The ARC
AN: Although there was only one review (Thanks to; Kat183) there were quite a few alerts so here is a new chapter and thanks to everyone who has alerted this (Although I would love you to review!)
Thanks again to Kat183 for the idea, I have used it and I hope this chapter is to your liking.
This chapter skips to episode 5 (That weird fungi man)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Primeval
Chapter 8:
Two months. It had been two months since Cutter's death, and for Lorelei; two months of grief counselling. She had, at first, refused to go but thanks to Connor and the rest of the team, she did eventually agree. She had had many weeks off and, to her disappointment, had missed some very enthralling anomaly alerts. A giganotosaurus, some triceratops and plenty of other creatures had come and gone without Lorelei even catching a glimpse of the action, this both frustrated and calmed her, for on the one hand she would have loved to see the amazing creatures, but on the other hand the weeks off had been her chance to adjust, to organise herself and bring herself back to reality, that and the fact that she had no early mornings.
Many of her colleagues and friends had visited her throughout this time, Connor most of all, but also Becker, who Lorelei had become quite fond of (Although her stubbornness would never allow her to admit it) and she actually rather enjoyed his company. He'd been there a lot for her since Helen's return and Nick's death, rather like Stephen would have been.
"Lorelei."
Her head snapped up towards Lester, who was sitting across from her at his desk.
"Hmm?" She asked.
"Lorelei, are you even listening to me?"
She opened her mouth to speak but soon thought better of it and bit her lip as she shook her head, "Sorry."
Lester sighed and presumably repeated what he had just said, "No going out in the field for bit."
"You don't think I'm capable?"
"No, not at all." Lester sighed, thinking of how to phrase his next sentence, the young American had come back a different person; slightly angry and distant, lost in her own imagination and thoughts, "You can be very emotional. I don't want you losing it on the field."
Lorelei scoffed, but refrained from commenting back, swallowing the anger she asked, "How long for?"
"That depends."
That short sentence wasn't very helpful, "Depends on what?"
"How well you act around the ARC and other employees."
Lorelei grumbled to herself, "Fine."
She would make this work, however hard it would be. She decided that after this meeting was over, she'd go and find Connor, larking about with him would set her mood for the day. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when the intruder alarm blared overhead. She was immediately on her feet and out of the door before her superior could utter a word. She met up with Jenny as she was leaving the main room; the two shared a look before continuing.
"Talk to me." Jenny asked as the two made their way towards Becker and some of his men.
"We have an intruder in sector 7. No identification as yet."
Connor caught up and placed a hand on Lorelei's shoulder as he spoke.
"Is it small and ugly, in a kind of cute way?"
Lorelei glanced at her friend, "Really?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Connor shrugged and hurried past her.
"Just a guess."
Lorelei rolled her eyes and made to stand behind Becker, beside Jenny.
The older woman turned to her, fear evident on her face,
"Helen?"
This name got Lorelei siked and she tensed in anger. She felt a light grip on her lower arm; Connor. He gave her look, silently telling her to calm down whilst Becker gave her a concerned expression, she shrugged her friend off and pinned Becker with a glare. She was happy to hear the next sentence;
"Prepare to shoot on sight."
Lorelei nodded in agreement to Jenny's order as Becker forced the door down. To everyone's surprise, there stood, not Helen but a man clad in jeans and a leather Jacket, after seeing all of the guns pointing his way, he spoke-
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
"I don't believe it."
Lorelei turned, confused, "What?"
Jenny didn't answer.
"You've really got to do something about your security."
Jenny sighed from beside her and Lorelei asked again, "What?"
Silence. That's when she snapped-
"Will someone tell me what the hell is-"She was hushed as a hand went over her mouth. She looked down to see Connor's hand preventing her from talking. She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him but he seemed un-fazed.
Jenny and Becker took the new found bloke to Lester as Connor gripped her wrist and dragged her away to explain just who the man was.
"Danny Quinn." He stated as the two of them made their way through a corridor.
