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The helicopter flew past. It had missed them.

‘Stop... wait! No!’ Her voice was becoming hoarse from all her futile screaming into the sky. But she couldn’t let it go yet – she couldn’t face it. It was unbearable, the idea that rescue had been so close by, and yet so far out of reach.

Neither could she. But it was true: it hadn’t spotted them, despite their screams and cries and waves. The forest must have been too dense to make them out through the canopy; the sound of the helicopter’s blades too thunderous for their voices to carry over it.

She stopped her frantic pacing, reached for a nearby tree trunk, brushed some brightly coloured beetles off its surface, then leaned her back against it and sobbed.

She was too hot with her anorak on – it had been providing useful protection against the sharp branches as she walked, but she needed her skin to breathe now.

She peeled it off and tied it around her waist, then let her body sink to the ground.

She was devastated. To have her hopes raised and dashed like that – it was almost worse than never having hope in the first place.

Naya felt a hand on her shoulder, turned her face upwards to see Scott looking down at her, his eyes full of disappointment; of the despair she knew was mirrored in her own expression.

They’d drifted away from Carly and Mira now; they were alone, with no one’s eyes on them.

Without saying anything, she stood up and moved into his arms, aware that the top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulder.

She let him hold her like this while she cried.

After a long moment, she pulled back, looked up at him.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ve got your T-shirt all wet.’

‘No worries,’ he said. ‘Any time.’ His eyes were still on her face; she saw them move towards her mouth. She felt a stirring in her belly, lower. She tilted her face upwards.

‘We shouldn’t,’ Naya whispered, even as everything in her body was screaming that they should. ‘I – apart from everything else that makes this a bad idea, I took a test last night, and I’m—’ Why am I telling him this?

‘Naya? You’re... what?’

‘I’m pregnant,’ she blurted. A flicker of shock passed across Scott’s features; she opened her mouth to tell him more. ‘And—’

‘Ah, sorry to disturb you two.’ At the sound of Carly’s voice, Naya pulled back from Scott’s arms, embarrassed.

She hadn’t even finished her sentence – and there was so much more she wanted to say.

‘But we should really get going again – we’ve only got so much daylight left, and chasing after that bloody helicopter has taken us right off track again. ’

Carly sounded breathless and a little irritated; Naya couldn’t blame her – they’d left her alone with Mira, who was still struggling to walk without help. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Sorry – let’s keep walking.’

Scott did his calculations again, using the map and the sun as their guide. Then they set off again in the direction they’d worked out was directly south – taking them back to The Hideaway, out of the rainforest.

‘Let me support Mira for a while,’ Naya said, taking Mira’s arm from where Carly was holding it and resting it gently around her shoulder. ‘I’ve got a little more energy now, and you could do with a rest, I think.’

‘Thanks, hun,’ said Carly. ‘You’re right, I’m flagging now – we all are.’

‘Just a bit longer now, hopefully,’ said Scott. ‘As long as we don’t get off track again, we should be back at the lodge soon enough.’

Naya desperately hoped he was right. She was still devastated that the helicopter had missed them. But in amongst her despair, she noticed, there was something else: a quiet sigh of relief.

You’re safer now.

She prodded at her thoughts, wondered where that had come from.

I feel safer without Ben.

That was it. Something in her had lightened, eased a little since Ben had left the group; since he’d turned and disappeared into the depths of the jungle. If she were honest with herself, she felt better without him there.

It was still difficult to believe that he’d murdered Hannah – killed her with a blow to the head, dragged her body into the jungle, left her there to rot under the dense canopy of trees.

She couldn’t believe anyone could do that.

But too many signs were pointing to his guilt; too many things about him were just. .. off .

Naya’s foot caught on a fallen branch and she stumbled forward, stopping herself at the last second from landing flat on her face and taking Mira down with her.

Her exhaustion, low-level nausea, the lack of water to drink – combined with the shock of everything they’d been through – it was all working together to chip away at her resilience, and, it seemed, her sense of balance.

