The sun was out heating the air gently to a pleasant temperature and casting a pleasing golden tinged light upon the land. The evidence that people had noticed the pleasing change in the weather was in the attire of those lucky enough not to be on their way to an office or a job that required a uniform. Although it wasn't as hot as a summer's day a few men and women had opted to show some skin via long, loose fitted vest tops or the daring pair of shorts that many Brits were infamous for wearing the moment a slight beam of sunlight dared to grace a country infamous for its grey, damp weather.
As the day was so divinely pleasing Claudia Brown was certain it could only go wrong. She was one of the unfortunate dressed for work rather than enjoyment, ready for the summons to trouble as she dared to take a coffee break with a somewhat reluctant companion in the form of Melina Hollywell.
Melina was becoming despondent as time trickled by, unsettled and fidgety she continued to pester Claudia for access to the anomalies and wondered what else she could do in a foreign time if not pursue the past. Claudia was attempting to press the matter with her superior James Lester knowing to ask him outright would only gain a firm no and that it was better to attempt to wear him down gently with the concept of Melina joining them. The young woman had no identity, no passport or papers just the name and date of birth of a woman who had been removed from society as dead. In this day and age without proof of identity it was a little difficult for someone to find a life for themselves, not impossible but difficult, one needed a history of experience for a job, proof of reference, a demonstration that you had a blueprint in the world. Without this Melina couldn't exactly up and leave to get a job or accommodation, not without running into restrictions and red tape.
Melina and Claudia sat outside a small coffee shop that could be mistaken for quaint and homely by the unknowing but to the local Londoner it was obviously a couture café of over priced drinks and snacks, each with a name more elaborate than the last and designed ingredients to put shame to the humble tea and scone.
Claudia was in a pale grey suit, pink shirt and brown pumps, not quite designer but an expensive enough attire that there were no raised eyebrows when she occupied the white painted, iron wrought table outside the café. She was evidently at first glance a beautiful businesswoman but a second stare to her dark eyes made it clear that she was a powerful one too, a woman in charge not servitude.
Melina by comparison was in an oversized, beige khaki shirt reminiscent of the eighties she missed coupled with a tan, brass buckled belt about the waist, a pair of skinny, green khaki trousers and brown boots. Melina looked too much the safari worker she was to get away with being viewed as donning an urban safari style, and her clothes were too plain and unmarked with the fitted cut that suggested designer for anyone to think she was perhaps attempting a vintage or retro look. She'd found the clothes in some charity shop bargain bin when out with Abby, too embarrassed by having to use Claudia's money for clothes to consider getting herself anything better. Although Claudia suspected that even with her own cash the woman might still have opted for practicality over style. You could take the girl out of the wild but you couldn't take the wild out of the girl.
As she sipped over an overdressed latte that justified an astronomical cost by having honey from some high end hive drizzled over it, Claudia contemplated that she and Melina were both dressed for disaster in a different way. Each of them was waiting and anticipating a call for an anomaly, Claudia ready to rush into the Home Office and Melina ready to rush through invading ancient beasts to seek out a portal of lights that might take her home.
Melina ate her gold flaked brownie with mild enjoyment darting through her grey-green gaze. It had been almost a month now since she had become Claudia's odd housemate and it was clear she was reaching the end of her patience for what she felt was a life of limbo. She spent her time continuing to read books, venturing to Nick and Stephen's university quarters at the Central Metropolitan University to sharpen up her knowledge of prehistoric creatures, went on runs with Stephen the odd time, visited local libraries with Connor, and attempted to learn about the current world with Connor and Abby both. Abby proved the more reliable instructor as Connor was more interested in treating Melina to zany sights just to view her reaction to them although he was also happy to take her to retro arcades in the mall to give her a sense of nostalgia. The latter failed as Melina had never spent anytime in arcades but she had appreciated the gesture and found a delight in air hockey.
Claudia hoped that all the young woman's bonding with the odd assortment of employees for the Home Officer's top secret and wonderfully odd work of anomaly related events would result in two things. One- Lester taking Melina on board as a new member to the group and two- Melina finding a new life for herself in this time.
