by Vince Ford
Ivan’s gang was yelling and cheering the bull on and it broke into a full gallop. Tara glanced over her shoulder then turned, ignoring the thistles and racing towards the fence. The bull came on like a concrete truck, its nostrils wide and muscles rippling along its shoulders.
“Go Tara!” yelled Adam.
“Come on!” called Robbie. “You can make it!”
Tara glanced back over her shoulder and tripped. She scrambled to her feet as the bull gathered itself and launched its weight over the stream. Its hooves sank deeply into the ground and it staggered for an instant before ploughing on towards her.
Ivan’s mates yelled and hooted as they rode past the gang; they didn’t seem to care about the danger to Tara.
“Run Tara!” screamed Kim. Tara was only metres from the fence but the bull was catching up, dwarfing her as its hooves dug into the turf. Tara’s eyes were huge and her face strained. Finn, Robbie and Kim scattered as Tara reached the fence, the bull just behind her. Adam reached for Tara as the bull dropped its head, ready to crush her against the posts. Tara leapt, grabbed Adam’s arm and scrambled over the fence.
The bull seemed about to crash through the fence after them but it must have had a memory of the barbed wire. It locked its legs and its hooves dug deeply into the turf. At the last minute it swerved, slamming a post with its shoulder and turning to canter along the fence line.
Adam and Tara scrambled to the road. Ivan’s gang were laughing themselves silly as they pedalled slowly up the hill. Tara swore at them, bent over with her shaking arms resting on her knees.
Chapter 9
“I still haven’t done the dare,” grumbled Tara, after she’d got her breath back.
“Not technically,” agreed Finn.
“Not at all. And there’s no way I’m going back into the paddock with that bull.”
The bull had stopped pacing the fence and trotted back to the gate to bellow at the cows and work at a large hole in the ground. He grumbled and worried it with his head, spreading his legs and flexing the thick muscles on his neck. Kim had been watching him, her lips moving as though she was having a conversation with herself.
“I don’t think you have to go back in there with him,” she said. “I think I know how you can get across the paddock without any problems at all.”
Ten minutes later Tara had worked her way round to the gate beside the bull. She’d gone completely around the paddock, climbing into the neighbouring paddocks as she worked her way around. She stood at the gate, watching the bull as he glared at her from his hole. Tara unlatched the gate, swung it open then ran back and jumped over a fence that climbed up towards the hills. The bull eyed the opening suspiciously then trotted over and sniffed the air. He grumbled a couple of times, then broke into a swaying trot as he made his way towards the distant cows.
Tara jumped back over the fence and walked through the gate, closing it on her way. She strode towards the others, looking over her shoulder now and then in case the bull decided he’d rather chase her than the cows. She jumped the stream easily and skipped the last few metres to the fence.
“Thanks Kim,” she grinned. “That was easy.”
Robbie stared after the bull. “I don’t think the farmer’s going to be very happy that his bull’s out.”
“It’s all right,” said Kim. “There’s another fence between the bull and the cows. He won’t go through that.”
There was a distant crash and a large black shape moved amongst the grazing cows. Kim frowned.
“I think we’d better get out of here,” said Finn.
Robbie was first to the loft after swimming on Thursday. When the others arrived they found him seated, scribbling on a pad.
“What ya drawing?” asked Adam, flopping down beside him. Robbie nodded towards the window. “I reckon that window used to be stained glass. I’m drawing a stained glass window that could go there.” He’d drawn the outline of the window and was filling it in. Before Adam could get a good look he flipped the pad shut.
“Righto art lovers,” called Tara sitting on her sweatshirt. “Time for someone else to have a go at the dare thing. Have you guys got your dares?”
“You didn’t read mine out last week,” said Adam. “I saved it.”
“Yeah whatever, just chuck it in the bag.” Tara handed her schoolbag around. She stirred the dares with her hand, squinted her eyes, stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth and chose one. “This one’s messy as.” She gave it a long hard look. “It doesn’t make sense. I think it says to eat a lone shark … battle?”
“Eat a live stink beetle,” said Finn.
Tara looked doubtful. “If you say so.”
