Goue Vlaktes National Park, South Africa

It was just after three in the afternoon, the sun was a little lower in the sky but the air still blazed with a sticky heat. It was the perfect excuse for taking a dip in the pond as Melina Hollywell's friends and siblings kept insisting. As they were visiting the national park Melina worked at she had insisted on completing her work for the day first. Four of their group of seven were staying on the park grounds in a wooden cabin at a reduced cost thanks to Melina. It was one of several cabins rented out by the park.

They had wrapped up a morning of seeing the sights and some of what the safari workers did on a daily basis with Melina's co-worker, top tour guide Abel Ralston, providing some interesting sights most visitors could only dream about. The afternoon had been spent at the safari park headquarters by the group minus Melina, who carried out her main duties of checking the hyenas, the jackals, and the African Wild Dogs. They had spotted hyenas but were also lucky enough to have a family of brown hyenas, which were the rarest of the species.

Melina had rejoined her friends half an hour ago and had finally given into their requests to go the pond that was a well known spot for park workers to cool off when on a break. It was one of those rare spots that was considered predator and pest free. Of course there was no guarantee.

"Alright Melina," her good friend Amy Young called with a smile, "enough work already, let's swim!"

Melina glanced over at the blonde and smiled back.

Amy Young was someone who initially gave the impression of being out of their depth in the African wilderness but she had embraced every experience of it. Finding a larger than wanted spider in the bathroom, Amy had been the one to safely remove it whilst Todd Gardner and Beth Brook had squealed and tremored in the background. Amy was a tough cookie but also a bright, merry person who could instantly light up a room.

"Aw shucks Amy we didn't bring our swimming gear," Todd taunted, "guess we'll all have to go as nature intended."

The brunette boy winked followed by a snicker as Amy, Beth and Melina's younger sister Phoebe all frowned over at him.

Amy gestured outwards with both hands. "Are you missing this weather Todd? It's roasting, I'm sure we can take a dip with our clothes on and dry out just fine after," she retorted. She spun round to emphasise her point sending her pale blonde hair in all directions. "God it might be boiling but I still love this weather," she marvelled.

Melina grinned as she spied her older brother Kaden watching Amy quietly with a small smile.

"Alright guys I think we're all in agreement," Sean Rivers piped up enthusiastically as he rested his hands on his hips and drew himself upright in mock self-importance, "swimming we shall go."

"No need to make a production of it Sean," Beth scorned him.

Melina laughed as Sean started to wag his finger at Beth in a scolding manner.

"Young lady I'm just making it clear so we know this decision came about democratically, I wouldn't want complaints later than we forced you women into the waters fully dressed," Sean retorted. His posh London accent only added to the effect of his words.

"Well we could still take a vote on the clothing," Todd piped up.

Phoebe hit him a playful smack on the back of his head. "Consider that a response on your vote," she mocked.

Todd winced at the blow and clapped a hand to the back of his head. "Hey that's intimidation you know!" he protested as his blue eyes darted to her with feigned anger. "Which means this isn't democratic!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes at this.

"Guys you are killing the atmosphere out here," Amy complained. "Less chat, more swimming and listening to nature. Come on, hear, feel it," she urged.

Amy raised a hand to her right ear, pushing back her hair as she did. Despite the heat somehow Amy managed to be immune to the curse of frizzy hair, something poor Beth had succumb to, forcing her to keep her dark hair up in a tight bun.

The group obeyed, sharing a moment of silence amongst themselves to take in the ambience of the world around them.

The air was full of sound. There was no traffic, no hum of people or cars, nothing like the fast paced, polluted streets of the English cities that most of them were used to. Here there were bird calls, the trumpet of an elephant in the distance, the chatter of zebras and even the low call of a hungry lion from somewhere out of sight.

Amy looked at Melina appreciatively and gave her a wide smile. "Thanks for bringing us here," she said sincerely.

"Now who's ruining the ambience?" Todd quipped sardonically.

Phoebe gave him a gentle shove. "Who's ruining the mood?" she retorted with equal taunt.

Todd rubbed his arm. "This is brutality, definitely," he complained jovially.

Without warning, Todd grabbed Phoebe about the shoulders prompting a shriek from her as he rushed her in the direction of the pond.

