A/N: I have been having constant trouble planning the ending of the story. So I have posted a poll on my profile.
If you all could spare a measly 5 minutes, to take the poll it would be wondersly helpful. Basically, I cant decide on who goes after Helen with Kara. Should it stay the original and be Kara and Danny? Or should I change it to Becker? Or should she go alone? So far, people want Danny to go. But the one with the most votes, when I get to chappie 10, is the one I will be using.
So if you want to see Kara go alone, with Danny or Becker. Then please take the Poll.
Thank you.
Primeval - Season 3
Chapter Eight
The Megopteran
As far was she was concerned she had the best family anyone could ask for. She had the best father in the world, her mother was her everything. And the two together cherished her more than anything else in the damn world. She was an only child and she liked it that way. It meant more attention for her.
She was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It had just turned 7:00pm, and she had been in bed for the past hour. Although she was only 8, her parents had nothing against her staying home alone, as long as she promised not to answer the door or telephone for any reason. She had agreed to this, so this wasn't the first time she had been left home alone. Many parents would have thought this to be irresponsible but not hers. They trusted her. And it wasn't like the doors and windows wouldn't be locked.
But what she didn't know, was that tonight, everything would change.
Her father had been hung up at the University, and her mother was out somewhere. Well, that's what she thought. There came a shuffling noise from the other side of her closed door and she sat up in bed, and looked towards the door. Someone was inside her house. But she hadn't heard any noise. And it wasn't like there was any loud noises, so she should have heard a point of entry.
Clutching the small grey, stuffed rabbit in her hand, she slipped out of bed and into her slippers. She then padded across the room to her bedroom door and pulled it open. The landing light was off, but her parents bedroom door stood ajar. Someone was in there. Was it her parents? She didn't know, still clutching the stuffed rabbit close to her chest, she shuffled down the hallway, careful not to stand on any floorboards that would creak. And peered into her parents bedroom.
There in the room was her mother. She seemed to be searching for something.
"Mummy?" she asked softly
"Kara," Helen Cutter said, her head snapping up, and she whirled around to face the doorway. She seemed surprised that her daughter was standing there "Hi, sweetie. What you still doing awake?"
"I was waiting for you and daddy," Kara answered sweetly as she moved into the room and jumped up onto her parents bed. She noticed the small backpack, that her mother had been packing. "What you doing, mummy?"
Helen could have cursed herself for raising a curious daughter. But she smiled at her daughters curiosity "Mummy has to go away for a little while"
"Where?" Kara asked "Can I come?"
Helen stared at her sadly "No, sweetheart. Not this time" her heart seemed to break when she saw the disappointed look on her daughter's face "But I promise I'll come back for you. Okay?"
"Then I can come with you?"
Helen nodded
Kara smiled
"Okay, mummy" she said with a bright smile "But what about Daddy?"
"Daddy wont understand sweetheart," Helen said "You must promise me not to say anything. Can you do that?"
Kara looked unsure, but nodded "Yes, Mummy. For you, I can do anything"
Helen smiled and once she was finished packing. She hugged her daughter before tucking her back into bed, for what she knew was the last time. Then she left. Never to be seen again.
"Shouldn't we have waited for Danny and the others?" Grace asked for the millionth time that morning.
She was sitting in the passengers side seat of the silver SUV, awaiting the arrival of Danny, Sarah, Becker, Abby and Connor. Becker, had left earlier that morning, as not to arouse suspicion to the rest of the team on Kara's plan to go through the anomaly. Although he was dead set against her going through alone.
"Grace," Kara said with a small sigh "Will you quit complaining for like two seconds. This is Nick we are talking about. Danny and the others will just stop us going through. We are only here, to prove to them that we haven't run off and down anything stupid"
She glanced in the rear view mirror for any sign of the second SUV from the ARC. There was nothing. Damn, they took their time.
"That's another thing," Grace said, speaking up again "If we are waiting for them here. Who's to say that they wont try to stop us now?"
"Will you pick a side already?" Kara asked, turning to look at her "One minute you are worrying that we should have gone to the ARC and waited with the rest. And the next you are worrying that they are gonna stop us from going through the anomaly"
"Well, im sorry, that I care about our safety"
Kara smirked. She knew what her cousin was getting at. They had no idea that this anomaly led to the Future, so they weren't sure if it was the right one they needed. It wasn't like the Hand-held's gave any reference to where to Anomaly that had opened, was linked to any time-line. But that was the beauty of it.
If they could pass through into any time-line, then they could travel through any given anomaly that they find, until they found the right one. It was better than hanging around the ARC, day in - day out waiting for an anomaly to open and praying that it was the one that they needed.
"Here they come," Kara said, glancing once more into the rear view mirror, and shifting the handbrake, she reversed slightly, before turning through the opening of the gate beside them. When she came to her final stop, she shut down the engine and climbed out of the car, just as Danny entered behind her.
"I hate when you pull rank," Connor complained, and Kara rolled her eyes
"God," she said joining the others "you and Grace are exactly the same. Both such big complainers"
Grace made a face and stuck her tongue out at her cousin, as she closed the door to the car. And followed alongside Abby further into the area.
"Oh very mature," Kara said, rolling her eyes at her cousin.
"At least your still here," Danny commented, causing Kara to turn to him "If what Becker's told us is true. Then we were expecting to find your SUV but not you."
Kara turned to look at Becker from over her shoulder, but shrugged at Danny "Decided not to play stupid" she said "Decided to wait. But not for long"
"How do you know that Helen still has Nick?" Sarah asked "I mean she killed your father. Wont she just do that to your son too?"
"No," Kara answered simply "My mum's not that cold. She wont kill a 10 month year old baby, She needs him"
"If she's gotten what she wants, why did she leave that note for you?" Sarah asked again
"Because its not Nick she wants," Kara answered "This isn't about Nick. Its about me. My mum knows me well enough, to know that im protective. And that I will do anything to ensure the safety of my son"
"So she's playing with you?"
"Wouldn't be the first time," Kara answered turning back to the track,
During her talk with Sarah, she had missed quite a bit of what had been going on behind her. Connor was staring into the distance in amazement, and Danny was questioning him on where the Anomaly was.
"Huh?" Connor asked
"The Anomaly?" Danny questioned again
"Oh," Connor said, showing Danny the hand held "About half a mile, in that direction"
"Lets go," Kara said, heading back to her car, and climbing into the drivers side. This time she was joined by both Becker and Grace in the car. And as Danny reversed out of the gate, Kara followed behind him.
After another 20 minute drive. They had come to a stop outside the garage where it seemed the race cars were kept overnight.
"Have you seen anything unusual, mate?" Danny asked, a man who was unloading a near-by race car, from his truck
"No" he answered
"You'd think someone may have seen something," Sarah commented, walking alongside Danny towards the Garage.
"It depends on if anything has come through," Kara said, as she slid open the garage doors, and headed inside.
"Its in here somewhere," Connor said once they were inside
"Right," Kara said "Lets split up and find it"
"I'll evacuate the immediate area until we know what we're dealing with" Becker said turning to Kara, as they split off from the team in one direction. Danny and Sarah went another way, as Abby and Grace went another way.
"Guys," Connor shouted getting the others attention "Its here,"
Kara turned and hurried back towards where her friend was standing. There infact was the anomaly, glittering, and hanging in mid-air. As she walked forward, she slid on something, and looked down to see what it was. There was some slimy goo beneath her feet.
"Urgh," she said, pulling her feet backwards on the ground, before walking around the goo to stand behind Danny and Abby.
"What is it?" Danny asked
"Some kind of creature secretion" Abby answered
"Creature incursion," Kara and Connor said "Nice"
"What kind of creature?" Grace asked
"The kind that secretes goo" Danny answered
"That's very reassuring," Sarah said
And Kara looked down at her to see that she looked terrified, she returned her attention to Danny, who was staring at her. "Lets find it," she said "And be careful yeah?" and with that said, she held her hand out to pull Danny to his feet, splitting into three groups of two, Danny and Kara headed off in one direction, as Sarah, Abby, Connor and Grace dispersed into another.
"Im going through the Anomaly," Kara said, as she and Danny walked away from the anomaly, and towards a trailer
"Not alone you're not,"
"Danny," she sighed "I have too…there's always been a rule in my family. Anything happens within the family, you keep it, within the family. The only person who would be the safest coming through with me, is Grace"
"Your still not going," Danny said "Neither you nor Grace! Not without back-up"
Kara opened her mouth to speak, but they were cut off at the sound of twittering. She looked up and gasped at the size of the bug above her. It was like a gigantic flying ant. She shuddered. "Danny," she said, gripping his wrist, and pointing upwards.
