‘You’re going over where?’ Abbey stepped in. ‘It’s getting late.’
‘Little project,’ he grinned. ‘Who’s with me?’
39
Having managed to elicit the interest of only Oli and Teri, James led the way past the human bonfire and beyond to the adjacent bay. The idea was to find an untouched beach and lay an enormous SOS on the sand, a symbol that couldn’t possibly be missed from the sky. A fire would always burn out, a watchdog would always sleep, but even if a storm hit, a well-entrenched message would remain.
‘So what you’re saying is,’ Oli grumbled, ‘we’re here for more strenuous shit?’
‘For fuck’s sake!’ Teri’s input.
James grinned, the moonlight catching his white teeth.
Despite their bickering, the two co-workers cracked on, shuffling back and forth from the tree line and transferring materials onto the sand. James laid them out in cipher. Made up of boulders, rocks, heavy branches, wreckage from the previous bay, the thing was enormous. There was no way a low flying aircraft could miss it.
James checked his watch. The minute-hand ticked past midnight as they hauled the final piece into place. Standing back, they admired their efforts.
‘We done?’ said Teri impatiently.
‘Oh, we’re done,’ Oli wheezed. ‘I’m not lifting another finger tonight.’
The two of them fell to the sand at gravity’s request.
‘Man, I am whacked,’ the student added. ‘I think Eric and Sebastian would be far more capable if you had the crazy notion of, oh I don’t know, doing more of this.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ James replied, grinning. He waited while Oli and Teri caught their breath, neither of them seemingly willing to move, before suggesting they headed back to camp.
‘One more minute,’ Oli begged.
‘Fuck that, man, I’m all set!’ Teri climbed to her feet and lit a cigarette. ‘I'm not fucking staying out here all night.’
‘Ever the charmer, Te -’ James double-took the tree line.
‘What is it?’ Oli asked.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Did you guys see that?’
Eying the trees, Oli frowned. ‘What’re we looking for?’
‘Freak,’ Teri threw in.
James didn’t respond. The beach seemed to slow down as if in stasis.
‘James, you’re freaking me out here,’ said Oli nervously. ‘What the hell’s going on?’
‘Call me crazy,’ James murmured,’ but I just saw something in the trees.’
‘Saw what exactly?’
‘I think somebody’s had a loooong day,’ Teri suggested impatiently.
‘I didn’t imagine it!’ James said calmly. ‘I looked to the trees and saw movement. I thought I was mistaken. When I looked back, it was there, large as life.’
‘What was there?’
‘A light,’ he muttered. ‘The faint glow of a light.’
‘Bullshit,’ Teri groaned.
‘You’ve had too much sun, man.’
‘Jesus, Oli, I know what I saw. somebody was standing right there in those trees, watching us!'
‘So it was someone from the camp,’ Teri suggested through a plume of blue smoke.
‘Yeah,’ Oli agreed. ‘Who was still awake when we left?’
‘Or what about that fucking loser who’s never around,’ Teri added. ‘What’s his name?’
‘Of course,’ said Oli. ‘You saw that Australian guy with the long hair, erm…’
‘Sol,’ James finished. ‘Yeah, maybe. But why hide from us, huh? The man’s odd, not creepy.’
Oli sat up. ‘James, what do you even know about Sol? Maybe he’s the kind of guy who likes the whole voyeurism thing. Perhaps he just likes checking out sweaty men carting shit about. He’s probably watching us right now, whacking one off.’
Teri sniggered.
Shutting out Oli’s foolish words, James kept his eyes trained on the trees.
‘Listen, James,’ if you saw something in the trees, you would’ve seen it again by now, right? There’s nobody out there, man, I’ll stake my reputation on it.’
‘You don’t have a reputation.’
‘Well I'll acquire one from this situation.’
‘I know what I saw,’ James said stubbornly.
‘Whatever you say, captain.’ The student climbed to his feet. ‘It’s time for Oli to flake.’
‘A-fucking-men,’ Teri added.
‘You two go,’ James uttered. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’
‘Safety in numbers, man, remember?’
When James didn't reply, Oli began walking across the expanse of white sand, tattooed girl silently in tow.
Firmly rooted, James eyed the trees for several more minutes, praying something moved or shone again, but the more he stared, the more his optimism faded. Nothing seemed out of place in the eerily still night, nothing moved, yet he couldn’t shake the chilling notion that he was being watched. Oli and Teri were already reaching the end of the bay, walking silently side-by-side. He followed in their tracks, every few steps glancing over his shoulder.
The beach remained vacant.
40
The most obvious change to the camp in their absence was the extra personnel. Beside the fire, twenty yards from Gibson and Eric, was Sol Delaney thoughtfully chewing a banana. He shoved in the last mouthful unceremoniously as James approached, and tossed the yellow skin into the flames. Wearing only a pair of knee-length denim shorts and a Stars and Stripes bandana, he braved the chilly night with only the amber glow of the campfire for warmth.
Hands out to the heat, James took a seat across the flames. ‘Hey.’
A grunt.
‘How long have you been back?’
A shrug.
‘Am I invisible, Sol?’ James pressed. ‘I asked you a question.’
Sol exhaled impatiently. ‘I don’t know the answer, man. Can’t a brother get some peace at one in the morning?’
‘Yeah, no problem. I’ll leave you alone when you answer my question.’
‘Fuck knows, dude. An hour ago, or something.’
‘One hour? You sure?’
‘That’s what I said,’ the Australian grumbled sleepily.
‘And if I ask Gibson the same question, what do you suppose he’ll say?’
‘I don’t think Gibson’s been anywhere, dude, he’s like all fucked up.’
‘About you, Sol.’
‘He can tell you what he wants,’ said Sol calmly. ‘I’ve been here, man.’
James
