Primeval Fanfiction: Welcome Home In The Future
Title: Welcome Home In The Future
Author: TalliW
Characters: Nick Cutter, James Lester, Captain Becker, Tom Ryan, Stephen Hart, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Claudia Brown, Oliver Leek, Caroline, Lyle.
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle belongs to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.
Summary: The timeline has been messed up. An ARC team from the future tries to repair the damage and bring back the people they’ve lost.
Warnings: Entails a lot of timey-wimey stuff which might not make any sense at all. You’d better should not read this story if you already have a headache.;)
"That thing appeared on my Pa's property. So sod off."
"We have experience in dealing with such phenomena. And we have the official authorization of the Home Office. So you’d better take a hike. We'll take over."
Lester grimaced in annoyance. Cutter and the pompous lad in designer clothing were trying to stare each other down like angry bulldogs who might lock jaws any minute. And one of the lad's four companions, slightly older than the rest, moved his hand tentatively to his open jacket. Lester hoped that didn't mean what he feared.
He fixed the man with a hard look and stopped him in his tracks.
Somehow the man seemed strangely familiar. Perhaps he had met him before in Box 500 or on one of the many soirees he had to attend in his position.
Before Lester was be able to dwell on the thought the situation heated up.
"Hands up!" Becker bellowed. "Keep them where I can see them. One wrong move and you will get a bullet right between your eyes."
Trembling, the lads lifted their hands, every ounce of courage now gone. The older one huffed disdainfully but finally followed the order as well.
Keeping his gun trained on the blond man, Becker checked him for weapons. It was quite an arsenal he discovered.
"Can I ask why you are carrying around...,“ Lester looked briefly at the batch Becker had piled on the ground, "... two guns, both with silencers, a flick knife, a block of C4 explosive, a mobile phone recording interface, a strange gadget and a syringe with something certainly not healthy for the person on the receiving end?"
The man locked eyes with Lester and said calmly, "Just some necessary things for protecting my family."
"Oh, is that so? I don't think plastic explosive is considered essential for such a purpose. The British government is very strict on the possession of firearms and explosives."
"We ain't got nothing to do with him. Just met him yesterday," the lad who had previously squabbled with Cutter declared nervously. "He was asking us to show him around the countryside. If we’d known he owned stuff like that we’d never have agreed. We’re decent people. We don't ally ourselves with terrorists. Really not."
The corner of the blond man's mouth twitched slightly as he heard the lad's shaky words.
"He's telling the truth. I never have seen them before yesterday," he confirmed.
"That remains to be seen. For now I have to request you all to accompany us. Becker, inform the troops. We will have guests."
"But my Dad. Oh god, he’ll cut my allowance when he gets wind of this," one of the lads whined. "Please can we sweep this under the table? I'll pay."
Lester ignored him and turned to Cutter. "Can you handle this alone until backup arrives?"
"I suppose. It's already fading. Seems Connor and I were right. It’s moving around the exact line we predicted. Next time it will appear near your garden pavilion."
"Wonderful. If an animal comes through and squashes the precious flower beds, my ex-wife will have my hide.
"Don't forget your weapons stockpile," Cutter called smirking.
He didn’t think the stranger was really dangerous despite the fact that he’d been armed to the teeth. A real terrorist probably wouldn't have docile enough to let himself get arrested by one soldier and a civil servant.
With a broad grin, he watched Lester trying to gather the weapons all at once when he felt the eyes of the stranger resting on him. Curiously, Cutter looked over to the man and was surprised when he grinned right back at him.
Bewildered, Cutter followed the blond man with his eyes as Becker ushered him and the four young blokes towards the SUV. Then his attention turned towards the new anomaly.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"The anomaly closed forty six minutes after you left. How it's going with your guests?"
Lester finished scribbling on a sheet of paper and put it away in one of the filing folders littering the coffee table. When he looked up, Cutter could see the frustration in Lester's face.
"The boys spoke the truth. They are locals. One of them is the youngest son of a neighbour. I sent them home after they had signed the Official Secrets Act. Our wannabee terrorist however isn't quite so cooperative. He's grinning a lot but not saying anything. Not even his name. He had no passport or any other identification. But from his manners and speech I would say he's English, upper-class. Still occasionally there’s a hint of a Scottish accent in his voice."
