Characters: Connor, Abby, Danny Quinn, Nick, and Corporal Baumann
Spoilers: None
A/N: I own nothing of "Primeval" that belongs to Impossible Pictures and I make no money from this, clearly. This is a crossover between "Primeval" and "The Bunker" and no one will have needed to see "The Bunker" to understand this. And no, I didn't just write this on a whim.
Summary: After weaving through a labyrinth of anomalies to get back to the present, Connor, Nick, and Abby are thrown into WWII-Germany where they meet Danny's German doppleganger, who seems to know Connor. 150,000 years ago in the frozen landscape of Britain, Connor encounters more than just the great Irish deer.
I. Connor's Ghosts
Bits of velvet mixed with tree bark scattered across the virgin snow. Connor's eyes widened as he lifted his gaze slowly up the trunk of the tree in front of him. Breath, suspended in the air by the freezing temperatures of the Pleistocene epoch, seemed to glisten in the pristine air. As Connor stood frozen in spot the humid breath basted his face. Fear had no hold on the youth.
Just the shoulders alone of the massive creature rose above Connor's head. Antlers measuring at least twelve feet in length surrounded the front of the tree. The majestic deer was unlike anything that Connor had ever seen! And for the prehistoric creature nerd, Connor knew this species of deer to be the megaloceros, but to the common tongue, it was the Giant Irish Elk. To be standing a mere three feet from this beautiful creature was an experience unlike any other! How different was the world only a hundred and fifty thousand years from the present day!
Antlers once more lowered to nearly eye level and before rubbing briskly against the tree. More of the velvet began stripping away from the newly formed branches along its antlers. Connor tensed at the sight of the tips. They were sharp and capable of puncturing a mammal like him if the great buck wanted to. However, as Connor's thoughts drifted back another seventy million years in time. The pointed edge of the antlers turned to the ferocious banana-like teeth of a certain late-Cretaceous theropod.
A deafening roar filled Connor's head, causing the youth to start shivering in this horrifying recollection. Behind him the forest widened and the trees grew taller. Out across the vast frozen plains the snow evaporated and turned into another mess of trees. And the giant deer, a terrifying Albertosaurus! The eleven-foot high creature rounded the tree, lowering its face so that it was eye-level with Connor. It opened its massive jaws, exposing Connor to the stomach turning scent of rotting flesh.
Connor nearly gagged but found himself completely useless at trying to escape. The Albertosaurus reared its head back before jutting it forward, bellowing angrily at the human who dared to defy it. Blood dripped from the predator's lips onto Connor's jacket. The creature emitted a sharp hiss, coating Connor in the foulness of its breath.
Tears rolled down Connor's cheek as he stared into this killer's eyes. "You killed the soldier and now you're going to kill me..." Connor tried to square his shoulders in an effort to maintain a sense of defiance but found his knees growing weaker. Who was he kidding? He was always predator food! "Just get it over and done with, I don't want to feel any pain..."
The Giant Irish Elk bayed at Connor, shaking its mighty antlers at the youth. It grumbled in complaint against the mammal that refused to move from its path. This was worse than dealing with the hyenas and their constant yipping! Pawing at the snow with its massive hoof, the white-backed deer let out another guttural growl at Connor, issuing a stern command to move or be trampled!
From only a few yards away, Danny Quinn slid into the safety of one of the trees. Panic rose his adrenaline to a higher rate as he watched Connor's staring contest with the deer. Had Connor completely lost it since the late Cretaceous? Perhaps there was such a thing as a stress disorder caused by one too many anomaly travels! Danny could hardly believe that Connor would make no effort to get out of the way of the creature! For a moment Danny considered yelling to him, but doing so could startle the deer into charging Connor.
Sighing heavily, his options virtually nil, Danny crept quietly forward, using the various trees to mask his advancement. Of all the megafauna to come across it had to be this one! The giant elk had lowered its head once more to Connor, the antlers nearly enveloping him. More angry bellows came from the creature as it continued to beat at the snow-covered ground with its hoof. With a snort the creature suddenly reared on its hind legs, its hooves dancing just above Connor's head.
