A hundred different responses ran through his head, but in the end he said only, “I don’t think so.”

“Hey, bro, I don’t mean I’m telling you what to do, it’s just… we need someone to take control, and I’ve stepped up. Now by all means, if anyone else wants to be leader, if you want to be leader, just throw your hat in the ring.”

“I’m not sure what it is you think you’re leading, but I don’t want any part of it, not as a leader, not as a follower.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think you… look, obviously, I don’t want an argument, it’s just—”

“Good.” The unmistakable sound of Chloe raising her voice and Chris’s obstinate response reached them. “Sounds like you’re needed.”

Joel nodded and walked away, clearly unsatisfied and confused by the way his quick word had turned out. Alice came in the other direction and thanked Joel as their paths crossed. She probably had it right, letting Joel think moving the luggage and building a fire was all his idea. Tom had just been on his own for too long to adapt this quickly to dealing with the Joels of the world.

She smiled at Tom. “He’s scared of you.”

“I doubt it.”

“I’m telling you he’s scared. He can’t figure you out, and that scares him. I think it scares a few people.”

“But not you?”

“I’m not scared of anyone.” He could believe that, but then she smiled and added, “Doesn’t mean I can figure you out, though.” She shrugged and climbed the steps up into the plane.

CHAPTER 12

Within an hour they’d made some progress. Barney had managed to make one of the toilets operational. They’d collected enough dry branches to get the fire going after a few false starts, using a lighter found in the luggage. And between them, Shen and Alice had managed to heat plenty of chicken and rice to feed everyone.

The whole group, eighteen of them remaining, sat on the suitcases, which formed almost a complete circle around the fire and for the first time, there was more silence than conversation. With full stomachs, even Chloe and Chris had made their peace.

For Tom, the only jarring note came at the end of the meal when Joel stood and said, “I think we should give Alice and Shen a round of applause—that was fantastic.”

Dutifully, everyone clapped, even though most of them had already thanked or complimented the two cooks. Alice looked slightly embarrassed by the attention, but Shen looked mortified.

Once Joel had sat again and everyone had settled, Chloe said, “Is there anything we can do? I mean, to help them find us? They have to be searching, right?”

“Of course they’re searching,” said Joel. “Who knows, someone could see the smoke from our fire.”