I hid a yawn behind my hand in an effort to not look unprofessional in the meeting room in the Home Office. I'd been in the lab all night again, inputting data, running all sort of different experiments in an effort to answer a mere few of the plethora of questions determining how exactly the anomalies could exist.

Nick was standing beside me with his hands in his pockets, flicking his attention between my cousin on the computer screen and my continuous string of yawns.

'The magnetic field's remaining consistent at about 5 tesla,' Connor said from the Aldwych anomaly site, 'at this point there's no sign of deterioration. Let me demonstrate. Huh?' He tapped his fingers against his metal flask and held it out to the anomaly.

'Who's that idiot?' Lester asked, as he circled back from the screen.

'That's Connor,' I explained, 'he found the evidence that led us to the first anomaly. He's sort of a genius. He also happens to be my cousin.'

Lester looked sceptically back at Nick. 'He has a very good brain,' Nick agreed, 'even if he does look like a half-wit.'

'It runs in the family,' I said. But still seemingly unconvinced, Lester peered around Nick and glanced at me. 'Without Connor we never would have found any of this.'

'Mmm,' Lester hummed, clasping his hands behind his back, 'and remind me again what we then need you for, Miss Havisham.'

'Quite right. I think I might be over-qualified for this.'

'Yes,' Lester agreed tightly. 'They might as well fire the rest of us now that you're here.'

I shook my head. 'Not at all,' I said, 'someone's got to make the coffee.'

Nick snatched his hand over his mouth. Meanwhile on the tape, Connor had made it over to the anomaly with the metal flask. He squealed excitedly as he let it go and it sailed straight back into the event horizon of the anomaly, skimming the shoulder of the poor scientist next standing beside him. 'Bull's-eye!' Connor exclaimed, before he started to laugh, coming back to stick his face in the camera. 'That kills me every time.'

'We may stand of the brink of Armageddon and at least we have the irritating students on our side,' Lester said in his usual pessimistic monotonous tone, 'how reassuring.'

'Is this thing still on?' Connor asked. The feed ended and the room fell silent.

'The previous anomaly proved to be temporary,' Lester told the men and women sitting around the table as he pulled out his chair and sat down, 'but as you've just heard after 2 weeks this one shows no sign of weakening.'

'The anomalies may be intermittent,' Cutter interrupted, 'and they fade from time to time but they never really completely disappear.'

'Well if that's true then creatures would have come through before.'

'Maybe they have,' Nick responded. He took a couple of steps towards the table, the collar on his coat turned up and bouncing with each step.

'Ancient civilisations spoke of monsters,' I reported, 'perhaps they weren't as naïve as we presumed.'

'Anomalies are exclusive proof that the past exists,' Nick said.

'And it is a fourth dimension that is a real and solid as those we already know,' I added.

'Our job is to predict and contain them. We need to establish what happened–'

'Thank you, professor!' Lester suddenly got up from his seat to claim the attention of the other personnel as he interrupted. 'We'll take this from here. The professor and his colleague are speaking in an independent professionality. Official policy has yet to be finalised,' he finished, just as the door swung open and a man in a suit walked in to hand a note to Lester. There was a momentary silence as he read it. 'It appears we may have another one.'

Nick and I shared a look. 'Where are the others?' he asked.

I looked at my watch. 'Hospital,' I answered.

'Do you want to drive?'

And before anyone could tell us otherwise we walked out the meeting room.

Stephen was looking much better than the last time I'd seen him. Connor was there already, slouching against the wall as Stephen busied around him collecting his things to put in his bag. They both looked over and smiled as we entered. 'Morning,' Stephen said as he stuffed a jumper into his bag. I made my way to the end of his bed and Connor turned and sniffed the air suspiciously as I passed.

I reached down and immediately pulled the sweater back out before folding it and putting it back in its place. 'How are you doing?' I asked, even though I had already picked up the charts from the end of his bed and started flicking through.

'Yeah, I feel so much better.' I nodded along and read through the results of his latest blood screening. 'All thanks to you, of course. You and – '

'Is that perfume?' Connor interrupted in disbelief as he sniffed the air again. 'Why have you got perfume on?'

'I've been in the lab for the past 48 hours,' I returned without even looking up. I couldn't remember the last time I'd showered. 'So I'm glad that's what you're getting, not-'

'Are you wearing lipstick?'

