The Last Resort(44)

Amelia has made it back up from the bay, rosy-cheeked but otherwise unscathed. ‘I think Brenda’s right,’ she says. ‘There’s no point in us sitting around here, is there? Harvey told me we’re nearly there.’ She taps her watch. ‘Can we have some directions, please?’

‘Oh, please,’ Lucy says. ‘This is ridiculous. We can’t just keep going. I don’t understand what the hell is going on here.’

The beep that always comes before a hologram cuts her off.

‘Oh, great,’ Scott says, snapping another branch. ‘Which one of us is getting humiliated next? Maybe I should just jump off this cliff and be done with it.’

Lucy feels a wave of nausea. She’d forgotten about the memory projections. None of them are immune from the reveals, are they? She tries to make light of what Scott has said. ‘Got something juicy to share, have you?’

‘I doubt it’s as juicy as yours, lady. The more I look at you, the more I see some sort of heartless deviant just itching to burst out.’

Lucy is trying her best to laugh as the holographic letters appear in front of her. Her own secret, the one she desperately hopes is never revealed, is momentarily pushed out of her mind. She turns away, looking at the sky to get the clearest view.

THINGS HAVE NOT GONE TO PLAN, BUT PLEASE DO NOT PANIC. YOUR FRIENDS ARE SAFE, AND YOU WILL BE TOO. IT’S NOT MUCH FURTHER, AND WE HAVE SOME SURPRISES IN STORE THAT WILL MAKE ALL OF THIS WORTH IT.

PLEASE SEPARATE INTO GROUPS AS DETAILED BELOW, AND THEN FOLLOW THE MAP ALLOCATED TO YOU. YOU CAN ACCESS IT AGAIN ANYTIME – YOU JUST NEED TO ASK. REMEMBER, THIS IS A TAILORED EXPERIENCE – DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT . . . OR NEED. WE WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY.

AGAIN, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS. THEY ARE SAFE.

TRUST US.

. . .

. . .

THE GROUPS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

. . .

. . .





SCOTT AND BRENDA


. . .

. . .





LUCY AND AMELIA


. . .

. . .

JAMES – PLEASE SPEND SOME TIME ON YOUR OWN.

. . .

. . .

THE MAPS ARE AS FOLLOWS . . .

A series of maps appears on the screen, each one showing the sandy bay and the stony inlet where they are now, and on the other side of the island, somewhere that seems still so far away, something labelled as ‘the big house’. Although it doesn’t look particularly big, but perhaps the map isn’t really to scale.

Lucy blinks as the holographic image fades. ‘Interesting selection of groups.’

James has been isolated, which is a bit worrying as there’s something about him that seems too good to be true, and Lucy’s spidey-senses have been tingling for some time now. They’ve put her with Amelia, the person she’s spent the least time talking to so far, probably to see what happens when there’s no one else there to distract them. She looks across at Amelia, with her khaki shorts and her neat, shiny hair. She reminds her of one of those hardcore Girl Guides – the ones who knew how to read maps and could find their way back to the tent when orienteering.

Amelia shakes her head. ‘This is wrong. Scott and Brenda are the weakest.’

‘Excuse me,’ Brenda says, standing up straight. ‘There is nothing weak about me, young lady. If I’m not very light on my feet today, it’s because of this damn heat, and the shock of everything that’s gone on – but I am certainly not weak, and I am more than capable of dealing with this oaf.’ She nods her head towards Scott, who is staring at her open-mouthed.

Lucy can’t control her laughter. ‘Glad to have you back, Brenda. Thought we’d lost you.’ She gives Brenda a double thumbs up, then turns to Amelia. ‘Come on then, let’s go.’

‘Wait,’ James says. He puts a hand on her shoulder, and she automatically shrugs him off. She’s not OK with people touching her without permission. Not much with permission either, come to think of it. ‘I don’t really need to spend time on my own,’ he says. ‘I could just tag along with either of the groups—’

‘Big Brother is watching, Jamesy. He’s got some sort of plan.’ Scott stands up, testing his bad ankle. ‘Personally, I would also not describe myself as weak. So why don’t you girls run along, and we’ll see you later on when we get the next set of instructions . . . mmmm-k?’

Amelia’s face has turned bright red, and it’s not from sunburn. ‘I’m sorry, I—’

‘Save it, lady.’ He turns to Brenda. ‘What say you and me show these kids how it’s done, huh? I’m already thinking of a few things I’m going to ask for. The first being a top-up of this water bottle. Those cocktails were nice and all, but this water is something else. Don’cha think?’

Brenda shakes her head, but she’s smiling. Scott offers her his arm and she takes it, and the two of them shuffle off up the hill, in the direction their map had pointed them in.

‘Piss off then, James,’ Lucy says. ‘I’m starting to think this might be a race, and I’m not losing out to you or those two crazies.’ She tips her head towards Scott and Brenda, still close enough to have heard her, and Scott curls his spare arm around his back and gives her the finger.