Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned SyFy's Alice. But Alice belongs to those folks at SyFy and writer/director Nick Willing. Helen Cutter, Rex, Jenny Lewis, Sid and Nancy, and all other assorted Primeval odds and ends belong to the show's creators and ITV/Impossible Pictures. I'm only responsible for Sarah, Connor Hatter, Chase, Damon, Jessica and Kyle.
Chapter Fifteen: Trouble in London
She watched the young woman slam face-first into the concrete outside the van. This Sarah didn't move. Blood trickled out of her head, staining the ground and her black hair.
Jenny Lewis was hauled out of the van by one of Helen's lackeys. She continued to kick and struggle as she was brought back to the ground in front of the Anomaly Research Centre.
"Keep fighting and the girl gets it," snarled another man who came around the van. He carried a black pistol in one hand.
Jenny stood still for a moment. This can't be happening…
She saw the small knife lying beside Sarah's body. If she could grab the blade, she might be able to get them both free.
"Walk!" hissed her captor.
Jenny stumbled forward, one of her heels breaking. The sudden change in her balance forced her to her knees. She used that stumble to swipe the penknife.
Her hand stung from connecting with the raised cement. The rough mixture sliced open her palm. She ignored the pain. She had the knife now. She would get Sarah and herself out of this mess. She had promised Connor to protect his daughter. It didn't matter if Sarah was Connor's daughter or another woman. Jenny would save her.
"What happened?" Abby Maitland asked as she came running to Cutter's distress call. Connor followed just behind her while Stephen brought up the rear.
"He's been bitten. We need medical attention."
"What?" Connor squeaked.
"Now's not the time, Connor. We need to get him to a hospital before the venom kills him."
The computer nerd nodded, looking like he might just pass out.
Abby knelt down beside her flatmate's lookalike. She tugged Connor down next to her and unwrapped his scarf. He didn't seem to notice.
She tied off the injured man's wound, hoping to slow the flow of the poison into his body. Stephen was on his mobile, calling for back-up.
"We need to find that creature," Cutter said, looking over at Stephen. "We need a sample of that venom."
"Connor, wait!" Becker called after the dark-haired man. He'd never seen the technological wizard move this fast. He ran like a man possessed without caring who or what stood in his way.
Temple ignored him. He raced down the flat's stairs to the waiting truck. He didn't even slow down.
"Connor!" the military man shouted.
He was already climbing into the truck. He wasn't going to stop. Becker knew that. He could see it on the other man's face. This was about more than the shock of Abby and Dr. Page's murders. This was about more than Connor's daughter's kidnapping. This was about Helen Cutter and the death and destruction she caused. This was revenge—plain and simple.
Connor had more motive and anger than most people should carry around. He had a friend die in his arms before. Then his wife was shot and killed in front of him. Another friend was murdered a few yards away. His daughter was taken. A girl he'd befriended disappeared as well. It all led back to Helen and her quest to destroy their world.
Becker grabbed a hold of the passenger door, wrenching it open as Connor turned the key. The engine roared to life as he jumped inside. The door slammed loudly behind him.
"Connor, look at me. We're unarmed. We can't go up against Helen right now. We need to calm down and regroup. We need more people if we are going to stop her…" he reasoned.
But Connor was beyond reason. One look in his wild brown eyes told him that. "She's going to kill everyone. Only I can I stop her. Me. Just me. She wants to deal with me."
"We can't trust her—"
"She's got my daughter!"
Becker sighed. There wasn't much he could say. He didn't have a family. He didn't have children. He'd never lost a wife or a child. He could feel bad for Connor, but there was no way he could understand what the other man was going through.
Becker closed his eyes for a moment. "I need you to trust me, Connor. We are going to get Sarah back. I just need some time. We can't go running around half-cocked. If we don't plan our next move, Helen will kill you and Sarah."
"I don't care if she kills me. I won't let her kill my daughter."
Jenny stumbled in her broken shoe. Helen's men escorted her right into the ARC's main complex. Another man dragged Sarah behind them.
She kept the knife in her palm. All she needed was the right moment to free herself. She needed Sarah to wake up. She couldn't drag the young woman along. They both needed to be mobile.
"On your knees," one of the men ordered, shoving her forward.
Jenny winced as her knees collided with the floor.
A gun clicked as a bullet slipped into the chamber.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment. The knife dug into her palm. Not like this… please…
In a warehouse near the Thames River, Helen Cutter stroked the hair of Connor's sleeping daughter. The little girl had been knocked out from one dart. Helen planned to keep her unconscious until she had to kill her. Even if Connor came through with the improved opener, she couldn't afford to let his daughter live.
Both Sarahs had to die. She couldn't wait until she could send the older one through an anomaly to the Queen of Hearts. That girl had been a thorn in her side since the start.
She smirked at the oblivious toddler. Soon the world would belong only to her and her beloved creatures.
A gun clicked.
Sarah Hatter cracked open her eye, trying to get a feel for her surroundings.
She could feel the hard ground underneath her body. She would be black, blue, green, and purple by the next day. She could feel the bruises forming already.
Her knife was gone.
Sarah opened her eye further, scanning for the source of the gun clicks. Bullets were never a good sign—her father had taught her that from an early age. There was a reason both her father and brother wore bullet-proof armor. At this rate, she was going to have to start wearing a vest herself.
She could see Jenny across the room, kneeling. A man stood over her with a gun pressed against her skull.
There wasn't time to think about the consequences. There wasn't time to form a plan.
Sarah jumped into action, tackling the man with the gun.
It went off, the bullet meant for Jenny ricocheting off the ground.
She rolled along with the man in black, the gun flying lose and skittering across the floor. She kept going, momentum carrying her past him.
Blood dripped into her eyes. Sarah groaned, her ribs aching from the fall. That's going to hurt tomorrow…
But there was no chance for pain or regrets. Not when she found herself facing the barrel of a gun.
Abby stayed with Connor's lookalike—his father of sorts. The two men looked like mirror images, except for a few differences. This man…this Hatter had scars all over his body that she saw once the doctor and nurses ripped off his shirt.
He was older; more rugged than the Connor she knew. They had a similar build, lean and wiry. But Hatter was more muscled.
Not that it mattered. If Cutter and Stephen couldn't catch the creature who bit him, Connor's father—or double or whatever he was—would die.
The man in the hospital bed whimpered, clearly in pain despite the morphine flowing through his veins. Abby sighed, depressing the button. More morphine entered his blood stream.
But that didn't stop him. He mumbled something. A name.
"What is it?" the blonde asked.
"Sarah… can't find Sarah…"
"Who's Sarah?"
"Sarah gone… missing…"
"I'll help you find her. My friends can help. Who is she?"
"My Sarah…"
"Your wife?"
"No… Sarah… don't…"
"Your daughter?" Abby tried.
"Sarah… don't go…"
"Don't go where?"
She didn't get an answer. She couldn't get an answer. He was unconscious again thanks to the pain and morphine. Still and silent except for the occasionally twitch.
Author's Notes:
I know, I know. Not much happens. It's a slow build-up.
The next chapter will deal with Wonderland and Jessica/Ana's reunion of sorts with her brother. Or is it her brother? We'll find out in chapter sixteen.
As for Sarah and Jenny—we'll get back to their trouble in chapter seventeen along with Daddy Hatter's plight. I hope that seeing Abby helps make up for her death earlier. Just keep in mind that the timeline is always changing. Each event can cause a ripple in time and affect other events. Something that Hatter does in the past could change Wonderland's future.
So that's the basics of what's to come. Enjoy! And please review!
