CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

They settled in the camp again for the second night, feeling relatively secure that it was far enough out of the way of the men, if they were still around, that they would leave them be unless they really did want to finish them off or reclaim Stella. The fact that kidnapping Stella hadn't seemed to be on their original to do list gave a little spark of hope that they would just be left alone, no doubt the men thinking that the island itself could do their dirty work for them. No need to actually pull a trigger, just abandon a bunch of kids on a deserted island to fend for themselves. Perfect plan.

The feeling of security didn't extend to not setting an overnight watch, though. Alex set up a roster, splitting the overnight shift between himself, Li, Hex and Paulo. Stella had barely slept at all on the boat, too terrified to close her eyes, and she was out for the count basically as soon as the sun dipped below the trees, curled into a tiny ball on the edge of Li's mattress. Amber also needed to rest, a fact she grudgingly accepted although not without some muttering about how she was perfectly capable of assisting just as much as anyone else.

Alex took the last shift over from Hex, and settled in for the couple of hours remaining before it became properly light, the full moon sitting high in the sky providing an eery grey glow to the surroundings. The solitude and the silence, broken only by the occasional sounds of nocturnal wildlife skittering in the undergrowth, unfortunately leant itself to reflection, and Alex found himself going over and over the confrontation with Amber from the afternoon before. He had handled it poorly, he new that, but he felt an enormous amount of- mostly self imposed- pressure to keep everyone safe, alive, until they could get off the island. And, truth be told, he felt tremendously out of his depth.

Alex stiffened as he heard something that sounded quite a bit louder than the small mammals scurrying about. A couple of cracks of twigs breaking underfoot, footsteps that crunched leaves. Getting closer. Alex whirled around, only to see a shadowy shape just a few metres from him.

"Question." The American drawl made Alex slump in relief. "If I had been a bad guy, what exactly were you planning on doing?" Amber dropped onto the log beside Alex, her teeth flashing white in the dim as she grinned. "You got a secret stash of weapons you haven't shared with us?"

Alex ignored her, mainly because, truth be told, he actually had no idea. There was his knife, securely attached to his waist, but actually going to use that on a human, even one who was threatening his safety? He actually hadn't put much thought into it. Once again, he was reminded just how out of his depth he was. Just how out of their depth they all were. "You're obviously feeling better, back to normal," Alex said.

"Indeed." There was an awkward pause, then Amber added in a small voice, "I don't think I actually thanked you, for getting my bag. And my clothes. I was starting to feel a bit like a Playboy bunny." She shuddered.

"No, you didn't say thank you. You just started shouting at me instead."

"Well… Thank you."

Alex shot her a sideways look. "Why do I feel like this is somehow a trap?" Even in the semi darkness, he could clearly make out the eye roll from her.

"It's not. I just… I wanted to say thank you. And I mean it, Alex." Her tone supported how genuine she was being; she sounded grateful, vulnerable, a very different Amber to the one Alex had met earlier in the week. "I would be in a lot of trouble by now if you hadn't. So I'm glad Hex said something about my bag, and I'm glad you have a better memory than I do, and I'm really thankful that you risked going back to the lagoon to retrieve my stuff even though you didn't know what it was or why I needed it."

Alex paused for a moment, then said, "You're welcome." It felt a bit small, considering, but he couldn't really think of anything else to say. Then, with a sigh, he added, "And I'm sorry for how I handled it. I didn't mean to make you feel how you did, I was just-" He scrubbed his hands through his hair, blew out a gusty breath. "I feel like everyone is looking to me for answers, to keep us alive, and I actually don't know what I'm doing." Now he had started to unload his brain, he was struggling to put a halt on the stream of conscious that, so far, had only been kept tightly locked in his head, too scared of putting doubt into the others that he didn't dare share. "I know all this theory, I know stuff my dad has taught me, but believe it or not, I haven't ever been in a situation like this before."

Amber chuckled. "Ditto, Alex. And I haven't exactly taken a poll, but I would say if we asked the others, that would be a unanimous vote. This is way left of field for all of us. What's so bad about that?"

"Because…"

When he trailed off, staring into the night, Amber prompted, "Because?"

"Because you all seem to think I know how to deal with this. Know how to keep us alive. You all keep looking to me for answers." He partly blamed himself for that, though; he had assured them that he knew things, his dad had taught him stuff. It had meant to have been reassuring, in the moment, but on reflection it may have given the others a false sense of hope that Alex was no worried he would never be able to fulfil.

"And so far," Amber said, "you've had them all. So what's the problem?"

"I don't have a plan, I don't have any idea. Not really. I'm just making things up as we go along."

"This isn't the sort of situation you can plan. You have to think on your feet. And," she added, "so far your answers have been pretty spot on. We're all in one piece. We got Stella back, even. What's so wrong with what you've been doing?"

Alex hesitated. "Because I know, at some point, there's going to be something I can't just answer. That I don't know."

"So?" When Alex didn't answer, Amber added, "Stop worrying about something that hasn't happened yet. We can deal with that if it comes up." She got to her feet, gave him a brief pat on the shoulder.

