“Well, I have no intention of arguing with you, but let’s see what the others think, shall we?” He raised his voice again. “Everyone listen! Tom wants to be in charge all of a sudden. So you all have a decision. You can sail downriver in the pitch black, unable to see obstructions or if you’re about to be attacked by a caiman again, no idea where you’re going, or you can camp by the fire on this bank and head out at first light. It’s your choice. Are you in Tom’s boat, or are you in mine?”

For a moment that seemed to stretch and distort, no one said anything, and Tom wondered if he’d misread those expressions or the general mood of the group.

But then Barney put his hand up and smiled as though it should have been taken for granted. “I’m with Tom and Shen, naturally.”

“Me too,” said Alice.

“And us,” said Kate, speaking for her and Emma.

Jess put her hand up, and George smiled at her and said, “I think the people from our boat plan to stick together.”

Joel shook his head, a look of derision on his face. “So predictable. Okay, it’s decided—this is where we separate.”

“Hold on.” It was Chris. For the first time, Joel’s confidence looked shaken. “I don’t think we should split up. Just—I don’t. And, the thing is—”

Chloe said, “Chris?”

“Sorry, Chloe.” He pointed at Tom. “But this guy saved my life. He saved yours too, Joel.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know what would have happened if—”

“Yes, Joel, I do. And that’s enough for me. Where Tom goes, I go.”

Joel turned to Tom with a look of venom as he said, “Is this what you want? Now that all the hard choices have been made, you want to be leader.”

Tom shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you, Joel? We didn’t need a leader. We’re just a bunch of kids lost in the jungle. All we needed was to listen to each other. If we’d done that, three people might be alive now who aren’t.”

“You can’t blame me for those people dying!” He stepped forward aggressively. “I didn’t kill anyone!”

Tom stood his ground, looking confident enough that Joel stopped his advance a couple of paces away.

“No, you didn’t kill anyone. I did, we all did, because we let you do all the talking. But that stops now. We’re moving on. We’re tying the boats together and we’re moving on.”

Joel looked ready to object again, but he glanced around at the other faces, then shook his head, a mocking superiority that seemed paper-thin now.

“Fine! Have it your way, but I want everyone to remember, when this goes wrong—and it will go wrong—that I objected.”