Later that day, the four agreed to split into pairs. Orion resisted the idea at first when Na-Ri proposed it, considering it reckless to wander a hostile island in twos after they had already drawn the attention of the zealots.
To him, splitting meant halving their fighting strength and multiplying the risk of being cornered without support. He weighed the danger of ambush against the benefit of staying together. As a single unit, they had a stronger front, fewer blind spots, and the ability to respond at once if violence broke out.
But as he thought it through the flaw in such a formation became clear. Four moving together created too large a footprint, impossible to conceal, easy to track, and far slower to manoeuvre. If the zealots had scouts in the woods, which he was certain they did, then the group might as well parade with torches raised above their heads.
