The Dare Club

by Vince Ford

  Kim didn’t reply.

  “They made you let my tyres down. They’re up to something and they made you let my tyres down so I couldn’t get there didn’t they?”

  Kim nodded, holding back tears. “I … I was just walking past and five of them grabbed me. They said if I didn’t they’d break my fingers. Please don’t hurt me.”

  Ivan searched frantically up and down the street. He glared back at Kim. “Where are they?”

  “I don’t know,” she whimpered, her voice shaking. “They were talking about doing the big one. They went off that way.” She pointed vaguely up the street.

  Ivan stared up the street then sprung into action. “Muzz, go up to the railway yards, see if anything’s happening there. Stu, you and Mike check out the school. Ernie, I’m taking your bike – you stay and check out the arcade. Neil, come with me. Meet at the town clock in ten minutes.”

  Kim stood at the rail as Ivan’s gang grabbed their bikes from around her, leapt onto them and raced away. Ivan was still yelling orders as he biked around the corner. Ernie had brushed past Finn and Adam and was scanning the crowd in the arcade. Kim was left standing by herself beside Ivan’s bike. She frowned at Adam and Finn then looked across the street to Tara and Robbie who were clapping and waving madly. Kim shrugged, knelt down beside Ivan’s bike and finished letting the tyre down.

  Chapter 13

  On Thursday afternoon Tara drew the first dare from her bag. Finn and Robbie were the only ones still to take on the challenge. “This one is to get your ear pierced with a needle.”

  “I’ll do that,” said Finn.

  “Dad’d kill me,” said Robbie.

  Tara shook her head and pulled a second piece of paper from the bag. “Okay … this one’s tough. You’ve got to walk over the arches on the humpy back bridge.”

  The humpy back bridge had two big concrete humps that supported it across the river. The drop to the water was huge. Only one or two high school kids had ever jumped off it.

  “The arches are quite wide,” said Finn. “So long as you didn’t do anything stupid you’d be all right.”

  “They’re kind of steep at the bottom though,” said Kim.

  “The bottom bit’s okay,” Adam fidgeted with the straps from his bag. “If you slip you can just drop back onto the footpath.”

  “Well are you guys going to do it or not?” asked Tara.

  “I’ll do it,” said Robbie.

  “I’m in too,” said Finn.

  Kim took two straws from her bag and was going to hand them to Tara but Adam stuck his hand out.

  “I’ve done all my dare and truth things. At least I can do the straws.” Kim nodded and handed them to him while Tara looked on suspiciously.

  Adam turned around and shuffled the straws, then turned back to face them but changed his mind and shuffled the straws some more. When he turned back Robbie got to choose first.

  He immediately picked the far straw; it was a long one.

  Kim shook her head. “That’s amazing, you always get the long one.”

  “Aw man,” groaned Finn. “I didn’t want to get this dare.”

  “If you back out you can always leave the club,” said Tara.

  “No way,” said Finn. “I’m still going to do it.”

  “What’s your truth question?” asked Adam, unable to sit any longer, pacing between the loft stairs and the end wall.

  “My question’s for Robbie,” he said, and all eyes turned to Robbie. “I want to know how you knew who the guys from Unit 47 were.”

  Robbie stood up abruptly and walked to the rail overlooking the main church. He breathed deeply then turned to face Finn. His expression was blank. “My brother was in Unit 47. He used to hang with them, that’s how I know who they are. He’s in jail for armed robbery and grievous bodily harm. It’s the best place for him.” Robbie sat back down.

  “Far out,” cried Adam, bouncing over and flopping down on the floor. “Did he have a shaved head? What did he do?”

  Robbie ignored him. “Have I answered your question Finn?”

  Finn nodded slowly.

  “Yeah but what’d your brother actually do?” asked Adam.

  Robbie got up to leave. “Adam,” he said coldly, “I’m not going to talk about my brother. He’s not worth it.”

