The Island: The addictive new YA thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of STRANGERS

by C. L. Taylor

  ‘It could be a shooting star.’

  ‘Yeah, one with wings and two hundred passengers. I’d wave for help but I can’t be arsed to move.’ He slumps back onto the sand, arms spread wide. His right hand lands so close to my left that our little fingers touch. I don’t snatch my hand away. Neither does Milo.

  ‘If it had been a shooting star,’ I try to keep my tone light, but all I can think about is the fact that his finger is touching mine, ‘what would you have wished for?’

  He snorts softly. ‘If I told you I wouldn’t get my wish, would I?’

  I sneak a glance at him but he’s not looking at me, he’s staring up at the sky. I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not but he looks more tense than he did a couple of minutes ago, and he’s breathing more shallowly.

  We lapse into silence. My heart’s thudding and every time I inhale my breath seems to catch in my throat. I try to focus on the sounds of the jungle – the soft honking of a bird, the cracks and snaps of branches breaking, the whooping of the monkeys – but all I can think about is the centimetre of skin where our bodies are touching. It’s nothing, something I wouldn’t even notice normally but now, lying on the beach with Milo, it feels like everything.

  My heart sinks as Milo moves his finger, lifting it away from mine, and I curse myself for being so ridiculous, but a split second later he lowers it onto my finger again and, with the smallest of movements, gently moves it back and forth over my skin. I don’t react, I don’t speak, I barely breathe, but inside I feel a rush of excitement and longing that journeys up from my stomach to my chest.

  I can hear Milo breathing, quickly, shallowly and I know I’m not imagining what’s happening between us. This isn’t two friends flirting anymore. The air between us is loaded with tension but I can’t bring myself to turn my head to look at him. I don’t want to break the spell.

  But I want him to kiss me. Right now, I want that to happen more than anything else in the world.

  Still staring up into the dark sky I lift my little finger and slowly, gently curl it around his. I hear him inhale sharply, then he moves his hand over mine, sliding his fingers between mine, moving them slowly back and forth and he rubs his thumb over the back of my hand. As I turn my head to look at him his eyes meet mine and there’s an intensity to his gaze that makes my stomach clench.

  Neither of us smiles or says a word. We just look, as though seeing each other for the very first time.

  Milo shifts onto his side, closing the space between us, and my heart beats so fast it’s as though it’s pulsing in the base of my throat. He’s going to kiss me. He’s finally going to—

  ‘There you are, you loser!’ Danny appears from nowhere and dives onto Milo, spraying me with sand. ‘Oh! You’re here too, Jess. Meg and Honor have gone to bed and I’m bored. Who fancies skinny dipping?’

  Chapter 10

  DANNY

  Day three on the island

  There’s a distinct tang of sick in the air as Danny wakes up, sweating in the clothes he’s been wearing for three days, his sleeping bag pushed down around his hips. He smacks his dry lips together and investigates the unpleasant taste in his mouth with his tongue. Yep, as he suspected, he was the one who was sick. Vague, blurry memories of the night before drift across his mind as he wriggles out of the shelter and crawls over to a bottle of water, covered with sand. He remembers sitting with Honor and Meg at the fire and playing what seemed to be a hilarious game of thumper. He also recalls stumbling along the beach, seeing Milo sitting alone and then jumping on him, only to realize too late that Jessie was lying beside him. Then he remembers stripping off his clothes and running into the sea with Milo. After that? Not very much.

  ‘All right, guys!’ He winces as Jeffers’ strident voice cuts straight through him. He blinks up at him, shielding his eyes from the sun as Jeffers strides out of the jungle, his ‘travel rucksack’ slung over his shoulders. ‘Now that everyone, or nearly everyone, is awake, I thought we should come up with a plan of action.’

  Danny glances back at the shelter. Honor is sitting up, squinting as she runs her hands through her knotted hair. He feels a jolt of hope as she flashes him a smile. He just wants her to love him the way she used to.

