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fredbassettTitle : Tracks in Time (5/7)
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 18
Characters : Cutter, Connor, Lester/Lyle, Ryan/Stephen, Abby, Stringer, Blade, Ditzy, Finn, Dane, Kermit.
Disclaimer : Not mine no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : An anomaly opens, leading to a problematic incursion of the present into the past.
A/N : Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
munchkinofdoom for the beta.
Joel Stringer grabbled Lester’s arm before he could take so much as a step down the slope towards the scene on the beach. “Yes, I know it’s Lyle, but we wait for the buggers to stop moving! They’ll trample you like an ant if you get under their feet now.”
A tail swung to one side, the enormous creature lashing it to and fro like an angry and over-sized cat. Dane ducked down behind the car, out of sight. One of the larger diplodocus barged into a companion, butting the other with its shoulder. The herd milled again, heads weaving, feet stamping as they all jostled for position, and to his horror, Lester watched another of the massive beasts lift a hind leg and bring it down onto the car, crumpling it further into the mud of the lake shore.
With Jon Lyle still underneath.
“Wait!” Stringer’s voice cut through his mounting panic. “They’re definitely settling down.”
The captain was right. Gradually, the restless movement quieted and some of the herd even bent their long, graceful necks down to the water to drink, including the enormous creature that still stood with his back foot planted squarely on the bonnet of the car.
“I’m going down there,” said Stringer. “Ditz, with me. The rest of you stay back. I mean it, sir,” He shot Lester a pointed stare, “I don’t want to have to worry about you as well as Lyle. Professor, get back up to the tunnel. Fetch me a rope. The chances are we’re going to have to haul that car off him. And tell the lads that my previous orders still stand.”
Cutter nodded and without a word headed up the slope at a run.
Stringer turned back to Lester as he made his way, with Ditzy, down towards the herd. “Sir, something spooked the sods, and I don’t know what. There might be predators about, although Christ knows I don’t want to meet anything that could scare something their size.” He pulled a small pair of binoculars out of a pocket in his equipment vest and tossed them to Lester. “Keep a look out, and yell if you see anything we need to know about.”
Lester nodded, although the first thing he attempted to focus on, unsurprisingly, was the scene down by the shore. At first, all he could see was the enormous grey-green bulk of the diplodocus herd, their skins leathery and wrinkled like the hide of an elephant, then gradually, the images came more sharply into focus and he could just pick out, behind one of the smaller creatures, the metallic blue paintwork of the car, now crushed and broken in the mud of the shoreline.
The huge herbivores blocked any view of Lyle himself, although he could just make out Dane’s shock of wavy black hair as the soldier crouched down beside the car, doing his best not to attract attention to himself.
Lester tore himself reluctantly away from the sight of the wrecked car and followed Stringer’s instructions, panning the area on either side of the herd for any signs of movement. Some distance away, the stegosaurs were still grazing peacefully under the enormous conifers and showed no signs of disturbance, although they were still tightly grouped, with their young in the middle of the herd.
In the other direction, he could make out nothing at all, apart from the forest of ferns, of varying sizes, swaying gently in an on-shore breeze. Occasionally, a tall pine rose up from the sea of fronds, breaking the monotony of the landscape, and in the distance, a long line of hills stood out on the skyline. The lake itself spread out as far as he could see and above it a flock of what looked like birds wheeled above the water. One of Cutter’s lectures came incongruously to mind, and he trained the binoculars on the creatures for a moment.
No, not birds. The things had rounded heads, almost cat-like, with a wingspan of about a metre, and short, thin tails stretched out behind them as they glided on up-draughts, rising and falling gracefully, possibly snatching insects from the air. But whatever they were, they didn’t seem to pose a threat, so Lester continued his sweep of the shoreline, returning again to the activity around the car.
Stringer and Ditzy had reached their objective and were both crouched down beside the car. One of the beasts had shifted, allowing Lester a better view of what was happening. He could see Lyle’s head and shoulders resting on the mud, with more mud streaking the soldier’s face. His eyes were closed, but appeared to be screwed shut against pain, rather than closed with the slackness of death.
Lester exhaled a long, shuddering breath, then a noise from behind him provided a distraction and he turned to see Blade and Kermit hurriedly working to attach the end of a steel hawser to the rear axle of the tanker, and coming past them on the slope was Cutter, with Abby Maitland at his side, both of them carrying lengths of rope.
“What’s happening?” asked Cutter as they halted by his side.
“I don’t know!” Lester tried – and failed – to keep the desperation out of his voice. Acting on impulse, he thrust the binoculars at Abby. “Stringer said keep watch for anything that might spook them. I’m going down there.”
