Shades of Grey Chapter 29
Title: Shades of Grey Chapter 29
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
AN: For the former chapters look at my Masterlist
Because Thorpe Park was the filming location for the scenes in the fictional Blue Sky Park I used a few attractions of Thorpe Park for this story.
"That was fun," Ryan declared as he swept the water from his face with the hem of his teeshirt.
Lester and Stephen had found the experience of being drenched by a large wave of water at the end of the ride not exactly funny. Now they knew why Abby and Cutter had headed so purposefully for the back seats of the six-man boat. It seemed to be the only place you could stay halfway dry. Stephen and Lester in the middle had still got their share of water but the brunt had been borne by Connor and Ryan on the front seats. However Connor's grinning face indicated he'd enjoyed the cold shower just as much as Ryan.
"And now we can try out that."
Connor blanched as he looked up at the gigantic rollercoaster with ten vertical loops and a quadruple corkscrew Ryan was pointing at.
"I'm afraid, small children aren’t allowed on the big rollercoaster," Stephen said after he'd read the wooden information board on the entrance to the thrilling ride. It stated you had to be at least 1.4m tall but, after all, if Ryan was six years old he wouldn't fit that requirement yet.
Whilst Ryan made a moue, Stephen received a thankful look from Connor and most of the other people in their group. With all the sweets they had eaten during the drive a ride on the roller coaster was certainly not a good idea.
Connor grasped Ryan's hand and pulled him towards the next attraction, the bumper car ride, but Ryan braced his feet on the ground.
"I want to go on the rollercoaster," he muttered and extricated his hand out of Connor's grip. "I want to go on the rollercoaster," he repeated, a tad more forcefully. When no one reacted to his outburst Ryan stamped his feet, yelling, "Rollercoaaaaaster!"
"Here we go," Lester mumbled, being all too familiar with such scenes from his own children.
But Jenny's quick thinking avoided the crisis.
"There's a much bigger rollercoaster on the other side of the park," she said, waving a map of the theme park. "Because it's 205 feet high it’s only for very brave people."
"I'm brave," Ryan declared indignantly.
"Well, then this will be the right ride for you."
"Yes, Stephen, it’s high and fast. But at least it doesn't have loops and corkscrews like the other one," Jenny said as she registered Stephen's scowl. "Of course we could have waited until Tom ran out of breath screaming bloody murder. I, for my part, prefer to go with him on the Stealth rollercoaster for just 15 seconds. Do you think you can survive the short time span on a thrill ride or do you want to explain to him he’s too small to ride that as well?"
"As if there was any choice," Stephen muttered. Ryan's little scene had already attracted enough attention.
When the group started to move towards the area where the Stealth attraction was located, Ryan mumbled happily, "Rollercoaster," before he stuffed another handful winegums from Cutter's ample supply into his mouth.
After the thrill ride Ryan was a lot more subdued. He hadn't asked for a repeat like Stephen had expected. Instead he had forgone the Flying Fish and chosen a slow boat trip on the artificial lake. Stephen suspected strongly Ryan was a little queasy in the stomach too. Connor most certainly looked a little green around the gills. And so did Jenny.
"Where's Cutter?" Stephen asked, suddenly realising that his friend was missing.
Abby shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't seen him since the Stealth ride."
"Lester is missing too," Jenny declared with a frown.
"Has anyone seen Cutter and Lester?" Stephen called over to the second boat with Finn, Lyle, Lorraine and the staff of the medical lab.
As usual Lorraine knew where her boss was at that moment.
"He and Cutter were heading back to the other rollercoaster," she called back.
"Bloody hell, what does Cutter want with that rollercoaster? He told me once he gets sick from loops."
"From what I overheard he's playing chicken with Lester," Lorraine answered with a smile.
"And Lester’s got involved with this nonsense?"
Lorraine continued to grin before she took a big bite of her candyfloss.
Stephen rubbed his forehead. He had counted on Lester being one of the reasonable people with half of the group already behaving like children and loving it. That only left Abby, Jenny and him as the responsible-minded adults on the boat.