  Now, Danny feels someone else’s eyes on him and turns to see Meg walking up from the sea in a black bikini, her dark hair a thick wet rope that hangs down one shoulder. Unlike Milo, who’s always been an open book, his sister’s always been more reserved. Danny and Meg have never been particularly close. She tolerates him in front of the others, and occasionally laughs at his jokes, but he’s seen the looks she gives him when she thinks he’s not looking – like she thinks he’s a dick. She likes Honor, though. Out of the girls, they get on the best, but they couldn’t be more different. If Honor is sweetness and light then Meg is darkness and shade. It’s weird how much they’ve all drifted apart since they were kids. They were all born in London but, while Jessie, Meg and Milo still live there (on opposite sides of the city), the other families all moved away. Jeffers lives in Edinburgh and Danny and Honor live in the South-East – a seventeen-minute train journey away from each other (him in Lewes, her in Brighton).

  He slumps back on the sand, propping himself up on his elbows as Jeffers approaches.

  ‘The first thing we need to do,’ Jefferson says, nudging the charred remains of the fire with his boot, ‘is to keep this going. I did say yesterday that we should take it in turns checking on it through the night but someone,’ he raises his eyebrows at Danny, ‘obviously forgot.’

  Danny grins. ‘I checked on the fire, it said it was fine so I went to sleep.’

  Meg, walking past, snorts in amusement then quickly stifles the sound with her hand.

  ‘I’m not joking,’ Jeffers snaps. ‘We need this fire.’

  ‘But it’s boiling hot!’ Danny snaps back. ‘Even at night. We’re not going to freeze to death.’

  ‘Maybe not but the fire cooks the food, sterilizes the water and keeps animals away. You’re welcome to get bitten by a cobra if you want but I’d rather not take my chances.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Milo’s voice rings out from the shelter. ‘Do we have to talk about snakes?’

  ‘They exist.’ Jeffers crosses his arms over his chest. ‘So do vipers, kraits, tarantulas and black widows. They’re not locked away in zoo cages and we need to be careful.’

  ‘OK, OK.’ Danny holds up his hands in surrender. ‘I get it, I’m sorry. I won’t let the fire go out again.’

  ‘Good. Now let’s get organized. We need to decide who does what. We need one person to collect firewood, one to replenish the water, one to scavenge for food, one to go fishing on the rocks – or in the sea with the spear – and one to mend the net.’

  There’s a brief silence, then Jessie raises her hand.

  ‘I don’t mind what I do.’

  ‘Nor me,’ Meg says.

  As everyone else joins in Jeffers holds up both hands. ‘OK, OK. I’ll decide. Milo, you’re on fruit collecting. Danny, gathering wood. Jessie, you can fish. Honor, mend the net and Meg, you can do water.’

  Danny raises his eyebrows. ‘And what are you going to do?’

  ‘Supervise!’

  ‘Seriously?’ He starts to laugh then stops when he clocks the irritated look in Jefferson’s eyes. ‘Nope, that’s fine, dude. Whatever you say.’

  ‘Stick together!’ Jeffers shouts as Milo and Danny traipse into the jungle, carrying an empty rucksack, Anuman’s machete and an axe. ‘We can’t afford for anyone to get lost.’

  ‘No worries, mate!’ Danny raises a hand in goodbye and then turns to Milo and lowers his voice. ‘He’s getting right on my tits.’

  ‘Ah, give him a break,’ Milo says, then he runs his tongue over his lips. ‘He’s loving this. God, I feel like crap. I think I’m dehydrated.’

  ‘You and me both,’ Danny says. ‘I don’t think I’ve puked as much since Jack Foster’s party in Year 9.’

  ‘I don’t know who that is,
but given how much camp stinks this morning I don’t think I want to know.’

  Danny shifts the axe up and onto his shoulder as Milo leads the way through the tight corridor of trees, hacking at the bushes blocking their route to the clearing. ‘What was going on with you and Jessie on the beach last night?’

  Milo continues to swing the machete. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘You sure about that? You two were lying pretty damned close to each other.’

  ‘Says the guy who was so drunk he fell over us.’

  ‘I didn’t fall, I jumped on you.’

  ‘Dick.’

  They both laugh.

  ‘So?’ Danny asks, refusing to let it drop. ‘Spill.’

  ‘Nothing to spill, man. We’re just friends.’

  ‘Are you sure about that? You looked pretty cosy from where I was standing.’

