Carina and Marie were standing next to the fire with their arms around each other, while Bruno and Joe seemed to be involved in some kind of shoving contest before they suddenly started rolling around on the ground. Bruno seemed to have the upper hand, but then Joe stuck his fingers in Bruno’s eyes, and took the opportunity to press down on Bruno’s throat with one arm. Bruno gasped for air, his face contorted with the effort.

‘Alex!’ Marie and Carina screamed. ‘Alex!’

Bruno tugged at Joe’s arm, but Joe refused to ease the pressure.

There was the crunch of gravel as Alex hurtled into the little circle. He lifted Joe’s arm with ease, twisted his wrist and yanked him backwards, giving Bruno the opportunity to scramble away. Joe grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it in Alex’s face, using the element of surprise to get to his feet and attempt to deliver a kick. However, there was no strength behind it, and Alex simply stepped aside before seizing Joe’s shoulder and the back of his neck, hooking his leg around Joe’s and throwing Joe over his hip in one smooth movement. Joe landed on his back, knocking all the breath out of his body. He went limp. Tanya gasped, tried to pull away, but Simon refused to let go of her hand.

‘He tried to rape Carina!’ Bruno said, pointing to Joe. ‘If Marie and I hadn’t come along . . .’

Joe attempted to protest, but all that came out of his mouth was a dry cough.

‘You fucking bastard,’ Alex hissed through gritted teeth. He stepped forward and kicked Joe hard in the side, a vein throbbing at his left temple.

‘Stop it!’ Tanya wrenched her hand free, ran over and dropped to her knees next to Joe. Alex hesitated, unsure of what to do.

‘Get out of the way, you little slut,’ Marie hissed. ‘Take him, Alex – ignore her!’

Simon reluctantly pushed his way into the circle and positioned himself beside Tanya. ‘What the hell is going on?’ he said.

‘That fucker tried to rape Carina,’ Bruno reiterated.

‘Rubbish . . .’ Joe stumbled to his feet, knocking aside Tanya’s helping hands. His face was streaked with dirt and tears, and blood was oozing from a nasty graze on one cheek.

‘She was the one who wanted it.’ He coughed, took a deep breath. ‘Tell the truth, for fuck’s sake!’ He pointed to Carina, who hid her head against Marie’s shoulder.

Alex clenched his fists and took a step towards Joe and Tanya.

‘Wait!’ Simon moved between them. ‘Can someone tell me exactly what happened?’

Marie glared at him. ‘I’d been in the bushes throwing up. When Bruno and I got back here we heard noises from our tent, then Carina suddenly started screaming.’

Simon turned to Joe, who was bent over with his hands on his knees, Tanya’s arm around his shoulders.

‘And what’s your version?’