Attention Readers- This is the sequel to my last story The Hardship of a Secret and so I want to thank all of you that read it and all of you who reviewed as I appreciate your comments and suggestions! So thank you!

An: In this, Cutter DID NOT DIE, and you have to realise that this story is set a good seventeen/eighteen years into the future. Oh and Claudia never disappeared.

Pairings:

Abby/Connor

Nick/Claudia

Danny/OC

Becker/Sarah

Isabella (OC)/ Ryan (OC)

This story will mostly focus upon Isabella and the rest of the NG of Primeval. Hope you don't mind.

I did not put a disclaimer on the last story, so here is one for this one...

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Primeval, but if I did I would get Connor and Abby together and I never would have let Cutter Die.

This story will feature more Characters than ever!

It shall be from many points of views!

It shall be more exciting than ever!

Mentions/Hints of Slash- sorry

I would like to apologize to my fans of this story – It was on Hiatus due to the unforeseen circumstances of the last months (Well year), so I am sincerely sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused you... and I hope you enjoy reading my primeval stuff again... so I'll finish this story up and get to work on a new one to compensate you all for my absence!

This story is going to switch to and back from different point of view.

Chapter Five: Doesn't this just keep gettin' better

(Nathaniel's Pov)

Warm air hits me the minute I step through the anomaly. I take a look around; William does the same, scanning the area, gun propped in his arms skilfully, as always.

"Oh god" I breath; we were in a large jungle-like wooded area, tree's stretching almost forty or fifty feet tall with vines hanging in and out and around, leaves almost as long as our arms drooping from all around. Plants and bushes surrounding the roots in vibrant shades of red and blue and purple.

Insects, rather like dragon-flies flew low and high between the vines, and a light breeze brought forth the wind, with pollen buds, floating across the air. It really is something.

"Now this is more like it" Chester said happily. Stuffing his hands into his back jean pockets.

"Don't get too happy just yet Chester" I tell him; taking another quick survey of our surroundings. So far, everything seems okay.

"And why not... warm place, trees... kind of looks like the wooded area, the nature reserve in Falkland park" Chester said quietly, fingering the leaves hanging by his own head.

"Awww, Chester, are you an eco-lover?" William teased, easing the grip on his weapon and grinning devilishly; the grin that made me smile every time... whoa, keep on track Nathaniel I think to myself, shaking my head slightly.

"We're destroying our own planet Becker; all those carbon emissions are completely shredding the o-zone layer, allowing the suns radiation to heat up the planet two degree's every few years... I just think that it's a shame that we're destroying our own future that's all... jerk" Chester shot back defensively; taking up his usual pose of arms clenched by his sides.

I watch William shuffle his feet slightly "Sorry man... I understand" William spoke softly.

"Ok!" I interrupt loudly. "We need to move, because from what I can see, we're not in a safe place"

"Jurassic Period... I totally agree!" Isabella said loudly from behind him; looking out between the trees towards something that we couldn't see "Now if we get moving now, we can meet a new anomaly that's just opened four miles in..." She turned at a forty-five degree angle "that direction"

"Okay" I say "Let's move out then, if we're lucky we can get there in roughly half an hour" I begin to walk in the direction that Isabella pointed.

"Hey!" William snipped "Behind me please, I am the one with the largest gun" he said moving ahead.

"That's what she said" Chester murmured; Thomas snickered but was silenced at a glare from William.

...

"Urgh!, how much further!" Katharine moaned, traipsing over a large root of one of the trees.

"Another 1.23 miles" Isabella said quietly.

"How can you guys stand this?" Jenna asked tiredly.

William smirked and snorted "Because Jenna, we're used to it... plus, some of us actually pull our weight in PE classes"

Jenna huffed "I do pull my weight... it's just some of the games and stuff are stupid... I mean, who plays basketball anymore?"

"Basketball players" William, Chester and Ryan said at the same time.

I laugh lightly but stop when something caught my eye in the trees. I raised my hand and put a finger to my lips; it took a few moments for everyone to quiet down. "What do you see Nath?" Williams asked, looking in the direction I was looking.

