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Steph turned slowly on the spot, scanning their surroundings. It seemed that Michael had gained enough air back in his lungs to similarly do what he thought prudent. Steph put her hands on her hips and looked at the other two.

“So what do we do now?” she asked. “Calum and Martina are still back there.”

Michael looked at Kelvin. Kelvin looked at the branches above him. Steph could see his mind whirring as he looked at nothing in particular. You could see up to the sky through the leaves above but it was merely a grey canvas. Nothing worth distracting oneself about. She assumed that was the point. With nothing to look at, Kelvin could focus on his thoughts. He lowered his head and looked at them both.

“We get to safety.”

“What?” Steph spat. “What about the others?”

“They’re both in the house. I’m sure Calum will have told Martina by now and they are both taking the necessary precautions. Roger seems to know how to look after himself. Besides, objectively speaking, they are in a better position to try and ensure our safety than we can help them. We have no weapons,” Kelvin looked across to Michael who nodded ruefully. “We also have no radio and no idea where exactly the lion is. On the other hand, Martina has access to the tranquillizers, hasvideo surveillance and only has to worry about the lion.”

“What do you mean by ‘only has to worry about the lion’? That thing is killing people!”

“Yes, but we are currently out in the enclosure with all the other animals that, if my memory serves me correctly, are also capable of killing and are – as you made very clear – not behaving in a normal way as we have not quite got the balance of the place right yet!”

He had a point. Steph knew it. It didn’t sit right with her, but she knew what he said was all true and that, despite her gut feeling that they should be doing something to help the others, the evidence suggested they were the ones in more immediate danger.

“Look,” Kelvin continued, his voice softening now he had more breath back in his lungs, “If we can get to a cabin, at least we will have four walls around us, some food and there will be a radio transmitter so we can get in contact with Davey or Martina to make sure things are all right.”

“Fine,” Steph sighed. “So which direction?”

Michael pulled a small battered-looking plastic compass from his pocket. He must have clocked the look Steph gave him because he smiled wistfully and said,

“My dad gave it to me when I joined the Scouts as a kid.”

He went back to studying it, turning himself slightly to his right.

“I would suggest that we go this way,” he said pointing. “There’s not much in it between Thomas’s place and Roger’s. However, this way tends to keep us further away from the cave bear’s territory.”

“Isn’t it all his territory?” Steph snorted.

“Well, yeah, but there is less going on for him in that direction, generally speaking.”

“Oh good, so it is just all the other big animals that will bethere trying to stay out of its way.”

Michael shrugged and began walking. Kelvin, without looking at Steph or even acknowledging her points, walked after Michael in the way one would a paid guide.

Steph looked down at the ground, swore and followed the other two.

THIRTY

The ground was wet still from the previous night’s rain. Steph was glad to be wearing her hiking boots and not caught short in trainers. It was a minor victory in the circumstances but at least her feet were dry. Kelvin seemed to have a harder time avoiding slipping and every so often would have to grab a tree trunk to steady himself. He was more at ease when they walked through stretches in the open through long grass, although he did little to mask his mutterings as he looked down at his sodden brown leather loafers.

Some wild boar briefly crossed their path at one point, but other than that, Steph was surprised they had not come across anything else. Maybe it was the displacement of the lion; news spreading around the animals in the area to make themselves scarce. It didn’t lessen Steph’s unease.

They were all visibly relieved when Thomas’s cabin came into view, their shoulders relaxing. The door was shut, and for the first time, Steph considered the question ‘what if it was locked?’

Michael went up to the door handle and pulled it down. The door clicked open.

“Sums Thomas up,” Kelvin sighed. “All panic and no thought!”

Steph wondered what had been said to him when he left his cabin, but it must have been enough to inhibit his usual habit loops.

Both Kelvin and Steph were about to walk inside when Michael held out a hand and turned a silencing finger towards them. Steph instantly felt her heartbeat increase. What had he heard? She took an instinctive step back and glanced over her shoulder. There was nothing there. Nothing but distant trees, bushes and overgrown grass.

Michael went inside. Steph let him go. Kelvin did the same.Neither felt it necessary to risk themselves. Once again, Steph felt a small pang of shame in her chest.

They needn’t have worried; a minute later a light flicked on, contrasting with the dimming afternoon light under a sky which had dropped to a darker shade of grey.