"Get out" Danny said to someone behind him who was standing and staring at the creature, as he gripped Kara's hand and pulled her with him. He pulled her out of the garage doors, the creature following them. It seemed the creature didn't care about anyone else but them.
Just as they were backing away, Kara turned to see the SUV with Becker's men approach, but she didn't see the orange race car, coming towards them in the opposite direction. So when Danny pushed her out of the way, she landed with a thud on the gravel, grazing the palms of her hands as she put them out to catch herself.
She looked up to yell at him, before she turned away in disgust.
"Nice," Danny said, wiping goo from his mouth, the car had splattered the bug into pieces, sending goo everywhere. She had managed to get some on her clothes, and feet, but other than a few grazes on her hands and arms, she was okay.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Kara complained as she felt the cold water seep into the grazers on her hands. Once she was sure, she had removed any gravel or dirt from the wounds, she held them out to the paramedic in front of her, it was pointless, her even being here, but the paramedic was persistent, he wanted to make sure that her cuts didn't get infected. Besides, there was no means of escape. Becker was stood in front of her, he knew her all too well now. And Danny was glancing at her, every few minutes, making sure she stayed in place. It was his fault she even had the grazers on her wrist.
"And you say Grace and Connor complain, too much" Becker responded with a chuckle
"Shut up," Kara said glowering up at him, as she hissed, after the paramedic had sprayed the base of her hands with antiseptic spray, and started to apply bandages to them.
"Keep these on, for the remainder of the day, and you should be fine" he explained as he wound the bandage around her wrists, and hands
Kara nodded, and once he was finished, she was up and off towards Danny. "I hate you," she hissed, as she came to a stop beside him and Abby.
"Your welcome Princess," Danny said, chuckling at her glare "Hey! I saved your life, doesn't that get me any points?"
"No," Kara muttered "It wasn't you who had be sit there, and get a simple graze bandaged up. But you also sent Becker to baby-sit me. I aint so pleased. What am I, 5?"
"No, but you would try to escape" Becker said, coming up behind her
Kara shrugged "It was a simple graze. It wasn't like I had been attacked or anything"
"Quit complaining, please?" Becker whispered in her ear, as he dipped his head to her height. She shuddered, as his lips brushed against her skin, and she heard him chuckle softly.
"And if I don't?" she asked, grinning as she turned her head slightly to look at him.
He pressed his lips to the hollow part between her ear and neck, and Kara breathed sharply, as he kissed there softly. Her eyes closing. But she pulled away from him reluctantly, seeing as Danny and Abby were standing beside them, and the rest of her team, and his men were around them.
"Would you two get a room?" Grace asked, coming up beside them
"Maybe later," Kara teased, laughing at the disgusted look on her cousins face, before she turned to Danny and Abby "What we got?"
"Like I told Danny," Abby reported "I'll have to do a full autopsy, but I think its some kind of ant"
Kara grimaced and nodded, so she had been right about it being similar to an ant. "Well, lets get it back to the ARC. Where's Connor and Sarah?"
"They've just locked the anomaly," Grace answered
And Kara cast a glance over her shoulder, at the now sphere, suspended in mid-air. She gave it a longing look, and glanced sideways when she felt eyes on her. She looked away from Danny, remembering that he said, she wasn't to go through alone.
"Sarah?" Danny yelled "Connor?"
"Come on guys," Kara said, and with one final look at the anomaly, she sighed. Before turning to watch Danny leave. She'd like to see him stop her going through.
"Adam!"
Grace had been yelling for the majority of the last 30 minutes. She had just gotten back home from the ARC, Kara was at home with Becker. No surprise there, he may have moved in, he was there every night. And she had been trying to call Adam, every chance she got. He had wanted to talk, but she was busy with the ARC, and now that she was free, it seemed he wasn't.
"Damn it, Adam!" she yelled through his front door, of his apartment, raising her fist to bang again on the door.
There was a laugh from behind her and she whipped around.
"I guess im lucky to have come home," there he stood, in all his pride and glory. Adam Dean. "If I had come home any later, I wouldn't have a front door left"
"Where you been?" Grace asked
"I do still have a job you know," Adam said, as he produced his front door key and opened the door "Just like you, Christine is more persistent on getting to understand the ARC"
"Don't you mean, get control of the ARC?"
Adam made a small agreement noise as he headed into the kitchen of his flat "Either way you look at it, she's still trying. Tell me, because she wont, why the secrecy? Why not just tell the public what's happening?"
Grace scoffed, as she sat down on the couch, tucking one of her legs up underneath her and looking over the back of the couch towards the Kitchen "What makes you think I know? I haven't been on the team very long, a couple of Months give or take. But I have questioned my cousin on the secrecy, and all I get from her is, the public wouldn't understand."
"What if we gave them the chance," Adam continued "You know, explain to them what is happening. There would be less deaths that you're lot has to sort through, and we could find away then to stop the anomalies"
"Tried that approach too," Grace answered him "Apparently, Kara has had this conversation before. She say's Stephen had the exact same view on it, as we have now. But the public would never be able to understand what is we are doing. They would want answers, and we haven't got those answers. And if what my cousin's says is true, then the Anomalies cant be stopped, because to stop them would require the knowledge on how they even started in the first place. We haven't got that"
"So there's more secrets, to hide the secrets?" Adam asked, as he left the kitchen and sat down opposite her, on the couch
"Yeah, something like that"
They were silent for a few minutes. Adam still didn't know why Grace was even here, but he was glad that she was. The fact that he worked for Christine Johnson, and she worked for the ARC was a little imposing on their relationship. Or so it seemed. Because they hadn't spoken in what seemed like months.
"Has Christine said anything to you?" Grace asked curiously
"About what?" Adam answered with a question of his own "About you? Yeah, she wanted to know if you would be willing to join her. Apparently, she noticed that you didn't do much for the ARC. And thought you would have a better chance at a job, working for her"
Grace stared at him "And she thought I would say yes to that?"
Adam shrugged.
"Im not leaving the ARC, Kara got me a job there, so she could keep me safe. Keep the only family she has left close to her, she cant watch over me, if im working for her enemy"
"We're not the enemy," Adam said hotly "we're doing exactly the same job as you are"
"No, Christine isn't doing anything identical to us at the ARC" Grace corrected "She doesn't care about the integrity of the ARC, or the safety of the Public. She only cares about Power. And what she could do with it!"
She sighed once she had spoken. She realized she had just described her aunt Helen down to a 'T'. She closed her eyes against the rush of emotions and sighed. Things were so complicated. She hated it.
"Feel better?" Adam asked curiously
Grace nodded "Sorry. There's just a lot going on, and im finding it really hard to deal with"
"Like what?"
Grace sighed. She needed to talk to someone. And she found that it wasn't her cousin that she needed to talk to. The kidnapping of her nephew was tearing her to pieces, and she still couldn't help but feel responsible. Although Kara didn't blame her, but Grace couldn't help but feel, the way she did. It had been her, at home with Nick, when Helen had attacked. Her that had been unprepared, for anything. So how could she have not been to blame?
It hurt her every night to hear her cousin either talking about Nick, or crying in her room. Becker being the only one she would turn to. It hurt. Grace had come here to help, but she found that there were something's that she couldn't help with. Well, not that she couldn't help, but found that Kara wouldn't let her. The fun, loving, free cousin she knew back when they were kids was gone. It had been replaced by a girl who was so full of every possible emotion, it was unbelievable.
Kara didn't trust many people, anymore, and the people she did trust where kept on a short leash as far as her emotions could go. It didn't take much to set her off. Like a Time Bomb just waiting to explode.
"Grace?" Adam questioned, as he stared hard at her
She opened her eyes, and looked back at him. Opening her mouth to speak.
How could she have been so blind? She hadn't realised her mother's true intentions until today. The talk with Sarah at the race track had opened the whole new problem. And what her mother was up too. God, she felt incredibly stupid, and guilty. Stupid because she hadn't seen the bigger picture until today, and she had Sarah to thank for that. And guilty because she had spent the majority of 3 days, doing absolutely nothing, to find him!
The house was quiet, Grace had left a little over an hour ago. She hadn't said where she was going, just that she was heading out for a while and would be back soon. How soon, she hadn't said. But Kara wasn't worried about that right now, Grace had her mobile on her, and therefore if she was in trouble or needed anything all she had to do was call.
Her room was illuminated by the soft orange glow of her bedside table lamp, it was a clear night, but the outside had been cut off from her view, when she had closed the curtains. She couldn't stand looking at the outside world, when it felt like everything was against her. Her world wasn't her's anymore. It had been taken from her. Ripped from her very being 12 years ago. The very moment her mother had walked out the door of the very house she stood in, had been when her world came to a crashing halt.
