Dark of the Moon Published in Great Britain 2014 by Electric Monkey, an imprint of Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building 1 Nicholas Road London W11 4AN

Concept © Egmont UK Ltd 2013

Text © Siobhan Curham 2014

First e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978 1 4052 6458 7

eISBN 978 1 7803 1296 5

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Please note: Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont cannot take responsibility for any third party content or advertising. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Our story began over a century ago, when seventeen-year-old Egmont Harald Petersen found a coin in the street. He was on his way to buy a flyswatter, a small hand-operated printing machine that he then set up in his tiny apartment.

The coin brought him such good luck that today Egmont has offices in over 30 countries around the world. And that lucky coin is still kept at the company’s head offices in Denmark.

For soul-mates everywhere . . .

More books by Siobhan Curham

Shipwrecked

Dear Dylan

Finding Cherokee Brown

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Front series promotional page

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Back series promotional page

Praise for Shipwrecked

Hortense lights the final candle and steps away from the altar. Tendrils of incense smoke twist through the darkness like ghostly snakes, filling the air with the scent of sage. She takes a small wooden doll from her pocket and places it in the centre of the altar. A sudden breeze rushes through the trees like a nervous gasp, as if the island itself knows what’s about to happen.

As Hortense stares at the doll, an unfamiliar brew of tension and anxiety begins bubbling inside her. She looks up at the crescent moon glowing hazily in the sky. In a few days, it will have disappeared completely. In a few days, the dark of the moon will have arrived, and she can finally finish what she began all those years ago.

Hortense turns and walks over to a wicker basket in the middle of the clearing. She slowly lifts the lid and a serpent’s head appears, its burnished skin gleaming in the candlelight. She takes the serpent from the basket and holds it high above her. It hisses as it arches up to the sky.

‘Papa Labas, bring me your strength!’ Hortense cries. Lowering her arms, she brings the serpent down around her neck. She shivers as its cold skin glides against hers. Then she starts to dance, slowly bending and swaying, until it feels as if she and the snake are one. As she closes her eyes she feels strength rushing into her, hot and urgent like a forest fire.

She places the serpent back into the basket and strides over to the altar. She takes a small, curved knife from her belt and holds it up to the moonlight. Then she picks up the doll – and carefully gouges out its eyes.

I’m drifting in that weird no-man’s land between awake and asleep. Cruz’s arm is circling my waist, anchoring my body to the sand beneath us, but my mind keeps being sucked under, back into the dream.

There’s no fire this time. No choking smoke or screaming baby. This time all I hear is Hortense singing, and all I see is a hazy yellow glow. Then a beautiful girl’s face slowly appears, like a Polaroid picture. She has gleaming chestnut skin and dark brown eyes. She’s smiling at me, but a tear is trickling down her cheek. She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can say a word a snake slithers out from between her lips, its fangs bared.

I wake with a start, my heart pounding. Cruz pulls me closer.

‘Grace,’ he whispers in my ear. His voice is husky with sleep.

I allow my body to sink into his, soaking up the warmth, and I start composing a checklist in my head to help bring me back to reality. The singing and the girl and the snake were all just a dream. I’m awake now. Cruz is right next to me. Belle, the Flea and Dan are sleeping on the other side of the palm trees. Everything’s okay. Well, as okay as it can be when you’ve been shipwrecked on a desert island that’s possessed by the spirit of a voodoo queen.

An icy sweat erupts on my skin as I think of Hortense. Get a grip, Grace, I tell myself, don’t go losing the plot now. I think of the boat we found yesterday, and the fact that we’ll be leaving in it at first light. But if Hortense can read my mind won’t she know what we’ve got planned? Won’t she try and stop us? I lie there, motionless, waiting for her whispered voice in my head. But all I hear are the hisses and creaks from the rainforest and the sound of the waves as they crash on the beach. I haven’t heard Hortense’s voice or sensed her presence since we rescued Belle yesterday and Hortense tried to lure me to her. Maybe Cruz was right. Maybe I did break the spell by refusing to go to her. Maybe the nightmare really is over.

Cruz grips me tighter, as if he can sense that I’m thinking about him. As his breath whispers through my hair, my skin begins to tingle. Very carefully, I turn over so that I’m facing him. Part of me wishes he would wake up, but another part of me is glad he’s asleep. When he’s awake I have to ration the amount I look at him, so that I don’t appear too love-struck, but now I can gaze away to my heart’s content. I look at the mass of dark curls spilling on to his face, the sharp curve of his cheekbones and the stubble darkening his jaw like a shadow. Then I look at his mouth and the places either side where dimples appear whenever he smiles.

It’s hard to believe that the words ‘I love you’ came from that mouth just a few hours ago. Did he mean it? Can he really love me already? We’ve only known each other a few days, but so much has happened it’s like we’ve condensed an entire lifetime into them. Once, when I’d been having doubts about my ex-boyfriend, Todd, I asked my mom how you knew when you were in love. She gave me a real sad smile and said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, sweetpea, you’ll know. There’s a reason why they call it falling in love. It’s like stepping off the Empire State Building with your eyes and arms wide open. You know you could end up with your heart all smashed to pieces, but you just don’t care.’ At the thought of Mom my eyes prickle with tears. How will she be coping now we’ve been missing so long? I love you, Mom, I say loudly in my head. I love you and I’m gonna be back home real soon. I pray that through some umbilical-style mother-daughter telepathy, she’ll somehow hear me all the way in Los Angeles.

I blink my tears away and look back at Cruz. He looks so peaceful; it’s like all the stress of the past few days has drained away into the sand while he’s been asleep. He stirs and moves his face so close to mine our lips brush. My internal, incoming-Cruz radar kicks into action, making my heart pound.

‘Hello,’ he whispers, pulling me to him.

‘Hello,’ I whisper back.

His fingers start moving inside my T-shirt, trailing warmth up my spine. Then he moves one hand round so that it’s cupping my breast. I can’t help letting out a gasp and he instantly stops. I guess he’s worried he’s gone too far. But he hasn’t, he hasn’t at all. My lips find his again. If synchronised kissing was an Olympic sport our mouths would be going for gold right now. Cruz rolls on top of me and starts whispering something in Spanish in my ear.

‘What does that mean?’ I whisper back.

‘You are so beautiful,’ he whispers, breathlessly.

‘Grace, Cruz. Are you guys awake?’

We both freeze at the sound of the Flea’s voice. Cruz rolls back on to the sand beside me.

‘What’s up?’ I call, pulling my T-shirt down. In the pale moonlight I can just make out the Flea’s thin silhouette peering round the cluster of trees.

‘It’s Belle.’

My stomach lurches and I start scrambling to my feet. ‘What’s wrong with her?’

The Flea comes closer. His T-shirt’s crumpled and his dark hair is flat on one side from where he’s been sleeping on it. ‘She keeps moaning like she’s having a really bad nightmare. But I can’t wake her.’

I hold my hand out to Cruz to help him up and we hurriedly make our way around the trees to where Dan and Belle are sleeping. I can hear the soft purr of Dan’s snores coming from within his cocoon of towels. Next to him Belle is twitching and breathing in shallow gasps. We crouch down around her.

‘Belle,’ I say in her ear. ‘Belle, wake up.’

Belle lets out a low moan, as if she’s in pain.

‘What’s wrong with her?’ the Flea says, his voice trembling.

Cruz leans forward and grabs hold of Belle’s shoulder. ‘Wake up, Belle,’ he says, gently shaking her.

Belle frowns but her eyes stay shut.

‘Belle, honey, you have to wake up!’ the Flea cries.

Dan sits bolt upright, like a horror-flick mummy rising from its tomb. ‘Wass going on?’ he yells, looking around wildly as if preparing for a fight.

‘It’s okay, we’re just trying to wake Belle,’ I explain.

Dan stares at me like I’m nuts. ‘What the hell? It’s the middle of the night.’

‘I know, but she’s having some kind of terrible nightmare,’ the Flea says.

‘I know the feeling.’ Dan sighs and slumps back down on to the sand.

The Flea looks at me. ‘Maybe we should sing her favourite song?’

‘Say what?’ Dan mutters.

‘It’s what they do to coma patients to try and bring them round,’ the Flea says. ‘I saw it on an episode of World’s Worst Diseases one time. There was this girl who was in a coma after catching alligator AIDS and –’

Dan pokes his head out from under his towel. ‘Catching what ?!’

‘Alligator AIDS.’ The Flea frowns at him. ‘It was World’s Worst Diseases for chrissakes. Anyways, the girl was, like, a massive Beyoncé fan, so her mom made her a playlist on her iPod and she came round by the very next ad break.’

‘I ain’t singing no “Single Ladies”,’ Dan mutters. ‘She’s probably just wiped out after everything that happened to her. I say we let her sleep.’

I look down at Belle. Her face is glistening with sweat, but when I touch her cheek it’s freezing. ‘I don’t know,’ I say, ‘she’s not looking so great. Let’s try sitting her up.’

Cruz helps me prop Belle into a seated position.

