A Rip in Time Read online

  Together, they approached the anomaly. The glittering gateway flashed as Cutter hurled himself forward. A split second later, Ryan followed. Abruptly, the two men disappeared.

  Rex watched them go. And then, just as the anomaly flickered with one final burst of energy, the little lizard swooped after them…

  Back in the Forest of Dean, the anomaly began to shiver with movement. For a second, the outlines of two men were clearly visible. Then they began to fade. There was a moment of sickening tension before – almost reluctantly – the anomaly gave up its human cargo. Cutter and Ryan were flung clear just in time. Behind them, the anomaly consumed itself in a final burst of dazzling energy.

  Immediately, the two men were engulfed by a crowd of well-wishers. But something made Abby hang back. She glanced at the place where the anomaly had been and saw a little creature that made her grin with delight. It was Rex. His return had gone unnoticed in the uproar. Quickly, she picked up the lizard and slipped him beneath her jacket.

  CRASH!

  The drama wasn’t over yet. Without warning, the mighty Gorgonopsid had returned. It thundered through the clearing, smashing floodlights and scientific equipment underfoot in its desperate search for the way home. The SAS let loose a shower of bullets, but these pinged off the angry dinosaur’s tough hide, serving only to infuriate it further.

  Connor grabbed Abby’s hand and dragged her to safety, but Claudia remained in the Gorgonopsid’s path. He called her name but she was frozen by fear. Bravely, Cutter rushed out in front to distract the beast, but he tripped. Now both he and Claudia were at the creature’s mercy. In a second, they would be ripped to pieces…

  Suddenly, headlights glinted through the trees. An engine revved furiously and Cutter’s four-by-four careered into the clearing, slamming into the dinosaur’s rump. The Gorgonopsid was flung across the ground, before lying still. Shakily, Stephen climbed from behind the wheel. There was an eerie silence as he looked at the mighty creature.

  But it wasn’t over. With a strangled roar, the dinosaur hauled itself to its feet and stumbled towards him.

  It was Cutter’s turn to come to the rescue. He grabbed a gun and hurled it to Stephen, who caught it neatly – and fired right between the dinosaur’s gaping jaws. The Gorgonopsid carried on towards him for a few more steps, before giving an ear-splitting roar and sinking to the ground, mortally wounded. With a last groan of pain and confusion, it died.

  There was an atmosphere of stunned disbelief as people emerged from their hiding places. No one spoke. Sadly, Cutter walked over to the dead dinosaur and gently touched its great head.

  Cutter stared at the projector screen, even though the image of his wife had faded now.

  ‘I’m sorry for your personal loss, Professor,’ said Lester, his voice as unemotional as if he were ordering a takeaway. ‘This camp you’ve discovered,’ he continued. ‘There were no clues who made it or what it was for?’

  Cutter shook his head.

  ‘The thought that someone has been there before us is far from reassuring,’ Lester said thoughtfully. ‘Clearly, we must remain on our guard.’ He pulled a face. ‘And I used to think the EU Common Agricultural Policy was far-fetched… Well, at least the immediate crisis is over.’

  The professor could contain his anger no longer. This unimaginative government official still didn’t get it. He whirled round to face Lester, his eyes blazing. ‘Some force out there ripped the boundaries of time and space to shreds. Maybe it’s happened before, in which case everything we thought we understood about the universe is wrong. Or perhaps this is the first time. But if so, what’s changed? What happens next?’ He paused. ‘Believe me, it’s not over.’

  And it wasn’t over.

  That night, Cutter returned to his office on campus. He sat at his huge, untidy desk, staring into space. Then his gaze drifted to the portrait of himself and Helen. They both looked so happy. He stared at it for a moment before snatching it up and laying it face down on the desk.

  Consumed by guilt, the professor worked late, marking papers written by students whose research seemed to be based on Jurassic Park…

  He woke with a start, realizing at once that something had changed.

  The photograph was now the right way up. And resting on top of it was a perfect fossil of an ammonite – extinct for seventy million years. Carefully, Cutter picked up the coiled shell, then dropped it in surprise as a slimy tentacle emerged from inside. Seconds later, he heard the sound of running footsteps. A door slammed. Whoever had left the ammonite was still here!

