Rocky eyed the last bite of a caramel slice and stifled a burp. He picked it up anyway and shovelled it in. It was good. It was almost worth being caught, just for the sugar rush.
Almost. A calculating expression flickered across Griff’s face, signalling that however bad things had been in the bush, they were about to get real bad now.
‘So,’ he said. ‘Who are you? What do we call you?’
Rocky swallowed, the toffee caramel all at once too sticky and sickly sweet. He affected incomprehension and rubbed at his ear. He thought it would look odd if he kept rubbing it, so he did it again.
Griff spread a sheaf of papers across the table, careless of the detritus of food. Rocky couldn’t resist looking. They were files of information on his classmates and teachers, each with a photo stapled to the front. Most of them had a little red ballpoint cross on the upper right-hand corner. Idelle’s had a cross. So did Liam’s.
Griff looked carefully at Rocky and then at the photos. Finally, he selected a page and drew it out. The picture on the front had been taken the day before they’d left for camp. Rocky, with a cheesy grin on his face, was twirling a rugby ball on one finger.
He looked like a tosser, Rocky thought. A know-nothing, arrogant, naive little tosser. It had only been a week ago. He felt a million years older.
‘Rocky Rewiti …’ Griff flourished another page, ‘… and Devin Fitzgerald. I’m so glad we’ve found you. We’ll get someone in to check you over, make sure you’re not suffering from exposure or sunburn or germs or what-have-you. But first, we’d like you to answer a few questions.’
Rocky switched from rubbing his ear to rubbing his nose. Griff began pacing, his hands clenched, face red. Not exactly the image of a controlled CEO. Perhaps the ship was influencing him too. Rocky could feel a strange rhythm pulsing through his body, but he didn’t mind it so much. It made him feel … strong.
‘What can you tell us about the crash?’
Rocky didn’t answer.
‘How did you and Devin get out of the bus?’
Silence.
‘Is there anyone else? Have you seen anyone else?’
Nothing.
Moses nudged Devin through the tent flap. As she made to sidle past Griff, he abruptly backhanded her across the face. She crumpled to the ground.
Rocky surged to his feet. ‘What the hell?’
Moses grabbed Griff and pulled him away. ‘Boss! She’s just a kid!’
‘He can talk!’ Griff shouted. ‘He can talk … he …’ His eyes glazed.
‘Can tell us things, yes, but Boss, you gotta get a grip.’
Griff massaged his temples, his face contorting with pain. Jesse handed him a glass of water and he drank deeply.
Rocky, shaking with rage, dropped to the ground next to Devin and shielded her with his arms. Devin’s eyelids fluttered but otherwise she was limp. Rocky stroked the wayward strands of hair away from her face.
‘You didn’t need to do that,’ he said, his voice cracking with emotion. ‘Haven’t we been through enough?’
Griff pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Shhh. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Things have been very difficult here and we need answers. Just a bit of cooperation.’ His forehead was moist with sweat, and he was thunking his fist into the palm of his other hand.
‘So let’s just remind you of a few things, okay? You’re a long way from home. A very long way. And if you ever want to get back there, you need …’ his voice grew louder and purple veins stood out in his neck, ‘… to stop mucking me about!’
Just to see what would happen, Rocky looked him dead in the eye and said, ‘Piss off.’
Griff lunged at Rocky’s throat, but Moses yanked him back and stepped smartly between him and the two teens. Griff closed his eyes and sucked in two or three shaky breaths.
‘Tell me what happened when the bus crashed.’
Devin stirred. Rocky helped her to a sitting position and sat with his arms around her.
‘Who else was with you?’
‘There was nobody,’ said Rocky. ‘No one. Just us.’
The warmth of Devin’s body was comforting, and for an instant he remembered how it had been with the two of them. He saw Moses lift his eyebrows and smile before turning away and staring out the dust-streaked window.
‘Are you sure? What about …’ Griff flipped through the papers, reading out names. With every name Rocky’s heart gave a little lurch. Maybe they were still alive too.
‘Awhina Thomas? Eva Peterson?’
Rocky felt a wave of relief. They didn’t have her. Devin had been terrified Eva had been taken, but with supplies and clothing missing, he’d known all along that Eva had just packed a sad and gone off. Hopefully she’d found Jahmin. Hopefully they’d make it out alive and would tell everyone the truth.
‘Joshua Worthington?’
