I open my jaw – as if to gasp – however no sound comes out. I simply stare at Aaron, gripping his dagger as he glares at the two members of the red team that remain – both of whom wield theirs. I can tell any sudden movements from either side will cause a fight to break out, Kate obviously senses the same because neither of us speak nor budge.

‘’What did you do to Alice and Kate?’’ questions Aaron.

I cock an eyebrow in confusion.

‘’What do you mean?’’ asks Alex.

Exactly. What does he mean?

‘’Where are they?’’ he demands.

‘’How would we know?’’ scoffs Alex.

I turn to Kate and give her a sideways glance. She shrugs her shoulders.

‘’I think he’s serious,’’ smirks Niamh, ‘’he really doesn’t know where they are.’’

Again I turn to Kate.

‘’What is he talking about?’’ I question in a hushed voice.

‘’I don’t know,’’ she whispers in response.

‘’It doesn’t make sense.’’

Movement in the clearing draws my attention back to Aaron and the others. They have begun to circle around the camp, weapons raised. I don’t like where this is going.

‘’Are we gonna fight, or are you just going to stare at my face all night?’’ questions Alex.

Aaron doesn’t respond, instead he dives forward and slashes his dagger at Alex. This obviously caught him by surprise because he curses as he jumps backwards and he nearly falls over. After this falter however, he begins jabbing back at Aaron. I watch Niamh, she has retreated a few steps, and she watches the fight break out with a cruel smirk beginning to form across her face.

Aaron dodges a couple of Alex’s dagger swipes – only just – and manages to swing a punch in. His fist collides with the side of Alex’s jaw and he cries out in pain. The blow sends him sideways however he retains his balance, somehow staying on his feet.

Alex kicks Aaron in the shin and causes him to falter, falling to one knee with a cry of pain. As he screams, I flinch slightly. Seeing him in pain isn’t as satisfying as Kate made it sound, in fact, it isn’t satisfying at all. I find myself watching Aaron in fear, silently praying each of Alex’s blows miss.

I notice how Aaron is fighting, it is defensively. Although he does throw in a few offensive dagger lunges, he is mainly focusing on prolonging the fight with Alex. He doesn’t want to kill him. He must want something from him.

But what? Me? Why?

‘’Tell me,’’ he orders, as if reading my thoughts.

‘’Tell you what?’’ questions Alex as he ducks beneath a swing of Aaron’s dagger and reacts with a swing of his own.

‘’Where are Alice and Kate, have you killed them?’’

Something seems off with this.

Why is he asking about us? If he’s the traitor then why is he so concerned about-

My train of thought is interrupted as realisation hits me. Aaron isn’t the traitor. I turn to Kate just as she lunges for me, dagger ready in hand. I yelp and dive out of the way as she dives at me and her dagger rips the fabric of my jacket.

‘’What are you doing?’’ I gasp in horror.

‘’Surely you’re not that stupid,’’ she responds in disgust.

‘’No,’’ I say simply, refusing to believe what this must mean.

‘’Oh yes, you betrayed the one person that may have been able to get you off this island alive,’’ she smirks maliciously.

‘’Please, no.’’

She dives for me again, this time her dagger misses however I hear the noise of it ripping through the air by my ear and gasp in both fear and horror. I dive at her and pull her to the ground. I quickly climb on top of her and pin her arms down with my knees. She has nowhere to go now.

How can this be happening?!

‘’Why?’’ I ask, my voice quivering.

‘’Because it pays well,’’ she smirks.

‘’How?’’

‘’You made it too easy Ally, is it still OK if I call you Ally?’’ she grins.

I don’t respond immediately, I stare at her with hatred and spit on her face in disgust.

‘’The letter in Aaron’s bag,’’ I demand.

‘’The one I put there?’’ she questions.

‘’What about Jack?’’ I ask.

‘’What about him? He just made the whole charade more believable,’’ she smirks, ‘’his cute little face obviously helped, but seriously, who could fall in love here?’’

She says the last bit sarcastically, cruelly. It is unquestionably directed at me.