“James …” Cutter held the rope out. “Stringer wanted this. I’m going to attach the other to the cars, we might be able to drag them out along with the lorry.”
Lester nodded, grabbed the rope, and started off down the slope. There were at least five of the diplodocids between him and the other car, but movement in the herd had definitely settled to nothing more than the occasional push and shove as the creatures moved closer to the water.
Mindful of Cutter’s earlier instruction, he kept a weather eye on their tails. The professor had been right, they seemed to be the main danger when the beasts weren’t moving. The air was heavy with a musky smell that reminded him of the elephant house at the zoo, and as he picked his way carefully around the impossibly large animals, he realised he was also skirting piles of steaming dung, looking for all the world like giant cow-pats.
Allowing for two near-misses with tails, he reached the crumpled car without incident and thrust the rope at Stringer.
“He’s alive,” said Ditzy, on his knees in the mud, forestalling the inevitable question. “But both legs are trapped by the car and matey here doesn’t seem to want to move.” He nodded his head at the massive creature.
“Fire a grenade up its arse,” said Lyle, through gritted teeth.
“We might just have to,” muttered Stringer. “I thought I told you to stay back, sir?”
“You wanted a rope,” Lester replied, thrusting it at the captain before dropping to his knees in the mud and putting his hand gently on Lyle’s shoulder. “I thought I told you to take care of yourself, you stupid bastard? You never bloody listen.”
“Sorry,” said Lyle automatically. “But we had to check.”
The huge sauropod towering over Lester and the soldiers shifted its weight slightly and Lyle forced a muddy hand to his mouth, biting sharply down on his own knuckles to muffle a cry of pain.
“Get ready to pull him out if that thing shifts enough for us to move the car,” ordered Stringer.
Lester looked up, suddenly conscious of a slight shift in the dynamic of the herd. Heads raised, dripping water from powerful jaws as the animals looked around, then a shrill whistle made itself heard over the snuffling and blowing from the giants.
“She’s seen something,” said Dane, staring underneath the massive belly of one of the herd and gesturing with his hand to where Abby was keeping watch.
Stringer cursed from where he was trying to secure a rope on the car. “Dane, if you can do it without getting stomped, find out what’s going on.”
Dane whistled though his teeth. “She’s coming down, boss!”
The captain’s head jerked up, “Christ on a bike! It’s not a fucking party down here!”
Moments later, Abby reached them, face flushed with the exertion of weaving her way around and under the diplodocids. “There’s some sort of meat-eater further round the shore, Cutter reckons it might be an allosaurus. They’re big enough to make these guys nervous.”
Stringer muttered something obscene, then spoke quickly into his radio, “Ryan, now would be a good time for some back-up, mate. Predators; between you and us, by the look of it. Any chance you could head ‘em off? We’re a tad busy right now and some help would be good.”
Just as the soldier was speaking, the creature still standing on the car moved again, suddenly swivelling its head round to stare down at the group, as it appeared to notice them for the first time.
“Oh shit,” muttered Dane, swinging his rifle up to his shoulder and thumbing off the safety.
“Don’t shoot,” hissed Abby. “You’re not a tree, it won’t bite you!”
The creature continued to stare at them whilst it made a slow, shuffling movement and finally lifted its hind foot off the car.
While the soldiers watched and waited, Abby grabbed the free end of the rope from Stringer’s hands and darted forward, directly underneath the diplodocus.
“Abby!” Stringer sounded as incredulous as Lester felt.
The diminutive blonde ignored all of them as she quickly and efficiently wound the rope around the massive tree-trunk of a leg, tying off the end, before jumping backwards to admire her handiwork.
“It’s thinking about moving,” she declared.
The huge beasts surrounding them swayed and shuffled and the air was almost immediately alive with the sound of tails smacking into leathery bodies, and heavy squelches as feet pulled out of the thick mud and stamped down again.
The massive head, still staring at Stringer, blew a gusty sigh out of two gaping nostrils, splattering the soldier with mucus, then the animal swung away a ponderous lurch and started to move off.
Ignoring the restless movement all around them, Lester slid his arms underneath Lyle’s shoulders, getting ready to heave the moment the car moved, then he noticed Stringer cock his head slightly, listening to his radio and he heard the captain breathe, quietly, “Fuck.” A second later, the soldier barked, “Abby, Sir James, get back to the anomaly, both of you, Connor says the magnetic field has started to weaken. And they’ve about to start hauling the truck, that might spook these buggers.”
