Quite a long chapter to make up for the lack of updates :D

Merry Christmas everyone x

Chapter 30

Jenny could feel Ben's back pressed up against her own, and noticed how his rib-cage expanded rapidly with his quickened breath as they both scanned the line of monsters around them. Jenny herself seemed to have lost the ability to breath at all, which was sure to become a problem for her soon, but she felt too paralysed with terror to be able to do anything about it. The Raptors seemed to be unsure of whether to attack or not, or else they were waiting for the right time to strike - but either way, Jenny couldn't help but notice that they were taking a particular interest in her.

"They know you're injured," Ben breathed from behind her, as though he had read her thoughts. "They see you as an easier target. They're going to attack you first."

"Oh, well thanks for telling me," she retorted sarcastically. "I don't suppose you have a plan?"

"I'm working on it," he hissed back. "Just keep your gun up."

"I'm not stupid!" she snapped, not taking her eyes of the closest Raptor that seemed to be edging towards her ever so slightly.

"Could have fooled me!"

"You know what - this isn't really the time for arguing," she said in a tense voice. "Could we perhaps deal with your issues at a better time? You know - when we're not about five seconds away from having our heads bitten off?"

"Fine," he sniffed, and she felt him retrieve a second gun from a belt around his waist. "Right, we wait for them to attack. Then I'll hold them off while you make a run for it - "

"No - " she began immediately, but he ignored her.

"You run until you reach that shop over there - " he nodded, clearly indicated a certain direction, although she didn't dare turn her attention away from the predators to see where, " - and you call your boss. Tell him to get outside military to form a perimeter a mile around this place to make sure the creatures don't escape - "

"No, I'm not leaving you," she stated firmly, not even wanting to consider leaving him to die so that she could escape.

"And tell him to get a helicopter out as well," he continued as though he hadn't heard her. "To make sure there's no creatures outside the containment area - "

"I'm not leaving you alone!" she protested hotly, stung that he thought she'd be so selfish.

"Look, for once in your life, stop being such a bloody martyr and do as you're told!" he barked, sounding angry.

Jenny turned her head to him, about to match his anger, only realising that she had made a grave mistake when it was too late. Her attention only lapsed for a fraction of a second, but it was enough - from the corner of her eye, she saw the Raptor in front of her lunge forwards.

With a yell of surprise, she snapped her head back to it, and squeezed the trigger of her gun automatically. Mercifully, her bullet hit the creature in between the eyes and it was floored instantly. The other Raptors didn't seem particularly discouraged by their comrades demise; on the contrary, some of them took it as their cue to strike. Jenny fired at each one that moved forward, and could feel Ben doing the same from behind her.

Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her round to face him. "The shop - go!" he demanded, indicating a row of buildings in front of them.

"No - !" she began to protest, but he turned his attention away from her to fire at another cocky Raptor.

Jenny froze for a second, knowing that she should be running like hell towards the relative safety of the shop to send their SOS to Lester, but her completely unwilling maternal instinct wouldn't let her move a muscle. She watched in horror as Ben picked up a large metal pole that was part of the wreckage of the bridge, and as each Raptor darted for him, he wacked them in one swift motion, breaking their jaws as though they were made of cardboard. The way he moved gave the distinct impression that he had vigorously trained for combat, or else that he had to do it every day anyway.

He glanced back at her, and for a moment looked furious to see her still standing there. He reached forward and grabbed her arm painfully. "GO!" he bellowed again, and with a massive force, he flung her from him so that she staggered backwards several feet.

Before she could persuade herself out of it, she finally obeyed, and started to sprint towards the shop, ignoring the searing pain emanating from her cracked ribs and the hot tears that were swimming in her eyes.

Panting, she burst through the shop door and slammed it shut behind her, vaguely registering that it was a pharmacy. The radio that had previously been strapped to her shoulder was no longer there - it had probably came off when she had fell from the bridge. Wheezing to try and get her breath back, she fished in her pockets for her mobile phone, but only ended up cursing loudly when it was nowhere to be found.

Dammit!