The group watched as with a wave of limbs and some skidding on the dust, the pair careened over the edge together and into the pond with a loud splash.

Although it was deemed a pond it was a large enough body of water. Shallow at one edge, it had a maximum depth of approximately eight feet in the centre depending of course on the seasons. Although the day was warm there had been some summer showers before their arrival so the pond was a good depth today.

A few grey crowned cranes at the edge of the pond gave them disgruntled squawks but remained where they were as they seemed to know the humans weren't a threat.

Phoebe and Todd rose separately, Phoebe's face was indignant as she splashed in Todd's direction with a curse.

"You could have let me take my shoes off first!" Phoebe snapped.

Todd laughed. "Hey mine are still on too," he reminded her.

"Well that's the water broken," Sean said enthusiastically as he kicked off his trainers and bent down to tug off his socks, "and neither of them got eaten by a crocodile so it's time to jump in."

"Be careful," Melina cautioned, "it's only about eight feet deep, wouldn't want any of you breaking your neck with some unnecessary somersaults."

Sean turned to face Melina, while walking backwards to the pond as he did. "Ah my good hostess, we wouldn't want that on your conscience," he said with a grin, "but you think too highly of me and my gymnastic skills. I am a humble swimmer with only the doggy paddle at my dis-"

Sean was unable to finish his sentence as he took one step too many and found himself falling ungracefully backwards into the water.

Amy and Beth giggled at the display.

Amy turned a mischievous grin in Kaden's direction. "Come on Kaden, race you there," she suggested. "Beth baby count us down."

Amy whipped off her shades and abandoned them with her sandals and khaki jacket.

Beth nodded eagerly. "Alright, runners get set."

Kaden, stunned, suddenly flustered as he glanced from Amy to the pond and attempted to ready his feet.

"On three," Beth said firmly as she raised her right arm into the air. "One! Two! Three!" She swung her arm down dramatically.

Kaden and Amy both broken into a sprint.

Kaden moved like a true runner, arms pumping in time to his steps as he took lengthy strides. It was easy for him, he had done track running in high school and kept it up at college. He was well known back in England for his sprinting and had earned several medals. Yet it was one thing to have the skills and to know the track and quite another to do it off guard with a distracting blonde beauty for a competitor.

Kaden couldn't resist slipping a blue eyed stare in Amy's direction to see where she was.

Amy had had the closer start but she couldn't match Kaden's speed.

Kaden made himself slow up, unaware of how noticeable it was to his sister Melina. He waited, trying to time it in his head, not wanting to give Amy a win or rob her of a victory either. A tie would be fair.

The pair hit the water at almost the exact same time and it was impossible to tell who had hit the water first.

"Well I'm done waiting, let's go Melina!" Beth called.

Beth abandoned her shoes, hat, sunglasses and bag with Amy's belongings before she hastened to the pond enthusiastically.

Melina considered that they could have better prepared for it. Sure they had suntan lotion and bug spray on them but no towels and the ground was roasting, not exactly ideal for running in bare feet.

The young woman raised a hand to shield her grey-green eyes as she looked out to her friends and siblings. She smiled at the sight of them splashing around and giggling with one another.

It had been six months since they had all been together. Six months since Melina had gotten her placement out here. It had seemed like an easy decision on paper, leave England for a year to work in an actual safari park. She had spent time back home in zoos working with predatory animals- hyenas, coyotes, maned wolves and European wolves but it was nothing like this. Yet her love for animals wasn't enough to entirely wipe out her love for her friends and family. The safari park had kept her plenty busy but it was only when saw everyone now that she realised how much she had missed them.

Melina lowered her hand and moved to the pond with a grin, there was no point observing her friends when she could be enjoying the fun. She stepped up to the edge and crouched down, dipping her feet in first.

Kaden spied the glimmer of unease in his sister's eyes and swam towards her.

"It's okay," he assured as he gave her a calm stare. "Water's lovely and it's shallow here."

Melina nodded as she rested her hands on the edge and prepared to ease herself down. It wasn't that she disliked water per say it was just that she didn't think it was something that could be trusted. Any body of water could hold secrets, even ones crystal clear could have something down there burrowed beneath the sand or soil. Any body of water could be treacherous as well, even if it seemed calm there could be weeds to tangle people or a sudden dip or slope.

