‘Or?’

‘I don’t know.’ I felt defeated for a moment. ‘I’m not sure what happened to be honest, but something just feels – a bit off, somehow.’

‘Off?’ He met my gaze as I stood now. ‘What do you mean – off?’

‘I can’t explain it really.’ I heard my own sigh. ‘But—’

‘Hang on!’ Fin held a hand up as, just beyond us, the crack and snap of dry brush and twigs became audible.

Despite the gloom, the others were just visible through the trees, sitting round the campfire, but a few metres away, someone moved into the shadows as another smaller figure emerged from the big tent nearest mine.

A boy – Nella’s son Beau, I realised – and, judging by the concentration on his face, he really was stalking someone.

‘Is he sleepwalking?’ Curiously, I watched his movements, jerky as a marionette, holding a long dark cylinder that I took to be a telescope.

‘Hey,’ Fin called. ‘Hey, boyo, you all right there?’

The boy didn’t react; just kept walking towards the fire.

‘Hey!’ Fin moved off fast behind Beau. ‘Want to hold up for a second?’

The kid stopped and swung round now towards us, and I let out an involuntary cry; realised with horror the thing he clutched was some sort of gun.

And by the way he was holding it, he was planning to fire it.

Ruby

‘Put it down, Beau!’ His father’s guitar clattered loudly against the barbecue as he moved sharply towards the child. ‘Put it down right now!’

The boy didn’t speak; he just kept smiling that strange smile, his teeth very white in the darkness.

‘That’s not a gun?’ Lena was aghast. ‘Not a real one surely.’

‘Beau!’ His mother’s voice was high. ‘It’s OK, darling boy.’

‘Don’t panic, everyone.’ Marcus looked round quickly. ‘It’s only an air rifle.’

But instinctively, I’d moved in front of Zach, who stood still as a statue, gazing at the smaller child.

‘Beau!’

He looks out of it, I thought. Really wasted.

But before Marcus could move again, I heard – no, I sensed – someone running from the direction of the tents towards us, fast through the bushes, twigs snapping underfoot.

The runner was a man I didn’t recognise, moving towards Beau – but, before he could reach him, another figure appeared from the nearest trees.

It was Willow – moving fast, grabbing for the gun.

It went off.

Rebekah’s screams didn’t dull the gasp of pain Marcus let out as the pellet grazed his shoulder.

The stranger who’d come sprinting from the wood snatched the gun up from where it had fallen.

At his feet, Beau, knocked off balance, either by the blast or by Willow, I wasn’t sure, lay on the ground, blinking oddly, his sister sprawled on her front beside him, immobile.

In the commotion that followed, Ish went to Marcus as Nella rushed to Beau. I watched helplessly as Willow rolled over, spitting earth from her mouth, and pushed herself back onto her feet.