Ben enjoyed the imagery more than he let on. As one prone to maddening bouts of worry and self-induced despair, Chloe’s nonchalance had an almost calming effect on him. If only he’d had her around when Jess told him she was pregnant. Ben didn’t sleep for a month after that bomb dropped. It still gave him nightmares occasionally.

He broke up some branches and propped them across the flames. His breath fogged heavy through the air now. Ben could feel the damp earth seeping into his jeans, chilling his skin like meat behind a butcher’s counter. The day’s clemency had been a rare stroke of luck but there was no escaping the cold once night had fallen.

‘Do you remember when we were introducing ourselves back in the village?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ she replied. ‘What about it?’

‘Did you hear something? I mean, like someone crying out?’

‘Not that I can remember. A fair few of them were wailing around the place.’

Ben took a deep breath and frowned into the firepit. ‘It was in one of the cottages. There was an old biddy guarding the door so I couldn’t take a look. I just thought it sounded odd, that’s all.’

‘Maybe they’re sick,’ Chloe said. ‘I didn’t see a pharmacy anywhere so I’m guessing they’re shy a few paracetamol. I wouldn’t worry about it. They don’t need our help here, trust me. This crowd is beyond saving.’

‘I suppose,’ he agreed. ‘It’s probably none of our business.’

Whenever Chloe’s eyes looked elsewhere, Ben found himself glancing to where he had heard that crack, where the field was full of darkness and only the trees’ highest branches reached above it, snapping at scraps of moonlight. He would listen more than look. There had been something there. A strong step had split that branch.

‘I wonder how Sparling’s going to react when he hears that we’re leaving after one night,’ he said, poking around some glowing ash with a twig.

‘Sure listen, we’ll achieve nothing by staying here for another day. They won’t talk to you. They won’t let me examine their homes. And I’ve already surveyed whatever I can, which wasn’t a lot if I’m being honest. This place doesn’t have much going for it. Sparling probably won’t like the report we write up for him but it’s still a report and we’re still getting paid. And you did get something on that creeper thing he asked you for. That’ll probably put a weird little smile on his face.’

They sat for a while, eyelids flagging, watching the campfire slowly dwindle. An inky blackness flooded in around them.

‘Come on,’ Chloe said, stretching her stiff legs, ‘let’s get some sleep. I’m wrecked and you look as though you’re about to fall into the fire.’