‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Kate,’ hissed Lana.

We all stood, silently, looking back and forth along the path. By stating the problems, Lana and James had made us all aware of how vulnerable we were.

‘I just think,’ Kate said softly, ‘you’re both right. Neither way is safe, but we’re not safe standing here either. Maybe we could go through the river? The grass is much lower on the other side.’ She looked uncertainly at the murky flow. It was about four metres wide, but so dirty it was impossible to tell the depth. Or what was underneath the surface.

There was no way I was going to risk getting into it.

‘I’m going back,’ I said. ‘Come on, Lana, Kate. It’s not that far back. Come on.’

Lana set off at a fast pace, and I could hear her trying to slow her panicked breathing. I felt really jumpy myself now. I kept half imagining I was hearing noises other than the tramping of our feet on the soil and the rustle of our legs brushing against the undergrowth. I tried not to look at the tall grass as we squeezed through, but I kept imagining movement, or darker patches of strange shadows swaying in the bushes.

I wasn’t sure how far we’d come along this path before we realized there was no way through, but it all looked threatening and sinister now that I was concentrating and searching for problems. The brambles seemed spikier, the grass seemed thicker; it was full of easy hiding places – not just for the kriks, but for other more unknown, unidentified enemies. Lana started half-jogging and I could almost feel Kate’s breath on her shoulders, she was so close.

‘Shhhh,’ came a hiss from behind. ‘We’re going too fast. We’re making too much noise. Slow down!’

Lana nodded in acknowledgement, holding up her hand to signal that she was stopping. She turned round and put her finger to her lips. We all halted, listening. I held my breath, waiting for noise, but all I could hear was the soft brush of the reeds in the river as they rubbed gently against each other in the breeze.

‘What’s the plan?’ whispered Lana, looking at me. ‘We must be almost out of this bit now.’

‘I don’t know,’ I whispered, leaning back so that everybody could hear. ‘Maybe we should just go up to that open field in the town again and head up the hill, because then we can see the valley below and work out how to get through?’