Free The Beach by Alex Garland Page A

There was so much of it that our half-empty canteens stopped being a worry. Standing under a branch and giving it a shake provided a couple of good gulps, as well as a quick shower. The irony of having kept my clothes dry over the swim, only to have them soaked when we turned inland, didn't escape me.

After two hours of walking we found ourselves at the bottom of a particularly steep stretch of slope. We virtually had to climb it, pulling ourselves up on the tough fern stems to keep us from slipping down on the mud and dead leaves. Étienne was the first to get to the top and he disappeared over the ridge, then reappeared a few seconds later, beckoning enthusiastically.
'Hurry up!' he called. 'Really, it is amazing!'
'What is it?' I called back, but he'd disappeared again.
I redoubled my efforts, leaving Françoise behind.
The slope led to a football-pitch-sized shelf on the mountainside, so flat and neat that it seemed unnatural in the tangle of the surrounding jungle. Above us the slope rose again to what appeared to be a second shelf, and past that it continued straight up to the pass.
Étienne had gone further into the plateau and was standing in some bushy plants, gazing around with his hands on his hips.
'What do you think?' he said. I looked behind me. Far below I could see the beach we had come from, the island where our hidden rucksacks lay, and the many other islands beyond it.
'I didn't know the marine park was this big,' I replied.
'Yes. Very big. But that is not what I mean.'
I turned back to the plateau, putting a cigarette in my mouth. Then, as I patted down my pockets looking for my lighter, I noticed something strange. All the plants in the plateau looked vaguely familiar.
' Wow,' I said, and the cigarette dropped from my lips, forgotten.
'Yes.'
'...Dope?'
Étienne grinned. 'Have you ever seen so much?'
'Never...' I pulled a few leaves from the nearest bush and rubbed them in my hands.
Étienne waded further into the plateau. 'We should pick some, Richard,' he said. 'We can dry it in the sun and...' Then he stopped. 'Wait a moment, there is something funny here.'
'What?'
'Well, it is just so... These plants...' He crouched down, then looked round at me quickly. His lips had begun to curve into a smile, but his eyes were wide and I could literally see colour draining from his face. 'This is a field,' he said.
I froze. 'A field?'
'Yes. Look at the plants.'
'But it can't be a field. I mean, these islands are...'
'The plants are in rows.'
'Rows...'
We stared at each other.' Jesus Christ,' I said slowly. 'Then we 're in deep shit.'
Étienne started running back towards me.
'Françoise.'
'She's...' My mind was filling with too many thoughts to answer the question. '...Coming,' I eventually replied, but he had already passed me and was crouching over the slope.
'She's not there!'
'But she was just behind me.' I jogged to the ridge and looked over. 'Maybe she slipped.'
Étienne stood up. 'I will go down. You look here.'
'Yes... Right.'
He began slithering down the mud, then I saw the yellow flash of her T-shirt in some trees further along the edge of the plateau. Étienne had already slid halfway down the slope and I threw a pebble at him to get his attention. He swore and began making his way back up.
Françoise had come out into the plateau, tucking her T-shirt into her shorts. 'I needed the bathroom,' she called.
I waved my hands frantically, mouthing at her to keep her voice down. She cupped a hand by her ear. 'What? Hey! I have seen some people further up the mountain. They are coming this way. Maybe they are from the beach, no?'
Hearing her, Étienne called from down the slope, 'Richard! Make her be quiet!'
I sprinted towards her. 'What are you doing?' she asked, and then I'd reached her and was pushing her to the ground.
'Shut up!' I said, clamping my hand to her mouth.
She tried to squirm out of my grip and I pressed harder, bending her head back on her shoulders. 'This is a dope field,' I hissed, carefully