Dark of the Moon. Siobhan Curham

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.