Dangerous Dimension

by Pippa Le Quesne

  Ryan, the SAS leader, stepped forward. ‘Looks like he died of shock,’ he said gravely. ‘They found this tied to his wrist.’ He held out a plastic bag containing what appeared to be a white handkerchief.

  Claudia glanced at it briefly then did a double-take, her jaw dropping. Stitched into the corner were two initials – H.C.

  Helen Cutter.

  ‘You took your time.’ Cutter smiled. He and Stephen were already inside the Dexters’ house.

  ‘How did you know about this?’ Claudia’s reply was frosty.

  ‘It was the first place we tried on the fault line,’ Cutter responded. ‘I’m looking forward to the expression on Lester’s face…’ He trailed off as he noticed the stony expression on the civil servant’s face.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked.

  Claudia held out the plastic bag containing the handkerchief.

  Cutter stared at it for a long moment, then brushed past her without a word and walked out of the room. He needed some time on his own.

  Some time later, Claudia found Cutter in a bright glass-panelled room, gazing out at the garden. He was a million miles away.

  Cutter finally broke the silence. ‘Helen’s mad old aunt used to give her those handkerchiefs. The same present every birthday and Christmas. We used to laugh about it.’ The professor’s voice sounded strangled. He turned to face Claudia. ‘It’s a message. She’s waiting for me on the other side of the anomaly.’

  ‘Just like she was in the Underground,’ Claudia added quietly.

  Cutter nodded slowly.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Claudia tried to restrain her fury. ‘You lied to me. All of us.’

  ‘Put yourself in my position,’ Cutter said coolly. ‘I’d just found out my dead wife was still alive.’

  Claudia stared at him, her anger laced with a deep sense of betrayal.

  ‘I was going to tell you when I had the whole picture.’ Cutter faltered.

  ‘She might know things, things that could help.’ Claudia’s voice was hostile now. ‘You had no right to decide what we should know or when we should know it.’

  ‘She’s my wife,’ Cutter retorted.

  ‘Maybe in your mind that gives you some kind of special privilege. But this affects us all.’ She swallowed and then, business-like, delivered the final blow. ‘If you can’t see that, then you just can’t be here any more.’

  Abby Maitland and Stephen Hart were busy unloading oxygen tanks and diving equipment from the back of Cutter’s Toyota. Abby suddenly felt the uncomfortable sensation of being stared at.

  ‘What?’ she said, swinging round to face Stephen.

  He hesitated for a second. ‘My memory’s back. Some of it, anyhow.’ Stephen cleared his throat. ‘Enough to know why you’re angry with me.’

  Abby was taken aback, but she didn’t show it. ‘We’ve got a job to do, Stephen…’ she replied casually. She knew, of course, what he was referring to. He’d had a near-death experience after he was bitten by an Arthropleura and in the heat of the moment he’d asked her out on a date. She’d been over the moon – but then, once he’d recovered, all traces of the event seemed to have been wiped from his memory. She’d gone to the hospital, all tarted up, and he’d acted like nothing had happened. It was gutting.

  Abby sighed and reached for an oxygen tank, but Stephen put out a hand to stop her.

  ‘Can we at least talk about it?’

  ‘Look, I overreacted. I’ve already forgotten about it.’ Her response was breezy.

  ‘I remember and you forget. Typical,’ Stephen joked. Abby fought back a smile, enjoying the moment as he struggled to find the right words. ‘I thought I was never going to see you again. I didn’t want to die without you knowing I… liked you.’

  ‘You should have been thinking about your girlfriend,’ Abby said curtly.

  Stephen’s handsome face showed a mixture of stress and embarrassment. ‘The truth is, she and I don’t really know each other that well any more,’ he ventured.

  Abby hauled the oxygen tank off the four-by-four. ‘Well, now she’s back you’ve got a chance to get reacquainted,’ she said, determined not to give away anything this time.

  ‘Abby… I’m sorry.’ Stephen’s voice was gentle.

  ‘There’s no need to make this big thing out of it,’ Abby replied brusquely. ‘I fancied you for a bit, and now I don’t. That’s all.’