‘What’s that smell?’ Belle murmurs.

The hairs on the back of my neck instantly prickle. ‘What smell?’ I stare down at Belle. Can she smell the same strange scent that I do whenever Hortense is near? I take a deep breath in through my nose, but all I can smell is the humid, earthy scent of the rainforest.

‘Beau-Belle!’ the Flea says loudly. ‘Come on, honey, you have to wake up.’ He leans forward and starts shaking her.

Belle’s eyes flicker open.

‘Oh, thank God!’ The Flea smothers her in a hug.

Cruz and I sit back and exchange relieved grins.

‘Well, now you guys have woken her, how about we all go back to sleep?’ Dan grunts from beneath his blanket of towels.

Belle frowns. ‘Why’s it so dark?’

‘Because it’s night time,’ Dan sighs. ‘You know? When most normal folk try and get some sleep.’

‘There’s not much of a moon tonight, hon,’ the Flea says, putting his arm round her.

‘But I can’t . . .’ Belle pushes the Flea away and stares around frantically. ‘I can’t see anything!’

The Flea frowns at her. ‘What do you mean?’

Belle starts trembling, her eyes wide with fear. ‘I can’t see a thing. Oh my God! I’ve gone blind!’

Quick as a flash, Dan is up and out of bed and crouching in front of Belle. ‘What do you mean, you can’t see anything?’

‘Exactly what I said!’ Belle stares at him blankly, looking terrified.

The Flea grabs hold of her hand. ‘It’s me, Jimmy. I’m right here, honey. It’s okay.’ He turns and looks at me, panic-stricken.

I lean forward and take hold of Belle’s other hand. ‘You can’t see anything?’ I look up at the sky. A crescent moon is suspended above us, glowing pearly white. ‘Try looking up. Can you see the moonlight?’

Belle tilts her head back and blinks hard. ‘No.’ Her voice begins to tremble. ‘What’s happened to me?’

I glance at Cruz. He’s frowning. ‘I think maybe it is to do with the trauma you have been through,’ he says to Belle softly. ‘Sometimes our bodies can, you know, shut down when we have had a shock. As a kind of protection.’

Belle shakes her head. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ She grips on to the Flea’s hand. ‘It doesn’t make sense, does it, Jimmy? How would going blind protect me?’

But the Flea is nodding. ‘He could be right, hon. I’m sure I saw something like this one time on Real Life Emergency Room. There was this girl who’d been in a terrible car crash and she became mute because she was so traumatised at –’

‘I just want to see!’ Belle yells, wrenching her hand from his. ‘I just – want – to – see.’ She hunches over and starts to sob.

The Flea stares at her, distraught. ‘I’m sorry. I was only trying to make you feel better.’

Belle just keeps on crying.

I look up to the top of the beach where the dark silhouette of the rainforest looms like a huge open mouth waiting to devour us. Anger floods my body. I leap to my feet.

The Flea frowns at me. ‘What’s up, Gracie?’

But I can’t answer him – not without telling them everything about Hortense and freaking Belle out even more.

‘I have to go do something,’ I say, avoiding eye contact with Cruz. ‘I’ll be right back.’

I start running up the beach, ignoring the others as they call after me. My heart is pounding with fear, but anger forces me to keep going. Belle was abducted and now she’s gone blind. Jenna, Cariss, Ron and Todd are drifting in a beat-up boat somewhere in the middle of the ocean – and all because of some stupid spell that I somehow managed to trigger. Why can’t you just leave the others alone? I yell at Hortense in my head. If I’m the one you want then go ahead and take me. I don’t care any more. Just leave the others be.

‘Grace?’ Cruz races up the beach behind me and grabs my shoulder. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m going to find her,’ I gasp, trying to catch my breath. ‘I’ve got to end this.’

Cruz pulls me round to face him. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Hortense.’ I lower my voice to a whisper so the others can’t hear. ‘She must have made Belle go blind. We thought it was over – but it’s not. And it won’t be until I go to her. I’m the one she wants. I’m the one who triggered her dumb spell.’

Cruz shakes his head. ‘No. It is not you. It is not your fault.’

‘But Hortense wants me . I don’t know why . . . but that’s why we’re all here. That’s why we got shipwrecked. She said so. I’m sick of seeing other people get hurt.’ I start marching up towards the forest.

Cruz runs in front of me to block my path.

‘Get out of the way.’ I’m so mad that for a second I actually feel like shoving him.

He shakes his head. ‘No.’

‘You have to let me go.’

‘Let you go to her ? Are you crazy?’ His eyes are filled with concern. ‘I saved your life, remember? And that means that I am responsible for you forever. So, no can do .’

I think back to the moment on the boat when I was about to drown and Cruz pulled me to safety. And I think of everything he has done for me since. And my anger starts to fade. Tiredness rushes into its place.

I sigh. ‘Dammit, Cruz! Why d’you have to play that one?’

He starts to smile. ‘Come here.’

I frown at him. ‘What do you mean? I am here.’

He opens his arms. ‘I mean right here.’

I step into his arms and, as I do, the insanity of what I was planning hits me. How would tearing into the forest demanding Hortense take me guarantee she’d leave the others alone? How would it give Belle her sight back? How would it bring Jenna and the others to safety? The fact is, I don’t have a clue what Hortense is up to, or what she actually wants.

‘I just want to do something to fix all this,’ I whisper into Cruz’s shoulder.

‘You will.’ Cruz steps back and smiles at me. ‘We all will. Look.’ He points up. Behind the banks of charcoal-coloured cloud, the sky is turning an inky blue. ‘The sun is on its way. As soon as it rises, we’ll be out of here.’

I force myself to nod. I really wish I could believe it would be so simple. But if Hortense has gone to so much trouble to get me on to the island, is she really going to let me leave without putting up a fight? I sigh and glance back over my shoulder at the rainforest. It’s the quietest it’s been since we got here, but for some reason this doesn’t feel like a good thing. It feels like a calm-before-the-storm thing.

‘So, no more running off like a macaco-de-cheiro ?’ Cruz says with a grin.

‘Like a what?’

‘A macaco-de-cheiro . It is a monkey that lives in Costa Rica. They run very fast – just like you.’

‘Ah, I see. Okay, no more running off like a macaco de cheerio de whatever.’ I grab hold of his hand and we start walking back down the beach. ‘But no more reminding me how you saved my life either. It’s not fair. How am I ever supposed to win a fight with you if you’re gonna pull that one on me all the time?’

Cruz laughs. ‘But it is the truth.’

‘Cruz!’

‘Okay, already.’

I squeeze his hand tight and we make our way back to the others.

‘What happened, Gracie?’ the Flea says as soon as we get back. ‘Why’d you run off like that?’

He and Dan look up at me, Belle looks blindly from side to side.

‘I’m sorry,’ I mumble. ‘I guess I just flipped out.’

Dan gets to his feet and comes and gives me a hug. ‘Been a crazy few days, huh?’

I nod. Just the fact that Dan Charles is hugging me proves how crazy it’s been – we barely said a word to each other back in our old lives at the dance academy. I guess I’d always been a bit wary, given all the rumours about his brother and gangs. But that seems really stupid now. I suppose one good thing about being stuck on this lousy island has been realising that when you judge someone without actually knowing them, you could really be missing out. I look at the Flea stroking Belle’s hair. Another case in point.

Cruz goes over to one of the boxes of food we found on the boat and pulls out a couple of cans. ‘How about we have something to eat since we are awake? We’ll need all our strength for when we set sail.’

‘Good plan.’ The Flea grins. ‘What do you say, m’lady?’ he says to Belle in his fake British accent. ‘Would you care for a hotdog surprise?’

Belle frowns. ‘What’s the surprise?’

‘That it’s not a frickin’ coconut!’ the Flea says, reverting to his native New York twang.

We all laugh and Belle nods and smiles weakly.

The Flea puts his arm round her and hugs her to him.‘We’ll be getting out of here real soon, sweetie-pie. And then you can go straight to hospital and they’ll figure out what’s happened to you and have you right in no time.’

Belle nods again, but I can see tears shining on her face in the moonlight.

As Cruz passes round a can of hotdogs I can’t help thinking about the man whose boat we found and whose food we’re eating – and it pretty much kills my appetite stone dead. So many horrible things have happened since we got here, but seeing the man throw himself into the canyon right in front of us is almost too dreadful to comprehend. He’d written in his journal that he’d come to the island to see if the legend of Hortense was true – to see if she really did exist. I think of Hortense stumbling after us in the rainforest, her breath rasping like a bitter wind. What had she done to the man to make him so terrified of her – to make him jump to his death rather than face her? I shudder and look up to the sky, willing it to get light.

‘I wonder how the others are doing,’ the Flea says, staring down the beach at the sea.

I shiver as I follow his gaze. In the darkness the ocean seems to stretch on forever.

‘At least there haven’t been any more storms,’ the Flea says. ‘They’ll have had a calm night. If they haven’t been rescued already.’