Lester looked up and met the captain’s eyes. “I’m not leaving him.”
“I am not risking getting you stuck here as well, sir!”
“James, get the fuck out of here – all of you!” hissed Lyle, through gritted teeth. “If this thing shifts, I’ll follow you, but leave me a fucking gun, just in case.”
“No way, Jon,” said Lester. “We go back together, or not all.”
Lyle sighed. “Don’t be so melodramatic, darling. Now, kiss me, then fuck off!”
Lester obeyed the first instruction, but disregarded the latter. Seconds later, with a sucking sound, the car started to move. The only trouble was, it wasn’t the only thing on the move. All around them, heads were coming up, weaving in the air, nostrils snuffling in the breeze, and large legs stared to stamp and shuffle as the herd appeared to make a collective decision to move.
“We need fire!” declared Abby, eyes wide and afraid, but the girl still held her ground. “Joel - flares - have you got distress flares?”
Stringer’s eyes widened even as he scrabbled with his hands at the pockets of his equipment vest. A grin was forming on the captain’s face as he pulled out a short tube, no more than six inches long and twisted the end. A beam of bright red light shot out of the end.
“Shine it at their faces!” commanded Abby, urgently. “If you can get them to turn their heads they might avoid us!”
“Here’s hoping …” said Stringer, as he raised his arm above his head and started slowly waving his arm from side to side, sweeping the intense laser light in a wide arc.
The nearest of the diplodocids jerked its head sharply to one side. Behind it, one of its fellows lumbered against it and let out a rumbling bellow, sounding like an irate bull. Stringer angled the light again and kept it moving. The beasts blinked and moved apart, as though pushed aside by the strobe effect of the light in front of their eyes. Shaking their heads, the two nearest members of the herd moved on past the small group crouched in the mud of the lakeshore.
Hardly daring to breathe, Lester braced himself, ready to do his best to haul Lyle free of the car. Ditzy took up station next to him. Lester spared a quick glance over his shoulder, enough to enable him to know that Abby’s plan appeared to stand a chance of success. The huge creatures were avoiding the light, and provided they didn’t stampede, it looked very much like the rest of them might avoid being trampled.
Dane jumped to his feet and brought out another flare, taking up station a few metres away from his captain.
“Ryan? Yeah, it’s us,” Stringer spoke urgently into his throat mike. “They don’t like the light. They’re avoiding us. Just make fucking sure you pick off any predators that get too close. We don’t want a fucking stampede. If they move too fast, we don’t stand a cat in hell’s chance. And get ready to get the fuck out of here. Temple says the anomaly is weakening. Out.”
With a final sucking heave, the car came free of the mud, dragged over after the slowly moving bulk of the sauropod, the rope now pulled taut, but apparently able to take the strain. The sight of two bodies, one large, one small, jerking like marionettes in the wreckage, still held in place by seat-belts, made bile rise in Lester’s throat, even as his lover came free of the mud.
Ditzy crouched down at Lyle’s side, demanding urgently, “Jon, can you feel your legs?”
White-faced from pain, the lieutenant nodded, his breath hissing between his teeth as he answered, “Yeah, I don’t think anything’s broken. It just squashed me down in the mud.”
“Good,” acknowledged the medic. “Let’s get you up.”
Between Lester and Ditzy, they hauled Lyle to his feet. The soldier promptly gave a loud yelp as his right leg gave way under him.
“Not so good,” said Ditzy grimly, grabbing one of Lyle’s arms and heaving him up again. “Boss, what are the chances of making a break for it?” he asked, shooting a glance at his captain.
“Ryan, how many more of the buggers need to get past us?” demanded Stringer, still sweeping his arm from side to side as the massive sauropods continued to break to either side of them, like a river flowing around a rock.
* * * * *
“Half the herd still to go,” replied Ryan, watching the progress of the diplodocids, while Stephen kept watch on the pair of allosaurs, who were in turn keeping watch on the slow-moving herbivores.
The smaller of the two predators took a step forward, its head swinging from side to side as it scented the air.
Beside him Ryan heard the movement of the bolt action which told him Stephen was getting ready to fire the tranq gun. The crack of the rifle sounded loudly, and the soldier heard a muttered, “Got you!”
“Will it take it down?” asked Ryan, urgently. “They’ve still got to get Lyle off the beach and up the slope and they’re gonna look too much like a tasty snack to those sods, for my liking.”
Stephen clicked another bolt into place and took careful aim. “I’ve used the highest dose I’ve got. If it doesn’t take ‘em out, it might at least slow the fuckers down.”