With a sigh of frustration, she looked up, her eyes scanning the darkening shop. The place was small and cramped, with glass casing around the side walls full of an assortment of drugs. The counter was over at the far side, raised slightly so that it stood prominent . . . her eyes were drawn to the wall behind it, and with a surge of relief, she noticed a green phone attached to it.

She hurried over and grabbed it, furiously dialing Lester's number before sinking to sit with her back against the counter, still unable to get her breathing to return to normal. It was only a few rings before Lester picked up.

"James Lester," he said curtly.

"James, it's Jenny," she breathed, impatiently wiping the tears from underneath her eyes.

He paused for a second, and if she wasn't mistaken, he exhaled a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?" he asked in an uncharacteristically tense voice.

She shook her head, forgetting that he couldn't see her. "No," she sobbed before she could stop herself. "I can't find Nick, or Abby - or anyone else for that matter - "

"Are you injured?"

"Yes," she replied with a sniff. "But that's not why I called. I need you to get any back up soldiers to form a perimeter a mile around the place," she continued, echoing Ben's orders. "And we need a helicopter to spot any creatures we've missed."

He sighed again, although this time in aspiration. "We said we'd only do that as a last resort. They don't know about the anomalies - "

"We haven't got a choice," she said firmly. "We've failed to contain the creatures. If we don't stop them, they'll spread - "

"Okay, I get the point," he interrupted, sounding disappointed. "I thought you said you could handle this Jenny?"

"I'm doing the best that I can," she said, her voice cracking. "There are too many anomalies - "

"I don't want to hear excuses," he cut her off again. "I have to go if you expect me to get the soldiers there on time. Oh and Jenny?"

"What?" she muttered, resisting the urge to fling the phone against the wall with difficulty.

"Do try and keep yourself alive won't you?" he said in an unconcerned voice.

She opened her mouth to argue her case some more, but she was met with the hang up tone, telling her that Lester had clicked off the connection. Seething with anger, Jenny let the phone fall out of her hand as she lent her head back, squeezing her eyes shut against her racing emotions. Panic, fear, pain, tiredness . . . all seemed to mingle together, making her unsure of what she was actually feeling. All she wanted to do was see her husband. No, forget see him - just talking to him would do. At least then she would know he was alright . . .

With a jolt, she realised that she could try ringing him - surely Nick would have his mobile on him?

For the second time, she picked up the phone and this time, dialed Nicks number. Nervously, she held it up to her ear, finding that the ringing tone dragging on much longer than normal, probably due to her eagerness to hear his voice.

Come on Nick, she thought to herself, her heart sinking as she realised that he wasn't answering. Come on . . Tell me you're alright . . .

All of a sudden, she heard the shop door scuffle open from behind her, causing the familiar sensation of numbing fear to flood the pit of her stomach. She froze and listened for a few seconds, not daring to so much as breathe; yes, there was something there . . . something in the shop . . .

Slowly, desperate not to make a sound that would give herself away, she hung up the phone and set it down carefully on the floor. Breath caught in her constricted throat, she adjusted herself so that she was crouching behind the counter, and ever so slowly, she pulled her gun out.

Keep calm . . . she thought to herself firmly, trying in vain to control her pounding heart. Just keep calm . . .

The thing - whatever it was - seemed to move deeper into the shop.

Taking a deep but silent steadying breath, Jenny took the safety off her gun, and before her courage dissipated, she stood up abruptly and aimed her gun at the figure standing merely feet from her.

"I don't think you want to do that," a familiar voice stated, laced with cold amusement.

Ben.

"Je-sus Christ!" Jenny exhaled, relief flooding through her as she lowered her gun to her side. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry," he chuckled, stepping forwards slightly.

As he moved into a patch of light, Jenny couldn't help but gasp aloud - he was completely covered in blood; his tattered clothes were spattered so heavily that it was impossible to tell what their original colour was. His face was smeared with red, and his muscular arms were heavily scratched.

"Oh my God," she breathed in shock, her eyes travelling over him.

"It's not my blood," he shrugged as he looked down at himself, sounding unfazed. "Well - for the most part. Did you contact your boss?"

"Yes," she replied numbly, still unable to tear her eyes away from all that blood.

"Good," he nodded. "How are your ribs?"

"Fine," she lied immediately.

He raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm not buying it. Sit down," he added, moving towards the counter.

