Kate paused uncertainly, silenced again by all the expectant faces. Beneath us, there was another little rippling vibration. It was the sort we’d have ignored before, but now I could feel that tightening dryness in my throat again. James was already pulling at the rope and dragging the raft closer, the corpses underneath it undulating delicately on the short tentacles flickering in the water. Suddenly the need to get off the Jellyfish was overwhelming. My whole body trembled with the desire to just jump into the water and swim.

‘We need to get those bodies up on to the boat,’ I said. ‘And then we need to swap them for four of us, so that there are four corpses here, on the Jellyfish surface, and four people on the boat. Then the boat can sail away to shore, and the four people can save everybody else by doing really good things when they get there.’

My plan was a little vague on the details, but nobody questioned me on those. The beginning part was clear.

‘Those bodies don’t weigh as much as four people,’ said Soldier John. ‘They’ve lost their moisture. They’re much lighter. I think three people at the most. Stinky?’

Stinky nodded in agreement.

‘But they’d weigh the same as four smaller people, maybe,’ I said.

‘Small people, like children,’ added James. He sort of scrunched his head into his shoulders as he said that, and hunched over to make himself look shorter. I had to look away then because it was making me laugh; James is as tall and strong as most of the men now, and would never normally call himself a child.

‘Three adults,’ said Soldier John. ‘Not children.’

Two people were already on the boat, pulling up the raft. Somebody else was poking a piece of driftwood at the dismembered torso still bobbing around in the water.

‘Who’s goin’?’ said Soldier John. ‘Volunteers?’

Kate put up her hand and so did James. Then so did everyone else.

‘No children,’ said Soldier John again. ‘You, Dr Jones; you, Stinky; and I’ll go too.’

‘But it was my idea,’ said Kate. Her face and neck had gone all blotchy again, and I could see the tears already starting in her eyes. ‘Please can I go? Please?’

‘No,’ said Soldier John. ‘Not ’til we know it’s safe.’

‘But it was my idea,’ said Kate. She bit her lip to stop herself crying, but I could see the tears leaking out anyway.

‘You can’t go, John,’ said Old Albert. ‘We need you on here. I’ll go instead.’

A few people winced at the idea, and looked at each other in disgust, while Soldier John turned away to give some last-minute commands. Stinky and Dr Jones climbed on board the boat. The first two of the corpses were heaved on to the mesoglea, landing with a wet thump and skidding towards the Big House.