"Huh?" Lorelei had completely forgotten her earlier question.
Connor laughed lightly, "That guy. His name's Danny Quinn, he's been popping up everywhere recently and… are you all right?" Lorelei had begun to drift off in her own thoughts again.
"Lori?"
She jumped slightly, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry, I phased out a bit."
Connor nodded silently before speaking, "Look, I've got to go and find Sid."
"You lost him?"
He shook his head; "No?" it was more of a question than an answer.
She merely raised a dubious eyebrow, "I'll keep an eye out. Now go, before Lester goes mad and has him stuffed."
()()()()()()()()
It was a few minutes later when Becker brought the so-called Danny Quinn down from Lester's office.
"You're going nowhere until we decide what to do with you."
He sat Danny down on a stool near Lorelei's desk, the main reason being so that he could talk to her. The young woman came to stand behind a desk that was slightly closer, she knew just how to annoy the captain; interact with the prisoner.
"Hey," she said, extending a hand, "I'm Lorelei."
Danny turned fully on his stool and leant across the light coloured desk.
"Danny Quinn." The two smiled at each other as Becker gave her an exasperated look.
She stood up straight, tapping her finger aimlessly on the desk, "And how are we this fine morning, Captain?"
The man in question rolled his eyes as Lorelei huffed.
"I'm just peachy, thanks for asking." She leant forward on the desk, leaning on her elbows and placing her chin in her hands.
Becker turned and mimicked her position, studying her; she had gained a small scar on her forehead from the explosion two months previously and although she acted cheerful, her eyes were different, darker, almost dull. The two broke eye contact as Connor's voice filled the room-
"Karma must really work, huh, Danny? It's not too long ago that you had me banged up."
Lorelei walked around the desk and perched herself next to Danny, "Why haven't I heard this story?"
Connor turned to her, "It was the day-"he paused, not sure whether or not to mention the clone that had almost killed her. One look from Becker told him that it would be a bad idea, "You were busy." He finished, slightly lamely.
Lorelei gave him a look but asked no further questions.
"The fact that I saved your life doesn't win me any credit?"
"-Whoa, he saved your life-"
"-Another time, Lor!" Connor snapped and instantly regretted it as his friend recoiled slightly.
He gave her an apologetic look and she gave him a vague smile as he continued his search of the main room, clearly still looking for Sid.
"What's that machine do, then?" Danny asked coolly, motioning towards the ADD.
Connor's head snapped up, "You're not even supposed to be looking at that machine. It's top secret, innit?" Connor looked to Becker and Lorelei who both nodded, the latter a little distracted. Connor continued, "But it is brilliant. And you know, it's completely unique. Well, bet you're wondering who invented it."
Lorelei rolled her eyes as Danny gave a blank expression.
Connor put on a fake accent, "Le Connor Temple." To which Lorelei snorted with laughter.
"Connor, I love you and think you're brilliant, but don't ever talk like that again."
Danny looked less than impressed, "What?"
"Connor Temple, that's… I invented it, so…"
Danny smirked slightly, "Why's that screen jumping around then?"
Connor's smile faded, "Jumping."
Lorelei frowned and hopped lightly off the desk, making her way over to the ADD as her friend rounded the computer. He picked up a wire that had clearly been chewed through. Lorelei pursed her lips, hands on her hip as Connor gave her a questioning look. Finally, the penny dropped.
"Sid." They spoke in unison.
Lorelei glanced over her shoulder and cleared her throat, "Ahem, Lester." And with that, she scurried off towards the main doors, Connor's voice drifted over her shoulder-
"Lester, before you shout at me, I'm really sorry. I'll get the hard drive memory back up in seconds."
Lester spoke next, first calling for the young woman attempting to escape.
"Lorelei!" she cringed slightly, "Get back here."
She turned on her heels and bit her lip before slowly making her way towards her superior, who was pointing to the space beside Connor, indicating that she should stand there.
"At the risk of sounding like someone from the Old Testament, is there any sane reason why you're keeping animals in the ARC?"
