‘I know the feeling.’ Dan sighs and slumps back down on to the sand.
The Flea looks at me. ‘Maybe we should sing her favourite song?’
‘Say what?’ Dan mutters.
‘It’s what they do to coma patients to try and bring them round,’ the Flea says. ‘I saw it on an episode of World’s Worst Diseases one time. There was this girl who was in a coma after catching alligator AIDS and –’
Dan pokes his head out from under his towel. ‘Catching what ?!’
‘Alligator AIDS.’ The Flea frowns at him. ‘It was World’s Worst Diseases for chrissakes. Anyways, the girl was, like, a massive Beyoncé fan, so her mom made her a playlist on her iPod and she came round by the very next ad break.’
‘I ain’t singing no “Single Ladies”,’ Dan mutters. ‘She’s probably just wiped out after everything that happened to her. I say we let her sleep.’
I look down at Belle. Her face is glistening with sweat, but when I touch her cheek it’s freezing. ‘I don’t know,’ I say, ‘she’s not looking so great. Let’s try sitting her up.’
Cruz helps me prop Belle into a seated position.
‘What’s that smell?’ Belle murmurs.
The hairs on the back of my neck instantly prickle. ‘What smell?’ I stare down at Belle. Can she smell the same strange scent that I do whenever Hortense is near? I take a deep breath in through my nose, but all I can smell is the humid, earthy scent of the rainforest.
‘Beau-Belle!’ the Flea says loudly. ‘Come on, honey, you have to wake up.’ He leans forward and starts shaking her.
Belle’s eyes flicker open.
‘Oh, thank God!’ The Flea smothers her in a hug.
Cruz and I sit back and exchange relieved grins.
‘Well, now you guys have woken her, how about we all go back to sleep?’ Dan grunts from beneath his blanket of towels.
Belle frowns. ‘Why’s it so dark?’
‘Because it’s night time,’ Dan sighs. ‘You know? When most normal folk try and get some sleep.’
‘There’s not much of a moon tonight, hon,’ the Flea says, putting his arm round her.
‘But I can’t . . .’ Belle pushes the Flea away and stares around frantically. ‘I can’t see anything!’
The Flea frowns at her. ‘What do you mean?’
Belle starts trembling, her eyes wide with fear. ‘I can’t see a thing. Oh my God! I’ve gone blind!’
Quick as a flash, Dan is up and out of bed and crouching in front of Belle. ‘What do you mean, you can’t see anything?’
‘Exactly what I said!’ Belle stares at him blankly, looking terrified.
The Flea grabs hold of her hand. ‘It’s me, Jimmy. I’m right here, honey. It’s okay.’ He turns and looks at me, panic-stricken.
I lean forward and take hold of Belle’s other hand. ‘You can’t see anything?’ I look up at the sky. A crescent moon is suspended above us, glowing pearly white. ‘Try looking up. Can you see the moonlight?’
Belle tilts her head back and blinks hard. ‘No.’ Her voice begins to tremble. ‘What’s happened to me?’
I glance at Cruz. He’s frowning. ‘I think maybe it is to do with the trauma you have been through,’ he says to Belle softly. ‘Sometimes our bodies can, you know, shut down when we have had a shock. As a kind of protection.’
Belle shakes her head. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ She grips on to the Flea’s hand. ‘It doesn’t make sense, does it, Jimmy? How would going blind protect me?’
But the Flea is nodding. ‘He could be right, hon. I’m sure I saw something like this one time on Real Life Emergency Room. There was this girl who’d been in a terrible car crash and she became mute because she was so traumatised at –’
‘I just want to see!’ Belle yells, wrenching her hand from his. ‘I just – want – to – see.’ She hunches over and starts to sob.
The Flea stares at her, distraught. ‘I’m sorry. I was only trying to make you feel better.’
Belle just keeps on crying.
I look up to the top of the beach where the dark silhouette of the rainforest looms like a huge open mouth waiting to devour us. Anger floods my body. I leap to my feet.
The Flea frowns at me. ‘What’s up, Gracie?’
But I can’t answer him – not without telling them everything about Hortense and freaking Belle out even more.
‘I have to go do something,’ I say, avoiding eye contact with Cruz. ‘I’ll be right back.’
I start running up the beach, ignoring the others as they call after me. My heart is pounding with fear, but anger forces me to keep going. Belle was abducted and now she’s gone blind. Jenna, Cariss, Ron and Todd are drifting in a beat-up boat somewhere in the middle of the ocean – and all because of some stupid spell that I somehow managed to trigger. Why can’t you just leave the others alone? I yell at Hortense in my head. If I’m the one you want then go ahead and take me. I don’t care any more. Just leave the others be.
‘Grace?’ Cruz races up the beach behind me and grabs my shoulder. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m going to find her,’ I gasp, trying to catch my breath. ‘I’ve got to end this.’
Cruz pulls me round to face him. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Hortense.’ I lower my voice to a whisper so the others can’t hear. ‘She must have made Belle go blind. We thought it was over – but it’s not. And it won’t be until I go to her. I’m the one she wants. I’m the one who triggered her dumb spell.’
Cruz shakes his head. ‘No. It is not you. It is not your fault.’
‘But Hortense wants me . I don’t know why . . . but that’s why we’re all here. That’s why we got shipwrecked. She said so. I’m sick of seeing other people get hurt.’ I start marching up towards the forest.
Cruz runs in front of me to block my path.
‘Get out of the way.’ I’m so mad that for a second I actually feel like shoving him.
He shakes his head. ‘No.’
‘You have to let me go.’
‘Let you go to her ? Are you crazy?’ His eyes are filled with concern. ‘I saved your life, remember? And that means that I am responsible for you forever. So, no can do .’
I think back to the moment on the boat when I was about to drown and Cruz pulled me to safety. And I think of everything he has done for me since. And my anger starts to fade. Tiredness rushes into its place.
I sigh. ‘Dammit, Cruz! Why d’you have to play that one?’
He starts to smile. ‘Come here.’
I frown at him. ‘What do you mean? I am here.’
He opens his arms. ‘I mean right here.’
I step into his arms and, as I do, the insanity of what I was planning hits me. How would tearing into