Melina shrugged off her unease and pushed herself forward, trusting her brother's judgement. She would stick to the shallow bit.

The water shocked Melina slightly as she slipped in despite being a pleasant temperature. She kicked down instinctively, needing to feel earth below. Her feet brushed against dirt before she recoiled her toes, suddenly fearful of what else might be there. She bobbed about unsteadily, flinching when her brother's hand suddenly gripped her right arm.

"Remember what we practised," he murmured.

Melina nodded, thinking back to the lessons she had shared back home under her brother's supervision.

For a few moments Melina bobbed about, attempting an awkward breast stroke. She was so caught up in it she didn't notice the change. It was Phoebe who picked up on it.

Phoebe, out in the middle of the pond with Todd, tensed up suddenly and looked about in confusion. "Guys isn't it kind of quiet?" she quipped.

Todd smirked at her. "You mean we aren't yelling enough?" he joked.

Phoebe shook her head nervously as she moved about the pond slowly, glancing around with unease. "Those birds have gone," she murmured.

"Good," Todd enthused, "I didn't-"

Todd didn't get to finish his sentence as the sudden rush of water shooting upwards drowned him out.

The pond surface came to life, churning and frothing as a huge black serpent came shooting out of it. Todd was lost in a rush of blackness. He was confused as his lungs filled with water and his neck suddenly roared in pain. His mind screamed in panic and he couldn't even fathom what was happening as his body tumbled about in a cloud of reddening water.

Phoebe had no time to react as she found herself surrounded by a mass of black scales belonging to a body so wide and long it seemed to fill the pond. She saw the eyes that seemed directed at her, emotionless and gleaming brown, to the owner this wasn't personal, it harboured nothing towards her except a need for food. In that moment Phoebe felt her mortality as she realised she had in an instant been stripped of her humanity and reduced to prey.

In the commotion the pond itself seemed to have gained a current which drew everyone inwards towards the devil serpent.

Melina couldn't think. There was suddenly too much noise. Everyone was screaming. The water had been frothing like a geyser and even now it still bubbled. She glimpsed red colouring it and knew it was blood but she didn't know whose.

She saw a face, serpentine with a brown reptilian eye that glimpsed her way as the head moved past her getting closer to Phoebe. Melina's mind wanted to suggest snake but it was bigger than any she had ever seen or known to exist. Its body brushed against her, large enough to hurt as it moved with a frightening speed. The force pushed her down under the water and suddenly she had another problem.

Kaden saw his sister Phoebe turn blue. He heard her breaths for life become forced out whimpers and then he heard the loud crack that broke her ribcage. He tried to move to her but there was too much snake and its body was too formidable to pass. He looked about anxiously for anything that could help and glimpsed Melina going under.

Kaden turned an angst ridden stare back to Phoebe and his face blanched as he saw blood spatter out of her mouth.

Kaden took a breath and plunged under the water. He couldn't look at Phoebe, it couldn't be real, it wasn't possible! He couldn't even figure out what the hell was happening. He told himself to focus on Melina.

Melina found herself caught in a sudden suction without warning. Something was pulling her down, dragging her to a watery death. Wide eyed and terrified she looked for the source and was immediately awe struck.

It was like the water had been shattered somehow. Brilliant particles of white, diamond shaped lights were dancing at the bottom of the pond. It was mesmerising and beautiful and completely impossible. She wondered if it was a hallucination brought about from drowning as it drew her in.

Kaden saw it too as he found himself helpless to the same force of suction. He watched in horror as Melina went towards it and vanished.

Kaden couldn't understand. Melina wasn't in the lights, she was simply gone. He found himself getting closer to the lights and suddenly his body tingled as he passed into them. He couldn't even explain the sensation he felt. For a moment there was only a blinding white light and a sensation like he was crossing through water and yet not water, something warmer and thicker, like liquid metal might feel perhaps, it was strange but it didn't last long.

Kaden felt a shudder as the water temperature changed slightly and the feeling of suction passed. Desperate for air he didn't think, he just move instinctively up.

Kaden broke the surface with a gasp that turned into a cry of surprise. The dusty gold surroundings of plains was gone, replaced instead by a variety of greens from jungle foliage.