Claudia's phone chimed from within her white handbag prompting both women to tense slightly. Claudia fumbled with the clasp of the bag, which was perched on the seat between them, and tugged out the mobile quickly. She saw H.O H.Q in black font and flipped it open.
"Hello James," she greeted politely.
"Claudia, possible signs of an anomaly," James Lester's slightly bored voice retorted. "You know what to do. A farmer in Hambleden talking quite excitedly about unusual horses."
"Unusual horses sir?" Claudia repeated back dubiously. The sceptic in her considered a mislabelled zebra escaped from a nearby zoo or something less prehistoric and equally mundane.
"That's right, short and skittish with an odd bray, he thinks it's a rare species, you'll probably find it's a pair of donkeys," James commented dryly. "Still, we can't afford to take a chance now, can we?"
"No sir."
Claudia glanced across the table at Melina who wasn't even trying to conceal the fact that she was eavesdropping. "Sir, considering this may be a false alarm and even if it's not, we're unlikely to find much threat from horses, may I bring Melina? It is a lovely day for a trip to the country after all."
Claudia smiled as she saw Melina's gaze instantly brighten.
"Hmm, more tourists is not what we need," James complained.
"I'll take full responsibility sir."
James sighed. "Very well then, just get on with it."
"Thank you sir."
The line went dead and Claudia closed the phone. "Well, fancy some horse hunting?"
Melina raised her dark eyebrows in slight confusion even as a smile slipped out. "I'm sure that means something other than what it sounds like but if it's related to your work then sure."
Claudia nodded as she opened the phone again and prepared to make another call. It was time to get the team together again.
Farmer Jake Rostrevor was not the ill-knowledgable countryman Claudia was hoping for. He had been instantly suspicious of her arrival and unwilling to help with locating the horses until she started talking money. Claudia had attempted the usual subtle government bully stance at first, something about the need to preserve possibly endangered species but Jake wasn't impressed nor was he fooled but the laugh and the roll of the shoulders that went with it as Claudia attempted to suggest it was just some lost zebra needing rounded up.
There was no nearby zoo and Jake had scoffed the idea of a circus in town without his knowledge. Jake had also wanted to know how Claudia and her companions even knew about the horses since Jake had only made one phone call about it to a friend that bred and showed horses and were the government perhaps tapping phones after all? Claudia couldn't laugh that one off, Jake didn't ask it like a conspiracy nut, he had been calm but cool with his accusation, his firm stare unwavering as Claudia had offered up her practised smile of emptiness before shaking her head and commenting that the government had better things to do.
All while Claudia attempted to negotiate and haggle for knowledge, the rest of the group headed out to investigate, unconcerned with Jake's murmurings of land rights and trespassing.
It was Connor and Melina who found them first, following the soft sound of unusual braying to a thicket of oak, and horse chestnut trees clustered with smaller saplings. The air here was purer than the city, fresh and tinged with the ripening fruits of autumn. Conkers spilled out of a few broken green shells on the grass whilst acorns burnished from green to gold and hung heavy from the oak branches almost ready to join the conkers and signal the start of harvest.
Side by side, Connor and Melina crept forward to a gap in the trees bordered by a small rising hedge of spiked branches and dying leaves. Connor was conscious of the young woman beside him, intrigued by her simply because she came from another time. To Connor it was The Time Machine almost to life except Melina was from the past not the future, so perhaps more like the inaccurate jungle girls of the wildly deviated versions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World except that wasn't quite right either because whilst Melina had been found in a primordial jungle her origin had been England of the eighties.
Melina barely swallowed her gasp of surprise as she finally caught sight of the creatures that had brought them here. With their appearance she had a familiar ache of the plains of Africa as she looked at animals that belonged better on a savannah rather than the wilting grass of England in autumn. There were three in total, short and stocky their build was more akin to a zebra's than a standard horse's. They were a beautiful golden-brown to blend into the plains they had strayed from with a faded hint of stripes at their legs as if some Creator had started to paint them and abandoned the idea.