She sighed heavily, as she reached into the cot at the base of her bed. Searching. She didn't know what she was searching for, maybe something to hold onto. She was beating herself up badly inside. In her eyes, because she had taken so long to find Nick, she was a bad mother. Any proper mother would have gone crazy by now, and done everything in their very being to find their missing child. But she hadn't done anything!
This was all her mother's fault. Because Helen Cutter wanted her daughter to suffer in any means possible. But suffer what? What had Kara done to deserve this? Hadn't Helen caused enough damage? She had left Kara 12 years ago, crushing the child's hopes and dreams of a proper happy family. She had slept the person, Kara had loved to the ends of the earth, and then taken him from her. She had shot and killed her own husband in cold blood, leaving Kara to mourn over another. And now she had taken a 10 month year old baby, for possibly no reason at all.
"Why are you doing this, mum?" Kara asked herself, as she pulled a small stuffed blue dinosaur from the cot and stared at it. It had been the one toy, Nick had never let go. From the moment he had received it, it was the very first teddy he had. Jenny had bought it for him. And Nick had loved it instantly, more than any other stuffed toy he had received.
The toy dinosaur, was a plush toy. It was really soft, and Kara had guessed that's why Nick had loved it so much. It was soft against his skin. Like water.
"Are you okay?" said a voice from behind her
Kara jumped and whirled around, there standing in the doorway to her room, was Becker. She had been so caught up in her dreams that she hadn't heard him come in.
"You scared me," she said her hand over her beating heart "Don't do that. And to answer you're question, im not so sure,"
As she spoke, she walked away from the cot and sat down on the edge of her bed, the plush toy still in her hand. Becker joined her, sitting beside her, his arm snaking its way around her waist, as she lay her head against his shoulder. They didn't say anything for a while. Just sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. They normally did this, whenever he was there. But tonight, Kara had other things on her mind, things she found she couldn't voice and talk about.
"What's wrong?" he asked, tilting his head slightly and looking down at her, she was staring at the plush toy in her hand, running one hand down its soft fur, as if she was petting a real live creature.
She merely shook her head to his question.
"I know something is wrong," he said "You're not normally this quiet…you can tell me,"
Kara sighed. She couldn't keep anything from him. He seemed to see straight through her, and she hated the fact that people could read her like an open book these days. Normally she was good at hiding her feelings, but it seemed too much stress or any other emotion that was inflicted upon her, caused her to shut down, and her feelings to be easy to read.
"I miss him, that's all," she said softly, "Its been 3 days…I cant help but feel this is partly my fault"
"How can you say that?"
She sighed, tears springing to her eyes as she placed the plush toy beside her. She refused to meet his eye. And reached up a hand to brush her tears away angrily. Why did she always seem to cry these days? Another thing she hated about herself, she was stubborn. Stubborn, to admit when something was wrong, stubborn to admit that she was scared. Scared for the life of her baby. Her son.
"Because it is," she said, her voice breaking "He's gone. And its my fault! I don't know why I feel like this, okay. I just cant help the guilty feeling that's been spreading through me for the past 3 days. I should have found him by now, I should have gone through the anomaly, that lead to Medieval England. I should have done everything, to find the future anomaly…but I didn't. I played the good team member, and stayed the hell away from the anomalies. I put my son's life in danger for the safety of my team mates and the lives of the public. And now im realising I shouldn't have."
She breathed sharply, she hadn't realised that she had shrugged off his arm and was on her feet. Standing in the middle of the room, her voice had started to rise and her voice was breaking, tears appearing once more, and she didn't care. She found she didn't care, if he saw her in this state. This stage, she didn't care. She just wanted Nick back.
"I should have done the complete opposite to everything I have done. Its not like you…my team was alone. You would have had Danny. He knows what he's doing. He could have taken over my position while, I went to search for Nick. For her! But I - I couldn't! I couldn't even do that. Now I feel that I have let Nick down. I left in my mum's grasps for too long. I did exactly what I hoped I would never do. I walked out on him. I put his life on the line, to protect my team. And I shouldn't have done that!"
"Kara," he said, staring at her, he had never seen her blame herself like this before. This was all new, and he didn't know how to react to it. Getting to his feet, he walked towards her, taking her in his arms and holding her close. There was nothing he could say, he could just hold her until she calmed down. "It's not your fault…we'll get Nick back…I promise. We wont give up on him. Okay?"
"I just - I cant do this job anymore," she whimpered, hiding her face in his chest "Not if it means, putting the ones I love on the line for me. I wont do it. I cant. I wont risk any one else's life for this job. That means, Nick, Grace, Danny, Sarah, Connor, Abby and you. I wont do it!"
And then she fell silent. She was out of steam, she had let it all flow. It wasn't healthy to keep things all bottled up. But she couldn't help it. It was something she had always down. And something she would continue to do. She just now felt really sorry for Becker, because he had to be around to see her blow the everything out of proportions.
For what seemed like a lifetime they stayed in that position. His arms around her, her face buried in his chest. His heart broke when he had seen her crying. Granted he had seen her upset before, but he had never seen her this bad, before. He guessed having a lot more responsibility was something she wasn't used to. Granted she was used to handling a team, but she had always had her father there to help her through it. Now, he guessed she felt like she had no one. But that wasn't true. She had Grace, she had the team…and she had him.
He looked down when he felt her move, she was pulling away from him and he smiled lightly at her. As she reached up to dry her eyes.
"Feeling better?" he asked
She laughed. And he smiled a genuine smile.
"Sorry," she mumbled, trying her eyes on the sleeve of her pyjama top.
"Hey," he said, cupping her face and looking dead into her eyes "Don't be sorry for being human" then his eyes flickered from hers to her lips and back again.
She smiled, as he moved closer, his lips pressing softly against hers. At first it was nothing heavier than a butterfly kiss, and although they had shared many kisses like this before, she felt more complete than ever. His hands rested on her side, slowly dancing their way past her ribcage. Her arms floated upwards and around his neck, deepening their kiss. A moment of a faint tug at her bottom lip made her knees go weak. They buckled from under her, but it was alright seeing as one of Becker's arms replaced her recently liquidated spine and braced her strongly.
The thumb of his free hand was now strumming over her lower side, against the sheer fabric of her Pyjama top. He used that hand to pull their bodies closer than ever, as she used her hand to run her fingers through his hair, she had no reason to touch before. But now she had plenty of reasons. They pulled apart for air, both of them breathing heavily, and their torsos heaved in sync.
"I love you," he breathed quietly claiming her lips once more with his own.
The very same words had formed on her lips, but they melted away as all thought was lost, as she felt his lips reclaim her own. He softly kissed the sensitive area behind her ear, In an instant, her heart sped up 3 times faster and all her senses awakened with that one kiss. She was pulled into passionate kiss, one that would make her feel light-headed and tingly.
She didn't know how long this would last, So without breaking the kiss, She pushed him backwards so that he was sitting on the edge of her bed again. She repositioned herself so that her knees rested on the bed, one on either side of his lap. His head leaned back since she was kissing him from a higher altitude. They broke apart to breathe.
"I love you too" she breathed
He pulled back a bit farther, and his eyes explored her body. She felt vulnerable, but that was thrown out of the window and easily replaced with reassurance when Becker's hands rested on her waist and pulled her closer. One of his hands slid up her back, while the other danced up and down her side. They kissed again, the intensity weakening the both of them.
He gently lowered them down onto the bed, still hugging her closer to his chest. The rolled over once, so that he was hovering over her. He propped himself up with only an arm beside her head. And pulled back once more, the way he looked down at her instantly took her breath away. His eyes were smouldering, a pure look of lust washed over his face. His gaze, his trance on her, made her melt underneath him
He wanted to take it all in. The shape of her face, the colour of her eyes, the flushed look on her cheeks, everything. And when Kara pushed herself off the bed with her elbows to surprise him with a kiss, he was definitely going to remember the feeling of her perfect lips on his. His lips trailed back down to her neck, and she fell back onto the bed. He lightly sucked on her skin, eliciting a small whimper from her mouth. Before he kissed her lips again, he dipped down on her collarbone. This time, she let out a shaky breath.
The struggled exhale triggered her leg to wrap around his. His hand shot down instantly and rested on her hip. His hand developed a mind of its own, and began to slowly travel upwards. When his thumb brushed against a patch of warm skin, he glanced down for a mere second, before being pulled into another mind-blowing kiss.
Her top had rode up her torso, the midriff off her stomach exposed. Now that he was so close, he was able to tell the distinct smell of her aroma. Peaches. And she tasted like Strawberries. From under his fingertips, her skin was smooth as silk. His heart was beating hard against his chest, and he could hear it thud in his ears from the amount of passion radiating off their bodies.
