Siobhan Curham - Dark of the Moon

We all exchange glances again. After all this time feeling trapped on the island it’s kind of freaky hearing her talk so casually about people leaving. Freaky, but unbelievably good. Maybe all isn’t lost after all. Maybe we’ll still be able to get out of here.

We make our way across the bridge. As it starts swaying wildly I’m too exhausted to even worry about what could be lurking in the water beneath. Once we’re on the other side, Lola leads us through some more trees and then out into another huge clearing.

‘Wowsers!’ the Flea exclaims.

Several long cabins made from bamboo line the edges of the clearing. But my eyes are instantly drawn to the centre. There, looming above the cabins, is the strangest house I’ve ever seen. It’s three storeys high and perched on wooden stilts so tall it’s impossible to see inside from down on the ground. The walls are a light-and-dark patchwork of bamboo and logs, topped with a slightly lop-sided roof made from sheets of corrugated metal.

Lola sees us staring at it and starts to laugh. ‘That’s where Ruby lives. It’s cool, isn’t it? The retreat guests all stay in the cabins,’ Lola points to one of them. ‘There’s plenty of room. Now the others have gone there’s only me and Michael – my boyf— . . . ex -boyfriend, and Ruby here. The next guests are arriving in a few days – for the party.’ She starts to grin.‘You’ll be here for the party!’

‘What party?’ Dan asks, looking slightly shell-shocked.

‘We can’t stay for any party,’ the Flea whispers.‘We need to get Belle to hospital.’

But before Lola can reply a guy comes out of one of the cabins, rubbing his eyes like he just woke up. He’s broad-shouldered and pale skinned, with copper-coloured wavy hair that almost reaches his shoulders. He’s wearing long swimming shorts and has an elaborate tattoo of a dragon across one half of his chest.

When he sees Lola he starts to glare. ‘Where have you been?’ he asks. His accent is British too. Then he notices us. ‘Who are these people?’

‘This is Michael,’ Lola says to us, her voice suddenly flat.

‘Who are they?’ Michael hisses at her. I take an instant dislike to him.

‘I found them down at the lagoon,’ Lola explains. ‘They’ve been shipwrecked and they were –’

‘And you brought them here?’ Michael scowls at her.

‘Well, yes. Obviously.’

‘But what about Ruby?’

Lola stares at him. ‘They’ve been shipwrecked!’

Ever the optimist, the Flea walks over to Michael, holding out his hand.‘I’m Jimmy the Flea, pleased to meet you,’ he says cheerily. But Michael completely blanks him and continues staring at Lola.

‘I’m sure Ruby won’t mind,’ Lola says, her cheeks flushing. ‘I couldn’t exactly leave them there.’

Michael gives a sarcastic laugh. ‘How compassionate of you.’

I feel my hackles rising. What the hell is this guy’s problem? ‘We’ve been shipwrecked,’ I say. ‘We need help getting back home.’

Michael looks at me blankly before turning back to Lola. ‘Yeah well, it’s your funeral.’Then he stomps back into the cabin.

I stand, rooted to the spot. What’s going on here? Why is Michael so concerned about Ruby’s reaction? I look at Cruz questioningly. He shakes his head, clearly as bewildered as I am.

Lola turns and gives us a weak smile. ‘I’m so sorry. Things are a little tense between us at the moment. We only just broke up. He isn’t taking it very well.’

‘No kidding,’ Dan mutters, scowling after Michael.

I smile at Lola. ‘It’s okay.’

‘He seemed a little worried about this Ruby . . .’ Cruz says questioningly.

Lola glances up at the bizarre house on stilts. ‘Ruby is very secretive about this place. She doesn’t like people turning up uninvited.’

‘Were you invited here then?’ Cruz immediately asks.

Lola nods. ‘Yes. When we were travelling in Central America we met some friends of Ruby’s and they asked us to come here with them.’ She lowers her voice. ‘Michael wasn’t all that keen. He thought it was a bit risky, coming away with a load of strangers to an island in the middle of nowhere.’ She looks at me and smiles. ‘But that’s why you go travelling, right? To get away from the mundane and embrace the adventure.’

I smile and nod, but inside I literally ache for ‘the mundane’. Since we set off for the cruise I’ve had enough adventure to last me several lifetimes.

‘But don’t worry,’ Lola says quickly. ‘I’m sure Ruby will be fine about you being here. She’s really cool once you get to know her, and once she’s certain she can trust you. Why don’t you go and dump your stuff in there?’ Lola points to one of the cabins. Thankfully it’s not the one Michael stormed into.

I nod. ‘Sure.’

We head over to the cabin, with the Flea carefully guiding Belle. Inside is sparse but clean. One wall is lined with a row of single beds. They’re made from logs and covered in brightly coloured blankets. In the centre of the wooden floor is a coarsely woven, yellow and green mat. It’s the kind of place I could picture Snow White’s dwarves sleeping in.

‘Oh man!’ Dan exclaims, walking over to the nearest bed. ‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ he says to the bed, removing his cap with a flourish. ‘I am Dan Charles and I’ve been dreaming of this moment forever !’ He collapses down on to the bed, wraps himself in the blanket and gives a love-struck sigh.

The Flea laughs. Then he turns to Belle. ‘There are beds, honey, actual beds! Obviously home-made, but full of rustic charm – think Pottery Barn meets Jungle Book .’

Belle nods.

‘What do you guys make of all this?’ I whisper, as I put my bag down in the corner.

‘Well, clearly our friend Michael has a few issues,’ the Flea whispers back, ‘and I can’t say I’m looking forward to meeting Ruby. But Lola is adorable and, compared to the other islanders we’ve met, even Michael seems downright charming.’

‘Well, if this Ruby chick does get all heavy about us being here, we can just ask her to help us leave,’ Dan says, his eyes closed and body spread, starfish-style across the bed.

The Flea nods. ‘Absolutely. I mean, it’s not as if we want to stick around, and if she’s that uptight about keeping this place a secret we can just sign disclaimers and never talk about it again. I don’t care. Quite honestly, after the things we’ve seen, I’ll do anything to get out of here.’

‘Are you guys hungry?’ Lola calls from outside.‘Would you like me to make you some pancakes?’

‘What the hell?’ Dan is off the bed in a second.

The Flea grins manically and even Belle smiles.

‘Did she just say pancakes ?’ Dan whispers, his eyes saucer-wide.

‘I do believe she did,’ the Flea replies.

‘You bet,’ Dan hollers.

‘Okay – coming right up,’ Lola calls back.

‘Do you think we should tell her what happened to us?’ I whisper. ‘You know, about Belle and what happened in the forest?’

Dan shrugs. ‘Dunno.’

‘Maybe we should just play it by ear,’ Cruz says. ‘Figure out what’s going on here first. And see what this Ruby person is like.’

We all nod. Then the others head out. Cruz and I hang back.

‘We need to be careful,’ he whispers, taking my hand.

I nod. It’s exactly what I was thinking. It seems impossible to believe that, after everything we went through on the other side of the island, this side should be completely unaffected by Hortense. And not only unaffected, but some kind of peace-out, hippy retreat. It doesn’t make sense.