"But-"

"No buts."

Alex sighed. There was the Amber he remembered meeting- no chance arguing with her, she wouldn't let you win. As she went to move off, Alex had a thought. "Amber," he said. "Don't start getting all fired up about me snooping again-" he could sense her narrowing eyes rather than see them this time "-but I happened to notice you have some spares. Of your stuff. Your kit."

"Yes… What of it?" Her tone was guarded, spiky again.

Alex patted his own belt pouch. "Do you want me to hold onto them for you? The spares. Just in case?"

"No, it's-" Amber stopped, gave a deep breath, considered it for a moment and then said, "Actually… Yes, Alex. That would good. Thank you."

"No worries."

Amber carefully fished out a spare insulin pen and some glucose test strips from her pouch and passed them to Alex. He stowed them in his own under her watchful gaze, then zipped it up and patted it once more, giving her a reassuring smile before she moved off into the gloom again.

Left alone with his thoughts once more, Alex wasn't sure if he felt better or worse. The others trusted him, which was nice. But also, at some point, Alex just knew something would happen where he would make the wrong decision, and that trust would be severed. And then where would they be?

When Li woke, it was still early. The morning birdlife were only just starting to stir as the sun struggled to break through the canopy surrounding the camp. She lay there for a couple of moments longer, letting herself wake up fully before getting to her feet. Around her, the others were still dozing, and she padded out of the hut as quietly as she could.

Outside, Alex was still on watch. He glanced up as she came out, and she mouthed A walk to him. He frowned, but gave her a brief nod in return along with mouthing back Not far. She nodded. They weren't not speaking for any reason other than Li felt the morning was too still, too quiet and calm, for humans to ruin that with their chatter. Early mornings belonged to the wildlife, to the birds that were welcoming the new day with a song that would always be far more beautiful than anything humans could manage.

Li followed a narrow trail out of the camp, into the bush. She hadn't gone very far when she turned around, glancing over her shoulder. The camp had totally disappeared, despite the clearing it was set in; the surrounding bush was so dense, it provided a wonderful cover. It did, however, offer the same in return- it was hard to see out. As safe as they felt in the camp, despite the guaranteed shelter it provided, Li knew Alex's point about it not being suitable as a base was right. They would never be found if they stayed there, and they wouldn't be able to see any possible rescue even if did stumble past the island.

Li was heading to a ridge line she had spotted on the map when looking over it the night before. From what it looked like, it spearheaded out to the east and, she was hoping, would give her a nice vantage point down to the lagoon below. She was halfway along the track when she heard heavy footsteps behind her and she slowed, not feeling especially concerned but unable to stop the increase in her heart rate and the uneasy feeling in her stomach; natural responses when you had been chased by men with guns not twenty four hours earlier.

"Wait up, Li."

Li relaxed, turning around. In the rapidly building early light, she saw Stella trotting along the path behind her. "Morning," she said brightly. "Coming for a little walk?"

"Yes." Stella stopped suddenly, looking worried. "I mean, only if you don't mind, I-"

"Stella. It's fine. I don't mind." Li gave the other girl a brilliant grin. "Although this is less a walk and more spying."

"That sounds… interesting." Stella's expression said she was considering going back to the camp and back to bed, given this revelation.

Li laughed. "There's just a ridge I want to look at, see if we can look over and down into the lagoon from it."

Stella brightened again. "That doesn't sound dangerous. Okay, I'm in." She paused as Li went to move off. "But we should probably wait a moment for Paulo. He's coming as well."

One of Li's eyebrows rose. "Paulo? Up before the sun?"

"I may have stood on him because I was hurrying to catch up with you," Stella said, looking guilty. "And then he insisted he accompany us."

"Of course he did."

If his ears were burning, it didn't dampen Paulo's usual good nature as he appeared on the path behind Stella, giving both girls a cheery wave. "Senoritas," he called. "I will join you."

"That's fine, Paulo," Li said as he reached them. "But this is a quiet expedition. So no booming voice, please."

"Of course." He obliged by whispering, shooting Li a grin that she returned. "Quiet as a… what is the animal?"

"Mouse," Stella offered.

"As mice. We will be as quiet as some mice."

The three of them set back off along the trail, and it didn't take them long at all to reach the ridge that Li wanted to check out. It was lightly treed, jutting out like a spear off the side of the island. The ground was rocky, which was likely why not many trees and almost no small shrugs had managed to stick and grow successfully; the saplings that were there were thin and spindly, struggling in the hostile environment. Dropping into a crouch, although she was sure they wouldn't be spotted at the angle and distance they were going to be, the three teenagers moved out along the ledge until they could drop onto their stomachs and shuffle as close to the edge as they dared- for Li, that was quite a bit closer than the other two, with Stella back so far she almost may as well not have bothered to come, for all she could see.

"Careful, Li," Paulo warned as the Anglo-Chinese girl edged even closer to the sheer drop.

