fredbassett | Fic, Tracks in Time, Part 7 of 7, Stephen/Ryan Series, 18

Title : Tracks in Time (7/7)
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

munchkinofdoom for the beta.

Lester leant against the side of his car, still breathing deeply, enjoying air that smelt, and tasted, of the twenty-first century. Even the exhaust fumes from the two enormous generators positioned outside the tunnel smelled welcome just then.

Lyle limped heavily in his direction, brushing off an offer of assistance from a paramedic with the words, “I’m fine.”

The man looked sceptical but didn’t debate the issue, which was probably wise.

“What’s the prognosis?” He’d seen Lyle talking to Ditzy before the medic had left in one of the ambulances.

“Stringer’s arm is broken in two places. It took a bloody great big lump out of him and he’s lost a lot of blood, but Ditz reckons they’ll get him patched up OK. Dane’s got a cracked skull and he’s still unconscious. He’s also got a couple of nasty bites, but again, nothing they can’t fix, hopefully. It could have been a lot worse.”

Lyle’s hazel eyes met his and the soldier pulled him into a quick hug. Lester didn’t protest, allowing himself a momentary respite from what seemed to be an unceasing buzz of activity around the mouth of the tunnel.

“Looks like Mr Temple’s managed to earn his keep,” he commented, talking directly into the warm, sweat-sheened skin of Lyle’s neck.

“Did you manage to find out what he actually did?” Lyle asked, letting out a long breath. “All I heard was a load of techno-babble coupled with more than the usual amount of arm waving.”

“Apparently, he got Ms Brown to commandeer those two generators off the Coal Authority and then he proceeded to produce what the Professor described as a ‘bloody great big magnetic field’. God knows what he actually did, but I’m reliably informed it worked on the same principle as jump starting a car.”

Lyle’s shoulders started to shake with silent laughter. “I didn’t realise Connor knew anything about cars.”

“I don’t think he does, but I’m told he sometimes gets pressed into assistance helping Miss Maitland with hers. I rather think, on this occasion the boy has surpassed himself. I may have to rethink my position on overtime. However, I might just wait until I see if he has done any irreversible damage to that machinery before making a final decision.”

“You’re all heart, sweetie.”

Lester nodded, his arms tightening around Lyle. “So I’ve been told.”

A Scottish sounding cough made the two men reluctantly draw apart. “Connor wants to try and bring it back again in another hour or so,” announced Cutter, without preamble.

Lester arched an eyebrow. “You’ve heard about the other rifle shot, I take it?”

“Aye, but that’s not the reason.”

The eyebrow raised itself up another fraction.

“We need to know how long we can manage to keep calling them back.”

“Practice on the Permian Anomaly, Professor, it doesn’t involve the closure of a motorway.”

“We already have the kit set up here. It’s important, James. We might need to do this again sometime and it could save lives. It did save yours.”

Lester sighed. “Speak to Miss Brown. Tell her you have five hours, maximum. I repeat, five hours, no more. I have no desire to debate the continued closure of the M4 with the Department of Transport beyond tonight. For now, we probably have nothing more to contend with than a few harassed and undoubtedly underpaid employees of the Highways Agency, or whatever the hell they call it over here. But tomorrow we will have Welsh-speaking bureaucrats coming out of our ears. Five hours, Cutter.”

With a broad grin, Nick Cutter went off in search of Claudia Brown.

* * * * *

Four hours later, a ragged group of exhausted soldiers and scientists gathered for what Connor had promised was the third and final time. On his second attempt at jump-starting the anomaly they had been successful in hauling out the remaining half of the milk tanker and the two cars.

Ryan had hoped against hope that Connor could keep the anomaly open long enough to enable them to search for the car which still contained the bodies of a woman and child, but Lester had very firmly vetoed any such attempt, reasoning that they had no idea where the car and its unfortunate occupants had ended up. For all they knew, as he pointed out, the wreckage was still attached to the leg of the huge sauropod.

Ryan knew that the civil servant was right, but the decision still went against the grain.

“It’s opening!” Connor’s shout echoed round the tunnel.

The soldiers all shouldered their rifles, holding them tightly against the pull being exerted by both the anomaly and Connor’s magnetic field generator. Much to everyone else’s amusement, Kermit had already managed to lose one.

The anomaly flickered once, twice, three times and then died.

Connor cursed and promptly started to flip an array of switches on his make-shift control panel. The anomaly winked back into existence and this time remained steady. The student’s yell of triumph was infectious, and Ryan found himself sharing his excitement. If they could find a way of making this work elsewhere, it might finally give them some sort of control over the bloody things. Control that might save more lives.

Ryan’s thoughts went back to the dreadful ten days when he had believed Stephen to have been irretrievably lost in the past. That was not something he wanted to relive – ever. Unconsciously, his hand reached out and brushed Stephen’s.

“Ten minutes and still holding strong!” Connor announced, proudly. “Are we going to take a look, Professor? We need to check it’s still at the same time and place.”

Cutter stepped forward.

Ryan grabbed his shoulder. “Me and my lads go through first, Professor.”

“It’s a quick look, nothing more, man.”

“I know you and your quick looks, sir,” commented Ryan ruefully.

“Ryan’s right, Cutter,” said Lester, briskly. “You have five minutes, Captain. You then have my full permission to engineer the professor’s return by whatever means you deem expedient.”

“I think that’s a long-winded way of saying you can thump me again,” sighed Cutter. “It won’t be necessary. Come on, Ryan,”

Without a backward glance, Cutter walked up to the anomaly and stepped through, Ryan at his shoulder.

At a quick nod from Lyle, Blade and Finn followed their captain.

Ryan stared out at a familiar landscape. The ferns on the gentle slope down towards the lake shore were battered and broken, crushed by the tanker and mangled further by its retrieval.

The mud by the waterside still showed the tracks of numerous sauropods, but for once, the scene was devoid of animal life.

But it was not the prints in the soft mud that drew Ryan’s attention, or anyone else’s.

At his side, Cutter sucked in a sharp breath and behind him he heard Blade mutter, “Oh fuck.”

Crossing the grey mud-flats of the shoreline was another set of tracks.

The tracks of a wheeled vehicle; two distinct lines of wheel ruts, cutting across all other tracks left by man and beast, standing out in start contrast to the other prints in the mud, broadcasting their difference for all to see in the grey light of a Jurassic dawn.

Oh fuck was right.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

bigtitch.livejournal.com

Great, great fic. It's been a wonderful ride, reading this. :D
And OMG *flail* at the ending.
I'm really glad you're writing a sequel! Because otherwise I'd have to sharpen my pitchford!
Squueeee!

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Fic, Tracks in Time, Part 7 of 7, Stephen/Ryan Series, 18

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