“Yuuuuck,” gagged Robbie.
“That’s as bad as the cockroach,” Kim agreed, looking as though she could already taste it. “There’s no way that I’m putting one of those near my mouth.”
“Okay,” Tara chucked it straight at Finn. “Try and think of something new next week. And maybe tidy it up so we can read it.” She fumbled into the bag again. “Next one’s to shave your head.”
“Forget it,” said Finn and Kim together. They both looked at each other.
“I’ve been growing this for years,” said Kim, pulling her ginger ponytail over her shoulder and crossing her arms over it.
“And Mum’s a hairdresser,” said Finn. “She’d make me sweep the floors for a month if I did that.”
“And you’d both look like egg heads,” added Tara, grinning. She shuffled another dare out of the bag and held it up to read. “This one’s to score some fruit from Mr Sinnott’s orchard.”
Kim’s eyes widened. “Far out. No one’s done that for years.”
Mr Sinnott’s commercial orchard was nearly as well protected as the Unit 47 headquarters. It was within the town boundary and for 20 years he’d battled the local kids to protect his fruit. Now there was a two metre open drain around the whole orchard, and directly inside that was a deer fence with three electrified outriggers and a barbed top wire. If anyone got past that, there were guard dogs and booby traps.
“What do you reckon?” asked Tara. “Can it be done?”
Finn frowned. “I reckon it could. Wouldn’t want Mr Sinnott to catch you though.”
“I’d give it a go,” said Robbie.
“Me too,” cried Adam.
Kim’s lips were moving again, but she wasn’t looking at anyone. Her mouth twitched into a grin and she looked up. “I’m in.”
“That’s it then, whoever gets the short straw raids the orchard.” Tara got the straws off Kim and turned around to arrange them.
Kim pulled the first straw and came away with a long one. Adam held his tongue between his teeth, spotted a straw he liked and grabbed it. It was the short straw.
“Aww man,” he moaned. “Had to be me.”
Tara grinned and he looked at her suspiciously. “You sure there’s only one short straw? This hasn’t been rigged or anything?”
“Course not,” said Tara.
Adam crossed his arms. “I want to see the straws.”
“No way!” cried Tara. “I’m not a cheat.”
“I’m not doing this till I’ve seen the straws.”
“Get lost!” snapped Tara.
“Come on you guys,” said Robbie. They continued glaring at each other. “Tara, show him the straws, then he knows it was for real and we can get on with it.”
Tara turned on Robbie. “Are you calling me a cheat too?”
“No,” said Robbie. “I’m trying to make you guys stop arguing. Now show him the straws.”
“Just coz he’s got ADD,” growled Tara opening her hand to reveal two long straws. “See!”
“Yeah all right,” said Adam, angrily. “I know I’ve got ADD, what’s your problem though? Why are you such a loud-mouthed cow?”
“Get stuffed!” cried Tara.
“It’s my truth question!” Adam blurted. “You’ve made me answer, you’ve got to do it too.”
“You
want to know why?” yelled Tara. “It’s coz I’ve got five older brothers who yell and push till everything gets done for them and I’ve got two sisters who’re chasing boys so hard they don’t even know they’ve got a sister. If I didn’t yell it’d be like I didn’t even exist. I’d just get pushed to the side and no one would ever know I wasn’t there. Does that make you happy?!” she glared at Adam.
“Yes,” he yelled back at her.
“Good!” Tara snapped up her sweater, jammed it into her bag and stormed down the stairs.
Kim shot a glare at Adam then quickly gathered up her things and scuttled after her friend.
Chapter 10
Adam was ready for action at eleven o’clock the following Wednesday night. He was dressed in combat boots, camouflage cargo pants and a black T-shirt. A dark balaclava was rolled on his head and he had a green canvas backpack. He sat back against some trees opposite the orchard and waited for Finn and Robbie.
They’d all had to sneak out and make their way through the darkened streets. It was too far for Kim and Tara but Tara had taken Robbie aside to make sure he witnessed the whole dare. “Make sure that he doesn’t just hide in the drain and come back half an hour later with an apple that he had in his pocket the whole time.”
