Paulo waited patiently for Alex to make up his mind, letting the peace of the primary rainforest settle around him. The trees were massive here, with huge trunks supporting a high, green canopy of leaves so dense that the sun could not break through. Under the canopy, it was cool and dim, and there was a constant background noise made up of the singing of crickets and birds, the rustle of leaves and the tiny scrabblings of millions of insects. Paulo tilted his head, listening. The forest sounded busy, purposeful. He smiled. It reminded him of the hum of a huge piece of machinery, and he liked machines. Suddenly, his head came up and his eyes widened as he realized he was hearing a new noise.
'Listen,' he hissed.
Alex tensed and raised his stick, then he saw the look of sheer delight on Paulo's face.
'I hear water,' said Paulo.
They ran, dodging low branches and swinging vines. The trail was climbing steeply now and the light grew stronger as the canopy thinned above them. They burst out of the forest into a clearing at the base of a rock outcrop on the lower slopes of the mountain. Alex and Paulo stumbled to a halt and stared. Directly ahead of them, water poured from a hole in the face of the rock, cascading down to a shallow pool which had been hollowed out of the ground beneath.
Alex unclipped the pouch from his belt and dropped it next to their sticks and the rucksack, then they both ran into the pool, fully dressed and still in their boots. The water was cold, clear and refreshing after its journey down through the centre of the mountain.
'Don't drink any,' warned Alex, as Paulo plunged straight under the waterfall. He stood there, whooping and yelling as the water washed away the sticky layers of salt, sweat and blood. Alex stayed in the quieter waters, grinning with relief because they had finally found their fresh water supply. He studied the area, looking for signs that the water was good. There were plants and vines hanging from the outcrop around the waterfall and the rocks were covered with bright green mosses. The vegetation around the pool was cropped short and there were many hoofprints in the wet clay edging the water.
Alex nodded in satisfaction. If animals were using it and plants grew beside it, the signs were good. He relaxed a little, easing into the water until he was floating on his back. He looked up at the face of the outcrop, noting that there were other openings in the rock, including a cave entrance at ground level on the far edge of the pool.
Alex frowned and sat up, clearing the water from his face. There was something lying in front of the cave. He stood up to get a better look but still could not make out what the thing was. Alex waded over to the edge of the pool and then stumbled to a halt a few metres from the dark cave opening as all the pieces of the jigsaw slotted into place. His eyes widened with horror as, finally, he understood what he was seeing.
It looked like a gruesome piece of modern art. Splashes of red stained the ground, darkening to black where blood had collected in the rock hollows. Ants scurried everywhere. A sour green pool of bile leaked from a shredded piece of liver and matted scraps of brown pelt were scattered around like confetti. A nub of blue-white bone poked from one tiny cloven hoof, which stood neatly in the middle of the carnage, as black and shiny as a child's patent-leather shoe.
'What is that?' breathed Paulo.
'That is what screamed,' said Alex. 'A small deer, I think. Hard to tell.'
'But, there is so little left! What could have eaten a whole deer so quickly?'
Alex peered warily into the dark cave mouth, then scanned the forest around the pool. 'I don't know.'
Paulo backed away from the cave. 'I think it is time to leave,' he said.
'We will,' said Alex. 'As soon as we've collected some water.'
They waded back into the pool with the condom from Alex's survival tin and held it under the waterfall until it was filled to capacity. Alex tied the top in a knot, his fingers fumbling on the wet latex, then they eased it into the empty rucksack, sending wary glances at the cave and the forest. As soon as the rucksack straps were secured, they plunged back into the forest again, moving fast and silently along the game trail, checking every shadow and wondering whether they would make it back to the beach.
TWELVE
Hex was a natural loner.
Normally, he liked nothing better than being on his own. Three hours earlier, when the other four had left him on the beach, he had been glad to see them go. Now, he was uneasy. For the past thirty minutes, he had been unable to shake off the growing feeling that something was watching him.
Stalking him.
Hex shrugged and made himself turn away from the rainforest to scan the sea for any sign of rescuers. Immediately, the skin between his shoulder blades prickled and the muscles of his back tightened in protest. With a curse, he swung round again, checking the beach. There was nothing there. A branch cracked in the dark forest beyond the beach and he jumped. 'Hello?' he called. 'Alex? Li?'
The only reply was from a startled bird. Hex stared into the bushes, wondering whether he ought to go and investigate. The skin prickled on the back of his neck and he decided he did not want to go any closer.
Earlier in the morning he had been happy to work steadily along the fringe of the rainforest for over an hour, collecting more wood for the signal fire and building a second pile nearby for their campfire. Then, after a short break and a few sips of water from his lemonade can, he had picked up the broken paddle end of the oar and gone hunting for sand crabs.
He knew where to find them. He had spotted them earlier, at dawn, scurrying out of the water and up the sloping sand to their burrows at the top of the beach. Back then there had been other priorities, such as salvaging what could be dragged from the surf, but he had memorized the position of their burrows for later.
Now, Hex looked over at the locker doors in the stern section of the boat and smiled. There were four big sand crabs skittering about inside those lockers, the result of twenty minutes of hard digging with the paddle. His smile broadened as he imagined the faces of the others when he showed them his catch, then faded again as he looked at his watch.
The three hours were up.
Where were they?
Suddenly, Alex and Paulo burst from the undergrowth to his right and ran full-pelt along the beach towards him. Hex hurried to meet them.
'I think there's something in there!' he shouted, pointing to the rainforest.
'We know,' panted Alex, coming to a halt and easing the heavy rucksack from his shoulder. 'We nearly met it.'
'Where are the girls?' asked Paulo.
'They're not back yet,' said Hex.
Paulo's face tightened with worry. 'I knew I should have gone with them,' he said.
Just then, a faint yell came from the western end of the beach. The boys turned to see Li and Amber running across the soft sand towards them. Their fear was obvious, even though they were still some distance away. They kept looking over their shoulders as though they were being chased, but there was nothing behind them.
'Thank God,' said Paulo. 'They are safe.'
They met at the signal fire. Amber's face was grey with fear and exhaustion. She collapsed onto the sand, too out of breath to speak. Li bent and rested her hands on her knees. 'There's… something…' she began.
'In the rainforest,' finished Paulo. 'We know.'
Half an hour later, they were all a lot calmer. The campfire was lit, the boiled water was cooling and the sand crabs were nearly ready.
'So,' said Li, settling back with her second lemonade can full of water, 'we know there are at least three of them.'