This chapter takes place in the ARC building of this universe. Craft (my version of Lester :D) makes his first appearance here. :D Hope you're gonna like him :).

Chapter 3

'Wake up! C'mon, open your eyes!' some annoying voices kept repeating on and on. If they weren't going to stop she was going to punch them, she thought while turning towards the direction the voices came from and blindly landed a punch. As she hit something she heard one of the voices cry out in pain. It sounded oddly familiar… It was…

'Oh, my God, J., I am so, so sorry!' she sprung on her two feet, eyes wide open.

'Yeah… no problem.' he said massaging his lips. Looking closer she saw his lower lip was swollen and bleeding. She tried to apologize again, but Rick spoke over her:

'So how do you feel? Any numbness? Or pain? Blurry memories or stuff?'

Now that he asked, every fiber of her body twitched, but why? It took her a few seconds to remember, images coming back to her like disconnected fragments of a movie, running on fast forward: the phone call, the decision, going to meet the stranger, the saber tooth cat. Wait! That was wrong, saber tooth cats were long dead, it was common sense to know that. Maybe it was a dream. Scoping the surroundings, she realized it was nowhere she had ever been to before; she was standing in a square, fairly large room, filled with plants and tables, with glass walls facing the corridor and three normal ones. The place looked a little like a green house.

'Where… where a… re we?'

'The ARC.' Rick responded promptly.

Most defiantly a dream.

'And why isn't Noah and a large group of animals here to greet me?'

'It's not that arc; it's the Anomaly Research Centre, our headquarters. Basically, it's our work place.' Psy laughed.

'Ahem! I see you're all having fun. Mind letting me in on the joke?' asked a fairly thin, black haired, brown eyed, tall man with a voice that showed a certain degree of arrogance.

'Mister… uhm… Who are you?' Joh asked.

'Sir, actually, Sir Shelby Craft.'

'Well… Sir Craft? Would you mind telling me where on Earth am I?'

'I take it you haven't been debriefed? Tut, tut, tut, Psyke, what do I pay you for? Misses Magnus, Carrow and Mr. Knighton, you are inside The Anomaly Research Centre, more commonly referred to as the ARC, which is, as the name tells you, a Government facility set up with the purposes of investigating and understanding the phenomena referred to as anomalies, through which one could travel in time, containing any creatures that pass through this anomalies and keeping the casualties to a minimum. You are now fully briefed. As to your rights, well, you don't have the right to ever speak of, or even remember the ARC and anything related to this subject. Don't forget to sign the papers on your way out. Have a good night.' said the thin individual with obvious attitude problems.

'Uhm… boss?'

'Yes, Cartman.' said Craft carefully pronouncing each syllable and raising an eyebrow.

'I've… talked it over with the team and… we came to the conclusion that all three of them would be valuable assets for us.'

'And since when, Mr. Cartman, are decisions around here made without me? Have I been unknowingly relieved of command?' his boss said smiling ironically.

'No sir, of course not, but… we need them now that it's not only the creatures we have to deal anymore…'

As Rick said that their faces turned grim, even Craft's, who seemed to no longer posses the power of fighting with Rick and accepted to listen to Rick's reasoning. As Rick argued, he was a good doctor and a skilled tracker, so when it came to the animals he could track them, but that was pretty much it. Joh, on the other hand was trained especially to deal with this kind of situations, so having her around meant dealing with the creatures more efficiently. Chrissie would represent a handy link to the press, who started speculating about unusual creature sightings throughout the city. And James could be Craft's new assistant, since he was continuously complaining he needed one ever since his last one quit his job. This way no one else needed to find out about the ARC. After listening to Rick's speech, Craft reluctantly agreed and took off without saying another word.

'Apparently you're part of the team now…' sighed Psyke, 'under normal circumstances, I'd introduce you to the rest of the team, but they've all gone home, and I suggest you do the same. Go get a warm bath and some sleep, to shake off the effects of the shock you are experiencing. The program starts at 8 o' clock sharp. And, you, pampered royalty, Craft will want to talk to you tomorrow and instruct you on your duties, so don't forget to stop by his office, as soon as you get back here tomorrow. That would be all. Good night, guys, Cooper will show you out and drive you home.'