TWENTY

Hex made no sound when the scalpel went in, but his whole body stiffened. Quickly, Paulo drew the blade down through the crusted scab and the pus spurted out. Hex bit his lip and flung his head from side to side. His eyes were glazed with pain and the tendons stood out in his neck.

'Nearly over,' said Paulo, dropping the scalpel blade into the bowl of antiseptic. He picked up the hot poultice and pressed it over the newly opened wound. 'That is it. All done.'

Hex groaned and relaxed into the bed. His forehead was beaded with sweat and he was pale under his tan. 'Remind me to do the same for you some time,' he panted, glaring at Paulo.

'That was so gross,' said Amber faintly.

'But it's over,' said Hex. 'It'll get better now.' He looked up at the others, gathered around his bed. 'Won't it?'

This was the moment they had been dreading. They all looked down at Hex and nobody knew what to say. Finally, Alex spoke. 'Keeping the wound clean will help,' he said, carefully.

'But…?' said Hex, narrowing his eyes. 'I hear a "but".'

'But komodos have a lot of bacteria on their teeth,' said Li softly. 'Some of those bacteria are pretty bad. They can lead to septicaemia.'

'Blood poisoning,' said Hex quietly. He looked straight at Alex. 'Am I going to get better?'

'Not without antibiotics,' said Alex.

'Do you have antibiotics in your kit?' asked Hex.

'No.'

Hex nodded, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'But we're going to get some,' continued Alex, firmly. 'Tonight we rest up because at dawn tomorrow, we're leaving the camp. We're going to trek across to the other side of the island-'

'To the all-night pharmacy?' interrupted Hex. 'Come on, Alex. I'm too old for bed-time stories. This island is uninhabited.'

'It is now,' agreed Alex. 'But what about in the war? Think about it! We already found one Japanese soldier. I reckon he was up there on look-out duty. He had the radio to keep in touch with the rest of his unit.'

'So there must have been other soldiers on the island,' said Paulo.

'Exactly! I think they might have had a base or a camp of some sort on the other side of the island. There could be another radio. There could be medical supplies. Antibiotics-'

'Did they have antibiotics then?' asked Hex.

'Yeah, sure they did,' said Amber confidently. 'Penicillin, definitely.'

'They'll be a bit past their sell-by date,' said Hex, but there was a flicker of hope in his eyes.

'Li has already worked out the best route,' said Alex. 'Want to talk us through it, Li?'

'OK. We had a good view of the lie of the land when we were up on the headland the other day. Remember, Amber?'

Amber nodded, although it all seemed a long time ago.

'We can't skirt the coast,' continued Li. 'There are mangrove swamps beyond this lagoon, both ways. Besides, it would take too long. I – I mean-' She stumbled to a halt, glancing quickly at Hex, then away again. 'What I mean is, we wouldn't do it in a day that way.'

'So where do we go?' asked Paulo. 'Through the rainforest?'

'Again, that would take more than a day, and it's very easy to get lost when you can't see more than a few metres ahead. We could end up going in circles. No, I think the best way is up. We should get out of the rainforest onto the lower slopes as soon as we can, then work our way round the eastern shoulder of the mountain to the other side. That way we can see where we're going and the distance is much shorter.'

'Any climbing?' asked Paulo.

'It's mostly just hard walking. There is one outcrop curving all the way round the shoulder to the other side, but I think I could free-climb that, then anchor the rope for the rest of you. Remember, Amber? The way we did it?'

'Yeah. That was OK,' said Amber.

'But we can't just abandon the camp and the signal fire,' said Hex.

'We'll leave a marker arrow, pointing the way we go,' said Alex.

'But we could split up,' insisted Hex. 'Amber could stay here with me until the rest of you come back.'

Alex nodded. He had been expecting this question. The truth was that Hex only had enough time left for a one-way trip, but that was not the answer Alex gave.

'It's not safe to split up,' he said, smoothly. 'Not with komodos hunting in this part of the island. Besides, it's going to take four of us to carry the stretcher.'

'Stretcher?' said Hex. 'You think I'll need a stretcher?'

Alex could have kicked himself. They had decided to keep quiet about how quickly the blood poisoning would develop. Now here he was shooting his mouth off about stretchers. He forced himself to grin down at Hex.

'You mean you don't want to be carried in state around the island, watching the rest of us sweat?'

'I'm not that sick,' said Hex, glaring up at them from fever-bright eyes. 'I'll walk. I'm not too sick to walk. Am I?'

'No,' lied Alex, 'but it would be better to rest that leg.' He started getting to his feet but Hex reached out and caught his wrist in a hard grip.

'You haven't said it yet,' said Hex.

'Said what?' asked Alex.

'Come on,' said Hex, still gripping Alex's wrist. 'Say what you always say. Look me in the eye and tell me I'll live.'

Alex looked down at Hex. He was not sure he could make such a promise. He knew how bad the odds were for Hex. This trek across the island was a desperate measure, but anything was better than sitting back in camp and watching him die. The chances of finding another radio or a cache of usable penicillin were remote, but it was Hex's only hope. Alex concentrated on that hope and pushed everything else to the back of his mind.

'You'll live,' he said, looking Hex squarely in the eye.

'And you always keep your word. Right, Alex?'

'Right,' said Alex.

While Paulo nursed Hex, the rest of them spent the hour or so left before nightfall getting ready for the trek. Amber and Li boiled up water and collected fruit. There was no point in keeping the remains of the komodo tail – meat went off too quickly in the tropical heat – so they buried it well away from the camp. Alex cut a couple of strong, fibrous vines and sat by the fire, splitting and plaiting them into one long and four short lengths of rope.

They worked in silence, each wrapped in their own thoughts. Every now and then one of them would stare out to sea or search the sky, but no rescuers appeared and slowly the hope that their SOS signal had been picked up began to fade.

By the time the sun began to sink below the horizon, the camp was neat and tidy and the two rucksacks were packed, ready for the morning. Everyone had showered under the bamboo aqueduct and their socks were laid out in a row on the bench in front of the fire to dry. Alex looked around and nodded. He only had one more thing to do, but he had to wait until Hex was asleep first.

'How're you doing?' he asked, moving over to Hex's bed.

'I'm still here,' said Hex, struggling up onto his elbows. His face was flushed and his shirt was soaked with sweat. He grimaced with pain as Paulo gently removed the poultice and checked the wound. The swelling was beginning to spread up the leg and the whole area was red and angry-looking. The poultice had absorbed a lot of the poison, but the cut was full of pus and there was a bad smell coming off it. Paulo looked at Alex and shook his head before going off to make a new poultice.

'Time for some more aspirin,' said Alex, reaching for his survival tin.

'How am I doing?' asked Hex, after he had swallowed the tablets.

'Great,' lied Alex. 'Looking good.'

Alex took the first watch. One by one the other three smeared fresh coconut oil over any exposed skin and climbed, yawning into their beds. Alex sat by the fire, piling green branches onto the flames to create a protective haze of smoke against mosquitoes. He was waiting for Hex to fall asleep. The sun had set and the sudden, tropical night had arrived before he was finally sure.