My body relaxes a little. If the others have been found then the coast-guard might be on their way to get us right now.

‘I still can’t believe those guys left without us,’ Dan mutters.

Cruz grunts in agreement, no doubt still furious that they took his boat.

‘Well, hey, we’ll all be gone soon too,’ I say, my voice all fake cheery, like I’m doing the voice-over for a commercial.

Nobody replies.

A bird suddenly takes flight from the forest and swoops down over the beach toward the sea. If only I was a bird too. If only I could fly all the way back to LA – back to my mom and dad, and my cat, Tigger. I feel a lump growing in my throat. Cruz puts his arm round me and kisses the top of my head. I take a deep breath and make myself smile up at him. I can’t fall apart now, not when we’re so close to getting out of here.

‘Should we start getting ready?’ the Flea says. ‘So we can leave as soon as the sun comes up?’

Cruz nods and he and Dan get to their feet and head over to the boat. After giving Belle a quick hug, the Flea jumps up and goes to pack his things.

‘I’ll sit with you, Belle,’ I say, noticing that she’s starting to look freaked out again. I shuffle up and put my arm round her. Her shoulder blades feel bony beneath her T-shirt. I think back to the digs Jenna and Cariss made about her being overweight before we left and it makes me feel sick.

‘Why did you run off just now?’ Belle whispers to me.

I try to think of an answer that won’t make me sound like a fruit loop, and won’t totally freak Belle out. ‘I don’t know. Frustration, I guess. I just wanted to find the person who’s behind all the weird stuff that’s happened here.’

Belle looks at me, but her eyes are blank. ‘The person who took me?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Do you know who it is?’

My face instantly flushes. ‘No, of course not.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Sure I’m sure.’

Belle looks so stressed. Maybe I ought to tell her what I know – or at least, what I think I know about Hortense. But then I see Belle’s mom’s broken necklace glinting in her hand. And I remember what the Flea told us about her mom being diagnosed with cancer right before we left. I can’t tell her anything. It’ll just make her even more upset.

‘We don’t know any more than you,’ I tell her. ‘When we found you in the volcano whoever had taken you there had gone.’

Belle frowns. She doesn’t look all that convinced.

‘I’m just going down to the water to wash the sand out of my trainers,’ the Flea says, coming over to us. ‘You okay, Beau-Belle?’

Belle nods.

‘Cool. I won’t be long and then I’ll help you get your stuff together, ’kay?’

‘Okay.’ As soon as he’s gone, Belle turns back to me. ‘Hold my hand, Grace,’ she whispers.

Still keeping my arm round her, I take hold of her hand and squeeze it tightly. Despite the humidity it’s as cold as ice. ‘You’re gonna be okay,’ I tell her, softly.

She closes her eyes and leans into me.‘Thank you,’ she sighs.

I glance over at Cruz. He and Dan are engrossed in checking out the sail on the boat.

I’m about to tell Belle what they’re doing when I see the Flea racing back toward us, a look of horror on his face.

‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ I call out to him.

‘What’s happening?’ Belle says, gripping my hand tightly.

‘It’s okay, it’s the Flea,’ I tell her as he gets back to us, gasping for breath. ‘What’s the matter?’

The Flea just stands there, his mouth hanging open, but no words coming out.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ Dan says, coming over with Cruz right behind him.

‘Th-the boat,’ the Flea stammers.

‘It’s okay, Dan and I just checked it again,’ Cruz says.

‘No, not that boat. The boat. Our boat. Your boat – the one the others took,’ the Flea says, looking straight at Cruz.

Cruz instantly looks alarmed. ‘What about it?’

The Flea gulps. ‘It – it’s been washed up on the beach. It’s totally trashed.’

As we run down the beach all I can think of is Jenna. And all I can hear is her voice, soft and scared, when we were trapped in the hold during the storm when this nightmare all began.

‘Grace, what’s happening? Are we going to die? ’

I can see a dark shape at the water’s edge. It looks like a beached whale. But as I get closer I see it’s the hull of the boat. There’s a huge jagged hole in the side, like something took a great bite out of it.

‘Oh no!’ My knees give way and I sink down on to the wet sand. My mind flashes back to the moment when I was left alone on the deck and I thought the waves were going to sweep me away. The idea of that actually happening to the others is so unbearable I can barely breathe.

The Flea starts pacing up and down.‘I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. There hasn’t been a storm. There hasn’t been a storm!’ he yells up at the sky, like he’s hollering at the weather gods.

‘Can someone please help me?’ Belle calls.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and clamber to my feet. We’d told Belle to wait by the trees but she’s stumbling blindly down the beach toward us.

‘I’ll go get her,’ the Flea says.

I nod. Dan and Cruz begin inspecting what’s left of the boat. For a second, fear has me frozen to the spot. I don’t know if I want to see any more. I force myself to walk over to them. The sea water feels icy against my warm feet and sends an instant chill through my body.

‘How – how bad is it?’ I ask them from the other side of the boat.

‘It’s bad,’ Dan replies. I’ve never heard him so serious.

I look at Cruz and he shakes his head.

Bile burns at the back of my throat and I fight the urge to retch. As I walk round the battered hull, water sloshes up to my knees.

The inside of the boat is an empty shell. The deck has been ripped out and only the floorboards of the hold remain. I look at Cruz frantically. ‘How did this happen? Is it storm damage? I don’t understand.’

Cruz frowns. ‘I do not know. They could have been caught in a storm but I don’t see how we wouldn’t have known about it. They would not have got that far from here with no engine. And for the boat to be so badly damaged . . .’ He crouches down and examines the hole in the hull. ‘It looks like it is caused by rocks. But how?’

We all look at each other blankly.

‘Well, the life jackets are gone so they must be wearing them, right?’ I look at Dan hopefully, like he’ll know exactly what’s happened.

But Dan’s looking past me, at the sea. ‘Uh-oh.’

‘What?’ I turn and follow his gaze.

Something square and white is bobbing towards us. We watch as a wave rolls in and deposits it on the sand, as if to say, You think the boat’s bad, look what I got for you this time.

My heart plummets. It’s a case – a vanity case. Jenna’s vanity case. I stride back out of the water and grab the handle. Then I collapse down on to the ground, hugging the case to me as if it’s Jenna herself.

‘Why did you have to leave?’ I cry. ‘Why?’

In a flash Cruz, Dan, the Flea and Belle are surrounding me.

‘It’s okay,’ Cruz says gently. ‘You’re right, there are no life jackets. They could have been rescued.’

‘Yeah,’ Dan says, ‘for all we know they could have been picked up from the boat before it even got wrecked.’

‘There’s no way Jenna would go anywhere without her vanity case,’ I sniff.

‘True,’ the Flea says.‘But hey, they might have been rescued in a hurry. She might not have had time to get it.’

I nod, desperately hoping that he’s right.

‘So, what do we do now?’ the Flea says.

‘What do you mean?’ Belle asks nervously.

‘Well, do we really want to go anywhere in a boat after this? I mean, hello, we don’t even have any life jackets.’

We all look at Cruz. He frowns. ‘The boat we found is in much better condition than this one though . . .’

‘No kidding,’ Dan says, looking at the wreck.

‘No, I mean, even before they left, this boat was not truly seaworthy,’ Cruz says. ‘Why do you think I didn’t already take you guys in it? There was a lot of structural damage after the storm. But the boat we have now,’ he nods, ‘it is in great condition.’

‘But what if we get hit by a storm too?’ the Flea says.

‘We can’t stay here!’ Belle yells, making us all jump.

The Flea looks at her, concerned. ‘We have to be careful, honey.’

‘We can’t stay here! ’ Belle’s practically screaming now.

We all look at each other.

‘It’s okay,’ I say. ‘We’re going to leave as soon as sun’s up, right?’ I call over to the others.

‘Right,’ Dan and Cruz say, followed by a slightly reluctant Flea.

I look at the silhouette of the volcano looming above the rainforest. The sky behind it is turning purple. ‘It won’t be long now,’ I say, taking hold of Belle’s hands. They’re still cold as ice. ‘Come on, you’re freezing, let’s get back to the fire.’

Picking up Jenna’s case, I lead Belle back to the fire and put some fresh sticks on it. The flames leap up hungrily.

‘I have to get out of here, Grace,’ Belle whispers. ‘I have to get back to my mom.’

‘I know. And you will.’ I sit down next to her and put my arm around her. Then I look up the beach to the shadowy outline of the rainforest. My skin feels prickly with fear. Are you there? I say to Hortense in my head, but the only reply I get is the sudden squawk of a parrot.

‘Cruz will get us all out of here,’ I say firmly, trying to convince myself just as much as Belle. ‘Listen, the birds are waking up. It’ll soon be sunrise.’

‘Come on, Beau-Belle, let’s go get your stuff together,’ the Flea says, coming over and helping her up.

