Inside, the case was divided into tiny sections. There were packets with antihistamines, aspirin, anti-itch gel, and antibacterial ointment, though only two of the latter, and they couldn’t have held more than a dot each. A roll of gauze, three Band-Aids, tweezers, a syringe, and rubber gloves. If Mara had packed the kit—and she did pack first aid kits, back at Primal Instinct—she would have tossed the Band-Aids and added sutures, trauma dressings, shears, and a scalpel. Maybe some candy, too.

Boiled water appeared. Mara poured it over the break in Kyle’s skin, watching pink liquid drain out. She used the syringe to squirt more water into the wound, pushing out dirt and hopefully anything worse. The opening wasn’t as big as she had feared, just over an inch across. Mara heard a whirring sound: Bullfrog winding the flashlight. She spotted a fat splinter and picked it out with tweezers. Kyle winced.

“Pour vodka on it?” said Bullfrog, grimacing.

“That’s a myth,” said Kyle. He sounded short of breath. “It actually damages the tissue.”

“I don’t know,” said Mara. “Maybe out here it would help, though. It’s not exactly a sanitary environment.”

“Okay,” said Kyle.

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Go ahead.”

She tried to remember if she’d ever heard him change his mind.

Bullfrog gave Kyle a stick to bite, and Mara poured vodka on the wound. Kyle screamed through gritted teeth, his face red, veins rising around his eyes. Even his eyelids bulged. As if the scream, silenced, burst from every part of his face. Mara felt nauseous again.

“I hope Lenny’s fucking happy now,” said Bullfrog.

Lenny. For horrible, blissful moments, Mara had forgotten. And now she heard Ashley’s voice from the doorway.

“They’re watching,” Ashley said. “When they see how bad it is, they’ll come. They’ll come now.”

Mara couldn’t look at her.

Kyle was returning to himself. Breathing more deeply. He tried to straighten his leg, then winced and let it go slack. The flesh around his ankle had already started to swell.

“Of course they’ll come,” he said. “I shot the flares.”

“You did great,” said Ashley. Her voice cracked.

“I did,” he said. “Did you see that part where I had to fall and catch myself?”

“I couldn’t watch,” said Mara.

“It was cool,” said Kyle. “I hope the cameras got it. What were you two on about, anyway?”

Shit, thought Mara. “I’m sorry you heard that.”

“Don’t apologize, just tell me. I’m injured. I need the distraction.”

Ashley didn’t answer, so Mara tried to think of a lie. Fuck it. “It was me,” she said. “I cheated. One of the crew members gave me protein bars when I met him by the creek.”

“You’re kidding. This whole time?”

“Every day.”

“You’ve been getting a protein bar every single day?”

“That’s what I said.”

“I got coffee,” said Bullfrog.

Now it was Mara’s turn to be astonished. “What?”

“One morning that camera guy, the big one, he took off his backpack and left it by a rock to take a leak. So I snuck out and drank from his thermos. Pretty soon he was leaving it there every day. Not for me exactly, but I figured he knew. He even left a muffin once, next to his bag, and he didn’t say anything when he came back and it was gone. Lenny, he’d never allow it. But these crew guys don’t give a shit. They’re working men. They’re here for a paycheck. I think they feel sorry for us.”