"I don't know. Something moved" I say, stepping forward a few paces. Ryan and William immediately at my sides; Isabella staying with the others, she has to grab onto the back of Thomas' collar to stop him from following, to which he pouts and crosses his arms.

A few paces in I can make out the shape of something quiet large; and a slight sense of relief floods me when I see what it is. "A large herbivore... I think it's a Stegosaurus by the horns on the back and tail... judging by the size, it means we're possibly in the late Jurassic"

"Herbivore? That's good right?" Ryan asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Generally Yes, but in many cases herbivores in themselves can be dangerous, because most herbivores are large creatures with strong tails and such..." I sigh "fascinating creatures really, all that strength and power, and brute force, and yet they choose not to kill and devour other creatures, but eat plants and practically non-living things... they're gentle and kind really" I say with a smile on my face.

"Hmmm" William sighs "But I would rather we get out'ta here, it may be a big softy, but it's still bloody big" He says, lowering his weapon slightly.

"Yeah you're right, but hold on a second okay" I turn back to Isabella "Bells, Can I have the camera... I want to record some of this" Isabella smiles and chucks me the camera.

I quickly turn it on and point it at the Stegosaurus "Soooo, uh, I believe us to be in the late Jurassic period, and this here is our friendly-ish herbivore, the Stegosaurus, considered to be the largest of the stegasaurid family and existed throughout the late Jurassic period. Its name is derived from the Greek word 'stegos' meaning roof and 'saurus' meaning lizard, making it the 'Roof Lizard'... whatever that means" William snorts and I stick my tongue out at him "This one seems to be about 30ft long, which is the norm for such creature..."

"Okay, let's get moving now shall we, before our anomaly closes" William sighed, pushing me back towards the other.

"Okay okay!" I laugh quietly and pass the camera back to Isabella, who keeps hold as it as we continue walking.

...

(William's Pov)

It takes another twenty minutes before we're almost at the anomaly. The group have all stayed mostly quiet; Nathaniel's spent that time explaining to everyone about everything they see.

"A very interesting fact that has been noted by scientists is that despite their magnanimous body size, their brains were extremely small. Whilst their body weight stood close to 5 tonnes, its brain weighed a puny 80 grams..." He gets a real buzz out of all this stuff.

Isabella is probably the quietest of all; she's still holding the camera forward and recording everything that's going on and being said, but only speaking to tell us how far and when we should alter our course. It's like she's thinking, which isn't unusual, because at the ARC Isabella is generally quiet, always working on something, whether it's a new theory or equation. It's kind of weird really, looking back over the years, Isabella has always been exceedingly smart and clever, possibly more than she should be; she's always been interested in the ARC and anomalies, and seems to understand them in a way that only Nathaniel's Dad, Nick, does.

But I can already tell this is something different, because she's got a small confused look on her face too, like she just doesn't understand something and it's bothering her; and if it's bothering her then it's likely to end up interfering with her work and such.

Thomas is kind of acting weird too now that I think about it. Normally he's quiet bubbly and energetic, and is normally asking about a million questions a minute. Except now he's only talking when someone's talking to him, and he's also got the same look on his face that Isabella does.

"Okay... Guys, it's just a few meters in ahead" Isabella says, interrupting my thought; just as a roar is heard through the trees.

"Move!" I snap brushing forward "Now, everyone, quickly"

I burst through some leaves, and the anomaly is no less than a meter in front of me.

Another roar, louder this time, with ground shaking movements too.

I grab hold of Ryan's collar and fling him forward "Through now, all of you!" I say pushing him into the anomaly. I push Thomas and Chester through. Another roar, much closer. "Girls, you next" I say pushing them forward; Isabella protesting loudly to me "I'll be right behind you" I tell her, looking back for Nathaniel.

He isn't there.

"Nathaniel?" I shout; stepping back through the leaves to see him standing still, looking slightly dazed for a moment, before blinking at me.

I grab his forearm "Nath... come on man, we gotta go" I say quietly; I'm worried because of the look on his face, and how pale his skin looks.

Another roar. Tree's breaking, branches snapping, and the ground trembling.

I pull him along quickly; him stumbling behind me and into the anomaly.

...

(Ryan's Pov)

We stepped out of the anomaly and into a desolate street, the sky was dark and cloudy.

