We’ve spent at least ten minutes now arguing about the plans. Achilles encourages us to know the island and essentially map it like we’re doing, but he wants to walk along the tree line, close to the shore, and walk around the entire island. Creed points out that the shoreline is too dangerous because of the patrols and the other Prey who may be trying to hunt for food, and that it would take entirely too long to walk it like that. After all, the ocean is the best place to catch something to eat. It makes sense that others will be there trying to catch something tasty. I get it. I want it, too, but even I know how dumb it would be to walk without cover for so long. Jiro stands silently beside me, listening to Creed and Achilles go back and forth, not offering any input, not caring to argue.

“You don’t have anything to say?” I ask him.

“Do you?” he fires back with a raised brow. “The argument is useless. We’re going to go straight from here to the other side and continue our zigzag pattern. While Achilles is correct that the shoreline boasts greater resources, we can’t take that risk.”

“I agree.” But I eye Creed and Achilles as they continue to argue. “Should we tell them?”

“No,” Jiro replies, a smile tugging at his lips. “Let them argue. They’ll come to the same conclusion here in a moment.”

And Jiro is correct. After a few more minutes of arguing, Achilles relents and agrees that we don’t have time to travel the shoreline, not if we want to survive and get off the island. Jiro only looks at me knowingly and we share this little laugh between us that makes my stomach flip.

Which clearly makes me an idiot. Only an idiot would be thinking about sex at a time like this.

“I’ve tried timing the patrols but they’re seemingly random,” Achilles adds as we set off in the direction of the inner island. “Or at least, their timeline pattern is far longer than I dared to watch. I’ve counted at least fifteen different boats who have patrolled and that was in the span of an hour. Everything from military ships to small fishing crafts. It’s like everyone is in on this place.”

Jiro nods. “The Hound Society has a large reach and unlimited resources. It makes sense that there would be so many utilized for security.”

“The Hound Society,” Achilles repeats with a grunt. “Of course they call themselves something stupid like that.”

I snort. “Agreed. Rich bastards and their penchant for branding. I bet they have some stupid coat of arms or something.”

“Actually,” Jiro corrects. “It’s only a symbol. A Hound eating a rabbit. Simple. Sometimes I see Latin words with it. Oderint dum metuant. It makes much more sense now that we are here.”