Amara grimaced, as sun hit her face. Blinking away the tears, she waited paitently for her eyes to adjust to the new lighting while she covered them, trying to peer at her surroundings. They were outside, and must have gone right through the golden city. The otherside was filled with jungle, a deep river flowing in front of them and a mountain wall with what seemed to be a cave at the other side of the river.

Walking closer, they both saw a bridge but unfortunately it was raised and the level was on the other side. Turning around, noticing several doors besides the one they had exited, apparently the labyrinth had several solutions to it, but no other bridge or way to cross the river.

Turning around, Amara’s breath caught in her throat as she was greeted by a bare chest as Silas was currently undressing.

“What are you doing?” she finally stammered out, trying to turn her eyes away. She waited for Vihaan to cover her eyes before she remembered that he couldn’t, and finally turning her gaze away.

Silas, who seemed to noticing her morose mood, changed the subject, ”I will need to swim across.”

“Doesn’t it look a little suspicious. The river is the only thing that protects the artifact, I doubt there wouldn’t be any other measures to protect such an invaluable object,” Amara said, watching the water. It wasn’t flowing too quickly for people to swim across. She saw nothing lurking underneath the clear surface and there was no sharp stones in the mud.

It simply looked too easy for her liking. Silas had stopped what he was doing, his eyes peering at the water. “Gharials or crocodiles?”

“Perhaps, but…” Amara looked around, seeing no signs of any of the giant lizards by the banks of the river. “I see no signs of them.”

“There might still be goonches, sharks or stingrays,” Silas muttered and walked over to a close by tree. He pulled of a giant branch and walked back to the river. Amara walked closer as he started to prod the mud, stirring it up so that they could not see the ground.

Nothing happen, Silas lifted up the branch only to have it suddenly ripped out of his hand as something grabbed onto it, snapping it in half.

They both stared at the branch, flowing down the river.

“Did you see what did that?” asked Amara, both intrigued and scared at the prospect of a monster lurking underneath the surface of the beautiful river.

“I saw what looked like a white snake.”

“A river snake?”

“It looked like it but-“ Silas eyes narrowed,”it was, from what I can tell, around 8 to ten feet long.”

Amara stared at him in pure horror. “There is no snake that large!”

“Not what I know of, I’m not sure it is a snake. It didn’t have scales,” Silas got a fruit this time, throwing the peach into the calm water.

Amara let out a gasp in surprise as what look like a ten feet, white work with with a large gape adorned with two fangs, one on the upper jaw and one on the lower, threw itself out of the water to catch the fruit. It pulled it down into the water, only to release the fruit a second later.

“What is that?” Amara asked, her voice faint.

“I don’t know but it is carnivorous,” Silas grumbled.

“What?”

“It spat the fruit out, that means that those fangs aren’t just to look terrifying. It most likely head meat,” Silas explained, glaring at the water like he was trying to make it part.

“Please, tell me you aren’t considering going over,” Amara said, feeling dread dripp into her heart.

“I will have to if we are to cross.”

“That is ludicrous,” Amara shouted, watching as Silas went to grab a bunch of sticks. “That thing, or several for that matter, have lived here for gods know how long. It has survived for thousand of year in this place where there aren’t as many prey. That means whatever lurks underneath the surface is a good enough hunter to catch whatever is stupid enough to try and cross.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“Let’s try and turn the level from this side. Maybe by throwing a rope-“

“We don’t have a rope and the level are to be pulled away from us, not towards us.”

“Then we can try and throw stones at the level.”

“It is too far away. We won’t be able to hit it with enough force.”

“We can try!”

“Be my guest.”

Staring at the stubborn man, Amara humphed and picked up stones to throw at the level. She weren’t even able to make them cross the river, and only made the strange worms agitated as the stones rustle the water.

“Are you done?” Silas asked as Amara stared at the water.

“Then I should go,” she finally said, determination written on her face.

Silas stared at her like she was a fool. She felt like one as well when she volunteered to be eaten by river worms.

“Are you insane?”

“No more than you are!” Amara pointed out, feeling like the true foolish thing with this conversation was the two of them seemingly arguing who should go to their death.

“I can handle a few love bites, you would cry your eyes out over a nibble.”

“Those fangs won’t leave just a nibble.”

“I know, but I am strong enough to at least have a chance to fight back.”

“I’m faster!”

Silas let out a loud laugh echoing across the jungle while Amara pouted, feeling her pride taking a hit. When Silas finally finished, he wiped the tears and walked over to grab some of the rope, tying it around his waist.

He then gave the other end to Amara who stared at it questioningly. “What am I suppose to do with this?”

“Drag me out of the water in case I fail to cross.”

“This is a insane plan,” she muttered.

Click. She froze as the safety of a gun went off, and stared at a figure behind Silas pointing a pistol at his head.

She recognized the grim looking man as one of Silas men and considering the nasty grin he had on his face, he wasn’t friendly.

“I think it sounds like a great plan,” the man said.

Silas didn’t spin around, he just lifted his hands. Eyes flashing in anger as he stood steady in fron’t of Amara, ensuring that the gun would not be pointed at her. “Sarthak!”

The man grinned, whistling at his men who came over chuckling as they grabbed onto the struggling Amara. “Great to see you boss. Didn’t think you would see any of us again, did you? Not since you threw us at that damn burning demon to save your own life.”

Sarthak’s eyes turned to Amara. “I won’t blame you though, who wouldn’t dump us grunts for a pretty lady. Have you already tasted her or is she untouched?”

“The way she is dressed she was probably not a virgin to begin with,” one of the men holding Amara said, pulling at her pants and enciting laughter among the men.

“Touch her and I will kill you,” Silas said coldly.

“You have grown weak, Silas. You can throw your men to the beasts but a pretty little girl is too much for you,” Sarthak said, tsking while shaking his head as he watched Amara slap the intruding hands away.

“I’m still stronger than you.”

Sarthak pressed the gun hard against Silas head, his face distorting in disgust. “I know what you have done. You are no different from the monsters in this place, you coldblooded son of a whore.”

“I never claimed to be anything else,” Silas said, turning around to stare Sarthak straight in the eyes. “You were only too foolish not to care.”

They both stared at eachother for a few seconds before Sarthak sniffed, his smile plastered on. “Well, now you are going to walk across the river to spare us the burder.”

“And why would I do that?” Silas asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Sarthak nodded to one of his men, who pulled out a knife and put it against Amara’s throat. She could feel the cold blade scrape against her skin and held still out of fear of the nasty man’s hand slipping.

“Or the pretty little girl will go home with a piece of her face missing. If you don’t start moving we will start pulling of that pretty skin from her face until only a bloody mess is left.”

“You are no less of a monster than me, Sarthak.”

“I learned from the best,” Sarthak said. “Now, move!”

Silas gave Amara a glance, seemingly considering his options before he pulled of the rope, knowing that no one would pull in in, and walked towards the river.

Amara wanted to cry out, telling him that she won’t watch another person die while she stands helplessy beside and watch but nothing came out from her pale lips and all she could do was wait and pray, to whoever would listen, to help him.