  ‘Leave it, mate.’ There’s a curtness to Milo’s answer that makes Danny raise his eyebrows. Milo’s definitely fancied Jessie in the past. They had a chat about it one night when they were thirteen, over their first, and last, cigarette. While Danny was coughing his guts out Milo confessed that he’d had a thing for Jessie for a while but thought she wasn’t interested. The next day Danny did a bit of digging via Meg but Milo struck out; Jess wasn’t interested. The last time they all went on holiday together when they were fifteen it all switched round; it was Jessie who had a crush, but Milo was seeing someone from school and was absolutely infatuated with her. It was still going on last summer, when Jessie and her family didn’t show up, although Milo’s not with her anymore.

  ‘Anyway, how are you doing after you dumped whatsher-face… Bella?’ Danny asks Milo as they step into the clearing.

  ‘I’m doing fine, thanks.’

  ‘Meg said you want to get back with her.’

  ‘Meg doesn’t know shit.’ Milo shoots him an annoyed look. ‘I’m going a bit further in for fruit. We’ve pretty much cleared all the trees round here.’

  Before Danny can object, or make a joke about Jeffers telling them off, Milo is gone, ploughing through the jungle, swinging the machete this way and that.

  Danny swipes at his forehead with the back of his hand. It slides across his skin. There doesn’t seem to be a single part of his body that isn’t slick with sweat. After an enthusiastic start – his first few trees felled with half a dozen strokes of the axe – his energy has drained faster than a cheap battery. He feels sick and his head aches and all he wants to do is lie down. Only there’s no way he’s going anywhere near the jungle floor with God knows how many creatures and creepy crawlies hiding under the leaves and moss. He rests his forehead against the nearest tree instead and closes his eyes. It’s ridiculous, really, how much trouble they’re going to when they only have to survive for another four days before their parents send out a search party. Even if they don’t eat another thing between now and then they’ll be fine as long as they all drink enough water.

  But the water needs to be sterilized on the fire.

  He imagines the look on Jefferson’s face if he returns to camp without any wood and, sighing, opens his eyes and reaches down for his axe. As his fingers wrap around the handle he hears a yell, the sound of branches snapping and then a loud thump that shakes the birds from the trees and sends them swooping up into the bright blue sky.

  ‘Help!’ Milo’s yell reaches him from deep in the jungle. ‘Help! Someone, help!’

  Danny, panting and sweating, swipes branches out of his face as he crashes through the jungle, following the sound of Milo’s voice, then gasps in shock as an arm appears from nowhere and smacks him straight in the stomach.

  ‘Careful!’ Jeffers shouts. ‘Or you’ll fall in too.’

  Inches away from Danny’s feet is a huge muddy crater in the jungle floor. It’s at least four feet across in both directions and eight feet deep. Slumped in the bottom, surrounded by broken branches, leaves, moss and jungle vegetation, is Milo. He’s clutching his ankle and breathing shallowly.

  Stepping carefully, Jefferson rounds the hole then crouches down. He shuffles onto his stomach and reaches an arm into the pit. The tips of his fingers graze Milo’s hair, making him yelp in terror.

  ‘It’s OK, it’s OK,’ Jefferson says. ‘It’s just me. Twist round and I’ll pull you up.’

  As Milo turns awkwardly Danny spots something on the other side of the pit that makes him clamp a hand to his mouth. Writhing and twisting against the muddy wall is a cobra. Danny holds his breath as the snake moves part way up the wall then drops back down again. The angle is too sheer but on the other side, where Milo’s hobbling onto his feet, it’s less steep. The snake seems to sense this and slowly slithers its way across the pit.

  ‘Quick, quick,’ Danny mutters as Milo reaches a hand up to Jefferson.

  Jefferson and Milo’s hands meet and Jefferson leans back, taking Milo’s weight. He’s heavier than Jeffers, taller too. ‘You’ve got this,’ he puffs as Milo puts a foot to the wall of the pit.

  As Milo takes another step, with his bad ankle, he cries out in pain and drops back into the pit, almost pulling Jefferson in with him.

  As he lands the snake senses the vibration and slithers closer, leaving an S-shaped imprint in the soft soil.

  Danny presses his other hand to his mouth. The urge to shout, to warn his friend, is almost more than he can bear. He knows how Milo will react. When they were eleven they all went to a zoo and Milo wouldn’t even enter the snake enclosure never mind put one around his neck like everyone else. Danny looks across to Jefferson who waves at him.

