The sun was low in the sky by the time they stumbled out onto the beach. Alex gazed around him, checking that everything was as he had left it. Quickly, they helped Hex over to one of the camp beds and eased him down, then they picked up the camp bed and carried it behind the shelter of the signal fire.
Alex gathered Beatrice and the children around the camp bed. 'Stay here with Hex,' he ordered, before running out onto the beach again to join the others. They grabbed another camp bed and piled it high with the rocks Alex had used to make the signal arrow. Then Li and Amber carried the rocks behind the signal fire, while Paulo and Hex picked up one of the bamboo benches and a lemonade can filled with coconut oil. Quickly, they hurried to join the others.
When the pirate leader stepped out onto the beach, it was silent and apparently empty. He scanned the stretch of sand, then smiled and headed towards the large signal fire, imagining his victims cowering behind it. These people had been nothing but trouble and he was looking forward to ending their lives.
'He's coming!' hissed Amber.
'OK. Get back under cover,' ordered Alex. He leaned forward and set his flint to the tinder in the base of the fire. It caught with the third spark and slowly the flames began to spread. Alex lined up five spears of split bamboo from the bench, dipped the end of each one into the can of coconut oil, then thrust it into the growing fire. When the end of each spear was well alight, he handed them out to Amber, Paulo, Li and Philippe one by one, keeping the last one for himself.
'Ready?' he asked.
They all picked up a rock from the pile, tightened their grip on their spears and nodded.
'Remember,' said Paulo. 'We must be fast and loud. Surprise is our best weapon – and he cannot shoot us all at once.'
'Very encouraging, Paulo,' said Li and he grinned at her fondly.
'OK,' said Amber. 'Here we go!'
The pirate leader came to a shocked halt as five screaming people suddenly shot out from behind the signal fire and raced towards him, waving flaming spears. One rock flew past his head, then another clipped his shoulder. He raised his rifle and tried to get one of the people in his sights, but they started to zigzag across the sand as they ran. He took a step back. A third rock caught him full on the elbow and there was a dull crack as the bone split. The leader yelled and his rifle fell to the ground as his arm dropped uselessly to his side.
The pirate turned and ran back up the beach. Suddenly he was not the hunter any more. He was the prey. Behind him, Alex let out a roar and flung his bamboo spear. The leader stumbled as it caught him in the ankle, but he managed to right himself and carry on.
Alex was in the lead and gaining fast when something whizzed past his head. An instant later he heard the rifle shot. His head jerked up and his heart clenched as he saw the two remaining pirates stepping out onto the beach with their rifles raised. He slowed, and the others slowed behind him. They came to a stop on the darkening beach.
It took the pirate leader a moment to realize that his men had returned. He carried on running for a few more steps before he spotted them. Then he stopped too and turned to face Alex and the others. Alex groaned. This was it. They were out in the open, lit up by a blazing signal fire and there was nowhere else to run. He bowed his head as the three pirates strolled towards him. Suddenly, there was no fight left in him. He could hear his heart beating very loudly as he waited to die. The beating grew louder and louder until it seemed to fill the sky.
The three pirates stopped too, cocking their heads and looking about them. Alex raised his eyes and watched as the sky beyond the headland began to fill with a bright, white light. The beating grew even louder and the trees above the beach began to bend and dance. They were all staring at the dancing trees when three air-sea rescue helicopters cleared the headland and swung in low over the beach. Their powerful searchlights raked the sand and the pirates dropped their weapons and ran for the cover of the forest.
Alex sat down heavily in the sand as the rotors blat-blatted overhead. Amber landed on her backside next to him and threw her arms around his neck. She was laughing and shouting something but he could not hear a word. A few metres away, Li and Paulo were jumping and dancing in the searchlights, waving madly as the helicopters dipped their noses and spread out along the beach, looking for a place to land away from the signal fire.
Alex sat on, gazing at the helicopters as they settled in a neat row, whipping up a storm of sand with their rotor blades. A line of uniformed men jumped from the belly of one as soon as its runners touched down. They ran at a crouch through the sandstorm and disappeared into the jungle after the pirates. There was movement and noise all around him. Amber, Li and Paulo raced to carry Hex out from behind the signal fire. Beatrice, Emilie and Robert ran to join Philippe and the family stood in a tight huddle, hugging one another as though they would never let go.
Alex blinked, then slowly turned his head back to the helicopters as their whirring blades slowed into silence. He watched as the door on the side of the nearest helicopter swung back. A tall black man stepped from the helicopter, followed by a tiny, blonde-haired woman.
'That's my uncle!' yelled Amber and she went running towards the tall black man. Alex let his gaze follow Amber, then he focused on the tiny woman who was hurrying up the beach towards him. His eyes widened as he recognized Heather, their Watch-leader. He struggled to his feet and stood there, swaying slightly as Heather came to a stop.
'Oh, Alex,' whispered Heather as she stared at the pale, exhausted boy in front of her. He was filthy, his clothes were torn and he was absolutely covered in cuts, bruises, blisters, mosquito bites and friction burns. He staggered and she put out an arm to steady him, but Alex drew himself up and stood unaided. A grin spread across his face as he looked into her eyes.
'A-Watch reporting for duty,' he said proudly. 'All present and correct.'
TWENTY-NINE
Twenty-four hours later, Alex, Amber. Li and Paulo walked into Hex's room in one of the most expensive suites of a private hospital in Jakarta. It was the first time they had all been together since the helicopter had set them down on the roof of the hospital the previous night. Hex had been whisked away immediately and the rest of them had spent the night being examined minutely by a whole army of doctors and nurses. They had been hooked up to intravenous drips to replace lost fluids. Blood and urine samples had been taken and tested. Their wounds had been treated and bandaged and they had been injected with a whole list of different drugs against tropical diseases. Finally, they had been allowed to eat a meal and collapse into their beds, where they had all slept for the next fourteen hours.
Now, Amber walked into the middle of the suite and looked around. The place was more like an exclusive hotel than a hospital. The air-conditioning hummed quietly, the floor was thickly carpeted and a scattering of wall lights and table lamps gave off a soft glow.
'Sheesh, Hex!' she said. 'I had to share with Li! How come you get a palace like this all to yourself?'
'He was sicker than you,' replied John Middleton as he emerged from the en-suite bathroom.
'Hello, Uncle.' Amber grinned, lowering herself carefully into the middle of a huge, cream sofa. 'Owww! I have bruises on my bruises.'
Alex moved over to Hex. He was sitting up in a hospital bed with an intravenous drip attached to his arm and a protective wire cage over his injured leg.
'How are you doing?' asked Alex.
'He's a very lucky boy,' said a plump little nurse as she bustled into the room with a tray of glasses and a jug full of iced water. 'We've been pumping fluid and antibiotics into him all night, so he's improved a lot, but it was that first dose which really counted. If you hadn't got those drugs into him back on the island, he wouldn't be here right now.'