Claudia stared at the screen with disbelief. Now this was unprecedented. She glanced to the administrator who had brought it up. "Are you sure this is right?" she queried.

He nodded before clicking the mouse to select another tab. "There's this story to go with it," he explained.

Claudia looked at the grainy image of a scanned newspaper cover and paled slightly. She stepped back from the computer screen. "Thank you," she murmured awkwardly.

Claudia headed briskly for Lester's office. She took the quickest route she knew, swiping her pass at coded doors in an automatic gesture, barely registering as they opened for her. Each corridor was bright thanks to ceiling to floor glass walls, which were tinted on the outside but allowed the full brightness of the day to enter. In summer any greenhouse styled effect was banished by the discreet air con system built into the ceiling.

Claudia reached Lester's domain within minutes and hurried in without a knock.

James Lester looked up at his subordinate with a disbelief that only increased when he realised just who had ignored protocol to disturb him.

"Claudia what is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

He was seated at his desk with a handful of papers before him, flustered from the latest phone call from his superiors. Lately stress seemed to be James' default mode. No one seemed to care that he hadn't exactly trained for prehistoric animals making random appearances in the modern world. All his bosses cared was that he kept it quiet and sorted it.

"Sir, it's about Goue Vlaktes, the National Park in South Africa," Claudia began. "It closed down in nineteen-eighty-four."

James' eyes went wide with surprise. He stood up from his desk briskly and stared at Claudia as if waiting for the punchline.

"It was after a group of visitors and a park worker went missing. There was a headline suggesting an animal attack but it said whilst their clothes and traces of blood were found in the area of a pond there were no bodies. Ultimately, it was left as an unsolved mystery with a variety of theories. The paper named them," Claudia continued, "Melina Hollywell was the worker and two of the victims were her brother Kaden and sister Phoebe, the rest were friends."

James frowned as he tried to gather his thoughts together. His mind was screaming that this was impossible but another tiny, stubborn voice argued that not only was it possible but in the world of anomalies it could make sense.

"She's not from our time," Claudia murmured.

"No, it would seem not," James retorted dryly.

Claudia felt pity for the woman as she wondered what the next decision would be. It was bad enough what the woman was trying to digest- monstrous snakes and crocodiles, the death of her family and friends, and portals that had transported her but to tell her that she was over two decades out of date as well seemed unimaginably cruel. Claudia knew they had been contemplating sending her home but what was home for her in this present time? More importantly, how could they risk sending her to people who might know her when she hadn't aged in twenty years?

"What are we going to do?" Claudia queried quietly.

James gazed over at Claudia with annoyance, wondering why she thought he would have an answer to this problem so suddenly. "Well tell her I suppose," he muttered. "She'll figure it out soon enough."

Claudia resisted giving her own frown as James' vagueness irritated her. James Lester was an enigma to Claudia, at times she disliked him but it was perhaps no more than the disdain most workers felt for their superior but at other times she admired his ability to handle a seemingly impossible job. She did not always agree with his decisions but nor did she envy him being the man who had to make them. Only Nick ever seemed to have a desire for some of Lester's authority and even that was limited to what Nick did, he certainly didn't want control of Lester's staff, he would just preferred they listened to him more now and again.

"Now?" she queried.

James nodded. "No time like the present," he retorted dryly. He frowned at his pun and gave Claudia a stern stare, daring her to point it out.

Claudia just nodded, unwilling to stir James up over bad phrasing.

"Actually," James said, "I'll come too."

He placed his paperwork into a neat pile, taking care to pat and push it into alignment before he stood up. He made a show of glancing at his watch and back at the paperwork before gesturing to the door with one hand and an impatient glance.

Claudia led the way out, the subordinate until they started walking towards the basement, then they moved side by side to present a unity to the others. Claudia and James were both fans of the importance of presentation and knew it was better for them to appear on the same side. Of course Cluadia did permit her morals to sometimes have her oppose James but she tried to do so in diplomatic manner, presenting opposition as if they were merely trying to reason out both sides of an argument to come to a reasonable conclusion together. She could admit privately that sometimes Nick Cutter had her looking to her morals as well, he might not have the glib tongue of a government worker but he could be just as persuasive as one, sometimes more so.

When they entered the cool, darker quarters of the labs James was dismayed to find the tourists present. They were gathered together around a set of computer screens that Connor was seated and typing at, comparing theories and debating over what to search next as they studied a map of England with marked anomaly sites on it.

At the sound of footsteps, the group glanced over as one, Abby and Connor looked intrigued whilst Stephen was cool, offering up a neutral expression of calm. Nick's gaze was on Claudia, intense and bright as he offered a small glimpse of joy in it.

Claudia gave a small smile before trying to force some neutrality to her stare as she took in the others around Nick.