"What? But - " she said in surprise, about to protest that they should get back outside.

Ben, however, ignored her and wandered off into the back of the pharmacy, and despite her eagerness to find everyone, Jenny couldn't help but sink to the floor again, allowing herself to give in to the pain that had been threatening to engulf her since she had started running away from the Raptors.

Ben returned a short while later, carrying the strangest assortment of items imaginable - some unidentifiable pills, a packaged needle and a spoon.

"What's that all for?" she asked, surveying him suspiciously as he sat down next to her.

"A little trick I've picked up," he replied, his attention elsewhere as he unwrapped the needle and lay it on his leg, freeing his hands so he could pop out two white pills from the packaging. He lay the pills on the empty wrapping and began crushing them into powder form with the back of the spoon.

"What is it?" she pushed.

"Co-codamol," he replied shortly. "Believe me, after this, you'll be able to do back flips and not feel the pain. I've done this a few times when I've been injured."

"I'm not taking any drugs!" she scoffed immediately, watching as he scooped up the powder onto the spoon, reminded forcibly of how she had drugged the guard at his base in a similar manner. That seemed like a life time ago.

"If you don't, you're not going to make it out of here alive," he stated simply.

He fished into his pants pocket, eventually pulling out a lighter and igniting the flame, and carefully, he held it under the spoon.

"What are you? Some kind of drug lord?" Jenny asked, slightly amused.

"Oh they're only prescription drugs," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like I'm injecting you with heroine."

"You're not injecting me with anything," she corrected him.

He was silent for a long while, his eyes squinted and his tongue inbetween his teeth, giving him a look of avid concentration.

"Look - it'll help," he said eventually, his eyes still fixed on the liquidating drug on the spoon. "Just trust me."

"And why should I trust you Ben?" she asked. "After all you've put me through?"

"I did all that to keep you alive," he replied, setting the lighter down and picking up the needle. "And so far, I think I've done quite a good job."

"With me, yes," she said, watching as he placed the tip of the needle in the liquid and slowly drew the drug it into the body. "But your father's missing. Are you in the least bit bothered by that?"

"I need to inject this into a large muscle," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, completely disregarding her words as he tapped the needle to rid it of air bubbles. "Upper arm, thigh or ass? Actually, scrap the last one - as if I'm not screwed enough already. Upper arm or thigh?"

"You're serious about this aren't you?" she asked in disbelief.

He pushed on the needle end so that a little liquid trickled out of the tip. "Absolutely," he said shortly, no trace of a reaction on his face.

She sighed heavily, looking at the needle point with apprehension.

"Trust me," he repeated again in a much gentler voice.

She looked up into those eyes that were so familiar, and yet so strange at the same time, and for the millionth time since this had all began, she found herself marveling that this dangerous man was her son. Still, there was something beneath their steely blueness - something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps she was crazy; perhaps everything she'd been through had impaired her ability to read people as well as she used to. But something told her that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

"Arm," she sighed eventually, rolling up her sleeve slowly.

"Excellent," he smiled as he pulled her wrist towards him.

Jenny looked away, unable to stomach seeing the needle go into her skin; she'd never been the biggest fan of them, and liked them even less now that it wasn't a trained professional giving her the shot. She felt a sharp pain as the tip pierced her, and the breath was dragged out of her as she felt him inject the drug.

"There," he said eventually, chucking the used needle on the floor. "All done. It should kick in in about twenty minutes."

"Can't wait," she said through gritted teeth as she pulled her sleeve down.

Ben smiled slightly, looking like he was about to say something, but his mobile suddenly started buzzing in his pocket. With a groan, he fished for it and pulled it out, flipping it open.

"Yeah?" he said absently into the mouthpiece.

Massaging her tender arm, Jenny watched his expression furrow as though he was listening intently.

"Okay," he said in an obvious forced-calm voice. "Meet us by the destroyed bridge . . . no, you'll know it when I see it. And when it's done, I want you to turn around, and go back to the ARC . . . no arguments Kate, it's too dangerous. You can't be here, is that clear? . . . Yeah, I'll see you there . . . bye."

He snapped the phone shut, and glanced up at Jenny. He obviously spotted her expression, as he raised a questioning eyebrow. "What?"