"You could contact the Home Office to see if they have anything on him."
"You think? That was the first thing I did after arriving back. He's entirely unknown to them. The Security Service will come over and take him off our hands. Until then Becker is babysitting him. When do you think the next anomaly will appear?"
"If it follows the same pattern it should open in three and a half hours."
"Good, then it will be over before my former mother-in-law arrives with the children."
"So you..." Cutter was interrupted by a howling so loud that it reverberated on the manor's ceiling and grated on their ears.
"For God's sake! Connor, switch that damned ADD off," Abby yelled from the kitchen.
"But it's not the ADD," Connor declared, wide-eyed, as Lester and Cutter stormed into the private room Lester had provided for Connor's equipment.
"Then where is it coming from?"
Lester had just uttered the question when Finn raced around the corner of the corridor, yelling, "It's that fucking prisoner’s gadget. It's opening something like an anomaly."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Damned it, David, I warned you not to go alone," Ryan muttered as he freed the younger man from the handcuffs.
"You didn't have to be so rough with them," Stephen chided his lover whilst he checked on the unconscious Becker on the floor.
"As SAS men they should be able to take a little haymaker. And I still owed Lyle a right hook. Now hurry up, we have to get out of here."
The blond man stretched his muscles and joints, slightly sore from sitting in the same position for hours. "I still haven't given him the injection."
"We have no time for this. They will be here in a minute."
"It's the reason I came here and I will not go before it's done. There might never be another opportunity again."
Ryan and Stephen shared a look. David was as stubborn as his parents. The only way of getting him to cooperate would be to knock him out and carry him through the time portal. And he would never forgive them for that.
"Okay. But be quick."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Adrenaline raced through Cutter's body as he was grasped from behind and pulled into a storeroom. Whilst he fought against the arm around his throat for all he was worth, Lester, Finn and Connor were still storming towards the cellar where they had placed the captive.
The last things Cutter was aware of were the whispered words "I'm sorry," and the sharp pain as a needle pricked into his neck.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"He's coming around again. Professor, how do you feel?"
Cutter tried to focus on the medic but everything was still a blur.
"What happened?" he asked slurring his words.
"That's what we want to know from you."
Cutter recoiled slightly as Lester appeared right up close in his field of vision.
"We found you in the library, The captive is gone and Captain Becker and Lieutenant Lyle have been knocked out. All his possessions have disappeared as well."
"Can't remember what happened. But my body hurts like hell."
"Tranquilizer. Seems like he got a double dose," Ditzy told Lester.
"That explains why he has been out for so long."
"How long?"
"Over four hours, Professor."
"The anomaly... I have to get..."
Lester rolled his eyes as Cutter's legs gave away when he tried to stand up. After a moment's hesitation he grasped Cutter's right shoulder and supported him while the medic did the same on Cutter's left side. Slowly they moved to the windows, offering a view into the formal garden.
"See, there is your anomaly. Right where you predicted. Temple is taking the data. Happy now?"
"I still feel like shit."
"Then you’d better rest. I have had rooms prepared for the others as well. We'll drive back first thing tomorrow morning."
"I thought your family were coming back from holiday and we would have to be out of here before eight."
"Don't worry about it, Cutter." Lester said whilst he and Ditzy helped Cutter back into the comfortable bed. "They have been delayed for two days. Now get some rest."
"You know, Lester, if you made more of an effort you might even be a decent chap."
"Don't be silly, Cutter. Now go to sleep."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"At the moment they are driving back to London and in forty six hours they will be called to the hospital where your pets cause havoc."
"We'll need a life support system or he might not make it after all."
"Everything is prepared, Uncle Connor. Stop worrying. It will work. It already did with Uncle Tom and Stephen."
"It's strange. I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. I had no trouble carrying him out of there. He was light as a feather. I never understood why."
"Dad, Mum wants me to pass on the message that dinner is ready and if you don't want to live on air and love for the rest of the month you’d better hurry," a young woman hollered over the intercom and startled both men up from their thought.