Dan and Cruz start pulling the wreck of the boat further up the beach. I look down at Jenna’s case and feel the sudden urge to open it. As I undo the zip, water trickles out on to my fingers. Inside is surprisingly messy for Jenna, but then I realise that she must have had to pack in a hurry once they decided to leave without us. Hurt crushes my heart. I guess years of friendship don’t just disappear over night, no matter how bad things had become between us.

I think back to the last time I saw Jenna, looking down at me from the boat while I pleaded with her to stay. Will that be the last time I ever see her? I shove the thought from my mind and take her hair straighteners from the case. Just the very notion of hair straighteners seems crazy now. What does any of that stuff matter – hair straighteners, make-up, the latest look – when, at any moment, life can hurl you face to face with death?

I rummage further and feel the cover of a small, hardback book. I pull it out and open it. The first page is covered in Jenna’s handwriting but the water has caused the ink to run so the words are just one long bumpy line. Is it her journal? I feel a weird mixture of guilt and longing. I know it’s wrong to read another person’s private thoughts but it might be the only way I get to hear Jenna’s voice again. I carefully turn to an inside page. Once again most of the words have bled together, but one line remains unspoilt:

I can’t believe I almost told G I slept with Todd, especially now we’re stuck on this

What the hell? I hold the writing up to the firelight. But my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. It’s there in black and white. Jenna slept with my boyfriend. But when did she sleep with him? My mind starts rewinding furiously. Was it here on the island? Or back at home? It can’t have been here – it would have been physically impossible for them to sneak off without being noticed. So that means . . .

I feel sick as I think of how she questioned me over and over in the couple of weeks before we left about whether I was going to sleep with Todd on the cruise. My hands start shaking so hard I have to put the notebook down. I remember huddling next to Jenna in the hold of the boat after the storm hit. ‘I have to tell you something, Grace,’ she’d said, right after she asked me if we were going to die. Was that what she was going to tell me? Did she want to clear her conscience? I hug my knees to my chest and take a couple of slow, deep breaths. Even though Todd and I have broken up, it’s like Jenna’s reached out of her journal and socked me right in the stomach. I pick up the notebook and stumble to my feet. All that time I spent stressing about what I’d done to make her act so weird, and it was because she’d slept with my boyfriend. It was bad enough when I figured out she liked Todd, but this is the ultimate betrayal. So what if Todd and I weren’t right for each other. She was supposed to be my best friend.

I start pacing round the fire. She can’t have cared about me at all. She lied to me. She made me think she was the only person I could count on, and all the time . . . But she could be dead. The enormity of that realisation snuffs out my angry thoughts in an instant. I take one last look at the notebook then drop it on to the fire. A cloud of steam hisses up from it.

‘Grace, honey, are you okay?’ the Flea calls over from the cluster of trees where he’s helping Belle to pack.

‘I’m fine,’ I mumble, sitting back down. I glance back into the case and notice a glint of silver. I look closer. ‘Oh, no!’

‘What is it?’ The Flea starts walking over to me.

A silver chain is draped across Jenna’s nail polish remover. I take it out and hold it up to the firelight. A pendant sways on the end. A pendant engraved with a snake above the letter H – for Hortense.

‘The pendant!’ The Flea exclaims.

I nod numbly.

The Flea frowns and scratches his head. ‘How the heck did it get there? Where did you put it after we found it?’

I think back to when the pendant last appeared, by the HELP sign we’d made on the beach. Right after I’d seen someone trashing the sign. I’d taken it on to the boat – and flung it out to sea. So how had it ended up in Jenna’s case? I remember Hortense whispering to me in the forest and telling me that every time Jenna had hurt me she’d done something to hurt her back. Was this her way of letting me know that she’d wrecked the boat? Had she killed Jenna for me? Then I think of how that one single line in the journal had remained legible. Had Hortense somehow managed to preserve it from water damage – so that I would see it? So that I would discover the truth?

‘Where’s Cruz?’ I say, looking around frantically.

‘He’s right there, by the boat, honey.’The Flea takes hold of my arm. ‘What’s up?’

‘Is everything okay, Grace?’ Belle calls over from the trees.

‘Yes, I’m fine,’ I call back, but my voice is shrill. I turn to the Flea. ‘How’d the necklace get in her case?’ I whisper. ‘I threw it into the sea.’

The Flea frowns. ‘Why’d you do that?’

I start scuffing at the sand with my toe. ‘I – it was making me uneasy, the way it kept turning up all the time.’

The Flea raises his eyebrows. ‘Well, I guess it was washed up on the shore and Jenna took it. You know how mad she got when it went missing the first time.’

I nod and take a deep breath. I want to believe him. I really do. But fear keeps on clawing at my mind.

‘Okay, guys, are you ready?’ Cruz calls as he starts walking over from the boat.

I turn back to the fire and drop the pendant into the flames. I don’t care what Jenna did with Todd! I yell at Hortense inside my head. Just leave me alone. Leave us all alone! I wait for her reply, for her soft sinister voice to echo back at me, but again there’s nothing. All I hear are footsteps on the sand behind me. I turn and see Belle feeling around for my hand. I take hold of hers and grip it tight. Then I take a deep breath and look over at Cruz.

‘Let’s go,’ I say. I don’t care what kind of storms might be lurking out at sea. I have to get off this island. I have to get away from Hortense before she drives me insane.

As the boat pulls away from the shore I start shivering uncontrollably. This is it. If Hortense is going to pull a stunt to get us to stay she’s going to have to do it now. My throat feels so tight I can barely breathe. I close my eyes and think of Mom. Before Dad left and Mom’s life collapsed in on itself like a burst balloon, she was a total yoga nut. One time, when I was freaking out about my mid-term math paper, she taught me how focusing on my breathing could help me stay calm. I imagine her thick southern drawl now, reminding me what to do: ‘In through the nose, honey, out through the mouth. In through the nose, and out through the mouth .’

I keep on doing this as Dan and Cruz hoist the sail. A sudden breeze causes the faded fabric to billow and the boat picks up speed. It’s not until we’ve been going for a few minutes that I allow myself to look back. The sunrise is making the peak of the volcano glow so red it looks like it’s about to erupt. I look down at the beach. The pale sand is scarred with the scorched remains of our fires and, right in the middle, our HELP sign made of sticks. I think back to when we first arrived, and how beautiful and inviting the island had seemed after the terror of the storm. If only we’d known. I turn away and look out to sea. My heart is thumping like a bass drum. Please, please let us get away, I silently pray. At the other end of the boat, Cruz looks at me and smiles. But his eyes look anxious and I can tell he’s thinking the same as me – is it really going to be this simple?

A sudden breeze spins the sail round and we all duck as it narrowly misses our heads.

‘Shit!’ Cruz grabs hold of the sail and tries to steer the boat back on course, but the wind is too strong.

‘What is it? What’s happening?’ Belle asks.

‘It’s just getting a little breezy. No need to worry,’ the Flea says, but his voice is tight.

‘Help me,’ Cruz calls.

All of us, apart from Belle, grab hold of the sail, but even four of us aren’t strong enough to beat the force of the wind.

I look up at the sky, expecting to see storm clouds building, but it’s vivid blue.

‘At least we’re not being blown back to the island,’ the

Flea says.

Cruz frowns as he continues to battle with the sail. ‘We’re not getting away from it either, though.’

We’re speeding parallel to the island now, past the beach and the cove and on past a craggy wall of rainforest. It goes on and on. The island is way bigger than I’d imagined.

We all lean our weight into the sail, but it’s no good. The wind is like a force field locking it into place. Then it suddenly changes direction. The sail swings round until the boat is facing the island.

‘Oh no,’ the Flea says.

‘What is it?’ Belle asks.

‘Nothing,’ the Flea and I chorus, exchanging worried glances.

‘Come on!’ Cruz yells and once again we try shifting the sail.

‘Why’s it so windy? Is there a storm coming?’ Belle looks around blindly.

‘No, honey, it’s just a bit breezy now we’re further out,’ the Flea says. He turns to me and mouths the words, ‘What the hell?’

I shrug. Fear takes root in the pit of my stomach.

The boat is cutting across the water like a speedboat now as it’s sucked back in toward the island. But this time, there’s no wide beach to land on. All I can see is a forbidding wall of rainforest.

‘Shit. You think there’s gonna be rocks up ahead?’ Dan asks Cruz.

‘I don’t know,’ Cruz replies.

‘What are we going to do?’ the Flea says.

‘Will someone please tell me what’s going on?’ Belle sounds close to tears. I go sit down next to her.

‘The wind is blowing us back inland,’ I tell her.

‘Back to the beach?’ Belle’s eyes dart from side to side. She looks terrified.

‘No, we’ve come round to the other side of the island.’

‘Hey, take a look at that,’ Dan shouts, pointing straight ahead. He’s pointing to a small chink in the wall of green. As we get closer, the chink gets a little bigger.

‘It’s an inlet,’ Cruz cries.‘Okay, we have to try and steer the boat toward it.’

But we don’t have to steer at all. The boat is drawn to the narrow gap like a pea being sucked up by a straw. We all sigh with relief as we sail past jagged outcrops of rocks and into the opening.

