Page 26 of Shipwrecked

“Smoke,” Jules says.

I leap up from where I’m resting and dash over. A steady tendril of smoke rises out of our prepared notch in the hollow branch. Jules offers me the bird’s nest, and I carefully slide the ember into it, blowing softly. Within a few seconds, the entire thing starts to smoke, and then there’s a little orange flame.

I place it carefully into the prepared fire pit and blow some more. My heart is in my throat. It catches, and a rush of endorphins floods my system.

“Alright!” Mary whoops. Mathieu throws both hands up over his head as he lets out an exhausted groan of delight. When he’s done shaking out his arms, he leans in towards Jules and me, both bent close to the fire.

“I feel victorious,” Mathieu confides.

“You should.” Jules matches Mathieu’s low, conspiratorial tone, eyes dancing. “You’re our Prometheus.”

Mathieu’s smile is all affection, eyes for no one but Jules. I notice Darren’s irritated gaze studying Mathieu and Jules. Noting their closeness. Surely, by now, it is obvious to everyone.

“Won’t it just go out once it rains?” Darren asks.

Jules’s entire demeanour shifts, tension replacing his lightness. He leans back on his heels and glances at Darren. “We have a shelter built for it.”

Darren nods. “Good job.”

Something in his tone irks me. Jules quickly looks away from Darren, and my discomfort grows, something in the back of my head is nagging at me. I stand up and look from Jules to Darren, holding his gaze until he looks away first, and then move on.

We arrange the lean-tos around the fire, so each is orientated to block the wind but still has proximity to its warmth.

We pile fronds around the fire and sit on them. It’s undeniably soothing, having its light as the sun sinks below the horizon. We eat cashews and cooked, skewered red peppers in its glow, the orange light dancing across us all.

I clear my throat.

“Jules,” I say. “I’ll share a lean-to with you if you don’t mind. You’re still on concussion watch.”

Darren is in the middle of putting a cashew into his mouth. His eyes dart up and catch on mine. I see a spark of temper, plain as day. I know immediately this is what was hidden in his voice earlier. Something, I suspect, that Jules didn’t miss.

“I’m fine with that,” Jules agrees.

Mathieu, sitting at Jules’s side, chimes in. “I’m keeping an eye on you too. Do you mind?”

Jules meets Mathieu’s eyes. Both seem unable to help a smile at the prolonged contact, and Mathieu starts leaning in. I’m not sure he realises.

“Sure,” Jules says.

Aside from Seán, I don’t think anyone clocks Darren’s irritation; they’re preoccupied with their own aches and pains.

“Will that be enough to keep the fire going all night?” Charles asks, looking to our stack of firewood on the edge of the clearing, protected by a shelter Seán and I quickly put together before the light faded.

“Plenty,” Seán says.

It’s completely dark now. Everyone’s done eating, yet nobody makes any move to go. From people’s faces, I think everyone’s ready to turn in, but nobody really wants to lie down in the lean-tos, wanting instead the comfort of the flames. I’m no different. With Seán at my side, it almost feels like I’m on a regular camping trip. I can almost pretend the responsibility falls on Seán’s dad’s shoulders and not mine.

The temperature drops. A rain shower is coming soon. That will drive everyone inside.

“Seán, can you go over the insects you want us to look out for again?” Jules asks.

Seán nods. “Anyone who’s trekking through the jungle, keep your eye out for spiders. Most aren’t dangerous, but there are a few venomous varieties, and a bite could be painful. With the rain, there might be giant centipedes coming out of burrows, and those are venomous too.”

“Do they have orange legs?” Jules asks. “I saw one when collecting—watching Mathieu collect banana leaves yesterday.”

I stare. Jules doesn’t return my look. He projects I-am-innocent, and I haven’t a clue how because he’s the opposite. Mathieu looks between the two of us and grins.

“They do. Okay, so we have giant centipedes to look out for. There are snakes. I’ve seen a few racers, nothing venomous, but I’m going to keep this simple: look where you’re stepping, and if you see one, just turn around and go back. You’ll find vipers and cobras on the bigger islands, and to be safe, we should assume there are some here too.” Seán gestures to the ocean. “When you’re washing, be careful going into the water. Shuffle your feet in the sand, that way you won’t accidentally step on a stingray, and keep an eye out for jellyfish.”