of putting how she felt, but she slowly got round to answering. "It's just I'm getting the feeling we're forgetting something." She shook her head to force the thoughts away. "Probably nothing." Logan turned back not fully convinced that Katie was alright. He looked at Sammy and asked her where they was going. Sammy shrugged and then looked around. "Somewhere deep in the forest. If Pudding's left near the wall then she might begin to panic. She might get confused or scared that this is some type of trick." They stopped for a second to lift a wheel of the trolley over a large fallen log and Katie raised a hand for them to be quiet. Logan and Sammy stopped and listened. "I can hear something." Katie said. The others began to listen and then Sammy realised what they could hear. "I hear voices. Sammy said. The more Katie listened to the sound she realised that there were voices. "The men!" she hissed when she realised what they had forgotten. Logan looked at Sammy only to find that both the girls were looking at him for answers. He wasn't sure what to do but forced a badly-formed rough plan to start in his head. "We can leave Pudding and her cubs here, they can look after themselves. If we lead the men back out of the dome then everything will work out." Sammy nodded agreeing with the plan and turned to began to free Pudding. Before she even had the chance a cold hard voice broke through the undergrowth. "They're over here!" one of the men shouted. Sammy took charge as Logan stood there, his mouth opening and closing, unsure how to react or what the next stage of his plan should be. "You two can lead the men away. I'll free Pudding." Sammy said. Katie put the cubs down and Sammy moved them towards the trolley. Katie and Logan both looked at Sammy for a few seconds before another shout from the men made them want to run. Katie ran off first and Logan glanced at Sammy, who nodded to tell him she would be alright, then he sprinted away as well. Sammy moved the final cub and found they were beginning to move around. The cubs stayed relatively near their mother as Sammy cut the bungee cords which were holding Pudding down. Sammy then turned. Two men were standing behind her. Sammy looked at them and knew that if the men were near Pudding when she woke up then they would certainly be killed. Sammy smiled and leapt over the trolley Pudding was on. She could tell the men was expecting an easy fight and also hoped they could tell from her daredevil smile that that was the opposite of what they would get if they tried to stop her from making a run for it. The men began to circle the trolley, not bright enough to spilt up and attack Sammy from opposite sides. She smiled when she reached where she wanted to be. The men had allowed her to reach the place the others had ran off from. Then she turned tail and ran.
Katie and Logan could tell the men were getting closer. "Run!" Logan shouted again. He had shouted it several times to keep the men on their tail. Katie could tell what he was doing and every so often would shouted after him. They reached the edge of the man-made wood and turned to face the men realising they couldn't leave unless Sammy, the only one who knew the code, got there. The men flooded towards them, their faces fixed in nasty sneers. "Guess your luck ran out, brats." He seemed to be right. Not only were there only two of them against five adults, they were surround and seemed to be the only ones aware of the imminent doom that they would be facing if Sammy didn't find them soon. Sammy's form flew through the trees into the clearing. The men weren't expecting another child to turn up. They was also surprised to see it was Sammy, recognising her from the training exercise. Two other men thundered through after Sammy. The teenager skidded to a halt right at the wall and was about to type in the code. She turned quickly to the others and whispered, "Pudding's nearly woken up."
"Then get the door open!" Logan hissed. Sammy began to type in the code as a roar echoed through the wilderness. Sammy didn't flinch and the others were thankful, Logan knew that if Sammy didn't get the code done in time then they would need to fight Pudding again. Luckily they were all armed, even if the men had fatal weapons. The adults took a step forwards and Logan knew that this was what his job was for. He was meant to bridge the gap between adults and his team. "That thing is going to attack us all if we don't get out of here." Logan said, stepping forwards. He waved his hand about to emphasise his point. Even before Logan had finished talking a second roar echoed around. "She is bound to kill us if she finds us here." The men looked at Logan and raised their guns at him. Logan closed his eyes, expecting the men to either shoot or arrest them. Katie patter him on the back and Logan opened his eyes. The men had turned, forming a semicircle around them to make sure that Pudding couldn't attack any of the children, especially Sammy, who had the life saving code. "Sammy, have you got the door open yet?" Logan said, turning to his friend. He had no doubt the men could protect them for a while but he didn't want to see Pudding's cubs orphaned. "It's harder than it was on the outside." Sammy said. "I've got to make sure that it won't open if Pudding attacks it, no matter what she does." Sammy smiled after a few more seconds. The roars were getting closer and Logan could hear snapping twigs from the undergrowth. He patted Sammy as he watched the door slide open and then they all darted outside.