"What the hell is this?" he gasped.

"Kaden!"

Kaden turned at the cry and saw Melina just as confused as she tried hard not to flail in the water in a moment of panic.

Kaden moved towards her with a hard, fast shoulder stroke, determined to get to her as soon as he could. They were still in some sort of pond only it was wider and murkier and looked like it was going to be harder to get out of. The banks of it were steep, raised up with long stems of grass and a few vines hanging over.

"Kaden don't!" Melina called back. "Your splashing it's going to attract something!"

Something. Melina wondered what the hell something was. Where were they? She wondered dumbly if they had died, had the light been a crossover of some sort? Well this sure as shit didn't seem like heaven but it wasn't quite how she expected hell to be either.

Kaden reached his sister's side. He was still pale and felt himself turning numb as he started to head into shock. He saw Phoebe's lips parting to spit out the red droplets of her fading life and shook his head to shake the image. It couldn't be real, none of this could. He figured he was hallucinating, dreaming maybe, was he drowning? Kaden didn't know, he was a good swimmer, it seemed unlikely but what else was going on?

Melina turned an anxious stare on her brother. Her murky grey-green eyes were entirely too wide and the whites almost filled them. "Kaden we need to get out of the water," she said quietly.

Kaden nodded agreeably although he wondered about the light show below that had delivered them here.

"Now," Melina insisted.

"Alright," Kaden attempted to sound soothing but his voice was harsh. He was just as frightened as his sister was.

Kaden gestured with one hand to the right where a sturdy vine looked like it was within reach. "Head for the vine," he ordered.

They moved together, trying to be calm in the water.

They were unaware of the predator moving below. Built for its surroundings, the Acherontisuchus was able to use its webbed feet to move through the water with ease. Its golden-green eyes had little difficulty in spying its prey through the murky clouds of disturbed dirt in the waters and although its sense of smell was lacking as it had its nostrils closed under the water its hearing still functioned well despite the water. Four times the size of its victims with four powerful feet to match their puny two, it knew it would be upon them in no time.

Melina glimpsed a ripple in the water and immediately speeded up. "Quick Kaden!" she urged her brother.

She thought of how fast the serpent had come upon them and knew subtly was out the window if it was here. A small voice tried to remind Melina that most water predators sensed vibrations and she was better sticking with calm over speed but her mind had finally given up on logic for panic. All she could see was that impossibly large, black, serpentine face.

Kaden moved quicker too, just as terrified of what might be in the waters with them as his sister. A brief thought of what might be there outside the pond ran through his head but he dismissed, he'd focus on that when he was there.

Melina reached the edge first and stretched up for the vine with a grunt. She grasped it in both hands but struggled to get her feet up to climb. Her feet kicked against soft earth, loosening into the water as they skidded back down.

"I can't get up!" Melina cried out in a panic.

Kaden felt the water moving beneath him again. He knew something was there. He looked to his sister with a serious stare, not daring to look down. He felt a current moving up and knew there was no time.

Kaden grasped his sister about the waist with both hands and pushed her up as hard and fast as he could. He felt his body slip down into the water and sputtered as it splashed into his nostrils and mouth.

Melina stretched up as her brother raised her and got a higher hold on the vine. It was enough for her to get her feet higher up and into a better hold against the dirt. This time she was able to dig them into the bank and get a foothold.

Melina climbed as quickly as she could but speed was impossible, the earth was loose and the vine was slick with damp. She gasped and grunted as she moved slower than she would have liked, terrified of slipping back down.

The top of the bank became visible, moist grass and earth. She reached out with her right hand, feeling a prickle of alarm as her fingers slipped through the earth and her hand threatened to slide over the edge.

As Melina got a hold of the surface at last and hoisted herself up she was suddenly shocked by a violent spray of water.

Melina shrieked in surprise and turned back to the pond with a look of horror.

She glimpsed the form only briefly. It was all teeth, a greenish-grey snout and a powerful jaw attached to a large body that was all tough muscle and mostly still concealed in the water. The jaws clamped around her brother and with a yell of agony and a spray of blood he was gone, dragged back to the murky darkness.

"KADEN!" Melina screamed into the water.

A rising puff of blood was her only response.