Chapter 29

As Connor took another sharp turn in the SUV to maneuver the car towards the fault line rupture, he couldn't help but notice how eery it was to be driving down the endless deserted streets. On an average day, the appalling traffic made it near-damn impossible to drive above a crawl half the time.

But now . . . nothing.

There wasn't a sign of anything living, human or otherwise, and quite frankly, it gave Connor the creeps. There was a shadow of the little boy inside him that thought it rather cool to be the only car on the road within a fifty mile radius, but that part of his personality had been almost completely vanquished by the terror that if he hasn't got the Locking Mechanism working properly, they were all dead.

He half-glanced at the woman sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Kathryn - yes, that was her name. She hadn't said much since they had been forced together to complete the Mechanism; only interjected a few times to tell him that he had attached something in the wrong place or something like that. He hadn't argued with her, partly because she gave off the distinct air of someone who knew their stuff, but it didn't help that her effortless beauty was rather intimidating. Not that he wasn't used to being around beautiful women; after all, he hung round with Abby, Jenny and Sarah all the time. But then again, they were his friends. This girl was a stranger to him.

"So . . . do you really think this will work then?" he asked her sheepishly, as usual, not being able to stand the awkward silence - it's not like the two soldiers in the back of the car were very good conversationalists.

"Possibly," she relied shortly, her cool gaze fixed out of her window.

"Oh don't sound too sure, will you?" he laughed nervously.

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards slightly in a repressed grin. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, her tone noticeably warmer. "You've done a good job."

"Why thank you," he said, rather smugly - it wasn't often he received a compliment off a pretty girl without them having an ulterior motive. "So . . ." he began again, wanting to keep the conversation flowing. ". . . what's it like in the future then?"

Her soft expression turned stony in an instant, and her eyes changed from sparkling to dead-looking. "It's the most horrific place you can ever imagine," she said quietly.

"See I always pictured us all flying round in hover cars or something," he joked, before catching a glance of her stern expression, and he abruptly looked back at the road, humbled.

A few moments of agonising silence passed by; the only sounds coming from the soldiers, who seemed to be fiddling with their guns to check that they were ready for battle.

"So . . ." Connor continued, deciding on the spot that he'd rather have an awkward conversation than an awkward silence. ". . . are you Cutter and Jenny's son's girlfriend then?"

Kathryn laughed weakly, turning her green eyes on him. "You never shut up, do you?"

"Not unless forced," he smiled.

She returned his smile with a gentle one of her own. "Don't tempt me," she said, her strict tone not quite masking the softness in her voice. "And to answer your question - no, not really."

"Oh? You seemed quite fond of him?" he pushed.

"I am," she sighed, looking down at her pale hands. "But it's complicated."

"How so?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she remarked, but Connor was thankful to see that she looked more amused than annoyed.

"Well one of us has too," he pointed out with a smile.

She rolled her eyes slightly, before continuing somewhat reluctantly. "I - he . . . he's been through an awful lot," she said with a distant look in her eye. "He was madly in love with another woman before he found me. And he'll never love me as much as he did her."

"What happened to her?" he asked, feeling a natural curiosity - after all, Connor was young Ben's God-father, and he loved the little guy to pieces - he was the coolest kid he'd ever met.

"She was killed by a creature," Kathryn answered solemnly. "She and their daughter."

"Daughter?" Connor repeated with surprise.

"Yes."

"That's . . . that's terrible . . ." he stammered, feeling completely bemused. Then, however, a completely hilarious thought popped into his brain, completely unbidden, and before he could stop himself, he burst out laughing.

Kathryn looked round at him, disgusted, clearly thinking he was amused by the slaughter of a woman and child.

"Oh, no!" he said hurriedly, desperate to correct her misconception. "I'm not laughing at that . . . it's just the thought of Jenny being a Grandmother that's funny . . . sorry, I'll shut up now . . ." he trailer off, feeling himself grow hot with embarrassment.

Her face relaxed slightly. "No, it's okay," she sighed, turning her green eyes on him. "So are you close to Jenny and her husband then?"

"Oh, yeah," he replied immediately, feeling pride swell in his stomach. "They're like family to me. They're the bravest and most unselfish people I've ever met."

"I've only met Jenny," Kathryn interjected, the ghost of a smile flicking across her lips. "She reminds me a lot of Matt - Ben to you of course," she added.

"Oh?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Both of them take no nonsense, both of them are clever and stubborn" she continued, listing the qualities on her fingers as she went. "Like mother, like son, I suppose."

"Well Cutter's no pushover either," Connor added.

"Well Matt - Ben - never really talks about him," she replied absently, but suddenly, her expression changed from relaxed to tense, as though she realised that she'd said too much.

"Why's that?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know," she replied, a little too quickly to be believable. She turned to face him again with a forced-looking impassiveness. "Anyway, enough about me and my life - what about you?"

"What about me?" he asked slowly.

"Have you got a girlfriend?" she asked with a rye smile.

"I - um - no," he replied quickly, his thoughts unwillingly drifting to Abby.

"What? A cute guy like you?" she chuckled in mock-surprise, causing him to blush. "I'd go out with you myself if I could."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course," she smiled. "Although I am only about two-years-old in this day and age, so it'd probably be a bit weird - "

Suddenly, a massive force hit the side of the car, causing Connor to swear loudly and swerve the SUV so that it stayed on the road.

"What the hell was that?" Kathryn exclaimed as he slammed down hard on the break.

The soldiers jumped out of the back seat immediately, as did Kathryn; Connor only able to follow when his heart had started back up again. Slipping slightly on some thin ice on the frosted ground, he squinted back down the street, his mouth falling open when he spotted the thing that had hit them.

A gigantic deer - and Irish Elk if he was not mistaken - was galloping off down the street at full speed, its massive antlers splayed out fantastically either side of its large head. The soldiers sprinted after it, firing their guns wildly to try and bring it down.

"Oy! Use tranquilizers!" Connor yelled after them, feeling a pulse of anger that they were using live rounds against an a creature that was doing no-one any harm.

Kathryn was standing at the other side of car, looking as white as a sheet.

"What?" he added to her. "Don't worry - it's not dangerous - "

"No, it's not that," she replied, looking panicked. "If an Elk can make it this far outside the contained area, who knows what else has? We need to get over there. Now."

I'm not that good at inhabiting Connor, but it was just a filler chapter! More Jenny, Cutter and Ben to come :) x