Robbie and Finn arrived at exactly the same time. For a start they didn’t even see Adam: there was a little moonlight but he was almost invisible under the cover of the trees. When he stepped out they both took a quick step backwards.
“Are you ready then?” asked Robbie.
“Yip,” Adam whispered, nodding slightly.
Finn slapped him on the back. “If Mr Sinnott catches you, don’t let on that we were here. You were here by yourself and no one else was involved.”
“Some mate you are,” said Adam.
“No point in all of us getting in trouble. Anyway you’re the only one nicking fruit.”
Adam nodded and made his way over the road to the drain. Robbie and Finn followed, sitting on the edge of the drain while Adam slithered to the bottom.
“How are you going to get over the fence?” hissed Finn.
Adam didn’t reply, just waded through the knee deep sludge till he reached an area where the top of the drain had collapsed slightly. He reached to the top and hauled himself up, grunting slightly and kicking into the bank as he wriggled onto the thin lip between the drain and the fence. It was only 30 centimetres wide and the bottom electric wire was dangerously close to his face. A thistle was barely visible half a metre away, leaning against the bottom wire. Every second there was a loud ‘crack!’ and a bright spark as the electric pulse arced onto the plant. Adam shuffled along to the nearest post, carefully avoiding the wire.
Adam had studied the fence in daylight and planned his attack. The electric wire ran through plastic insulators that were nailed to the posts. The insulators had two tabs that the wire ran between and a plastic pin that went through the tabs and held the wire in place. Adam sat on the edge of the drain and pulled a pair of pliers, a couple of insulators (the same as the ones on the fence) and a couple of S shaped wire hooks from his pack. An uncle had given him a small hands-free torch for Christmas. It had straps to hold it on his head. He rolled his balaclava down so that his face was covered except for the holes around his mouth and eyes, then pulled the torch straps over the balaclava and switched it on.
Adam grabbed the insulated handles of the pliers, gripped the electric wire and pulled it to see how tight it was. Satisfied, he clipped one of the S shaped hooks over the netting above the electric wire, about 50 centimetres off the ground. He slipped an insulator over the other end of the S then worked on the insulator still on the fence. Using the pliers he wiggled the plastic pin that held the wire until he could pull it out.
A car drove along the road.
“Get down,” hissed Adam to Finn and Robbie. He switched his light off and lay flat amongst the grass and weeds on the bank. In his camouflage gear he was virtually invisible. Adam and Robbie glanced at each other. The only place to go was the drain. Robbie dropped down with a splash, Finn hesitated, so Robbie grabbed him by the leg and dragged him down too. Finn yelped and the car cruised past. There were no other sounds, Adam waited a minute then glanced at the two in the drain before flicking his light on and getting back to work.
“What are you doing?” whispered Finn.
“You’ll see,” Adam called, quietly. “I’ve got it all sussed out.” He pulled himself carefully along the edge to the next post, put an identical hook and insulator on the fence and released the pin holding the electric wire. He got his pliers again and pulled the electric wire out of the insulator, stretching it up to hook it on the new insulator he’d attached, then pushed the pin down to trap it there.
The electric wire out of the way, Adam moved to the netting of the fence. He got a claw hammer from his bag and levered the bottom staples out of the same two posts, freeing the bottom of the netting. He removed four staples from both posts so that he could pull the netting away from the ground.
“Man,” whispered Robbie. “He’s onto it.”
“Yeah, he’s always been good at this sort of stuff.”
Adam tested the netting and was happy that he could slip under it. He put the torch and tools back into his bag and passed them down to Finn.
“You guys look after this gear. I’ll see you soon.” Then he slipped under the loose netting and into the orchard.
“It’s going to be a piece of cake,” whispered Robbie watching him disappear.
“Yeah, if he can get past the booby traps.”
Adam carefully made his way into the orchard. He had taken his torch off because it would give his position away. He reckoned the booby traps would only be at the ends of the rows, where they wouldn’t be set off by the orchard tractor, so he immediately crept into the trees.
