We had begun working on a matrix of sorts, a 3-D model of the universe. Nick had it in his head that he could pinpoint all of the times an anomaly occurred in time. With the help of Sarah, we were able to tell the times within a couple of hundred years of when sightings of creatures had occurred.
My job, when I wasn't getting more supplies for the model, was scouring through the journal and logging specific era's my grandfather had seen or gone through and textbooks trying to figure out what animals he was talking about and eras. This was my third trip to the hardware store this week. Nick's mind was pouring out information faster than any of us could comprehend. It was something truly magical to see.
I pulled up to the gates of the ARC, smiling as I showed one of the guards my badge. Lester really went above and beyond when he hired this security team. It comforted me just a little, knowing that Lester obviously wanted to avoid what happened to Stephen again. It showed me the little man cared about us, even when he rarely showed it. However, it was overboard. I pulled into my spot in the garage and fumbled as I tried to grab all of the pipes and other materials at once. I scanned my badge and walked clumsily through the door. I could feel the pipes moving in my hands, knowing they were going to fall out of them. I made it to the next checkpoint of security when one of the pipes fell.
"Badge?" Malcolm said.
"Really, Malcolm? You just saw me leave an hour ago." I tried to keep all of the materials in my hands and remember where I put my badge even though I just used it.
"It's protocol, Skyla," he explained. I rolled my eyes as another pipe fell out of my grasp.
With a state of sudden frustration, I threw all the pipes to the ground, creating a louder noise than I was expecting. I looked up to Malcolm to apologize when I noticed Captain Becker down the hall staring in my direction. I was instantly more irritated than before. There was something about him that drove me up a wall. Thinking he was all that with being the head of security and a soldier. The judging eyes he gave not just myself, but everyone made me want to slap the smugness on his face.
I pulled my badge out of my back pocket and handed it to Malcolm. Trying to ignore the fact that Becker was walking towards us. "Afternoon Skyla." He said as Malcolm scanned the badge. "Your badge should be in plain view at all times." Malcolm handed me back my badge as I clipped it to my trouser pocket. I gave Becker a fake smile as I picked up the pipes and other materials and gathered them. Becker didn't even offer to assist.
"No, it's ok. I have it." I said below my breath as I walked passed the two guards.
I walked down the hallway to Nick's office and placed the pipes in the corner with the remaining few from my last trip. I stared at the model in wonderment. It was confusing at first, trying to jump inside Nick's mind. I was just glad he was no longer blaming himself for Stephen. He had something to keep his mind off of it and Helen.
Nick and Sarah walked into his office, continuing to discuss whatever they were discussing. You could tell his mind was going a thousand miles a minute. "Skyla, thanks for the materials. Will you go with Abby and Connor to the anomaly?" he said. I stood a little befuddled for the moment. I looked over to Sarah for clarification. She was a sweet lady, humorous like the rest of us but wicked smart when it came to history.
She looked over in my direction. "He thinks he may have figured out where the next anomaly is. But he doesn't know when it will appear. So Abby and Connor are going to check it out." She clarified.
I turned back to Nick. "Oh? So I've been cleared to go back on missions officially?" I folded my arms to my chest, knowing he had not cleared me with Lester.
Nick looked over to me, forgetting what he was doing. "Yes, I need you out there too," he said.
I smirked to him and grabbed my jacket and walked out into the hall. I looked back through the door. "You know this will piss off Lester," I said. Nick smiled at me with a small hint of a chuckle before he continued on his project.
Abby and Connor just passed me as they walked towards the garage. "Hold up!" I yelled as I ran over to them. "I'm apparently coming with you. The mad scientist said so." They both looked at me with smiles. They didn't view our last mission as me being out of control or not caring for their safety. They understood why I had to do what I had to do. "Any Ideas on what it might be? The Era? Anything?" I asked as we settled into the car.
Jenny came to the drivers' side of the car that we were in. "I'll follow you." She said before she noticed me in the back. "Have you been cleared?" She asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Just doing what the scientist said to do." Connor and Abby laughed as she put the car into drive.
"In answer to your question, no we have no idea. Basically a theory we need to check." Connor answered my previous question as we rode down the street.
Thankfully the anomaly sight was not too far away, giving myself less time to lose sight of what we were doing. It was the silent moments, the moments we were told to think quietly, that my mind went through a spiral. Unlike Nick, it only took a couple of days for me to not blame myself for Stephens death. I went through all the stages pretty obvious to others. The longest stage I was in was anger, and if I really thought about it, I guess you could say I was still in that stage. I had accepted the fact that he was gone, just like I had accepted the fact that my grandfather had passed a couple of days ago. I was just angry that Helen had come into my life and taken Stephen from me.