Her hand cupped his face, leisurely tingling its way down his neck. It slipped under the collar of his shirt, her warm hand faintly massaging his shoulder. The room may have been cold to begin with, but at that moment, the atmosphere actually felt hot. His hand continued to explore the small amount of skin exposed on her stomach. When he barely pressed his palm against her skin, she slightly arched off the bed for more pressure. He used that time to slip his hand underneath her, and her satin skin seemed much warmer from laying on it for so long.
He came across an unfamiliar piece of fabric on her back, but quickly overlooked it -
As Becker opened his sleepy eyes, he felt as though his body had gone through severe Cadet training. His thigh muscles were cramped, his abs felt tight, and everything else seemed unable to hold itself up. He hoisted himself to sit up, and rubbed his eyes, throwing the covers off. He had forgotten he was naked, and suddenly pulled the sheets back over himself, although no one was in the room.
It took him a few minutes to realize that Kara had gone. He looked around the room to make sure, before standing up and stretching. He leaned down to grab the clothes he had been wearing the previous night, and that's when he had heard it. Movement. It was coming from the beneath him, and he realised it was coming from downstairs. He dressed quickly, before making his way downstairs. The smell of bacon wafted in to the hallway from the kitchen, and has he entered he was met by a very nervous looking Kara. She was fully dressed and her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
"Hi," he managed to say, leaning on the doorframe, watching her frantically make breakfast
"Hi," she replied without as much as a glance in his direction. He could detect the tenseness in her voice
"Everything alright?" he asked, striding towards her
She nodded quickly, making sure everything about the breakfast she was making was perfect. Becker placed a hand on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but to glance up at him
"Look," he started, but she freed herself from him, and walked over to the fridge to get some orange juice. But he knew it was a diversion so she didn't have to look or speak to him. "Kara, will you please just listen to me?" he asked kindly, taking a seat at the table, as not to make her feel anymore vulnerable.
"Sure," she said, reappearing and closing the fridge door with her foot, but she still didn't look at him,
He sat there, watching her scamper across the kitchen like a timid mouse, trying to fervently make breakfast, as to avoid him.
"Kara!" his voice had become authoritative and stern. She paused mid-step.
"You cant just pretend that last night didn't happen," he said calmly. She licked her lips and shifted her weight from foot-to-foot. "Last night was incredible. I never imagined it to be like that…" he paused, allowing his words to sink in, but not so far, that she would think they were cutting into her flesh.
He had opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off, as Grace entered the room.
"Good morning," she said, before stopping in the door way, and looking from her cousin to Becker and back again "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, although she had a vague idea what had happened last night, she wasn't about to voice it here in the kitchen. The density of the atmosphere was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.
"No," Kara answered shortly, "Bacon's in the pan, juice on the table, you know where everything else is" and she was gone, sprinting back upstairs, and both Grace and Becker heard the slam of a door, that indicated, Kara had entered either the bathroom or her bedroom.
The kitchen was silent.
Grace glanced at Becker as she moved further into the room and turned off the stove, before placing the bacon onto a plate. "What are you waiting for?" she questioned "Go after her!"
"She doesn't want to talk to me" Becker said
"I can see that," Grace said "But don't you think, getting it out of the way is better than sitting here keeping it all bottled up? It isn't gonna help. The best you two can do, is talk about it"
Becker stared at her curiously
"Don't give me that look!" she hissed "I know what's happened between the two of you! Its not like you were the quietest last night!"
His face turned incredibly red, and he hastily got to his feet. He cleared his throat "I'll meet you at work"
And before she could say anything else. He had gone. Closing the front door with a soft click. She shook her head, and wrapped the plate of bacon up, before placing it in the fridge. She then made two cups of tea, and afterwards made her way upstairs. She rapped lightly on the bathroom door, knowing that's where her cousin had taken refuge.
"Its okay," she said softly "It's me,"
The door clicked and opened. Grace let herself in, and the door closed the moment she was in the room. Kara was sitting, behind it, her back pressed against the cool wood. Grace lowered down a cup of tea, before lowering herself down beside her.
They were silent for a moment.
"How could I have been so stupid?" Kara asked, breaking the silence "I should never have let my mind wander…it shouldn't have happened. Look what happened last time it happened! I had Nick. What if - What if it -"
"What if it happens again?" Grace asked, knowing full well what her cousin was getting at
Kara nodded, as she sipped at her tea quietly
"Then it happens! Kara, no one can control these types of things, they just happen. It you do catch, then you catch. No one's gonna hold it against you! Not even Becker,"
"But I cant do that," Kara complained "What if he doesn't even want kids? Or what if something happens like it did with Stephen? Then im left again, with another child. Im not saying, I couldn't handle it, because I can. But, I don't want to have to explain to two kids, what happened to their dads. And that's another thing, I feel like my betraying Nick somehow here, he's gonna think Becker is his dad now"
"So?" Grace asked, confusedly, she couldn't see a problem with that
"What if he grows up, and notices that he looks nothing like Becker?" Kara asked "Its gonna lead to some complicated questions. And what am I gonna say? Huh? 'Sorry Nick, but your dad died, and I just moved onto the next available guy'?. Yeah, that's gonna sound incredibly good. Isn't it" she sighed dejectedly, sipping her tea once more.
"Listen to yourself!" Grace hissed "You're worrying over things that haven't even happened yet, and for all you know, might not even happen. Nick is too young, to worry about who his father is, and to be honest, he's not gonna care. All that matters is that you are with him. That's all he needs to know, is his mother is always there. You're not betraying him in anyway. If the time comes when he is older, we'll just have to sit him down and explain what happened. But he's only 10 months old. Okay, stop panicking."
Kara sat listening intently, she nodded, as her cousin talked, and she knew that Grace was right. So why did she have a horrible gut wrenching feeling that this was gonna go all wrong? But she couldn't worry about that now, because at that precise moment, a vibration was heard followed by the blaring music of My Immortal - by Evanescence sounded from the room beside the one they currently occupied. And getting hastily to their feet, the two girls, hurried out of the bathroom, and into Kara's room. She grabbed her phone from the beside table, and read the text hurriedly. It was from Connor.
"Abby's done the creature's autopsy," Kara said "We gotta go!"
Grace nodded and the two, quickly hurried back downstairs, washed up the cups they had been using, before, Kara grabbed her coat, purse and house/car keys and followed Grace out of the house. This was gonna be an incredibly long day. She could feel it.
"Right. The insect creature is derived from Hymenoptera" Abby had said, she was surrounded by Danny, Sarah and Connor, And had started speaking the moment Kara had approached them "Part of the same family as ants, bees, sawflies and wasps"
Kara came to a complete stop beside the blonde, and rolled her eyes at Danny who was making funny faces in the magnifying glass before him.
"So this thing can sting?" Connor asked
"In this case, actually, the stinger has evolved into an ovipositor" Abby answered
"Well, that's a good thing," Grace said, looking at her team mates "isn't it?"
"It uses it to lay eggs inside a host," Abby said, looking at her, Grace exchanged looks with her cousin, who wanted more than anything to know which time period it had come from "Human beings would do very nicely"
"That's rank," Connor chided
"Nasty," Kara mumbled, as Danny lifted a syringe of orange liquid up and squeezed it, so it poured back into the container it had been removed from.
"There was something else too," Abby continued, looking at Kara as she spoke
"What is it?" Kara asked,
"I found very high levels of selenium in it," Abby explained "it's a chemical like sulphur"
But it wasn't Abby's explanation that had caught Kara off guard, it was the look Sarah had taken up at this particular piece of news.
"Well, that's weird," Sarah said "Because when I cleaned the artefact, the dirt was registering high levels of selenium as well"
Kara froze at this new piece of evidence.
"So, the bug is from the same place as the artefact," Danny said "and the artefact is from the - Future, right?"
"Yeah," Abby said
"Which means the future, is on the other side of the Anomaly" Kara said, and with that, she was gone. Grace following closely behind her.
"Give Becker's men a call," Grace heard Danny yell from behind her "Tell them we're on our way,"
Kara didn't hear any of this, all she knew was, the one place she needed to be was right in her grasp. Her son was just out of her reach on the opposite side of the anomaly. All she had to do was pass through and find it. And everything would be, okay.
She pounded down the corridor of the ARC, passed the Locker room, and the Labs, ignoring the protest of the staff that were walking towards her. She didn't even stop, when Becker appeared in her line of sight. She would talk to him later, right now, she needed to be somewhere. She pushed open the door, leading to the Garage, and pulled open the door to her car. Her hand grazing the cool metal, but she didn't register anything.
