He turned then, to follow Honor into the jungle to collect water and fruit. Danny watched her go, her blonde hair tied into a messy bun on the top of her head, her short denim shorts barely covering her bum. She hadn’t wished him good luck. She’d barely even looked at him when he’d walked out of the sea.
She’s just tired, he tells himself as he finds the gap between the trees that leads to Jefferson’s camp. She barely got any sleep last night. None of us did. We all just want to go home.
He spots Jefferson through the trees, lying in his hammock, eyes closed, and for a moment he feels the strong urge to run at him and shout, ‘Boo!’ They used to get on well, before the fight when they were nine, and, although Jeffers’ dad forced them to make up and shake hands afterwards, the incident left Danny feeling shaken. What Jeffers had said had been like a bullet to his heart, ripping through the emotional armour he’d put up to protect himself. Afterwards he was wary of going anywhere near Jeffers in case he said anything else. The fight was years ago and, logically, Danny knows he’s got nothing to fear but age hasn’t made Jefferson any less tactless and, if anything, he’s even more likely to speak his mind.
As Danny noisily clears his throat Jeffers sits up sharply, arm extended, a knife in his fist. He’s lost weight, Danny thinks, staring at his friend’s taut, sinewy arms. It’s only been four days and he looks skinnier than ever.
‘Who’s there?’ Jeffers shouts.
‘Just me,’ Danny replies. ‘It’s Danny. You’re good.’
As he emerges from between the trees and steps into the tiny camp, Jeffers slips out of his hammock and faces him, the knife still in his hand. Danny rubs his dry lips together. This isn’t going to be easy. Jeffers is staring at him, his face impassive, his pupils huge behind the sheen of his glasses. He barely seems to be breathing he’s so calm. Danny, on the other side, feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest. The air between them is thick with tension. He needs to play it cool. He’s still pretty sure that Jeffers is behind the snake and spider scares but he needs to be clever, play him at his own game. Going in all guns blazing was a mistake. He needs to pretend that he got it all wrong, get Jeffers back on side and then keep a very close eye on him. And to do that he’s going to have to persuade him to move back to the original camp.
‘I’m sorry,’ Danny says, forcing himself to look the other boy straight in the eye, his arm still outstretched with the fish dangling from his fingers. ‘I was out of order.’
Jefferson raises a blonde eyebrow. ‘What for?’
‘Everything.’ Danny looks down at his feet. ‘Taking the piss out of you, having a go, accusing you of the phobia stuff. Basically…’ He shrugs. ‘Basically everything. Everything I’ve said. I’m sorry.’
‘Are you? Or are you just saying that because your fire’s gone out and you’ve got no way to cook those fish?’
Danny looks up at him, fighting the smile that’s pricking at the edges of his lips. ‘Bit of both.’ As he says the last word he bursts out laughing.
Jeffers laughs too and the atmosphere between them eases.
Danny proffers a fish. ‘Want one?’
‘No, thanks.’ Jeffers shakes his head then points up into one of the trees where a dead snake is hanging over a branch.
Interesting, Danny thinks. Someone’s obviously not scared of them.
‘Did you kill it?’ he asks.
‘’Course.’
‘What does… um…’ Danny eyes the snake warily. ‘What does it taste like?’
‘Like fish, apparently. I’ll find out later.’
He looks back at his own dinner. The eyes of the fish are starting to cloud. Anuman said that, in the Thai heat, they need to be eaten quickly or they’ll go bad. ‘Um… Jeffers, will you come back to camp? It’s not right, you being here on your own. This trip was your birthday present from your dad. I’m sorry we’ve… I’ve… made it so crap.’
Jefferson smiles. ‘It’s fine. And I owe you an apology too, for throwing the homophobia grenade.’
‘You know I really don’t have a problem with you being gay. But it does piss me off when you tell me what to do.’
‘Someone has to. You’re a bloody liability.’
They both laugh.
‘I’ve got so many chips on my shoulder,’ Danny says, ‘I’m going to start calling myself Harry Ramsden.’
Jeffers raises an eyebrow. ‘Poor, very poor.’
‘So will you come back? To our camp?’
Jefferson shrugs. ‘Someone’s got to cook those fish for you! Mind helping me pack up my stuff?’
‘Sure.’ Danny glances around the small camp, looking for somewhere he can put the fish without them getting dirty then freezes as a piercing scream echoes through the jungle. Birds fly from the trees, wings beating frantically. Danny listens. He can hear the rustle of leaves in the light wind, monkeys whooping and the soft chirping of some kind of insect. But what he heard wasn’t an animal, it was a girl’s scream.
He continues to wait, holding himself very still.
A second scream, louder than the first, rings out from somewhere to their left. The only girl on that side of the island is Jessie.
Chapter 17
JESSIE
My foot catches in something – a tree root or a vine – and I pitch forward, the brown-green jungle floor rising up to meet me. I land heavily and all the air is knocked from my lungs. I can hear Josh and Jack behind me, shouting and swearing and striking at plants as they crash through the jungle. Josh managed to grab the back of my T-shirt as I turned to run but I hit out at him, my fist connecting with his cheek bone. My flip-flops slid and slipped as I ran across the sand to the jungle so I kicked them off, not caring what I stood on as I swiped at banana plants and vines, trying to get away.
Now, as I scrabble to my knees, the palms of my hands throbbing, I risk a glimpse behind me. There’s a flash of tanned skin, about ten metres away, incongruous against so much green. The boys have gone quiet. They’re moving slowly and quietly between the trees. They’re listening, trying to work out where I am.
I don’t know what to do. They’re near enough that if I get up and run they could easily catch up with me. But if I hide then I run the risk of them discovering me. Blood pounds in my ears and sweat rolls off my forehead and drips off my eyebrows, making me blink. The nearest safe place is Jefferson’s camp. But I’ve got no idea how much further I need to run to get there, or how thick the jungle gets. If it’s impenetrable then I’m trapped.
I crouch low, tucking myself behind a huge fern, and try to slow my racing thoughts. Is that why they came out to the island? To get revenge for what I did at the pool side? No one’s ever stared at me with so much hate in their eyes as Josh did just now. I glance left and right looking for something, anything I can use as a weapon, but there’s two of them and one of me. There’s no way I could fight them both off.
If they can’t find me they’ll have to give up and go back to the beach. But what then? If they get back in their boat and drive round the island they’ll spot our camp. Even without the fire burning brightly they’ll see our shelters and the mess of our belongings. I can’t just hide. I need to warn the others. Jeffers will know what to do.