‘You were on this path alone?’ shouted Eliza, and Carmen scurried another step back, panicked.

Eliza’s world lurched and she steadied herself against a gum tree.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket – maybe it had been buzzing the whole time and she hadn’t noticed. She had to see to Carmen’s safety first.

‘Where’s your phone, Carmen?’

‘We left them at school,’ said Carmen, voice shaking. ‘We handed them to Mr North before we left. Oh, God. Don’t you remember? Oh God, help . . . w-what happened to you? Where are the others?’

‘Carmen, I need you to listen carefully . . . in just a moment, I need you to run back to Mr Michaels. Run. Don’t stop for anything.’ She picked up the stick she had dropped and handed it to Carmen. ‘If you see anyone you don’t know . . .’

‘Miss Ellis?’

‘If you can’t find Mr Michaels, just run back to the bus. Stay away from anyone else. Do you understand me?’

‘Wh-what’s going on?’ Carmen whimpered.

‘Just wait there a moment.’ Eliza answered her phone. ‘Tom?’ she said. ‘Are all the girls back?

‘Eliza! Finally! Where the hell are you?’

‘The girls, Tom.’

‘We’re still missing Georgia, Bree, Jasmine and Cierra. I sent Carmen and Jack to find you. Are they with you?’

‘I’m sending Carmen to find Jack, and then back to you. If she’s not there in the next fifteen minutes, lock the other girls in the bus and come looking. I don’t know where we are right now.’

‘We’re j-just off the Lake Nameless trail,’ stammered Carmen. ‘W-west of it.’

Suddenly the rain started again, this time with ice in the water. Eliza’s skin stung in the sleet.

‘Carmen’s coming from the western track of the Lake Nameless trail. And call the police. Now.’

‘What the hell’s going on? Where are the others?’ said Tom.

‘I’ll find them,’ said Eliza. ‘Just call the police, Tom.’

‘Eliza, you shouldn’t —’

‘Tom. Call the police.’ She ended the call and looked at Carmen. ‘Go.’

Carmen hesitated, then crashed through the branches and sprinted off down the track. Eliza watched her disappear around a corner, then stepped back out onto the track.

Lightning flashed overhead and three seconds later it was followed by a long, echoing boom, pressing down on her eardrums, startling the yellow wattlebird into another cry.