The apple block he was in had been picked, so he stole further into the orchard, moving quietly and stopping often to listen for any noises. A warm breeze fluttered the trees, insects rustled and the odd car glided through the semi-darkness of the streets. The scent of ripe fruit and mown grass wafted heavily around him.
Adam broke through into a block of smaller trees. He could see large round fruit on the branches and stopped to pluck one off. It was larger than an apple but smooth and hairless. Adam raised it to his mouth and bit into it. Juice flowed down his chin and he tasted the sweet pulp of a ripe nectarine. He finished it, dropped the stone in the grass and ate another one.
He stuffed fruit into the pockets of his combat pants, then stopped to scoff another nectarine before turning to make his way out. As he turned a light sparked and flashed for an instant before disappearing. Adam froze. He heard the faint murmur of voices on the breeze and the light sparked again; this time he made out the red glow of a cigarette.
Adam crept towards the sound, using the trees for cover. As he drew near he could see that the lights were outside the fence, and a group was sitting smoking on the far side of the drain, shielded from the road by low bushes. He crept in as close as he dared and listened.
“I reckon I’ll get in Unit 47 when I leave school,” growled a familiar voice.
“Yeah?”
“Truck says he’ll put in a good word.” Ivan Spittle knocked the cigarette ash onto the ground. “I’d have to get initiated and that, but he reckons I’d get in easy.”
“What’s the initiation?” asked one of his mates.
“Get off,” laughed Ivan. “I wouldn’t tell you lot. Once someone’s initiated they can’t tell anyone.”
“How do you know then?” asked Muzz, his dreads silhouetted against a street light.
Ivan dragged on his cigarette, leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I heard it once. Truck went inside and I was waiting in their compound in the car. This guy was getting initiated and they beat the snot out of him. You could hear them thumping him and smashing him up. Truck came back with blood on his shirt. I think that was only part of it though.”
&n
bsp; “Corrr.”
“Blimmin heck, I’d hate to get done over by your brother.”
Muzz stood up and Adam melted further into the shadows of a tree. He moved behind some bushes for a pee. Adam had an idea and scrabbled around for some rotting apples from the ground. As soon as he found one he lobbed it towards the group and felt for another one.
The first apple landed with a thud, not far from Ivan.
“Oi, cut it out Muzz!” Ivan yelled towards the bushes.
The second was a little closer. Ivan stood up angrily. “I’m warning you!”
Adam biffed an apple over the group and towards Muzz. There was a thud as it struck something solid; then there was a stumble.
“Awww yuck,” squawked Muzz. “You made me pee all over myself. IVAN YA JERK!”
“RIGHT,” roared Ivan, charging towards the bushes. “Call me a jerk!”
“Come on then!” cried Muzz, as he stumbled out of the bushes.
There was a scuffle and a series of grunts, and the three remaining smokers jumped up to watch. Their backs were to Adam. He couldn’t find any apples so he dug into his pockets for nectarines, ran into the open and rapidly launched four at Ivan’s mates.
“Oi!”
“Arrrr!”
“What the?”
They turned and Adam scurried for shelter. His foot caught on something and he stumbled. A siren screamed across the orchard, two flares burst from a post beside him. They curved brightly into the sky then exploded with a brilliant glare, lighting up the orchard.
“Over there!”
“Someone’s in the orchard!”
Adam scrambled to his feet, dived and rolled behind a bush. Ivan’s mates were scrambling for stones. Ivan and Muzz had stopped fighting, and Muzz stared towards Adam. Ivan crouched and drove his fist up just below Muzz’s ribs, knocking the wind out of him. Ivan spat at the ground as Muzz collapsed. “Call me a jerk!” he muttered.
Dogs barked furiously nearby, lights flicked on and a door slammed. Adam sprinted away, zigzagging between trees as stones cracked into the trees around him. He headed back for the fence, cutting across rows of shadowy trees, hoping not to run into anything in the half light. A powerful spotlight beam cut across ahead of him then swept down the row. Adam dived to the ground and after it passed over him, he leapt to his feet and raced ahead. This time he didn’t see the beam as it swept from behind and picked him out, a dark shadow against the silvery trees.