  ‘I could do with a hand here!’

  ‘Sure, sure, of course.’

  Keeping his eyes on the snake, Danny carefully navigates the edge of the pit.

  ‘We’ll take a hand each,’ Jefferson says. ‘And pull him out. OK?’

  Danny nods. Standing on this side of the crater he can see why Jefferson isn’t freaking out. You can’t see the snake with Milo in the way.

  ‘Ready?’ Jefferson asks, as he grabs Milo’s right hand and Danny grabs his left. ‘Three, two, one…’

  Danny digs the heels of his flip-flops into the ground and leans back, pulling with all his strength. He can hear Milo’s feet scrabbling against the side of the pit and then boomf, all three of them collapse in a heap on the leafy jungle floor.

  Chapter 11

  JESSIE

  Meg is glaring at us. ‘Could everyone please stop crowding my brother!’

  We are all gathered around Milo, who is sitting by the fire with a wet towel wrapped around his ankle.

  ‘I was picking some mangos,’ he says, looking around the group, ‘and heard this whistling noise. I ignored it at first, I thought it was a bird, but it was… it was very distinct, like someone whistling a tune.’

  ‘It could have been a mynah bird,’ Jefferson says. ‘If there’ve been a lot of visitors here they might have learnt to imitate a human whistle. There was a bird in the market that could speak Thai and—’

  ‘OK, OK,’ Meg says. ‘We get it. You’re an expert on the local flora and fauna. Could you just let him finish his story?’

  ‘I was just looking for a logical explanation and there is one, so…’ Jeffers tails off and shrugs.

  ‘Anyway,’ Milo says, ‘I shouted hello but no one replied, so I headed in the direction of the noise. Next thing I knew I was falling and…’ He spreads his hands wide. ‘Hello, massive great hole.’

  Honor looks puzzled. ‘How did you not see it?’

  ‘Because there wasn’t one! It wasn’t there.’

  ‘How can a hole just appear?’ I ask. Milo turns to look at me. It’s pretty much the first time we’ve made eye contact all day and I feel my cheeks warm. Neither of us has mentioned what nearly happened last night. After Danny interrupted us and suggested skinny dipping, Milo leapt to his feet, ripped off his clothes and ran into the sea without so much as an Are you coming in, Jessie? Not that I would have. As Danny joined him, his naked bum glinting in the moonlight as he ran
into the water, I headed back to the camp. I was still awake when they came back, laughing and chatting and generally dicking about, but I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep.

  If he likes me Milo will lie down next to me, I told myself as he and Danny shuffled around, grabbing clothes and sleeping bags, but Milo didn’t take the space beside me. He lay on the other side of the shelter, beside Danny and Honor.

  ‘There wasn’t a hole,’ Milo says. ‘It didn’t look any different to the rest of the jungle, it was leaves and branches and moss and stuff.’

  ‘It was a trap,’ Jeffers says, closing the book he’s been studying for the last five minutes.

  We all stare at him.

  ‘That hole wasn’t freshly dug. It had probably always been there but someone covered it over.’

  ‘How do you know?’ Meg asks.

  ‘No fresh soil, plants growing in the sides and the base—’

  ‘No, how do you know someone covered it?’

  ‘I had a look after Danny helped Milo back here. There were a load of branches in the bottom and around the sides, all snapped. When I matched them up they were long enough to cover the diameter of the hole. I imagine whoever placed them there covered them with leaves and moss.’

  ‘Maybe it was left by the last lot of guests,’ I say.

  ‘Or,’ Milo catches my eye, ‘we were right and there are other people on the island.’

  ‘What other people?’ Meg looks from her brother to me.

  ‘It’s just speculation,’ I say. ‘We were talking earlier. The island’s so big we thought there might be other people doing the same thing as us, but on the other side of the island.’

  ‘I don’t like that.’ Honor shuffles closer to Danny, who puts an arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. ‘It freaks me out.’

  ‘So we go and see if we can find them,’ Danny suggests. It’s pretty much the first thing he’s said since he got back from the jungle, supporting a limping Milo. Considering Milo was the one who fell into the pit, Danny looked as though he’d seen a ghost.