The first thing I see as I break the surface is Six, standing at the edge of the water, looking for me. ‘What happened?’ she calls.

‘She passed.’ Commander Sharma nods.

‘You okay?’ Ella shouts. ‘I couldn’t see anything through the glasses.’

‘I’m good,’ I yell back. And I really am.

‘What do you mean, she passed?’ Crayton demands of the commander. ‘That was one of his tests?’

The commander just smiles serenely and ignores Crayton.

‘Okay, who’s next?’ Treading water, my eyes follow the commander’s finger high over my head. I turn to see a shadowy figure up on the jagged wall again. This time he’s a giant bearded man with an axe in his hand.

Six wades into the water up to her knees as I climb out, wringing water out of my long, dark hair. She is all steely determination and confidence when she says, ‘Me.’

The figure walks to the third waterfall and dives. This time he makes a massive splash when he hits the pool. We can see the ripple on the surface of the water as he moves towards Six under water. Then the tip of his axe comes out of the lake, followed by his giant head. Six doesn’t flinch, doesn’t change expression at all, even when he’s fully emerged and stands at least four feet taller than her in the shallow water at the edge of the lake.

With a grunt and a howl, the giant swings the axe. Six leaps out of the way but before he can pull back, she kicks at the wooden handle, breaking it in half.

‘Way to go, Six!’ Ella yells.

The giant swings a fist at her, which she easily avoids with a bob and a weave. With the next beat, she lands a quick kick to his kneecap. As the giant bends over and howls in pain, Six grabs the end of the broken ax handle as it floats by and swings it at his head. The being disappears before it hits him.

‘What the hell was that?’ Six asks, whipping her head around wildly, on the alert for any kind of reappearance.

Commander Sharma smiles placidly. This guy is really starting to make me angry. ‘That was another test, which you passed. There is one more.’

Before anyone can speak, we hear a roar. I reel back with horror at the creature I see emerging from the water. It’s over ten feet tall and has the head of a lion and the body of a man. It has five muscular arms flexed at each of its sides. The creature shakes the water from its mane as it steps onto the shore and marches towards Ella, unleashing a second roar.

‘Oh. My. God,’ Ella says, mouth open and eyes wide.

‘No,’ Crayton says, stepping in front of Ella. ‘You’re not ready for this – it’s too much.’