Ryan nodded and watched with bated breath while Stephen slowly and carefully squeezed the trigger.
The second dart flew as true as the first, striking the largest of the two creatures in the neck.
Ryan leaned down and slapped Stephen on the shoulder. “Nice work. Come on, let’s get closer to the others. It looks like we might not have too much longer.”
Together, the two men jogged back along the shoreline, keeping watch on the two allosaurs, making their way to the spot where the milk tanker was now being hauled, slowly but steadily, back to the anomaly.
The arching light of the laser flares continued to weave steadily through the air. Ryan knew from previous experience of using the latest model in distress flares that what the creatures down on the beach would be seeing, every time the wide, fanned beams crossed their vision, was a bright pulse of light. The flares had a range of between two to three miles in daylight, and close up, the way Stringer and Dane were using them, the effects would be dramatic.
No animals liked bright lights in their eyes, and the diplodocus herd were no exception.
The allosaurs were still hanging back, possibly also wary of the light, and for the space of a few minutes, Ryan actually thought the predators wouldn’t give them any trouble, then, without warning, the scene on the beach stated to go to hell in a handbasket. Without warning, the larger of the two predators let out a bellow, and started up the shore at a lumbering run, heading towards a smaller diplodocus which had lagged back, behind the herd. The temptation of what it saw as being easy prey was obviously too much for the meat-eater.
Ryan swore, and went for a head shot. He succeeded, but unfortunately the bullet did no more than punch a hole in the creature’s teeth. It bellowed in surprise and kept on moving.
“Stringer, get the fuck out of there if you can!”
A second shot came from Ryan’s left, and he saw Kermit, down on one knee on the slope, with Blade taking up station beside him. Red blood flowered in the allosaur’s shoulder as the predator made a vicious lunge forward and sunk its powerful jaws into the flank of the unfortunate straggler. The juvenile diplodocus let out a bellow of fear and, in front of it, one of the adults swung its head around, seeking out the source of the distress call, while the remainder of the herd ploughed steadily onwards.
Above them, the tanker started to disappear through the flickering light of the anomaly, with the wreckage of the other car jerking after it up the slope, like a children’s toy being towed in its wake.
Down on the lakeshore, Ryan saw Abby’s bright blonde hair appear in the midst of the herd as the girl weaved her way, as elegantly as a dancer, through the forest of shuffling legs. Behind her, at a slower pace, still being protected by the light of the flares, came Ditzy and Lester, supporting Lyle’s weight between them. The lieutenant was limping heavily off his left leg, clearly unable to support himself unaided.
“They’re going to make it!” said Stephen, lining up for a second shot at one of the predators.
A grin started to form on Ryan’s face, only to be wiped out abruptly by a scream from Abby. The girl had come to an halt, and was pointing up the slope, a look of horror on her face. Ryan turned round and watched, speechless with shock, as a tide of white fluid poured out of the tanker, which had just been severed neatly in half by the closure of the anomaly.
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 18
Characters : Cutter, Connor, Lester/Lyle, Ryan/Stephen, Abby, Stringer, Blade, Ditzy, Finn, Dane, Kermit.
Disclaimer : Not mine no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : An anomaly opens, leading to a problematic incursion of the present into the past.
A/N : Thanks to
munchkinofdoom for the beta.Joel Stringer grabbled Lester’s arm before he could take so much as a step down the slope towards the scene on the beach. “Yes, I know it’s Lyle, but we wait for the buggers to stop moving! They’ll trample you like an ant if you get under their feet now.”
A tail swung to one side, the enormous creature lashing it to and fro like an angry and over-sized cat. Dane ducked down behind the car, out of sight. One of the larger diplodocus barged into a companion, butting the other with its shoulder. The herd milled again, heads weaving, feet stamping as they all jostled for position, and to his horror, Lester watched another of the massive beasts lift a hind leg and bring it down onto the car, crumpling it further into the mud of the lake shore.
With Jon Lyle still underneath.
“Wait!” Stringer’s voice cut through his mounting panic. “They’re definitely settling down.”
The captain was right. Gradually, the restless movement quieted and some of the herd even bent their long, graceful necks down to the water to drink, including the enormous creature that still stood with his back foot planted squarely on the bonnet of the car.
“I’m going down there,” said Stringer. “Ditz, with me. The rest of you stay back. I mean it, sir,” He shot Lester a pointed stare, “I don’t want to have to worry about you as well as Lyle. Professor, get back up to the tunnel. Fetch me a rope. The chances are we’re going to have to haul that car off him. And tell the lads that my previous orders still stand.”