  Immediately, he was on his feet, racing through the empty lab, down darkened corridors and finally out of the main entrance.

  He was just in time to see the intruder pause on the edge of the campus. An unknown instinct made him stop, a sick feeling of anticipation washing over him. It was as if he already knew what he would see, even though his rational mind rejected the possibility.

  The figure – it was a woman – walked into the pool of light beneath a street lamp and Cutter whispered her name under his breath.

  ‘Helen…’

  She smiled.

  And then she stepped into the darkness.

  By the next morning, Nick Cutter’s office was even messier than usual. Cabinet doors hung open, discarded files lay everywhere and in the midst of everything sat the professor, frantically leafing through handfuls of yellowing paper. He had the look of a man who hadn’t slept.

  Stephen was hunched over the ancient computer that was squirrelled away in the corner of the office. He frowned at the tiny screen. ‘There’s ten years of Helen’s work here,’ he groaned, tapping the keyboard to restore yet another deleted file.

  ‘Keep looking,’ mumbled Cutter.

  ‘You’ve read every word she ever wrote,’ protested Stephen. ‘We’ve been through all this dozens of times before.’

  ‘We didn’t know about the anomaly then,’ said the professor. ‘There might be references in Helen’s work that we overlooked.’

  Stephen sighed. ‘If she knew about it, she’d have told you.’

  But Cutter didn’t look so sure.

  At the Home Office, Claudia was debriefing her boss. Lester – a deeply logical man – wore the vaguely shocked expression of someone who has just been told that fairies do exist. And he was not happy about it.

  ‘So far, we’ve had no more creature reports,’ said Claudia briskly. ‘I’ve left Ryan in charge of mopping up. There’s a lot of Internet chatter,’ she continued, ‘but we have natural disbelief on our side.’

  ‘Eyewitnesses?’ barked Lester.

  ‘The teacher is in shock,’ replied Claudia. ‘I’m positive we can keep her away from the newspapers. And the boy is no problem.’

  ‘Pity the monster didn’t eat them,’ drawled Lester. ‘That would have been the neatest solution.’ He clocked Claudia’s appalled face. ‘Joke,’ he explained. ‘What about Cutter?’

  Claudia was suddenly on her guard. ‘What about him?’ she asked.

  ‘Does the term “loose cannon” sound familiar?’

  ‘He may be a little unconventional,’ she snapped. ‘But he’s the closest thing we’ve got to an expert. Losing him now would be a mistake.’

  Lester raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘You’ve taken to him, haven’t you?’ he said.

  Instantly, Claudia realized that she’d let her guard down. ‘I trust him, if that’s what you mean,’ she said quickly.

  ‘Of course,’ replied Lester calmly. ‘What else?’ He smiled with infuriating blandness. ‘I don’t like anyone to whom the adjective “maverick” might be applied. And Cutter virtually owns the copyright.’ He paused and then sighed heavily. ‘All right. Keep him on side for the time being.’

  ‘I’m sure you won’t regret it,’ said Claudia.

  ‘I hope not,’ said her boss, his tone drier than a prehistoric desert. ‘Because if I do, you’ll be rubber-stamping stationery orders for the rest of your career.’ He paused. ‘And in case you’re
wondering, that wasn’t a joke.’

  In a university library not far away, Connor was struggling not to spill the beans. And failing miserably.

  ‘It’s more than my life’s worth to say any more,’ he whispered to his anorak-clad fellow geeks. ‘Official Secrets Act,’ he added. And then, because he really couldn’t resist, ‘But I’ll tell you this. I’ve seen a Gorgonopsid face to face. And trust me – it wasn’t pretty.’

  Tom, the noodle-thin geek, grinned pityingly. ‘Just how stupid do you think we are, Con? Space-time anomalies, dinosaurs, package tours of the late-Permian era. Someone’s been overdoing the PlayStation.’

  ‘I can prove it!’ spluttered Connor. Then he remembered the document he’d signed. ‘Only I’m not allowed to.’ Enraged by their sniggering, he leapt to his feet. ‘One day, you’ll be gutted that you didn’t believe me,’ he shouted, before storming out.

  His friends shook their heads in bemusement.

