The ARC
AN: Thank-you to Beth Becker for reviewing the last chapter.
Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update this but, I'm going to ask if you could review- I could do with a little bit of cheering up. Thank-you.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Primeval.
Continue…
The group now congregated in one of the outlining hallways of the ARC. Connor began a little bit of a dodgy briefing—
"Guys, listen up. The creature's going to be hiding somewhere dark. We need to find it, force it down this corridor and through those doors."
He gestured vaguely to the set of doubles that led to the main room.
"How do we do that?" Abby questioned.
"Freezing carbon dioxide."
"So," Lorelei began, "What? Fire extinguishers?"
Connor nodded, "Exactly."
Danny reached forward and plucked two from a small inlet in the pale wall. He passed one to Lorelei.
"Whatever you do," Connor said, "Don't let it touch you."
Danny replied bluntly, "I wasn't thinking of shaking hands with it."
By now, Becker had already begun to head out of the corridor.
"All right, let's find this thing."
Lorelei gave a small smile to both Jenny and Abby before following him through the door a few metres away. Connor ran after them.
)()()()()()()(
She walked slightly behind Becker and Connor, keeping an eye out for any movement in the, now, darkened rooms. Nothing was heard and she sighed. Where was the bloody thing?
Her thoughts were broken as her phone buzzed in her pocket; Danny.
"Yep?"
"Lorelei, it's gone back to the operation room."
She frowned, "Well, that's good, isn't it?"
Danny remained quiet but his breathing could be heard; he was running.
"Danny?"
"Jen's in there."
Lorelei froze and almost dropped the extinguisher in her left hand. Becker and Connor turned at that point, only to see that she had stopped.
"It's gone where we want it to. It's in the ops room." She said, her voice hoarse, she swallowed, "But, so is Jenny."
Becker was quickly in motion; turning and running back the way that the three of them had come. Connor was a little slower but, when he did register what was happening after the initial shock, he grabbed the American's hand and pulled her in the same direction as the Captain.
The three filed into a lab, of which Abby already stood in and was watching the unfolding scene in the main room.
The group pressed themselves up against the glass in a desperate attempt to make sure that Jenny stayed safe.
"The creature's searching for heat." Connor stated.
"But it's freezing in there!" Lorelei protested from his left.
"It's Jen's body heat." Danny supplied, "It's drawing it towards her."
The group watched as Jenny tried, in vein, to keep the creature back. The thing howled in protest as she sprayed it with the extinguisher. Jenny repeated this action over and over again, until finally the inevitable happened and the fire extinguisher just stopped working. It had run out.
Lorelei hit the glass with her palm in pure objection and anxiety for the situation. Not Jenny, it couldn't happen again. They couldn't lose another one!
The creature had now recovered and stood tall, a now threatening and dangerous presence in the vast room. Jenny stumbled as the cold got to her. Her face was now a shade of light blue.
"Jenny! Come on!"
Another stumble and she now leant against one of the many desks, her feet slid slowly along the floor as she moved closer to the concrete.
"Stay on your feet Jenny!"
Lorelei had no idea who it was that was yelling for she was solely focussed on watching her friend as she finally fell to the ground.
The creature took a step forward towards the woman; a growl erupted deep in its chest. Jenny faintly reached for the extinguisher, she didn't know why; it was going to be of no help.
Frost had now formed on her face and clothes as she lost her energy quickly. The creature advanced.
"No." The word was quiet and Lorelei hadn't even registered saying it as her panic grew quickly.
"It's gonna kill her."
"-Turn off the cold air."
"-The creature's not dead yet."
"-Jenny's going to die if we don't."
Lorelei continued to watch the scene through the glass before someone's voice truly registered—
"Give me a minute."
Danny made his way swiftly out of the lab and through the double doors into the operations room. He whistled loudly as he stepped through the doors.
"What is he doing?"
They watched as he called the beast to him before hitting it forcefully in the face with the butt of his own extinguisher. It made a swing for him and he ducked away from it swiftly before realising that his fire extinguisher was out, also. Danny backed off, sensing that there was nothing else that he could do but make sure that the thing stayed away from the PR woman.
It suddenly seemed to stop, mid step. It shivered violently and it tried desperately to reach for him before a cracking was heard and the creature broke apart. It fell to the floor in an array of pieces.
