‘What do we do about food?’ Honor asks. ‘We’ve stockpiled loads of coconuts.’
‘We’ll worry about that later,’ Milo says as he hoists his rucksack onto his back then hefts Meg’s rucksack into his arms. ‘We need to get this stuff shifted.’
She reaches for it. ‘I’ll take that.’
‘No. We’ll take it in turns.’
‘Do you think we’re doing the right thing?’ There’s uncertainty in Honor’s voice. ‘Maybe we should all go and look for them. If we find Danny and Jeffers it’ll be six against two.’
‘Jessie said they’ve got a knife,’ Milo says.
‘We can overpower them,’ Meg says. ‘Like Honor said, it’ll be six against two then we grab the keys to the boat and we get the hell out of here.’
‘You’re assuming we’ll find Danny and Jeffers before we run into them,’ Milo says. ‘What if they hurt one of you guys before we overpower them? What if someone gets knifed and they take off in the boat? Jefferson’s little first-aid kit isn’t going to do shit.’
‘We need weapons so we’re not going in unarmed.’ Meg looks around the camp. ‘Where are the axes?’
I share a look with Milo. ‘Jeffers has got them,’ I say. ‘They’re in his camp.’
‘I’ll go and get them,’ Honor says. ‘I can get there and back in five minutes.’
‘No!’ Milo and I say simultaneously.
‘And why is that?’ Honor raises an eyebrow. ‘Because I’m female? You can stick that sexism right up your arse, Milo.’
This is the Honor we all knew and loved before she and Danny got together.
‘You can’t go alone,’ I say. ‘It’s not safe. They nearly got me into their boat. I wouldn’t have got away if Danny and Jeffers hadn’t distracted them.’
‘Then I’ll go with her.’ Meg moves to stand beside Honor. ‘We’ll get the axes and meet you two back here.’
‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘We’re not splitting up. If one of us goes we all go.’
We creep along the beach, staying close to the jungle and make our way to Jefferson’s camp. As we leave the beach and edge through the trees every snapped twig makes me turn sharply, every whoop and warble makes me freeze.
‘Are you OK?’ Honor mouths as we silently pick our way through the undergrowth. I nod but it’s taking every ounce of courage to keep walking. Now I’m back in the jungle where I was attacked my rage has deserted me.
‘Crap,’ Meg breathes as we draw closer to Jefferson’s camp. ‘They’ve trashed it.’
She isn’t kidding. All Jefferson’s neatly arranged kit has been strewn across his camp, trampled into the ground, ripped, crushed or burnt.
‘They’ve burnt the axes.’ Milo points at the fire, and the thick wooden handles poking out from the flames.
Honor creeps from between the trees, crouches near the fire and picks up something red, crumpled and singed. ‘They’ve tipped everything out of Jefferson’s rucksack and burnt most of it. I’m pretty sure this used to be a packet of beef jerky.’
Meg swears under her breath. ‘He’s going to be gutted when he sees what they’ve done. This is his kit, his best stuff.’
‘They missed these.’ I move a T-shirt with my foot and duck down to pick up a packet of water purifying tablets. ‘And this.’ I shove the flint and steel into my pocket. ‘We can still purify water and make a fire.’
‘No knives.’ Milo looks around then kicks at the ground. ‘They’re probably carrying an arsenal.’
‘Not this one.’ Meg holds up a knife. It’s small, the type you’d use for peeling an apple.
‘Well, we can’t protect ourselves with that,’ Milo says.
‘We can use it to whittle spears,’ I say, ‘up on the clearing that Honor was talking about. Come on, let’s go. This place is creeping me out.’
We make our way back along the beach then head into the jungle and take the path that leads up to the right of the waterfall. We move quietly and carefully, placing each foot gently on the jungle floor. Sweat’s pouring off me and the soles of my feet are throbbing, my flip-flops long abandoned. I block out the pain. The jungle is noisier than I’ve ever heard it – it’s as though every animal, insect and bird has woken up and is whooping or squawking to make itself heard. But there are no human sounds among the cacophony of creature cries. Not a single scream or shout.
‘This must be it.’ Honor gestures towards the rough patch of dirt about ten metres to our right. ‘The clearing Danny found.’
I lead the way to the centre of the space then shrug off my rucksack and roll my shoulders forwards and backwards. Every muscle in my body aches. The others follow, dumping their rucksacks next to mine. Honor swigs from her water bottle while Meg just collapses onto the ground. Milo paces back and forth, a movable barrier between the edge of the jungle and us.
‘Milo,’ Meg hisses at him. ‘Save your energy.’
He shakes his head. ‘I’m fine.’
He reminds me of a caged tiger, waiting for something to get close enough that he can attack. I’ve never seen him like this before but I’ve got a pretty good idea why he’s so restless; he feels bad that he’s not out looking for Danny and Jeffers. He’s imagining them fighting with Josh and Jack and wishes he were there to back them up. It’s got nothing to do with ‘being a man’ or trying to be an alpha male. I feel exactly the same way.
Honor wipes her mouth with the back of her hand then screws the lid back on her water bottle and glances across at me. ‘What do we do now?’
I point across the clearing to a dense patch of bamboo. ‘We cut that down then we sharpen the ends.’
It’s dark now and, without the light from a fire, Meg, Honor and I are sitting in pitch black around the small pile of our belongings. I managed to whittle two bamboo poles into spears before the sun set. The knife was so blunt it took for ever. The jungle sounds have changed now – the whoops and squawks have disappeared and, instead, the air is filled with buzzing, chirping and the clicking of cicadas. There’s still no sign of Jeffers and Danny. It’s still warm, although cooler up here than it was on the beach. But it’s not the temperature that makes me shiver. It’s fear. Jack and Josh could come bursting out of the trees at any second.
Milo is still refusing to sit down. He paced for what felt like hours then announced that he was going back into the jungle to look for the boys.
‘You can’t,’ Meg said. ‘What if you disappear too?’
‘They’re my best mates. What if something’s happened to them?’
‘What if you leave and something happens to us?’
That stopped him in his tracks.
Logically I know that, even if Jeffers and Danny are OK, the chances of them finding us up here tonight are slim. Jeffers won’t be able to track us in the dark and there’s no fire to alert them to our new camp. All I can hope is that they’ve got away from Jack and Josh and they’ve found somewhere safe to hide for the night.
‘Why do this?’ Honor asks again. It’s a question she’s asked at least half a dozen times since we sat down. ‘I mean, I get that you hurt Josh’s hand, Jessie, but it’s not like you broke any bones. Why terrorize us like this?’