David Golemon - Primeval

When Jack looked back down onto the plateau, he saw a sight that froze his heart.

"I'll be damned," Jack mumbled.

Sarah, Charlie, and Everett looked down and saw what Jack was seeing. There, huddled where a hundred giant beasts had been a moment earlier, was Marla. She was on her knees and she was praying over a body.

"Oh my God," Sarah said. "It's Helena, her grandmother."

Twenty minutes later, Jack, Sarah, Ellenshaw, and Everett reached Marla from the ledge, and joined her on the top of the plateau. The girl had stopped praying and was just looking straight ahead. When Sarah touched her on the shoulder, Marla didn't do anything other than place her own hand on top of Sarah's.

"Honey, how did your grandmother get here?" Sarah asked.

Marla patted Sarah's hand and then half turned. " They Who Follow brought her from home."

"They Who Follow?" Carl asked.

Marla finally stood. She had been crying heavily, just as the giant apes had been. She wiped at her dirty face and looked at Everett.

"That's what the old ones called them. They Who Follow. They say they got their name by coming across from Asia thousands of years ago — the last time when man was forced to this continent by drought and ice. Legend has it that they followed the clans of men. They have been here ever since."

"Marla, why would they bring your grandmother here?" Jack asked.

The young girl looked curiously at Jack for a long moment, and then she turned to face the rising sun.

"I'm happy you escaped alive from those men — those Russians."

Jack didn't ask why she didn't answer his question, he just looked at Carl and Sarah and waited while the girl figured something out. It had been the way she had looked at them a moment ago that told Jack to be patient.

"The others—" She looked at Jack for a split second. "Your sister, is she alright?"

Collins dipped his head in answer, silent because of the unvoiced sympathy the girl had been prepared to deliver if Lynn hadn't been safe. He could now see that this young woman had been around death all of her life, and she understood it more than being afraid of it.

Marla reached out and took Jack by the hand. Then she started walking. Sarah looked at Carl and Charlie, and they slowly followed along. They walked for about a quarter mile when Marla took them into a copse of young trees encircled by far more ancient pines. She led them into a clearing where Jack stopped and allowed Marla to go on alone. She stopped and then turned. Jack waited for Sarah, the Doc, and Carl; they all slowly approached. Marla was standing in front of five objects that were half buried in the ground and covered by small bushes that had sprung up in front of them.

"My grandmother didn't allow me to come out here by myself. She was always wary of They Who Follow. She said that no matter how smart we thought they were, they were still animals in their own right." Marla turned and smiled at the three people who stood silently, waiting for her to say what it was she brought them here to tell them. "My grandmother will be buried here along with my mother, my father, and the rest of our family."

"Marla," Sarah said, removing Jack's hand that tried to stay her from talking. "Why are they buried all the way out here, and not close to your home?"

"They need to be safe — safe from people like those men that came here. There will always be men like that; men that seek to take what is not theirs to have."

As they watched, Marla uncover the first of the headstones that had been carved by a Tlingit Indian, year after year, every time there was one of her family to be buried. The secret had been kept close to the hearts of the inhabitants inside the Stikine Valley, and known only to a few.

Jack stepped forward and saw the first two names on the first two stones. It was the names of Marla's parents. She ran a loving hand over the cool stone, and then stood and moved to the far right of her parents' burial spot.

"Sarah had said you and yours have run into things that would amaze and astound the rest of the world, so maybe you can keep a secret. That is the least I can do for stopping you men; share what has only been known to my family for almost a hundred years."

She started pulling the small bushes standing guard in front of the last three headstones. Marla looked as if this was something she had wanted to do since she had been born, maybe as a way of explaining herself — her very existence.

As the first carved name was uncovered, Jack stepped forward and his mouth fell open as he read the headstone.

"Colonel Iosovich Petrov, beloved husband and servant to Tsar Nicholas, died 25 September 1955," Jack said aloud. He looked back at Everett; Ellenshaw, and Sarah, all of whom stood dumbfounded.

When Marla had removed the bushes from the last two stones, the entire story behind the fishing camp, the gold and the Twins of Peter the Great came into sharp focus and understanding dawned in Jack's eyes. The words were clear and they were literally earth-shaking.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaievna Romanov

Beloved wife of Iosovich

Born 5 June 1901 Died 18 February 1956

Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich Romanov

Beloved son of Nicholas II and Alexandria

Born 12 August 1904 Died 3 March 1919

Marla finally turned and faced Jack, the professor, Sarah, and Everett. She smiled, almost embarrassed at what she had shown them.

"They didn't deserve to be separated from their mother, father, and sisters, no matter what the outcome. My great-great-grandfather Nicholas should have understood that, without family, there is nothing."

Jack swallowed; he was speechless as to what he was witness to. Sarah swiped at a tear as she looked at the words on the tombstone. Charlie was amazed to the point of grieving for the girl and her long-lost ancestors. Everett, for his part, placed his arm around the girl.

"My family, since being here, has taken on the responsibility of something just as great, or even greater: the protection of the wildlife that live here. You see, they used to roam the open spaces from Canada to Mexico — now they have only this place," Marla said as she gestured around her. "We lost our home once, for reasons that were brought on by arrogance and class, something we will never attain again."

"The Crown Prince Alexei and Anastasia, your great-uncle and your great-grandmother," Sarah said as she couldn't take her eyes from the stones in front of her.

"You once said your people were good at keeping secrets — I hope this is true," Marla said as she smiled sadly, and moved off to bury her grandmother alongside a family lost to history.

Jack swore that this was one secret that would be kept.

Lynn Simpson sat at the rear of the office. Her arm was in a sling from the twelve-hour surgery she underwent for the infection in her hand after the crude amputation by Sagli. She waited patiently staring at the back of her boss's head.

Nancy Grogan would turn around and smile every few minutes as she waited with Lynn and the director of CIA, Harlan Easterbrook, for a day of judgment that was long in coming. The director sat silently waiting for the visit they all were expecting.

A buzz sounded and the director hit his intercom. It was his male secretary.

"Mr. Rosen is here, sir."

"Send the boy right in and also give the order I gave to you earlier."

"It's already in the works, sir."

Easterbrook sat back in his chair and waited. Soon, a knock sounded and the door opened. Stan Rosen, the assistant director for operations stood smiling at the door.