“I thought you would.” She looked at the river. “With any luck, they’ll be sick of eating fish by the end of the day.”

“Where’d you catch it yesterday?”

“Over here, I’ll show you.”

And with that, Tom edged back into the group, and the day progressed with some sort of normality. Kate and George proved adept at catching fish, one disturbing them and chasing them into the net held by the other.

Most of the group ended up watching them, their spirits rising with each catch. The only person who seemed at all subdued was Chris, who sat next to Chloe for most of the day, talking quietly, neither of their voices audible above the general excitement and the occasional playful barks of the dog.

Late in the afternoon, not long before the sun would be setting somewhere behind the opaque orange mist, Shen skewered the fish onto one of the poles and started to cook it over the fire. The dog joined the rest of them in watching it cook, knowing he would be in for the scraps, but then quite abruptly, he became alert and turned away to look at the river.

He growled and took a cautious step forward. Tom stood, turning to look in the same direction, and the dog took that as his cue, leaping forward with a couple of aggressive barks.

The group fell silent, and then Chris said, “What is it, Tom?”

Tom shook his head, but the dog was still growling, still fixed on the same stretch of undergrowth on the far bank. Tom picked up a stone and pitched it across the river, aiming for the focus of the dog’s stare. It hit the undergrowth on the far side, and there, briefly, was a flash of color and movement as something leapt away and into the depths of the jungle beyond.

“Did you see anything?”

“I’m not sure,” said Tom. “Maybe a big cat.”

Chloe said to no one in particular, “It’s awesome having a dog around.”

The dog turned and went back to watching the fish, which Tom took as proof enough that he’d scared off whatever had been over there. He went back and sat down himself, but he sensed it was right for them to move on, the mysterious watcher on the other bank just one more indication that this was not their environment, that they weren’t meant to be here.

Darkness fell as they were eating, almost unnoticed because of the dim twilight they’d become used to and the distraction of the food and the fire.

But a short while later, Mila said, “I’m glad it’s dark. That orange sky freaks me out.”

“I know what you mean,” said Emma. Then, to the group, she said, “Do you think something major might have happened? I mean, the people you saw in that camp, were they acting normally?”