Alex Garland - The Beach

'But you are sure.'

'Yes. I'm sure.'

She slipped back into the water. 'We will never be able to come back,' she said, just before her head submerged, and sighed. 'So sad...'

'Perhaps,' I replied to the stream of bubbles she left behind on the surface. 'If there was anything to come back to.'

Ten minutes later, Gregorio held up his fishing spear. A milkfish flapped on its point, sliding itself further down the shaft with its efforts to get free, the last fish needed for the extra quota.

Françoise, Étienne and Gregorio began to make their way back towards the beach, jumping between the boulders where possible, swimming where necessary. Keaty and I stayed back.

'Hang on,' I'd said, when the others had set off. 'I want to show you something.'

He'd frowned. 'We've got to get the catch back.'

'It can wait. Twenty minutes. Twenty-five. It's important.'

'Well,' he'd said, and shrugged. 'If it's important...'

Show, Don't Tell

I had imagined that, of the three, Keaty would be the hardest to persuade. He'd lived on the beach for longer than all of us, he didn't have Françoise's attachment to Étienne, or Jed's bleak disillusionment. But it turned out he was the easiest. All I had to do was to show him where the boat had been, and he virtually came up with the idea himself.

'It can't be gone,' Keaty said, and leant over, trailing his arms in the water as if hoping to find its sunken prow. 'It just can't be. It's not possible.'

'But it is.'

'It can't be.'

'You can see for yourself.'

'Don't tell me what I can see!'

'...I don't know what Sal's going to say...'

'I do! She's going to fucking flip! She's going to lose her mind! She's going to...' He rose up with a jerk and clapped both hands to his head. 'Oh my God, Rich...'

I frowned with what I imagine looked like innocent concern. '...What is it?

'I was the one who tied it up... I was the one who... Jesus Christ!

'What? Tell me!'

'I'm dead!' he almost screamed. 'I'm a fucking dead man!'

'...Dead? Why?'

'The food poisoning! And now losing the boat! Shit! Fuck! Of all things, losing the... Don't you get it? She'll do for me! She'll do for me like she did for... for... Oh no! ' He leapt to his feet andstarted quickly backing away .' ...This is why you got me here, isn't it? She already knows! She already fucking knows!'

I stood up too.

' You stay where you are! '

'Keaty...'

He drew back a fist. 'Stay where you are!'

'Keaty...'

'I swear, if you make one fucking move I'll...'

'Keaty!' I yelled, suddenly feeling angry myself. 'Shut the fuck up! I'm not going to attack you, for Christ's sake!'

'Back off!'

'OK, OK!' I took several steps away from him. 'I'm backing off!'

'Further! Get right back against the rock!'

I did as I was told. 'There! Satisfied?'

He stayed frozen with his fist raised. 'If you make one move...'

'You'll pulverize me. I know.'

'I will do it! I'm not Karl! I'm telling you, you won't have a fucking prayer!'

'I know. I'll be creamed. But you've got to believe me, I've got no intention of attacking you. I can't even believe you think I would! You're one of my best friends!'

His fist lowered, but no more than an inch.

'...Does Sal know about the boat?'

'No.'

'You promise?'

'On my life. The whole reason I brought you here is so you could find out before she did. And think about it, Keaty. How could she know? You only got back last night, so when could she have had a chance to find out?'

He thought about this a few seconds then lowered his fist completely. 'Yes,' he murmured blankly. 'That's true... She couldn't know...'

'Right.'

'...But... she'll find out soon... She'll have to...'

'She'll find out very soon.'

'Fuck!' he blurted, his panic rising again. 'And then what will Ido? I won't be able to sleep at nights! I won't be able to go anywhere alone! I'll have to...'

'Leave?'

I'll have to leave! Yes! Jesus! I should leave right now! I'll take the...' He whirled around and stared at the cove. 'Oh, God,' he whispered, 'but I can't. I'm trapped here... trapped...'

'No,' I replied, raising a hand to my temples as if formulating a rapid and brilliant scheme. 'There might be another option.'

Spiked

Now I was on a roll. Getting on top of things. The two hardest converts were converted and all I had to do was get Jed, fill him in, and wait for our chance to slip away. I was feeling so good that I started humming my mouse song as Keaty and I re-entered the clearing. The only problem was, Keaty joined in too. Joined in with manic gusto, hitting the wrong notes, turning heads. 'What are you doing?' I hissed. 'You sound like a swarm of bees.'

'I can't help it,' he hissed back through a rigid ventriloquist's smile. 'I'm freaking out. I feel like everybody's watching us.'

'You've got to act normal.'

'I don't know if I'll be able to handle this, Rich.'

'The Gameboy. Go and play the Gameboy. And if Sal asks you to join in with the preparations, just try to be calm.'

'Got it,' he whispered, and walked off to his tent, arms stiffly swinging by his sides.

Étienne and Françoise were coping a lot more successfully, but they did have each other for support. They sat close to the kitchen hut, apparently chatting idly, busy helping to gut the enormous catch of fish.

Sal, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. I wanted to locate her before I tried to get to the hospital tent - remembering that she'd told me to stay away from Jed — so I moved to the centre of the clearing, expecting to spot her with Bugs and the carpenters.

The meeting area had progressed swiftly over the time I'd been away. Our bed sheets and one or two unzipped sleeping-bags hadbeen suspended between bamboo poles, making a flat marquee about twenty-five feet in diameter. Bugs had Cassie on his shoulders, giggling and laying palm leaves above the sheets. I guessed the canopy needed to be thick enough to block out the glow from our candles and barbecue, in case any planes happened to pass over us tonight.

But Sal wasn't with the carpenters either. Which meant there was a strong possibility she was in the hospital tent with Jed.

'Shit,' I said.

'Not impressed?' said a crisp voice, directly behind me.

I delayed for a second in order to compose myself and do some rapid thinking, then turned around.' ...Impressed, Sal?'

'With our construction.'

'Oh, I'm very impressed with that. Very impressed. It's amazing. No, I was thinking about something else.'

'Mmm?'

'My cigarettes. I left half a packet on the beach.'

'Oh.'

'No big deal. I've just got a feeling they were at the low-tide mark, and the water's coming in. Stupid of me.'

'Doesn't seem too serious.'

'No, no.' I shook my head. 'Not at all serious.'

'Good... I'm glad to see you've cheered up since this morning.'

'I feel much better.'

'I assume that means I shouldn't worry about any unexpected problems tonight.'

'...That's right. No problems. You can... forget about him.'

'Forget?' Sal said, not missing a beat. 'Forget about who?'

'...Karl.'

She gave me an odd look. 'Who?'

'Karl.'

'Who's Karl?'

'Karl's...' I began, then the penny dropped. 'Nobody.'

'I thought you were talking about someone here.'

'No.'

'Fine.' Sal nodded fractionally. 'Well, I'd better get back to work. Still lots to do.'

'Sure.'

'If you get stuck for a chore, let me know. We'll soon find something.'

'Right.'

'Lovely.'

A few moments later Sal was standing under the marquee and pointing out gaps in the sheets to Bugs, although he didn't appear to be paying attention. He still had Cassie on his broad shoulders, and he kept breaking into a little jog to make her squeal.