Grace was in the passenger seat in seconds, and the garage door was opened from inside the car. Kara, barely registered Danny, Sarah, Abby, Connor and Becker getting into the SUV's behind her. It was like she was running on auto pilot. And once she was ready, she had pulled out of the garage, and was speeding down the main road, towards the ever elusive Race track, and the Future Anomaly.
The 4x4 pick up and the two SUV's came to a stop outside the familiar garage that held the locked anomaly. Kara and Abby where the first out of their cars, and Kara learned quickly that it wasn't just Nick, this rescue mission was for. Abby's younger brother Jack, had found the anomaly. They didn't know if he had actually gone through the anomaly, but there was a high chance he had.
After confirmation from Abby, Kara walked away from the discarded bike and towards the unlocked anomaly. Jack Maitland was also now trapped on the opposing side of a dangerous Anomaly. Someone knew exactly how she felt. Not that Abby didn't feel slightly useless when Nick had been the only one to rescue. She was the boy's god-mother for God sake, of course she wanted him back safe and sound.
"What was he doing here?" Danny questioned, and Kara looked up to see him approach her with Abby
"I dunno," the blonde answered "He stole my detector"
Danny sighed angrily "Its your responsibility to keep that safe, what do you think your doing?"
"He went in my bag," Abby argued
"This is gonna take time to fix," Connor said, and Kara turned back around to face him
"What happened?" she asked
"Its been run over by a car," Connor explained looking up at the Anomaly.
"Jack must have crashed into it, on his way towards the anomaly," Kara said "Could explain why the anomaly is un-locked and he is missing." she then turned to Abby and Danny once more.
"Look, we'll get him back, okay?" Danny said "I promise,"
But Kara and Abby had already shared a look of determination. Both of their rescue missions were personal, and nothing was going to stop them from executing them further, no-one and nothing was going to stand in their way. That was a fact.
"Connor, you stay here and get that fixed," Danny said to Connor, and Kara looked away as she rolled her eyes. Like that was gonna work. Connor wasn't gonna stay behind, while the girl he loved was on the opposite side of an anomaly. Especially after they had faced two predators that had come from the future. One of them being particularly ferocious.
"No, no way," Connor said getting to his feet, and Kara resisted the urge to smirk "Im staying with Abby"
"Danny, I can probably figure all of this out" Sarah said, and Kara knew her real reason for wanting to stay behind.
"There's a back-up on the truck. All it needs is resetting and synchronising" Connor explained, and Abby moved closer to the Anomaly
"Come on," she said
"Wait!" Becker's voice sounded loud and clear, and Kara closed her eyes against the rush she felt when it penetrated her ears "This isn't some school trip. We have to wait for back-up!"
Kara turned to look at him and Danny. The latter was staring at her, silently asking her for help in the current situation. She merely lowered her gaze away from his, and turned back to Abby giving her old friend an approved nod, and watching as she disappeared through the Anomaly.
"Abby," Connor said, and he too disappeared moments later
There was a scoff, and Kara rounded on Danny, her eye blazing angrily "Don't you dare scoff Danny Quinn!" she hissed, causing Danny to back up slightly, there had only been one time where he had seen her snap, and he had unfortunately been on the receiving end of that too.
"Then what was that all about?" he asked, staring her down "You just let them pass through into a world that They don't know what to expect or even understand"
"I'll have you know, that Connor and Abby know exactly what to expect in the Future. This insect creature, you found, isn't the first predator from the Future that we have faced! I'd say the ones who don't know what their dealing with in that world, is you! Abby has the exact same reason I have for going through, and to be honest, even if I hadn't said she could go through, she would have done anyway. This is personal Danny! Do you understand that? This isn't a case of self protection anymore! Its about protecting those we love, and sworn to protect!"
And with that, she turned and sprinted towards the anomaly, disappearing from view, as she collided with Connor, who was waiting on the other side. He reacted instantly, gripping her shoulders as she stumbled.
"Took you longer than I thought," he grinned down at her
She chuckled "Yeah, well, things got a little rough back there after you left"
She walked away from the anomaly, because she knew that it wouldn't be long before, Becker, Danny and Grace followed after her. And moments, seconds even, after she had moved out of the path of the Anomaly, the rest, except for Sarah, appeared.
The world they had stepped through into, wasn't pretty. Instead of what they hoped to be a thriving place like the place they had just stepped through from. They were met with old and decaying buildings. It looked like a battle field. The anomaly had opened on the edge of a cliff, and Becker had to stop Danny from stepping backwards, or he would have been lost to the dark abyss below.
The colour of the sky was unknown, because it was full of grey and violent purple clouds. Thunder grumbled over head, and lightening flashed illuminating the underside of the clouds. And all Kara could think was out of all the stupid places her mother could have taken Nick, she chose this place.
"Where are we?" Danny asked, as the team spread out and looked around, although they didn't wander far from one another
"The future," Connor said
"Our future?" both Grace and Abby asked
"How many years away?" Kara asked, turning to her friend
"I don't know, its hard to say" Connor answered her,
"Look at these cars," Becker said, turning everyone's attention to him "They could have been there for centuries"
"Or maybe not" Connor mumbled, looking closely at something beside him
"Look, all we've got to do is find the kids and get out of here" Kara said, making herself to the front of the team, Danny following lead as the others followed behind.
"What on earth's happened to this place?" Becker asked
"Where is everyone?" Grace questioned
"Look, concentrate on the job" Danny said over his shoulder "He cant have gone far"
"Unless he's spooked" Becker said
"No," Abby put in "He's gonna be somewhere near-by, he's not an idiot"
"Huh," Connor said "Well -"
But he cut off at the look he received from Abby.
"Look, you guys can do what you want" Kara said, speaking up once more, and turning to face them, so that she was walking backwards "But im here for another reason…Abby, as much as I really want to help find your brother, but Nick has been here for three days! That's three days, I haven't seen his face, or held him in my arms. That I haven't felt his little body close to mine. I have to find him…and my mum"
Abby nodded in understanding. "You just bring him back safe, Kara." she said
"I've missed him too. I hope your mother realizes who she is dealing with" Connor said with a soft chuckle
Kara grinned in his direction "Who do you think made me this way, Con?"
"Abby, look" Danny said, he was looking at something in the distance "There!"
He pointed to the end of the Alley in which they stood at the edge of. There was the missing orange sports car from the hanger back in the present.
"The car!" Abby said, pulling herself up onto a near-by stone and over-looking the old decaying cars ahead of her. She turned to the others and pointed.
"Come on," Kara said, and although she had her own mission to execute, she needed to find a sign on where her mother was first.
And so, they started forward. Abby and Connor ahead of Grace and Kara, on one side of the Alley. Becker and Danny on the other.
"Jack!"
Abby yelled, as she hurried forward.
For a while they just crept forward, silently. Unaware that they were being watched from above. It was movement from Becker that caused Kara to look up. There on the side of the very building they were pressed against was a large Predator. Kara gripped her cousin's wrist and placed a hand over Grace's mouth, as she started to protest.
"Guys!" she hissed down the way at Connor and Abby, and she saw Connor instantly react in the same way she had. "No!" she said across to Becker, as he raised his gun, but it was too late. He had fired several rounds.
"Come on guys," Danny urged, waving his hand at them to come closer. Connor and Abby hurried across to him, but Kara pushed Grace back up the alley they had just come down.
"Go!" she said, in a low whisper, and Grace was to panic stricken to argue. She rounded a old pillar and slid down a wall in the darker part of the alley. Kara was leaning beside her, her hands on her knees. Connor and Abby had joined them, and Becker and Danny where in the Alley entrance.
"Well done," Abby hissed at Becker "You've just alerted every predator for miles"
"Well, I didn't have much choice, did I, Abigail?" Becker answered
Abby rolled her eyes and shook her head, catching Kara's eyes in the process
"What you talking about?" Danny asked
"This is exactly what I was talking about Danny," Kara said "Those insect creatures, aren't the only predators here! We don't exactly know how the Predators evolve, but we do know that their fast, intelligent and really mean. It's a case of we kill them, or they kill us!" she explained
"Why are we whispering?" Becker asked
"They locate their prey using echolocation" Abby supplied the answer
"They see sound!" Connor said
"Great," Danny sighed, sliding down the pillar he was resting against
"If those things got loose," Kara said, speaking once more "Humanity never stood a chance"
Kara, Abby and Connor exchanged looks.
"That's it," Becker said, he was screwing a silencer onto the end of his hand gun "we go back. We need back-up"
"He could be injured" Abby argued "We cant leave him here with those creatures!"
