Griff’s boots made a nasty sucking sound as he trod through the sticky blood. Devin doubted he noticed. His eyes were glazed, and his fingers were worrying at his temples.
Moses saw the blood immediately, and concern and consternation crossed his face as he scanned the teens for injury.
Maybe he’ll think I got my period. The random thought popped into Devin’s head, and she couldn’t help smirking.
‘You think this is funny?’ Griff’s face was contorted, and he was convulsively balling and flexing his hands. ‘How many of you were there?’
‘Just us, I told you!’ Devin said.
‘Well?’ Griff turned on Moses. ‘Destiny gave you a gift. So go on. Read her mind! Now! I know you can do it!’
Moses stiffened, eyes widening. ‘Can you do it too?’
‘Just get on with it!’
Moses frowned and knelt before Devin, as if asking for benediction. His touch was gentle as he wiped her tears away with calloused thumbs. He stared into her eyes, and she saw herself reflected in his. She focused on scrambling her thoughts, flitting from Rocky, to Awhina, to her dad, to anything and everything. Moses took a deep breath, and then she could feel him inside her head, turning over memories, seeing secret things, hurtful things. And then he withdrew, and she spat at him because she couldn’t think of anything else bad enough to express how violated she felt.
The silence was absolute. Devin glared at Moses, defiance straightening her spine. If this was the end, she wasn’t going to die the same way she’d lived, full of fear. No way. Fear could go kiss its cowardly butt.
Moses wiped his face with his sleeve and turned to Griff. ‘She’s telling the truth,’ he said. ‘There was no one else.’
‘Are you sure?’ Griff grabbed Moses by the shoulder, shaking him. ‘Are you positive?’
Moses yanked his arm free from Griff and scowled. ‘Yes.’
He didn’t glance at Devin, and somehow she knew that he knew about Jahmin and Eva. But why wasn’t he saying anything? Maybe he felt sorry for her. She bit her lip, not sure whether to feel offended or relieved.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Griff fumed. ‘We’re still going to have to keep everyone out there looking for the little shit until we find him.’
Jesse poked his thin face through the flaps. ‘Final checks are in. Ready to blow in ten minutes.’
‘Finally. Moses, find out if he knows anything. We’ll see you up there.’ He left, fingers pressed to his temples.
Moses gave a mock salute to the empty doorway. ‘He’s not himself at the moment.’
‘Whatever,’ said Rocky. ‘I bet he was always a dick.’
Moses grinned. ‘Yeah. You could be right.’ He held Rocky’s head gently and looked into his eyes.
With one swift movement Rocky brought his hands up, grabbed Moses around his thick neck and head-butted him.
Moses’s nose broke with a sickening crunch, and he cried out. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground with Rocky and the chair on top of him. He tried to heave Rocky off him, but Rocky jabbed two fingers at his eyes, once, twice.
Moses howled and, blinded, lashed out randomly with his fist, catching the side of the chair instead. Rocky rose up, turned and rammed the chair into Moses’s gut. The big man let out a whoomp of air and lay gasping, unable to catch his breath.
‘His belt!’ Devin cried.
Rocky fumbled for the knife and then quickly hacked at the ties holding his legs. He waved the knife threateningly at Moses, but Moses was in no condition to retaliate. He lay in a ball, groaning, his hands over his eyes, blood seeping through his fingers.
Rocky sawed at Devin’s restraints, and when she was free, he tore the mosquito net from its hook and coiled it round and round to make a thick rope.
‘What are you doing?’ Devin said.
‘Tying him up. Like they did.’
‘But he wasn’t all bad. He lied to Griff for us. And he’s hurt.’
‘He’s still one of them,’ Rocky said. ‘He’s still responsible.’
Devin reached for Rocky’s hand. ‘It’s okay.’ Her voice was warm and there was a teasing smile on her face. ‘Forget about him.’ Still holding his hand, she stepped lightly in towards him and out again and then raised his arm and twirled underneath, her hips swaying to a beat Rocky couldn’t hear.
He twisted his hand away and pinched her arm. ‘Devin!’
‘Ow!’ She blushed. ‘Sorry.’
Rocky looked down at Moses. ‘Don’t come after us. I’ve got your knife.’
Moses lifted his hands away from his face. It was covered with blood, and his eyes were swollen closed. ‘You got no worries about that.’
Rocky averted his gaze from the damage he’d done to Moses’s face and checked through the little plastic window.
‘It’s all clear,’ he said to Devin. ‘After you.’
They slipped out the door.
