The Survivors

by Jane Harper

  Kieran turned. He walked the few steps across the sand back to the path, then went up a short way, settling for a point just out of sight of the cave and well out of reach of the lick of the tide. He sat, and he watched the water slither in. Above him, the cliff path remained deserted. Below, the beach slowly disappeared.

  Kieran waited as the birds circled overhead, watchful and wary, calling to him that he was right. But as the sea crept closer and time ticked on, he slowly began to wonder. He was still arguing with himself when he sensed rather than heard it. A splash of movement.

  Kieran stayed very still and stared at the edge of the cave, holding his breath as the seconds trickled by. He thought he might have imagined it and then, all at once from the blackness, a figure appeared. He watched as the figure waded out, knee-deep in water, bag over shoulder.

  Kieran breathed out. It was what he’d expected, but it was still a shock. The figure turned towards the path, saw him and froze.

  Kieran stood, a little unsteady on his feet. For a long moment, the only sound was the slap of waves hitting the rock, then he opened his mouth.

  ‘Did you find it yet?’ Kieran’s voice echoed off the cliffs.

  A silence. Deliberate and calculating. ‘Find what?’

  ‘The message Gabby Birch scratched into the rock on the day she died.’

  Chapter 37

  Kieran waited, the blood rushing fast and loud in his ears.

  Knee-deep in the water, Sean stared back at him.

  Sean’s hair was damp and the sea water had soaked his clothes, darkening the colours. He didn’t speak, but his head tilted in a familiar way that Kieran knew meant he was thinking. Kieran pointed at the bag over his shoulder.

  ‘What’ve you got in there? Chisel? File? You’d need it.’ Kieran took a few steps down the path until he could see the mouth of the North Cave, where the names casually carved more than twelve years ago still scarred the rock face. ‘Those markings stick around forever.’

  Kieran looked at Sean, who had been his friend for as long as he could remember. Deny it, he wanted to say. Please, mate. Tell me I’m wrong.

  Sean’s face flickered and Kieran felt a surge of hope. Then, as he watched, Sean’s gaze slid past him. Across the deserted beach. Up the empty cliff path.

  They were alone.

  When Sean’s eyes met his again, Kieran could feel that fact being closely considered. He took a breath.

  ‘Pendlebury knows.’ Kieran managed to sound more confident than he felt. ‘She’s worked it out. Close enough, anyway. I could tell, the other day when she was down here. She’s got Bronte’s photos. She’s got a picture of your name carved in the rock. The letters are blurred, so I didn’t notice at first. And it looks pretty similar, but it’s not the same. It’s your name, mate, but I know you didn’t write it.’

  Kieran could see the salt water rushing into the North Cave, disappearing into the hole.

  ‘You were right about damaging the caves. It was bloody stupid and I know you tried to tell us, and we wouldn’t listen. You were right and we were idiots.’ Kieran saw Sean’s mouth tighten. ‘But you did do it once. Because I pushed you into it. And I know you felt bad afterwards. You felt so bad that I feel really sure – knowing you, mate – that you wouldn’t have done it again. So if your name is somewhere else in this cave, who scratched it there?’ Kieran looked at his friend. ‘And what else did they write?’

  Sean had turned his head and was now staring at the sea, past The Survivors and out to where his beloved wreck lay invisible under the waves. The water foamed and swirled around him.

  ‘Pendlebury will find it,’ Kieran said. ‘Sean? She’ll work it out and then she’ll bring in all the back-up she needs and they’ll search this whole place until they find it.’

  As he said the words, he remembered Pendlebury’s face as they had stood at the mouth of the cave, and felt instinctively that what he was saying was true. If she wasn’t there yet, it was only lack of local knowledge that was keeping her half a step behind. That wouldn’t last long, he knew. Kieran looked at Sean and could tell, from the slack weariness in his eyes, that he knew it too.

  ‘Had Bronte guessed?’ Kieran said.

  Sean’s face creased and he gave a tiny shake of his head.

  ‘But she would have?’ Kieran said. ‘Or you were worried she’d tell someone else who would?’