"Its her brother," Danny said
"We stay!" Kara said firmly, and Abby and Connor recognized the tone. She was daring anyone to challenge her. In any team, even animals, there was an alpha male/female and a beta. Kara was their alpha, and Danny was the beta. No matter, what decisions Danny made, the final choice came from her.
"You're supposed to make the tough decision," Becker said, his breath tickling her face, he was that close. She ignored her thudding heart, and turned to look at him.
"I just did" she said, breaking eye contact, when Danny spoke to Abby
"And you! You calm down!"
Abby nodded, dejectedly and turned once more to Kara, who was avoiding eye contact with anyone once more. They needed to find Nick and Jack, and get out of here soon. This place was enough to put anyone's temper on the line.
"Go," Kara said to Danny, and nodded to the alley, they couldn't stay here for long they would be caught be a predator. And then where would they be? Carefully making their way out into the open alley, Kara grabbed one of the black bags Becker had left behind. And followed.
"You know he's almost certainly dead, don't you?" Becker asked, and Kara didn't know if he was talking to her about Nick, or Danny about Jack. Either way she chose to ignore the question.
"She needs to find out for herself," Danny said quietly "In her shoes, I'd feel exactly the same way"
"Finally someone who sees it from our point of view" Kara said, joining them
She then turned and motioned for the others to come out. That it was safe, and so far no other predators had come running to the sound of gunshots.
No, cause their probably hiding away, readying themselves for the kill.
Gunshots had sounded faintly in the distance. Finally after three days, they had arrived. She had arrived. It was a surprise, as to how long it had taken her, to get here. She had underestimated her, she had definitely thought she would been here fast. Long ago. But she was her father's daughter, and understanding came first. Before running off into something you understood nothing about.
Kara knew the predators of the future better than anyone, having faced them many times before. But that didn't make her fear of them any less scarce. And that's what she was hoping on. She could possibly use her daughter's fear into getting what she wanted. Kara would do anything to protect a loved one, and her son was perfect leverage.
The 10 month year old, had infact been perfect company for her, over the past 3 days. It was like having her own child back. She remembered when Kara had been 10 months old, and she had been a mommy's girl. Just like her grandson was now. Maybe she didn't have to give him back, she could only pretend. And once she had gotten what she so desperately wanted from the ARC, she and baby Nick could disappear. And she could carry out her plan.
With a evil smirk, as the plan formed thoroughly in her mind, she pictured the hurt and pain on her daughter's face. She felt np remorse. She had killed Nick, and she hadn't battered an eyelid. He was apart of the destruction. And so was her daughter. She, had to find a way to break the winning team apart. That's why she had killed Nick. But that hadn't been enough, Kara had gotten closer to the team. They kept her together.
So she had taken Nick, fore she saw how protective of the baby her daughter was. She could see that the kidnapping of baby Nick was slowly eating away at her daughter's heart. And then last night, it had surfaced. Kara had completely broken down, severing all ties with her god forsaken team. And although she had shared the night with her new found love. Helen was sure, that Kara wouldn't be able to recover fully, unless her son was back in her arms.
That's exactly what Helen wanted. She wanted her daughter torn apart, in hurt and pain. It was the only way to keep her far off her trail. But it always brought her closer, but this was just another step in the plan. Kara was within her reach once more. And with no one to protect her this time. She knew nothing could stop her from enlisting Kara's help for the protection of her grandson.
"Not long now," Helen said, reaching for the baby boy beside her, he was staring at her, a small smile on his face. She was very surprised that he trusted her, and didn't cry out like most kids would with a stranger. But Helen put it down to the fact that Kara looked like her, and Nick was just responding to the familiar facial features, his mother had. "And mommy will be joining us. Isn't that what you want?"
"Mama?" Nick asked, in his cute voice
And Helen nodded. Her eyes a gleam. As she disappeared back down the metal staircase. She had just left a note, explaining the rules of the 'game' to her daughter. And as she stepped backwards into the darkness, she heard a door open somewhere above her.
"Im going to tell you this one more time," Becker's voice was authoritative and stern like it had been that morning. "Getting ourselves killed is not going to help your brother. We need a fully armed search-and-rescue unit"
Abby pulled away abruptly and Kara turned away instantly know full well she was next on Becker's list to be told off. But she had found something interesting waiting for her, as she avoided the argument with him. Taped to the cool metal railing, was a small piece of white paper. It had writing on it, and she recognized the handwriting. It was her mothers.
"Can I borrow that," she asked, taking the flashlight from her cousin and shining it on the sheet of paper, as she quietly read the words to herself. Although she was barely paying attention she could hear the conversations around her.
"Abby, having more firepower gives a better chance of saving your brother" Danny said "It's a fact"
"Danny's right" Connor said
And Kara sighed. He was agreeing with Danny now, so much for friends sticking together. She wasn't sure whether Connor was more afraid of the creatures, or protecting himself. But, she was sure that Abby wasn't gonna leave. And neither was she.
"You, too?" Abby asked, shining her light at Connor
"Im just trying to be sensible" Connor said, trying to shield away from the glare of the torch.
"You've always hated him, haven't you?" Abby asked "You'd be happy if he was dead"
With that she pushed him back into the railing, and headed out of the room they were in. Kara sighed as she watched Danny and Connor go after her. But she backed up instead, she had instructions to full-fill and she wasn't about to disappoint. With everything happening topside, she pulled her hand across the railing, and shone her torch onto metal staircase, a few inches to her left.
And with a fleeting glance at her remaining team members, she quietly descended them, into the darkness of the floors below. Grace, Connor or Becker hadn't even realised she had gone. They were slightly pre-occupied with Future Predator that had appeared in the doorway.
"Next time, don't wait so long" Connor said, with a sigh of relief, as he watched the Predator drop like a rag doll. It was dead, and thankfully to the silence on the end of Becker's hand gun, no sound had come from the gun. Which was the whole point.
"I don't see why you just don't tell Abby you like her!" Grace said, as she stared at the creature that her cousin had told her about, it really was has ferocious as Kara had described, and she was completely aware of why her cousin was she afraid of it. It was like a giant ape, only bigger and scarier.
But no one answered her, and she wasn't expecting them too.
"Lets just get out of here," Connor said "Kara -"
He had turned but cut off when he realised that his friend wasn't there anymore. Grace turned too, as did Becker, but they were all met with a deserted spot where Kara had stood moments later.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Grace cursed, as she looked around wildly but her cousin wasn't anywhere to be found "Where did she go!"
"Down there?" Becker asked, shining his torch at the metal staircase
"Should we go after her?" Connor asked
Grace shook her head in the dark, as she stood at the top of the staircase "No! She'll only tell us to turn back. Like she told Danny yesterday, there's a rule in the Cutter family. If something happens in the family, you keep it in the family"
"Then why didn't she ask you to you?" Becker asked curiously
"Because she trying to protect the little family she has left" was his answer "Come on, lets go find Danny and Abby. Hopefully, Kara will show up somewhere along the way"
And so, with one fleeting glance at the staircase. Grace, led the two men out of the room, and back into the alley they had been in seconds later. They continued their way down the side of the alley, careful not to run into anymore Future predators. Be them fully grown ones, or babies.
"Guys," came a whispered shout, and Grace looked up to see it was Danny and Abby. They were standing at a near-by ventilation shaft, that led to a building that was half submerged beneath the ground. After motioning for them to where they were. Danny had disappeared down the small gaping hole, leaving Abby topside with the others.
"Jack's down there," Abby whispered, once Connor was beside her, Grace was pressed against the rotting wall beside the blonde as Becker stood before them all, his hand gun in front of him, ready for any predators. They were now currently exposed to any initial danger. "Where's Kara?" Abby asked, notcing the absence of her friend.
"We don't know," Grace answered "She disappeared right after you left with Danny"
"She's probably found a clue as too where Nick is"
Grace shrugged. She had no idea what had happened, all she did know was Kara had taken only a flashlight as protection, and was running around in the dark, with god only knew what, following her.
So, you found us. Took you longer than I thought. I miss-judged you, but the point is you're here now. So you want answers? And you want your son? This is how its gonna work. There is a metal staircase 5 inches to the right of you. I want you to climb down them, without alerting your friends to your departure. You're to complete this alone. If you want no harm to come to little Nick.
Not even Grace, is to follow you. Alone.
And when you find me at the end of your quest. I will give you the answers that you seek.
That's all it had said. It hadn't given her direction's as to where her mother was hiding. It had just told her to descend the metal staircase that she had done, 5 minutes ago. Now she was lost, in a dark place that she knew nothing about. And to make it worse. She was alone. With only a torch for protection.
