“That’s where the hyenas were eating. Vultures will have pecked its stomach open and had a meal with what they found. And see how the neck is crushed? That’s what lions do. The zebra will have died very quickly without feeling anything.”

Bear paused, and looked closely at the bare bone at the shoulders where the lion had torn the flesh away. He smiled at something he saw, reached in and worked it from side to side before it came away and he handed it to Evie.

“Maybe you’d like a souvenir?” he asked.

It was a tooth. A big tooth. It was curved and pointed, and it was longer than one of Evie’s fingers. It was a dirty, brownish yellow.

“Is that a lion’s tooth?” she asked. It was certainly pretty gross and stinky, but it was amazing too.

“Yup. If you spend your life with rotting meat between your teeth then you can expect major gum disease. If you ever get the chance to smell a lion’s breath – try not to.”

While he talked, Bear started cutting away at the flesh of the zebra’s legs. Evie turned the tooth over in her fingers and then slipped it into her pocket.

Bear cut several slices of zebra meat, wrapped them in a t-shirt and put them into his rucksack. Evie watched carefully. She was surprised that instead of wanting to look away, she was actually fascinated. She knew that this food was going to help her stay alive, and for that she was really grateful.

Bear tied his knife back onto his spear handle. They hadn’t heard the hyenas again, or any other animal noises for that matter, but if there was something out there planning on ambushing them, Evie knew it wouldn’t announce its presence by roaring in advance.

So they left the remains of the zebra behind them, and carried on walking.

The sun was setting and now the day was distinctly cooler. Evie didn’t have the feeling that the air was solid now. She wasn’t pushing her way through the heat.

Soon their shadows were stretched out ahead of them for several metres, and the whole world was bathed in an orange glow. The mountains ahead had disappeared into the gloom.

“We’re right on the equator here,” Bear said, “which means sunrise and sunset happen very quickly.”

He was right. Evie took a final look back. The sun was a shimmering ball of orange fire on the horizon. A couple of minutes later she looked back again, and just the top of it was visible.

And then it was gone.

It was night, but it wasn’t dark. While the last of the sun’s light was fading, the stars and the moon were coming out.