I scanned the immediate vicinity quickly and carefully. There must have been something out there; I couldn't have imagined the noise but even with the infrared visibility was impaired and the dark shaped off the trees were too imposing to see through.

The sound came again this time from behind us, Stephen raised his rifle and turned. I reached behind me to pull my knife from its sheath and he was there, back–to–back with me. I grabbed the handle of my knife and pulled it free. My eyes kept moving from left to right, right to left, surveying, just in case.

Something enclosed around my wrist, and I immediately snatched it back only to find Stephens hand came with it. He didn't let go until I turned my head questioning to him. He raised the hand and pointed off through the trees. I turned my attention in the direction he was pointing and could just about make out the glowing orange heat signature of a warm engine.

'Go,' he told me, barely in a whisper.

So, per his instruction, I silently stepped through the leaves towards it.

As soon as we were close enough I lifted the infrared and checked the truck with the naked eye for any markings or signs that the creature had been near it. There was nothing. Something wasn't right. I pulled the driver's side door open, checked the ignition for the keys but they were gone, and that didn't seem right either. Because if someone had been spooked by something, they wouldn't have bothered to take the time and pull the keys out the engine. But, no one in their right mind would have abandoned the truck in the forest, in the dead of night, for no reason.

I heard the crunching, the sound of something behind us and as I reeled around Stephen lifted his gun.

There was a gasp. Valerie threw up her hands in surrender.

'It's Valerie,' she said softly. And Stephen groaned under his breath as he pulled off his goggles and lowered his weapon.

'We know who you are,' he replied, 'what are you doing out here?'

'My van,' she responded and gestured to the vehicle behind us, 'the engine just cut out. I didn't know what to do.'

If her engine cut out why the hell did she wander away. I cocked my head.

'Right, come on,' Stephen said, 'we can take you home.' He put a hand on her arm, and almost immediately started walking back in the direction we'd come from, presumably trying to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

It was then that I noticed it: an almost completely undisturbed footprint of something on the ground.

'Anna?' my head snapped up. 'Come on.'

I slowly sucked in my cheeks. This could be our only chance. 'Gonna stay,' I replied quickly.

Stephen frowned, he opened his mouth, but nothing came out before it promptly snapped shut again. His nose twitched. 'You're sure?' I just nodded. 'Then take this.'

He swung the rifle off his shoulder and held it out to me.

I looked at it. I knew why he was trying and it was a good idea because he had a pistol too and if need be he could defend himself with that in an emergency but I could still be out here a while. 'Stephen,' I said.

He moved forward and I immediately tensed up. 'Anna,' he mimicked in the same tone.

I reached around myself to rest my hand on the grip of my knife as if by way of explanation. It would hardly be the first time I'd been out on my own at night where something could attack me. When I was marooned, sleeping at night was still the best option in most eras. In all honesty there were just as many creatures in both the daytime and the darkness that could have eaten me so I was quite used to being out there with something.

And I wasn't afraid.

With the gun hanging around my neck I would have been. I'd be more afraid of it than anything out here. It didn't matter to me that it was non–lethal or that it didn't make that same godforsaken sound when it fired because I'd never be able to pull the trigger.

'Can't,' I said in explanation as I shook my head, 'can't do it. So take it. Wouldn't use it.'

He looked back at me with this sadness that took me almost by surprise and I knew he knew there was nothing that would change my mind, and yet he understood where I was coming from. I was just as good a tracker as he was now. Maybe– though he would never admit it– better.

He nodded. 'You know Nick's gonna kill me when he hears about this.'

I shrugged. 'Gonna tell him?'

'Okay,' he finally agreed, because already he'd promised to trust me once before. 'But, for god's sake be careful!'

I heard the scream echoing through the empty woodland.

I followed the sound and ran back, coming out round the back of the train station. I had only just made my way across the platform and caught sight of the body down on the tracks before the sound of footsteps caught my attention and i brought my head up just in time to see Nick and Connor appear on the opposite platform.

Even through the darkness, my gaze found Nick's and we stared at each other for a moment. Then he turned, taking Connor by the arm and leading him back into the building behind them.

I decided that I'd honestly rather risk staying out there in the dark than cram myself into the broom cupboard. There had been a witness- a trainspotter, Connor had texted to tell me- and he and Nick were currently in a room somewhere off the footbridge over the track with him.

The body was still in tact. The wounds were identical to the markings we'd found on the victim earlier that morning, and from immediate inspection it seemed the cause of death was a deep singular puncture right through the chest. I almost missed the second -an identical puncture through the neck- because it was covered by blood that blended perfectly into the darkness. Most of the flesh of his neck had been torn away and patches of skin floated in the blood pooling beside his head.

As I stood up to make my way back to the others, I slipped in some of him and only just managed to catch myself in time.

I pushed the door to the supply cupboard open, peeling the blood–stained latex gloves from my hands and the trainspotter looked up. Immediately he straightened, pushing himself off the shelving unit he had been leaning against and cleared his throat. 'Hi...' he said.

The noise made Connor look up from the laptop. He glanced over to me. 'A, I need your help, these pictures are like way too pixelated and I can't seem to get any clearer.'

'Don't need to,' I replied as I leant against the doorframe and stuffed my gloves back into my pocket. 'Can tell you what did it.'

Nick looked up. 'You know?' he asked straightforwardly.

I nodded. 'Teeth marks gave it away.'

He lowered his chin.

'What?' Connor questioned as he looked between us.

I had to get the trainspotter out before I could continue. I held out my hand towards him. 'SD card,' I said politely.

The man frowned, 'this is 4G ultra–fast.'

