by Vince Ford
“Sic him Zac, get ’em Rip!” The torch wobbled as its carrier angled to cut across Adam’s path. Adam glanced towards the light and briefly glimpsed the outline of a dog. He pushed harder, sprinting for the gap in the fence. He could hear excited yipping: it was gaining rapidly.
He wasn’t going to make the hole. Adam swerved away from the dog, hoping to come to the fence early. He could hear the heavy rhythm of the dog’s paws on the grass behind him. Suddenly he burst into open ground at the side of the row, only metres from the fence, the noise of the dog straining just behind his heel. Four strides and he leapt at the fence. The dog grazed his boot as the wire sagged under his weight, and another snarling dog leapt for him.
Adam launched himself for the top barbed wire, ignoring the spikes as they bit into his left hand. The dogs hit the fence just below him. Adam vaulted over the top but his right boot caught just below the barbed wire. It held for a moment, then he fell, swinging head first from the top of the fence. His body slammed first into the electric wire then into the netting. An electric shock jolted through his body as the wire stretched then bounced him back. A gob of dog saliva flecked his face, and growling teeth snapped beside his head on the far side of the fence.
“Get ’em,” screamed Mr Sinnott, bowling towards Adam, wearing nothing but his undies, his belly shining pale as another flare burst above them.
The swing back was enough to release Adam’s toe. He dropped, shoulder striking the ledge of grass before he tumbled down the side of the drain to slap head first into the mud and slush at the bottom. He pulled himself up, spitting out a mouthful of drain water and gasping.
“… if I ever get my hands on your stinking hide I’ll flay you alive!” spluttered Mr Sinnott, hopping from one foot to the other as his dogs ruffed and whined, unable to get at Adam through the netting.
Adam slipped and scratched his way up the side of the drain as Mr Sinnott abused him, blaming him for every orchard raid “since God invented apples and snotty nosed kids!” The flares had died away and Adam limped into the darkness.
Chapter 11
Adam told Robbie and Finn the whole story. Robbie had wanted to know exactly what Ivan was talking about, while Finn couldn’t wait to tell the girls what had happened. He caught up with them near the front gate of school the next morning.
“Wow!” said Kim, looking at Adam. “Is your hand all right?”
A grubby plaster covered the cut. Adam felt the palm and shrugged. “Yeah it wasn’t too deep.”
“What did you tell your parents?”
Adam shrugged. “They didn’t hear me come in last night. I’d said I was going to go fishing this morning with Finn, so I got up early and had an excuse for my dirty pants and the cut on my hand. I said I’d cut myself on an old bit of iron down by the river.”
“They believed that?” asked Tara.
Finn grinned. “Of course they did. We’ve hurt Adam heaps more times than we’ve actually hurt fish.”
Adam glared at him. “Only coz we’ve never caught any fish.”
“So did you get the fruit?” asked Kim.
Adam reached into his bag and came out with a bundle of Glad Wrap. He carefully opened it. Juice dribbled over his hand and layers of sodden plastic fell wetly away. Inside were the remains of a nectarine, crushed nearly beyond recognition, its skin peeling away and flesh pulped.
“Yuck,” said Kim.
“Mmmm,” agreed Adam. “You should see the pocket of my cargo pants. I biffed the other nectarines at Ivan’s gang. I fell on this one when I went over the fence.”
As they were talking most of Ivan’s gang cruised up to the gate on bikes. They dropped the bikes untidily against the footpath and sat on the fence, hassling kids as they came in. Tara overheard them talking and put a finger to her lips to shush the others.
“I reckon it was one of those army training things,” said one of the gang. “You know how they drop the soldiers somewhere and they’ve got to get back to base and live off the land on the way.”
“Don’t be stupid,” sneered Ivan. “They wouldn’t stop to chuck rotten apples at us.”
“What do you reckon then?”
Ivan frowned, “I dunno. They’d either have to be real tough or real stupid to break into old man Sinnott’s place. Did you hear those dogs? If they got hold of him they’d tear him to pieces.”
