Quaking with suppressed fear, Charlie looked back at Dusty’s face, which was no more than a couple of metres away.  Carmen gripped his hand so tightly he could feel his knuckles grind against one another.  Sweat coursed down his face and back as he pressed his back to the far wall of the stuffy, black hole under the tree.  He could see Dusty squinting, trying to see something behind the roots.  Go away, you stupid man, Charlie cursed inwardly. 

At that moment Carmen slipped and dragged Charlie down to the damp floor of their cave.  A small shower of earth followed, cascading into their hair and into their tee shirts.  Charlie bit his lip to stop himself crying out with frustration.  All he could do was to stare back into Dusty’s face which had flicked towards them at the sound of their fall, a face that now showed the light of comprehension.  For a moment they simply stared at one another, one seen and one unseen. Then, unbelievably, Dusty simply nodded and winked.  He stood up, leaving Charlie with a view of only his boots and legs.  Those boots turned and faced the other way.

They heard his voice ring out, “Hadn’t we best get on with finding their trail, Pincher?  Winthrop-Smythe will be on our backs if we don’t have something to report soon.”

Pincher snarled a curse at Dusty but he stood up and shouldered his rifle.  Charlie scrambled back up on his feet and, keeping his face low so that only his eyes remained at ground level, he watched the men discuss their plans quietly, complete with a number of ill-tempered gestures.  Eventually, after some negotiation, they moved off along the slope and away from the thicket, heading west.

“I thought we were so dead!”  Carmen said with more than a long sigh of relief.  “I’m sorry I slipped, Charlie.” 

“It’s cool, Carmen.  Don’t worry about it,” Charlie reassured her.  “Mind you, I was so scared I almost wet myself!”

“Nice to know, Charlemundo!”  Trev shouted down into the darkness boisterously.  “I’ll keep away from you then, Captain Underpants!”

“Shut up, Trev!”  Charlie called out.  “You try being in here!  It’s like a grave.”  When he realised what he had said he cringed inside.

“Thanks, Charlie.  Of course, I don’t know what that would be like, would I?”  Trev sneered then stalked off back to his palm.  “You could have just said thanks at the very least!  When did you become such a tosser?”  he cried back at the pandanus trees angrily.

“Trev!  Trev!” Charlie pleaded.  “I didn’t mean anything by it.  It just came out wrong!  I am sorry and I am thankful!  You really saved our bacon!”

“Charlie?”  Carmen said gently.

“Yes?”

“Do you think you’re talking…talking to…your friend?” 

“Yes, I’m talking to Trev!  What do you mean by that?”  Charlie had just about had enough of the day.  He hadn’t had any sleep, he’d been attacked on the Cat, some crazy person had thrown explosives at them, he’d spent a whole day escaping from two psychos in a sweaty jungle and he had not had anything proper to eat since last night.  Now, he had to explain the whole dead Trev thing.  He felt so very tired.  Slumping to the floor of their dark hidey hole, he told Carmen of the episode on the flight over, the voices he heard in his sleep, the day that he started the outboard motor, all of it and the fact that no-one else seemed to know Trev was there.

“So, he’s there now?  Out under that palm?”  Carmen asked carefully.

“Yes,” Charlie answered.  “I suppose you don’t believe me but right now I’m so tired I don’t really care.”  He sat on the floor and folded his arms around his knees, resting his head on them.

“Oh, I do believe you, Charlie!  I just don’t understand why I can’t see him,”  Carmen said.

“Huh?”

“I saw the ground move.  I saw our tracks get wiped away.  I saw the leaves blow back over them ground, even though there’s no wind today.  What else explains that?”  Carmen shifted next to him and held his arm.  “Why would you lie about it?  Why now?  I’ve no reason not to believe you.  After all, some pretty crazy things have happened today, why not one more?”  She laughed lightly but there was a brittle edge to it.

“Uh, thanks, I think.” he said, amazed at Carmen’s admission.  “He’s there but he’s sulking right now.  I kind of ticked him off a bit.” 

“Well would you thank him from me?  I don’t want to get caught up in your squabbles.  I would prefer it if a ghost doesn’t think that I’m ungrateful.” 

“You can thank him yourself.  He can hear you, it’s you that can’t hear or see him.”

Carmen stood up and went over to the ledge that marked the ground outside the space under the tree.  She called out across to the palm, “Thank you, er…” She paused trying to remember something, “Trev, thank you for helping us just now.  I know I can’t see you but I’d like you to know that I appreciate it.”

“Who’s she talking to, Charlie?” Trev said in his ear.

Charlie sighed, looking at Carmen’s back, “You… you git!  Try and be a little less of a total bonehead!”

“What!”  Carmen and Trev said together.

“Carmen, Trev says you’re welcome.”

“I did not, you little liar!”

“Thanks, Trev!” 

“Aargh!”  Trev gurgled.  “This is so frustrating!  Why does she have to be so nice!  How can I prank her if she’s just going to thank me!”

“Nice?  I wouldn’t have said nice.  More like pain in the neck,” said Charlie.

“What’s nice?  What’s a pain in the neck?”  questioned Carmen. “What are you two on about?”

Trev and Charlie looked at one another. “Oh, nothing,” they chorused.

“Well if that’s the case, Charlie, maybe we should get out of this hole,” said Carmen.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Trev muttered to Charlie, who then relayed it to Carmen.

“Why’s that?”

“Night’s coming,” Trev said flatly.  “You don’t want to be up here on the volcano at night.”

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