Chapter 3
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After Danny found Connor's jacket he started yelling out his name to see if he was close by. After a few minutes he gave up. There could only be one thing explaining why Connor was not here, and that was because he was out looking for both him and Helen. Deep down he knew there could be another explanation; such as being eaten by a dinosaur, but he didn't want to think about it.
Danny noticed that it was getting dark again and he decided to make camp. He didn't want to go out searching in the dark for fear of getting lost. He figured that Connor and Abby (at least he hoped Abby was with him) would eventually make their way back to this spot and they would find him waiting there for them. He just hoped he didn't have to wait long. If he got stuck here, he would need to make some provisions for his new home and the longer he waited the harder it would be for him.
It was starting to feel cold so the first thing he did was collect some sticks for a fire. The fire would provide him with some warmth, but it would also be a beacon to Connor and Abby if they were trying to make their way back to this site. If not he just hoped that where ever they were, they too had a comfortable place to stay.
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While Connor had rested his leg, Abby was able to find suitable shelter for the both of them.
Abby had gathered up some sticks for a fire and asked Connor to get one started. After he had been trying for about 10 minutes Abby came over and got it started in about 1 minute. As she got the flames to spread over the sticks, she was surprised that he didn't have his usual smart ass remarks as to why he couldn't get the fire started. This was not like him, but she didn't know if she should start worrying just yet. There were plenty of other things to worry at the moment and each of them took precedence over Connor's feelings.
Once both were settled for the night Abby looked through their packs for some food. "So Connor, what's for dinner tonight? Will it be some more beef jerky and crisps or nuts and fruit leather?"
He looked up as he responded to Abby, "I don't feel very hungry right now. If you don't mind I think I'll just go to sleep now. Will you be ok while I sleep?"
"Yeah, sure Connor, I'll be ok. You've done a lot of walking on that leg and need the sleep". The fact that he turned down food before falling asleep didn't sound like him. As she ate her beef jerky followed by a side of nuts, she stared at Connor while he fell asleep. From where she sat he looked alright, but looks could be deceiving. She didn't know if his fall had done more damage than was originally thought, but he hadn't said anything to make her think otherwise. She decided she would keep an eye on him and check his condition in the morning.
Sleep was starting to appeal to Abby after finishing her food and feeling the warmth of the fire. She thought it would be ok if they both slept at the same time since the spot she found appeared to be relatively safe. Before long, she was asleep.
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The sun rose over the hill exposing the most intense and brilliant light Abby had ever seen. For some reason the sun looked bigger than it did in her own time. And the color was something she had not expected. It was the most vibrant yellow she had ever seen. She didn't know if the reason was that she never took the time to watch the sun rise in her own time or if it was because the air here was so pure. She really wished she had brought her camera with her; this would have been an awesome picture for her wall back home.
After allowing the sun to warm her up she went over to check on Connor. She was not surprised that he was still asleep; he always did like sleeping in. "Hey Connor, time to get up and eat some breakfast before we start our search again.
He heard his name being called, but didn't feel like answering. He felt like shit and really just wanted to stay right where he was.
Abby had started pulling food out of the backpack when she called out to him again; assuming he had not heard her before "Connor, get up, time for breakfast." When she didn't get a response she went over to where he was laying and touched his shoulder "Connor, come on, time to get up".
He felt his shoulder being touched and knew it belonged to Abby, "Oh, come on Abby, let me sleep some more, I'm not ready to get up yet".
She was not going to take this from him. They had to get moving if they were going to pick up Danny's trail. This time she grabbed Connor and started pulling him up "Sorry about this Connor, but you really need to get up".
"Stop Abby, that really hurts". He tried his very best to pull away from her grip.
She thought he was just using this as an attempt to get her to leave him alone "Come on Connor, I'm serious. If you don't get up right now I'm going to have to leave you behind".
He didn't want to be left behind, but he also didn't feel well enough to go with Abby either. "I'm sorry Abby, but I just don't feel that good. You may have to leave me here".
She was immediately sitting by his side to get a better look at his face. She could see the beads of sweat that were resting under his eyes and on his forehead. "Connor, what's wrong?" She checked him over and found that he forehead felt a little warm, "How long have you been feeling like this?"
By now Connor was sitting up resting against the wall of rock they had taken shelter by. If he had been felling better he would have enjoyed all the fuss Abby was making over him. "I don't really remember when I started feeling like this. All I remember is feeling really tired last night and going to sleep. Then when I woke up this morning I felt horrible".