The next moment Jenny went overboard and a wild yelling started around Stephen.
"Can I have my hand back now?"
"Huh?"
"My hand, Cutter?"
Cutter flushed bright red and abruptly let go of Lester's hand that he’d been gripping firmly since they had gone into the first loop. The ride had been hell but he had successfully fought his fear and managed to keep his food inside him. Therefore he'd won the bet. No loophole left for Lester to get out of the deal.
Cutter swallowed the lump building in his throat. No, better not think of loops in any way.
Ryan and Stephen helped a soaking wet Jenny back into the boat.
"You looked funny. Like a blowfish," Ryan told her, still amused about how Jenny's jacket had puffed out in the water.
Jenny preferred not to answer. At least the light windbreaker had rescued her from being exposed to the audience in her rather too thin white blouse.
Attentively, Connor wrapped the blanket he'd found under his seat around Jenny.
"Over there’s a shop where you can buy new clothes," Abby declared. "Or do you need to see a doctor first?"
"I'm fine. Just embarrassed. It seems to be getting a habit of mine to take a bath in the lake." Annoyed, Jenny shoved a strand of wet hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear.
Abby and Connor heaved a sigh of relief. If Jenny could joke about the other time she went overboard under much more dramatic circumstances then she had to be all right.
Cutter stared, confused, over at Jenny. He could have sworn she had been in a skirt this morning. Now she was clad in some sort of chino trousers and was wearing her hair open and not in the stern-looking bun any more.
"What happened to Jenny?"
"You don't wanna know," Stephen muttered. "So how are you feeling?"
"A little wobbly but otherwise fine. Don't worry, I'm not going to be sick on you."
Cutter suddenly started grinning and pointed at Lester, who was just emerging from the restrooms.
Lester had undergone a complete change. Gone were his former semi-formal clothing, instead he was wearing casual summer clothes he apparently had bought just now - beige shorts, a white teeshirt, showing the Blue Sky Park logo and white trainers.
Before Stephen could inquiry why Lester had decided he needed a change of attire, Cutter declared with satisfaction, "That's much better. Now he’s dressed for the occasion."
"What did you do?" Stephen asked worriedly. He wouldn't put it past Cutter to have shoved Lester in the lake.
Cutter smirked. "He shouldn't have taken on a pro. I know how to win my bets."
Stephen rolled his eyes and watched Cutter walking towards Lester to tease him about his pale legs. "Oh man. You know we’re are supposed to be the adults here."
Lester had apparently heard Stephen's words because the face he made looked a lot like Ryan's pouting.
The whole group had decided they had had enough excitement for a day and had moved to the areas designed for families with younger children. There was much laughter when they all tried out the classic carousel with horses and carriages. Ryan sat proudly on a white horse with black mane and waved happily over to Stephen on a brown horse. Then they mounted the big Banana boat swing.
In Wet Wet Wet, the mini water park, Ryan could finally indulge in his passion for slides. The water slides in a variety of sizes weren't as long as his friend Bobby had cockily asserted but Ryan had fun nevertheless.
"Cutter, if you think I’m going with you on this slide then you are quite delusional," Lester huffed good-naturedly when Cutter pulled him over to the ladder of a large slide.
"Psst, Lester! Keep quit."
Cutter's tone told Lester that he was seriously worried. Instantly he became all business like.
"What's wrong?"
"We have a problem. A very big problem. I just saw a Smilodon vanish between the trees over there."
Lester turned to the forested area Cutter was indicating with his head and tried to see through the shadows.
"You are absolutely sure?"
"I wish I wasn't. It was a damned large specimen."
"So it isn't the creature you caught last time?"
"No, this cat is a lot bigger. Why do you ask?"
"I thought Leek might have lied about the creature's death and set it free again to stir up problems."
"Who knows how many else are running around here. We should evacuate the Park."
Sighing, Lester fished for his mobile in his trouser pocket. "That certainly will go down well with the park manager. I guess that will get me another reprimand from the Home Secretary."
"Who cares about a reprimand. People are in danger. Get a move on!"
When the mobiles carried by Jenny and the field team started ringing everyone knew it could only mean trouble.