Cutter nodded and without a word headed up the slope at a run.
Stringer turned back to Lester as he made his way, with Ditzy, down towards the herd. “Sir, something spooked the sods, and I don’t know what. There might be predators about, although Christ knows I don’t want to meet anything that could scare something their size.” He pulled a small pair of binoculars out of a pocket in his equipment vest and tossed them to Lester. “Keep a look out, and yell if you see anything we need to know about.”
Lester nodded, although the first thing he attempted to focus on, unsurprisingly, was the scene down by the shore. At first, all he could see was the enormous grey-green bulk of the diplodocus herd, their skins leathery and wrinkled like the hide of an elephant, then gradually, the images came more sharply into focus and he could just pick out, behind one of the smaller creatures, the metallic blue paintwork of the car, now crushed and broken in the mud of the shoreline.
The huge herbivores blocked any view of Lyle himself, although he could just make out Dane’s shock of wavy black hair as the soldier crouched down beside the car, doing his best not to attract attention to himself.
Lester tore himself reluctantly away from the sight of the wrecked car and followed Stringer’s instructions, panning the area on either side of the herd for any signs of movement. Some distance away, the stegosaurs were still grazing peacefully under the enormous conifers and showed no signs of disturbance, although they were still tightly grouped, with their young in the middle of the herd.
In the other direction, he could make out nothing at all, apart from the forest of ferns, of varying sizes, swaying gently in an on-shore breeze. Occasionally, a tall pine rose up from the sea of fronds, breaking the monotony of the landscape, and in the distance, a long line of hills stood out on the skyline. The lake itself spread out as far as he could see and above it a flock of what looked like birds wheeled above the water. One of Cutter’s lectures came incongruously to mind, and he trained the binoculars on the creatures for a moment.
No, not birds. The things had rounded heads, almost cat-like, with a wingspan of about a metre, and short, thin tails stretched out behind them as they glided on up-draughts, rising and falling gracefully, possibly snatching insects from the air. But whatever they were, they didn’t seem to pose a threat, so Lester continued his sweep of the shoreline, returning again to the activity around the car.
Stringer and Ditzy had reached their objective and were both crouched down beside the car. One of the beasts had shifted, allowing Lester a better view of what was happening. He could see Lyle’s head and shoulders resting on the mud, with more mud streaking the soldier’s face. His eyes were closed, but appeared to be screwed shut against pain, rather than closed with the slackness of death.
Lester exhaled a long, shuddering breath, then a noise from behind him provided a distraction and he turned to see Blade and Kermit hurriedly working to attach the end of a steel hawser to the rear axle of the tanker, and coming past them on the slope was Cutter, with Abby Maitland at his side, both of them carrying lengths of rope.
“What’s happening?” asked Cutter as they halted by his side.
“I don’t know!” Lester tried – and failed – to keep the desperation out of his voice. Acting on impulse, he thrust the binoculars at Abby. “Stringer said keep watch for anything that might spook them. I’m going down there.”
“James …” Cutter held the rope out. “Stringer wanted this. I’m going to attach the other to the cars, we might be able to drag them out along with the lorry.”
Lester nodded, grabbed the rope, and started off down the slope. There were at least five of the diplodocids between him and the other car, but movement in the herd had definitely settled to nothing more than the occasional push and shove as the creatures moved closer to the water.
Mindful of Cutter’s earlier instruction, he kept a weather eye on their tails. The professor had been right, they seemed to be the main danger when the beasts weren’t moving. The air was heavy with a musky smell that reminded him of the elephant house at the zoo, and as he picked his way carefully around the impossibly large animals, he realised he was also skirting piles of steaming dung, looking for all the world like giant cow-pats.
Allowing for two near-misses with tails, he reached the crumpled car without incident and thrust the rope at Stringer.
“He’s alive,” said Ditzy, on his knees in the mud, forestalling the inevitable question. “But both legs are trapped by the car and matey here doesn’t seem to want to move.” He nodded his head at the massive creature.
“Fire a grenade up its arse,” said Lyle, through gritted teeth.
“We might just have to,” muttered Stringer. “I thought I told you to stay back, sir?”
“You wanted a rope,” Lester replied, thrusting it at the captain before dropping to his knees in the mud and putting his hand gently on Lyle’s shoulder. “I thought I told you to take care of yourself, you stupid bastard? You never bloody listen.”
“Sorry,” said Lyle automatically. “But we had to check.”
The huge sauropod towering over Lester and the soldiers shifted its weight slightly and Lyle forced a muddy hand to his mouth, biting sharply down on his own knuckles to muffle a cry of pain.
