That seemed to go down well, particularly now that everyone accepted there were animals here that could kill them.

Shen said, “I’ll sleep on the galley floor.”

“So will I,” said Barney.

“Great,” said Joel. “That frees up another couple of seats so we can spread out a little more.” Tom smiled, because he knew exactly what Shen and Barney were up to—making sure no one could get into the precious supplies. “We also need to have a roster of people to watch the fire and keep it burning, maybe two or three at a time.”

Alice said, “I’ll take first watch. I’m a night owl anyway. Tom?” He nodded.

Then George said, “I’ll stay up too.”

“Perfect. So you guys keep the first few hours. Then wake Chris, Chloe, and Nick. Then me, Mila, and Sandeep.” He stood up. “I know it’s been a tough day, but we got through it, and I have a good feeling about tomorrow.”

Chris nodded, saying, “We’re going to get rescued tomorrow, I can sense it.”

Tom smiled, knowing that the eyes of nine kids were on him, those who’d claimed their place in the escape party. All people who were convinced that Chris’s moment of predicting the future had come and gone.

CHAPTER 18

Preparations for sleep started almost immediately, and became almost immediately chaotic. Someone said something about mosquito nets, then Oscar remembered that he’d seen some earlier in the day when they’d been sorting luggage, but hadn’t thought them useful and couldn’t remember where he’d seen them.

So a flashlit search followed, interspersed by odd yells and screams as the searchers encountered any number of deadly creatures that turned out to be beetles or moths or, in one case, a bat. Eventually the nets were found and a group set about trying to fix them like a veil across the torn-open fuselage.

They failed each time, with laughter at first, then frustration, until finally Alice said, “Why don’t you ask Shen and Barney to do it?”

Nick said, “Who’s Barney?”

Chris said, “The little kid—the geek.” He seemed to anticipate a rebuke from Alice and added quickly, “He’s a good guy.”

Shen and Barney were called from the galley, though Tom noticed that Alice drifted back there herself at the same time, ensuring the supplies remained off-limits. And within ten minutes the two boys had managed to attach three mosquito nets stretching across the open front of the fuselage.

People started to settle then, and after a short time, the only people left around the fire were the three on first watch, and Joel.

He stood, looked up at the flashlit activity behind the gauze of the nets, then turned his attention back to Tom, Alice, and George. “Thanks for this, guys.”

Neither Tom nor Alice replied, but George said, “No worries.”