Abby let out a laugh of relief.
"Go!"
The group filed quickly into the main room and ran for Jenny who lay, propped up by the desk, on the floor. Lester watched.
"Let's get her out of here!" Danny moved to her.
"No!" Connor interjected, "Don't touch her!"
"What?"
"The only chance she's got is if the cold kills the fungus."
Lorelei knelt by her shoulder and carefully pulled Jenny's collar form her neck. The fungus was slowly spreading on the skin there and she gulped as she cast a nervous glance to the group around her.
"We wait. Okay?"
She nodded as Abby answered—
"Yeah."
Danny winced and shivered before Lorelei tossed an extra coat his way.
At first, it seemed as though nothing was happening, in fact, the fungus was spreading quickly. Lorelei bit her lip as she sent up a quiet prayer. Please…
Danny had moved forward in order to pick Jenny up off of the floor but Connor pushed him back.
"Danny, listen to me!"
"It's killing her!"
"I know it is! But if we take her out now, she's going to end up like that thing over there. Trust me, please!"
Danny nodded shortly just as Lorelei spotted the fungus dissipating on her friend's face. She smiled and sighed in relief as she watched it go. She checked under Jenny's collar again.
"It's gone!"
On that note, the group picked her up and passed her to both Danny and Becker. The soldier steadied her and made his way back through the doors.
"Bring her in here!"
They lay her on a wide desk in the small lab on her back and Abby immediately began CPR.
"As long as she's been frozen quickly, there's still a chance we can bring her back."
Lorelei panicked, "You mean, she's gone already?"
Connor took this moment to hold her shoulders comfortingly.
"Keep warming her."
Abby placed an oxygen mask on her friend in attempt to get her to breathe.
"C'mon." Lorelei mumbled, watching the scene.
"Anything?" Connor questioned.
Abby looked up, eyes wide. She shook her head.
"No pulse."
Lorelei made a strangled sound quietly and shut her eyes tightly. She felt Connor stumble a little from behind her and he leant a little more of his weight on her back.
"Come on, Jenny. Come on."
"Not again." It was Connor that had spoken, his voice low and broken.
"If she stays like this for another few minutes, we've lost her."
"Please not again."
"Come on," Danny said, "Don't bail out on us now."
Connor wiped away a few small tears in his eyes as Lorelei gripped the side of the desk. She could not do this again; there was no way that she could do it again.
"Anything?" She questioned urgently.
Abby suddenly smiled.
"I've got a pulse."
"Yes!"
The group laughed at the small sentence in glee and Danny gripped Jenny's hand as she awoke.
"Hey."
"Nick…" She breathed.
"No," Abby gently laid a hand on her shoulder, "He's gone. Remember?"
Jenny nodded before turning to Danny.
"Can I have my hand back, now?"
)()()()()()(
"Hey."
Jenny smiled at the light knock at the door and turned to see Lorelei in the doorway.
"How are you feeling?"
Jenny opened her mouth but Lorelei cut her off.
"Sorry. Stupid question."
The fell silent as the younger female sat beside Jenny. She glanced at her feet as she spoke—
"You're going, aren't you?"
Jenny nodded, "It's for the best."
Lorelei bit her lip and copied her gesture.
"I've been meaning to ask you something. That is… before you go…" She sighed and licked her lips, trying to get the words out properly, "after Stephen died…" She swallowed and shook her head. She started again, "Did you love him?"
The question caught Jenny rather off guard.
"Cutter, I mean. Nick- did you love him?"
Jenny sighed.
"I wish I knew."
The two stopped talking for a few minutes then, each lost in their own thoughts. Lorelei spoke quietly after some time.
"I'm going to miss you. That's all I came to say. Sorry about the… question, thing."
She stood and quickly made her way to the door. Jenny's voice halted her—
"Why?"
Lorelei turned but didn't meet the PR's eyes. Jenny continued—
"Did you love Stephen?"
Instantly, she knew it was a very touchy subject, for the young woman's eyes glazed over with tears. The blue there suddenly glistened slightly in the light.
Lorelei opened her mouth to answer before footstep grabbed her attention. Danny was heading towards the room and she quickly gathered her thoughts; returning back to the 'normal Lorelei'. She sent a wink in Jenny's direction.
"I'll text you."
She headed out.