"I'd better go right now. Abby has been a little edgy since Thomas' engagement. See you tomorrow, David."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This had to be a nightmare. Everything was lime green around him. The walls, the ceiling, even the pajamas he was laying in.
"There you are. Finally! Welcome back to life."
"Uh? Where am I?" Cutter stared in confusion at the young blond man he had met a few days ago near the Lester estate and who had disappeared so spectacularly.
"Where you belong. You’re home."
"Doesn't look like home. Who are you?"
"All right, you’re still in hospital. But you are healing fast. Give it a few more days and I can get you out of here."
"Wait," Cutter croaked as the young man moved to the exit. "You still haven't told me your name."
"I'm David.
"David who?"
"I think that we should stave that off until you feel better. Get some rest."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Cutter was glad he could finally leave the dull hospital room.
Even if some experts had recently discovered that lime green speeded up the healing process, like the nurses had explained to him, he still thought it was a horrible colour.
The young man, David, who still hadn't told him his surname, had visited him every day and they had quickly become friends.
Cutter fondly remembered the long conversations and animated discussions about Evolutionary Zoology and the influence of anomalies on biogenesis. Amazingly he had met someone who was be able to follow his sometimes chaotic train of thought.
But David's behaviour also raised a lot of suspicion.
Every time Cutter had enquired about his team the young man had been disturbingly evasive. Cutter didn't expect Lester to visit him in hospital but he was sure Connor and Abby would have come to see him.
In the end Cutter had demanded to be told the truth and David had promised to do so as soon they had arrived at the ARC.
David aided Cutter into the luxury car and buckled him up, carefully, before he stored the wheelchair into the boot.
"It's over an hour’s drive. But once we are at Pettifogger House everything else is within range. It's only four kilometres to the ARC compound. Do you want to rest first or shall I drive over to the ARC immediately?"
David grinned amused as he heard Cutter's answer. He hadn't expected anything else from him.
"It's expanded." Cutter was caught by surprise as he spied the gigantic terrain now called the ARC-compound.
"Oh yes, it is. There are now six research buildings. To the left you see the two administrative buildings, on the right the crew's quarters for the Special Forces, and the animal park for the stranded creatures. The child care centre and the special school for little genii is in the back, near the circular main building, which you knew as your ARC."
"So, have I ended up in the future or another timeline?"
David smiled, pleased. "I knew you would work it out quickly. Actually in some ways it's both. But let’s get inside first. I have some recordings and diagrams I want to show you."
Slowly they walked into the building, which bustled with life at this time of day. Cutter, who had refused the wheelchair and instead used David's shoulder for support was greeted with a friendly grin or a respectful "Good morning, Professor" by all of the passersby.
"Look, that's the moment it happened." David pointed at a spot on the diagram that didn't tell Cutter anything.
"The birth of the Brown-Cutter-Temple-Hart Mediate Fluctuation Timeline. The name is Uncle Connor's creation, not mine."
"And this er..."
"Brown-Cutter-Temple-Hart Mediate Fluctuation Timeline?"
"Yes, that Fluctuation timeline. What is it doing?"
David activated a small projector and suddenly a slide show started on the opposite wall.
"That was taken on your sixty eighth birthday in the back garden of Pettifogger House. You were trying to avoid the birthday party the girls had prepared for you at the ARC."
Cutter walked closer to the projected picture and stared at the smiling old man in the garden chair. He truly looked like an older version of himself. Funnily enough, Cutter felt relieved when he saw his hair was still full and thick. So he wouldn't end up with a bald head like his father and uncle.
"It was three months later when you and a few other people from our circle of friends and acquaintances suddenly vanished. Everyone remembered them but couldn't say where they had gone. We had no clue what might have happened until the new JIC agency executive got dragged into that cloning scandal. Well, that might take a while. Do you want to sit down?
„No? Are you sure? All right. Here we go. Doctor Norston claimed Helen Johnson had founded his studies and used clones to manipulate the past. They never found any evidence for his assertions and it quickly passed into oblivion when Lady Helen openly supported the new European Anti-Cloning-laws. But it called my attention to a fact I had paid no heed to before. Helen Johnson had a striking similarity to the woman on an old picture in your study, the one you told me portrays your former wife who vanished ages ago and never was found.