We stopped along the street, parking the cars. "It looks like it's just past those trees," Connor said looking at one of his many devices. We all got out of the cars and waited for each other. With a nod, we walked through the trees, past a runners' path and came to a bridge. A home laid on the other side of the river. "This is the place," Connor said checking his device one last time.
"Really?" I asked as we looked at the house. It looked cozy and well like home, in an almost haunted house type of way. Connor nodded his head. "This is where Cutter predicted the anomaly will open."
"Then we better check it out," Jenny said. I looked over to her, her eyes still glued to the home.
Connor looked over to Jenny. "Then what? We just sit, twiddling our thumbs until an anomaly appears?"
Shrugging her shoulders before she spoke Jenny continued to stare at the home. "Something like that." She and Abby began walking towards the bridge.
"Hold me back. I don't think I can take the excitement." Connor said looking over to me. I let out a laugh as we continued to the bridge.
"Connor, what if we created something that we could leave at each anomaly site? Like, something small that's almost virtually indestructible that we could use to determine when an anomaly would reopen. Obviously we have to work with the magnetism thought process more with it, but in theory, couldn't that work?" I said as we crossed the bridge.
Connor looked back to me a little with a smirk. "I mean in theory we could do something like that. We just need more information."
"Obviously," I said as we made it to the other side.
The house was even more beautiful the closer we were, but obviously very much abandoned. Part of me was sad and wondered what happened here for it to be abandoned. "Gorgeous place really," I muttered out as Connor walked up to the porch, hitting the wind chimes as he went. He tried the door but it was locked, so he walked down the porch to look inside. Abby, Jenny and I walked up to the door. "Seems quiet enough," Abby said as Jenny rang the doorbell. I didn't know what she was expecting, no one would be coming to the door. Just as she leaned closer to the glass on the door to peek inside Connor opened the door startling all of us. "Oh, Connor," Jenny said.
Abby and I exchanged an amused look. "Window was open. Nobody in." Connor said.
"Obviously no one is in. This place has been abandoned." I said as we walked into the house.
"What happened here?" Jenny asked.
"God, it's even more gorgeous on the inside," I muttered again in awe of the woodwork. Connor gave me a side look. "Hey, I can appreciate things that are not in creature form." He let out a laugh and walked over to Abby.
"This place must be worth millions. Why has it just been left?" Abby said as she continued to look around.
"Now that's the million-dollar question," I said as we continued looking.
"The smell? Stinks in here." Connor said.
"Could be the sewers. Or moisture." Jenny said.
"It stinks cause someone left the window open when they abandoned it. Who knows what's been living here with all the leaves on the ground and left furniture." I said.
"I agree with Skyla, it smells like they've been keeping animals," Abby confirmed.
"What kind of animals? Skunks?" Connor said as Jenny and Abby began walking up the staircase. "Oh," Connor said as he tossed the device to Abby to detect anomalies. Connor and I walked around the downstairs as they went up.
Connor and I walked into the kitchen, he looked in the fridge as I looked through the doors and cupboards. "There's nothing here. I doubt anyone honestly has lived here in at least a couple of years." I looked over to Connor to see if he had heard me. "I have a feeling something bad happened here." Connor looked over to me then. He was about to say something when his mobile phone began to ring.
"Hello?" he said answering it. I could faintly hear someone talking on the other end when a scream that sounded like Abby, filled the house. I ran towards where I thought I heard the scream. "I'll call you back." I heard Connor say behind me as his footfalls caught up with mine. We walked into an orange bright room. Abby was nowhere in sight.
"Abby?" Connor and I both called out. There was a rattling sound coming from the fireplace and ash began to fall from the chute.
Connor and I looked at each other as we walked towards the fireplace with caution. "GOT YOU!" Abby screamed as she jumped on Connor. "Jesus!" I said startled.
"That was childish," Connor said as I tried not to laugh.
"Were you scared?" Abby asked.
"No," Connor answered too quickly. Then nodded, "A little bit."
I noticed the look that was in Connors' eyes as he stared at Abby, still trying to catch his breath. I smiled a small smile and tried to blend into the wall. It was finally going to happen, they were going to kiss. My heart fluttered at the sight of the two. And then Abby turned away. "Thought you in trouble, didn't I?" Connor said, the situation now awkward. "Yeah. And you came to rescue me." Abby answered.
"Yeah," Connor said still a little dumbfounded on how the events were turning out.
"Thank you," Abby said kissing his cheek. I rolled my eyes. "Do you know why I like this place?" She said as she walked around the room. "It's fun." She said and walked off to where Connor and I had come from.
"Yeah," Connor said looking off after her.
"You know, Connor. You should just go for it." I said and patted his shoulder. "She's not going to wait around for you forever."
He looked down at me like I had slapped him across the face. I smiled up at him remembering Stephen giving him advice about Abby. Before I could feel the emotions tugging at me, I walked off after Abby.