Almost immediately Katharine and Jenna screamed; and I could see why.

Three future predators and a swarm of Insects flying overhead.

Isabella pushed at Thomas and the girls "Run!" she snapped; and we didn't need telling twice. We took off down the street to the right, weaving our way through the cars just left in the roads. I can hear the clicking that signifies that we're being followed.

Thomas is right at my side, a look of absolute terror on his face.

I grab hold of him as I spot a slight open door to what I think is a block of flats "Inside" I tell him pushing him in front of me and up the steps into the door; I hear Chester yell and Isabella shouts something. But before I can turn back, both Katharine and Jenna barrel into me, forcing me through as something large and heavy slams against the door, buzzing loudly.

"Close it!" I yell at them, grabbing the handle to pull the door closed; Thomas grabs hold of it too and together, along with the girls we pull it closed.

...

(Isabella's Pov)

As Chester falls he yells out a string of words in what I think is French; I turn back to help him, and as I do I see one of the insects flying straight towards Ryan and the girls on the steps "Look out!" I yell at them as the insect closes in.

I don't see what happens next because I hear the clicking of the predators again, and I roughly grab Chester by the collar of his jacket and drag him to his feet "Come on, we have to get out of here" I tell him, looking back towards where Ryan and the girls had been, to see the door covered by the insect.

I pull him along with me as we begin running again whilst the sky begins to darken slightly.

We run to the end of the street and I jump a small brick wall into what I think is a small patch of greenery between two roads and an office building, with Chester right behind me. The building looks more battered than most of the others around it, but it would have to do.

The clicking gets louder and I decide to pull out my gun; though technically it's not mine.

I point Chester towards a door "Through there!" I tell him "Go!" He nods and runs off quicker than me and tries to open the door.

I turn and start shooting at the insects that had followed us; one fell down instantly, but the next one only dropped slightly in the air. I shot at it again.

"It won't open!" Chester yelled, banging against the door, and tugging desperately at the handle bar.

"Keep trying" I shot back at him; shooting again and hitting the insect this time. There was another one flying in overhead, and I aimed at it, hitting it straight in its wing.

"Look out!" Chester screamed at me. I gasped slightly as I caught sight of something grey streaking through the air towards me, but just when I thought it was going to hit me, a series of bullets rained through the air, killing the Predator mid-air.

I span around to see where the shots came from.

A young woman stood on the other side of the green, with two men. All of them were dressed in what looked similar to the ARC uniforms, only with slight differences, and all three of their uniforms look slightly over worn; but all three were carrying guns. The young woman looked to be no older than twenty-two or twenty-three; she was pale, with bright eyes and bright blonde hair; and the ARC insignia blazing on her chest.

The woman looked at me and her eyes widen slightly in shock, and then she looked at Chester and her eyes widened even further. She raised her gun and pointed it at me "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she asked, an air of authority to her voice.

I swallow hard and look at Chester as he steps slowly over to me. I turn back to the woman.

"My name is Isabella Temple, and this is Chester Johnston... we we're running from those Predators and Insects... so, uh, thanks for that. And you are?" I ask her; more confident but confused at the look of absolute shock flutters across her face.

"I am Olivia Galloway of the Anomaly Research Centre, and I do believe that you need to come with us" Olivia Galloway spoke quickly and pointedly; she smirked "Unless you want to be left out here in the dark"

"What about my friends... they're out there somewhere" I tell her quickly; worry beginning to bubble in my stomach.

"Sorry kid, but we don't have time, it's gunna get dark real quick... with any luck, you friends are smart and they'll stay put until sunlight... now you coming or what?"

I sigh and nod; slowly making my way over to the woman and two men.

Chester mutters in my ear dryly "Well, this day just keeps getting better and better"

"Yeah" I sigh tiredly, holstering my gun, and then smirking look at him "Since when do you speak fluent French?"

Chester groaned.

...

(William's Pov)

We emerged in a street, and for a second I believe us to be back in our own time. But those thoughts are almost immediately squashed down when I see the abandoned cars caked in mud and dust, and the broken and abandoned buildings. Nathaniel stumbles straight into my back; hands automatically fling to my shoulders.

"Oh my!" He breaths.