James searched the area, his head turning about impatiently as he hunted for the woman. Spying Dr O'Hare walking to the right he snapped to him, "doctor where's the patient?"

Jason, now used to James Lester's eternally brash, blunt manner that was usually coupled with a weary, woe is me, looked to him with a dull calm.

"She needed fluids and nourishment," he retorted.

James' frown deepened as he glared at the man, waiting for him to continue.

The doctor smiled and gestured with the thumb of his left hand to a door just behind him and to the left. "She's in the tea room with Captain Ryan."

"Still with the man with the gun," Claudia murmured. She tried not to sound offended but she couldn't understand why anyone would willingly pick Ryan over her as a companion to find sanity in the mess of a world of anomalies. She was a listener and good with explanations, Ryan was blunt, a soldier not a nurse or a therapist, he wasn't going to want to cradle and reassure some traumatised young woman.

Jason's smile widened as he saw the annoyance in Claudia's brown gaze. He nodded.

"Yes, I suppose if I'd encountered a giant snake and crocodile that had devoured my family members I might be seeking out someone good with weapons too," he reasoned sardonically.

Claudia stiffened slightly as her gaze darted over to Nick. The golden-copper haired man had been in the jungle too, surely he was more appealing than Captain Ryan, he had a friendlier attitude and was sympathetic and kind and good enough with a gun when he had the option of using one. Alright, it tended to be a tranquillizer gun in his case but still, for a university professor he was quite good when it came to defending his colleagues from primordial beasts.

"Let's tell her the news," James remarked moodily.

James headed for the door the doctor had gestured to, accompanied by Claudia who was starting to think James delivering the news was not a good idea. She gave Nick a final fleeting glance prompting him to head over to them.

"Do you have some news?" Nick pried curiously.

James halted with a sigh and glanced over his shoulder at the man with a scornful stare. "It's private Cutter, the girl deserves to know before everyone else."

Claudia glanced at James with mild surprise. She didn't think he had the compassion in him and agreed that the woman deserved to hear the news without an audience.

Claudia gave Nick an apologetic smile. "We'll tell you after," she assured, "but James is right, we should deliver this news privately, it's only fair."

Nick nodded as his irritated gaze softened quickly with Claudia's gaze. "Alright. Just remember she's already been through a lot in one day," he cautioned.

James rolled his eyes at this before turning back to the door.

Claudia nodded before heading after James.

The tea room on the other side was small with four wide tables capable of fitting six people each. There were three vending machines- snacks, cold drinks, and pre-packaged refrigerated snacks, and a coffee and tea point with disposable cups, a milk jug and two tall cannisters of hot water. At one table in the middle Captain Ryan and Melina Hollywell sat opposite each other in silence.

Melina's sharp, grey-green eyes darted up at the noise of the door opening, wary as she took in Claudia and James. She sat with her arms folded, tense and uncomfortable as she watched them approach.

Captain Ryan didn't bother looking over, he recognised the sound of Claudia's heels on the tiles and the flat slap of James' expensive soles.

James and Claudia halted at the side of the table.

"Captain Ryan, could you give us a minute please?" James queried politely.

"No," Melina protested sharply even as the blonde captain made to stand. She turned a hostile stare up to James. "If he goes I'm going, I don't trust this place or anything going on right now. I don't know that a giant snake isn't coming out of nowhere again," she added as her eyes filled with a wild panic, "and I'm not sitting here like a duck waiting to find out, not without some kind of weapon."

Ryan's lip curled up slightly in a small hint of a grin at this. He knew he should be offended at her referring to him as a weapon but he took it as a compliment. If she thought he could protect her from giant snakes appearing from nowhere then he was doing his job right.

"Right and when the captain's working day ends are you going to follow him home?" James sneered. He held up his palm to her and waved in a dismissive gesture. "Never mind. We have news for you and I think it would be better you hearing it in private but if you don't mind the captain here for it that's fine."

Claudia, who had been looking at James with mild scorn when he sneered at the woman, glanced back to her inquisitively. She couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through Melina's mind, how did one process all this? She considered her own indoctrination to this world, summoned from her government post to James' office in the Home Office, excited as she contemplated a promotion. James had been practical with his explanation, pacing the room with his hands behind his back advising her curtly that proof would come first hand to her soon enough as he discussed animals of an antiquated nature and a curious, scientific matter involving the laws of time that they had to investigate. James had been vague, embarrassed that she would laugh in his face probably, and he had allowed her to face the proof when Nick, Abby, Stephen and Connor all did. Sure, Claudia had been given a slight advantage with newspaper articles and blurred photographs to ponder but nothing matched up to meeting a Scutosaurus and almost getting devoured by a Gorgonopsid. After that, Claudia was committed to her new role.

Melina shrugged. "Go ahead, you're strangers to me the news isn't going to be personal."

"Melina," Claudia addressed her gently before James could snap, "what date is it?"

