“Bear with me.” Chris was showing a level of patience that suggested he was being serious for once. “Obviously the plane crashed. What I mean is, looking at this mist, maybe it’s not just us, maybe something big happened, you know, like a meteor strike or a nuclear war or something, and our plane got thrown off course and we ended up here. But maybe it’s not just us. For all we know, that’s why no one came looking for us, because there’s no one left out there.”

Everyone was quiet in response, the last phrase left hanging there, because the way the world looked right now, it was all too believable that they would find it changed beyond recognition when they did get out.

It was Barney who finally broke the silence. “It’s possible, of course, but the way the plane crashed suggests something much simpler. I mean—”

“But it’s possible,” said Chris, clinging to his theory.

“Possible. But highly unlikely.”

The murmuring started again and Chris said, “You hear that? He’s like a scientist, and he thinks I’m onto something.”

Tom stood up and said, “Only one way to find out.” He pointed at the boat. “I’ll carry for a while.”

“Me too,” said Alice.

George did a double take. “Are you sure? We can get one of…”

“The boys?” She smiled. “If it gets too heavy, I’ll let you know.”

Slowly, they set off again, but they hadn’t walked far before another halt was called. Lara had been bitten by something during the last rest and within twenty minutes her face had swollen on one side. Both Shen and Barney looked at it and put something on the bite, but Lara insisted she was fine and they set off again.

A little while later, up near the front, Nick lurched from the path and vomited violently into the undergrowth, and it seemed they’d have to stop again, but after a minute or two he was able to go on. Tom noticed too, that Mila, whom he’d seen limping the day before, was now using one of Barney’s poles as a walking stick.

The whole column appeared to be weakening with every step, but they were moving in the right direction. They walked into deeper jungle, a ragged path climbing steadily uphill. Despite being bitten and harassed by insects, often unseen until they struck, despite the clinging and oppressive humidity, the constant whirring and buzzing of the landscape, the climb seemed to offer promise.

But then the column started once again to stagger to a halt. Tom was carrying the boat with Chris now, George and Alice bringing up the rear behind him.

As they slowed, George said, “We can’t keep stopping like this.”