Sammy locked the door with a smile. She turned to the men and watched as they looked at them, amazed. "What now?" Katie asked. Everyone was relieved they were safe but also slightly upset that it was all over. "We find Liam and find out how Walsh is doing."
"Sammy, what is the code?" Logan asked. Sammy leant towards him and whispered the code to him. Logan memorised it and then smiled. "Lets find Liam." He turned to the men and frowned. None of the men seemed like people they could trust. "Can you lot go and sort out getting all the workers back in? You must know where the hub is." Logan suggested. One of the men raised their gun and pointed it at Sammy. She didn't look startled, she looked like she had been expecting it a bit but another side looked like it was an interesting twist. "Tell us the code. Tell us it now or I'll shoot." the man demanded.
"What? Put the gun down!" Logan shouted at them. "She just saved your life." He stepped in front of Sammy but she pushed out of way. She took a step forwards so she was so close to the gun if it was fired it would kill her before her friends could even blink. "Do you really want to go back in there?" Sammy asked. The man looked at the group and one of the other men lowered his gun slowly. "Let the kids go. That girl just saved your life. You owe her some respect." the man said. Logan agreed with the man and smiled at Sammy. He turned to lead the girls away but saw Sammy had turned back to the men. "By the way what would you have done if you had managed to capture any of us when we had been in the survival dome training?"
"Taken you back to our base and left you tied up there for the night without any food. Then had a fake rescue team go in and rescue you from us to receive a telling off from Walsh." one of the men said. "We weren't permitted to shoot any of you even if the guns are real."
"Well, I'm sorry about the rocks." Sammy said and then turned tail. She lead the team as they walked away, the men smiling after them. One of the men turned to the others and they began to walk away. "What on earth were you doing? She had just saved your life." one of the men said.
"We need that password. All our clothes are in there." the other man said. "I would have never really have shot her, probably."
Liam watched as the team walked over, already a few medics had reached them having been in the area at the time. They were helping Walsh but hadn't given a clear answer on whether they believed he was going to live. That was probably the worst thing. Liam hoped Walsh would live but part of him hoped that this would put him off being so mean to them and the creatures all the time. The team knelt beside him and watched the medics at work. He saw all of the team and their was a suddenly moment of realisation from all of them that the danger was over. They all sighed with relief and began to relax. Katie and Logan began to hug each other tightly, kissing each other gently on the cheeks while Sammy and Liam stood up and moved over to a desk that was in the room and both sat on it, resting their exhausted legs on a nearby chair. Finding himself smiling at Sammy, Liam was tempted to ask her whether she loved him again but couldn't bring himself to do so. The two sat in silence, just thinking about what they had done and feeling breathless but amazed that they had all got through it. Liam looked into Sammy's eyes and wondered what was really going on in her head. She could be worrying about the creatures, terrified that it would happen again or simply thinking about what would happen next time and how much she would enjoy it. Liam tried to form the words to ask her anything, to fill the silence that had descended between them, but nothing came. He let his mouth close and kept it shut. They spent a moment of silence together, just enjoying the fact that one adventure was over but others were bound to come. They stared into each other's eyes and tried to read each other's emotions, almost as if they had known each other their whole lives. Liam expected Sammy to look away after a few seconds but she didn't. "Pudding's safe." she said after what felt like a lifetime. "Properly safe. We can look after her and it's not like she's going to get out of our secret base. We're going to try and sort it out that she can stay in her new home as long as needed..." She paused. "Or wanted."
"So, everything's worked out pretty well." Liam said. Sammy nodded then frowned. She looked at Walsh sadly. Liam nodded and remembered what had happened. He could tell Walsh would get better and that Sammy knew it too. It was Walsh she was worried about. "Well, almost everything." Sammy looked back at Liam again. Her expression still grave. "Almost." she said again and Liam knew that there was at least one thing they had still to sort out, them.
With grave words and deep fears almost completely forgotten, the children retreated to Logan's room to celebrate because it was the only place that they really felt safe in. They had broken all the cameras to make sure no one could listen in on what they said but it hadn't really mattered; they were was just joking around and having a bit of a party. Two of the cooks had brought them some bowls of crisps and fizzy drinks to help them celebrate. Sammy had, given a few minutes work, managed to fix one of their radios to pick up a radio station and was playing music in the background as loud as the small hand-held radio would allow. "Everything has changed for the better. We'll never forget this, never, not once in our whole lives. Things will never be the same." Taking a drink from her cup of lemonade, Katie raised it into the air. "To more adventures." she said and everyone else agreed with nods and cheers. They all smiled at each other. "To the team." Sammy added, shooting Logan a look. "And it's brilliant leader. We would all be dead without him."