„When I reported this at the special conference, Aunt Abby suspected instantly Helen Johnson might be a time traveler. The anomaly guardians had found traces of at least two people traipsing around in times they didn't belong to and mucking up history. After more investigation and a little bit of blackmail to get our hands on some private things of Helen Johnson’s we knew the silly cow had caused a lot of mischief to the timeline. So we approached her and made a deal. But it took us over four years more to develop a sensible solution and get the approval of the International Council for the project. Are you still following me?
„Good. Well, in theory a change in the past should cause a change in the future too. But in reality it's completely different. Instead outcomes in the future were negated when events in the past didn't take place, or happened in another way but some of them occur nevertheless. My very existence is proof that specific main events are something like fixed points in history. Even if you alter the timeline the result will still be the same. „Whatever Helen or someone else might try I will still be born. So will Janice, and as well the European Federation will always be formed. But living beings which aren't such key elements will vanish in the future should something happen to them in the altered past as soon the timeline tries to straighten itself out.
That usually happens at a point in the distant future, so the development of key elements will not be influenced by it. We call that a temporal bubble."
"Who's Janice?" Cutter asked on the verge of hysterics. He had a strong suspicion he currently looked the same colour as had the rooms in the hospital.
"She's the daughter of good friends of ours."
"Oh. And who are you now?"
"Haven't you featured that out yet?" David asked a little disgruntled at being interrupted in his lecture. "I'm David Cutter, your son."
Cutter looked at the young man who now babbled on about fluctuations, time travel and neo-physical theories as enthusiastically as he had talked about dinosaurs the day before, and tried to understand at least a fraction of all the scientific stuff whilst he still struggled to get his head around the fact that he had fathered a child.
"...and after we had worked that out, we thought the best course of action would be to transport our people out when they regularly died in the altered past. This way we prevented the formation of paradoxes. According to Susan Hawkings from the European Scientific Centre that is the only possibility for getting you all back to the present without destroying the time bubble, something which might have devastating consequences for the whole planet. The structure of the triangular... Sorry, Daddy, I'm afraid that's one of the things I can't explain to you properly. Temporal approximation theory isn't one of my personal fields of expertise. But I can arrange a meeting with our time theoreticians if you want to know all the details."
"No, thanks, David. I think I should sit down now."
"Hey, you’ve started without us. You knew we wanted to be present when you told him. Have you forgotten there’s a bet going on over who freaks out the most?"
"That's exactly why I did start without you, Uncle Tom. Besides I haven't told him everything yet. Just the details of the time-line fluctuation and my full name."
"Oh, then I came just in time. I always get a headache when you talk about that weird scientific stuff."
Ryan crouched down next to Cutter who had been rendered speechless.
"It's good to see you again, Professor. Stephen will bubbling over with joy."
Before Cutter could recover from the shock Ryan sprang up and headed for the door.
"Connor, Stephen, get your arses in here if you want to see Cutter's face when he hears about it for the very first time."
A slightly corpulent man, aged about fifty hurried into the lab with a camera in his hand.
"All set. Now you can start," Connor mumbled. Right behind him Stephen Hart walked in, not a day older than when Cutter had last seen him last that day in the warehouse.
"You and Ryan haven't aged," Cutter stated in astonishment.
"That is yet to come," Connor tossed in. "Time appears to run faster if you work with timelines. Just take my son. For me it seems it was just yesterday when I was I changing his nappies and now he's going to be a father himself in six months. But it's great to have you back, Nick. I missed our discussions about fishing."
"Hello, Cutter!" Stephen greeted his old friend. "I arrived six months before you did. Leek was the first they retrieved. He has been here for over three years now. We are the same age we were the day they got us out, the day we died in the altered timeline. At first it's a little weird to be here and not have the memories we should have. But believe me you'll get used to everything. The original timeline is a lot better than the messed up once we’ve been in."
"Come on, don't be coy." Ryan shoved a young woman wo didn't look much older than Stephen in front of Cutter.
"That's Janice, our daughter," he declared proudly whilst he clasped Stephen's hand.