Muzz hadn’t been with Ivan’s gang. He walked along the road and straight past them.
“Hey Muzz,” yelled Ivan. “Come here mate.”
Muzz just stared at him and didn’t move.
“Are you still upset about last night mate?” grinned Ivan. “Got you a good one eh?” he sauntered towards Muzz and faked a punch at his stomach. Muzz’s expression never changed. “Come on man, come and hang out with the boys, you don’t want to be around those other dorks.” He motioned with his head towards the kids inside the school gate. “I was just telling the boys you were putting up a good fight till I sucker punched ya! Isn’t that right boys?” The others nodded and grunted. Muzz stood for a moment then walked over and sat down reluctantly with Ivan.
Adam rubbed his neck as the Dare Club watched. “I hope those guys don’t find out it was me in the orchard.”
“Mmmm,” said Tara, thinking. She nudged Kim. “Here, I’ve got an idea, we’ll put those guys completely on the wrong track.” She led Kim out a different gate, explaining what they were doing as they went, then came around so that they walked past Ivan’s gang.
As she walked towards the gates she nudged Kim’s shoulder. “Did you hear they even raided Mr Sinnott’s orchard last night?”
“Did they?” asked Kim, sounding surprised.
“Yeah! Didn’t you hear about those flares going up?”
“Hey!” yelled Ivan, quickly dropping off the fence. “Who are you talking about?”
Kim looked at the ground. Tara stepped back. “No one.”
“I heard ya,” said Ivan, his mates gathering around him. “You know who raided the orchard.”
Tara looked at the ground. “If they found out I told they’d kill me.”
“We’ll protect ya!” Ivan puffed out his chest.
“Huh!” cried Tara. “You guys wouldn’t stand a chance against them. They’d beat you to a pulp.”
“No way!” growled Ivan. “No one messes with us.”
Tara shook her head sadly. “Okay, I’ll tell you guys. But only for your own protection.” She looked him in the eye, deadly serious. “I mean it, you don’t want to go messing with them.”
Ivan leaned forward as Tara glanced around to make sure no one would hear her. “They go to Pinevale, two of them just came back from reform school last year and they’re really mean. They practically ran the reform school and they reckon they’re gonna run this place too.”
“Yeah?” scowled Ivan.
“The thing is…” said Tara, trailing off and looking around again. “The thing is they’re girls.”
Ivan burst out laughing. “Girls,” he roared. “A bunch of girls reckon they’re gonna run this place! You’re joking!”
Tara roughly elbowed past him. “You’ve been warned Ivan. They’re tough as, don’t mess with them.” Ivan was left shaking his head.
Tara turned to Kim as soon as Ivan wouldn’t hear her. “They fell for it!” she cried.
“Hook, line and sinker,” grinned Kim.
At the next Dare Club meeting Finn sat in the choir loft and unfolded the first piece of paper. He held it away from himself, down towards the floor and read it slowly, then read it again.
“Well come on,” Tara growled, “what is it?”
Finn put the paper down and looked up. “It’s to wag school for a day.”
“Cool,” cried Adam.
Robbie nodded, “I’ll do that.”
Kim shook her head, “No, I’m not doing that one.”
“Awww, what are ya?” asked Tara. “That’s the best one yet.”
Kim frowned. “I’m not doing it, all
right? I’m right in the middle of a geography project, I’m doing a sculpture for art and if Mum found out I’d bunked she’d kill me.”
“Girly swat,” muttered Adam.
Kim glared at him, “I am not!”
Finn sighed and pulled the next dare from the bag. He read it at arm’s length. Kim watched him closely.
“This one is to let the tyre down on Ivan Spittle’s bike.”
“Good dare,” cried Adam. “I wish I could do that one.”
Robbie shrugged. “It’s only Kim, Finn and I that have to agree to it.”
“Nah we all have to,” cried Adam. “That’s what it said in the rules.”
“Are you sure?” asked Tara.