"Wow," Connor marvelled in a whisper, "modern man meet early horse. They're what the cavemen played buccaneer on."
Melina gave a small smile at this and a slight shake of her head. She was getting used to Connor's humour and was unsurprised that he would simplify such a miraculous moment in this manner.
"What are they called?" she queried quietly. She knew from her experience with zebras how honed the prey animals were to noise, always alert for predators and ready to sprint at the first hint of something unusual. These three were already wired for danger, snorting, stamping and braying uneasily as they found everything here unfamiliar.
"Hagerman Horse, I think," Connor speculated. "I mean I've never seen an ancient horse before and there were a few."
Melina nodded as she continued to stare at the animals in awe. There was no fear this time as there had been with the snake, this time she could actually appreciate how incredible it was to be looking at something that simply should not be anymore.
Suddenly the young woman wanted to know everything about these creatures- how they had lived, when, where, for how long and how similar were they to the zebras and horses she was far more familiar with. She felt a thrill of fascination within her, the same spark of excitement and hunger for knowledge that drove the others to continue with this incredible but dangerous work.
"It's not just monsters," Melina murmured appreciatively.
"None of them are monsters," Connor argued.
He glanced to her cautiously, wary of offending her and yet wanting her to understand because he believed it might help with the fear she still clung to of a demon snake.
"They're just animals surviving."
Melina frowned and continued to keep her eyes on the horses, conscious that if she looked to Connor she might glare at him. A small part of her mind told her he was right, reminding her of the fear tourists had of the hyenas they saw crushing bones or the lions that stalked through the long grass to pounce upon antelope. It was true, predators in the animal kingdom did not have the sense of good and evil as people did, they did not hunt for sport and killed only for self-preservation out of hunger or defence not to murder. Animals could not murder and yet Melina kept seeing the cruel, soulless gaze of the giant snake that squeezed the life from her sister, and the enraged glower of the one that had pursued her and Captain Ryan, determined to destroy them even through a hail of bullets. She couldn't think of those snakes as predators defending themselves or hunting, they had been evil.
The horses' ears dipped back and they stamped the ground with their hooves nervously. One shook its donkey like face with a sudden violence and a zebra like bray escaped it. All three kept lifting their heads, nostrils flaring as they seemed to search for something that should not be there.
"What's gotten into them?" Connor pondered. "Do you think they sense us?"
Melina was tense as she watched them, wary now as she felt her heart escalate in her chest. She knew this behaviour and it wasn't a reaction to her and Connor. The horses weren't looking in their direction.
"Connor-" Melina didn't get to finish her suggestion.
Captain Tom Ryan was unimpressed as he paced through the muck and grass that formed the great English countryside. There was also a copious amount of cow dung and rabbit pellets to navigate around and one unfortunate dead squirrel who appeared to have been half-mauled by a bird before being unexpectedly abandoned and was now in a state of decay too far gone to be worth food to any other scavenger. He considered dryly that his years of war experience were not meant to have led to trekking through animal shit and muck searching for horses.
The tall blonde walked with his preferred member of the civilians- Professor Nick Cutter. Nick was less heart than Abby, not so arrogant as Stephen and less chatty than Connor although he had his moments of irritation too, nearly always connected to his mysterious ex-wife Helen Cutter. Helen hadn't shown up on the radar since they had lost her in the Paleocene era of La Guajira and whilst she couldn't have taken the anomaly to the present that they had neither Nick nor Ryan believed that Helen was trapped in the era of the Titanoboa. Helen had a knack for reappearing proving that she had some superior knowledge to the anomalies than everyone else and despite Nick and Connor's best efforts they still couldn't crack that knowledge.
Nick plodded through muck, plop and grass happily, excited for what they might find. He wore a plain green t-shirt, having given into the sunshine, dark jeans and black boots that been stained even before the trek. Despite being a university professor Nick seemed made for the outdoor work, he was tough, fast, quick thinking, decent with a tranquilliser gun and rarely frightened by some of the predators they had dealt with. It was a wonder how Nick had adapted to his current lifestyle so ably, at least with Stephen it made sense given how the man had experience with guns and was at the prime of physical fitness but Nick seemed to hold his own and when he couldn't match beasts with braun he usually overcame them with his fast thinking.