  She ended the conversation by marching off towards the house, a fleeting look of disappointment evident in her pretty features. Stephen watched her go, regret etched on his face.

  ∗

  Lester was holding court inside the Dexters’ house.

  ‘The revelation that Helen Cutter is alive changes everything…’ he began slowly, enjoying the moment of catching Professor Cutter on the back foot.

  Connor and Abby, who had not been privy to this information, looked palpably shocked.

  ‘She’s alive?’ blurted Connor. ‘How did I miss that?’

  Claudia glanced at Cutter. ‘It’s a long story,’ she said coldly.

  ‘Eight years living in the past…’ Connor was incredulous. ‘Oh dear… how are we going to explain Celebrity Love Island?’

  ‘Shut up, Connor,’ Claudia snapped.

  Connor held up a hand in nervous apology, suddenly sensing the brittle atmosphere.

  ‘She is eight years ahead of us in terms of understanding the anomalies,’ Lester went on impatiently. ‘Her knowledge could be priceless. We need to share it.’

  ‘Fine, if she was here,’ Stephen remarked. ‘But she isn’t.’

  ‘Which is why we’re going to find her.’

  Cutter stared at Lester, slowly becoming aware of where he was heading with this.

  ‘We know she wants to make contact.’ Lester stared back at him. ‘Finding her will be difficult but we have no choice. She must be brought back here, by force if necessary.’

  Cutter bristled. ‘This is my wife you’re talking about.’

  ‘Which is why I want you to go through the anomaly and bring her back. You will of course have a military escort.’

  ‘To do what? Shoot her if she refuses to come?’

  ‘To protect you. Both of you,’ Lester said smoothly.

  The room crackled with tension. No one spoke, but all eyes were on Nick Cutter.

  ‘The alternative is that you cut all ties to the anomaly project with immediate effect and we’ll find her ourselves.’ Lester’s voice was oily and he knew he had won. This would be impossible for Cutter to bear.

  The professor took a deep breath. ‘All right. But on one condition. I go on my own. Send troops and you’ll never see her again. She’s spent eight years keeping out of sight. She knows how to disappear.’ As Lester hesitated, Cutter felt his position strengthening. He continued. ‘There’s no question of force. I’ll do my best to persuade her, but if she won’t come, that’s it.’

  ‘How can we trust you?’ It was Claudia who spoke up.

  Lester interjected before Cutter had a chance to reply.

  ‘I’m sure Professor Cutter won’t let us down again.’

  Cutter’s eyes flew to Claudia and he could tell from the exchange of glances between her and Lester that she had told him everything.

  ‘Do try to remember which side you’re on,’ Lester said dryly, giving Cutter one of his thin-lipped smiles.

  Stephen helped Cutter into his wetsuit and aqualung. They were down in the Dexters’ basement.

  ‘You’ve got roughly two hours of air and a mile of rope.’ He held up a coil of nylon climbing rope with a harness attached. ‘Take a compass reference when you get there and don’t remove the harness under any circumstances. After two hours we reel you back in.’

  Cutter nodded, listening intently.

  ‘The water pressure inside the anomaly will be intense. The harder you swim, the more air you use.’ Stephen picked up a slim, hi-tech harpoon gun. ‘This has an effective range of about ten metres. If you have to use it against a preda
tor, wait until you see the whites of its teeth.’ He grinned at his boss, trying to make light of the situation.

  Cutter half-smiled, then turned to face the dark pool of water and lowered his mask. This is it, he thought. Possibly the weirdest thing I’ll ever do. Then he plunged into the depths.

  Almost immediately, it seemed as though something had changed. Cutter noticed a faint rippling in the water and then the familiar translucent haze of an anomaly. He paused for a second and then swam through its centre.

  Stephen, Ryan and Connor watched the rope playing out into the water. They glanced at one another, all aware of what it meant. The professor was through.

  Cutter swam hard against the force of the water until suddenly the pressure slackened off and there was a change in the quality of light.