I pulled my Carmex out my pocket and held it to out him. 'We had a meeting at the home office but you're right, I shouldn't have bothered they're still yesterday's clothes.' I finished with the charts and flipped them closed, returning the clipboard to the end of the bed.

'You still look good.' Stephen said.

I flicked my fringe back with my index finger and bit the inside of my cheek. 'Thanks, I think.'

'It's good of you all to come, you shouldn't have, really,' Stephen continued, zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

I frowned, turning to look accusingly back at Connor. His lips were pursed, his pinky finger sticking up as he carefully smushed my lip balm across his lips. 'Connor?' I questioned.

'What?' he mimicked.

'You didn't tell him?'

Connor smacked his lips together. 'Don't flatter yourself,' he said. 'Some of us just like hanging around with nurses.'

'No!' I complained. For a second I seriously considered smacking him round the back of the head but there honestly wasn't the time.

Stephen frowned. 'Tell me what?' he deduced.

I looked back to Connor but he still wasn't catching my drift. He mirrored Stephen's confusion. 'You didn't get my text?' I sighed. 'God, Con, don't you ever check your phone?'

'What text?' Connor returned.

'We've got another one. Another anomaly.'

From the doorway, Stephen sighed in frustration. 'Really?'

'Yeah... but I mean, you don't have to come if you don't won't to. You need to rest, I can take you home before we go.'

'No,' he sighed again as he pulled his phone from his pocket. 'It's okay, just, my girlfriend was going to come and pick me up.'

'Girlfriend?' Connor repeated loudly. He whipped his head around to me but I didnt meet his gaze.

'Sorry,' I apologised, 'that's a word Connor's not familiar with.'

'Oh, ha ha,' he quipped back.

'Alison,' Stephen continued, 'she's been in the rainforest for 2 years researching infectious diseases.'

'Let's hope she's not one of those girls who brings her work home with her.'

I didn't want to encourage him by laughing so I bit down on the inside of my cheek. '2 years,' I repeated. 'You must have missed her.'

'Yeah,' he said unconvincingly. 'I better call her: tell her not to bother. I'll just be a minute.'

'Alright.'

As soon as he stepped out into the hallway I moved my focus to Connor and we shared a look. There was a momentarily silence- as was often the case- where i thought maybe we wouldn't need to communicate with anything more than a look because it was obvious we were on the same wavelength. However, like so many times before, Connor couldn't help but open his mouth. '2 years...' he repeated under his breath like he thought I might not have heard. I hummed. 'How much sex are they gonna have over the next few days?'

It only caught me off guard because I hadn't thought that was where he was going with it. 'Okay. Business,' I reminded him.

'Minded,' he returned. But again he wasn't finished. 'Just... that's a long time, really, I bet he's really-'

I threw the pillow off the empty bad right at him. 'No- I don't want to think about his–'

'I'm not saying you have to think about his–'

I pointed a finger at him. 'Don't,' I warned. It was too late. I was already thinking about Stephen's dick. He was a tall guy, good foot taller than me, pretty well built. I'd have been lying if I said he didn't have a certain energy. And as though we were both aware that I was definitely thinking about it, Connor and I shared the same wide-eyed look.

He raised an eyebrow. And though I agreed, I shook my head. Connor's mouth opened. 'Weird though,' he then continued, 'I mean I know I'm no expert but I was convinced he wanted to put it in–'

'Okay!' I said quickly, to shut him up.

Behind us, Nick cleared his throat. And as though Connor had forgotten all about him, his gaze snapped back over my shoulder and his eyes widened a little. There was a little flash of panic in his expression and he quickly said 'but what do I know? I'm a virgin.' Everything got worse. His eyes bugged and his face went bright red. 'Oh, god, I don't know why I said...' And he started to panic from the embarrassment.

'I didn't need to know that,' Nick said.

'You okay, Connor? Are you having a panic attack?'

'Maybe.'

Nick cleared his throat again and I turned around to face him with a straight lipped smile. 'So...' he said awkwardly, 'have you got the address?'

I reached for my phone, hoping a message had come through from Ryan or Lester or someone to tell us where exactly we needed to go to check up on this so-called reported creature sighting. To my relief there was a text in my inbox.