‘Holy moley!’ the Flea exclaims. The inlet is so narrow the trees on either side meet overhead, forming a tunnel of green. A noisy chorus of squawks and screeches rings out around us, like a drunken band trumpeting our arrival. I look up and see two blood-red parrots watching us with beady black eyes. Their gnarled beaks are huge.

‘What’s happening now?’ Belle whispers.

‘We’re going down the inlet,’ I say.

Belle sighs and closes her eyes.

Dan takes his baseball cap off and gazes around. The Flea looks equally awestruck. Cruz stands at the prow of the boat, his shoulders broad and his back arrow-straight, as if he’s preparing for battle.

My stomach churns as I wonder what might be waiting for us at the other end of the tunnel. I think of Hortense and how she looked when we came across her in the forest – her wizened skin and claw-like fingers, and the horrific rasping noise she’d made when she chased us.

‘Look,’ Cruz says, pointing ahead.

In the distance I can see a glimmer of light. The boat carries on sailing toward it. I look around at the others and a terrible thought enters my mind. What if we’re sailing towards our death?

When we finally reach the end of the tunnel the inlet spills out into a huge lagoon. The water is bright turquoise, surrounded by a high wall of rainforest. It’s like floating inside a huge green bowl and it’s so breathtakingly beautiful that for a second I forget to be scared. I figure the others must be feeling the same, as they’re all gazing around, open-mouthed. Only Belle still looks tense.

‘Where are we?’ she asks.

‘I don’t know, but it looks uncannily like paradise!’ the Flea exclaims.

‘We’re in some kind of lagoon,’ I tell Belle. I start looking round for signs of anything sinister. As the boat drifts toward the far side of the lagoon I notice something moving on the rocks at the water’s edge.

‘Look, there’s someone there,’ I whisper.

‘Who is it?’ Belle hisses.

‘I’m not sure,’ the Flea says, squinting toward the shore.

We all sit in silence as the boat glides closer and closer to the land. Whoever it is they are sitting cross-legged on the rocks, facing away from us. All I can make out is that they’ve got cropped white-blond hair and deeply tanned skin.

Dan looks at us. ‘Should we call out to them?’

We all shrug, unsure what to do.

‘Well, they’re gonna see us soon enough,’ the Flea says, ‘so I guess it makes no difference.’ He carefully gets to his feet. ‘Hello!’

The figure jumps up and turns to face us. It’s a girl. She’s wearing a bright coral sundress.

The girl shields her eyes with a tanned hand and looks straight at us.

‘Oh my freakin’ God! I can’t believe there’s someone here!’ the Flea exclaims, looking back at us.

‘Yeah, and someone who doesn’t look like they’ve just escaped from the set of Dawn of the Dead,’ Dan says with a wry chuckle.

The girl starts running across the rocks toward us.

‘Who do you think she is?’ the Flea whispers.

‘How the hell should we know?’ Dan says, raising his eyebrows.

I look at Cruz. He shrugs.

‘Hello!’ the girl calls out as she reaches the water’s edge.

‘Hey!’ the Flea cries excitedly. He turns back to us, his eyes wide. ‘She speaks English!’

‘Who are you?’ the girl says in a clipped British accent. Then she starts to laugh. ‘I’m sorry – that sounds really rude. But – where have you come from?’

‘She doesn’t just speak English – she is English!’ the Flea whispers excitedly.

The girl starts wading through the water toward us. Her face is a perfect heart shape and she has the kind of welcoming eyes and wide smile that make you instantly feel at ease. As she gets closer I see a tiny silver nose stud glinting against her golden brown skin and a bright-blue butterfly tattooed on her wrist.

‘Are you okay?’ she asks, her eyes widening with concern as she gets closer to the boat.

‘Yes, we’re fine, thank you. Positively brilliant. Well, we are now we’ve found you!’ the Flea exclaims in his best British accent. ‘I’m Jimmy Patterson, but you can call me the Flea – everyone else does – and it is very nice to meet you!’ He extends his thin arm over the side of the boat to shake her hand.

The girl laughs heartily as she takes it. ‘I’m Lola. Very nice to meet you too.’

She grins at the rest of us. ‘This is so cool!’

The way she says it, so excited and carefree, makes me want to cry. It feels so long since we experienced this kind of normality, I’m not exactly sure how to react.

Cruz nods at Lola, then he jumps down into the water and starts guiding the boat toward the sand. Dan quickly joins him.

Lola grabs hold of the side of the boat to help them. She looks at me and smiles. ‘How did you guys get here?’

‘Very long story,’ I say.

‘We were shipwrecked a few days ago,’ the Flea explains. ‘Over on the other side of the island.’

Lola shakes her head in disbelief. ‘No way!’

The Flea nods proudly. ‘Yes indeedy!’

‘My name’s Grace,’ I say, climbing down into the water next to Lola. She takes hold of my arm to steady me. She’s grinning like a Cheshire cat.

‘This is brilliant. I mean, obviously it isn’t brilliant that you’ve been shipwrecked, but it’s so cool that you’ve turned up today. Ruby’s last lot of guests have just left and I was thinking that it was going to be so boring until the next lot arrive.’

‘Who’s Ruby?’ the Flea and Dan ask in unison.

Lola smiles at them. ‘She runs the retreat.’

‘The retreat?’ Dan turns back to me and raises his eyebrows.

Lola nods. ‘Yeah. It’s where I’m staying. She set it up a couple of years ago, when she got sick of city life. Wait till you meet her. She’s so calm and serene. She’s like a walking advert for island living.’

The Flea leans close to me. ‘Okay, tell me, am I dreaming right now?’ he whispers.

‘What’s that?’ Lola asks.

‘Nothing,’ the Flea says quickly. ‘It just seems very different on this side of the island.’

‘No kidding,’ Dan mutters.

Lola stares at him, puzzled. Then she turns to look at Belle, who’s still in the boat and staring ahead of her blankly. ‘Is your friend okay?’ she whispers to me.

‘Yes, well, no – not exactly. She just lost her sight.’

Lola’s huge eyes widen. ‘That’s terrible! What happened?’

‘It’s a very long story.’

‘But how?’

I look at Lola and shake my head. If Belle hears us talking about her it’ll only make her feel a million times worse.

Thankfully, Lola gets what I’m trying to say and nods. ‘Okay, well let me take you guys up to the retreat. You look exhausted.’

The Flea and I help Belle from the boat.

‘It’s okay, Belle,’ I whisper in her ear,‘she seems really nice.’

Belle nods and gives a tight little smile.

‘Follow me,’ Lola calls, before bounding across the rocks. We trail after her, the Flea arm in arm with Belle, and Dan right behind them. Cruz drops back and takes my hand.

‘What do you reckon about all this?’ I whisper.

He shrugs his shoulders. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I can’t believe we’re back on the island.’

Cruz nods.

‘Do you think it was Hortense?’ I hardly dare look at him.

‘I don’t know. Sometimes you do get freak winds like that but . . .’

He doesn’t need to continue. I know exactly what he’s thinking because I’m thinking it too – Hortense was never going to let us get away that easily.

Once we get to the end of the rocks, Lola leads us through a cluster of trees. But it isn’t like the rainforest on the other side of the island that’s claustrophobically dense and seems to go on forever. These trees are a lot more spaced out and within a half a minute we’ve reached another huge clearing. It’s cut through by a wide, green river, covered with plate-sized lily pads. A rickety wooden footbridge snakes across the water. ‘We’re almost there,’ Lola calls back to us. ‘Ruby isn’t at the retreat right now. She went to the bay to see the last guests off.’

We all exchange glances again. After all this time feeling trapped on the island it’s kind of freaky hearing her talk so casually about people leaving. Freaky, but unbelievably good. Maybe all isn’t lost after all. Maybe we’ll still be able to get out of here.

We make our way across the bridge. As it starts swaying wildly I’m too exhausted to even worry about what could be lurking in the water beneath. Once we’re on the other side, Lola leads us through some more trees and then out into another huge clearing.

‘Wowsers!’ the Flea exclaims.

Several long cabins made from bamboo line the edges of the clearing. But my eyes are instantly drawn to the centre. There, looming above the cabins, is the strangest house I’ve ever seen. It’s three storeys high and perched on wooden stilts so tall it’s impossible to see inside from down on the ground. The walls are a light-and-dark patchwork of bamboo and logs, topped with a slightly lop-sided roof made from sheets of corrugated metal.

Lola sees us staring at it and starts to laugh. ‘That’s where Ruby lives. It’s cool, isn’t it? The retreat guests all stay in the cabins,’ Lola points to one of them. ‘There’s plenty of room. Now the others have gone there’s only me and Michael – my boyf— . . . ex-boyfriend, and Ruby here. The next guests are arriving in a few days – for the party.’ She starts to grin.‘You’ll be here for the party!’

‘What party?’ Dan asks, looking slightly shell-shocked.

‘We can’t stay for any party,’ the Flea whispers.‘We need to get Belle to hospital.’