Ryan admired the professor even though he felt Nick's complicated feelings for Helen were a liability and that through Nick the lesser capable civilians of Abby and Connor were able to come on board with what Ryan was convinced should be a military only mission. Now there was Melina too, Ryan had seen her only a handful of times since he'd found her that evening in the park, brief moments of passing when Claudia had brought her to the Home Office building as a reluctant peace offering. The blonde soldier had been less than impressed to see her in tow this afternoon with Claudia, ready to get mixed up in a possible anomaly affair. Ryan was wary that the woman might just throw herself desperately through the first showing of fractured lights she saw in the hopes of getting back to her time and end up in greater trouble as a result.
Ryan halted suddenly and cocked his head slightly to the right. He glimpsed a cluster of trees in the distance, situated at the bottom of a very slight decline.
Nick noticed the captain's sudden change in stance and followed his gaze to the thicket.
There came a noise like thunder, a rumbling roar that was both terrific and terrifying with its volume. It was a sound that awoke the primordial urge of fear that every living creature off the apex predator line had carried down from his ancestors, an inherited urge of always being wary of the glowing eyes and growls in the shadows, the one that told prey to stay hidden in the deep warrens and early mankind to hug close to the fire.
For a moment Nick and Ryan were frozen as nature fought to override them and the fight or flight instinct kicked in. Nick's body tightened, building with a sudden rush of adrenaline as his mind shrieked at him to get bolting away from that horrifying noise.
Ryan took a tight grip of his sleek, black rifle, his mind reminding his body that man had come a long way from the days of the fire filled caves and had new ways now to defend his limited body from the beasts of the world. He was wary of going to the thicket, no sense in seeking out the danger until he could see it but then he saw the trees fall, two mighty oaks brought down with an incredible force resulting in very human yells. Somebody was down there and the captain knew that as the military man he was going to have to be the one who saved them.
Connor and Melina moved in a panic. Their moment of peace with the horses had turned to violence and gore without warning as a huge creature had charged through the trees to slaughter the horses. It had come as a colossal force of fur, claws and teeth, too large to be evaded and too strong to consider the trees a hindrance as it forced its way through them to prey.
Fear froze the pair in place as blood splashed against the trees and the beast stood and let out a bellowing roar.
Connor craned his neck to take the creature in. To say it was tall was an understatement, it was making the trees look small as on two feet it probably reached the height of an elephant. It had a thick coat of dark brown fur now shiny with fresh blood and four powerful sets of claws as long as knives, and at the top of its towering structure was a face with a short muzzle full of bloodstained teeth. It was the biggest bear Connor had ever seen.
Not done with the hunt as it sensed the slight trembles at the bush, the bear turned its head to sniff the air with its powerful nose.
Connor swallowed hard as the bear dropped to four legs suddenly and came charging straight at them.
Melina and Connor separated, diving to either side to evade the huge body of fur and fangs coming towards them. As it drove its heavy hide into the trees it caused a tree on either side of its shoulder blades to give way with a loud creak.
Melina screamed instinctively and threw herself through the air to one side to dodge the falling tree. It fell with a loud thud causing the earth beneath her to tremble as she rolled on the dirt clumsily.
Connor was not so lucky, a quicker stride than Melina put him at the disadvantage of being near the top end of the second tree as it gave way to the bear's force. He stumbled and fell as branches drove him down to the dirt and tangled him in twigs and leaves. The force of the fall caused him to bounce up slightly into the mass of foliage. His fortune was that he was struck by the weaker ones and tangled in thin limbs of wood and dying clusters of leaves rather than being struck a more deadly blow.
Slightly confused and in pain, Connor's anxiety took over as he realised he was caught in a tangle of branches. He twisted and turned frantically in an attempt to escape, his struggles catching the attention of the bear who had briefly pondered which of the two to seek out.
