Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass
Disclaimer: Elements from SyFy's Alice belong to SyFy and Nick Willing. Other bits belong to Lewis Carroll. Rex, Sid, Nancy, anomalies, Helen and other Primeval bits belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures. I'm only responsible for Sarah, Connor, Damon, and Chase.
Chapter Seven: Ambush
Helen Cutter watched as the remains of Nick Cutter's team came together. Connor Temple was almost the ringleader of the rag-tag bunch even though Danny, a former cop, was technically in charge. Not that it mattered since all of the team was there at the anomaly site.
Dr. Sarah Page, Captain Becker, Danny Quinn, Abby Maitland-Temple, Connor Temple, and the newest recruit, Sarah Hatter.
Dr. Page began setting up equipment as Conner greeted his wife. Sarah stayed a few steps back, still clutching a gun.
Helen smiled as she set up her rifle. She looked through the scope, aiming for center mass of a particular team member. The target had her back to Helen.
She pulled the trigger and blood blossomed on the target's back.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Connor had his arms around his wife. "You shouldn't have come."
"Sarah's fine. I've got Jenny watching her."
"Abby, really, you need to go. Helen's back."
"What?"
The blonde looked at him. "Are you sure it's her?"
Connor nodded solemnly. "She's back and she's up to something. And Sarah…not our Sarah or Dr. Page…another Sarah is stuck in the middle of it. She's from the future."
"The future? You mean…"
"She fell into that future, but no, she's only from 2031."
"Only?"
Connor sighed, holding his wife's hands. "Abbs, she could almost be Sarah. She says that I look just like her brother and father."
"It's a trap. Helen's setting a trap."
"Sarah's telling the truth. Helen already tried to put a bullet in her head."
Abby shook her head. "This is getting too dangerous, Conn. Come home with me. Let the back-up team handle this one."
"I can't. I promised to get her back home. To her family."
"If Helen's involved, what makes you think she even has a family to go back to?"
Connor's mouth hung open for a moment. He hadn't thought of that possibility. When dealing with Helen, anything was possible. Helen was a ruthless bitch. She'd proved it by cold-bloodedly murdering her estranged husband.
"I don't know…"
"Let's just go. Get in the truck and go…" Abby suggested, taking his hand.
He hesitated, staring at the dark-haired girl in the middle of the group. She looked lost and out of place. "I can't."
"Conn—"
A muffled pop cut off Abby.
"Abbs? Abby?"
He reached out to grab his wife as she collapsed. He could feel the warm blood on her back.
"Abby!"
Another gunshot rang out.
"Get down!" Becker shouted.
Connor sank to the ground, holding his wife. Abby's eyes were wide in pain.
"Abby?" he whispered.
"Helen…" she gasped. "Helen…"
"I'll kill the bitch."
"Conn… I… I…"
Bang!
Another splash of red as a bullet entered Abby's chest. Connor let out a scream that was part pain and part anger. It was almost like a roar.
"Connor… get in the truck!" Danny shouted in his ear.
He couldn't move. He just looked at Abby's lifeless body in his arms. They'd been through so much—even surviving several years trapped in the past. Years during which their daughter was born and named for a colleague they doubted they'd ever see again.
Connor was yanked up from the ground. He didn't protest as he was forcibly dragged from Abby.
"She's gone, Conn. She's gone…" one of his friends said.
He didn't notice. He was numb. Completely numb.
*~*~*~*~*~*
A world away, Connor Hatter wandered the ruins of Heart Castle.
He left the confines of the ruins to wander the land surrounding it. On his way to one of the stables, he caught sight of a small graveyard. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked into the crumbling cemetery. There were some statues and large slabs of marble.
He read some of the stones.
Every stone mentioned the Hearts. It was a royal graveyard.
Connor moved forward in time, heading toward the back of the graveyard. He froze when he saw a marble figure that looked vaguely familiar.
Mum?