  ‘He’s lost it,’ said Duncan, the shorter and dumpier of the two.

  ‘Totally,’ replied Tom. ‘What’s weird is that he actually seems to believe it all himself…’ As his voice petered out, he had a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

  He began to smile.

  Abby plunged her shovel deep into the pile of elephant dung and wished for the millionth time that she were working somewhere less smelly. She thought wistfully of the Reptile House. She’d give anything to be back there, doing her old job.

  ‘They said I’d find you in here,’ said a familiar voice.

  Abby looked up and cringed. Stephen had arrived – gorgeous, laid-back and smelling of lemony aftershave, while she smelt of –

  Stephen’s nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff. ‘You smell evil. What are you doing?’

  ‘Elephant dung,’ Abby said dully. ‘I’m searching for parasites.’

  Stephen smiled. ‘I brought you something,’ he said, handing her an envelope.

  With a frown, she opened it and pulled out an official-looking letter. Abby’s eyes widened in amazement. ‘It says I’ve been awarded a grant,’ she said. ‘The Helen Cutter Educational Trust… It’s enough to fund my research at the Reptile House for a couple of years at least. I don’t understand…’

  ‘Cutter liked the way you handled yourself,’ said Stephen, with a shrug. ‘He wants you to stick around.’

  Overwhelmed with delight, Abby went to fling her arms round his neck, but Stephen stepped back smartly, his hands raised in defence. Remembering how filthy she was, Abby stood where she was and grinned instead.

  ‘I’m sorry about your lizard,’ said Stephen.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Rex,’ he replied. ‘I know how fond you were of him.’

  Quickly, Abby flung a bright smile in Stephen’s direction. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘at least he’s home now.’ She comforted herself with the thought that she hadn’t lied – not exactly. Rex was home.

  The fugitive Coelurosauravus – Abby had trawled through dusty reference books until she’d found out what he was – squatted regally inside the huge tank, watching as his new friend rushed to and fro, tending to his every need.

  Buzzzzzz!

  Abby jumped guiltily as the sound reverberated through the flat.

  ‘It’s Connor!’ croaked the intercom.

  Abby thought fast, throwing a blanket over Rex’s tank before pressing the door release.

  A moment later, Connor tumbled inside, staring in awe at the funky apartment and then at Abby’s skimpy outfit. ‘Is it me, or is it seriously hot in here?’ he mumbled.

  ‘Broken thermostat,’ said Abby quickly. She wasn’t about to tell Connor that she’d turned the heating up to make the surroundings more comfortable for her new flatmate. Now she just had to hope that he didn’t notice the blanket-covered object in the middle of the room.

  ‘What’s that?’ Connor asked.

  Darn. He’d noticed it.

  ‘Empty tank,’ said Abby. ‘From the zoo.’ She decided to make a quick exit before he could ask any more questions. ‘I’ll go and get changed.’

  ‘Read this,’ said the student, shoving a piece of paper into her hand as she dashed past him and up the stairs. He’d hardly been able to contain himself when he’d discovered the rumours flying about online. He’d printed them all out, just to convince himself that his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

  ‘Where did you get this?’ Abby called down to him.

  ‘Internet,’ Connor said. ‘Looks like we might have another anomaly. I think we should check it out,’ he added casually.

  ‘What does Cutter say?’

  ‘Haven’t told him,’ replied Connor. ‘I might be wrong and I don’t want him to think I’m an idiot.’

  ‘He already thinks you’re an idiot.’

  Connor shrugged, not offended in the slightest. His eyes wandered around the apartment as he waited for Abby, coming to rest again on the large object in the middle of the room. He hesitated briefly before peeping beneath the blanket, his eyes instantly lighting up with amazement.

  Abby reappeared, realizing from his amused expression that Connor knew her guilty secret. ‘Rex sort of… came back,’ she mumbled.

  ‘You kidnapped a helpless lizard!’ cried Connor in mock outrage.

  ‘I didn’t want Lester’s people getting hold of him again,’ said Abby. ‘You won’t tell anyone?’

  He grinned, a cunning gleam in his eyes. ‘You can rely on me. We’re a team, right?’ Connor glanced at the piece of paper in her hand. ‘So what about it? Are you in?’