‘’What is all this? And who’s behind it?’’ I demand.

‘’Why would I tell you that?’’ she asks with a laugh.

‘’Because I’ll kill you otherwise.’’

‘’You’re too weak to kill. I know it. You know it. And he knows it,’’ she says, referring to Aaron in the last part, flicking her eyes in his general direction.

I follow her gaze and glance at Aaron, he is still fighting with Alex, although the two of them remain on their feet. I notice Alex has a gash across his left arm, unfortunately that isn’t his dagger wielding hand. They are both sweat permeated, their soaked skin reflects the moonlight, their faces are aglow. I briefly glance at Niamh, she is simply watching them. Somehow none of them are aware of our presence.

At that moment, Kate raises her legs behind my back and throws me off her. I scream as I fly from her and I land hard on the ground. The fighting in the clearing stops, and the three figures I had just been watching turn to face us. Aaron looks directly at me and his jaw drops.

‘’Alice,’’ he gasps and then his voice turns to a shout, ‘’behind you!’’

Instead of turning, I leap forwards into the clearing and hear the sound of Kate’s blade tear through the air behind me. It catches on the back of my jacket and I hear the fabric tear. I curse and roll forwards, out of her reach.

Suddenly, Alex springs back into action and he lunges once more at Aaron. I sprint in their direction, I have to help. We stand a better chance if we fight two against one. Plus, I feel a lot safer fighting at Aaron’s side.

I was so stupid to ever doubt him. It had been Kate all along, she had been the traitor. Like Aaron had said, she had been playing it quiet under the radar. She had acted as the caring one; befriending Jack first, being there for me, but it had all been an act. She is the traitor. She turned me against the boy I love. She nearly killed me.

I stand back to back with Aaron as he fights Alex. Kate approaches us with a dagger in her hand, I wait for her with mine clutched tightly.

‘’Bring it bitch,’’ I spit in disgust as she approaches and sprint towards her whilst swiping my dagger at her.

She gasps and ducks beneath my swipe; she seems surprised at how quick I am. She dodges past me and attempts to jab at me but I block her blow with my arm, her wrist colliding with my forearm. I cry out, as does she.

‘’You’re pathetic,’’ she mutters.

‘’I’m going to kill you,’’ I respond venomously.

To our left, Aaron and Alex fall to the ground, grappling each other tightly whilst punching and kicking madly at each other. Neither holds their daggers any longer, both are lying a few feet away from them.

I turn back to Kate and duck beneath her dagger, which rips through the air above my head. I gasp as it whizzes just above my skull and then I dive forwards. I wrap both my arms around the girl’s waist and force her backwards. She loses her balance and we both fall onto the ground. Both daggers go flying out of reach.

Like Aaron and Alex, we both scramble for dominance. I wrap both my arms and legs around her body and start punching and kicking the girl mercilessly, she flails in my grasp, trying to pry herself loose. She screams and I feel her teeth lock around my wrist. I wail in pain as her teeth clamp tightly down over my skin.

She breaks free and reaches for the dagger a few feet away from her. I pull her by the arm so she cannot clutch it and she curses. With her free hand, she starts swinging her fist in my direction however none of the blows that connect do much damage.

Both of us lie on the ground side by side – Kate slightly closer to the daggers than I – and we both move painfully slowly along the ground towards the weapons. As I reach for the closest blade, she grapples my arm with both her hands and pulls me back. She then reaches out and wraps her hand around the handle of the dagger.

She grins.

‘’I’m going to kill you now.’’

Before she can pick the blade up off the ground, a boot slams down on her wrist and she roars in pain. I stare at the hiking boot and my eyes glance upwards. Aaron.

‘’What was that?’’ he asks, grabbing Kate by her crushed wrist and picking her up like a rag doll.

I glance to my side and see Alex; a gash is cut across his throat. Blood pours from the wound and his mouth. He is dead.

‘’Come on Ally, we’re making one last trip to the LIS,’’ he says and I get to my feet.

We exit the clearing, I walk beside Aaron and he drags Kate along after him. Niamh is nowhere to be seen.