The sky is dark and cloudy; the buildings are covered in vines from plants, in the distance, flying insects are swarming through the sky and across the top of buildings.

"... Two abandoned cities in as many hours" He comments quietly; confusion and sadness ebbing at each of his words.

"Co-incidence I'm sure" I say dryly; however I suddenly straighten and Nathaniel removes himself from me. "Uh, where are the others?" I ask.

"I don't know... I don't see them anywhere" Nathaniel replies, walking slowly and looking about past cars and down the roads that we can see. But there's no sign of them... except the anomaly detector on the ground several feet away.

"Oh shit" Nathaniel says, bending down to pick it up.

Oh shit was right. Slowly I grab hold of his shoulder "I wouldn't want to worry you Nath... but we have company... of the future kind" I speak quietly, nodding my head in the direction. On the building in front of us there are two future predators, and flying overhead again are those insects.

We've never actually seen any of these creatures in the flesh; we'd only seen them in the logs and heard of them in reports and such.

Nathaniel tugs me slightly and whispers so quietly that I almost missed it "Slowly and quietly... tread softly... remember they see by sound" he pulls me along to the street on the left and we tread slowly and carefully, trying to stay quietly. I couldn't even cock my gun because they'd hear it; finally after what seems hours we reach the corner of the street, and quietly but quickly duck around, treading quickly down the street.

I spot what I think is a newsagents or something; its perfect for a hide out, as its getting dark, and the place has those protective panels that cover the window and door. I quietly pop open the door and drag Nathaniel inside, before making my rounds, checking the back doors and out back.

I close the back door, and block it with a cabinet, the doors flying open and random items falling out; among those items are a med-kit as well as blankets and a tool box. And almost as if by some miracle chance a set of keys fall out to lay on the floor by the back counter; I use them to unlock and pull down the metal panel to plunge the place into darkness.

I jump slightly when Nathaniel shines a light at me so I can lock the panel closed. He mutters a soft "Sorry"

"No problem" I tell him quietly sighing.

I pull my own torch from my pack, and turn it on, adding a little more light to the room. "We're gunna have to stay here for the night; it just wouldn't do for us to be walking around at night with god knows what out there" I say, shining my light around to see what we have; Nathaniel does the same.

"Well, I can tell the date they stopped stocking here.. November 8th 2094... so that's roughly sixty-six years from our time" Nathaniel says, looking at what looks like to be a newspaper; he studies it closer "Hey, there's a Eco mark on the corner... they'd starting sorting out deforestation in the 2030's apparently" he says happily "Chester'll be happy abou- hey, do you think the others are alright?"

I laugh "Don't worry... with Isabella and Ryan working together, I'm sure they'll be fine" I tell him "I'm going to check the back rooms, see what we can stock up on... and please drink some water, you're not looking well" I say softly, chucking him a bottle of water off the shelf.

"I'm fine, honestly" Nathaniel says sharply, setting the water down next to himself and scowling slightly.

I ground my teeth "You, are not fine" I tell him "The way you were when we were in the Jurassic... it's like you weren't even there, and your pale now ...so no, you are not fine... what happened?" I ask quietly, stepping towards him.

Nathaniel shrugged "I don't know... It was like... one minute I was standing with you guys, about to go through the leaves, and the next..." Nathaniel stopped talking and swallowed, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face.

"The next?" I press on quietly; resting my hand on his arm.

Nathaniel sighed "I was... I was in a dark room, with... with a woman... I couldn't make out her face" he looked at me suddenly "But... I've been in that room before... I'm sure of it... but I don't ever remember being somewhere like that" he let out a large breath of air before smiling at me "You know, it's probably just exhaustion or something, what with the head, and the adrenalin"

I nod; though I am worried "Yeah, that's probably it... tell you what, there are some blankets in the back room... plus there's plenty of food and water... so I say we eat and drink, and then try to get some proper rest huh?"

He smiles at me "Yeah, sounds like a great Idea"

I hope your liking it so far!

I will update as soon as I can, but I've actually got to write chapter the next chapter before I can upload it

Let me know what you thought of the story; I'll be mentioning people before each new chapter! So you could have your name mentioned!

OpenUpMyHeart is putting her pen down!