Joel nodded, and said, “Sure, but you can wake me anytime if there’s a problem.”

It was Alice who spoke now. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

He nodded again, and Tom almost felt sorry for him, because it was clear he didn’t have the first idea how to deal with any of them.

“Well, good night.” He walked off to the side of the plane and the steps. A few seconds later, Shen emerged from the gloom and sat with them.

“Barney’s using the other two nets to cover the door at the back. You’ll still be able to separate them and step through.”

Alice smiled and said, “Shen, if there’s ever a zombie apocalypse, I want you and Barney on my team.”

Tom looked at her. “I have no idea what that means, but me too.”

“You know, a zombie apocalypse?”

“Yeah, Alice, I understand what the words mean, but…”

George started laughing, either at Tom’s confusion or the fact they were having this conversation in the first place.

Then from above, they heard Chloe say disapprovingly, “Well, I’m glad someone’s enjoying themselves.”

That set them all laughing, but then Shen bid them good night and the three of them sat in silence and the cabin slowly quieted above them. And for a while there was only the crackling of the fire and the relentless noise of the jungle and the more distinct sounds of various creatures moving and sometimes crashing through the branches and undergrowth that surrounded them.

When they spoke again it was after a particularly loud rustling followed by a grunting of some sort and Alice whispered, “What was that?”

George turned his flashlight on and pointed it out toward the trees, though the beam only seemed to make the wall of darkness even more opaque.

“Some sort of pig, maybe. What are they called? Peccaries?”

“Yeah, I think I read something about that.”

Tom smiled. They’d all been encouraged to do their research before coming out here, and most of them had, even though “here” wasn’t exactly where “here” was meant to be—he guessed most of the wildlife was still more or less the same, and equally dangerous. He hadn’t really wanted to come, of course, so the only knowledge he’d brought was the stuff he’d already gotten from nature documentaries on TV.

George and Alice talked on, their voices low, mainly discussing different people, some of whom had died at the beginning of this long day. At first Tom was confused to hear them talking in a tone that suggested they knew each other and had met socially, when they hardly seemed similar types, but then he remembered that Alice had briefly dated Ethan from the football team and had probably met George as a result.

After about twenty minutes, Alice said, “Sorry, Tom, we’re talking about people you don’t really know.”

“I don’t mind.”