"Hiya. Nice to see you again. The Nick Cutter I knew was already an old, doddery fart, much the same as my parents. But I'm not sure this younger version’s a better catch."
With her head she indicated in Stephen's and Ryan's direction and grimaced as she spied her parents making moon-eyes at each other again.
"It's horrible. They are like adolescents on a sugar high. I hope that will wear off soon. It's embarrassing to be told your parent's have been caught shagging all around the place."
Cutter didn't know what to say to this. That was an outcome he hadn't expected.
"By the way... " Janice turned to David. "When will you finally get your Dad back? In this madhouse I need at least one sane person I can talk to."
"His Dad? But I thought I was David's father..."
"Of course you are his father. But I'm talking about his other parent. His dad, James Lester."
"Lester...is...????"
"Didn't I say no revelations without a doctor in the room? Now make way! Everything is all right, Professor. It just got a little much for you."
Cutter was glad to hear the voice of the medic. It still had the same resolute but nonetheless calming tone, regardless of Cutter's presumption that he would see a very aged Ditzy when he opened his eyes.
"For now Cutter wins. Not even Stephen fainted when he heard he's married to me and we have a daughter together."
"That's why you’ve already shagged like bunnies, Tom. Don't think, we didn't know about it," a female voice said. "But Cutter never was really close to Lester until that incident in the office building. And that didn't happen in the altered timeline."
Cutter opened his eyes and gaped at the older woman, who still had the unmistakable facial features of Abby Maitland.
"Oh God, look at him. Now he's closer to my children's age than to me."
The woman who entered looked almost like Cutter remembered, only a couple of wrinkles around the eyes and mouth gave away her real age.
"Claudia?" Cutter asked in disbelief .
"Yes, it's me. I know that must come as a shock to you."
"But you vanished and then...
"I was replaced by a woman named Jenny Lewis, wasn't I? Bernard and Lillifee are still trying to work out that side effect of the temporal bubble."
"Bernard and Lillifee?"
"My oldest son and Connor's and Abby's daughter."
"That first name wasn't my idea, I can assure you," Abby declared whilst she threw a dirty look at her husband.
Connor grinned sheepishly. "I still think it suits her."
Cutter took a deep breath and slowly sat up. In the middle of the people piled up in the lab now he spied an old Becker right next to a young Lyle who seemed to be very familiar with each other and also a smiling Oliver Leek holding hands with an older, but still attractive woman he identified as Connor's former girl-friend Caroline.
"Can I have an aspirin and a scotch?" he asked with a trembling voice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You all right, Daddy?" David looked worried at his father who sat in darkness in the living room of Pettifogger House.
"I always thought Claudia and me would have got together if she hadn't vanished."
David switched on the light and took place on the couch beside his father.
"I know, you were fooling around with Aunt Claudia. She still blushes when Abby teases her about it. But then you got all broody after the two children got killed by the sabre-tooth tiger. Before you snapped out of your mood Aunt Claudia had met this French-American and was head over heels in love with him. He's now a bigwig in the commission of the European Federation."
"And how come I did hook up with Lester?"
"There was an anomaly in an office building. Lester insisted on accompanying you because he knew the owner of the building personally. The building had to be evacuated when toxic gases and prehistoric worms flooded the floors. You and he took shelter in the lift and got stuck until your team found a way to clear the building and got the lift repaired. You always said there was only one way to survive eight hours with Dad in such close proximity. Either you throttled him or you fell in love with him."
"And as we all found out three months later," Claudia cut in, "you'd settled for the latter. Sorry, for barging in at such a late hour. But I think we should talk. David, please would you leave me alone with your father for a few minutes?"
"Sure!"
Claudia sat down on the same spot David had occupied a moment ago. But instead of starting to talk she and Cutter just eyed each other, neither of them knowing how to begin the conversation.
This time Cutter discovered a lot of grey strands in Claudia's hair and also the wrinkles in her face seemed to be deeper.
"I'm not wearing make-up right now and I have taken the colour out of my hair. I thought you should see me undisguised," she mumbled as she tucked a strand of her hair self-consciously behind her ear.
"How old are you now?"