“Yip.”
Finn sighed. “Well let’s have a look then.”
Kim fished in her bag and pulled out the paper with the rules on it, written very small and neat. She handed them to Finn. He held them away and looked at them for a long moment then shook his head and passed them back. “I can’t find it there, you have a look.”
Kim raised her eyebrows, quickly found the rule and read it to herself. “It says that once you’ve done a dare you can supply dares but you don’t get to vote about doing them.”
“Awww,” groaned Adam.
“It might not even matter,” said Finn. “I’ll do it.”
“Me too,” agreed Robbie.
Kim had been muttering to herself again. “I’ll do it too,” she said, surprising everyone.
“All right then.” Finn turned his back and fiddled with the straws. “Only three straws left, that’s a ummm … a 33% chance for each of us.”
Finn spun around and offered the straws to Kim first. Kim reached for the one closest to her and confidently pulled it out. It was the short straw.
“Awwww,” moaned Kim, frowning at Finn as though she had expected that straw to be a long one.
“Bad luck girlfriend,” said Tara.
“So when are you going to do it?” asked Robbie.
“At school I s’pose, although the bike sheds are off limits during the day.”
“That doesn’t stop those guys, they’re around there all the time,” said Finn.
“Do it outside the video arcade,” suggested Robbie. “They’re there every night.”
“Yeah, I s’pose that’ll work,” said Kim. “Anyway I get that truth question. Who else hasn’t answered one?”
Finn and Robbie were the only other ones left.
“That’s right.” She hesitated, her lips twitched and she made up her mind. “I’ve got a question for Finn. You know how you couldn’t find that rule on the paper?”
Finn nodded, frowning suddenly.
“It wasn’t because you couldn’t find it was it? You need glasses don’t you?”
Finn shrugged, his cheeks flushed and his ears red. “Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “How did you know?”
Adam wore a surprised expression, Tara and Robbie were just puzzled. Kim grinned, pleased with her guess. “My mum’s got glasses. If she forgets them she looks at books the same way. How come you haven’t got any?”
Finn scratched at a line between the floorboards, pushing his finger into the settled dust and grime. “I have. I got them a couple of months ago, when I got my eyes tested. I don’t like them, they feel funny.”
“I haven’t seen them!” cried Adam. “Where are they?”
Finn touched a pocket in the side of his bag.
“Go on, let’s see them on,” said Kim.
“Nah,” Finn blushed.
“Yeah, go on.”
“I want to see them too,” said Tara.
Finn put on a face and found the case in the pocket. “Don’t you guys laugh.”
“Nah,” said Tara, a twinkle in her eye.
“Course not.” Adam crossed his fingers behind his back.
Finn pulled the glasses from their case, turned to put them on then turned around. They were small round glasses, not circular but not oval either. They had thin charcoal frames and coloured arms.
“Jeez,” cried Adam. “You nearly look brainy.”
“Hey they’re quite cool,” agreed Kim.
Robbie just nodded, Tara glanced at Kim and smiled to herself.
Finn quickly took the glasses off and put them away.
“You going to wear them in class now?” asked Adam.
“Maybe.”
“You should,” said Kim. “Mum used to get headaches and stuff if she didn’t wear hers.”
Finn nodded.
Chapter 12
All five of the gang sat at a café opposite the arcade. They’d just seen Ivan and his mates go in, leaving their bikes in the rack to the side of the doorway.
“Hey Kim,” said Finn, gazing across the road. “If I stood at the arcade door I could warn you if they come out.”
Kim nodded. “Cool.”
Tara nudged Kim. “You better get on with it, if you wait around they might come out again.”
“All right, all right,” Kim grumbled, getting up slowly. She walked out the door and threw her plastic bottle into the rubbish bin outside. Adam and Finn followed her.
“What are you doing?” she asked Adam.
“I’m gonna help Finn stand guard,” said Adam.