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
AN: For the former chapters look at my Masterlist
Because Thorpe Park was the filming location for the scenes in the fictional Blue Sky Park I used a few attractions of Thorpe Park for this story.
"That was fun," Ryan declared as he swept the water from his face with the hem of his teeshirt.
Lester and Stephen had found the experience of being drenched by a large wave of water at the end of the ride not exactly funny. Now they knew why Abby and Cutter had headed so purposefully for the back seats of the six-man boat. It seemed to be the only place you could stay halfway dry. Stephen and Lester in the middle had still got their share of water but the brunt had been borne by Connor and Ryan on the front seats. However Connor's grinning face indicated he'd enjoyed the cold shower just as much as Ryan.
"And now we can try out that."
Connor blanched as he looked up at the gigantic rollercoaster with ten vertical loops and a quadruple corkscrew Ryan was pointing at.
"I'm afraid, small children aren’t allowed on the big rollercoaster," Stephen said after he'd read the wooden information board on the entrance to the thrilling ride. It stated you had to be at least 1.4m tall but, after all, if Ryan was six years old he wouldn't fit that requirement yet.
Whilst Ryan made a moue, Stephen received a thankful look from Connor and most of the other people in their group. With all the sweets they had eaten during the drive a ride on the roller coaster was certainly not a good idea.
Connor grasped Ryan's hand and pulled him towards the next attraction, the bumper car ride, but Ryan braced his feet on the ground.
"I want to go on the rollercoaster," he muttered and extricated his hand out of Connor's grip. "I want to go on the rollercoaster," he repeated, a tad more forcefully. When no one reacted to his outburst Ryan stamped his feet, yelling, "Rollercoaaaaaster!"
"Here we go," Lester mumbled, being all too familiar with such scenes from his own children.
But Jenny's quick thinking avoided the crisis.
"There's a much bigger rollercoaster on the other side of the park," she said, waving a map of the theme park. "Because it's 205 feet high it’s only for very brave people."
"I'm brave," Ryan declared indignantly.
"Well, then this will be the right ride for you."
"Yes, Stephen, it’s high and fast. But at least it doesn't have loops and corkscrews like the other one," Jenny said as she registered Stephen's scowl. "Of course we could have waited until Tom ran out of breath screaming bloody murder. I, for my part, prefer to go with him on the Stealth rollercoaster for just 15 seconds. Do you think you can survive the short time span on a thrill ride or do you want to explain to him he’s too small to ride that as well?"
"As if there was any choice," Stephen muttered. Ryan's little scene had already attracted enough attention.
When the group started to move towards the area where the Stealth attraction was located, Ryan mumbled happily, "Rollercoaster," before he stuffed another handful winegums from Cutter's ample supply into his mouth.
After the thrill ride Ryan was a lot more subdued. He hadn't asked for a repeat like Stephen had expected. Instead he had forgone the Flying Fish and chosen a slow boat trip on the artificial lake. Stephen suspected strongly Ryan was a little queasy in the stomach too. Connor most certainly looked a little green around the gills. And so did Jenny.
"Where's Cutter?" Stephen asked, suddenly realising that his friend was missing.
Abby shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't seen him since the Stealth ride."
"Lester is missing too," Jenny declared with a frown.
"Has anyone seen Cutter and Lester?" Stephen called over to the second boat with Finn, Lyle, Lorraine and the staff of the medical lab.
As usual Lorraine knew where her boss was at that moment.
"He and Cutter were heading back to the other rollercoaster," she called back.
"Bloody hell, what does Cutter want with that rollercoaster? He told me once he gets sick from loops."
"From what I overheard he's playing chicken with Lester," Lorraine answered with a smile.
"And Lester’s got involved with this nonsense?"
Lorraine continued to grin before she took a big bite of her candyfloss.
Stephen rubbed his forehead. He had counted on Lester being one of the reasonable people with half of the group already behaving like children and loving it. That only left Abby, Jenny and him as the responsible-minded adults on the boat.
The next moment Jenny went overboard and a wild yelling started around Stephen.