  “It’s like there’s been a massive plague or a bomb’s gone off and we’re the only ones left in the world,” said Adam as he and Finn walked towards the bridge at five-thirty on Sunday morning. The streets were empty, the street lights glowing orange in the half light, and the only sound was the early chirping of birds.

  “What would you do if we were the only ones left in the world?” Adam was talking and flicking his fishing rod at the same time, watching it flex and whip back again.

  “For a start I wouldn’t be doing this blimmin dare in the middle of the night,” grumbled Finn, his hair messed up and sleep hanging in the corners of his eyes. “I’d sleep in like every other normal human being.”

  “I s’pose,” agreed Adam. “We could do it any time coz there’d be no adults to tell us it’s dangerous.” Adam whipped his rod sideways, the tip barely missing Finn.

  Finn glared at him. “And when I got to the bridge I’d push you off so I could walk down the street safely.”

  “Easy,” grinned Adam. “Didn’t Finny Winny get enough sleep last night?”

  Finn groaned and shook his head, moving well away from Adam and his fishing rod.

  Robbie was sitting on a wall beside the bridge, his face reflecting the glow on the horizon as the sun hovered, just out of sight. He wore a contented frown and was glancing at the scene as he drew it carefully into his notebook.

  Adam trotted out into the middle of the empty bridge, puffed his chest out and held a body-builder’s pose. “There ya go, that’ll add a human element to your picture.”

  Robbie looked up and grinned. “Sorry mate, I only draw nudes.”

  “Really?” asked Adam, his jaw dropping open.

  Robbie couldn’t help laughing. “No not really.”

  “Oh.” Adam’s shoulders sagged.

  Chapter 14

  Finn stood beside the first arch, staring at it, then down to the river below.

  “Come on,” said Adam. “If you don’t go soon there’ll be heaps of traffic and someone’ll stop us.”

  “Yeah, okay,” murmured Finn. He climbed unsteadily over the handrail and stood on the wide ledge that curved to form the arches. Breathing deeply he kept a hand on the rail and walked unsteadily to the first arch. The first part was the steepest. Finn leaned forward, hands on the concrete and slowly started the climb, just watching the concrete in front of him, not looking around.

  “Are you all right mate?” called Adam from the footpath just below.

  Finn nodded.

  “He’s fine,” murmured Robbie.

  Finn gradually relaxed as he found himself climbing easily up the arch. It was over a metre wide so there was no danger of slipping off the side. He was past the steepest part and it started to level out at the top. “Hey this isn’t so bad,” he called down.

  Finn stopped and lifted slowly from his crouch; his hands left the concrete and he held them high, balancing as he stood up. His eyes left the concrete in front of him. He was well above the bridge and saw the town, slowly waking, bathed in fresh morning light. Suddenly he was aware of the drop to the bridge and the brutal concrete of the road. He leaned unconsciously away.

  Then he glimpsed the water, still in shadow, dark and steely. There was a sense of nothing below him, just empty space. Fear clenched his heart, nearly painful: he felt weak and dizzy. Finn lowered himself back to a crouch, suddenly stiff and awkward.

  “You all right?” called Adam again.

  “Yeah,” Finn was breathing in short, shallow breaths.

  “You don’t look it!”

  Finn gradually relaxed. He could still feel the fingers around his heart holding loosely, ready to squeeze if he lost control.<
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  He closed his eyes for a second then continued on all fours, blanking out everything except the feel of the concrete under his hands. As the slope gradually curved down all his weight pressed on his hands and shoulders, as if he was going to fall forward. He walked his hands back and stepped through them so that he was on all fours, bum down to the bridge. Gradually he worked his way down, like a spider.

  “Good stuff Finn,” called Robbie. “You’re nearly over the first one.”

  “Nearly halfway,” added Adam, hanging over the handrail.

  Finn groaned. He stopped at the bottom, put his hand on the rail and took a couple of deep breaths.

  “That didn’t look too bad,” said Adam, hanging over the rail and eyeing up the next hump.

  “I dunno,” said Finn weakly. His arms were shaking and his T-shirt clung to the sweat on his back.

