Chapter Four, Armageddon

"Oh, god," said Abby. "The anomaly in the car park is reopening," she said.

"I thought the army closed it!" cried Matt.

"They did. I...it's re-opening, and..." she stopped. Abby was trying not to cry. She was so tired, and they'd been through so much, but they weren't done. "Predators."

Matt and Connor closed their eyes.

Jess and Becker ran in. Emily greeted them. "We have more predators."

Jess gasped and Becker swore. Matt, Abby, and Connor were watching the monitors with disgust.

"They're rampaging through the emergency relief forces," said Abby solemnly. "They're being slaughtered."

Jess jumped in her chair. "I'm diverting forces from other areas of the city to the car park. We need a locking device."

"Matt, we need to get out there and help," said Becker.

Matt nodded, and everyone but Jess and Connor ran to Ops to dig out.

Connor slumped against a wall.

"It'll be OK," said Jess. "We'll handle this too."'

Connor looked up at the weary, bandaged, dust-covered field coordinator and smiled.

"We will. Jess, prep the signal."

"Connor, the sound system near the wreckage is damaged."

"We'll set it up on laptops, and radios, anything we've got and take it out when we dig out."

"When?" asked Jess.

Connor smiled. "When."

"I have an idea," said Jess. "I'll send the signal to radios in the emergency vehicles, sitting in the car park."

"Will that work?"

"I don't know."

Jess calmly talked to the terrified relief workers and a few manged to turn on their radios and tune them to the frequency.

"It's working Jess! It's paralyzing the predators," said Connor, watching the monitors. "Not all of them, though."

"I'll try to access more radios," she said. "I'll get the message to the police to shoot the frozen ones."

She sent messages out to all troops, police, anyone she could.

They watched the monitors, hoping for the best.

"Jess, it's working," said Connor.

"The predators that aren't frozen, are they retreating?" asked Jess.

"Yeah," said Connor.

"Into the city?" asked Jess, in alarm. "That's not good."

"No, it's OK," said Connor. "Look, a barricade is going up."

"Good," said Jess. "Matt? Do you read me?"

"Read you, Jess."

"The predators stopped in the car-park. Several dozen escaped, but they're being held back between us and a barricade."

"A barricade?"

"Yeah, we sent the signal to car radios, or Jess did," said Connor, smiling at her.

"Copy. Excellent job, Jess," said Matt.

She sighed, and relaxed briefly into her chair.

"Work here is slow," said Matt. "We're trying to shore up the wreckage. We think we can get out by dawn."

"That's good," said Connor.

"It's the best we can do. You and Connor get some rest," said Matt.

"Right. I have cots set up in the canteen," said Jess. "I'll take a shift later..."

"No, you won't," said Becker's voice over the comm. "You were injured. You go sleep. NOW."

Connor smirked, and he and Jess went to the canteen as Emily and Abby relieved them.

Two hours later Becker walked into the canteen. Connor kissed Abby, and then left to man the ADD and monitors. Abby took his place on the cot.

Beside Abby's cot, slept Jess.

Becker stared at her. She looked at peace, no hint of the dangers that were all around.

Becker sighed. Somehow she'd gotten through his walls. He had told himself that he couldn't afford distractions. He swore he wouldn't let anyone close to him because they would be in danger.

"Yeah, that worked well," he whispered out loud.

She stirred at the sound of his voice.

"Jess," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

She groaned and stretched. "I'm surprised I slept." She yawned.

He smiled. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes ripped and dirty, her bare legs scratched, and her eyes were puffy and red.

To Becker, she was beautiful. She smiled at him, and his heart fluttered.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Alright. Still tired, and sore. Have you slept?"

Becker smiled and looked away.

"Didn't think so," she said. "Any news?"

"No. Everything's the same, pretty much. Creatures running a muck through the city. Resources pushed to their limits. They did manage to close half the open anomalies, though."

"How about us, I mean, the ARC?"

We're still shut off, but getting closer."

"And the predators?"

"The signal's still working, keeping them back. "

Jess sighed. "I was hoping it was a bad dream," she said. "I'd wake up to a normal, boring one anomaly at a time, day."

Becker snickered. "It is a bad dream Jess, a very bad dream."

She smiled sadly. He helped her off the cot. In her bare feet she was tiny next to him. "At least we're together."

Becker frowned. "I wish you were somewhere safe, where you were happy. Maybe somewhere bright and warm."

She looked up at him with utter adoration and hugged him. "Just don't wish me there alone."

He gently stroked her hair. "Never. "

She drew her head back to look into his face. "Becker, I know this is bad. I know we might not make it. I want...I need to tell you..."

"Shh," he said, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't think like that. We'll be fine. We'll handle the creatures, and everything else. Then we'll go somewhere bright and warm."

"Together?"

He looked into those blue eyes. "Together.."

She smiled and tried to lean up to his lips, but she was too short.

Becker laughed. He smirked, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, and pulled her up.

They kissed slowly, savoring every second.

They stood in a dark, battle-weary ARC. Dozens of people were missing. More were dead. The city was in chaos, and they, the experts, were trapped and helpless to assist.

And they stood, wrapped up in each other, as if they were the only people on the planet.

For about twenty seconds.

"That's really distracting," said Abby, sleepily.

Jess giggled, and slid down. "Sorry, Abby."

Abby laughed. "It's good actually, normal. Jess and Becker, making out in the canteen."

"Shut it, Maitland."

The girls laughed.

End of Chapter Four