But she had to do what her mother said, Nick's life depended on it. And so, with no knowledge of what was to come, she pressed forwards. Looking at the note, for any hidden directions as she walked. With a heavy sigh, she raised the flashlight, so that beam was directly above her, there was nothing but granite stone lined with rows of pipes.
There was the trickle of dripping water somewhere near-by, but other than that, everything was silent. She had the eerie feeling that she was not only being watched, by followed too. And so she tried to remain calm, as not to increase the rate of her beating heart. Because if she was being followed, by what she thought, she was being followed by. Increasing her heart rate was the last thing she wanted to do.
Looking back down at the sheet of paper in her hand, Kara turned it over, there was a small scribbling on the back that she had missed before, and so she read it eagerly, hoping that it would be directions on where she was supposed to go.
"Turn to your left, when you reach the end. There is a door for you to enter by. You will find me at the end of you journey. Good luck"
Good luck? What was this? Some type of game?
But there in fact was the doorway, she had come to a stop at the end of the long winding corridor, and turned to her left. There illuminated by beam of orange and white light was the small doorway, leading to - well, she wasn't sure where it lead too. But she knew that's where she needed to go. And so, with no knowledge of what was waiting for her on the other side, Kara pushed open the door. It creaked, and she guessed it had been used in while. But she looked over her shoulder as it sounded, hoping the noise didn't alert any unwanted attention.
The second corridor was just as dark as the first. But it was shorter than the first. She came to the top of a flight of stairs faster than she had the doorway behind her. In the distance she could hear noises. Soft whispers of speech. And so, figuring it was her mother, she descended the stairs, and made her way towards the noise.
There standing at the end of the hallway, with a smirk on her face. Was Helen Cutter. In her arms, squirming to get at his mother, was Nick.
Kara's heart increased at the sight of her son. He was alive. Although she knew he would be. But he looked like he had been looked after well for the past three days. Except for his clothes, they were filthy and grimy. But what did you expect, he hadn't been changed out of them for three days. She would be happy, to just take him home and bath him. Or just hold him close to her, for however long she could. She just wanted him.
"Nick," she whispered
"Mummy," he cried, holding his hands out to her
Kara mimicked his actions, but Helen moved the baby out of reach. Kara looked at her, heatedly "Mum, please…just give him back"
"You know, I remember when you were this age," Helen said "You were a mummy's girl. I guess its like Mother like son."
"Its like mother like daughter!" Kara said
"You're right. Maybe they should change it." Helen said "Or, maybe we should wait a few years, and watch how that turns out?"
"What are you talking about?" Kara asked "You said, that if I found you, I'd get Nick back, and you'd give me the answers I want! I found you, so spill, and hand him over!"
"Oh, im only getting started sweetheart," Helen said, approaching her daughter, and brushing a strand of loose hair from her face. Kara pulled back, from her mother's reach and, in advantage to her mother's back-track, scooped Nick from her arms.
"Mummy!" Nick cried, wrapping his little arms around his mother's neck, and burying his head in her shoulder "Mummy, I missed you!"
"I missed you too baby," Kara cried "I've missed you too"
Helen continued to water the interaction with great pleasure. The pleasure of knowing that what was to come, would destroy the happiness, Kara felt now.
With the rope in her hands, Grace pulled backwards, along with Abby and Connor. She hadn't realized until now, how heavy a human body was, and that was dead weight. It was obvious Jack Maitland was making no attempts to help make their jobs easier.
"Becker," Grace said, over her shoulder and switched places with him, as he helped Abby and Connor pull Jack up from below, she held up the gun, her finger on the trigger. She looked around her, as every single rooftop came a predator. She shuddered at how close they were getting. They knew there was prey here, it wasn't a matter of sound anymore, or so it seemed. It was natural instinct. The instinct of the hunt.
"Guys," Grace whispered, as she looked around at the others.
Becker switches places with her once more, and she returned to help pull Jack up. There was three of them and yet they still couldn't pull him up. They were getting further and further every second, but the teenager kept falling backwards. And they were being taken with him, every little inch.
Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware that Becker was there. But before she could ask what he was doing he had knelt down beside her and Connor and was unravelling the silencer on his gun.
"Whatever happens," he said, his hand on Connor's arm "Get them out!"
Grace and Abby exchanged looks, as he stood and rushed off behind them raising his gun to fire.
"BECKER!"
The combined voices of Abby and Grace echoed out bouncing off the surrounding buildings and lingering in the air, fading slowly to nothing. But he had gone, with a pack of killers hot on his tail. He had given his life to save them. She closed her eyes tight against the rush of emotions. This wasn't gonna go over well, when she told Kara. And her mind flashed back to the conversation with her cousin that morning.
A few minutes after Becker had gone, Danny appeared. Grace and Abby moved aside, as he and Connor pulled Jack back up. They made it seem so easy.
Once Jack appeared, Grace heard Abby sigh a breath of relief
"Abby," he said, when he saw her
"Jack," Abby said reaching forward "Come here. Jack. Come here"
One the boy was free, Abby pulled him towards her.
"Get him out of here!" Danny said, "There's something else coming up"
"What is it?" Connor asked
"Trust me, you don't want to know"
And with that, Grace, Abby and Jack jumped over the low wall, and pressed against it. Connor appeared seconds later, there was an explosion and Danny appeared.
"Come on," Grace said, as she looked up and around. There was an old bus near by, it would be perfect shelter for a while. She pulled Abby with her and sprinted towards the back. She wrenched open the fire exit door, and clamped her hand onto the seat rail and pulled herself up. Next came Abby, then Connor, Jack and finally Danny.
Gunshots. That's what she had heard, that's why she had looked up wildly, taking her eyes off her mother's figure. What was happening, topside, to cause her to hear gunshots? She hoped the others were okay, and her heart broke as she wished she could go be with them. See what was happening first hand, instead of being stuck down here. She had Nick, but she couldn't leave. Mostly because her mother's attitude had changed, and she now had a gun trained on her.
"What do you want?" Kara asked, turning back to her mother, who was standing in front of an old run down desk. Although it was more than that.
"You know what I want," Helen answered
"The Artefact" Kara said
Helen smirked, and turned to face her daughter "Still has bright as I remember. Are you still as curious?"
Kara glowered at her mother. "You want the artefact? What was Nick for?"
"He was merely leverage," Helen explained "To get you do, what I wanted you to do. I could have asked you to bring me the Artefact. But I would never have gotten you here alone"
She pulled back the barrel of the gun, and Kara breathed deeply waiting for the pain as the bullet embedded itself in her skin. But it didn't come. There was a gunshot, but no pain. Opening her eyes, Kara became aware that she wasn't alone. Her mother was standing before her, but she had her back to her. There was someone else in the room.
Quickly, Kara sprinted for the wide area beside her, Nick clutched in her arm. She was aware of the shouting behind her, and then rapid footfalls as someone chased after her. But she didn't dare stop or look back, she had to get out of here, and she'd be damned if anyone was gonna stop her.
Her heart was racing, but she didn't stop.
The hallway in which she was running, seemed extremely long, and Kara was sure she had missed a turning or two at some point or the other. But she couldn't turn back, whoever had followed her was still coming, she had to get out before they closed in on her. She turned to her left, as she saw a light seeping out into the hallway she was following. There was a door, at the end. Her legs were starting to ache, but she pushed herself onwards. She should be used to this, she had run further than this before.
"Nearly there," she muttered to herself "come on, Kara. Nearly there"
"Don't move!" came a voice from behind her
Chancing a glance over her shoulder Kara saw the figure from earlier, he had caught up to her. But she didn't stop.
"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" the voice said again.
There was the sound of gun-fire, and excruciating pain in her right shoulder. Her left hand, had just touched the cold surface of the door and she pushed it open. The sunlight blinded her, but she kept running. The adrenaline pumping through her veins, numbing the pain in her shoulder. But she knew she would feel it when she calmed down.
Sprinting back down the alleyway she and the others had come up earlier that day, she came out at the top and to her relief Danny, Connor, Abby, Grace and a sandy haired boy were ahead of her. But where was Becker?
"Danny!" she yelled, her voice unreasonably loud to her ear
The team turned, and Grace almost screamed before she came sprinting back to her cousin.
"Kara!" Grace said, as she threw her arms around her cousin, and hugged her tightly. Kara winced, but passed it off. "Nick!"
"Auntie Graciey," Nick said loudly, as he hugged his aunt back
Abby and Connor where there too, each hugging both Kara and Nick long. Kara just chose to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder, as she hugged her team members back. She even wrapped her arms around Danny and hugged him.
Crash. Crash. Crash.