Melina gave the red haired woman an odd look and frowned. "That's an unusual question. I asked him about the wrappers." She nodded to Ryan before gesturing to the vending machines. "They're all different, I mean it's been six months since I was in England but they can't all have changed so much."
"I don't know what they looked like to you before today," Ryan retorted calmly. "And I can't say I study crisp packets or chocolate wrappers so if there has been a change, it wouldn't be on my radar."

Claudia gave James a sideways glance, wondering if it was to their advantage that Melinda already had suspicions. "So what date is it?" she repeated.

"It should be the seventeenth of August, nineteen-eight-four," Melina answered carefully as she cocked her head slightly at Claudia, her voice full of doubt and suspicion.

Claudia's brown gaze filled with sympathy as she recognised the date as the date given in the newspaper of the grisly disappearances that had led to Goue Vlaktes being permanently closed just a week later.

"It's the twenty-second of September, two thousand and seven," Claudia explained, taking care to emphasise the year.

Melina was silent as she kept her eyes on Claudia but her gaze became unfocused.

"Do you understand?" James queried rudely.

"I...I missed the millennium," Melina said dumbly, "I..." She shook her head. "But it's not possible." She looked at the pair in puzzlement and pointed down to the table with one finger. "This is the future?"

"It's our present," James corrected.

"Same difference surely," she retaliated hotly. "No." She shook her head again. "No, it's not right. There was a jungle and now here, none of this is right. What the hell are you trying to say happened or is happening? I've travelled through the time?"

"You came through an anomaly," Claudia attempted to explain. "It's a portal that opens up to different times and places."

Melina just continued to shake her head. "None of this makes sense," she said quietly. "It was those lights you mean, under the water." She glanced across the table to Ryan this time. "Is that where that thing came from? Did it travel too?"

Ryan nodded. "An anomaly must have opened where you and your friends were, the snake came out and you and your brother went in."

Tears budded at Melina's eyes at the mention of Kaden. "Then you all came through one from here to the same place?" she queried.

Tom nodded. "Yes, and we brought you back through."

"So, can I go back?" she quipped hopefully.

"The anomalies only stay open for so long," Ryan answered carefully.

"We are still studying them," Claudia interjected a little more hopefully.

"Studying them," Melina repeated slowly. She glanced up to her with a frown. "This isn't odd in this time?"

"Oh it is," James chimed in bitterly, "believe me. Only a few select people are meant to know about it."

James' frown let Melina know that she wasn't meant to be one of those people.

"Are there others like me?" Melina queried.

"No, you're the first," James retorted, he added bitingly, "and hopefully the last."

"And they say it's good to be first," Melina grumbled as she sagged back against her chair, "well I'm not feeling good."

Melina's gaze fell on the table once more. "Thirty-three years," she murmured weakly. "Then...my parents, they might not even..." She paused as pain filled her gaze. "What have they gone through, all their children...am I marked as dead somewhere? This isn't right!" she cried out suddenly.

Claudia tensed at the shouting in surprise.

"Surely it can be fixed," Melina complained, "surely I can go back through one of these things. Maybe, if it's time travelling, just before it happened."

She pushed her hands up through her dark hair and shook her head yet again. "It doesn't seem real but I don't think my worst nightmares could have imagined this. I didn't want to go swimming, I should have said something, done something. This can't be inevitable, not if there's time travel."

"It doesn't work that way," Ryan warned as he guessed at her thoughts. "The portals open to prehistoric times but one appearing in your time suggests they're not as new as we think, maybe they've always been around, a window to the past."

"Well I want one to my past damn it!" Melina snapped at him with a glower. "I don't understand, you say this happens here, why can't it be that way?"

Ryan frowned. He didn't really have an answer and was surprised by the time she seemed to have come from. To him the anomalies appeared in this time only with a link to a time older than ancient, he had never imagined under right now that the anomalies had appeared throughout time to other humans giving them the same wondrous and dangerous link to a time of reptilian mammals, dinosaurs and creatures so old their buried remains still hadn't been discovered yet. He did not believe there was any other way to it, that a portal might open up giving them a glimpse of the Victorians or the Romans or the Vikings, no it was the pre-man past always as far as Ryan had reasoned.

"It just can't," he answered bluntly.

He realised he was wrong, in the Permian landscape, in a time long before man there had been signs of humanity- a camera, an abandoned lunch box and a skeleton. Cutter's wife had been on the camera but she couldn't or wouldn't explain. It had all unnerved Ryan though he would never admit it, it had just felt wrong. Time meddling, that's what it was and another reason why civilians shouldn't be involved in this.

"You're lying," Melina hissed back at him with a glower.

"Look," James interrupted in a pragmatic tone, "right now we have no knowledge of an anomaly that would take you home. You're out of time and I have to ask, what are we going to do with you?"