  It was unbelievable – he was in a deep turquoise-blue oasis and he could see the sunlight refracting from the surface above him. He allowed himself a moment to marvel at the bizarre aquatic creatures that flitted past him and the richness of the colours around him, then he quickly swam upwards, the scientist in him eager to see more of this strange new world.

  Cutter waded out on to the gravelly beach and looked about. The vista was breathtaking. All around him were craggy peaks, cascading waterfalls and a panorama that went on for as far as his eye could see. Despite vast numbers of ugly reptilian birds, wheeling and squawking above him, it all felt so untouched, so vast, so silent. He had spent years reading about this, imagining it, but he had never dreamt that he would actually set foot in the Cretaceous era.

  Taking off his aqualung and harness, he looked around. It was hard to believe that somewhere out there was his wife.

  ‘Helen!’ he shouted.

  Nothing. Just the echo of his own voice bouncing off the rocks and the screech of an unidentifiable creature.

  Deciding to get on to higher ground, Cutter began to negotiate one of the rocky outcrops. The professor climbed slowly and steadily, amazed by his surroundings but not anticipating his arrival smack in the middle of a flock of the reptilian birds that he’d seen down on the beach. They were large and ungainly with long necks and small flippers. He squinted at them, searching his memory. What were they? If only Connor was here – he’d know.

  A few of them waddled forward, barking like seals, but it amused him to notice that by standing his ground and walking steadily on, they gave him a wide berth.

  Splash!

  Cutter froze in his tracks. What was that? Craning to look down between the rocks, he saw a narrow turquoise pool. And there, gliding through the water… was his wife.

  Helen glanced up at him, a playful smile on her lips.

  ‘Hello, Nick,’ she said nonchalantly. ‘I see you got my message.’

  Nick Cutter stood with his back to his wife, who was dressing after her swim. She was so relaxed it was as if she’d just stepped out of the shower back in her twenty-first-century life. It felt absurd.

  ‘You’ve lost weight,’ Helen commented as she buttoned up her shirt. ‘You haven’t been eating properly.’

  Cutter ignored her remark. ‘You let me think you were dead.’

  ‘I am dead,’ Helen threw back, sitting on a rock to lace up her boots. ‘At least as the person you knew. My old life ended eight years ago.’

  Cutter clenched his jaw.

  ‘You can turn round now. I’m decent,’ said Helen, getting to her feet. Her tone was almost mocking.

  Cutter swung round and appraised her. She was wearing a light-grey shirt and combats. There was a knife in her belt. Her chestnut hair was longer than he remembered it, but she looked pretty good. Gorgeous, in fact. Looking at the woman he’d loved, but no longer knew, felt like someone twisting a knife in his gut.

  Helen examined his face. She saw pain, grief, then anger, flash across his features. She looked away and shifted her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. Then after a moment she said quietly, ‘There’s no easy way to do this, is there?’

  ‘Maybe we should skip the small talk.’ Cutter’s voice was hard. ‘Why didn’t you come back?’

  ‘What are you really upset about, Nick?’ Helen said, passing over his question. ‘That I stayed away or that I didn’t tell you what I was doing?’

  ‘I’m not upset, Helen.’ Cutter looked her directly in the eyes. ‘I just don’t know who you are any more.’

  For a second, he thought he saw Helen wince ever so slightly, but then she jutted out her chin. ‘You want to know why I didn’t come back?’ Her voice was defiant now. ‘Because I knew if I came back your precious conscience would make you throw all this out there for everyone to trample over.’ She paused. ‘And I wasn’t ready to share it then.’

  Cutter couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. He stared at her, dumbfounded.

  Suddenly, one of the reptilian birds advanced towards them, squawking and baring rows of dagger-like teeth.

  Helen picked up a large stone and hurled it at the bird. It hissed aggressively, but backed away and slithered into a nearby pool.

  ‘Hesperonis. Scary up close but cumbersome and very, very stupid,’ Helen remarked. She met her husband’s eyes. ‘What do you want, Nick? An apology?’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘What’s the point?’

  ‘Eight years of my life back would be nice,’ Cutter retorted.

  ‘Oh, come on,’ Helen said dispassionately. ‘People grieve and heal all the time. Why should you be any different?’