She thought back to last night "well, that might explain why you weren't hungry last night. I'm sorry I didn't notice Connor". She was very worried about him and didn't have the first clue as to what to do for him since she didn't really know what was wrong with him. She had to make a tough decision, but she knew it was the right one. "I need to get you back to the ARC; do you think you have enough energy to get back to the anomaly?"
"What about Danny, we have to find him Abby. We can't leave him out here all alone. I think you should just leave me here while you go and look for him. I'll be alright". He hoped he sounded convincing.
"No Connor, I need to get you back. I have no clue as to what's wrong with you and I can't take any chances. We can come back and look for Danny another time. We can leave him a note telling him that we are coming back for him and to stay alive until we get back".
She went over to their backpacks and put everything into one pack, which she then slung over her back. She went over to Connor, "Come on Connor, I need you to get up. Lean on me as much as you need to, but we have to get moving". She helped him up and was surprised by how much he relied on her. She just hoped they could make it back to where they came into this world. She also had to keep in mind that once they got through their first anomaly there were at least 2 more to go through before they got home.
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Abby and Connor were moving very slowly and had taken a few breaks already, but were at least making some progress. She didn't like that he was so quiet though. "How are you doing Connor, do you need to rest again?"
"I can make it Abby, I'm afraid if we stop again I may not want to get up again".
She had to accept his response, although she was secretly grateful that he didn't want to stop. The longer they kept moving the sooner they would get to where they had to go.
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Danny had woken up to what looked like a beautiful day. He just wished he were enjoying it in his own time. His outlook on the whole situation had not changed much after getting a decent night's sleep. He needed to work on a plan to find out what happened to Connor and Abby. He knew that Connor had at least been here at some point and had left his jacket. He didn't know if this was intentionally done by him or it he had just forgot it.
He decided to spend the morning making his camp at the base of one of the larger rocks. He figured he could climb up the rock every so often to scout out the surrounding areas for any signs of his friends, and then move back down to the ground when needed.
After his camp was done, He had tested out the rock and took his first watch. He had found the rock to be a somewhat comfortable place to sit, even after sitting there for over an hour. The only problem he had with his spot was the sun. It was shining down on him and it was starting to make him sleepy. He stood up and stretched his arms and legs. Just as he was about to sit down he saw something off in the distance. Whatever it was it was not moving very fast, but he couldn't make out what it was. He didn't even know if what he saw was real, since a hot sun was known to make people hallucinate.
He kept his eyes fixed on the moving entity until it came close enough for him to see what it was. What he saw made him question his sanity. Whatever he saw looked just like Abby and Connor, but could it really be this easy. Did he really find the both of them so quickly?
He was soon off the rock and running in the direction of where he thought they were. Before he knew it he was standing several yards away from his target; and what a lovely target it was. Standing before him were Abby and Connor, only Connor didn't look so good. Neither of them had seen him yet because Connor was looking down on the ground and Abby was concentrating too much on keeping him upright.
He started running and screaming all at the same time "Abby, Connor, I can't believe we found each other".
As soon as Abby heard Danny's voice she stopped dead in her tracks and looked up. She saw him running toward them at full speed. Before she got a chance to respond he was standing directly in front of her. "Oh Danny, I can't believe we found you". She would have given him a great big hug, but Connor was leaning heavily on her. She wasn't even sure if he had looked up when Danny was shouting their names. "Danny, you need to help me with Connor".
Danny went over and relieved Abby of her burden "Connor, I've got you now. It's great to see you". He gave him a hug, but all he got in return was a few grunts of pain. "Sorry Connor, here let's sit you down over here". He led both of them to a nearby rock and turned to Abby, "What's wrong with him?"
"I don't really know, but I figured I had to get him back right away so we were on our way back to same spot that brought us to this time". She finally got her hug in with Danny, "Oh Danny, I am so glad we found you. I thought I would have to take him back by myself and then come back to find you".
He looked down at Connor and started checking him over. He noticed that Connor was very quiet, which was not like him at all. He must really be feeling awful. "You're right; we need to get him back. Where is the anomaly devise?"
Abby handed it to him and said, "I think we found Helen's, but it was damaged, so Connor took the power source from that one and added it to the other one we had".
"Well, there is only one way to find out if this detector can open up anomalies both ways, but we need to get back to where the anomaly had opened up and hope it takes us back to our previous year". He helped Abby with Connor and slowly the three of them were moving.
It had taken them a little longer to get back to their original spot, but they were here now. "All right, let's hope this works", Danny pointed the anomaly device in front of where they were standing and pushed the button.
Soon the 3 of them were back in the same spot they were in before entering this era. Now all they needed to do was get back to where the other anomaly had transported them from the future era.
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