Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
3.11 Signs of Civilization?
"Can you stand up?"
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Connor looked at his leg. Blood was seeping through the fabric of his trousers, dripping slowly onto the flat stones below his leg. Good thing I wore black pants today, thought Connor, the blood won't show so much.
"I'd rather not try standing right this minute," Connor replied quietly, looking up at Abby. "Why don't we just rest here a bit? Later, when the raptors have had time to move on, we can open up the anomaly again and go back to search for Danny."
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Abby looked at Connor in surprise. "Go back?" she exclaimed loudly, "We need to get you to a hospital first! Then, I'll bring Becker and the soldiers… we'll go back and get Danny."
Connor winced at the sound of her voice. "Abby, sssh" he whispered "there's not likely to be a hospital around here, and we can't leave Danny on his own."
"What do you mean?" asked Abby lowering her voice. She pointed down at the stone roadway beneath them. "This road will take us to people, we'll get help," she hissed "and why are we whispering?"
"This road," said Connor "looks like it was built by the Romans, yeah."
"Yeah," agreed Abby "the Romans built roads all over England, all over Europe for that matter. And roads mean people."
"Yeah," sighed Connor "Roads mean people, but we don't know when we are, and we don't know if the people here will help us."
He raised one arm shakily, and pointed to something behind Abby. She turned her head to look behind her. One small hand flew to cover her mouth. She sank down, sitting on the stones beside Connor.
The head on the stake behind her had obviously been there for a while. The skin was shriveled and drawn tight across the skull. Scraggly brown hair dangled in a tangled mess on either side of what used to be a face. The eye sockets were vacant.
"Do you suppose that was a man," asked Abby "or a woman?"
"Dunno," replied Connor. "Just think I'd rather take my chances with a raptor than with whoever did that."
Abby nodded.
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James Lester looked at his wife. "Vivian," he asked "we need to know everything that's changed."
She looked at her husband, her brown eyes wide. "I've already told you what I know," she replied. Waving her hand in the general direction of the departed team, she continued "They didn't believe me."
Lester stepped closer, wrapped his arms around the tall, slender woman and pulled her close.
"I'll believe you."
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Cutter pulled the car up to the kerb. He quickly exited and moved to open Claudia's door. Nick held out a hand to help her up. She grasped his hand with one of hers; then moved her legs sideways, placing both feet securely on the pavement. Claudia smiled and held up her other hand too.
"I think we're going to need both hands tonight," she said with a chuckle. Nick was grinning as he reached down with his other hand. He helped his pregnant wife up to a standing position. Together they walked to the door.
The professor fumbled with his keys, finally inserting one into the lock and pushing the door open. Claudia turned on the lights as they entered the hallway. They had hung up their coats and moved into the kitchen when they heard another car pull up in front of their home.
"Who's that?" asked Claudia.
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Sarah pulled out of the car park with Becker in the passenger seat beside her. She glanced briefly in the rear view mirror. Jamal was still standing, watching their departure.
"Do you want me to take you to your flat?" Sarah asked Becker.
"No, I need to talk to Cutter," answered Becker "We've got to make a plan… send a rescue mission back for Abby, Connor and Danny."
"You heard Lester," protested Sarah "he won't risk any more lives going through the racetrack anomaly."
"Which is why we need to talk to Cutter," replied Becker.
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Becker moved quickly out of the car. He was up the steps and banging on the Cutter's front door before Sarah had even turned off the car and made it to the sidewalk.
"Cutter," called Becker "Cutter."
The door opened, Becker almost fell as he stumbled through the opening. The Professor grabbed Becker and steadied him.
"Not so fast there," chided Cutter "you'll hurt yourself, or someone else."
"Cutter," said Becker, speaking quickly, as if to convince the Professor "we can't just give up! We've got to do something."
"We're not giving up," replied Nick gently. "Sarah, you come in too. We need to work on our anomaly map… you know... that thing we've made that Mrs. Lester says doesn't exist."
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Danny watched the confused expression on the young Cutter's face.
"Of course, in my time… 2009 in London," Danny continued "you're a lot older. When did you first start travelling through anomalies?"
The young Professor and Stephen exchanged a glance.
"Well I would be older in 2009," answered Cutter with a chuckle "if I was still in London, but I'm here… in the Pliocene… and humanity is only just beginning."
"The Professors and I left Metropolitan University in 1997," said the young assistant. "The three of us were on a field expedition to the Forest of Dean."
Danny started at the young grad students words. The place, the Forest of Dean, was the same… but the timing… if he remembered his reports correctly, Helen had disappeared in 1999.
Professor Cutter was grinning again. "We've been calling the glowing lights time portals," the Scotsman said, clapping Danny on the shoulder. "But if you know me in 2009, I guess that makes it more of a dimensional portal, not just a time portal."
"We've got to get back to our own time," said Danny. "How have you been travelling through the anomalies?"
"They're everywhere," said Stephen "you just need to know how to find them."
"You go on," replied the Professor brusquely. "If that woman I just buried is not my wife, then my Helen is still out there… and I've got to find her."
"But, but, I don't know how to find the anomalies," exclaimed Danny.
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