Lorelei opened her mouth to contradict but the alarm over head cut her off.
Connor instantly dived into action, "We must have missed an anomaly when it was offline. Close to an hour ago. I'll get the location."
"Yes, would you do that, please? Because that would be very helpful." Lester was cut off by another voice filling the main room-
"Sir, Christine Johnson is here to see you."
James' face fell, "Here?"
Lorelei bit back a small giggle that had crept up her throat at the sight of her boss gulping.
"James." Christine's voice filled Lorelei's ears and she turned to see a woman, smartly dressed in a black suit with a light striped shirt. Two men, equally smart, accompanied her.
"This isn't a bad time, I hope."
"Christine," Lester spoke with fake liking, "What an unexpected pleasure."
He turned to Becker, "Do we know where Jenny is?"
"No, sir." Becker answered, looking between Christine and his boss to Lorelei, who was trying hard not to laugh as she bit her lip.
"Could you find her for me please?" James continued his sentence.
"Yes, sir. Now?"
"Now."
Becker nodded and left silently.
"Nothing wrong I hope, James." The arrogant voice of Christine Johnson filled the room once again.
Lester shook his head, "Not at all." He turned to the younger members of the team, "Don't you have something to be getting on with?"
"Nope." Lorelei answered quickly, not really wanting to leave the awkward moment.
Connor gently held her wrist and pulled her out of the main room and down the hall. As the two left, Christine spoke again-
"It's not good to have children here, James." She gestured to Lorelei who turned to make her way back towards the woman but stopped as Connor wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away.
()()()()()()()
Lorelei walked back into main room as Lester led Christine up the ramp and into his office, leaving Johnson's two colleagues by the ADD. Sarah walked in soon after.
"Oi, trouble." Both Danny and Lorelei turned and Sarah laughed lightly before speaking again-
"You can both make yourselves useful, come with me." She gestured for Danny to pick up a medium sized crate and made off down the corridor, the young American close behind and walking beside Danny.
Soon, the young woman found that she was of no help to Sarah and she began walking aimlessly through the corridors of the building until she came to Jenny's office. A small box lay on her desk and Lorelei stepped quietly inside, curious. Sitting in the chair, she leant over to peer inside the container, she knew instantly that it was Cutters old things; all of his years at the ARC, placed into one small box. Tears began to form in her eyes as she gently picked up a small photo album. She opened it and stared at the first picture; the late professor and his wife. Hate boiled in the pit of her stomach at the sight of Helen Cutter, her grip on the album tightened as her knuckled whitened, a tear slid down her cheek and her eyes narrowed. This woman had ruined so much, if she hadn't of returned then Stephen and Cutter would have still been alive, things wouldn't have changed so much.
The third alarm of the day brought her back to her senses suddenly. She inhaled quickly and slammed the small album shut before placing it back into the box and hurrying out of the room. She shut the door and made her way up the hall to the main room which was chaos.
"What exactly did you do in there?" Connor's voice filled her ears as he spoke to Danny.
"I didn't do anything." The man in question answered, "Look, he's still alive. We've got to get him out of there."
"What's happened?" Lorelei asked, coming to stand near her friend. She was ignored.
"Forget it." Connor answered the other man, "I'm handling this. I've had biohazard training."
"Yeah, well, so have i." Danny countered.
Connor gave in, "Fine."
Sarah walked up behind Danny, "What's going on?"
Lorelei shrugged as Lester stood beside her,
"Everything under control?"
"Everything is fine." Connor answered, a little too quickly to Lorelei's liking. "Danny's helping me."
And with that, the two men made their way into the new lab as the others stepped closer to the glass to get a clearer view of what was about to happen. The two men cautiously entered the room and closed the door firmly behind them, still wearing the hazard suits. Connor looked towards his friend as she leant on the glass, she gave him a small, reassuring smile and he nodded at her. Danny turned to the group and shook his head, indicating that the man on the floor was, indeed, dead. Lorelei turned from the scene and inhaled deeply, trying to shut the image out of the dead man out of her mind. Christine turned to Lester-
"You've killed one of my men." She accused.