  Abby looked uncertain. ‘Maybe we should just let someone know…?’ she said nervously.

  Sensing that her resolve was weakening, Connor really went for it. ‘This is our big chance to show we can be useful,’ he said. ‘Come on. We’re pals. And pals stick up for each other.’ The student glanced meaningfully at the tank. ‘Who knows, you might even find a little playmate for Rex.’

  Abby knew when to give in gracefully.

  She would go.

  Weighed down by bulky rucksacks, they made their way through dense woods. As the daylight weakened, so Abby’s unease grew.

  ‘Maybe this wasn’t a great idea,’ she muttered.

  Connor grinned mischievously. ‘You don’t want to save the world from a vicious predator?’

  Abby shook her head. ‘I don’t think we should be doing it on our own.’

  ‘Hold my hand if you’re frightened,’ offered Connor.

  ‘How would that make me feel better?’ asked Abby, quickly adding, ‘Anyway, who said I was frightened?’

  Connor grinned gleefully. ‘I would be if I was face to face with a raptor. Just think about the teeth on those things… You’d be torn apart before you could blink!’

  ‘Shut up, Connor,’ snapped Abby, letting him walk on ahead. She looked round uneasily into the darkening woods, before pulling her mobile from her rucksack. Furtively, she texted a message, but as she sent it her battery died.

  Great. A night in the middle of the New Forest with a monster-mad nut and the possibility that an anomaly might open up at any moment with no mobile to call for help. That was just what she needed.

  Claudia walked into Cutter’s office to find him sitting cross-legged in a sea of paper. ‘You didn’t reply to my messages,’ she began. ‘So I came in person.’

  ‘I’ve been busy,’ said the professor.

  She smiled. ‘I can see that. What is it? Some kind of recycling initiative?’

  ‘I’m going through Helen’s papers,’ explained Cutter. ‘She always hated the daily graft of science. Big ideas were her thing. She took too many short cuts for my taste.’ He looked up at her, a flicker of anguish in his eyes. ‘It’s my fault she disappeared.’

  ‘Why?’ Claudia asked, puzzled.

  ‘I was supposed to go with her on that field trip,’ he said sadly. ‘But we had a row. Another row. We argued a lot that last year. She’d become obsessed with theories I found… ridiculous.’

  Claudia stiff
ened. ‘You mean she was on to the anomaly,’ she said slowly.

  ‘Not as such,’ Cutter replied. ‘But she was convinced that there were no conventional scientific answers to certain evolutionary puzzles.’ He paused. ‘Obviously, she was right.’

  ‘No one could have guessed that,’ Claudia said softly, trying to understand what torment Cutter must have gone through in the last eight years – and was still going through now.

  ‘She did.’

  ‘You’re not to blame for her death.’

  ‘What makes you so sure she’s dead?’

  ‘She was lost two hundred million years away in the past. What else could she be?’

  It was stalemate.

  Cutter stared at his inquisitor, as if on the brink of a monumental announcement – and then the moment passed. ‘So, tell me the plan,’ he said lightly.

  ‘What plan?’ Claudia felt disorientated at the speed the conversation had changed direction. ‘What else can we do?’

  ‘We could start by telling people the truth,’ Cutter suggested.

  ‘Let me think about that.’ Claudia raised an eyebrow. ‘No. Right now, this is all just a rumour mill for Internet conspiracy freaks. We can contain that. The alternatives – panic, hysteria, potential lawlessness – simply aren’t viable.’

  ‘Connor will be thrilled,’ said Cutter with a wry chuckle. ‘A genuine cover-up to enjoy.’

  ‘It’s not a cover-up,’ Claudia said quickly. Then she stopped and wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. ‘OK – it is. But it has to be done. And if you have a problem with that, you’d better say so now.’

  The professor flinched at her forceful manner, but before he had time to reply, Stephen crashed into the room.

  ‘Text from Abby,’ he gasped. ‘Connor thinks he’s on to another anomaly… creature sighting, the lot. They’ve gone to investigate.’

  ‘Where the hell are they?’ cried Cutter, his eyes blazing with anger.

  ‘The New Forest – she’s not sure exactly where.’