Shen seemed more relaxed with him now, and appeared to be busy calculating as he said, “A lot of this food will have to be eaten today—the meat, the rice—and even then, we’ll need to heat it, which means we need that fire. Some of the vegetables, potatoes, they could be kept until tomorrow, the pastries and things in plastic maybe longer. Water might be a problem. Maybe if we’re careful we could make it last a few days, but nineteen people is a lot of water. Of course, if it rains, we could collect it, boil it, and use the purifying tablets if we have to.”

Tom nodded toward the cans of soft drinks. “And we have those.”

“Sure, but we should keep them in reserve, in case we decide we have to leave—they’re portable. And the alcohol we might need for cleaning wounds.”

“You know about stuff like that?”

“My mom and dad are both doctors. I’m hoping to be a surgeon.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah. I’d still prefer it if my medical career didn’t start just yet.”

Tom laughed a little, then looked around the galley and said, “So we can survive on what’s here for two or three days.”

“If we’re careful.”

Tom thought of the endless green jungle he’d seen from the ridge, wondering how long it would take to walk out of it, how many more days they would need to feed themselves before reaching safety.

Shen seemed to study him and said, “You don’t think anyone will come.”

“Do you?” Shen shook his head and Tom said, “I think the pilot put a lot of thought into this. I don’t think he expected anyone to survive, and I don’t think he wanted anyone to find the wreckage.”

“That’s what Barney said.” In response to Tom’s quizzical expression, Shen added, “You think I know a lot—trust me, Barney really knows a lot of stuff. Like I said, I’m hoping to become a surgeon, but Barney, he’ll probably become some billionaire inventor.”

Tom thought of Barney struggling to get down into that valley to reach the wreckage. It was a pointless mission anyway, and probably dangerous, but Tom hoped nothing happened to him because he had a feeling Shen and Barney would play a big part in keeping them all alive.

“Walk up the hill with me, Shen. Let me know what you think of the terrain.”

With a hint of curiosity, Shen asked, “You’re already thinking of leaving?”

“Thinking about it, yeah. I’ll give it two or three days, but that’s all. Alice wants to come too.”

“And the others?”

“I’m not with the others.”

Shen grinned, but then grew serious again, and said, “If you go, I’ll come. So will Barney.”