"Logan." everyone else said, with cheery smiles plastered across their faces. Logan didn't say his own name but found himself blushing after Katie awarded him with a kiss to the cheek. Both Sammy and Liam looked away and grimaced as the two kissed other on the lips but then laughed. "Well, we've got enrolled in a government school, stopped deinonychus in the woods, time travelled through a rip in time and dealt with Pudding, the best mutant sabre-tooth tiger mother there is this side of the stone age." Liam said, recapping all the things they had done from just starting in the school. The others smiled, remembering all they had done in just a few short days of work. "All in a day's work!" he joked. Everyone cheered and laughed. Katie smiled and sat back in her chair relaxing. "School and all that stuff feels like it's a life away."
"Who else gets to live like this?" Logan asked. Sammy smiled and begin to list the members of the adult team. "OK, I get it." Logan said and Liam gently elbowed Sammy in the ribs. Soon the room descended into a thoughtful silence. The music played mellowly in the background. After a pause Katie asked the question that was now on everyone's lips. "So what happens now?" At first no one answered, all trying to come to a believable decision on the matter. Logan found himself looking at Sammy, knowing that if anyone knew it would be Sammy. "I think that since we've proved ourselves as good at our jobs I think they'll let us stay around for a bit more and if that happens I think more adventures is a definite." Sammy said. She paused and her smile deepened, remembering something they had missed. "Do you think they're ever going to catch that dryosaurus that ran off?" Sammy asked. Katie and Liam remembered back to the small creature making a run for it just before they were attacked. They smiled and shook their heads. Logan just looked confused, having not been there at the time. "What's a dryosaurus? It is some sort of...?" He paused to allow a smile to spread across his face. "What have I missed?" Logan asked.
"What? Do you mean stuff like Sammy and Liam's diet of poo?" Katie said with a laugh. Logan stared at Liam and Sammy with wide eyes, unsure what to do. He wasn't sure exactly what Katie meant from the diet of poo but it seemed interesting. He waited for one of his friends to explain. "Employee conspiracy, boss." Sammy said cheekily and everyone laughed. After calming down a bit, Liam got down to explaining what had happened with the dryosaurus and about Sammy's and his strange tracking habits. Continuing to share stories about what had happened and random moments from their pasts the children found themselves acting like real children even if the topic of there discussion was the life-threatening situations they had and wanted to find themselves in. They were able to muck around without having to worry about the fact that lives were in danger and they liked that. Even Sammy seemed to be happy to joke about things they had done, even if she wasn't talking much about her own past. This time it wasn't a trick to draw information out of her or a way to stop themselves from being scared; it was simply four children enjoying themselves. They would have continued in their light, jokey mood if there hadn't been a quiet, almost shy and shameful, knock on the door. Logan turned wondering whether it was really allowed for the group of them to be in his room, unattended, so soon after an incident like the one that had just happened. There was probably some protocol that meant they couldn't exchange stories until they government had heard each side of their stories to stop conspiracies. "Come in." he said as the others leapt behind the desk so they were out of the sight of anyone coming into the room. Stephanie walked in and Logan got the impression she had just darkened the light mood. "Oh, sorry, I was looking for Sammy and Liam." Stephanie said. It had been Stephanie would had meant that the creature had been a threat in the first place and got Sammy punished. If it had been up to Sammy, Stephanie should have been fired for letting Pudding run rampant. Sammy stood up, almost in a rage, and pulled Liam up with her. Both looked appalled at the sight of Stephanie. Katie stood up seconds later and the three kids fired angry stares at Stephanie as if telling her that if she did anything to offend them there would be serious problems. "I had a hunch they would be in here." Stephanie added pointlessly. She looked at Sammy and Liam, seeming slightly worried about how the teenagers would react to her since they clearly had something against her. "What do you want?" Liam asked, allowing a bit of annoyance and fury to seep into his voice. Stephanie could tell that all of the children were angry at her but Liam and Sammy were purposely making it known. They were holding stares with her that suggested that it was almost her fault that Sammy had been punished and Pudding had been able to kill the guards. "Jenny's given the go ahead for Pudding to stay in the survival dome until Walsh is better and ready to come back to work or better accommodation is found for her." Stephanie said, trying to ignore the anger flooding from the teenagers. All of the children looked unsure about what to do or say. And Stephanie had noticed Liam and Sammy share hopeful glances with each other as if trying to work out whether it meant what they hoped it did. "What do you mean?" Katie asked.