I titled my head, about to rattle out something about the official secrets act and how it now officially belonged to the government when behind the trainspotter Nick snorted.

I glanced around the man to stare at him. 'Oh aye,' he said, 'why don't you just flirt with him too.'

Connor gave a wide eyed, uncomfortable glance at us, before quickly averting his attention back to the computer. And if I hadn't been so affronted by him, I easily could have let it go. I caught sight of the name tippexed onto the camera. 'Kenny, is it?' I asked.

Nick huffed again. 'Oh stop it, you're embarrassing yourself.

'Help us out here, and,' I continued, 'V.I.P access to the train depot of your choice,' I offered.

Kenny frowned. 'You can do that?'

'Be surprised.'

He thought for a second. 'I want to see the UFM160 Track inspection vehicle.'

'Done.'

He dropped the SD card into my outstretched hand, then with a final bashful smile, he ducked passed me out the door.

Connor slammed his laptop closed. 'So what is it?' he asked impatiently.

Nick and I both answered. 'Smilodon.'

Connor's eyes widened. 'Holy shit.'

'Want the speech again, or do you remember from last time?'

We took Connor home. It was probably just as well. He sat in the back of my car, stuck his head through the gap between the seats and chatted the whole way back, competing only with the radio he'd turned on himself. 'You know,' he said, as I turned down the last few streets before his, 'I thought Smilodon's were supposed to be pack animals, how do we know there's only one of them out there?'

'We don't,' Nick replied, 'but the fact that there have only been two deaths that we know off so far means its probably on its own. As soon as you start to factor in more predators, that number increases exponentially.'

'You think only one made it through the anomaly?'

'Maybe,' I answered. 'Would explain why we didn't detect an anomaly there. Could have come through and got trapped here any time before the A.D.D came online.'

'You really think so?' Connor questioned hastily. I nodded.

'But if that's the case why hasn't it attacked before now?' Nick counterargued. 'Why now? Where has it been this whole time?'

'Someone's protecting it?' I questioned deductively in response.

Nick raised his eyebrows. 'Maybe.'

I pulled up outside Connor's flat, he called a thank you, opened his door and stepped out onto the pavement before he stopped. 'Oh...'

'Connor?'

'My keys...' he replied in explanation. He quickly patted down his pockets but obviously didn't find them. He groaned. 'I left my keys in my bag... I left my bag in Stephens car... I don't have my keys?'

I glanced over to the flat. There was a light on in the upstairs window and instinctively I just responded 'won't Abby be in?'

I watched Connor's face crumple in confusion through the rear–view mirror. 'Who's Abby?'

I barely had a moment to contemplate what that meant before Nick quickly leant across. 'No Abby Maitland here,' he whispered bluntly and I glanced at him 'We never met her. She doesn't exist.'

I snapped my eyes back up to the mirror and stared dejectedly at Connor. After the initial pang of sadness I spared at the thought of a lost friend, it was quickly replaced by the sorrow I suddenly felt for him. Abby got him, in her own little way. And while Connor hadn't been so sure of her interest in him, I'd been pretty confident. I guess now it made sense how I hadn't seen her at the flat. I'd just assumed she was working. And come to think of it, I didn't remember seeing her name in my contact list- otherwise I might have remembered to call.

'Caroline,' Connor stressed, in gentle reminder like I could have got those two names mixed up. 'I'm seeing Caroline.' I gave a tight–lipped smile of fake gratitude. 'You really are terrible with names, A. And we're not really at the sleeping over at each other's houses stage yet.'

'Saying you have no way to get into the apartment?' I clarified.

'Yeah,' he said.

'Close the door,' I finished, 'looks like you're coming for a sleepover.'

The second I saw Nick outside the bathroom I one–eightied, intent upon staying as far away from him as I could so that we didn't have to talk. If he wanted to be childish I was more than happy to let him. He was the one who'd been rude, after all, and while it took quite a lot to offend me in a serious way, it seemed he'd somehow managed it.

And I was hurt.

Strangely I didn't mind that so much, because I found that a welcome reminder of just how much I loved him, because there was no one else on the face of the planet with the power to make me feel like that. 'Anna.' I heard him skip forward, his hand closed around my wrist and he stopped, tugging me back around to face him. There was as unusual brightness in his blue eyes, his expression was like he'd been caught in the headlights. And while I knew he was trying to display his sincerity, it only succeeded to make him look more guilty.

He took a hold of both my arms just below my shoulders and tried to distract me by drawing circles with his thumbs. Still biting down on the inside of my cheeks, I kept my attention down on the ground. But he waited, patiently, until I lifted my gaze to meet his. And cocking his head, he looked down into me. He leant in, probably just as surprised as I was when I didn't turn my head away from his kiss.

He pulled back and sighed softly. 'What I said–'

'Hurt me,' I replied, in interruption, like he didn't already know that.

He nodded. 'I know,' he replied, 'I know. I'm sorry– I know that we both are I just wanted–'

I pulled away and stared up at him in complete confusion.

I hadn't done anything wrong.

Honestly.

What he'd done was totally unwarranted, uncalled for and completely strange. Because I hadn't ever intended to flirt with West- I wasn't flirting with him. I'd just meant to be kind. Unfortunately to a man it seemed there was very little difference. It wasn't a surprise; any woman showing any kindness to any man was flirting in his eyes, despite the truth of it. That's the way the world was wired.

I turned my back on him.

'Anna?'

But I was angry again, this time I could feel it physically bubbling up inside me, and I had to take a deep breath to try and calm myself down before I did anything irrational. I got out of there.

He groaned again. 'Anna!'

But I was gone.