We had, all of us. Which was something. And it turned out that, as well as Pringles, Abi had also brought nuts. And sunflower seeds. And a massive bar of Dairy Milk chocolate. All for snacks, she said, which is why she didn’t mention them at first when we were talking about food. Mason had Rizla, rolling tobacco and Fruit Pastilles. Luke had a sharing bag of Doritos and half a packet of Jelly Babies he’d saved from the cinema and had meant to give to Dylan. Cora had cigarettes and gum.
So the food situation wasn’t even that bad, either.
‘What else has everybody got?’ said Cora. ‘I mean, aside from the midnight feast and Fash’s blanket.’ She looked at Abi first, because Abi’s rucksack was the fullest. ‘No, wait, don’t tell me,’ Cora said, when Abi opened her mouth to speak. ‘Let me guess …’ She shut her eyes and held out a hand, like Luke Skywalker trying to use the force. ‘You brought … your make-up kit. And your hair straighteners. And the Love Island special pull-out section from last week’s Heat magazine.’
Abi glowered. ‘It’s mainly clothes, actually,’ she said. ‘Apart from all the food that everyone else completely overlooked. And you’re welcome for that, by the way.’ She looked in her bag. ‘And I brought this, because I knew you lot would all forget to bring one as well.’
She dangled a plug by its lead.
‘A phone charger,’ said Cora. ‘You brought a phone charger.’
I saw Mason give something like a smile. ‘Nice one, Abi,’ he said. ‘And you’re right. I completely forgot to pack mine.’
Abi took that as a victory, and shot Cora this look.
‘What about you, Cora?’ Mason said to her, because it was obvious Cora was about to burst. ‘What have you got in your bag?’
Cora’s bag looked the lightest.
‘I told you what I brought,’ she said. ‘Water, fags and gum. And a groundsheet from my stepdad’s camping gear for us to sleep on.’
‘A groundsheet?’ I said. ‘How is that any different from a blanket?’
‘Duh,’ said Cora. ‘Groundsheets are for the ground. Blankets are for on top. It’s like the difference between a hat and a pair of shoes.’
My mouth was open, but I didn’t say anything. It’s like, if Mason had brought a blanket, I bet Cora would have said it was the smartest idea in the world.
‘I brought a torch,’ said Mason. ‘Two torches, actually. My iPod. And some portable speakers. Battery powered,’ he added, with a glance at Abi.
‘Cool,’ said Cora.
You see what I mean?
Obviously Mason didn’t mention anything else he’d brought. Maybe I should have been paying closer attention at the time.
‘What about you, Luke?’ said Abi. ‘What did you bring?’
Luke was sitting on the ground.
‘Luke?’ said Cora, gently.
‘Sorry, I … Nothing much, I guess. A torch, like Mason. Dylan’s old army compass. And some … some stuff of Sadie’s.’
Nobody spoke. The rest of us looked at each other over Luke’s head.
Cora crouched down beside him. ‘What kind of stuff?’ she said.
Luke looked sort of ashamed. ‘Stupid stuff. Just … a jumper she liked. Her hairbrush. A book. An old one. About some girl. She used to read it over and over. Not recently. But when she was younger.’
‘Anne of Green Gables,’ said Abi, kneeling down, too. ‘Right? I remember it was always her favourite. She kept it face out on her bookshelf so she could always see the cover.’
Luke nodded. ‘When you came by, I just … I dunno. I grabbed some of the stuff I thought she’d like. That she might … need.’
I met Cora’s eye, and we both looked down.
Luke got to his feet.
‘But it’s a waste of time. You all know it is. I should never have come in the first place. None of us should have. I should be at home, looking after Dylan. Who’s he got left now if he hasn’t got me?’
‘He’s got your aunt, remember?’ I said. ‘And your parents will be back soon. They’ll make sure he –’
‘Fuck them,’ snapped Luke, bitterly.
He looked at the rest of us, all staring at him in shock. ‘Seriously, fuck ’em.’ He looked down again, started scratching at the ground with a twig. ‘It’s like, all that stuff they’re saying about them online? The stuff Lara was going on about? I wouldn’t even be surprised if it was true.’
‘Luke!’ said Cora.
‘What?’
‘You can’t say that. You shouldn’t!’
‘Why not? If you ask me, it’s more likely they had something to do with whatever happened to Sadie than …’ Luke stopped himself. His eyes flicked towards Mason.
‘Than me, you mean?’ said Mason. ‘It’s all right. You can say it. And actually, I happen to agree.’
‘For Christ’s sake, Mase,’ said Cora.
‘What? It’s true. I know I had nothing to do with it. Which means, as far as I’m concerned, everyone else is more likely to have killed her than me.’
‘Shut up!’ said Abi, springing to her feet. ‘Just … fucking … shut up, will you? We don’t even know she’s dead! I mean, that’s why we’re out here, isn’t it? To try to find her? So why would you say that?’
Mason didn’t even flinch. He looked at Abi and tilted his head.
‘Look,’ I said, with a glance at Luke, who was staring out into the woods now. ‘Let’s not talk about it. OK?’
‘It’s a search party, Fash,’ said Mason. He was still looking at Abi. ‘What the hell else are we supposed to talk about?’
‘No, I know, but … let’s not talk about it like that. Let’s just … I don’t know. Work out how we’re going to do this.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Cora.
‘Well, we agreed we’d give ourselves till tomorrow evening, right?’ I said.
‘Who agreed that?’ said Mason. ‘I don’t remember agreeing to that.’ He looked at me sharply.
‘No, I … It’s just what we thought,’ I said. ‘Me and Cora.’
Mason looked at Cora, who shrugged.
‘And besides,’ I said, ‘if we’re gone any longer than that, they’ll send