But before Lola can reply a guy comes out of one of the cabins, rubbing his eyes like he just woke up. He’s broad-shouldered and pale skinned, with copper-coloured wavy hair that almost reaches his shoulders. He’s wearing long swimming shorts and has an elaborate tattoo of a dragon across one half of his chest.

When he sees Lola he starts to glare. ‘Where have you been?’ he asks. His accent is British too. Then he notices us. ‘Who are these people?’

‘This is Michael,’ Lola says to us, her voice suddenly flat.

‘Who are they?’ Michael hisses at her. I take an instant dislike to him.

‘I found them down at the lagoon,’ Lola explains. ‘They’ve been shipwrecked and they were –’

‘And you brought them here?’ Michael scowls at her.

‘Well, yes. Obviously.’

‘But what about Ruby?’

Lola stares at him. ‘They’ve been shipwrecked!’

Ever the optimist, the Flea walks over to Michael, holding out his hand.‘I’m Jimmy the Flea, pleased to meet you,’ he says cheerily. But Michael completely blanks him and continues staring at Lola.

‘I’m sure Ruby won’t mind,’ Lola says, her cheeks flushing. ‘I couldn’t exactly leave them there.’

Michael gives a sarcastic laugh. ‘How compassionate of you.’

I feel my hackles rising. What the hell is this guy’s problem? ‘We’ve been shipwrecked,’ I say. ‘We need help getting back home.’

Michael looks at me blankly before turning back to Lola. ‘Yeah well, it’s your funeral.’Then he stomps back into the cabin.

I stand, rooted to the spot. What’s going on here? Why is Michael so concerned about Ruby’s reaction? I look at Cruz questioningly. He shakes his head, clearly as bewildered as I am.

Lola turns and gives us a weak smile. ‘I’m so sorry. Things are a little tense between us at the moment. We only just broke up. He isn’t taking it very well.’

‘No kidding,’ Dan mutters, scowling after Michael.

I smile at Lola. ‘It’s okay.’

‘He seemed a little worried about this Ruby . . .’ Cruz says questioningly.

Lola glances up at the bizarre house on stilts. ‘Ruby is very secretive about this place. She doesn’t like people turning up uninvited.’

‘Were you invited here then?’ Cruz immediately asks.

Lola nods. ‘Yes. When we were travelling in Central America we met some friends of Ruby’s and they asked us to come here with them.’ She lowers her voice. ‘Michael wasn’t all that keen. He thought it was a bit risky, coming away with a load of strangers to an island in the middle of nowhere.’ She looks at me and smiles. ‘But that’s why you go travelling, right? To get away from the mundane and embrace the adventure.’

I smile and nod, but inside I literally ache for ‘the mundane’. Since we set off for the cruise I’ve had enough adventure to last me several lifetimes.

‘But don’t worry,’ Lola says quickly. ‘I’m sure Ruby will be fine about you being here. She’s really cool once you get to know her, and once she’s certain she can trust you. Why don’t you go and dump your stuff in there?’ Lola points to one of the cabins. Thankfully it’s not the one Michael stormed into.

I nod. ‘Sure.’

We head over to the cabin, with the Flea carefully guiding Belle. Inside is sparse but clean. One wall is lined with a row of single beds. They’re made from logs and covered in brightly coloured blankets. In the centre of the wooden floor is a coarsely woven, yellow and green mat. It’s the kind of place I could picture Snow White’s dwarves sleeping in.

‘Oh man!’ Dan exclaims, walking over to the nearest bed. ‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ he says to the bed, removing his cap with a flourish. ‘I am Dan Charles and I’ve been dreaming of this moment forever !’ He collapses down on to the bed, wraps himself in the blanket and gives a love-struck sigh.

The Flea laughs. Then he turns to Belle. ‘There are beds, honey, actual beds! Obviously home-made, but full of rustic charm – think Pottery Barn meets Jungle Book .’

Belle nods.

‘What do you guys make of all this?’ I whisper, as I put my bag down in the corner.

‘Well, clearly our friend Michael has a few issues,’ the Flea whispers back, ‘and I can’t say I’m looking forward to meeting Ruby. But Lola is adorable and, compared to the other islanders we’ve met, even Michael seems downright charming.’

‘Well, if this Ruby chick does get all heavy about us being here, we can just ask her to help us leave,’ Dan says, his eyes closed and body spread, starfish-style across the bed.

The Flea nods. ‘Absolutely. I mean, it’s not as if we want to stick around, and if she’s that uptight about keeping this place a secret we can just sign disclaimers and never talk about it again. I don’t care. Quite honestly, after the things we’ve seen, I’ll do anything to get out of here.’

‘Are you guys hungry?’ Lola calls from outside.‘Would you like me to make you some pancakes?’

‘What the hell?’ Dan is off the bed in a second.

The Flea grins manically and even Belle smiles.

‘Did she just say pancakes ?’ Dan whispers, his eyes saucer-wide.

‘I do believe she did,’ the Flea replies.

‘You bet,’ Dan hollers.

‘Okay – coming right up,’ Lola calls back.

‘Do you think we should tell her what happened to us?’ I whisper. ‘You know, about Belle and what happened in the forest?’

Dan shrugs. ‘Dunno.’

‘Maybe we should just play it by ear,’ Cruz says. ‘Figure out what’s going on here first. And see what this Ruby person is like.’

We all nod. Then the others head out. Cruz and I hang back.

‘We need to be careful,’ he whispers, taking my hand.

I nod. It’s exactly what I was thinking. It seems impossible to believe that, after everything we went through on the other side of the island, this side should be completely unaffected by Hortense. And not only unaffected, but some kind of peace-out, hippy retreat. It doesn’t make sense.

‘Do you think – do you think Hortense is still watching us somehow?’

Cruz frowns. ‘I don’t know.’

I force myself to be more positive. ‘But if it is all okay over here, and people are coming and going then . . .’

Cruz smiles at me. ‘I know. Then we will be able to leave too.’ His eyes start to twinkle. ‘And I will have saved your life all over again.’

I frown. ‘Oh really? And how’d you figure that one out?’

‘Well, I brought you to this side of the island.’

I raise my eyebrows.‘That’s funny. I could have sworn it was a gale that brought us here.’

Cruz shakes his head. ‘Yeah well, that was just – what do you say? A minor detail.’

I start to laugh. ‘Hmm.’

He pulls me close and kisses me lightly on the forehead.

I grin up at him. ‘Come on, let’s go get some pancakes.’

When we get outside, the others are gathered in the doorway of another of the cabins. It’s smaller than the one we’ve just been in and, once we get there, I see that it’s obviously the kitchen. The walls are lined with uneven shelves and I can’t stop my mouth from falling open when I see the piles of exotic-looking fruit and vegetables on them. The others are all looking similarly awestruck. Lola takes a clay pot from a cupboard and tips a pale yellow powder from it into a large bowl.

‘Corn flour,’ she says when she sees the Flea staring at it. ‘Ruby has a great farm here. It’s amazing. She grows all kinds of things. Even coffee.’

‘Coffee!’ the Flea exclaims. ‘Oh my, what I would do for a skinny French vanilla latte right now.’

Lola laughs. ‘Well, you might not be able to get one of those, but trust me, Ruby’s coffee is divine.’

‘I wonder if it is as good as the Costa Rican coffee,’ Cruz says.

Lola looks at him. ‘Are you from Costa Rica?’

Cruz nods. ‘Yes. Do you know it?’

Lola grins.‘Of course. It’s where Michael and I were before we came here. We did some voluntary work in San José. It’s a beautiful country.’

‘It’s where you were before here?’ Cruz repeats.

Lola nods. ‘So, how do you guys all know each other?’ she asks, bending down to fetch a cloth-covered jug from under a counter.

‘We go to the same school in LA,’ the Flea says. ‘We’re dance students.’

Lola looks up at him. ‘Really?’

The Flea nods. ‘Yes, apart from Cruz here. He was sailing the boat we were in when the storm hit.’

‘So, you didn’t know each other before?’ Lola looks directly at Cruz and me.

I shake my head, aware that my cheeks are flushing. From the way Cruz has his arm round my shoulders it’s obvious we’re a couple. I had gotten so used to our insular world I hadn’t really thought about what Cruz and I getting together must look like to someone from the outside. But if it bothers Lola she doesn’t show it. She just smiles at me, then reaches under the counter again and brings out a basket of eggs.

‘Holy omelettes!’ the Flea exclaims.

‘Eggs!’ Dan gasps, in the exact same lovesick voice he used to address the bed.

‘You have chooks here?’ I say, as the vision of a golden omelette appears in my head, complete with a jaunty sprig of parsley. I am suddenly so hungry even my fingertips feel like they’re screaming, ‘feed me !’

Lola nods. ‘Yes. Right behind the vegetable garden.’

‘The vegetable garden.’ The Flea repeats her words with such heartfelt emotion it’s like he’s reciting a love poem.

‘I can’t imagine what it must be like to be shipwrecked,’ Lola says, cracking the eggs one by one into the bowl.