“Get ready to pull him out if that thing shifts enough for us to move the car,” ordered Stringer.
Lester looked up, suddenly conscious of a slight shift in the dynamic of the herd. Heads raised, dripping water from powerful jaws as the animals looked around, then a shrill whistle made itself heard over the snuffling and blowing from the giants.
“She’s seen something,” said Dane, staring underneath the massive belly of one of the herd and gesturing with his hand to where Abby was keeping watch.
Stringer cursed from where he was trying to secure a rope on the car. “Dane, if you can do it without getting stomped, find out what’s going on.”
Dane whistled though his teeth. “She’s coming down, boss!”
The captain’s head jerked up, “Christ on a bike! It’s not a fucking party down here!”
Moments later, Abby reached them, face flushed with the exertion of weaving her way around and under the diplodocids. “There’s some sort of meat-eater further round the shore, Cutter reckons it might be an allosaurus. They’re big enough to make these guys nervous.”
Stringer muttered something obscene, then spoke quickly into his radio, “Ryan, now would be a good time for some back-up, mate. Predators; between you and us, by the look of it. Any chance you could head ‘em off? We’re a tad busy right now and some help would be good.”
Just as the soldier was speaking, the creature still standing on the car moved again, suddenly swivelling its head round to stare down at the group, as it appeared to notice them for the first time.
“Oh shit,” muttered Dane, swinging his rifle up to his shoulder and thumbing off the safety.
“Don’t shoot,” hissed Abby. “You’re not a tree, it won’t bite you!”
The creature continued to stare at them whilst it made a slow, shuffling movement and finally lifted its hind foot off the car.
While the soldiers watched and waited, Abby grabbed the free end of the rope from Stringer’s hands and darted forward, directly underneath the diplodocus.
“Abby!” Stringer sounded as incredulous as Lester felt.
The diminutive blonde ignored all of them as she quickly and efficiently wound the rope around the massive tree-trunk of a leg, tying off the end, before jumping backwards to admire her handiwork.
“It’s thinking about moving,” she declared.
The huge beasts surrounding them swayed and shuffled and the air was almost immediately alive with the sound of tails smacking into leathery bodies, and heavy squelches as feet pulled out of the thick mud and stamped down again.
The massive head, still staring at Stringer, blew a gusty sigh out of two gaping nostrils, splattering the soldier with mucus, then the animal swung away a ponderous lurch and started to move off.
Ignoring the restless movement all around them, Lester slid his arms underneath Lyle’s shoulders, getting ready to heave the moment the car moved, then he noticed Stringer cock his head slightly, listening to his radio and he heard the captain breathe, quietly, “Fuck.” A second later, the soldier barked, “Abby, Sir James, get back to the anomaly, both of you, Connor says the magnetic field has started to weaken. And they’ve about to start hauling the truck, that might spook these buggers.”
Lester looked up and met the captain’s eyes. “I’m not leaving him.”
“I am not risking getting you stuck here as well, sir!”
“James, get the fuck out of here – all of you!” hissed Lyle, through gritted teeth. “If this thing shifts, I’ll follow you, but leave me a fucking gun, just in case.”
“No way, Jon,” said Lester. “We go back together, or not all.”
Lyle sighed. “Don’t be so melodramatic, darling. Now, kiss me, then fuck off!”
Lester obeyed the first instruction, but disregarded the latter. Seconds later, with a sucking sound, the car started to move. The only trouble was, it wasn’t the only thing on the move. All around them, heads were coming up, weaving in the air, nostrils snuffling in the breeze, and large legs stared to stamp and shuffle as the herd appeared to make a collective decision to move.
“We need fire!” declared Abby, eyes wide and afraid, but the girl still held her ground. “Joel - flares - have you got distress flares?”
Stringer’s eyes widened even as he scrabbled with his hands at the pockets of his equipment vest. A grin was forming on the captain’s face as he pulled out a short tube, no more than six inches long and twisted the end. A beam of bright red light shot out of the end.
“Shine it at their faces!” commanded Abby, urgently. “If you can get them to turn their heads they might avoid us!”
“Here’s hoping …” said Stringer, as he raised his arm above his head and started slowly waving his arm from side to side, sweeping the intense laser light in a wide arc.
The nearest of the diplodocids jerked its head sharply to one side. Behind it, one of its fellows lumbered against it and let out a rumbling bellow, sounding like an irate bull. Stringer angled the light again and kept it moving. The beasts blinked and moved apart, as though pushed aside by the strobe effect of the light in front of their eyes. Shaking their heads, the two nearest members of the herd moved on past the small group crouched in the mud of the lakeshore.