He walked slowly, his heart pounding in his throat. He knelt beside the statue, reading the tiny plaque. He brushed the dead leaves away, revealing the tiny etching.
Alice of Legend, the Queen of Hearts.
His mother.
Connor fell back, tripping over a root.
"No… no…"
His mother wasn't the Queen of Hearts. She was the Queen of Wonderland. The Duchess had been named the Queen of Hearts. Besides, why would there be a statue of her in the graveyard unless…
Connor stumbled to his feet. He had to find out. He had to know.
Three headstones later he collapsed at the foot of his mother's grave.
Alice of Legend
Born in New York
Queen of Hearts from 4021 to 4022
Beloved wife of Jack Heart and mother of Jessica and Kyle Heart
*~*~*~*~*~*
With a groan, David Hatter stood up. Landings always hurt, especially when one wasn't prepared. He certainly hadn't intended to jump through the Looking Glass. Not that he had a choice.
He looked up, watching the shimmer disappear from the Glass.
"No!"
His hand hit the Glass. It didn't go through.
"No! No!"
His right fist went through the portal, shattering it as he screamed in rage.
David Hatter was stranded and he didn't even know where or when he was. His only way home to Wonderland, to his wife, to his family, was gone.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Sarah stood in stunned disbelief as the blonde in Connor's arms turned red with blood. She barely registered the gunshots.
"Get down!" Becker shouted, shoving her face-first into the dirt.
She didn't stay down long. As soon as his hand left her back, Sarah was up and crawling toward Connor.
"I said 'get down'!" Becker hissed, scooping her up.
Sarah dangled over his shoulder, resisting the urge to fight him. He dumped her in the truck, closing the door on her.
She sat up, looking out the window to where her brother's mirror image sat.
He wasn't moving. He was screaming.
Sarah yanked on the door handle, instincts telling her to help him. The door didn't budge. It was locked.
She banged on the glass, trying to break out of the truck.
All she got was a bullet for her trouble. It just missed her, sailing through the glass and grazing her skull. She cried out in pain, blood trickling down her forehead and into her eyes.
An unfamiliar man wearing a stocking cap appeared in the broken window. He wretched the truck's door open and dragged Sarah out by her arm. He was dressed in all black like Becker. He looked like a military man.
Sarah relaxed, thinking he was on her side.
She was wrong.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Danny dragged Connor back to the truck. Becker was waiting there.
"Abby…" he mumbled.
"She's gone, Connor. She's gone."
He climbed into the backseat with a push from Danny. The door shut. He could hear the engine rumble to life as Danny took the wheel, Becker literally riding shotgun.
"Sarah?"
He looked in the seat beside him. It was covered in particles of glass and drops of blood. There was no sign of either Sarah.
"Becker, where's Sarah?"
"You mean Dr. Page?" the military man asked as he chambered a bullet.
"Both."
"Dr. Page is dead. Helen shot her."
Connor froze. That was two members of the team gone. Helen had murdered two more people he cared about. The bitch murdered his wife and his friend.
I'll kill you.
"What about… Sarah?" he asked, still in a daze.
"She's gone."
Gone.
Suddenly the blood in the backseat made sense. Sarah… this was Sarah's blood. Not Dr. Page. This was Sarah Hatter. She'd been hurt.
"Helen took her," he stated, his voice flat and void of emotion. "Helen took her and killed Abby."
Fucking bitch…
Author's Notes:
Connor's in shock (well, both Connors are, actually) which is why he seems so numb and OOC. Having someone you love die in your arms suddenly, that's a big shock.
As for the years on Alice's grave… I just made up random numbers. She ruled for almost a year before dying giving birth to the twins. Wonderland years aren't the same as Oyster years—at least in this story.
I expect some readers probably want to kill me now for this chapter. All I can say is… it's Helen's fault. And the former Queen of Hearts. They did it—it was their idea. I just typed it. Just sayin'.
Anyways, please keep the reviews coming! Questions, thoughts, comments, etc.