  No shake of the head this time. No denial. Kieran looked at the man he had known for so many years, and it was like looking in a mirror. Kieran knew what he was seeing, because he knew it well. He had lived with it every day. Guilt.

  He took another single step down the path. Just one step closer to the water and then he stopped. That was far enough.

  ‘What happened here, mate?’ he said.

  ‘It wasn’t how you think.’

  ‘How was it, then?’

  The only sound was the sea rushing between them. Then Sean opened his mouth and began to speak.

  Chapter 38

  Toby and Finn were late.

  Sean lay flat on his back on the deck of the Nautilus Black and felt the dip of the waves as he watched the sky. There were still patches of blue above, but if he turned his head he could see a darkness gathering in the distance. He zipped his fleece up to his chin and checked his watch. He’d give them another five minutes, no more. Toby wanted help unloading some equipment into the boat shed before the weather turned. Sean probably wasn’t going to get paid for it. There was no way he was going to get wet for it.

  He heard the marina gate squeak open and propped himself up on one elbow in hope. Not Toby or Finn. Better, though. Olivia. Sean sat up properly now, feeling a familiar nervous thrill. Her curly ponytail was blowing and her skirt flapped in the breeze as she shut the gate behind her. Then the girl turned towards him and Sean felt a mild stab of disappointment.

  Not Olivia. Her little sister, Gabby.

  Gabby hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulder as she walked over. Her face was uncertain as she cast her eyes around the empty dock, answering her own question before she asked it. She stopped in front of the boat, looked up at the older boy and seemed to completely lose her nerve. Sean felt a bit sorry for her.

  ‘Hey,’ he said.

  ‘Hi.’ Her voice was hard to hear.

  ‘Looking for Liv? She’s not here.’

  ‘Oh,’ Gabby said, disappointed. ‘Has she been by?’

  ‘No, I haven’t seen her all day. You tried calling her?’

  ‘My mum took my phone.’ She seemed embarrassed. ‘I need to find her, though. It’s our mum’s birthday tomorrow. We won’t have time to make her cake otherwise.’

  ‘Fair enough. I suppose ignoring your mum’s birthday won’t get your phone back any faster,’ Sean said, and Gabby gave an unexpected smile. He hadn’t seen her do that often; she was normally so solemn. She looked back down, still smiling at her shoes, and for a second she looked even more like her sister than usual. Sean took out his own phone and tried Olivia’s number. They waited as it rang out.

  ‘Sorry.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m sure she’ll turn up.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ Gabby said, her forehead creasing. ‘If she’s not here, I think she’s probably at the caves.’

  It was Sean’s turn to frown. ‘Why would she be there?’

  Gabby looked up at him, as though trying to work out whether it was a genuine question. Deciding it was, she reddened and dropped her eyes again.

  ‘Because she meets Kieran there.’

  ‘Olivia meets Kieran at the caves?’

  ‘Sometimes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘To …’ Gabby shrugged, her face flushed, her eyes anywhere else. ‘Do things.’

  Sean stared. ‘What things?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  But she clearly did know, and suddenly Sean did as well and all
at once he felt a hot rush of mortification at having to learn about it like this.

  ‘Didn’t Kieran tell you?’ Gabby was looking at him now, her curiosity overcoming her shyness.

  ‘Yeah. Of course.’

  Gabby nodded, but she didn’t believe him, Sean could tell. She was – God help him – throwing him a rope. He looked at this girl and at her expression tinged with the faintest hint of pity and felt a fresh sting of humiliation.

  Sean thought about Kieran, or specifically, the way Kieran would watch Olivia at parties, but never quite make the effort to talk to her. Except on the odd occasion when Sean would be chatting to her. Then bloody Kieran seemed to be everywhere, with drinks and jokes and lots to say.

  ‘Anyway,’ Gabby said, glancing at the sky. The blue had given way to a dirty grey and the wind was whistling through the empty masts. ‘I’d better go.’

  Sean blinked. He’d almost forgotten she was there. ‘You’re not going to the caves now, are you?’

  Did Ash know, he wondered suddenly, about Kieran and Liv? Probably. Kieran had probably told Ash. He and Ash told each other things like that. Stuff they didn’t tell him.