As the creature prepared to make a doormat out of the entranced Connor, the young man suddenly collapsed in the snow.
Not another one; not him! Danny flew towards the creature, yelling wildly at it. His foot caught a patch of ice and threw him hard into a nearby tree. Snow fell in thick clumps, pummeling both Danny and Connor's still form. The giant Irish deer planted its hooves on the ground just inches from Connor's face. It turned its enormous set of antler's towards Danny as he slowly picked himself up from the ground. He winced as sharp pain tore through his side from where he had hit the tree.
"Come on," Danny growled under his breath. He eyed the deer until he was certain that the huge creature was locked on him. "Follow me... come on..."
Once more the hoof began pushing back the snow on the forest floor. The creature shook its head, barely avoiding Connor with its sharp branches. Danny began to move away from the tree, the deer following the man's steps with its head. Swallowing hard, Danny prepared to make the run for his life. Whatever it took, he'd see that Connor was safe. But as it turned out, nature had a funny way of reminding all of creation who was still in control.
For as the giant deer raised its head and emitted another bone-rattling cry, the branches of the trees shook and more snow fell to the ground. A large piling of snow landed squarely between the creature's ears, dousing it with the cold substance. The deer hastened a retreat, pulling its antlers neatly out of the trees as more snow continued to pelt it from above. With a final roar of annoyance, the giant Irish deer turned back to its preferred semi-grassy habitat and began a slow walk back towards its herd.
Without much delay, Danny scrambled towards the fallen Connor. He dropped by Connor's side and rolled him gently onto his back. "Connor! Connor, wake up! Wake up you daft bugger!"
But the various sounds that followed brought Danny no comfort. If this was Connor being relatively conscious, perhaps it would be best if he was out entirely. Furiously Danny began checking Connor's face for visible signs of abrasion and began feeling around Connor's side, hoping that if his friend was in any severe pain that he would immediately be alerted so. But Connor continued to babble on in his incoherent state.
"Connor, you're a right lucky lad!" Danny shook his head and looked towards the field. The buck was grazing not too far from the edge of the forest and as if knowing that it was being watched, the creature lifted its head and looked at Danny. For once, Danny saw the animal not as a beast, but as a majestic creature of the past. As Danny marveled at it, the deer seemed to smile knowing at Danny.
Blinking, Danny hastily rubbed his eyes before looking back to the deer. But the creature was gone, grazing with the rest of its mates several hundred yards away. Startled by this, Danny furrowed his brows and tried to think of a logical solution to what had just happened. Possible delirium from colliding with a tree? Danny touched his head and felt blood working its way down the side of his face. This explained his state but what about Connor?
Returning his focus to Connor, Danny was alarmed to find that his friend had all but stopped his mumblings. Rubbing Connor's shoulder gently, Danny spoke urgently to him, "No Connor, stay with me! Come on mate, don't do this!" He shook Connor's shoulder firmly, hoping to keep the youth awake. But slowly Connor's words faded and at last he became still. If Connor wasn't hurt by the giant deer, what had caused him to fall unconscious? "I'm not giving up on you Connor. You can't die on us like the others."
Putting Connor over his shoulder, Danny painfully trudged through the snow back towards their shelter. He silently hoped that by the time he got there, Nick and Abby would have returned and that the anomaly would be found. He wasn't sure how much longer that he could take being in the Ice Age, even if it was supposed to be summer. None of them were equipped to handle the cold and the one who seemed to be taking the brunt of the sufferings was Connor. They needed to get back to civilization or risk dying of starvation and exposure to the elements.
A series of howls erupted from the nearby hill, the calls sending a cold torrent of fear through Danny. But now wasn't the time for being afraid. Connor was depending on him right now! Furrowing his brows, Danny pushed onwards. Help had to be coming soon. They couldn't be fated to die here in the cold, could they?