"Someone's in love . . ." she teased, smiling somewhat ruefully.

"Oh shut up," he sighed as he straightened up and holding out his hand for her to take.

"What? It's nothing to be ashamed of - " she stated, accepting his offer.

"I'm not in love with her alright?" he protested, looking agitated as he pulled her to her feet. "She's my subordinate . . . she's a nice girl . . . and she's my responsibility . . ."

"Oh whatever," she stated with a grimace as the pain in her ribs became as attuned as it had been before the drugs. "God, men are exactly the same, no matter what time zone they're from. Where is Kathryn anyway?"

"She and Connor are here with the Locking Mechanism," he replied as he walked over to the door, peering out of the glass window to check if the cost was clear.

Jenny stopped dead. "What? Well why didn't you say so?"

"I just did," he stated, pulling the door open slowly and glancing down the street again. "Are you coming or not?" he added to her.

"Of course I am!" she scoffed, prodding him so that he moved.

The silver SUV pulled up haphazardly next to the pillar of the destroyed bridge and immediately, two soldiers jumped out of the back seat, followed by Connor and a harassed-looking Kathryn.

"You took your time!" Ben shouted over to Connor as he began unloading the Mechanism with the help of the soldiers.

"Hey, it's not the easiest thing in the world to build you know!" Connor protested as he heaved a particularly heavy-looking contraption out of the boot and carried it over to near the closest anomaly.

"I know - I've built one before," Ben replied coldly, not making one movement to help them unload.

"Leave him alone," Jenny snapped at Ben, not liking the insinuation he was making about her friend.

"You know - I like small Ben better!" Connor shouted, his face hidden behind the metallic box he was carrying.

Ben snorted before focusing his attention on Kathryn. "You alright?"

She nodded with a small smile. "I was worried about you though."

"Me?" he said with in a mock-hurt voice. "When have I ever needed worrying about?"

"Guys, as sweet as this is, can you help me get this set up please?" Connor said in a strained voice as he jogged back to the car, puffing slightly.

Jenny made to move forward and help, but Ben stopped her. "Not you," he stated sternly. "You're hurt."

"Why, what happened?" Connor asked, his voice laced with genuine concern as he picked up a heavy-looking bag.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Jenny snapped, not liking being fussed over. "How long before it's set up?"

"Not long now," Connor replied, crouching down and fiddling with the equipment. "Give me a minute . . ."

Ben and Kathryn helped the soldiers unload the rest of the essentials, and then stood back to watch Connor make the final adjustments. The two soldiers that had arrived with them stood guard over him as he worked, leading Jenny to presume that Lester had ordered them to keep Connor alive until he'd shut the anomalies.

The seconds stretched on in a tense silence; bullets could still be heard close by, cracking loudly through the frozen air, accompanied by yells, both human and creature alike. Still, they hadn't seen a sign of any predators for a while, and a tiny flurry of hope had started building in Jenny's stomach - maybe they'd got them beat . . . maybe this wasn't a completely disastrous mission after all . . .

"Right, done," Connor said triumphantly as he straightened up.

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked, not wanting to sound as though she doubted his abilities, but as the same time, not quite allowing herself believe that this would actually work.

"Yes . . . well, sort of," he replied, not quite squashing her fears. "Right, stand back."

Everyone did as they were told, and watched apprehensively as Connor reached forward with a shaking hand, his palm hovering over a big red button. He took a deep breath, as though preparing himself for the worst . . .

With gritted teeth, he slammed his hand down on the button, and immediately, the anomaly in front of them withered, as though it was having the energy sucked out of it. Then, mercifully, it shrank into a small, floating sphere; still visible, but unmistakably closed.

"YES!" Connor cheered, raising his arms in celebration.

From beside her, Jenny felt Ben let out a shaky laugh and rub his hands over his face. She glanced around at the other anomalies, and her spirits soared when she noticed that, slowly but surely, they were closing also.

"Good work!" she exclaimed, rushing over and throwing her arms around Connor's neck and planting a quick kiss on his cheek, the pain in her chest now more of a dull aching, completely overshadowed by utter joy.