  Down on the dock, Gabby shifted her backpack from one shoulder to the other. The kangaroo keychain rattled against the purple zip. ‘I’ll go and check quickly. I really need to find her.’

  Sean shook his head. ‘Have you ever been down to the caves?’

  ‘No, but –’

  ‘Because you can’t just go wandering around down there, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s not safe. And the weather’s not good.’

  ‘Well –’ Gabby seemed torn. ‘Could you maybe take me?’

  Sean felt the first drop of rain. He looked along the dock. Still no sign of Toby or Finn. There was no-one around at all.

  ‘Please?’ The wind caught Gabby’s hair and she swept it away from her face. She looked up at him, and Sean was momentarily disarmed. ‘Our mum will be home in a few hours.’

  ‘You need your phone back that badly?’

  ‘She’s had it for nearly a week.’

  Sean hesitated. Her eyes were so hopeful. He checked the sky once more. ‘Okay. But we’ll have to be fast. Tide’s on its way in.’

  ‘Really?’ Gabby smiled then, right at him. ‘Thank you.’

  Sean shrugged. His brother was late. His friends were occupied with activities that clearly did not involve him. He was getting cold waiting out there. He felt a second spot of rain. Sean pointed to her backpack. It looked heavy.

  ‘Leave that here. I’ll lock it in the dry box.’

  Gabby shrugged the bag off her shoulders and Sean pulled it on board. It was solid and unwieldy with books. He dropped it in the box and scrabbled around until he found Toby’s spare key. It was hanging from a lanyard with a small pocket torch attached. Sean locked the box and put the lanyard in his pocket as he grabbed a pen and a piece of scrap paper. He checked the time.

  4.15 pm, he scribbled. You were late. Gone to caves.

  He stuck the note where Toby would be sure to see it, grabbed his own torch and climbed off the boat and onto the deck, where Gabby smiled in a way that lit up her face.

  The cliff path was empty. Sean and Gabby walked side by side, leaning forward a little into the wind. It was stronger than Sean could remember it being before. He half hoped they would see Kieran and Olivia appear around a corner. Then at least they could all turn back. But the trail stayed empty.

  Sean glanced sideways at Gabby. She was as tall as her sister, and almost as tall as Sean himself. The wind snatched at their clothes as they walked, and she kept having to brush her hair out of her face.

  ‘Nearly there,’ he said.

  ‘Great.’ She gave him a shy smile, and Sean found himself suddenly hoping that, in fact, they wouldn’t see anyone else.

  They stopped at the top of the cliffs. The sea was angry and green, foaming as it raced towards the sand. The thin beach looked deserted below.

  ‘Can we go down?’ Gabby said.

  Sean frowned. ‘Your sister might not welcome us just turning up, you know.’

  Gabby’s smooth face took on a faintly pious air. ‘That’s her own fault. She was supposed to come home and help me.’

  Sean couldn’t help but laugh, and she smiled back.

  ‘Yeah, all right,’ he said. ‘Come on then.’

  Her smile broadened as Sean showed her the path. He led them down, hearing her footsteps behind him the whole way. At one point, she stumbled and he reach back to help her.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’

  The beach was thinner than Sean liked to see. There was no-one down there.

  Gabby stood on the strip of sand and Sean watched her spin in a curious circle, soaking up the sight of the towering cliffs, the gaping dark mouths of the caves, the sea as it roared in and out.

  ‘Wow.’ Gabby turned to him. ‘I can’t believe I’ve never been down here before.’

  Sean grinned. ‘Pretty good, hey?’

  ‘Really good.’ Gabby circled again, her head tilted back as she looked up at the cliff face.

  ‘Should we find Olivia?’ Sean said, and Gabby blinked, refocused.

  ‘Oh. Yeah. Where would she be?’

  ‘You tell me.’ Sean shrugged. ‘I guess in one of the caves?’

  ‘Olivia!’ Gabby called across the empty beach, the sound snatched away by the wind almost before it left her mouth.

  ‘She won’t hear you. You often can’t hear anything properly inside there, even on a good day.’

