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with the wind rushing past. The music pounded out, but any words were snatched away and lost. After about twenty minutes, Scooter turned around and shouted, “You okay?” Alex nodded. But secretly he was wondering how far they intended to travel and when they would arrive.
    The journey took over an hour. They came off the highway and took a road that cut through a wooded area. Then they turned onto a track, and suddenly they were bumping over a rough, uneven surface with eucalyptus and pine trees pressing in on both sides. X-Ray had taken out a map. He leaned forward and tapped Sparks on the shoulder.
    â€œIs this the right way?” he shouted.
    â€œSure!” Sparks shouted back without looking behind him.
    â€œI think we’ve come too far!”
    â€œForget it, X-Ray. This is the right way…”
    There was a barrier ahead of them, similar to the one at Swanbourne except that it was old and rusted. There was a sign next to it.
    Â 
    MILITARY ZONE
    ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE.
    TRESPASSERS WILL BE PLACED UNDER ARREST AND MAY BE IMPRISONED.
    Â 
    Scooter slowed down and, without opening the door, Sparks leapt out of the jeep.
    â€œWhere are we?” Alex asked.
    â€œYou’ll see,” Scooter replied. “We come to a load of places around here. You’ll like it.”
    â€œWe’ve come too far,” X-Ray insisted. “We should have turned off a mile back.”
    Sparks had opened the barrier—it obviously hadn’t been locked—and the jeep rolled forward. As it passed him, he leapt back into the passenger seat, and at once Scooter stepped on the accelerator and they shot forward, bumping over roots and potholes.
    It had become very dark. The last of the daylight had slipped away without Alex noticing, and suddenly the trees seemed very close, threatening to block the way ahead. The surface was getting worse and worse. Alex had to cling onto the side as he was thrown around, the coolers lifting themselves into the air and hanging there before crashing down again. Leaves and branches flickered briefly, a thousand black shadows caught in the headlights, before they whipped into the windshield and disappeared behind. The track didn’t seem to be going anywhere and Alex was having to fight back a sense of unease, wishing he hadn’t come, when suddenly they burst through a clump of foliage and came to a shuddering halt with soft sand underneath the wheels. They had arrived.
    Scooter turned off the engine, and at once the gentler sounds of the evening surrounded them. Alex could hear the whisper of the breeze and the rhythmic breaking of the waves. They had come to a beautiful place: a private beach that curved around in the shape of a crescent with perfect white sand next to a black-and-silver sea. There was a full moon and a fantastic cluster of stars that seemed to go on forever, stretching to the very ends of the Southern Hemisphere.
    â€œEverybody out!” Scooter shouted. He kicked the door open and tumbled out onto the beach. “X-Ray…get me a Coke. Texas, it’s your turn to cook.”
    â€œI always cook!” Texas complained.
    â€œWhy do you think we invite you?”
    X-Ray turned to Alex. “You thirsty?”
    Alex nodded, and X-ray threw him a can of Coke.
    Meanwhile, Texas had begun to unload the jeep. Alex saw that the SAS men had brought sausages, burgers, steaks, and chops…enough meat to feed a small army. But apart from a greasy, blackened steel grill, there was no sign of the promised barbecue. Scooter must have read his mind. “We’re going to build a bonfire, Alex,” he said. “You can help collect wood.”
    Sparks had taken the guitar out of the back. He rested it on his knee and strummed a few chords. The music sounded tiny, lost in the emptiness of the night.
    â€œOkay. Here’s the plan,” Scooter said. It seemed that he was the natural leader even if all four men were the same age