When they broke apart, she smiled to see that Connor was blushing heavily. "S' nothing," he said bashfully, averting his gaze down to the floor and kicking the rubble under his feet.

Unable to wipe the grin off her face, Jenny glanced around at Ben and Kathryn to see them embracing also, both looking happier than she'd ever seen them.

Then something very strange happened.

A sudden marrow-chilling roar sounded next to them, and Jenny snapped her gaze around in time to see a Sabre-Toothed Cat sprinting passed, being fired at by at least five soldiers. As the massive feline was brought down, some of the bullets ricocheted off the pillar next to them.

As if in slow motion, Kathryn fell forward with a cry of pain. Ben reacted fast, catching her under her arms before she hit the floor. He attempted to keep her on her feet, but he couldn't seem to be able to support her dead weight.

"No Kathryn - no!" he shouted, as he ended up sinking backwards onto the ground, Kathryn in his arms.

As the shock ebbed away, Jenny found herself sprinting forwards before she was even aware that she was moving, and fell to her knees by their side. Ben raised his hand up that had been clinging onto Kathryn's back -

It was shining red with blood.

"No!" he yelled again, putting his hand up to stoke the side of the woman's pale face.

"Matt - " she cried, sucking in ragged breaths, pain etched on every line of her expression.

"You're going to be okay," he said immediately, his panic audible with every syllable he spoke. "Just - just keep looking at me, do you hear? Hey - " he shook her head slightly, causing her closing eyes to flutter back open again, "Just keep looking at me . . ."

"M' tired," she murmured, her green eyes unfocused as she looked up at him.

"I know you're tired, but you have to stay awake okay?" he replied in a forced-calm voice. "Just keep looking at me."

With what seemed like a tremendous effort, Kathryn reached up and clutched at Ben's top with a trembling hand. "M . . . M' sorry," she breathed, a tear cascading down her pale cheek.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," he stated firmly. "You've done brilliantly."

Her eyes fluttered shut again, a crease appearing inbetween her eyebrows, telling Jenny she was in agony.

"Hey," Ben said again sharply, jolting her head so that she opened her eyes again. "Stay with me . . . just stay with me . . ."

"I - I - " she said, so quietly that it was almost inaudible.

Ben leant his head forward and tilted his ear towards her chalk-white lips. Jenny couldn't hear what was said, but whatever it was made Ben's face contort with sorrow. When he straightened up, something in the depths of Kathryn's green eyes seemed to disappear, leaving them fixed, blank and lifeless.

"Kate? Katie!" Ben yelled, shaking her head to try and rouse her.

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut and looked away, the emotion too much for her to take. By the time she looked back, Ben was resting his forehead against Kathryn's, her wavy blonde hair splayed out over the crook of his arm.

"Come back . . . please come back . . ." he murmured over and over again as he rocked her back and forth.

"Ben - " Jenny began, her eyes stinging with the tears she was trying desperately to hold back.

He shook his head, forcing her into silence.

Gently, he reached forward and closed Kathryn's eyes and then slowly set her down on the floor.

When he got to his feet, he was shaking from head to toe.

"Who fired that shot?" he asked in a deadly whisper, his gaze set at a point behind Jenny.

She turned to see five soldiers standing by the carcass of the Sabre-Tooth, all watching the scene before them with impassiveness.

"I SAID WHO FIRED THAT SHOT!" Ben bellowed, starting towards them, his eyes glinting furiously.

The soldiers all raised their guns at him in unison.

"Ben!" Jenny shouted, scrambling to her feet and staggering over to him, her legs seemingly not working properly. "Stop!"

"One of them killed her!" he yelled, his face flushed with anger as he gestured over to the soldiers.

"It was an accident!" she cried, putting her hand on his chest to stop him. "They didn't mean to - "

"NO!" he exclaimed, turning and kicking the tyre of the SUV aggressively. "I KNEW - " he continued as he slammed his palms on the bonnet, " - I KNEW SHE COULD NOT HACK IT!"

"Sssh," Jenny soothed, reaching up and pulling him into a hug. "It's going to be okay . . ."

Jenny felt him stiffen immediately, but she continued to hold him until he relaxed into her embrace, his shoulders shaking with sadness and grief.