"I talked to Jenny about letting Pudding stay in the survival dome with her cubs until Walsh gets back. She said it would be fine so long as Pudding didn't get out again. If she does then she'll be shot without any arguments and anyone who opposes it will be suspended and locked in their dorms until a formal punishment is made." Hearing that, Logan looked at Sammy and Liam, unsure what to expect from them. He knew they would take a punishment like that to ensure that Pudding was kept alive and well. "There's another condition. A team will be set up and put in charge of looking after Pudding. You'll have to have their permission to visit the creature or even look over the dome."
"But that's not fair. You know that no adult will give any of us permission to see her." Liam protested.
"We stopped her! We sorted her out! We deserve to be there for her and the cubs." Sammy added. Even Logan and Katie were looking at Stephanie in horror, unsure what to make of the orders they had been given. "Take it up with the team leaders... agent Gilans and agent Durrows." Stephanie said. Everyone turned to Sammy and Liam. Sammy frowned. "What have I done now?" Sammy asked and shook her head. Liam also looked at them, wondering what they were getting blamed for. He was, however, secretly impressed that they were being called agents. "Jenny decided that you two should become the leaders because she trusts your judgement with the creatures. She also says that Sammy's punishment can be counted as lifted from now onwards." Stephanie said. She turned to leave.
"Are you serious?" Liam exclaimed, turning to Sammy. That was the best news he could have hoped for. It meant that Pudding could be treated properly by people who knew what was best for her and would make sure her and cubs got the care they deserved. The news that Sammy could now go on missions and share their adventures again was something that made them all rejoice. Sammy also knew it was good news but seemed to have something else on her mind. "So, as leaders we can add people to the team and take them off when we want, right?" Sammy asked, looking straight at Liam. Stephanie said Sammy was right. Sammy turned to Liam and the two whispered into each other's ears. They made a decision and nodded in agreement. Turning back, they looked at Stephanie. "Then, Stephanie, welcome to the team." Sammy said, putting on the politest smile she could. "And the next thing is that everyone in this room has full permission to go in to Pudding's enclosure and look over her as well." Logan and Katie both smiled at each other and Liam beamed, amazed that Sammy was handling it as well as she was. Stephanie smiled at the teenagers, seeing how happy the idea had made them. "Oh, and Carmen had a message for you, Sammy. Something about how she's got permission for you to have a sandpit so long as you don't steal from the government again." Stephanie said, looking a bit confused. Sammy smiled, understanding it instantly. "Do you understand it?" Stephanie checked, making sure that she had given the message correctly. Sammy nodded and Katie turned to her. "Your sand pit?" Katie asked.
"Yep. I believe I am getting one." Sammy said with a beam.
Stephanie had shown Liam and Sammy to the room they were to make a joint office to work solely on Pudding and her cubs. The office was very high-tech with several computer screens directly linked into the CCTV of the dome on the main desk alone. It was also rather big, with lots of shelves and cupboards running around the room, full of paperwork and files on people that were recommended to be allowed onto the team. They both had separate desks, facing each other. Liam was leafing through the books that had been in the office with a smile. Many of them were on the times from the past that Pudding had come from but not the mutated side of their pet. He looked up at Sammy who was working on one of the computers. She was sorting through the CCTV videos. She didn't notice as he walked over because she didn't look up form her work. Placing his hand on hers, he expected another romantic moment like the one they had had in the past. Sammy pulled away quickly. "What's wrong?" Liam asked.
"You know the things that happened back then, it's all it the past, right? Quite literally in fact." Sammy said. Liam felt his dreams shatter. He knew he loved Sammy. He wanted her to understand that it wasn't just a teenaged crush, that he was really serious. Why couldn't Sammy see he loved her? He just wanted her to know. "Yeah, all in the past." Liam said, hiding his reluctance, pulling his hand away as well. Then he turned back to his work and tried to hide how upset he really was.
Logan sat next to Katie. Unlike Sammy and Liam, they had nothing they could do until the school was set up again and that meant they could just talk. They were in Logan's room, sitting on a sofa in the lounge area. Logan had his arm around Katie's shoulders. "Do you think this is what it's always going to be like?" Katie asked.
"Like what?" Logan asked.
"Action, adventure, danger and then picking up the pieces and coming to terms with what's happened." Katie said. Logan smiled and nodded. "Probably and even if it isn't this is how it's meant to be."
"What about Walsh? Do you think he'll ever be able to teach us?" Katie asked.