"Help!" Connor yelled as he felt the ground quiver with the force of the bear running to him. "HELP!" Connor's yells grew louder as he saw through a cluster of red and amber leaves the approach of the great beast.
The bear swiped with its front right paw, claws cutting through branches and leaves like they were straw. The paw swept above Connor sending twigs and acorns showering down on him. He closed his eyes to lessen the damage to his pupils as he tried to squirm back from the claws when they came again.
With a grunt Connor slid down as branches broke beneath him and gravity took him further from the hunting paw.
The bear, determined not to miss its prey, rose to its two feet and roared again.
Connor swallowed hard as he saw the face suddenly appear above him, obsidian eyes glinting as they searched for prey. Connor felt a lump in his throat as a sob threatened to crawl up as the head moved closer and he felt the heat of the air escape from the bear's probing nostrils.
The furred muzzle pressed through leaves and branches, following the scent of fear to Connor.
The young man closed his eyes, determined that he wouldn't see his death if he could help it.
The rock that struck the bear wasn't painful, considering its size it was perhaps similar to the nudge of a fly on a human but it fulfilled its purpose nonetheless as it smacked off the bear's right ear, pushing it forward momentarily with the movement and causing a growl of irritation from the apex predator.
When another rock hit the back of its skull with a soft thunk, the bear was prompted to turn and see the cause.
Melina stared up at the creature in terror as she realised she had no follow through for her plan. All she had thought was to get the bear away from Connor.
Seeing a new source of prey, the bear turned, dropping to four feet once more before it started to move.
Melina turned and ran, carried by a rush of fear fuelled adrenaline as she didn't know what else she should do other than flee. She weaved through the trees of the thicket but they were no deterrent for the bear who charged through the trunks with only a bellow of displeasure to show its difficulty.
Panting, Melina searched amongst the foliage for something to help. She saw a gap under an arched bush and dove for it head first. Skidding on the muck and skinning her knees in the process, she dragged herself along the ground and under the bush desperately, hoping somehow that the bear wouldn't see her retreat.
The young woman tried to silence her betraying gasps of fear as she belly crawled over soil and rocks through to another cluster of trees. She spied a broken branch with a jagged edge, to the beast pursuing her it was probably comparable to a toothpick but it was all there was. She crawled to it, grasped in one hand and rolled round just as she felt the hot breath of the bear as its furious head plunged through the bush after her.
The sharp end of the branch impaled the bear's right eye causing it to pull back with a roar of pain and fury. It dragged the branch from the woman's hands with enough force to slice both her palms to ribbons with splinters.
As Melina attempted to stand to escape she was struck without warning by a paw. The young woman fell hard and fast with the impact, slamming into the ground as her right side bloomed with blood where the edges of the paw's claws had caught her. She was winded by the blow and her vision flashed a vibrant red as her body flooded with pain.
As the bear readied to strike out with its muzzle gunfire suddenly filled the air causing it to turn from the fallen woman with another irate roar.
Nick looked at the bear with wide eyes, stunned momentarily by its size and girth before raising his tranquilliser gun quickly. He knew he wasn't going to have enough to knock the thing out cold but maybe he could make it dozy.
As Nick took aim, Captain Ryan continued to shoot at the creature, he didn't care about preserving its life he just needed to keep everyone safe from it until the soldiers he had called to arrived.
Connor scrambled out from the tree top at last, stumbling and staggering upright as he attempted to run before he was even fully on his feet. He glanced back as his brain registered the sound of gunfire as he came to a halt.
Blood spatters appeared on the bear's pelt where some bullets successfully went through its thick coat of fur to find flesh but it only seemed slightly annoyed by the attack. It swung a paw outwards to the soldier but the blonde jumped back and offered another bullet in response.
"Well that is one big bear," Abby marvelled as she arrived at a sprint alongside Stephen and several soldiers.
The soldiers immediately started shooting.
Nick frowned at the display, wondering why they couldn't even consider for just one second that this was just a lost creature in need of being guided to its home.