Lester sighed, "Care to explain why he was trespassing in a security zone, Christine?"
The woman in question said nothing as Lester continued,
"We'll send you a full report when the post-mortem's in. Now, for your own safety, I suggest you leave."
Without another word, Johnson left. Lorelei returned to the window and watched sombrely as the man was placed into a body bag and zipped up. Connor turned and gave her a concerned look, she nodded, letting him know that she was alright. Time seemed to pass slowly as the two men in the lab conversed, of which Lorelei couldn't hear, but she stayed near anyway, not really wanting to leave Connor's side as the feeling of death, once again, lingered in the back of her thoughts. She tried to shake of the new sense of foreboding as it washed through her veins, but to no avail. Something wasn't right. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she barely registered Sarah's presence until she spoke urgently-
"Connor! Danny!"
The American's head shot up as the body bag on the floor began to move, the man inside- supposedly dead- stood and began to tear at the material restricting it's movement. She was rooted to the spot out of pure shock as Sarah continued to call urgently to the two in the lab. She pressed the button for the coms and practically yelled-
"Turn around!"
Lorelei's mouth fell open as the creature (For it was no longer a man) tore through the white body bag and stood upright. The thing, itself was a dull grey colour, covered in fungi. It stood taller than an average man and its limbs flailed as it roared, its face was merely a hole in its head and Lorelei could see no eyes. The man who had died had completely transformed into something that she could not name. As the two men inside struggled to fight against the creature, Sarah, forever the logical one, ran to the door of the lab, opening it quickly.
"Come on, guys!"
Connor and Danny didn't need telling twice. The two left the room as quickly as possible and slammed the door shut behind them. Lester stood next to Lorelei.
"What…?"
The group jumped back as the creature smashed the glass containing a small amount of the fungus that had caused this problem before hitting its fist against the glass of the viewing window. Lorelei recoiled quickly and backed into Connor, he rested a re-assuring hand on her shoulder but said nothing, to perplexed with the thing in the lab.
"What is that?" Lester asked, sounding not at all scared. He turned to Connor who merely shrugged.
It was now that Lorelei could see the creatures eyes; dark and soulless. She shivered.
"Well, this could be tricky to explain to the next of kin. 'Good news; he's not technically dead. Bad news; he's turned into a mushroom." Lester spoke, his sarcasm always evident.
Lorelei resisted the urge to reach out and slap him. James continued-
"What are we going to do with it?"
"I don't know." Connor's eyes narrowed as he studied the creature before him, a hand still placed on his friends shoulder, "This all happened when it reacted with the saline solution."
A look of slight realisation cast over Sarah's features.
"Well, all fungi like damp environments right? So why don't we try drying it out?"
Lorelei smirked, "We bake it."
"Bake the hell out of it. We'll see what happens." Connor walked from her towards the dial for the temperature. He turned it up and the group watched, anticipating what would happen.
"It's not responding." Danny stated as Lester walked up to the window.
"Right, so come on, what's our plan B?"
The four of them turned, a questioning look on their faces. Lester sighed-
"You know, just once, just once would be nice."
After a few minutes, Lorelei had left the window and was now perched on the edge of the desk, randomly plaiting a strand of hair. She looked up as Danny spoke-
"Something's happening."
She moved to stand next to Connor and watched as the creature began to shudder, it anxiously pressed against the window, almost as though it was looking for a way out. Another shudder and the group pressed their faces close to the glass. The thing exploded, propelling its insides at the window.
Lorelei tilted her head, slightly in disgust, "Gross."
Connor nodded slowly, "Result!"
Danny and he exchanged a high five and grinned, clearly pleased with themselves.
Lorelei rolled her eyes and moved away.
()()()()()()()()()()
A few minutes later, Lorelei was making her way down a corridor, walking slightly behind Connor and proudly holding a large flamethrower. Connor was in the middle of a conversation with a rather confused Lester.
