shouted Ethan.
They took off down the path.
‘You climbed up that?’ said Johnny, glancing up at the cliff face rising above them. ‘You’re more of an idiot than I thought!’
‘You didn’t give me much choice,’ said Ethan as they raced onto the beach. The crunching of the pebbles and sand underfoot sounded like they were running over Rice Krispies.
Ethan took off his bergen, dropped it to the ground and opened it. He pulled out two large square packages and handed them to Johnny. Then he glanced at the sea. It was dark and oily and he could see the white crests of waves falling into each other. The sky was a thick canvas of black, speckled with stars and flecked with cloud, the moon high. Out there, he thought, is a submarine coming to lift me off this island. Is any of this really happening?
But there was no time to think about that now. Ethan turned to see Johnny opening one of the packages.
‘These are the canoes,’ he said. ‘Rip that one open, will you?’
Ethan knelt down and tore open the other package. He pulled out what looked like a bundle of tightly packed, rubberized canvas. ‘Please don’t tell me we have to blow these up ourselves,’ said Ethan.
Johnny laughed. ‘Automatic inflation,’ he said. ‘Like a life raft. They’re up in seconds. Pull that tab there.’
Ethan looked where Johnny pointed and saw a yellow strap. He pulled it hard and the canoe ballooned in front of him as air rippled through it.
‘Cool, eh?’ said Johnny. ‘Now put these together.’
He handed Ethan a pouch and opened another himself.
‘Paddles,’ he said. ‘They clip together like tent poles. See?’ He held up a finished paddle.
‘You look so proud.’ Ethan watched his friend clip together the remaining poles from the pouch to form a second paddle.
‘It’s the little things that keep me happy,’ said Johnny; then he stood up and pulled something from his own bergen. ‘I’m going to secure the area,’ he said.
‘Are they the Claymores?’ Ethan asked, having clipped together the poles in his own pouch to make two further paddles.
‘Yes. Nasty mix of explosive and ball bearings. If anyone comes in as we’re escaping, they’ll trigger them. Just be sure to look the other way if they go off. It’s not a pretty sight.’
‘Thanks for the advice,’ said Ethan, hoping he wouldn’t get to see one of the things in action.
Johnny ran off across the beach, keeping as low as he could. He set the Claymores and was back in a couple of minutes. Ethan wondered how he made everything look so easy, but as he came back, pebbles and sand exploded in a line across the canoes.
‘Down!’ Johnny screamed, and jumped on Ethan, throwing him to the ground.
Only then did Ethan hear the gunfire. ‘Someone’s shooting at us!’ he yelled.
‘Just keep your head down!’ Johnny shouted back.
Another strafe of bullets zipped past, and Johnny rolled Ethan and himself out of the way just in time.
Ethan could smell the tang of the bullets smashing pebbles as the crack of gunfire ripped the air apart. He could hear the rounds thumping into the sand – and feel them too, the shockwaves from the impact making the ground ripple like it was alive underneath him.
‘Too bloody close,’ screamed Johnny. ‘Less than a metre away to feel it like that. Keep fucking moving! We need to get back up that path. This exit is totally screwed!’
Ethan saw him glance up and down the beach to see where the shooting was coming from. The sea was behind them, the path somewhere in front.
‘Follow me,’ said Johnny. ‘Go where I go. I know where the Claymores are; you don’t. Got it?’
Ethan nodded and they crawled forward towards the path. He was soon able to make it out, carved into the cliff face. He willed himself on; forced himself not to think about the bullets flying above him or of the hidden mines somewhere on the beach.
Then more rounds came in. Johnny looked at Ethan and pointed left down the beach. ‘Two x-rays coming from over there,’ he yelled.
Ethan chanced a look and saw two men running towards them. One of them fired again, this time missing by a mile, thankfully.
‘Get your head down,’ shouted Johnny, grabbing Ethan and pushing him face-down in the sand, ‘or there’ll be nothing left of it but pink mist!’
As Ethan ducked, he heard one of the Claymore mines explode off to their left between them and the approaching x-rays. For a second