'Yep, I have the address,' I replied and passed my phone over to him so that he could see. 'Just waiting for Stephen.'

Stephen appeared at that moment in the doorway like I'd been calling his name. 'I'm good to go.' He gestured back over his shoulder. 'Shall we?'

'It's pretty obvious she killed her boyfriend,' the lead detective explained as we walked alongside the swimming pool, 'but we don't know what she did with the body. Just keeps babbling on about monsters and sea serpents.'

Up on the bleachers overlooking the pool, there was a girl wrapped in a towel. She was shivering. Even from a distance I could tell it was shock. I watched her for a second then turned my attention back to the detective.

'Would you let me talk to her?' I asked.

He quickly turned on his heel to stare down belittlingly at me. 'What about? Monsters?' he mocked, 'I'm conducting a serious murder investigation-'

I frowned. 'But there was no murder.'

'Anthony Barton was killed by an ancient marine predator,' Nick added in explanation. He was in a bad mood- I couldn't tell if it was in lieu of the conversation at the hospital, or whether it was the detective's tone that had rattled him, his fists were clenched at his sides. 'Which then,' he continued sharply, 'returned to its home thousands–'

'Millions,' I corrected softly.

'–Millions,' he reworked seamlessly 'of years in the past.' Then he turned on his heal and walked quickly away from the detective.

'Who are you people?' the detective asked.

I rolled my eyes. 'Thanks for your time, Inspector.'

Nick seemed to have sensed that I was following him because he didn't turn back to me before he started to speak. 'The girl's innocent.'

'I know.'

'We can't let her go to jail for something she didn't do.'

'Of course we aren't going to do that,' I told him. 'I'll speak to Ryan, or Lester, anyone who can do something to help her,' I said. 'Don't worry.' As if on cue my phone started vibrating in my pocket and I pulled it out. 'Speak of the devil,' I said as I flipped it open and read the notification on the screen, 'text from Lester. Something's come up. I need to go to the lab.'

'The DNA is conclusive,' I found myself explaining just a few hours later, throwing a file down onto Lester's desk.

'It's the boy from the swimming pool,' Cutter explained.

'Or what's left of him,' I added. Lester picked up the picture from within the file and started to flick through them. 'It's a bolus,' I explain, 'a regurgitated mass of flesh and bone. The beast swallowed him whole and vomited up what it couldn't digest.'

'What kind of creature could have done this to him?'

'What you should be asking yourself is how the remains of a boy attacked in a swimming ended up 20 miles away in a reservoir.'

'Maybe there never was an anomaly,' Lester said, 'maybe the girl murdered her boyfriend in the swimming pool and dumped her body in the reservoir.'

'That's very likely,' Nick started.

'Providing you also believed she also swallowed him whole-' I continued.

'-then drove 20 miles down the motorway-'

'to regurgitate his remains.'

Lester's lips curled up into a grimace as he calmly folded his arms and waited. 'Alright then, you explain it,' he replied.

I glanced at Nick before beginning, 'we know it was the same creature in the pool and the reservoir.'

'Perhaps the anomaly has a fixed point of origin in the past,' he conjected.

'–yet somehow it remains fluid in our time–' I continued.

'–they don't just open–'

'–they move.' I finished.

Lester's eyes moved back and forth between us as he sighed. 'That really is...' he started slowly, 'creepy. I don't get it. I don't get how you do that.'

Was he even listening? This guy was unbelievable.

'You don't understand,' I responded slowly.

'There's a pattern,' Nick explained.

'It could open again at any time–'

'At any point–'

'Within that twenty-mile radius.' I stared at Lester hoping he would understand the significance of the statement but his face remained stoic and calm. It finally occurred to me that nobody had explained to him what was in between. 'That's central London.'

His face fell. 'What do we do?'

'The best plan at the moment is to go back to the beasts' last known location,' Nick said.

'The reservoir,' I explained, 'put it under constant surveillance starting yesterday. We need water readings, plant samples, any signs of change and we'll know about a possible location for the anomaly.'

'And do the same at the swimming pool,' Nick continued, 'a team of people monitoring it.'

'And then someone stationed at any body of water in between. We don't know if there's a link somehow, it might only reappear beneath the water.'

'It's better to be safe than sorry.'

'Get it done.'