The bear rose to its hind legs again in an attempt to intimidate them with its height but it only managed to expose its underbelly in the process to their gunfire. What was meant to be a fearsome roar turned to a cry of pain as the bear started to succumb to its injuries.
No longer simply trying to delay injuring to himself, Ryan took the chance to take a careful aim. He cocked the rifle, took a moment to assure himself of his target and squeezed the trigger.
The bear jerked back with a loud roar of agony as a bullet obliterated its left eye. It staggered round in a circle, growling and groaning as it shook its head and blood sprayed out. The ground around it vibrated with its mad, circular rampage causing Nick to jump back as he almost stumbled with the impact.
As if inebriated the bear suddenly slowed and staggered from side to side, crashing into a tree as it did.
Ryan watched it carefully, rifle still up as he wondered dully if the bear was capable of faking an injury.
With a final cry of pain the bear fell sideways with one final mighty thud.
"That could've ended better," Stephen commented grimly as he saw the blood seeping out the ruined eye socket and pooling on the ground.
"It could have ended worse," Ryan retorted solemnly as he bypassed the younger man to head for Melina who remained out cold on the ground.
Abby's vibrant blue eyes scanned the half-destroyed thicket area quickly. She spotted Connor and quipped, "Connor are you alright?"
The dark haired male gave her a dopey smile in answer as he brushed down his top off tree debris. "Yeah, tree-mendous, if you get my drift." He gave a short chuckle at his own joke.
Nick was looking to the bear with the same stare of guilty grief as Stephen. He knew the captain had had to act fast with Melina and Connor in danger but these were creatures that should be saved at all costs not destroyed. The redhead wondered curiously as he had before what impact there might be to them dying in this time instead of their own, did it fracture the universe? Did it happen when they killed people in this time who otherwise might have led longer lives? Was their unknown future suddenly darker because a potential scientist had been devoured by a mosasaur while taking a swim? Who could really say?
Melina jumped with a scream as she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She turned to scramble backwards, eyes wide with fear as heart started racing and her lungs escalated to pump out air in short, speedy breaths.
"Bb..bbe...bear!" Melina yelled out the word in a terrorised cry of warning.
Ryan remained in a crouch, now holding his hand up harmlessly to her. "It's dead," he stated flatly.
He jerked back with one thumb in the direction of the large corpse.
Melina's eyes rolled in that direction, still wide with too much of the whites showing.
Connor looked over to the young woman worriedly as he heard her yell. Spying Nick, he hurried to stand beside him.
"She saved my life you know," Connor admitted quietly. "The bear was coming from me and she got it away somehow."
Nick nodded although his gaze was elsewhere now. "Let's find the anomaly, make sure it closes," he said. "Even if there's nothing to go back through it," he added bluntly.
Connor nodded too. "It must be near here, the bear seemed to come from nowhere and the horses were here," he said.
The pair headed through the other side of the thicket to investigate and were pleased to find a small shimmer of flickering diamond lights in the air. The anomaly was weak and fading, taking away their chance to glimpse a prehistoric era.
Back through the trees, Melina was attempting to subdue her fear but the panic was dominating and her chest continued to rise and fall rapidly.
"Why do they always have to be bigger?" she complained in a weak show of humour.
Ryan's lip twitched at the corner as he almost smiled but then he spied the blood soaking her khaki shirt and he frowned.
"You've been injured."
The blonde moved towards her, glancing down to her torso where the blood was letting out.
"Let me take a look."
Although Ryan phrased it as a request his tone made it more of an order.
Melina sagged back slightly as she fumbled the buckle of the belt about her waist before freeing it so she could lift the shirt slightly to expose the damage. She winced, gritting her teeth as the pain suddenly flooded through her. Shock had allowed her a respite from it but now the reality of her wound was back. Her green-grey gaze rolled skywards to the powder blue sky.
"Is it bad?" she queried.
Ryan surveyed the tears the claws had left, they were deep but small.
"You'll live but we should work on stopping that bleeding," he advised calmly.
She nodded. "Alright. It started so nice too," she murmured as she released the ends of her shirt, "with the horses. No one said there might be giant bears."