She ignored him, far too interested in looking down to the lagoon. It was a good vantage point, and she was sure that even if anyone happened to look in their direction, they wouldn't be distinguishable. Before she could really sort through what she was looking at, there was the sound of shuffling and feet on rocks behind her, and she turned to find Alex, Hex and Amber had joined them.

"What are we looking at?" Amber asked, shimmying on her belly to rest beside Li. "Oooooh. Spying on our friends. Nice."

"Less friends than before." Li nodded down at the water. "We can't see the whole lagoon, but I don't think they would have moored in those areas."

"So we're down to one boat?" Alex asked.

"Stella's lift has gone," Li added referring to the Grim Reefer, the original boat that had come across The Sandpiper. "If we're really lucky, maybe all of the guys have gone as well and they've left us a boat to use."

Even though she didn't think that was remotely in the realm of possibility, Amber piped up, "If we can hijack the boat, I can sail us back."

"Hey," Hex said from the other side of Paulo. "Look at that. Amber finally has a use."

"Shut up," she said, but the exchange was without the intense animosity that had run under every interaction they had had previously.

Alex was considering the boat with a frown. "They won't have left it," he said. "But I wonder why they're still here… Didn't they say they had to get back to Bright Island? Like two days ago now."

Hex snorted. "Hey Alex, I don't know if you're aware of this, but those guys strike me as the sort to lie. So…" He shrugged. "There's a chance they were making stuff up."

"Still doesn't explain why they're sticking around." Alex gestured at the six of them. "We're dropped off. They clearly had no interest in actually rescuing us. So why hang about?"

"Maybe another pick up?" Li suggested.

Alex made a hmm sound but didn't seem like he was really considering it. No one else, however, had any other ideas, so the group lapsed back into silence while they continued to observe the boat and lagoon.

It was quiet on board, no sign of life, but it was still early so that didn't mean anything significant. The boat sat gentle and still, barely even moving in the water, nestled safely in the lagoon. It looked almost picturesque, but Alex could feel an uneasy gnawing sensation in his stomach that told him the picture was a lie, and 'safe' was not the word to use or feel.

"Maybe," Amber suggested into the quiet, her brain still rolling around the hijacking suggestion, "we can have another crack at getting on board. But on that boat this time." Alex was already shaking his head, but Amber continued as if he hadn't done. "They would have to have a working radio. Or a sat phone. Or something. They wouldn't be out here, rendezvousing with their mates, without something. It's also just not done- you don't go on the water without a means of communication. You just don't do it. Not even drug dealers."

"Remember what happened yesterday when you got on board?" Alex said. "We all ended up running for our lives."

"That's because they spotted us, though." Amber had the idea in her head, she had the glimmer of hope of getting off the island, and she was not letting it go. "If we distract them, especially now if there's only a couple of them left-"

"We don't know that," Alex said. "We have no idea who is left on board. No idea what sort of weapons they have to use- except that we saw quite a number of guns, so probably at least that, if they haven't acquired more off their buddies. Or how quick they would be to use them- except that they were pretty bloody quick to start taking shots at us yesterday, so likely more of a shoot first and ask a question or two later, if they remember vibes."

Li gave a solemn nod. "That's right," she said. "They had a lot of guns on that boat, Amber. I don't think they were just for decoration."

"So… What?" Amber huffed. "We just hang about and wait to perish?"

"No, we…" Alex trailed off. Truth be told, his only plan was 'keepeveryone alive' and that had a lot of variations to it. "We just need to hang tight."

"For how long?"

"Until we get a better idea of what to do next."

Amber raised one eyebrow and stared at him, not buying it, and Alex could have shoved her. After all of her niceties earlier, here she was making him feel absolutely next to useless again.

"We can watch, no?" Paulo gestured at themselves, then down to the lagoon. "Keep someone here to look, see what they are doing. How many are on board."

"Good idea, Paulo," Li said brightly, missing the beaming smile Paulo gave her as she had already turned to Alex. "Doesn't mean we will do anything," she added as Alex opened his mouth, "but it might give us more information. Which is good, right?"

Technically, yes, more information was good. Alex's hesitation wasn't the observation part, but what he was sure was going to lead on from that. However, he was outnumbered.

"And we don't exactly have anything else pressing to attend to," Hex said. "They're still in the bloody lagoon, so our next option for camp is currently still out. Leaving us with a whole load of free time apart from water collection, firewood acquisition, and food foraging activities. May as well sit and look into the distance here than back at the huts."

Having been the only one not voicing her feelings, Alex looked over to Stella who merely shrugged and said, "I'm happy with whatever. I just want to not die, to be honest. So however that can happen, I'm up for it."

"What are we going to be doing with this information?" Alex asked the others, mainly pointing his question at Li and Amber since they seemed the most gungho about it.

A shrug from both.

"We can worry about that later," Amber said quickly. "For now, it's just quietly observing. Where's the harm in that?"

None, Alex thought as he turned his attention back to the boat in the lagoon. It's what half cooked plan that forms from that… that's the concern.