DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN, DON'T SUE!!!

Chapter 14: Under the Gun

"So, what are we looking for?" Stephen asked as he unloaded the guns.

Luckily for them, the alert came from the Forest of Dean. At least, it was lucky that they wouldn't have to worry about media control.

"An anomaly, duh." K.C. replied handing out her hand for a weapon.

"Yeah, you're not getting a gun. I still don't trust you." Stephen replied.

"Cutter!" K.C. whined.

"This is where it all started." Cutter murmured as he took a step closer to the forest.

"What do you mean 'This is where it all started'?" Jenny asked coming up beside him.

"This is where the anomaly research project was born. Ten years ago when Helen disappeared and everything, all of us got involved two years ago following some skeptical lead about monsters in the woods; but it was all true. Helen's got to be behind this, this time. She's in there somewhere waiting for us to make the first move." Cutter explained.

"We're gonna have to split up." Cutter announced walking back bed of the truck to pick out a weapon.

"So how we gonna do this?" Jenny asked.

"Well, we don't know how big the creature is or if there is a creature for that matter. If we split in groups of two, we could have one big tranq and a little tranq, you know, just to be safe." Stephen reasoned.

"Give me a gun dammit!" K.C. shouted.

Stephen looked to Cutter for guidance.

"Give her the smaller tranquillizer. If she abuses the privilege, you know what to do. Jenny and I will take the west side of the forest. You and K.C. take the east." Cutter replied taking two tranquillizers, handing one to Jenny and entering the forest.

"What? Nick, you're not seriously gonna leave me with her are you?" Stephen called after his friend, who blatantly ignored him.

"Why? Am I too much to handle for you, Stephen?" K.C. mocked.

Stephen forcefully handed her the smaller tranquillizer and replied "Make no mistake K.C., if you screw up on this mission, I won't hesitate to take you out."

"Grow up Stephen, you take things too literally." K.C. said walking into the forest.

Stephen locked the trunk up and ran after K.C. They were pretty deep in the woods before Stephen noticed some tracks.

"It's bi-ped, but not as huge as a T-rex so we should be grateful for that." Stephen stood up after analyzing the tracks.

He suddenly heard a familiar noise. The ADD.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with that?" he asked angrily.

"This?" K.C. waved it in the air. "Little souvenir I thought would come in handy, being that we'll be covering such a large amount of ground."

Stephen just stood appalled that K.C. seemed to be treating this so lightheartedly.

"The anomaly's not that far away. Maybe 15 klicks ahead." K.C. continued, ignoring Stephen.

They stopped moving whenever they heard a roar not far from their current position. Stephen went to grab his mobile to phone Cutter.

"Don't bother." K.C. interjected. "The anomaly's disrupted the signal. We're on our own."

Stephen put the phone away.

"Get down!" Stephen hissed as he pushed K.C. under a bush and the hid while the creature passed.

"Oh my God!" K.C. whispered as she saw the creature through the bushes pass by.

"What is it?" Stephen asked.

"It's a Stygimoloch. Aka 'horned devil from the river of death'." K.C. elaborated making air quotes with her fingers.

"It's from the Cretaceous. Most of the creatures we faced have come from there." Stephen replied ignoring K.C.'s sarcasm.

"Yeah. And the last place my device was set on was the Cretaceous, meaning that Connor could be on the other side of that anomaly." K.C. jumped to her feet and began to run.

"Freeze, you're not going anywhere, K.C." Stephen replied calmly pointing the gun at K.C.

"Cutter said you might try something like jumping through the first anomaly you find and there you go."

"Stephen, your friend could be on the other side of that anomaly and you don't want him back?" K.C. turned around on her heel.

"Yeah I do." Stephen answered keeping the gun fixed on K.C.

"Or don't you want him back because he loved Abby too and if he comes back, it'll ruin all that you've built up?"

"Stop it! You have no idea what you're talking about." Stephen cried.

"Really? How do you even know that I can find Connor? You people think I'm the bad guy here. I'm just trying to help."

"How? By ripping everyone apart psychologically? Because you're doing a fantastic job."

K.C. raised her tranquillizer at Stephen.

"If you shoot me K.C., you will go back in the cell, and even Cutter won't be able to get you back out."

"You don't trust me because you're all scared of what might happen if he does come back." K.C. pulled the trigger as did Stephen at the same time.

K.C. got hit in the leg whereas Stephen quickly turned around to see the Stygimoloch stumble and hit the ground with a tranquillizer dart in its chest. Stephen quickly fired a few more darts into the creature before walking back over to K.C.

K.C. had managed to pull the dart out, but fell to the ground and was on the verge of unconsciousness.

"Whoops." Stephen muttered. "Cutter's gonna kill me."

Connor was now wandering across some nameless desert in the blistering heat. He had been for some time now. He had no idea what the time period was, nor did he see any signs of life.

He was now completely out of water and at death's door. He crawled across the desert sand.

"I-I-I can't take it anymore. I'm so sorry Abby. I won't be coming back." His arms collapsed under him and he turned to face the sun.

He felt his heart stop when he heard the sound of several guns cocking around him.

Suddenly, a shadow covered him and a cool liquid was being poured down his throat.

He found some words after several minutes of downing the water.

"Thank you so much." He gasped.

He couldn't open his eyes, it was still too hot and he hadn't brought sunglasses with him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Connor." The voice replied.

Connor recognized the voice straight away, "Helen."

He tried to move frantically to find the hand gun he brought with him but found he couldn't move his arms.

"I think you'll be coming with me." Helen announced.

Connor could just picture that horrible smile on her face.

"Pick him up; we need to get out of here." Helen ordered her Cleaners.

They did as they were told and picked him up as Helen opened an anomaly and they all stepped through, back to her closely guarded mansion.

Please review!!!