"I don't think anyone knew," Ryan retorted.
The blonde reached out a hand to help her to his feet as he stood.
"No, I suppose not. Nice to know even with all your experience with these anomalies all of you are still surprised," she murmured dryly as she accepted the hand.
She winced as the captain pulled her to her feet and her torso throbbed in protest.
"The anomaly has closed," Nick announced as he and Connor returned to the group.
Connor's eyes widened as he saw the bloodstains on Melina's shirt.
"Melina are you alright?" he queried with alarm.
Melina glanced up to Ryan. "Apparently I'll live," she retorted. She sounded breathless and her face screwed up in pain as she started to walk.
Ryan had an arm about the young woman's torso, against her uninjured side as he supported her as she walked. He looked down to her when he felt her tremble and realised that she was just putting on a front of calm and was still terrified from her ordeal. He resisted the temptation to comment on it and advise her that this was no work for civilians.
The group retreated back to their vehicles and an astonished Claudia and curious farmer.
"What in the hell kind of horses are they then?" the farmer quipped as he eyed Melina's bloodstained shirt with intrigue.
"The bad kind," Connor lied quickly, "nasty things. Anyway, they're off."
Claudia stepped up to Ryan and Melina, looking from one to the other in surprise. "What happened?"
"A big bear," Melina murmured, "a very, very, very big bear."
Claudia glanced up to Ryan.
"Disposal crew will be on it," Ryan advised. "Give them a couple of hours, make sure the area stays clear. We've got a first aid kit in the car, should sort the worst of this."
Claudia's dark gaze darted back to Melina. "Will you be okay?"
"Physically, yes, mentally, not since I ended up in a prehistoric pond, no," Melina retorted dryly.
Ryan guided the woman to a plain black car parked on a wide stretch of road with several other vehicles lined up behind it. He tugged out a key, pressed the button to unlock and urged her round to the rear. After opening the door, Ryan eased the woman to sit sideways on the back passenger seats.
He released her to retreat to the boot from which he hunted out a first aid kit. He returned to her with it, opened it up and rested it on the floor of the car.
The young woman had turned pale and had a thin sheen of sweat soaking her skin.
"Alright," Melina said before Ryan could speak, "hand me the antiseptic, I'll put it on. Then the gauze."
Ryan looked at her curiously. "I can do it for you."
Melina shook her head. "I've dealt with plenty of animal related injuries before captain."
Ryan snorted at this before he crouched and reached out the antiseptic. "Well if you don't want help," he scorned as he held it out to her.
"Don't take it personally it's just when it comes to pouring antiseptic onto fresh wounds," Melina retorted as she leaned back across the seats and raised her shirt to expose the wound again, "I'd rather do it myself."
Melina gritted her free hand tightly before pouring.
"Son of a bitchfaced monkey!" she shrieked as the wound felt like it was simmering with the sting of the liquid.
The laugh escaped the soldier before he could help it. He shook his head at the cursing as he continued to smile. "I haven't heard that one before," he murmured.
"No?" Melina let out a hiss of pain. "Maybe it's an eighties thing."
"I was alive then you know."
"Yes but probably quite young, would I have been old enough to be your mother?" she pried before giving herself another dose.
"Shit stained crackers!" she howled.
Ryan's frown returned. "Would you stop with that age paradox thing, you're twenty-six and I'm thirty-four," he scolded her. "And you can call me Tom."
"Why?" she hissed out as she dug her elbows back into the leather seats for support as she tried to sit up again. "I thought your name was Ryan."
"You didn't twig that was my last name with everyone calling me Captain Ryan?"
She shrugged. "I figured it was a personal preference. So, Tom Ryan, do people get confused and call you Ryan?"
"Well you have," he pointed out. "I don't mind the Ryan."
Melina smiled. "It happens a lot doesn't it?"
"Maybe," he murmured as he reached down for the bandage roll and handed it to her.
Melina fumbled to bind the bandage tight about her torso, wincing and simultaneously yelping and cursing as her wound continued to throb.
"Well, now that I've given blood to the job I should definitely get it," she said happily.