"Not if he wants to use the survival dome, he won't." Logan joked. He paused and looked at Katie who seemed worried. "He'll probably be able to teach us but if Liam's story is anything to go by then Walsh might not be as forceful as he once was." Slowly Katie turned to Logan and looked at him.
"You know what..."
"What?"
"In those films when they have the handsome action hero that every girl dreams of dating but never can. I've got mine right here." Katie said and snuggled closer to Logan.
It was about an hour later when Logan finally had time to check up on Sammy, alone. He knew that if the others were with him he could never ask the question that he knew he needed to ask. "The others are looking for you." Logan said walking towards Sammy as she looked over the survival dome through a glass wall. Neither of them couldn't see Pudding or her cubs but they could tell they were there. They could see the masses of trees and the pit in the background and Logan could tell Sammy was thinking about the time they had spent in the past. "What are you going to do now?" Logan asked. The others were sure to stick around but Sammy's slightly erratic behaviour prompted doubts. "I don't know." Sammy said.
"You won't leave again, will you?" Logan said.
"I might." Sammy said, still not looking at Logan. They both knew that probably meant she would. Logan couldn't just let her leave but he wasn't about to order her to stay. He knew she didn't feel at home with them at the moment. "You want to go back there don't you." The whole survival dome looked like the past and Logan guessed that Sammy just wanted to be there. He knew how wonderful it was to be in the past but for Sammy it was home or at least she felt it was. "Everyone has a place where they belong." Sammy said.
"And you belong here with us, the people who care about you." Logan said. He sighed. "Sammy, don't leave. The whole team needs you. I need you to help me lead the group. If you hadn't been there then I would have just let Pudding pick us off one by one."
"If I hadn't been here then Pudding would have never turned up in the first place." Sammy said.
"The deinonychus would have killed a lot more people without you, in the woods and in the base. It wasn't your fault they came." Logan said. Sammy shook her head and turned to Logan. He looked into her eyes for a second. "We don't blame you for bringing Pudding through either. These things happen. My mum and dad always said that it's not who causes the problem, it's how they solve them. Pudding's alive along with more people than if you had just left."
"I know." Sammy said. "It's just that..." She paused and looked down. "You need to get used to me not being here early on."
"You said you couldn't think of a life where you didn't deal with them." Logan said.
"I can't but you said you could. You said you wanted a family and another normal life. I want that to still be open to you when you've decided you've had enough. I don't want to have to bury you and the others because of the one things I've done in my past which changed everything." Sammy said. "Everyone has a past and I think it's clear that the past is constantly coming back to bite us." She stayed there in silence and tried to get Logan to understand that everything about her was dangerous. They could never be safe if they got close to her. "Show me your phone." Logan said as an order, not a request. Sammy pulled out her phone and showed it to Logan. He took the phone off her and checked she had everyone's number, typing in any that were missing. He smiled as he handed back the phone. "Call us if you ever need help and we'll call you if we need you back." Logan said. Sammy nodded and put the phone back in her pocket. "Thanks. I will call you if I need help."
"You can go but if you don't come back when we call you then I'll personally have Liam track you down and then get you arrested for damage to a government vehicle, trespassing and any other crimes we can dig up and blame you for." Logan said. Sammy smiled and nodded. Logan turned back to the survival dome and waited for a few seconds and then looked back at where Sammy had been standing. She was gone.
Logan walked into the room that the other team members were waiting in. He had got the adults to summon the group into one room so he could tell them the news. He was barely through the door when the question came. "Where's Sammy?" The question had come from Liam and there was a look of concern on the boy's face, realising that Sammy wasn't coming to the meeting. Logan thought of telling them that Sammy was coming back, that she was just going to get some fresh air but that would be a lie. It would only put off the inevitable or make it out that he hadn't allowed her to leave. He looked at them and knew he couldn't lie to either of them especially about Sammy, their friend and team mate. "She's gone." Logan said. He expected Liam to thunder from the room and Katie to shoot him a worried look but it never happened. There was a pause as the others stopped and looked at Logan as if he was mad. Katie and Logan both wanted to see how Liam would react. They both expected tears, anger or something worse. Liam simply said, "She's coming back."
Just outside the ARC JR building Sammy pulled the hood of her green hooded cloak up over her head. She turned back to look at the building and sighed to herself before she turned away. "I can't go back." Sammy told herself, trying to convince herself to leave and move away, as she walked away. She moved into the dark and the rain that poured down outside. As Sammy left, her tears mixed into the rain.
There we go. The end. Or is it?
I don't own Primeval sadly!