Relative Strangers (Book 2) No Man Is An Island

9. A Dangerous Interruption

Over the next few days, E reluctantly handed over all the information she had collected on the island.
She wasn't used to sharing her research with people, especially when that particular research had taken years to accumulate. But E knew that if she wanted her friends help, she would have to tell them everything she knew about the island.
The entire ARC team sat around a huge desk in the control room, so that they could all be a part of the planning.
Lester was the only member who was absent from the table, because he spent his time locked in his office, on the phone to various people, as he tried to stop the island from being sold.

"What intrigues me, is that this island appears to be different from other anomaly junctions that we've come across" admitted Connor one afternoon.
"We don't have that many junctions to compare it to" reminded Abby.
"I know" replied Connor.
"Why is this one different?" Questioned Emily.
"Well, the anomaly in the centre of the island gives off very strange readings, and according to E, it's been there a very long time" replied Connor.
"He's right. I've been checking on this anomaly for hundreds of years and it's always there, surrounded by a dozen or so other anomalies that come and go" revealed E.

"But you can't say for sure how long it's been open for?" Asked Matt.
"No. I keep going back further and further in time, but it's always there" answered E.
"Where does the anomaly lead to? I mean, what's on the other side?" Questioned Emily.
"I don't know exactly. My dating calculator doesn't work on it" admitted E.
"How can you not know? Haven't you been through it?" Quizzed Becker.
"Of course I have, but it's not that easy to walk through, because there's no air on the other side" revealed E.
"Come again".

"There's no oxygen on the other side. When I first went through I managed to survive a few minutes by staying close to the anomaly, because there was oxygen coming through it from this side. But when I realised that the atmosphere wasn't breathable I left, and returned a short while later with breathing equipment. This isn't the first time I've gone through an anomaly and not been able to breath. There are quite a few prehistoric time periods, that don't contain breathable air. All I can tell you about this anomaly, is that there is no life on the other side, not any that I could see. It leads to a time way before humans existed, and a long time before even dinosaurs walked the earth" revealed E.
"But you don't know how early it is?" Questioned Connor.
E shook her head, "Like I said, my tech doesn't work on it, it's too early for me to get a time period reading".

"Is there anything different about this anomaly, aside from these numbers? I mean, is it bigger than the other anomalies?" Asked Matt, as he pushed some of the paper work on the desk away from him.
"I'd say it was bigger than average, but I've definitely seen bigger" admitted E.
"Well, I can't wait to see it with my own eyes, and take my own readings" said Connor excitedly.
"Yeah, well, unfortunately Lester won't let us go there any time soon" grumbled E, as she looked over her shoulder to look at Lester.
"Hey, he's doing his best" reminded Matt.
"I know. But I'm worried that it's not going to be quick enough" E replied quietly.

E stared at the photos of her island that lay on the table in front of her, and she yearned to return to it as soon as possible.
She knew that the longer she stayed away, the more pain the dinosaurs on the island were put through.
Before Connor could question E further, the anomaly alert alarm suddenly began to go off.
After spending days crowded around the desk in the main room, everyone was unsure what to do.
They knew that the work they were doing was very important, but they were aware that the anomaly the detector had picked up, would need to be dealt with.
"Get going you lot. Those dinosaurs won't chase themselves" shouted Lester as he stepped out of his office to scold the team for not jumping into action.

"Why don't you two genius's stay here and carry on working, while the rest of us deal with the anomaly" suggested Matt, pointing at E and Connor.
"No!" Replied Connor and E in unison.
"I'm not letting my wife go off without me" continued Connor.
"I can take care of myself" reminded Abby.
"I know. But I wouldn't feel happy about letting you go off without me. I made the mistake of putting research above the job once before, and I'm not going to do that again. I'm coming with you" insisted Connor.
"I'm coming too" added E.

Matt sighed, "E, I'm not sure that's a good idea".
"I was a part of this team before I left, I used to go on all the missions" reminded E.
"I know that, but you're not in peak physical condition right now" replied Matt.
"In case you hadn't noticed, by arm isn't in a sling any more" snapped E as she lifted up her left arm, and tried to ignore the pain that moving it had caused her.
"The only reason you aren't in it any more, is because you refused to continue wearing it. You should really still have it on, so that your arm can recover"
"No, because wearing that, makes me look even more like an invalid, and I don't want you all to keep looking at me, like I'm broken. I can still use my right arm to fire my EMD since I'm right handed, and my legs work just fine, so out running dinosaurs shouldn't be a problem. Which means that there is no reason that I shouldn't come with you".

"E-" started Matt.
"Don't E me. You said that you weren't going to baby me anymore" interrupted E.
"I'm not. If anyone else on my team was injured like you, I certainly wouldn't let them come on a mission" admitted Matt.
"But I'm not just anyone else. I'm E, and I do what I like. I'm coming with you, and there is nothing you can say that will stop me".
"We don't have time for this, we need to get going" announced Becker as he stood up from the table.
Matt frowned at E, "Fine, come along if it means that much to you".
"I will" replied E coldly.