unfortunate ➸ primeval

Chapter 21

Nick drove the still made-up Jenny and Clara to where Connor had pinpointed the anomaly to be, and they ended up at a disused builders yard sort of thing. There was a lot of rubble and it was rather dirty, but it was also abandoned, which posed a good thing - it meant there was a small chance someone could have been hurt by whatever was through the anomaly.

Cutter led the way, holding the whirring detector in his hand as the two girls followed behind him; Jenny being extra careful with her golden heels. They made their way into the building, stepping over small piles of rubble and debris; ignoring the dusty smell that surrounded the place.

"It's over here," he said, as they turned into a narrower space. "It's in the drainage pipe." He turned to Jenny. "You'll have to contact the builder's site and close this place down."

"Sure," Jenny nodded immediately. "Probably throw some building code violations at them." 

The three of them stared at the flickering, shimmering anomaly, awestruck as usual. Clara thought she would never get over how beautiful the anomalies were; it was just a shame about how dangerous they were as well.

A strange howling sound came from the other side of the anomaly, and Clara saw Nick become more tense, his posture hardening. The anomaly started pulsating, like it normally did when it was trying to expel its contents.

"Back up," Nick stated quickly and urgently. "Back up, back up!" They obeyed, stepping backwards.

Finally, something burst through the anomaly, scrabbling out of the drainage pipe. Relief washed over Clara as she realised it was just a small terrier dog, and nothing harmful at all. Nick bent down and scooped the dog up, holding it in his arms. He instantly passed it over to Jenny, who took it reluctantly and held it at arms length.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" She asked, staring at the dog uneasily. Neither of the other two answered her, and she rolled her eyes. "It's called Spratt," she read the collar. "And it lives not too far from here."

"She," Clara corrected. Jenny's eyes switched to her, her gaze incredulous. "It's a she."

"Right," Jenny sighed impatiently. "Well, she is shedding hair on my new dress."

"We've got bigger problems than your new dress," Nick told her, his tone clearly unimpressed. His head swivelled back towards the anomaly. "The owner might be on the other side."

Clara's phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket. It was a message from Abby. "They're here," she announced. "And Connor's brought his new. . . invention." She smirked and stowed her phone away again.

"Oh, joy," Jenny muttered, though her tone wasn't as sharp and sarcastic as it used to be; fondness underlay it now.

Connor, Abby and Stephen joined them, the former setting something covered in a blanket on the floor - concealing its identity. While Connor stood behind his invention, the other five stood opposite, all wearing different expressions. Jenny already looked bored; Cutter looked patient; Abby tried to smile encouragingly; Stephen folded his arms across his chest with a slightly dull expression; while Clara was the only one who appeared genuinely curious and quite excited.

"Go on, then," Nick nodded towards the younger man. "It's your big day."

"Seriously, guys," Connor said, pride edging into his tone as much as he tried to hide it. "Prepare to be amazed." He bent down and whipped the blanket off the small contraption that lay underneath. The five opposite him simultaneously frowned at it.

The device looked like a small tank, with various household items stuck onto it, such as an empty plastic bowl and what looked like an electric whisk. Connor marvelled at his own work, but his boyish grin faltered when he caught sight of the gazes everyone else had.