Hardly daring to breathe, Lester braced himself, ready to do his best to haul Lyle free of the car. Ditzy took up station next to him. Lester spared a quick glance over his shoulder, enough to enable him to know that Abby’s plan appeared to stand a chance of success. The huge creatures were avoiding the light, and provided they didn’t stampede, it looked very much like the rest of them might avoid being trampled.
Dane jumped to his feet and brought out another flare, taking up station a few metres away from his captain.
“Ryan? Yeah, it’s us,” Stringer spoke urgently into his throat mike. “They don’t like the light. They’re avoiding us. Just make fucking sure you pick off any predators that get too close. We don’t want a fucking stampede. If they move too fast, we don’t stand a cat in hell’s chance. And get ready to get the fuck out of here. Temple says the anomaly is weakening. Out.”
With a final sucking heave, the car came free of the mud, dragged over after the slowly moving bulk of the sauropod, the rope now pulled taut, but apparently able to take the strain. The sight of two bodies, one large, one small, jerking like marionettes in the wreckage, still held in place by seat-belts, made bile rise in Lester’s throat, even as his lover came free of the mud.
Ditzy crouched down at Lyle’s side, demanding urgently, “Jon, can you feel your legs?”
White-faced from pain, the lieutenant nodded, his breath hissing between his teeth as he answered, “Yeah, I don’t think anything’s broken. It just squashed me down in the mud.”
“Good,” acknowledged the medic. “Let’s get you up.”
Between Lester and Ditzy, they hauled Lyle to his feet. The soldier promptly gave a loud yelp as his right leg gave way under him.
“Not so good,” said Ditzy grimly, grabbing one of Lyle’s arms and heaving him up again. “Boss, what are the chances of making a break for it?” he asked, shooting a glance at his captain.
“Ryan, how many more of the buggers need to get past us?” demanded Stringer, still sweeping his arm from side to side as the massive sauropods continued to break to either side of them, like a river flowing around a rock.
* * * * *
“Half the herd still to go,” replied Ryan, watching the progress of the diplodocids, while Stephen kept watch on the pair of allosaurs, who were in turn keeping watch on the slow-moving herbivores.
The smaller of the two predators took a step forward, its head swinging from side to side as it scented the air.
Beside him Ryan heard the movement of the bolt action which told him Stephen was getting ready to fire the tranq gun. The crack of the rifle sounded loudly, and the soldier heard a muttered, “Got you!”
“Will it take it down?” asked Ryan, urgently. “They’ve still got to get Lyle off the beach and up the slope and they’re gonna look too much like a tasty snack to those sods, for my liking.”
Stephen clicked another bolt into place and took careful aim. “I’ve used the highest dose I’ve got. If it doesn’t take ‘em out, it might at least slow the fuckers down.”
Ryan nodded and watched with bated breath while Stephen slowly and carefully squeezed the trigger.
The second dart flew as true as the first, striking the largest of the two creatures in the neck.
Ryan leaned down and slapped Stephen on the shoulder. “Nice work. Come on, let’s get closer to the others. It looks like we might not have too much longer.”
Together, the two men jogged back along the shoreline, keeping watch on the two allosaurs, making their way to the spot where the milk tanker was now being hauled, slowly but steadily, back to the anomaly.
The arching light of the laser flares continued to weave steadily through the air. Ryan knew from previous experience of using the latest model in distress flares that what the creatures down on the beach would be seeing, every time the wide, fanned beams crossed their vision, was a bright pulse of light. The flares had a range of between two to three miles in daylight, and close up, the way Stringer and Dane were using them, the effects would be dramatic.
No animals liked bright lights in their eyes, and the diplodocus herd were no exception.
The allosaurs were still hanging back, possibly also wary of the light, and for the space of a few minutes, Ryan actually thought the predators wouldn’t give them any trouble, then, without warning, the scene on the beach stated to go to hell in a handbasket. Without warning, the larger of the two predators let out a bellow, and started up the shore at a lumbering run, heading towards a smaller diplodocus which had lagged back, behind the herd. The temptation of what it saw as being easy prey was obviously too much for the meat-eater.
Ryan swore, and went for a head shot. He succeeded, but unfortunately the bullet did no more than punch a hole in the creature’s teeth. It bellowed in surprise and kept on moving.
“Stringer, get the fuck out of there if you can!”