"We're gonna incinerate it."
Lorelei came into the garage area soon after, "Makes sense."
She helped Danny load up the car with some extra flamethrowers and was about to get in when her superior spoke sternly-
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing?"
She sighed when she realised that he was speaking to Danny and not her. She hoped that he had forgotten what he had said earlier. Danny answered-
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
Lester became indignant, "Oh yes, that's a great idea; let's send a criminal out on the city streets with a flamethrower." He turned to Lorelei, "And you're not even supposed to be out here!"
She gave him a pleading look, which he ignored.
"I'm not a criminal." Danny countered.
"You broke in here." James argued, clearly agitated.
"Yeah, well I didn't steal anything did i?"
"You're splitting hairs. The point is A, you should be in custody, and B, you're not part of this team-"
"But I am though, right?" Lorelei cut in, praying that he was going to let her go, "And he did a pretty good job for us. Twice."
"Three times actually." Danny smiled at her. She grinned back.
"We need all the help we can get, Lester. I think we should trust him."
Lester looked at Sarah in shock, "Fantastic. Been here five minutes, I've already got a mutiny on my hands. Do you know how to fire those things?" He questioned both Danny and Lorelei who stood side by side.
Danny answered first, "Well, no." He shrugged.
"How hard can it be?" Lorelei finished.
It seemed that Lester had given in, "Right, they go," he gestured to the two trouble makers, obviously slightly happy to get them out of his hair. He turned to Connor and Sarah, "You two geniuses stay here."
Connor frowned, "You're kidding. I was so looking forward to firing this thing."
Lorelei smiled triumphantly before rounding the car, patting Connor's cheek and getting into the passenger seat. As Danny started the car Lester called-
"The management accepts no responsibility for personal loss or injury!"
The young American rolled her eyes as they set off.
()()()()()()()()()()
The two of them made their way through the tunnels. Lorelei kept close to Danny until they met with the others. Becker, after noticing what Lorelei was carrying, instantly walked up to her and took it from her grip.
"Hey!"
"You really want to use this?" His asked, quirking an unsure eyebrow.
Lorelei placed her hands on her hips, "I could use a flamethrower." She persisted.
Becker said nothing, merely walked away, carrying the gun. Lorelei huffed and followed.
"You're not supposed to be here." Jenny pointed at twenty one year old who smiled.
"Lester saw sense." Was all she said.
Jenny gave her an unsure glance before turning to Danny-
"You are sure this will work?"
"One hundred percent. Come on, let's go."
"Excuse me." Jenny spoke, slightly irritated, "Who put you in charge?"
Danny spun on his heels.
"Look, if I'm going to go in there first, then I'm going to call the shots, all right?"
Lorelei let out a whistle, this received several annoyed glares from the rest of the team.
"Not helping." Abby whispered as Danny turned back around.
"Okay, follow him, "Jenny said, "But at a distance."
Lorelei nodded and mad to move forward, only to be pulled back. She turned to see Jenny holding her upper arm.
"Stay with me, okay?"
Lorelei looked indignant but, none the less, nodded.
"Good, come on." The two women brought up the rear of the group.
"So look," Danny's voice drifted through the empty tunnels, "We corner it, and then we grill it right?"
"Isn't that cruel." Abby spoke up.
Lorelei frowned, "What?"
"Well," The blonde turned to the group as she spoke, "That thing was a man not long ago. Suppose he's still in there somewhere?" She directed her final sentence to the blonde man at the front.
Danny sighed, "Okay, so we ask it nicely, " he was humouring her, "Then we grill it, all right."
"Thank you." Abby said, clearly feeling slightly patronised.
The group headed off into the dark.
()()()()()()()()()
Walking down a set of metal steps, Lorelei became acutely aware of just how quiet it was. To quiet for her liking. She gave an unsure glance at Becker, behind her before following Jenny down.
"Dark and damp, just like I said."
