Vernon kept watching Weymouth, who had picked up a stick and was swishing it through the long blades of grass, some of it snaking its way around the tip. He kept pulling at it, unwrapping the green with difficulty. Swearing softly.

Soon he added, ‘Anyway. That’s why I hate God.’

Kelly said, ‘I’m sorry about your dad.’

‘Yeah. Well.’

‘If you believe God exists, though, enough to hate him . . . you’d have to believe there was goodness, too. Right? Can’t have one without the other. I can’t understand believing in him but hating him. That doesn’t make sense to me.’

Weymouth shook his head. ‘Naw. People being good’s got nothing to do with God. Just got to do with them being selfish. There are no real good folk. Look at my dad. He was alright. He was okay. But he was a selfish bastard. Probably thought he was doing us all a favour killing himself. Like he was some burden. Anyway. People aren’t good. They always want something in return. Every person is selfish like that.’

Vernon laughed. ‘Come on, mate.’

‘I mean it.’

‘What about charity?’ Kelly asked. ‘There are thousands of charities around the world with people working, just trying to help make the world better. They’re not all selfish. You wouldn’t say that, surely?’

‘But they all feel good doing what they do, though, right?’ Weymouth stabbed the stick into the dirt, finally done. He stood. ‘There are two types of people in the world. There are—’

‘Sinners,’ Kelly said, ‘and saints.’

Weymouth gave a strange laugh, the sound like one of the alien birds in the jungle. ‘That’s fine for you, preacher, but that’s not how I see it. There are outright sinners, like my dad choking that cat, and there’re secret sinners. Those folk pretending for all the world that they’re good, but deep down they’re just as selfish as everybody else. Wasn’t selflessness put Christ up on that cross. He was greedy, wanted glory for himself. Would he have gone up if he wasn’t sure his father’d be there waiting for him?’

He looked down at his belly. The empty can of beans. He added, ‘Look at you there, Kelly, trying to make me see the light. Like you’re just giving yourself over to something grander than you. You just want to feel good you’re doing something noble. It all gets back to you in the end. Would you still be doing this if you weren’t promised Heaven and all that? Nothing in this that’s good.’

He walked off back to the camp that had been etched out of the jungle. His back muddy and army-green like moving rock.

Kelly looked shocked. Sat staring at his feet. His hair matted with dirt. His hands clasped.

‘You alright there, mate?’ Vernon said.

‘You having fun?’

Vernon looked down. ‘Didn’t know he’d go off like that.’

‘Not funny, doing that to people.’

‘Oh come on, he’s alright.’

‘Yeah, I know he is,’ Kelly said. ‘I’m not.’