  ‘Oh.’ Gabby peered with interest into the North Cave. ‘Maybe we should go in?’

  ‘You want to?’ Sean glanced at the sea. The Survivors stood solid amid the swells but deeper than he thought they perhaps should be. He looked away. ‘Okay, really quickly, though.’

  ‘Okay.’ Gabby smiled at him again and he felt a warm surge.

  Sean went first, the sky low as they stepped over the threshold into the North Cave. Sean lit the path with his own torch, then fished around in his pocket and pulled out the small spare one attached to the dry box keychain.

  ‘Here. You can use this.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Gabby took the torch from him and switched it on. They moved deeper. She followed close enough that Sean could feel the heat from her body.

  ‘Oh, look. Kieran,’ she said suddenly and Sean felt a wave of disappointment. He turned, expecting to see his mate silhouetted in the dwindling daylight at the mouth of the cave. But Gabby was pointing her light at the wall, where Kieran’s name was scratched alongside some others. Ash, Finn, Toby.

  ‘What is this?’ she said.

  ‘It’s this thing they do,’ Sean said. ‘It’s not hard, you just need a fishing knife or your keys or something.’ He pointed at the lanyard dangling from her hand. ‘It’s easy enough.’

  Gabby ran a finger over the damp surface. ‘But what does it mean?’

  ‘Nothing, really.’ Sean shook his head. ‘When one of them worked out a new route or was the first to visit a part of the cave or something, they’d mark it. Except for Ash – he does whatever he wants.’

  ‘But your name’s not here.’ Gabby turned to him. ‘You don’t find new routes?’

  ‘Yeah, I do,’ Sean said truthfully. ‘Just –’ He looked at the names of his friends and brother. ‘I dunno. Doesn’t seem much point sometimes. The others seem to get to a lot of stuff first.’ He felt suddenly embarrassed and shrugged, but Gabby nodded.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said, her voice quiet. ‘I get that.’

  Their eyes met. Through the slice of daylight still visible from the mouth of the cave, Sean could see that it had started to rain outside. He could hear the gentle rhythmic tap of water on rock. They stood there for a moment, Gabby’s features soft in the dim light.

  ‘I don’t thin
k my sister’s in here.’

  ‘No, I guess not.’ Sean glanced over his shoulder. ‘Do you want to go a little further in? Or head back?’

  Gabby lifted her chin to see beyond him, curious.

  ‘Maybe a bit further?’ she said. ‘Who knows? Maybe us two will discover somewhere new.’

  ‘I don’t think today’s the day for that.’ He smiled. ‘But let’s see what we can see. This way.’

  The sandy floor was already soft and saturated under his feet.

  ‘Your shoes might get wet,’ he said.

  ‘That’s okay, they’ll dry.’

  He led her in, stopping when they reached a junction where the path split in six directions. Sean shone his light down the first tunnel. The ground dropped quickly below sea level and the sand was already waterlogged. The roof of the second one was lower, but after an initial dip, he thought the way through should be visible and clear.

  ‘Are you okay to wait here for a minute?’ he said. ‘I need to check the path ahead. You’ve got your torch?’

  ‘Yep.’ Gabby held up the key lanyard, the beam reflected by the damp rock.

  ‘Okay, I’ll be as quick as I can.’

  Sean shone his own light in front of him. The path was one of the wider ones and good for beginners, at the start at least. Deeper down – deeper than Sean planned to take them – he knew the tunnel split along ways he hadn’t been. The main route was fine, though; Sean had mapped this for Toby himself. He moved along until he was satisfied they could get through, having to go a little further than expected before he felt certain enough to turn and head back.

  The six-way junction was empty as he stepped into it again.

  Sean blinked in the gloom, his torch throwing shadows against the rocks. Where was Gabby? Had she seriously got herself lost in those few minutes or – Sean felt a lurch – had he? He twisted around. No, this was the spot.

  ‘Gabby?’ he called.

  ‘Yeah?’

  He saw a beam of light bounce off the wall opposite and heard the quick splash of steps from one of the tunnels behind him, and as he turned she was back in the clearing. She was smiling.