There was three consecutive crashes, behind them. And breaking away from one another, Kara and Danny turned. Fear replaced the pain and adrenaline that was coursing through Kara's body, as she saw the fully grown Future Predator thunder across the tops of the rusted old cars towards them. Neither of them had guns on them.
Closer and closer the creature came, until it was almost level with them. It landed on the second car just a few meters away from them, there was a loud echoing bang. A gunshot.
The team stared at the car, as an arm appeared and then a full body. Becker. It was Becker, he had hidden himself in the car, and taken the creature by surprise as it landed on the top of his car.
"Becker!" Abby yelled, and every hurried forward.
Kara stared up at him, and then around at the others. What had happened while she was gone? What had she missed? And did she really want to know?
Becker's dark eyes bore back into her own, and as he climbed out of the car, she was the first person he approached. His arms wrapping around her, as she pressed her face against his chest. She breathed in his familiar scent and sighed. She felt safe. Safer than she had in a while. Feeling someone take Nick from her, she glanced at them to see it was Abby. She would never be able to get used to that again, not after today. But knowing her son was safe with his god-mother, Kara wrapped her arms fully around Becker's waist, and hugged him as he held her close.
It was like the others had disappeared, and it was only them there. Although she could hear Danny's laughter. But she couldn't see what was so funny.
"Look," Connor's voice sounded, and Kara looked up and around
The anomaly that had been closed when she met up with them, was once again open. And just in time because the wasp like creatures had started to appear.
"Go!" Abby yelled, and handing Nick back to Kara who gripped him tightly she and Connor led the way forward.
Becker fired off several more rounds, before Kara pulled him in the direction of the anomaly.
"Come on," she said, as he turned to her.
Gripping her hand tightly, Kara maintaining a firm hold on Nick, the two sprinted towards the anomaly, having to jump the gap. They stumbled back into their own world, Becker falling, and turning onto his back, and from pushing herself further, Kara's legs felt like they had turned to jelly.
They buckled under her but she managed to stay up, long enough for Grace to catch her and hold her.
Sarah tossed a silver box, back through the anomaly.
"Lock it!" Kara yelled "Lock it now!"
Connor hurried to the laptop, and hit a few buttons before the anomaly resealed itself.
She sighed in relief, as she turned to the anomaly. It was closed, they were safe, and they had rescued what they had intended. Both Nick and Jack were safe.
"You all right?" Sarah asked, as they all stood or lay, staring at the anomaly.
Abby hugged her younger brother tightly, as Kara had Nick buried in her shoulder. She was holding him tighter than she had ever before, and as his tears leaked through her shirt onto her shoulders, her's leaked through his one piece body pyjama suit, But she was more or less crying tears of joy. Happy to have him back.
There was a groan, and Grace looked up to see that Danny had kicked Becker's shoulder.
"Does that hurt?" Danny questioned
"Kara?" Sarah's voice sounded again, there was a muffled response, as Kara looked up from her son "Kara! Your bleeding!"
"Where?" Kara asked, looking up at Sarah, as Grace whipped back around to face her
"Your shoulder," Sarah said, and Grace inspected the wound
"You've been shot!" Grace hissed, pressing her finger to the small bullet wound. Kara hissed in pain, and pulled away from her cousin, with a glare.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Grace!"
"You knew?" Grace asked "Why didn't you say?"
"Because I was a little more pre-occupied back there!" Kara said "Besides, what were you gonna do?"
"Okay, stop arguing," Danny said "Come on. Lets get this bullet out of you"
And with that he lead Kara away from the others and towards the Silver SUV.
After spending at close a good hour or two in surgery, Kara sat in the recovery room, in silence. Nick was behind her in the bed she had been wheeled in on. He was sound asleep. Grace had stopped by earlier, just to see how she was doing, and to drop of a freshly new set of clothes for Nick. She knew how much Kara hated hospital food, and therefore had left a chocolate chip muffin and a polyfoam cup of hot chocolate on the side.
Danny had stayed with her the entire time she was in surgery, keeping a close eye on Nick for her. And he now sat in the plastic chair in the corner of her room, his head resting on his hand. He was sound asleep too. That's why the room was so quiet, and why Kara could be found standing at her window, staring aimlessly into space. She glanced at Danny from the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but smile. He had been a pain in the backside before he started on the team, but now she couldn't see the team without him.
He wasn't her father, but he was close enough to a father figure for her. He was great, and she couldn't ask for anyone better to fill her father's shoes.
She heaved a heavy sigh, and turned to the door as it opened. A smile coming to her face, as Becker appeared in the doorway.
"Hey," he said softly
"Hi" she answered
He glanced at Danny and she heard him chuckle.
"He hasn't left my side," she said, crossing the room and kneeling down beside Danny, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him "Danny," she said softly, watching his eyes open "Go home!"
He looked up at Becker with a smile before looking down at Kara who was still knelt beside him. "Yeah, I think I will" he said getting up and stretching "You'll be okay?" he asked turning to her
"I'll be fine…" she answered "Thanks for everything." and she hugged him as she said it, before he left all together.
The room was quiet for a while, Kara had walked to the edge of the bed and brushed a strand of hair from her son's face before returning to the window. Becker edged further into the room and stood behind her. She sighed, bit her lip, and turned around. She had to face the music sooner or later. She couldn't hide from him any longer.
"Are you okay?" he asked
She nodded and looked up at him. They stared at one another for the longest time, before she spoke "Im sorry - about this morning. I was stupid, and scared. I didn't mean to run from you"
"Its understandable," he said, cupping her face softly and pressing his lips to her forehead before replacing it with his own
"You were right though," she said softly, "Last night was enchanting and enthralling. And I don't regret it either -"
"But?" he asked
"But, I just don't want to get hurt again" she whispered
"And you wont," he said in a whisper himself "I wont hurt you. I promise."
She didn't answer, she just stared at him, a smile on her face. Then she kissed him. Pouring every inch of love that she had for him, into the kiss. Her arms wrapping around his neck pulling him closer, his arms around her waist, holding her body close to his own.
Right there and then, Kara realised, that no matter who she lost in her life. Be it her parents, or a friend.
She was never truly alone.
A/N: Okay, before you shout, I know late update. But I apologize for that. I honestly couldn't be bothered to right this at some point. I kept getting bored easily. But I forced myself to write it, because I just had to finish it before I went on holidays.
Right, a few things before I go.
There are scenes in here, that I could have left out, but I just had to put them. It kept the story from looking like it had been rushed. I didn't want that to happen, no matter how bored I became. So, here goes.
The scene between Kara and Becker. I apologize, I didn't mean for it to be taken that far, and your lucky, I stopped myself, before the rating had to go up. Lol. I will admit I got a little carried away, but im a girl who has a huge crush on Ben Mansfield (Captain Becker) and what do you expect, eh? Anyway, its not too graphic, I caught myself in time. :P
Also, I hope the morning after part, came out the way I wanted it too. It was supposed to be all awkward, so I hope I did that justice.
Then there is the part with Helen, Kara and Nick. I hope. That was supposed to be included in the story from the very beginning, so I hope you all enjoyed the little insight. But it does prove the point I had in the beginning. Helen can hurt her daughter emotionally and mentally but never physically. No matter how hard she tries. She just hasn't seen that yet.
Right. Im gonna go now.
I hope you all enjoyed this chappie to its fullest. It took me quite a while to write and it is actually 28 pages long. No lie. And that's without the Author's Note.
So - read and review. Tell me what you think.
Thank you all for you patience
Love
~Kara
P.S. -
Holidays.
I MUST STRESS THIS POINT TO YOU, MY FAITHFUL READERS.
THIS WILL BE MY LAST UPDATE FOR AT LEAST 2-3 WEEKS. IM SORRY. BUT I WILL NOT BE HERE, FROM THE 8TH AUGUST TO THE 15TH. AND THEREFORE UNABLE TO WRITE ANYTHING. NEXT WEEK, LEADING UP TO THE 8TH WILL BE SPENT, SHOPPING, CLEANING AND PACKING. SO I HOPE YOU ALL WILL BARE WITH ME IN THIS AMOUNT OF TIME. BUT I AM GOING ON HOLIDAYS FOR A WEEK, AND WILL BRING YOU ANOTHER EPIC UPDATE WHEN I RETURN.
ALSO, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I HAVE STARTED A NEW STORY. I WILL BE UPDATING THAT, WHEN I GET THE CHANCE. ONE-SHOTS ARE SO MUCH EASIER AND FASTER TO WRITE THAN LONG CHAPTERS ARE.
THANK YOU FOR YOU UNDERSTANDING. YOU ARE ALL THE BEST.
LOVE YOU SO MUCH
~KARA