I watch her, completely mesmerised.

‘It must have been so scary.’

‘Not nearly as scary as some of the shit that’s happened since,’ Dan mutters.

‘What’s that?’ Lola stops what she’s doing and looks at him.

‘Nothin’.’ Dan quickly looks away.

Lola takes the cloth from the jug and pours what looks suspiciously like milk into the bowl.

‘Excuse me, but is that . . .’ the Flea breaks off, clearly speechless . . . ‘is that milk ? Like, from a cow ?’

‘Yes.’ Lola laughs. Then her face goes deadly serious.‘When was the last time you guys had a proper meal?’

‘About a year ago,’ the Flea says, gazing dreamily at the bowl.‘At least it feels that long. We’ve been living off coconuts, mostly. And the occasional fish.’

‘And cold hot dogs,’ Dan adds.

Lola looks at him. ‘Hot dogs?’

‘Yeah, they were in the boat we found.’

We all frown at him and he looks away, embarrassed.

Lola looks at the Flea. ‘You found a boat?’

‘Yes, the one you saw us in,’ the Flea replies. ‘We just found it randomly one day,’ he adds quickly, sounding about as convincing as a little kid saying it wasn’t him who drew on the wall in crayon.

Lola raises her eyebrows. ‘Wow, that was lucky.’

The Flea nods and looks away. ‘Yeah.’

Lola lifts up spoonfuls of the pancake mix, checking for lumps. My mouth, which has felt as dry as desert sand for most of the morning, starts producing saliva like it’s a magical spring. Lola takes an ancient-looking iron skillet from a hook on the wall and leads us back outside. In the centre of the clearing are the remains of a large fire. Lola puts some dried leaves on top and stokes the flames back into life, then she places the skillet on a frame over the fire and ladles some batter into it. We all sit in a circle and watch, silenced by a mixture of hunger and longing.

‘O.M. effing G! Is that what I think it is?’ the Flea suddenly exclaims. We all follow his gaze off to the side of the clearing. There, in the shade of some huge trees, is a round construction made from large clay bricks. Two wooden poles stand either side of it, with a beam running across the top. A rope hangs down from the beam, disappearing inside the bricks.

‘Is it a – well ?’ I whisper – hardly daring say the word out loud.

Lola nods casually, like having a source of fresh water is the most natural thing in the world.

‘And does it actually – work?’ The Flea gazes at her hopefully.

‘Of course.’ Lola shifts the pan slightly and the batter sizzles.

Dan lets out a whoop and the Flea starts to laugh.

‘I have a feeling this is going to be my best breakfast ever,’ he says, putting his arm around Belle. ‘See, Belle, I told you everything was gonna be okay. There’s even a well – with, you know, water !’

Belle nods but she still looks real tense. I can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like to suddenly go blind. It must be so scary.

‘I’m just going to get some plates,’ Lola says. ‘Can you guys keep an eye on the pancake for me?’

‘Oh don’t worry, I won’t be lookin’ at nothing else,’ Dan says, gazing at the batter as it bubbles gently in the pan.

Lola laughs and heads off to the kitchen.

‘I think it’s okay here,’ the Flea whispers as soon as she’s gone. ‘I really don’t think we’ve got anything to worry about.’

I don’t know if it’s the heavenly smell of the pancake cooking lulling me into a false sense of security, but even I’m starting to agree with him. I look at Cruz to try and figure out what he’s thinking, but he’s looking at the floor, his face expressionless.

‘Do y’all think they’ve got some maple syrup?’ Dan says dreamily.

‘Oh my God, then I really will have died and gone to heaven!’ the Flea exclaims.

Dan rubs his hands together.‘Or how about some chocolate syrup? Or –’

‘What’s going on?’ A woman’s voice echoes around the clearing, deep and stern. From somewhere inside the forest there’s the sound of flapping wings.

We all look around, trying to find the source of the voice.

‘I said, what’s going on?’

I see a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and turn toward it. A woman is standing at an entrance to the clearing. She’s wearing an over-sized, faded T-shirt as a dress, with a wide black-leather belt fastened tightly around the middle. Her Afro hair fans from her head like a dark halo and her brown skin gleams like a coffee bean in the sunlight. Her legs and arms are long and slim and she’s standing bolt upright. She looks like an Amazonian queen. All that’s missing is the spear.

The Flea jumps to his feet. ‘Are you Ruby?’

The woman starts striding toward us. ‘Who the hell wants to know?’ Her accent is American. It sounds southern. As she gets closer I see that she actually isn’t that old – early twenties max. It’s her height and the way she carries herself that make her seem older.

‘We’ve been shipwrecked,’ I say, scrambling to my feet.

Ruby stares at me. Her eyes are pale blue and incredibly piercing against her brown skin.

I instinctively look down at my feet. ‘We were trying to –’

‘Grace!’

My skin erupts in goose bumps and I stare frantically into the dark of the rainforest. Maybe I was hearing things. Maybe it wasn’t her . . .

‘Grace, is that you?’

I watch, my heart pounding, as Jenna stumbles out of the forest behind Ruby.

‘I thought I’d never see you again!’ Jenna runs across the clearing toward me and hugs me tight. Her pale blonde hair is as brittle as straw, and what’s left of her make up has smudged into dark rings beneath her eyes.

I’m so numb with shock I can’t speak. Over Jenna’s shoulder I see Todd make his way into the clearing. Cariss is right behind him. Their clothes are soaking and tattered and they all look totally shell-shocked. I watch the gap in the trees, waiting for Ron to appear.

‘Grace, what’s happened?’

I look down at Belle. She’s staring up at me, her eyes filled with panic.

‘It’s okay. It’s the others.’ My mouth is suddenly so dry I can barely get the words out.‘They – they’re here.’ I look back at Jenna – and grip her arms real tight to make sure she’s not an illusion.

‘Are these the friends y’all were telling me about?’ Ruby asks Jenna. ‘The ones you were shipwrecked with?’

Jenna nods, still staring at me. Her eyes are shiny with tears.

I swallow hard. They’re alive. Relief surges through me, making my body tremble. I look back at the trees, but there’s still no sign of Ron.

Everyone apart from Belle is standing now, and for a moment we’re all silent. I guess no one knows quite how to act, or what to say. It’s like everyone’s waiting for someone else to take the lead.

Ruby stands motionless, watching.

‘What happened to you guys?’ the Flea asks, finally breaking the stunned silence. ‘The boat washed up on the beach, totally trashed.’

‘We hit some rocks,’ Jenna mumbles.‘We had to swim back to the island.’

I look at Todd. He’s staring at the ground. I notice that his hands are trembling.

‘How did you find the retreat?’ Ruby says to the Flea, her voice as icy as her pale eyes.

‘Lola brought us,’ the Flea says. ‘She found us down by –’

‘Ruby!’ We all turn at the sound of Lola’s voice. She’s standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a pile of plates. When she sees the others her mouth falls open in shock. ‘Oh. Who are –?’

‘These are our friends,’ the Flea says. ‘The ones we –’

‘I found them at the bay,’ Ruby says curtly. ‘Can I have a word with you please, Lola? In the house.’

‘Of course.’ As Lola walks past me she nods. ‘Don’t worry,’ she whispers. ‘I’ll sort it out.’

I smile gratefully.

Lola hands the Flea the plates, then she follows Ruby over to her house and up the ladder inside.

I wait, half-expecting to hear raised voices, but it stays ominously quiet.

We all look at each other again. All apart from Todd, who keeps on staring at the ground.

The Flea goes over to the fire and grabs hold of the skillet. ‘The others are safe, Beau-Belle. Isn’t that great?’

Belle nods and gives a tight smile. I guess that given the hell Jenna and Cariss put her through before she’s hardly going to be throwing a party.

‘Where’s Ron?’ I whisper to Jenna.

Her eyes fill with tears again and she looks away.

I turn to Todd. ‘Todd – what happened to Ron?’

Todd starts shaking his head.

My stomach lurches.

Dan goes over to Todd and places one of his huge hands on his shoulder. ‘What happened, bro?’

‘We lost . . .’ Jenna starts to cry. ‘We lost him.’

Todd lets out a weird whimpering sound and covers his face with his hands.

‘You lost him?’ The Flea puts the skillet down and stares at Jenna, his mouth open in horror. ‘But where?’

Jenna’s now crying too hard to answer. We all turn to Cariss.

‘In the sea,’ she mutters. Then she starts crying too and sinks to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

I let out a gasp of shock. Cruz is over in an instant and takes hold of my hand.

Dan puts his arm round Todd’s shoulders. ‘Oh, man!’

‘He might be okay,’ Cariss stammers between sobs.

‘He’s not okay!’ We all turn to face Todd as he finally speaks. Tears are streaming down his face. ‘He was so out of it from that stuff he drank from the bottle in the forest. I tried to keep hold of him, but I lost my grip. I saw him get swept away. I saw him . . .’ Todd chokes on his tears . . . ‘I saw him go under.’