Claudia gave a short laugh. "That's something you should never ask a lady. But I'm old enough to have grandchildren, Nick. And if my oldest grandson continues to flirt with every girl at his school I also might be a great-grandmother sooner than I prefer."
"So you and me... that didn't work out?"
"No, it didn't. We spend some time together but it never got any further than a few kisses. Then I met Mark."
"But you are happy?"
"I have a great husband, a wonderful family and a fulfilling job. I'm perfectly happy. Now let's shift attention to you. How are you feeling, Nick?"
"Well, to be honest, a little like Alice in Wonderland. To learn I have a grown-up son with a man, Lester to top it all, is a lot to take in."
"I can imagine. You’d never have thought about him in a romantic way?"
"Are you kidding? I haven't been with a bloke since secondary school and then it was just awkward fumbling and a little snogging."
"It must be very confusing."
"Too right! I have the feeling I’m sitting in front of a big puzzle and most of the parts are missing. I don't even know who David's mother is. That he's mine there is no doubt. But did we use something like a surrogate mother or did I knock up a former girl-friend?"
"David is your and Lester's biological child."
"Really? But we are both men."
"And?"
"Don't tell me men can suddenly get pregnant. This world gets stranger with every moment."
"There isn't anything strange about it, Nick," Claudia said softly. "Children of homosexual couples are sired in Petri dishes. But the foetus still has to be carried to full term by a woman. Abby did it for Tom and Stephen and I did the same for you and James."
Something clattered in the kitchen and told Claudia her godson was digging around in the kitchen for his usual nightly snack.
"I had better go now. It's already late and Mark will be waiting for me. If you want to talk some more you have my number. Or at least David has it. Don't worry too much, Nick. You have plenty of time until Lester arrives. The inductor needs some time to recharge.
I'm right, David?" she said louder.
"Uh?" David emerged from the kitchen, his mouth filled with a piece of blueberry pie.
"I just told your father the inductor needs some time to recharge, doesn't it?"
David quickly swallowed his pie and answered, "Yes, it does. We can't initiate the next time travel before September."
"See? In the meanwhile acquaint yourself with this world. Eventually visit Leek's support group. Almost everyone we retrieved had difficulties in adjusting at first. Well, bye then. No need to see me out. I know the way. Good night, Nick, David."
When Claudia had left David covered a yawn with his hand. "I’d better go to sleep now. I have to hold classes tomorrow in the special school."
He moved to the exit but turned around in the doorway.
"I would understand if you preferred to get a place on your own. Don't feel forced into anything. I just want you to be happy. And as much as I wish to get my family back I'll accept if you shall decide on another route. You know your former wife Helen is still around and she is your age."
"Last time I saw Helen she was putting a bullet into my chest after she had blown up the ARC. I think I would be better off with Lester than with her."
"It was just a thought, Daddy. Good night."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nick Cutter stepped into the security chamber of lab eight and let the nozzles spray disinfectant on his skin. He knew the procedure was necessary to prevent contamination of the timeline.
Together with Stephen he had undertaken several courses in the special school over the last few months. Mostly to catch up on spatio-temporal physics and the basics of integral molecular biology, subjects seen as necessary for academic employees of the ARC.
Now finally the big day had come. They would get back the last missing person and finally complete the project. It came as no surprise that Cutter had decided to accompany his son whilst Ryan and Stephen would serve as backup.
"So where are we going?"
"19th June 2014."
"What's happening that day?"
"Nothing of importance. Dad is just attending a summer party in Balmoral Castle. There will be so many people around it will be easy to get close to him without arousing suspicion."
"So it will happen soon?"
"Two weeks from this date there will be a car crash on the M56. Not an accident, as a senior civil servant lets slip to the press later. The occupants of the car, Mr and Mrs Temple, James Lester and his personal bodyguard, Captain Becker, escape the wreck before it explodes. Becker, Connor and Abby survive, Dad doesn't."
"So Lester will die?"
"Yep. He will bleed out before the ambulance arrives. That's why we have to go back and inject him with the Jellnowa-Bergen's formula. Then we can transport him out at the right moment."
David grasped his kit and stepped towards the time portal inductor. "Come on, Daddy. It's time to get Dad home."
"Coming," Cutter yelled and followed his son back into the altered past.