Kim gave him a sideways look, shrugged and crossed the road. She waited by the bike stand as Adam and Finn walked into the dark cavern of the arcade. A couple of guys were smoking by the front door; others huddled around the machines. Most of them were in groups, either playing or cheering each other on. It was always slightly unreal in the arcade. Strange electronic voices yelled warnings out of dim corners, anxious faces were lit up by the screens as players concentrated, their hands flashing to the buttons, controlling small electronic worlds.
“Slime balls,” yelled a tough looking girl to their left as her character was sucked into a bottomless swamp.
“Die you freaks,” muttered a high school kid, blasting mutants into puddles of gore.
“There they are,” Adam pointed to a rowdy group crowded around a motorbike racing game in the corner. Ivan and Muzz were racing, crouched over the bikes, eyes fixed on the screen and bodies slipping across the bikes as they cornered and powered into the straight.
“Looks like they’ll be a while,” Finn trotted out to the front and waved to Kim. She nodded, knelt beside Ivan’s bike and struggled to unscrew the plastic cap off the back tyre. It was stiff with lack of use and needed forcing on every turn. Finally Kim had it off. She pulled a clip from her hair and pushed it into the valve, letting the air hiss out.
Finn walked back into the arcade and glanced across to see Ivan’s gang still at the bikes. He couldn’t spot Adam, but finally made him out, twisting and stretching over a pinball game. Adam’s whole body seemed to follow the ball, his thumbs glued to the buttons, punching them madly as the ball clunked onto the levers at the bottom. Finn glanced around, and saw that Ivan’s gang was still occupied.
“We’re supposed to be watching Ivan,” he said, over Adam’s shoulder.
Adam grunted as a ball nearly slipped out the bottom. “You watch them.”
“Fat lot of use you are,” grumbled Finn, glancing at Ivan’s gang, then over at the other game.
The rear tyre was flat. Kim pushed her hairclip back into her hair, glanced towards the arcade doorway then scuttled forward and went to work on the other tyre. The cap for the front tyre was caked in mud. She gripped it in her fingers and twisted. It didn’t move at all. Kim tried harder, not able to get a good grip because of the spokes on the wheel. She still couldn’t twist it free.
Adam was playing like a demon, never letting the ball slip through his levers. He had two balls left and was rapidly closing on the high score. He was red in the face and sweating slightly.
“Go you good thing!” called Finn as the steel ball shot through a tumbler and the score leapt up yet again. He glanced at the bikes. Ivan and his gang were gone. His eyes flicked around the arcade, just spotting them as they w
alked out the front door.
“Awww no,” he groaned. “They’ll catch Kim.”
Adam hardly seemed to hear him: his eyes were locked on the game as he shot the ball to the very top of the table.
Kim’s brow furrowed as she gripped the cap for a final try. She gave it everything she had and finally it broke free, twisting around in her hand. “Yes!” she hissed, pulling the clip out of her hair again.
“Oi!” bellowed Ivan, spotting the figure hunched over his bike tyre.
Kim spun around, the hairclip still in her hand. Ivan’s gang raced to the bike stand, bunching around her.
Ivan stared at his flat rear tyre and then at Kim.
Finn raced to the door, where he could see the gang surrounding Kim. He glanced at the coffee shop: Robbie and Tara were staring out of the window.
Adam caught up to Finn at the door. “This better be good, I just missed the high score!”
“Shut up Ad,” snapped Finn, chewing his lip as he watched the gang surround Kim.
“What’re you doing?” growled Ivan.
Kim stepped back till she was leaning back on the bike rack. She looked down and bit her lip.
“I don’t think she likes ya Ivan,” called Muzz, grinning.
“Don’t be stupid,” Ivan glared quickly at Muzz then turned to Kim. “I didn’t do anything to you,” he growled. “Why?”
Kim screwed her face up and her lip quivered, like she was going to cry. “They made me do it. I didn’t want to.”
“Who made you?” Ivan stepped closer.
“I … I can’t say,” mumbled Kim.
“It’s those reform school girls isn’t it?” asked Ivan.
