Title: Armageddon, Chapter Eleven
Author: Pinkcat4569
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Through series 5
Description: After convergence, anomalies are frequent. Several anomalies hit around the ARC causing destruction and death. Is this the end?
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or the characters. I only write for fun.
Author's Note: I hope this makes sense. Every story problem I thought I answered seemed to create a whole bunch more. Please point out any flaws or gaps in logic. My mind isn't equipped for such an ambitious story, apparently. Regardless the mistakes, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Eleven, Armageddon
Lester barked orders. "High alert. Barricade the walls that are under repair. I want everyone armed. You too Jess."
Jess nodded, sliding into her seat. She grabbed the EMD that was kept nearby.
Matt, Abby, and Emily ran out, making for the car park. Connor ran to his lab, Lester following him, still shouting orders.
"I needs guards on all perimeters. Jess, notify emergency relief and the minister."
"On it," she said.
Augie appeared in Connor's lab. "James, there you are. I've got troops en route to us as we speak."
"Thank you, Augie," said Lester. "Connor, what are you doing?"
"It has to be Philip's anomaly. It has to be affecting the anomaly here."
"How? It's been destroyed for months," asked Lester.
"Matt says the anomalies are a natural phenomenon. Convergence was an attempt to re-set the earth once the anomalies started. Maybe Philip's anomaly put them out of wack."
"So?" asked Augie.
"So, maybe we need to run another man-made anomaly."
"Are you insane?"
"Think about, it Lester. The majority of the anomalies are here, in London, around the ARC. I had a man-made one inside the ARC, remember?"
"And Prospero wasn't far away," said Lester, pondering it.
"I think these anomalies are because Philip's caused so much turmoil in the anomaly system, or whatever, that natural convergence couldn't fix it. The anomaly in the car park is not normal."
"That anomaly, the one inside the ARC," said Lester, sorting it out in his head, "it let future predators in here."
Connor nodded. "What are the odds, that this anomaly is to the same time period as that one?"
Lester nodded.
"You want to set off another man-made anomaly?" asked Augie.
"Yes, a small one. Others, small and short in duration, later, if needed."
"I see," said Augie. "These are guesses, right? You don't really know what another man-made anomaly will do, do you?"
"No," said Connor. "It might do nothing, or might make it worse."
"Or help," said Augie. Connor nodded
"Do it," said Lester.
"Do you have to set it up out there?" asked Augie.
Connor shrugged. "I think I should. Why it's out there, and not in here, where the anomaly was last time, I don't know."
Augie nodded. "It won't be easy getting through that sea of predators. My men will go with you. We'll take a tank."
Connor smiled. "Action Man's gonna hate me."
The tank audio system blasted the signal, paralyzing the predators. Then the tank blasted them.
Connor leapt out.
"Good luck, lad," said Augie.
Connor nodded.
Connor ran across the car park. He was uneasy. He was in a sea of frozen man-eaters. He quickly set up his anomaly device a few yards from the predator anomaly. Then he activated it.
The affect on the predator anomaly was noticeable and instantaneous. It flickered severely, then flashed brightly, then stopped. Then the anomaly closed.
Connor laughed. He shut his anomaly off.
"It worked," he said quietly.
"Connor!" screamed Abby. He looked up in time to blast a predator inches from his face.
"What the...why are they awake?" he yelled.
Abby was too busy firing and ducking to answer.
The car park anomaly opened again.
"Damn it!"
"Connor down!" screamed Augie. A tank blasted a line of predators disturbingly close to him.
"Keep them off me!" he yelled. Frantically, he worked the anomaly device. His anomaly came back on. The car park anomaly immediately closed.
This time, it stayed closed.
The army was having trouble with the predators. Several waves broke past the troops, letting loose in the city. Jess notified troops kept in the nearby neighborhoods, alerting them that they'd soon have an incursion.
Fighting took place around the ARC and the nearby neighborhoods. More troops poured into the city. Fighting was heavy. The predators were fast, but there were so many, that several missed blasts actually hit other predators.
"Miss Parker? The tanks are ready, patch the signal through," said Augie, a little heatedly.
"I have been. It isn't going through?" said Jess.
"No."
Jess switched her monitors to any vantage point near the predator anomaly that she could find.
"All of the predators are moving," she said. "The signal isn't working."
She sent an emergency message to EDF energy and to all radio and television outlets.
"Jess, none of the predators are freezing," said Matt.
"I know. I don't know why."
"Is the signal getting through?"
"I don't...General Augin, is your tank relaying the signal that's sent from me?"
"Yes."
"Don't. Switch to another frequency. The BBC. I'll have them send out the signal."