"Yeah," Lorelei turned to Abby, "Congrats on that."
She shined her torch into the darkness that loomed in the entrance to the new set of tunnels, hoping to brighten the place up slightly. Failing to do so, Lorelei frowned.
"Split into two teams." Becker ordered as he walked through the archway ahead of them before going left.
The young American turned to Jenny who motioned for her to follow him. She did so.
Walking beside one of Becker's men, Lorelei shined her torched at every speck of darkness. The soldier next to her spoke—
"Afraid of the dark?"
"Yeah," she sighed, "You could say that."
She could practically feel Becker's smirk and resisted the temptation to kick him in the back of the leg. She huffed—
"Do I even get a gun?"
Silence.
"Becker?"
The Captain sighed before pulling a small pistol from his jacket and handing it to her.
"Do not fire that unless I say so." He stated.
"Becker, I'm not completely incapable, you know."
He said nothing but turned and continued on his way. Although, he suddenly picked up the pace as something came through his ear piece.
"They've got it."
The group made their way through the tunnels before finding their other half, as it were. Jenny instantly beckoned Lorelei to her side as those armed with flamethrowers went ahead.
"Looks like someone sneezed." Danny commented dryly as Jenny's phone began to ring.
"Sarah?" She questioned.
After a second or two she turned and called desperately—
"Stop!"
Lorelei turned, "What?"
"Fire doesn't work," she informed them, "Stay away from it!"
The thing suddenly sprang to life, clearly sensing a moment to escape, and ran from the area.
"Don't lose it!"
Danny leant against the wall and looked towards Jenny.
"We've got to get it upstairs. Contain it." He dialled a number on his phone, "Ready to launch? You still got that truck?"
After an apparent confirmation, he hung up and led the others back whence they came, following the creature.
"Has the truck arrived?" He asked Becker.
"Seconds away." He confirmed.
By this time, Lorelei was beginning to feel extremely out of her depth and was beginning to regret not staying within the safer confines of the ARC, she gulped.
"Then what?"
For a second, Danny looked as though he was going to provide her with a decent answer. He let her down by actually saying—
"I'll get back to you."
Lorelei sighed as Abby came to a standstill beside her.
"For a minute I actually thought he knew what he was doing." The blonde groaned.
Both Jenny and Lorelei rolled their eyes before making their way back up the stairs and towards the entrance of the tunnels.
()()()()()()()()()
After managing to catch up with the boys and finding that they had the creature cornered in the dark, Lorelei watched nervously as Jenny contacted Lester, before the mobile was rudely pulled from the PR's ear by Danny.
"Listen," He started desperately, "The longer we wait, the more people get infected… what do you suggest we do?" His voice was becoming more and more distressed, "Give it the 'Financial Times' to read while we're waiting?"
At any other time, Lorelei would have laughed at this but she was soon becoming just as distressed as the rest of the group; the tunnels were cold as well as damp and gloomy and her mood now perfectly fitted here surroundings, she just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep, forgetting about the whole day. She knew, however, that this wasn't an option and, had she not been so emotional, she would have loved to have had an exhilarating day like this.
Danny paused before continuing—
"Look, we're bringing it to the ARC. Just get everything ready, all right?"
The American raised her eyebrows at the highhandedness of this statement but said nothing.
Danny hung up the phone, presumably cutting Lester off before whistling and beckoning for the creature to move. It did so and began to head, in a panicked run, towards the van that was waiting. Lorelei quickly dodged out of the way for fear of being run down before following the rest of the group, a little slower than the others and by the time that she had caught up, both Danny and Jenny had gone.
"Everything alright?" Abby laughed.
Lorelei sent a mock glare her way and Abby motioned to the mini parked a few metres away—
"C'mon."
Lorelei, glad that she no longer had to move on foot, took the back, middle seat gratefully.
Sorry for such a long wait and sorry that this episode isn't complete, but in order to get this up quicker, I've split it in two. The next part should be up soon.
Review please, I'd be very grateful.