A second shot came from Ryan’s left, and he saw Kermit, down on one knee on the slope, with Blade taking up station beside him. Red blood flowered in the allosaur’s shoulder as the predator made a vicious lunge forward and sunk its powerful jaws into the flank of the unfortunate straggler. The juvenile diplodocus let out a bellow of fear and, in front of it, one of the adults swung its head around, seeking out the source of the distress call, while the remainder of the herd ploughed steadily onwards.
Above them, the tanker started to disappear through the flickering light of the anomaly, with the wreckage of the other car jerking after it up the slope, like a children’s toy being towed in its wake.
Down on the lakeshore, Ryan saw Abby’s bright blonde hair appear in the midst of the herd as the girl weaved her way, as elegantly as a dancer, through the forest of shuffling legs. Behind her, at a slower pace, still being protected by the light of the flares, came Ditzy and Lester, supporting Lyle’s weight between them. The lieutenant was limping heavily off his left leg, clearly unable to support himself unaided.
“They’re going to make it!” said Stephen, lining up for a second shot at one of the predators.
A grin started to form on Ryan’s face, only to be wiped out abruptly by a scream from Abby. The girl had come to an halt, and was pointing up the slope, a look of horror on her face. Ryan turned round and watched, speechless with shock, as a tide of white fluid poured out of the tanker, which had just been severed neatly in half by the closure of the anomaly.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:04 pm (UTC)You closed the anomaly on them all!
*glares*
Fred!!!
*pouts*
I dub thee Queen Pup of the Cliffhangers!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:15 pm (UTC)LOL, I support that!
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:43 pm (UTC)(do not expect anything more coherent than that!)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 04:58 pm (UTC)Yeah, yeah, lovely landscape, and I'd appreciate it a lot more if Lyle wasn't TRAPPED UNDER A FUCKING CAR!!!!! WHAT'S GOING ON???!!!!!
Oh thank god!!!! LYLE!!!!!!!! His usual self, at least. *cuddles him* He's going to be fine, right? Right? RIGHT???
“Christ on a bike! It’s not a fucking party down here!” He! If I wasn't so fucking scared I'd be laughing now! "You’re not a tree, it won’t bite you!” Heehee...
You... I... Fuck, indeed... NO!!! OH NO!!! *whimpers* This... *throws herself on the ground and cries* Remind me next time you start such a series not to start reading before you have all chapters posted, ok? But Lyle's not dead, that's a massive relief. *nods*
Is the next chapter posted already? *pouts* *pokes*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:01 pm (UTC)Next part on Wednesday, and it concludes on Friday.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 05:01 pm (UTC)I loved Abby's solution for moving the car off Lyle and Lester's inability to obey either Stringer's or Lyle's orders, though I think he tried his best under the circumstances. I mean, he did kiss Lyle when Lyle told him to. *g*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 05:34 pm (UTC)Great chapter, very exciting.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 05:40 pm (UTC)Everything looked good despite Lyle's injury but then you trapped them all in the past.*glares*
I think I need a calming tee now.*hyperventilates*;)
The dynamic of the chapter was fantastic. I sat on the edge of my chair the whole time.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:10 pm (UTC)And go Abby for coming up with some great ideas for dealing with the diplodocus.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 06:56 pm (UTC)I don't know why I'm surprised...
Although I do love the way you're using the diplodoci in this - they're a real danger as opposed to just being lumbering beasties making up the scenery.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 07:04 pm (UTC)Anything that big is bound to be dangerous.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 08:23 pm (UTC)Just as well I wasn't biting my fingernails or who knows what would have happened!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:16 pm (UTC)My idea of improvisation is to devise the scenario, and then let the characters work with what they've got. It's more fun that way.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 10:44 pm (UTC)And eek.. yet another cliffhanger.. is it Wednesday yet?
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 11:20 pm (UTC)Again with the cliffhangers?!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-29 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 10:56 am (UTC)Well, cripes ;) Okay, at least Lester and Lyle are together, and Stephen and Ryan are together, even if they are stranded way back when with a load of spilt milk... Yay, Abby!
////“Fire a grenade up its arse,” said Lyle, through gritted teeth.////
LOL. Only two chapters to go???
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 07:19 pm (UTC)*runs and hides*
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Date: 2009-06-30 11:07 pm (UTC)And 'cos I had to work, I only have a max of 24 hours till the next bit!
no subject
Date: 2009-07-01 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-03 05:46 pm (UTC)Yay for resourceful Abby. Who needs the AA when you have a diplodocus handy (although granted, the AA are less likely to squish you into something resembling strawberry jam).
no subject
Date: 2009-07-04 06:58 pm (UTC)