Shoving her way through the trees, attempting to half-carry, half-prop up Mira as she went – it had only been ten minutes of walking, and already she was exhausted, in desperate need of a rest.

‘You all right, Naya?’ said Scott. ‘We can take a break for a minute, if you need – and let me walk with Mira now.’

‘Ah, yes, you know, I’d appreciate that,’ said Naya. ‘I’m struggling a little, I have to admit.’

‘I’m sorry, Naya,’ Mira’s face was stricken. ‘I’m sorry for all of you, that you have to help me like this.’ She was close to tears.

Naya moved to face Mira, held onto her shoulders as she said, ‘Please, I don’t want you to apologize for anything. We are all taking care of each other out here, OK?’

Mira gave her a watery smile and moved to Scott, let him take her weight. Naya took a moment to enjoy the sensation of lightness; she stretched out her hands, her arms. She had needed that; her body had started to complain, but she hadn’t wanted to say anything, hadn’t wanted to let Mira down.

At ease now, her energy coming back, she took the knife from Scott and moved ahead of the other three, doing her best to clear the way through trees and foliage for the others, cutting at the leaves to one side to help them pass more easily.

After a few minutes, as she got into her stride, she started to walk a little further ahead from the group, checking behind her every few steps to make sure they were close by.

As she walked, she tuned into the sounds of the jungle: the rasping of tree frogs, the calls of toucans and the rhythmic hum of cicadas. For all of the horrors of the past day, there was no denying this was a magical place.

But as she listened now, she realized there was something else: a new sound, a different one. Not the chopper this time, but something else that made her chest swell with hope.

Something was moving; rushing past them.

Was it... had they reached a road?

Were those cars whizzing by?

Had they somehow, against all the odds, stumbled along blindly in exactly the right direction? She heard it again; louder now, and clearer.

Oh my God, we are saved.

She had to get to it. This could be it, their chance of rescue – to get Mira the medical help she needed, to call the emergency services, have the police find Hannah’s body and get her out of the jungle.

To help Naya and Scott and Carly get back home, without dehydrating or succumbing to heat exhaustion.

‘Hey, guys, do you hear that?’ Naya called out behind her. ‘I can hear cars – I think we’ve found a road!’

She started to move more quickly now, her tiredness and thirst pushing her forward, propelling her faster, if anything, rather than holding her back.

She could hear the others calling after her, urging her to take care, to slow down, be careful not to trip and fall, but it was as if she couldn’t hear them, it was as if Naya could only run towards the source of this sound – this beautiful, hopeful roar, which was getting louder with every step she took, with every dense chunk of leaves and vines she pushed through.

But she didn’t care; it didn’t matter what they told her – nothing would stop her from running.

Naya was fighting back sobs of joy, of excitement.

Of elation. They were going to be out of here; they’d be saved.

They would be free. She could get out of this place, and she’d be the one to help the others get out too.

As she bolted on, her mind whirred through a hastily made plan.

She’d flag down a passing car for help, ask for a ride to the nearest police station, tell them everything – everything she knew.

And they’d help her then, wouldn’t they?

Even though she had no phone on her now, and maybe not enough money in her bank account to pay for a new flight home – they’d be able to cover that, wouldn’t they, when she explained the situation?

When she told them how much she needed to get out of Costa Rica; back home, back to her babies.

Bursting forward now, the sound so close, so loud, she could see the trees starting to thin out – there was something behind them, there was an end to them. She was almost there – she’d almost made it to the road!

Carving through the last thicket of branches and vines, she burst into the open air, exhilarated, breathless, ready to start waving at cars passing by, flagging down help.

When she saw what was in front of her, the disappointment slammed into her like a breaking dam; the knife fell from her hand to the ground.

This was not a road. It was a river; a stream, rushing by. She’d mistaken the sound of the current for the sound of cars.

How could I have been so stupid?

A wave of dizziness, of nausea, of raging disappointment, swept through the length of her body.

Feeling the bile start to rise at the back of her throat, she took off her backpack, crouched down, dipped her head into her hands and took the deepest breath she could manage: in through her nose, out through her mouth.

In through her nose, out through her mouth.