  Cutter clenched his fists, determined not to show her how much this was hurting. ‘Then why bother coming back at all?’ he exclaimed. The professor ran his eyes over his wife. She was exactly the same, but even more confident. More gutsy. Suddenly, the penny dropped. ‘Let me guess. You want something.’

  Helen smiled broadly. He was still the same Nick.

  ∗

  Stephen frowned at the slack safety line in his hands. The waiting was unbearable. Needing a change of scene, he stood and hurried up the basement stairs to the study where Abby and Connor were poring over local maps and plans of the sewage system.

  ‘How long has he been?’ he asked Abby, who was pacing the room nervously.

  ‘Ninety-one minutes and forty seconds,’ she replied, smiling helplessly.

  Connor looked up. ‘Drains,’ he said simply.

  Stephen and Abby exchanged a look of confusion.

  Connor pointed to the map. ‘In theory, a creature could make its way through the sewage system to the river. Once it got there, it could go anywhere.’

  ‘And?’ Stephen pressed him.

  ‘The good news is the size of the drains rules out anything bigger than a small Mosasaur,’ Connor explained.

  ‘How small?’ Abby asked anxiously.

  ‘Not small enough,’ Connor said grimly.

  An ominous silence filled the room as the three of them mulled over the implications of this discovery. However, it was broken by a commotion just outside the French doors, which stood ajar.

  A naval detail of four divers were getting out of a truck and Claudia was giving them hurried instructions.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Stephen called out.

  Claudia didn’t say a word but glanced at them guiltily, then clicked shut the glass doors. She didn’t want them to hear what she had to say.

  Helen poured tea from a metal thermos and handed a cup to Cutter.

  ‘Did you come back before?’ Cutter asked, watching her casually screw the lid back on the flask. ‘Did you watch me grieving? Did you come to the funeral?’ He felt utterly desperate, yet here she was, able to perform the most banal of tasks as if nothing had happened.

  ‘No. Was it good?’

  Cutter allowed himself a laconic smile. ‘It was OK.’

  For a moment, Helen looked uncomfortable, but she quickly composed herself. ‘I’ll answer your questions, Nick. All you have to do is come with me.’

  Then, as if filled with a girlish excitement, she rushed on. ‘There are more anomalies than you can possibly imagine.’ She w
as positively animated now. ‘I know how to find them.’

  Cutter shook his head in disbelief. ‘I asked you a question. Why now? Why do you suddenly want me now, after so long?’

  ‘I’m human,’ Helen replied, her face softening at last. ‘I want company. I want to share this incredible gift. But only with you.’ Cutter stared at her silently as she became more passionate. ‘Nick, I have seen such wonders. Things you wouldn’t believe.’ Her voice quivered with excitement.

  ‘You’re asking me to abandon my life! Leave behind everything I know!’ Cutter couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. ‘People are dying back home and you want me to run away with you?’ His tone had become contemptuous.

  ‘Animals die, Nick,’ Helen said in exasperation. ‘Species die.’

  Cutter looked at his wife, utterly dismayed by her indifference.

  As if Helen could tell what he was thinking, she toyed with him. ‘You know I’m right,’ she said. ‘One day humanity will disappear just like the dinosaurs – and nature doesn’t care. Something else will take our place.’ Her expression was fierce now as she went on. ‘Leave all the other stuff behind. It’s trivial compared to this. Come with me,’ she implored him.

  Cutter shook his head again. ‘I’ve got a job to do,’ he reminded her. ‘You can help, if you like.’

  Helen was startled by his response. You’re rejecting me?

  Cutter looked deep into his wife’s eyes. ‘I’m asking you to come back with me.’

  Helen picked up her rucksack and swung it over her shoulder. ‘I offer you the key to time and you turn your back on it.’ Her voice was bitter. ‘Call yourself a scientist.’

  ‘I call myself a human being,’ Cutter said firmly. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to change her mind, he took one last look at her, then began his descent back to the beach.

  Helen stared after him, incredulous. Even after all this time, she had not expected her husband to rebuff her like this.