"Can I have my hand back now?"
"Huh?"
"My hand, Cutter?"
Cutter flushed bright red and abruptly let go of Lester's hand that he’d been gripping firmly since they had gone into the first loop. The ride had been hell but he had successfully fought his fear and managed to keep his food inside him. Therefore he'd won the bet. No loophole left for Lester to get out of the deal.
Cutter swallowed the lump building in his throat. No, better not think of loops in any way.
Ryan and Stephen helped a soaking wet Jenny back into the boat.
"You looked funny. Like a blowfish," Ryan told her, still amused about how Jenny's jacket had puffed out in the water.
Jenny preferred not to answer. At least the light windbreaker had rescued her from being exposed to the audience in her rather too thin white blouse.
Attentively, Connor wrapped the blanket he'd found under his seat around Jenny.
"Over there’s a shop where you can buy new clothes," Abby declared. "Or do you need to see a doctor first?"
"I'm fine. Just embarrassed. It seems to be getting a habit of mine to take a bath in the lake." Annoyed, Jenny shoved a strand of wet hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear.
Abby and Connor heaved a sigh of relief. If Jenny could joke about the other time she went overboard under much more dramatic circumstances then she had to be all right.
Cutter stared, confused, over at Jenny. He could have sworn she had been in a skirt this morning. Now she was clad in some sort of chino trousers and was wearing her hair open and not in the stern-looking bun any more.
"What happened to Jenny?"
"You don't wanna know," Stephen muttered. "So how are you feeling?"
"A little wobbly but otherwise fine. Don't worry, I'm not going to be sick on you."
Cutter suddenly started grinning and pointed at Lester, who was just emerging from the restrooms.
Lester had undergone a complete change. Gone were his former semi-formal clothing, instead he was wearing casual summer clothes he apparently had bought just now - beige shorts, a white teeshirt, showing the Blue Sky Park logo and white trainers.
Before Stephen could inquiry why Lester had decided he needed a change of attire, Cutter declared with satisfaction, "That's much better. Now he’s dressed for the occasion."
"What did you do?" Stephen asked worriedly. He wouldn't put it past Cutter to have shoved Lester in the lake.
Cutter smirked. "He shouldn't have taken on a pro. I know how to win my bets."
Stephen rolled his eyes and watched Cutter walking towards Lester to tease him about his pale legs. "Oh man. You know we’re are supposed to be the adults here."
Lester had apparently heard Stephen's words because the face he made looked a lot like Ryan's pouting.
The whole group had decided they had had enough excitement for a day and had moved to the areas designed for families with younger children. There was much laughter when they all tried out the classic carousel with horses and carriages. Ryan sat proudly on a white horse with black mane and waved happily over to Stephen on a brown horse. Then they mounted the big Banana boat swing.
In Wet Wet Wet, the mini water park, Ryan could finally indulge in his passion for slides. The water slides in a variety of sizes weren't as long as his friend Bobby had cockily asserted but Ryan had fun nevertheless.
"Cutter, if you think I’m going with you on this slide then you are quite delusional," Lester huffed good-naturedly when Cutter pulled him over to the ladder of a large slide.
"Psst, Lester! Keep quit."
Cutter's tone told Lester that he was seriously worried. Instantly he became all business like.
"What's wrong?"
"We have a problem. A very big problem. I just saw a Smilodon vanish between the trees over there."
Lester turned to the forested area Cutter was indicating with his head and tried to see through the shadows.
"You are absolutely sure?"
"I wish I wasn't. It was a damned large specimen."
"So it isn't the creature you caught last time?"
"No, this cat is a lot bigger. Why do you ask?"
"I thought Leek might have lied about the creature's death and set it free again to stir up problems."
"Who knows how many else are running around here. We should evacuate the Park."
Sighing, Lester fished for his mobile in his trouser pocket. "That certainly will go down well with the park manager. I guess that will get me another reprimand from the Home Secretary."
"Who cares about a reprimand. People are in danger. Get a move on!"
When the mobiles carried by Jenny and the field team started ringing everyone knew it could only mean trouble.