"Right. Stand by," said Augin.
Jess waited. She switched all transmissions from the ARC to the BBC. Within moments, her monitors showed predators freezing.
"That did it Jess!" cried Augin. "Predators in neighborhoods freezing."
"The ARC frequency is down," said Jess. "Do you copy? We are vulnerable."
"Copy," said Augie.
"Matt?"
"Copy, Jess. Do what you can."
General Augin and his troops quickly took care of predators within distance of audio with the new signal. The ARC however, was under attack.
Two tanks got as close as possible to the ARC, blaring the signal. Other cars and vehicles came to the ARC's aid. Soon, there were unmoving gray bodies in the car park.
"I got the anomaly closed," said Connor.
There was no answer. "Matt? Abby? Jess, do you read?"
No replies. He cursed.
"Temple? OK?" called General Augin.
"Yes, sir. Thanks. I can't contact the others. Have you seen Matt, Emily or Abby?"
"Afraid not. Can't contact the ARC either. They were unprotected for a while," said Augie.
Connor felt dread piling up inside.
"Stay with us, lad," said Augie. "I have a bad feeling."
"Me too," said Connor. "What if they got inside?" He looked across the car park. The ARC sat, looking quiet.
Abby sighed. "What do you say we go check?"
Connor smiled with relief. "Yes, please.."
Just then, the anomaly behind them activated...again.
"No!"
A few predators came through, and as Augie and Connor blasted them, preparing for a huge assault, the anomaly suddenly closed.
The few predators lay stunned and dead.
"That closed quickly. I think your little experiment is working, Connor," said the General.
"I hope so. It's never closed that soon. I don't know if that's good or bad."
Connor got his equipment ready to open another anomaly, just in case. Sure enough, the car park anomaly switched on again. Augie and his men sent the predators back through, blasting them with EMDS and guns.
Connor switched his anomaly on, and immediately, the car park one closed.
"How long is this business going to go on?" grumbled Augie.
"I don't know. We can't leave," said Connor. "Not if I have to keep making an anomaly."
Augie nodded. "We can't leave the city open to another wave. I'm sorry. The ARC has to wait."
Connor nodded. No sign of Abby or the rest, and the ARC possibly infested. Could life get any worse?
When Jess lost contact from Matt, she nearly panicked. Then she saw predators storming the ARC. The outside forces were over taken. Bodies torn to pieces, others simply tossed like rag dolls. She had to remain calm.
Then her monitors showed something truly terrifying. The predators had reached the makeshift doors to Ops. With amazing calm, she sent out a message over the speaker, to all parts of the ARC.
"Attention: Predators inside the ARC," she said, as she heard scraping and grunting. The predators were breaking through.
"Ops breached. Repeat: Predators inside the ARC." As she spoke, she heard the horrible hissing sounds behind her.
She heard movement, and claws on the floor. Tears began to pour down. She kept her voice as clear as possible. "Creatures moving from Ops to canteen, medical, research, and comp..."
She heard a sound directly behind her.
Jess froze. She stayed as still as possible. The hissing of the predator behind her making it extremely hard not to panic.
The EMD was next to her hand. She knew she wouldn't have time to blast it. She'd be dead before she turned around to aim. She accessed a recording of the signal, and hoped the laptop speakers would play it loud enough. As the hissing got louder, she grabbed her EMD, prepared to move, and hit 'PLAY.'
The signal hit the predator, stunning it. Jess jumped up, and blasted it with the EMD. Two more were frozen behind it. She blasted them too. She heard more hissing, back further by the door. Only one, but it was apparently too far back for the sound to reach it.
Jess stood still, trying to think of what to do. The predator acted first, hurling wreckage at the laptop, smashing it, and stopping the recording.
She suddenly remembered how intelligent these creatures were.
As she stood still, the predator leapt across Ops. She screamed, ducking backwards, dropping her weapon. The predator landed on top of it. It simply glared at her.
She crawled backwards. It jumped across from desk to desk. It moved slowly, taking its time, and toying with her.
She kept crawling back, but bumped into a wall. Then the predator dropped onto the floor in front of her. It cried out triumphantly.
It had her. It knew it, and so did Jess.
She closed her eyes, sobbing. "I love you, Becker," she said out loud. She waited for death.
The predator, though, took its time. She heard it growl, and step closer. She felt its rancid breath and knew it had lowered it's head just in front of her face.
She trembled with fear, sobbing more.
She felt its claw touch her leg, and she shuddered.
She knew it was over, and her thoughts turned to Becker: his smile, his hair, his eyebrow twitch.
Those would be her last thoughts.
The predator leaped onto Jess Parker.
End of Chapter Eleven