James rose to his feet. ‘Sit tight, I’ll see what’s going on.’
‘Don’t be stupid, James! You don’t know who’s out there.’
‘Shhh.’
‘James!’ Sebastian growled as he skulked away. ‘James!’
Approaching the far side of the lagoon, James tried to penetrate the thick wall of mist. Somebody was in there, he was certain. Tempted to call Oli’s name, he resisted. That’s what they did in the movies right before taking an axe to the head.
He pushed through the dense barrier, his arms outstretched. The cave at his back, he was the only thing standing between Abbey and Danielle and whoever was baiting him.
Groping blindly, he searched the mist until he found what had clearly been left for him. Sitting atop a splintered tree stump was the bloody organ Teri was desperately missing.
He approached cautiously, idle footsteps claiming reluctant ground. There was little fluid, only the savaged heart, maimed and shredded from the amateur removal. And then it came, the gory item doing its distracting job. Off to his right somebody broke from the mist, an ethereal shape charging him silently, covertly.
He had no time to react, no time to defend. Propelled backwards he caught the blunt force of something to the side of the head. He was tumbling to the ground as if in slow motion. He thought of Danielle, he thought of Abbey, her perfect lips touching his own, her soft breath against his mouth. In seconds he would be out cold. He knew it was coming, and he was helpless to prevent it. Whose hands was he in now, whose mercy?
God help him.
*
Drifting into consciousness it took a moment for Abbey to remember where she was. A curious fusty odour filtered through the cave, disturbed particles dancing above the dead fire. She and Danielle were alone.
Gently she prized herself away from the sleeping girl and lay her head down on a rolled-up sweater. Gripped by curiosity she left the tired Danielle to sleep and checked the other chambers – all vacant.
Outside she found Sebastian tied to a tree, sleeping head sagging forwards. The dense mist surprised her, the cooling vapour of a trillion raindrops. It hung levelly over the lagoon, conquering her visibility beyond the tree line. No birds were singing.
She was unsure why James had tied Sebastian up out here, and the rising sun was failing to provide answers. Growing anxious she rounded the lagoon and stared into the thick veil of impenetrable mist, the nearest tree branches seemingly powdered with soot, the leaves with charcoal.
Tentatively she toed the threshold of the vapour, probed it with an outstretched arm. She took another step forwards, the mist swallowing her whole. The deathly quiet began to seem unnatural, as if the fog had flattened her senses and shifted her into a two-dimensional universe. Where were the birds’ morning songs? Where was the voice of the jungle, hidden animals scurrying in the undergrowth? One more step. Her probing hands found another tree. ‘James?’ she whispered audibly. ‘Where are you?’
From somewhere off to her left, a movement caught her eye. ‘James? Is that you?’
Emerging from the fog, a hand gripped her wrist, the scream catching in her throat. She stumbled backwards onto her rump, the agonized face of James staring down at her.
‘James! Thank God, you scared the shit out of me.’
Clutching his head, he held out his free hand and helped her up.
‘What happened?’
James shuffled her back to the lagoon and took a seat on one of the climbing boulders. His head was bleeding. ‘Got KO’d,’ he explained.
She knelt above him and examined the wound. It looked superficial. ‘Who by?’
‘Couldn’t tell you. I was checking out some strange sounds and suddenly I was hitting the deck.’
‘You didn’t see anything?’
‘Nothing,’ he said resignedly. ‘There are a bunch of people wandering around out there, it could’ve been any of them.’
‘Same thing happened to Anthony, remember? He was knocked out before I was abandoned in the chasm.’
James climbed to his feet. ‘Why didn't he kill me? I was out cold.’
Abbey stood perplexed. ‘Perhaps whoever it was heard me coming?’
James checked his watch. ‘I’ve been out for over half an hour. How long does it take to stick a knife in somebody’s chest? I don’t get it, Abbey, I was at his mercy. Why go to the trouble of taking me out and then…’
‘What is it?’
‘Oh no,’ he murmured. ‘It wasn’t me he was after!’
‘I don’t under –’
‘I was just an obstacle.’
‘What’re you –’
She watched James sprint to the edge of the lagoon. Sebastian was still there tied to the tree. Insidiously, comprehension dawned. Sebastian had not been sleeping when she passed.
James reached for the bound man’s shoulder, uttered his name. Then he tumbled backwards, a pathetic groan spilling from his lips.
‘What is it?’ Abbey muttered.
He met her eyes. Then he turned his attention back to the South African and pressed a hand to his forehead. Abbey recoiled.
Sebastian’s throat had been slashed from ear to ear.
*
‘What the hell is this, man?’
In the time it had taken for Abbey to throw up, and James to cut Sebastian’s corpse free, Oli approached from the direction of the beach looking storm swept. He was alone, and if his gait was anything to go by, he was carrying neither supplies nor good news.
‘Is that…Sebastian? …Oh my God.’
Nobody answered, and Oli seemed to physically diminish as James marched to him, face carved out of granite. ‘You have three seconds to tell me where you’ve been…’ he demanded.
‘What do you –’
‘Two seconds!’
‘I’ve been searching for the others,’ Oli squirmed. ‘Honestly! Where do you think I’ve been?’
‘Don’t lie to me, Oli!’ He gripped the student by the jacket and slammed him against the rocks. ‘I’m sick of all the deception. Somebody around here
