Nine people had happened to come together because of the Dreamscape. They might be spending a long time together, and knowing nothing about one another made that dangerous.
If even one of the nine had something to hide, it could get the whole team killed.
The Red Spider Silk? It did nothing to ease his worries. What if the one with something to hide was Annie Bullock?
Just then, Annie and the others came into view, returning from their scouting trip.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Annie walked straight past him as though he were invisible.
Realizing he had been snubbed, Joey gave a dry laugh and let it go, sticking to the principle that as long as he wasn't embarrassed, someone else would be.
The look on Annie's face told him the scouting hadn't gone well.
When Chris passed him, he opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but hesitated. There was a faint trace of sympathy in his eyes.
Joey was about to tease him when he turned and caught Mi Pang calling out:
"Food's ready! Come and eat!"
Joey knew Chris had something to tell him, but now wasn't the time.
As it turned out, Mi Pang hadn't been boasting about his cooking. His food really was delicious.
After the meal, Annie took out a drawing she had prepared in advance-a rough map of the island's terrain.
She divided them into several teams, intending to send them out to explore the island.
"Remember, we need to find this."
As she spoke, she took out another drawing. It depicted a beast with an octopus head, six eyes, and a pair of wings on its back.
Joey had seen it before: the shattered clay sculpture in Freya's workshop.
Shocked inwardly, he kept his expression casual