Clare opened her eyes, blinking. Had she been talking in her sleep? Delirious? Faye placed the back of her fingers on the girl’s forehead. She was cool and clammy. Even in the faint light, she could see that the skin around her lips was blue.

“Were you dreaming about leopards? Trees?”

“I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” she said, tucking the space blanket behind Clare’s shoulders. Her eyes were closed again. Faye placed her fingers over the girl’s hand. Had it always been so tiny?

“Are you awake?” she asked.

“Hmm? Yes.”

“Is the pain any better? Worse?”

“I don’t know. I feel so tired.” Clare gave a tiny yawn as if too exhausted to open her mouth fully. “Why would I be tired? I haven’t moved for days.”

Because your organs are starved of oxygen, thought Faye. She lifted the water bottle.

“Will you try and drink?”

Clare managed a few sips.

During the night, Faye had debated leaving Clare for a few hours the next morning and going to the cabin to get food and a sleeping bag. She was lightheaded from not eating and wanted to get a sleeping bag to keep Clare warmer. She would also, she’d thought, leave a note at the cabin. She wanted to ensure that anyone who arrived at Heuningbos would know that she and Clare were little under two hours hike away, increasingly desperate for help. She had no idea whether Geoffrey had been able to alert anyone yet. Now though, with the soft light of morning giving face to Clare’s condition, Faye knew she couldn’t leave the girl, not even briefly. They’d have to make do until help arrived. Let that be soon, she thought. She sat up, unzipped her jacket, took it off and laid it over Clare.

“Faye?”

“Yes.”

“How many days have we been here?”

“This will be our third. Only two nights though.”

“When I first lay . . . sat here, I couldn’t imagine ever getting comfortable.” Clare paused to catch her breath. Her chest rattled. “Now I can’t imagine leaving. I could just stay.”

Faye’s eyes prickled. She looked away. “Well, that’s not an option. Our reservation was only for two nights. It’s too expensive an establishment to stay any longer. We leave today.”

“Okay. Well, I do want to talk to my father. And apologise to Derek for being so rude to him when he visited me at university.”

“Talking to your father will be good, but I don’t think you need to worry about Derek.”

Clare was silent. Faye thought she’d fallen asleep once more. Then she felt her fingers move beneath her hand.

“Did you know that the rosettes or spots on every leopard are unique?” said the girl.

“I didn’t.”

“Also, each leopard has its own identifiable sound.”

“Really? How do you know so much—”