As they roughly manoeuvred me between the trees I alternated between relaxing all my muscles to make myself as heavy as possible and twisting and squirming to try and break free. When a branch snapped somewhere behind us I turned my head sharply, hoping to see Jeffers, but it was just a macaque monkey. It tore off through the bushes and disappeared.
‘God,’ Jack growled at one point. ‘I’ve changed my mind. Maybe we should just let her go, she’s a complete psychopath. We’ll find their camp and torch it instead!’
‘I’m not letting her go anywhere.’ Josh shook his head. ‘I’m covered in bruises thanks to this bitch.’
Now, as they carry me across the sand, I use every last ounce of energy I have to try and escape but they’ve both tightened their grips. I raise my eyes to the sky and try to look beyond the endless stretch of blue.
Please, Tom, I pray. If you’re up there, please help me.
A roar of anger fills the air. For one heart-stopping moment I think it’s my brother, but then Jack twists his head towards the jungle and fury flashes across his face.
‘Who are those losers?’
‘Her friends. Get them!’
One second I am three feet in the air, the next, WHOOMPH! I’ve been dropped. I land half on the shore, half in the sea as they sprint towards the jungle. I only catch a glimpse of Jeffers’ and Danny’s startled faces before they turn and disappear into the dense green foliage. As Josh and Jack pelt after them I scrabble to my feet. I don’t know whether to run and hide, help my friends or swim for it. No, the boat! I splash through waves towards it, haul myself over the side and drop into the belly like a landed fish. Then I’m quickly up on my hands and knees and crawling to the front. Anuman’s boat had a petrol motor on the back but this one’s got dials and switches on a control panel, a steering wheel and… my heart sinks as I touch my fingers to the metal keyhole. Where are the keys? I run my hands under the benches then open the first-aid box and search inside. But there’s nothing in the boat other than a couple of bottles of water, two small rucksacks, a case of beer, some suntan lotion and a pair of sunglasses. I glance back towards the jungle, half expecting to see the two brothers speeding across the sand towards me, shouting in anger. But the beach is quiet and still.
Ankles and shoulders still throbbing from where I was held, I step up onto the seating area of the boat and jump back into the sea. Adrenaline pulses through me as I power through the water and round the rocks. I need to warn the others and get them to move the camp.
By the time I drag myself out of the sea my legs are so weak I wobble, rather than walk across the sand. Milo, Meg and Honor come rushing towards me, their faces tight with worry.
‘What happened?’ Milo’s the first one to reach me. I hold out a hand to steady myself on his shoulder, but before my fingers can graze his skin my legs give way and I collapse onto the sand.
‘Jessie? What is it? What’s wrong?’ Fear is etched into the tired, tanned skin of Meg’s face as she crouches beside me.
‘We… we…’ I try to struggle back up onto my feet but it’s as though all the muscles in my legs have atrophied.
‘Don’t get up,’ Honor says, appearing on my other side. ‘Rest. Tell us what happened. If you can…’
I shake my head, struggling to catch my breath. I can’t stop staring at the jungle, certain that, at any second, Jack and Josh are going to burst from between the bowed fronds of the banana plants.
‘What is it?’ Meg asks again. ‘Jessie, where are Jeffers and Danny? Has something happened to them? Did something happen to you?’
I gesture beyond the rocks. ‘They… they…’
‘Deep breaths. Take nice, slow deep breaths.’
I exhale heavily then fill my lungs.
‘Jack and Josh.’ The words come out in a rush. ‘They’re here, they came after me… they tried… they tried…’
Honor’s eyes widen. ‘Those two boys from the hotel?’
I nod.
‘They’re here?’
‘And they’ve got a knife and they tried to get me into their boat.’ I try and get up. We’re wasting time talking. We need to gather up our stuff and get as far away from the beach as we can.
‘My God,’ Milo breathes. ‘There are finger marks – bruises – round both your ankles. And here—’ He gently touches the side of my neck, making me flinch. ‘Jesus, Jessie. Did they hurt you? I swear I’ll…’ He stands, the tendons in his throat as tight as piano strings. ‘I’ll kill them.’
‘Where’s Danny?’ Honor asks as Milo stalks off towards the jungle. She touches the back of my hand. ‘What’s happened to him?’
‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘He and Jeffers distracted the boys so I could escape. They ran into the jungle and Jack and Josh ran after them. I don’t know where they are now.’
Honor gasps in horror and covers her mouth with both hands.
‘How the hell did they know we’re here?’ Meg asks me. ‘And how did they get here?’
‘They overheard me and Honor talking by the pool. They’ve got a boat, I’ve seen it. Please.’ I raise my arms, gesturing for her and Honor to help me up. ‘We need to get out of here. We need to move the camp. They want to torch it.’
Honor shakes her head. ‘We can’t leave without Danny and Jefferson.’
‘I’ll go into the jungle and find them,’ Milo says.
‘No.’ Meg grabs his arm. ‘Not on your own. If Jack and Josh find you first…’ she tails off but it’s enough to make Milo pause.
‘I can take them,’ he says.
‘No you can’t. Not when they’ve got a knife.’
He looks from his sister to me to Honor, indecision etched into his face. If he charges into the jungle he’ll be leaving the three of us behind.
‘They’ve got a boat,’ I repeat. ‘If they give up chasing Danny and Jeffers and sail round the rocks they’ll see us. We need to get out of here.’
‘And go where?’
‘To the cliff top.’ Honor points to the jagged cliff beyond the rocks to our right. ‘Danny told me there’s a decent-sized clearing up there with no sand flies. He said it was a better place for a camp. Plus we’ll be able to see if there’s anyone looking for us on the beach, and we can see the sea.’
‘No,’ Meg says. ‘If they find us up there we’re trapped.’
‘Not if we jump into the sea,’ I say.
Milo raises his dark eyebrows. ‘What about Jeffers? He hates heights!’
‘He’d jump if his life depended on it,’ Honor says. ‘And anyway, he’s not here.’
‘Do you think Danny would think to look for us up there?’ I ask as I struggle onto my feet.
Honor shrugs. ‘Possibly. Like I said, he did say it was a good place for a camp. Or we could leave him a note.’
‘Too risky,’ Meg says. ‘Anyway, Jeffers knows how to follow tracks. He’ll work out where we’ve gone. Let’s do it.’
‘Just pack the essentials,’ Meg hisses as Milo and Honor scurry around our messy camp, grabbing up discarded flip-flops, water containers, bottles of sunscreen and items of clothing. Most of my stuff is piled up beside my rucksack in the corner of the shelter but I can’t bring myself to grab it. All I can do is stand and watch as the others buzz like flies. There’s one part of my mind screaming that I need to move, to flee, and another part that’s running through what just happened to me, like a film played at triple speed. I’ve never felt as vulnerable or as violated as I did being carried through the jungle like a piece of meat. Now I’m back with the others and shock has worn off, my emotions are morphing – vulnerability has been replaced by rage, and violation by a desire for revenge. I don’t want to run from Jack and Josh. I want to find the sharpest, pointiest, deadliest weapon and run it straight through them. As I stare into the jungle, anger roiling in my belly, the others chat among themselves.