Devin moaned and her hand fluttered up to her cheek. She retched, once, twice, and then spewed thick stringy clumps all over Griff’s boots.
Griff backed off, his mouth screwed up in disgust. ‘Jesus Christ!’
‘I’ll get a bucket,’ Moses offered and disappeared out of the tent.
‘Are you happy now?’ Rocky snarled as Devin began to cry, wiping at her mouth.
Griff was muttering under his breath. It looked as if he was counting to a hundred. He untied his reeking boots, kicked them aside and stomped off to the back of the tent with Jesse.
Rocky reached up to the serviettes on the table and passed some to Devin. She pressed the soft wad against her mouth and whispered, ‘The guy who took me to the toilet, Moses, he can tell what you’re thinking.’
There were tears on her cheeks, but her eyes were dry. The damsel in distress was just an act. This was the Devin he knew. The survivor.
He gave her a quick, tight hug, his relief enormous. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. I think he needs eye contact, though. I tested him when his back was turned, and there was nothing.’
Griff and Jesse glanced over, and she immediately retched, making a grotesque heaving sound. They turned away in distaste.
‘You spewed on purpose?’ Rocky whispered.
‘I was feeling yucky. All that food. I figured it was as good a time as any.’
She pressed the tissues to her mouth to smother a laugh.
Rocky risked a quick swooping kiss that only just grazed her lips, because, hey, she’d just spewed and … gross.
‘What are we going to do?’ he said, trusting she’d know, because she always did.
She gave him a slow, sultry smile and looked up at him from under her eyelashes. At once she pinched herself, winced, became steel once more.
‘Don’t look at him,’ she said flatly. ‘And lie.’
Moses returned wearing pink rubber gloves and carrying a bucket and cloths.
‘Well, go on then.’ He motioned the two teens away. ‘Don’t worry. I used to work in the clubs. I’m used to it.’
‘Thank you,’ Devin said in a little girl voice, and she allowed Rocky to lead her off while Moses got stuck in to energetically squirting detergent.
The ground heaved, gave a curious kind of shudder and was still. Everyone froze, waiting for another shake. A coms device on the table burst into static and then a voice came, fast and urgent. Jesse strode over and picked it up, listened.
‘There’s a problem up at the site.’
Griff kicked out at a chair, sending it skittering across the floor. ‘Goddamn it all to hell, goddamn it!’ He stabbed a finger at Jesse. ‘Get them over to the office and then head up. Moses, with me, now.’
‘What’s the office?’ Rocky asked boldly.
‘Somewhere safe,’ Griff said.
‘So you’re locking us up, now?’ said Rocky. ‘Why can’t you just send us home? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?’
‘We can’t have you wandering around,’ Jesse interjected smoothly. ‘You might get hurt.’
Rocky was about to retort when he felt Devin’s warm fingers press into his arm.
‘We’ll be coming to talk to you again soon,’ said Griff. ‘You might find you have more to say.’
Jesse jerked his head towards the tent flaps. They got up at once. For all Griff’s loud, angry bluster, they instinctively felt it was the cold and expressionless Jesse who was the more dangerous man.
They followed him across the near-empty compound to a small tent at the rear. Jesse thrust them through the canvas flaps and produced a little black gun from the belt at his waist.
‘Hold on,’ Rocky said. ‘What’re you doing?’
Jesse motioned with his gun towards a couple of folding chairs in the corner. Slowly, they sat. Jesse took out some plastic ties and swiftly bound their hands behind their backs, and their ankles to the chair legs.
‘Please,’ Devin said. ‘We just want to go home.’
‘Yeah, this isn’t exactly normal rescue procedure,’ said Rocky hotly.
‘I do apologise for the inconvenience,’ Jesse said. ‘But this is for your own safety. Once we’ve had you checked over by our medical team and they say you’re clear–’
‘There’s nothing wrong with us!’
‘The electromagnetic waves may cause you to lash out and hurt people.’
‘The only person I want to hurt is you,’ said Rocky flatly.
Jesse gave a thin smile. ‘I won’t be long. And then we can have a proper talk.’
His gaze lingered on Devin as he said this, and she shrank back. Rocky yanked at the plastic ties in fury.
‘I wouldn’t bother,’ Jesse said. ‘They won’t break.’
‘Neither will we,’ Rocky said, with such empty defiance that Jesse laughed out loud.
‘Good one,’ he said and he left, zipping the tent flaps behind him.
