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There was a beat of silence, and then: ‘Oh, mon Dieu ,’ said Naya, crouching to the ground.

She barked a short laugh. ‘Scott’s right.

We’ve gone wrong somewhere. We’ve been walking in the wrong direction for ages, haven’t we?

Well, I’m ready for a break anyway. Can we stop here for a bit and have a rest and a snack? ’

‘For fuck’s sake,’ Ben said. ‘Gone wrong? This is all we need.’

‘But... we can’t have,’ said Carly, looking crestfallen.

‘I could have sworn...’ She sighed. ‘OK, maybe it’s a good idea to have a break and get our energy back up.

I mean, I hope you’re wrong, Scott, but in case I’ve messed up, I’m – I’m really sorry, everyone.

’ Scott took in her flushed face; she was clearly embarrassed – he offered her a sympathetic smile.

‘Do you... think... are we... lost?’ breathed Mira.

‘No, no, I’m sure we’re not lost ,’ said Naya. ‘Hannah’s property isn’t that big, is it? What, a few hundred acres – you can’t go missing in that, can you?’

Scott blurted it out before he could stop himself: ‘The rainforest isn’t like other land, though. The density of the trees, the foliage... you can get lost in a pretty small area. Much smaller than this...’ He tailed off as he caught the look of alarm crossing Mira’s face.

‘Scott’s exaggerating,’ said Carly, walking towards him and Mira, reaching an arm out to rest on Mira’s shoulder. He frowned; why did she keep dismissing him like this? I’m not an idiot.

‘Mira, look at me,’ Carly was saying. ‘We’re not going to get lost. We just need to—’

‘Hey, shush for a minute – can you hear that?’ said Naya.

The group went quiet; Scott tuned in, listened. He heard the same blend of sounds he’d heard every time he was in the forest: trills, calls, squeaks and birdsong.

‘Hear what?’ asked Carly.

‘No, I don’t hear anything different than usual,’ said Ben. ‘What is it?’

‘I’m not sure. Maybe I was imagining it. But I heard a different kind of... humming.’ The group fell silent again.

‘Oh, yes, actually,’ said Mira. ‘I think I do – like a... swarm of insects... somewhere nearby?’

And then, maybe it was a change in the direction of the breeze, or his ears just tuned in all of a sudden, but Scott caught wind of it too: coming from through the forest a little way off the track to their left.

It was the sound of flies, but with an unusual quality to it, as though hundreds – even thousands – of buzzing insects were gathering in the same place.

‘I hear it too now. I wonder what it is,’ he said. ‘Do you think it’s one of those plants that attracts swarms of insects? It might be quite unusual.’

‘And can you see that – above the trees there?’ said Naya. ‘Looks like a group of birds – are they... they look like vultures, don’t you think?’

‘Oh God, do you think they’re all swarming around a dead animal or something?’ said Ben, wrinkling his nose.

Carly grimaced. ‘I have no idea what it is, but I really don’t want to find out. Can we keep moving, please?’

‘I’m going to check it out,’ said Naya. ‘An animal might be injured or dying – we can’t just let it suffer.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Mira. ‘Shouldn’t we just let nature take its course?’

‘Exactly,’ muttered Ben. ‘What can you even do for a dying animal?’

Naya looked at him as though he’d just landed from another planet.

‘We can put it out of its pain and misery,’ she said. Then she turned and began to step away from the track towards the dense foliage.

Scott watched her in surprise. She really is a dark horse, isn’t she? He was shocked she had the stomach for whatever might be over there – Ben was right, of course, that it could be a rotting carcass.

‘Naya, hold on a minute – you don’t even know how far away it is,’ he called. ‘You might wander too far from the track—’

‘No, I won’t. Listen, it’s coming from just here, the other side of these branches – I’ll be back in a sec. Ben, give me the knife, so I can cut through the bush here.’

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ said Ben, under his breath but loud enough that Scott heard him. ‘I’m coming too, I’ll use the knife – hold on.’

Scott was torn: he didn’t want to lose track of the path – even if it wasn’t taking them back to the house, it was, at least, a travelled route.

But, like Naya, he was curious about the source of the buzzing, and he didn’t want to somehow lose her and Ben if they wandered too far off.

He made the call. ‘Mira, stay here with Carly – we’ll be right back,’ he said, gently walking her over to Carly.

‘Wait for me,’ he called, pushing into the trees.

‘Guys, hang on – this might not be the best idea!’ Carly’s voice was already disappearing behind them. ‘Can’t you just come back?’

As he shoved his way through the bushes, Scott thought Carly might be right: the growth here was thick and dense.

He saw Ben ahead, slashing with the knife, trying to chop his way through the vines and branches in front of them – as sharp as it was, this would still be difficult work.

‘Guys, hold up,’ he said. ‘Let me go first – I can clear the way for us.’

‘Ah, yes, actually – if you don’t mind. It’s hard to push through some of this.’

Shoving his way past the two of them, taking the knife from Ben as he passed, Scott pressed forward, slashing at giant leaves and thick vines, twisting branches out of their way.

With every step he took, he stopped to listen out for the buzzing noise, checking they were moving in the right direction.

It was getting louder now, and the vultures were almost directly overhead – they must be close.

‘Ugh, do you smell that?’ said Naya from close to his shoulder.

Scott sniffed the air; and then it hit him too. Something acrid – pungent. Something rotting. He stopped in his tracks. ‘OK, definitely a dead animal, then – it’s got to be more than just injured to give off that smell,’ said Scott. ‘Maybe we don’t actually need to see it, if it’s already—’

But as the words came out of his mouth, Scott realized it was too late.

The buzzing was overwhelming now; there was no turning back.

They’d happened upon whatever creature was producing the throng of insects, and the stink.

He stumbled to a stop; Naya almost slammed into the back of him, would have done if he hadn’t thrust an arm behind him to stop her – to hold her back from what was lying on the ground in front of him. He looked down at his feet, took it in.

A combination of shock, terror and bile rose in Scott’s throat.

And then a panic – an urgency – don’t let the others see.

He turned around, blocked Ben and Naya’s path; realized, too late, that they’d seen what he’d seen – they’d caught sight of what was on the ground.

The scream that erupted a millisecond later from Naya’s mouth was one of the most painful sounds Scott had ever heard: terror, horror, revulsion.

‘Oh my God, oh my God – what the fuck!’ Ben yelled. He crouched down to the floor, clamped his hands around his mouth. There were tears streaming down his face.

Scott squatted next to the thing on the ground in front of them.

They’d been wrong: it wasn’t an animal. Or at least, not the kind they’d been imagining.

He wanted to protect them from it – he wanted to stop them from seeing it.

They shouldn’t have to look at this – at her.

This would hurt them; it would scar them for life.

‘Don’t go any closer – Ben, Naya, please. Let’s go – turn around, and get out of here,’ he said.

‘It’s – is that – oh my God,’ said Naya, stumbling over her words, turning around to retch into the ground. She’d almost said what he’d been thinking, but he’d fallen short: he couldn’t find the words.

Because how could he say it?

How could he say that the dead thing in front of them was human?