unfortunate ➸ primeval

Chapter 3

Nick and Clara whizzed down the side of the shopping centre, dropping at an alarming speed until they suddenly stopped about ten feet from the ground. The Pristichampsus had tried to follow them, but had ended up tumbling over and landing in a jumbled heap on the concrete below.

Clara glanced down at the disorientated beast before raising her eyes again to meet Nick's. "Just hang on, you'll be fine," he assured.

Below them, the Pristichampsus regained its ability to walk and managed to stagger away, overturning chairs and tables alike as it did so. It was limping a lot, so Clara took an educated guess that it was even more injured than it had been before.

Abby appeared at the top of the balcony, peering over at her two hanging teammates with concern. "Are you okay?" She called down.

"Yeah," Nick shouted back, his tone dry. "Just enjoying the view."

"Speak for yourself," Clara muttered.

Becker popped up next to Abby on the balcony, confusion momentarily passing over his face before he masked it. "Looks like it's heading back to the river," he told them.

"It wants to go home!" Abby agreed.

"Yeah? Well, I want to get back up!" Clara countered, sending a pointed look to Nick. He gave her a small shrug.

"Sorry," he said simply. "But good point." He then looked up to where Abby and Becker were watching them. "Are you two going to just stand there or are you going to get us back up?"

——

Once Abby and Becker had pulled Nick and Clara back onto solid ground and they had met up with Jenny, Cutter pulled out his phone and dialled Connor. "Looks like Pristichampsus is heading your way, so make sure it can get to the anomaly," he informed the student tersely before hanging up. He then turned to his team. "We've got to get back to the museum."

While Becker and his soldiers took one car, Nick drove Abby, Clara and Jenny to the museum in the other car; arriving there in record time. The group headed into the back entrance of the museum - where the Pristichampsus had vacated the building originally - to find Connor face to face with the creature itself.

"Connor, get out of the way!" Nick yelled, sprinting into the room and finding himself standing next to Doctor Page. Clara, Abby and Becker joined him, along with the latter's soldiers.

Impulsively, Connor grabbed a hanging chain near the sun cage and began to manoeuvre himself so he was climbing up it horizontally. "Can we please just get it back through the anomaly?" He begged, his voice just a whimper.

Becker lined up his sights with his gun, but Clara rested a hand on his gun and moved it out the way. "Don't shoot it," she commanded.

"It's my job to keep you alive," he spat in response.

"And it's my job to make sure we don't do something stupid to alter the past!" She fired back, her tone heated. "Don't shoot it."

"Ah!" Connor squeaked as he glanced at the creature directly below him, distracting the two who were arguing. "I'm too young to die!" He arched his back as the Pristichampsus snapped its jaws at him.

"It's injured," Abby muttered. "It wants to go home."

"I don't know how long I can hold on, Cutter," Connor called worriedly.