Cruz lets go of my hand and strides over to him. ‘It is not your fault,’ he says softly. ‘The sea, it is too powerful. You did everything you could. You mustn’t blame yourself.’

Todd wipes his eyes and stares at Cruz. I think of the tension between them before and for a horrible moment I think Todd might lose it with Cruz again. But then he starts nodding his head real slowly.

‘Thanks,’ he whispers.

Cruz places his hand on his arm. ‘No problem.’

‘Did Ron die?’ Belle asks suddenly, causing us all to jump.

The Flea goes and crouches down beside her. ‘It looks that way, yes.’ I’ve never heard him so serious.

Jenna wipes her eyes and stares at Belle. ‘What’s up with her,’ she whispers to me. ‘Why is she staring like that?’

I move closer to her so I can whisper. ‘She’s gone blind.’

Jenna steps back in shock. ‘What?’

I shake my head and put my finger to my lips.

‘What’s up?’ Cariss says immediately.

‘Nothing,’ Jenna says quickly. Then she turns back to me. ‘But how?’ she whispers. ‘What happened to her? Where did you find her?’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ I whisper back.

Jenna nods and gives me a weak smile.

We all fall silent again.

‘So, how did you guys end up here?’ Cariss asks, eventually.

‘We sailed,’ the Flea replies.

‘You sailed ?’ Cariss stares at him.

‘But how?’ Jenna looks at me, then immediately looks at the ground, her cheeks flushing.

Seeing her look so embarrassed makes me think of her journal and its shock revelation. I wait for anger to hit me, but all I feel is exhaustion, and overwhelming relief that they’re still alive.

‘Would anyone like a pancake?’ the Flea asks hesitantly.

‘Pancake?’ Cariss says. Her voice is as timid and weak as a little girl’s and nothing like the super-bitch she was before.

‘Yes. We were just about to have some when you guys arrived.’ The Flea replies, nodding toward the skillet.

‘Yes please,’ Cariss says meekly.

‘We found another boat,’ I say to Jenna. ‘It was –’

‘What’s happened to Belle?’ Cariss interrupts.

I glance down at Belle. She’s feeling around in the sand for something.

‘Belle, are you okay?’ I say, going over to her.

‘I dropped my mom’s necklace,’ she mutters.

I see it glinting in the sand by her foot and place it in her hand.

She breathes a sigh of relief. ‘Thank you, Grace.’

‘No problem.’

‘What’s wrong with her?’ Cariss says.

‘Belle’s lost her sight,’ the Flea says quickly as he flips the pancake over. I catch a waft and, despite all the trauma, my stomach lets out a rumble of hunger.

‘What? How?’ Cariss asks, but her eyes are now glued to the pancake.

‘We don’t know,’ the Flea says. ‘But I’m sure it will all be fine once we get back home and get her to a hospital.’

I go to give Belle’s hand a squeeze. It’s clenched into a tight fist.

‘Okay, I say Beau-Belle gets first pancake,’ the Flea says, quickly plating it up and passing it to her.

Belle feels around for the pancake. As she brings it to her mouth I swear every one of us mimes taking a bite.

Another awkward silence falls, broken only by the sizzle as the Flea pours some more batter on to the skillet.

Todd turns to Cruz.

‘I owe you an apology,’ he mumbles. ‘We should never have taken your boat. I’m sorry.’

Everyone watches Cruz. He looks at Todd for a second, then he puts his arm round his shoulders and gives him a hug. ‘No problem. Let’s forget about it.’

The rest of us all sigh with relief.

‘Cool,’ Todd says, and he flashes me a glance.

I nod at him. Unspoken apology accepted.

‘Let’s just make a line under what happened before,’ Cruz says, looking around the group. ‘We need to work together now to get out of here.’

‘Amen to that!’ Dan says.

Jenna gives me a small, hopeful smile. I smile back. After everything that has happened, it really does feel right to let go of all the crap that happened before.

‘I’m confused about Belle,’ Cariss says loudly.

I want to groan.

Belle stops eating.

‘I told you – it will all be fine once we get her to a hospital,’ the Flea says, curtly.

‘But a person doesn’t just go blind for no reason.’ Cariss comes and stands right in front of Belle, staring down at her like she’s an exhibit in a freak show.

Belle starts to scowl.

‘Where’s Lola?’

We all turn to see Michael standing in the doorway of his cabin, arms folded.

‘She’s up in the house. With Ruby,’ the Flea replies, a little frostily.

Michael looks up at the house, and for all his swagger, I see a definite look of fear cross his face.

‘Who’s he?’ Cariss asks.

‘He’s called Michael and he’s Lola’s friend,’ the Flea says pointedly, as he flips the pancake.

Michael looks visibly wounded. Then he looks back at the house anxiously. I wonder why he seems so uneasy at any mention of Ruby. Maybe it would be worth trying to make conversation with him to find out.

‘So, how long have you and Lola been here?’ I call over to him.

Michael waits for a moment, as if weighing up whether or not he should waste any energy speaking to me.

‘About a month,’ he says finally. ‘Although it feels a lot longer,’ he mutters.

I shoot a look at Cruz. He instantly meets my gaze, no doubt thinking the same thing. Is Michael acting so angry because of his break-up with Lola, or is it something else?

But before I have the chance to say anything, Lola climbs back down the ladder out of the house.

‘Great news,’ she says, jumping the final three rungs on to the sand. ‘Ruby says you can stay.’

‘But we don’t want to stay,’ Cariss says immediately.

Lola looks at her and smiles. ‘I don’t mean stay forever. Just for the party. Then you can leave on the boat with the other guests.’

‘What party?’ Jenna says.

Lola makes her way back over to us. ‘Ruby’s having a party at the end of the week. A lot of people are coming here specially for it. It’s going to be amazing.’

We all exchange anxious glances. The thought of partying after what’s happened to Ron seems horrific.

‘Hmm,’ Michael says pointedly, and for a second Lola’s smile disappears. She frowns at him, then looks back at us and her smile returns.

‘I don’t think any of us are really in the mood to party to be honest with you,’ I say, looking round at the others. They all start nodding. ‘One of our friends . . .’ I break off, unable to actually say it.

‘One of our friends just died,’ Cariss says to Lola.

Lola’s face falls.‘Oh my God! I’m so sorry. What happened?’

‘It was when their boat hit the rocks,’ I tell her quietly. ‘So it would be great if we could just get out of here as soon as possible. We’ve been missing for days now – our folks are going to be going out of their minds with worry.’

Lola nods. ‘Of course. But I’m afraid that won’t be possible until the weekend, after the party.’

‘What?’ Cariss exclaims with one of her trademark pouts. ‘Why not?’

Lola looks up at the house. I follow her gaze and I’m sure I see a shadow flit across one of the windows.

‘Ruby doesn’t have a boat,’ Lola explains quietly. ‘That was the whole point of her coming here – to be completely cut off from the outside world. The only time there’s a boat here is when guests come to stay.’

Cariss frowns.‘How does she arrange for guests to come to stay if she’s totally cut off ?’

‘She pre-arranges it with her friend Carlos. He brings them over on set dates.’

‘But what if there’s an emergency?’ Cariss says.‘What if she needed to get off the island?’

Lola shrugs. ‘It’s the way she likes it.’

Michael mutters something under his breath and Lola shoots him a death stare.

Jenna turns to me. ‘You said that you guys sailed here. Couldn’t we use the boat that you found?’

I shake my head.‘That’s what we’d been planning to do, but it isn’t big enough for all of us.’

‘Well, maybe some of us could go first and send for help,’ Cariss says.

‘What, like before?’ Dan glares at her. ‘I don’t think so. Next time we leave, we all leave together.’

‘Will the boat that’s bringing the guests be big enough to take us all back as well?’ I say. Everyone looks at Lola anxiously.

Lola nods. ‘Oh yes. Carlos’s boat is more than big enough, isn’t it, Michael?’

Michael nods grudgingly.

‘Ruby’s friend Carlos brings her guests over from the mainland,’ Lola explains.

‘The mainland?’ the Flea says.

Lola nods.

‘What is this mainland?’ Cruz asks immediately.

Lola laughs. ‘Costa Rica of course.’

‘Costa Rica?’ Cruz looks shell-shocked.

Seeing his expression, Lola frowns. ‘Yes, I –’

‘How far are we from Costa Rica?’ Cruz cuts in.

We all stare at Lola. ‘I don’t know exactly.’ She looks at Michael. ‘How far would you say, Michael?’

Michael shrugs. ‘Don’t know. It took us a few hours to get here.’

I glance at Cruz. He looks like someone who just got told the moon is actually made of cheese. I guess he must be shocked that Ile de Sang is so close to his home.

‘We may as well just wait a few more days then,’ the Flea says, plating up another pancake.

I take a moment to try and process this latest development. Finding the retreat, only to find that we’re still trapped on the island is filling me with unease – especially given what’s happened to Ron and to Belle. Pressure starts building in my head. Instead of escaping from Hortense, I can’t help feeling that her net is tightening.

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