  “You going to be okay?” asked Robbie.

  Finn nodded. “May as well get it over with.” He kept hold of the rail and walked to the next hump, putting hands on the concrete and beginning to climb again. As he approached the top a large white car pulled onto the bridge behind them. Adam hastily grabbed his fishing rod, looked down and pretended to be fishing. Robbie stood beside him, watching. The car cruised past, its tyres making a thumping sound as they crossed between slabs of concrete.

  Adam watched the car as it left the bridge, past Finn. “Blind as a bat, he didn’t see a thing.” He pulled the rod in and watched Finn as he climbed onto the flat of the arch.

  “Oi, you kids!” came a yell from the end of the bridge. The white car had stopped just around the corner and a fat man in a suit and tie was marching towards the end of the arch, his stubby finger in the air. “I can see you up on the arches, you shouldn’t be playing around up there. Get down!”

  Finn stopped.

  “You come down here,” yelled the Suit. “I’m sure your parents will want to know that you’ve been mucking around up there.”

  “Blimmin adults,” grumbled Adam.

  “He’s coming down now,” cried Robbie, jogging towards the Suit. He came up to him, lowered his voice and talked quickly. “Listen, he’s a bit psycho. He thinks he’s some kind of monkey!” Robbie rolled his eyes. “We can’t let him get excited, he might try and swing off or something.”

  Robbie turned to the bridge and called to Finn, holding his palm up. “It’s all right mate, just stay calm, it’s gonna be all right. You come down quietly and we’ll give you a nice banana.” Finn was still crouched on top of the arch, staring at the concrete. He muttered something under his breath. His arms were shaking so badly that his whole body trembled.

  “Oh jeez,” said the Suit. “He looks like he’s really losing it.”

  “Having us on the bridge is only making him worse,” gasped Robbie. “Listen, you back off and I’ll follow you.”

  “Okay, good thinking,” said the Suit, backing up slowly. “It’s all right,” he called gently to Finn. “Just stay calm, I’m not going to do anything.” He backed slowly off the bridge, his hands in the air.

  Adam was standing beside Robbie and could barely control a laugh.

  “It’s okay monkey boy,” called Robbie. “We’re backing off too. Just come down in your own time.” Finn nodded, then eased over so that his bum was to the bridge and started to crab forward as Adam and Robbie stepped back. He was close to the end now, where trees overhung the bridge, so it was mossy and damp.

  There were a series of electronic tones behind them. Adam glanced around and saw the Suit dialling on a mobile phone. There was a pause. “Yes, fire service please, it’s an emergency.”

  “Oh no!” groaned Adam.

  Robbie thought quickly, and lowered his voice so that Finn could hear him, not the Suit. “Finn, he’s calling the fire brigade. Act like a monkey or something, make him drop the phone!”

  Finn nodded, took a breath then dropped to his bum, crouched and pointed a shaking arm at the phone. “Ooh ooh ooh ah ah!” he cried, rocking up and down on his haunches. The Suit stopped and stared.

  “Ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah, ah, ah!”

  “He’s getting excited!” cried Robbie, “I think it’s the phone.”

  Finn spider-walked towards the edge.

  “Put the phone down,” cried Robbie. “He could do anything.”

  The Suit frowned, looking desperately at his mobile then at Finn.

  “Ooh, ooh, eeh, eeh, aah, aah!” screeched Finn, sweat dripping off his brow and eyes popping from the effort.

  The phone clattered to the ground. “It’s down, it’s down!” The Suit backed away with his hands in the air. Adam pretended to sneeze, barely holding in a laugh.

  Finn spider-walked away from the edge, and glanced down to the river winding beneath him. The height made him dizzy, so he edged further away, arms tired and shaking. He felt the cool moss under his hand for an instant before it slipped off the slick concrete and into fresh air. His shoulder dropped and his left leg kicked, desperately trying to balance. He teetered for a split second then toppled and dropped towards the bridge.

  “Aaaaaaaaah!”

  Robbie and Adam watched in horror as he fell two metres, turning over as he went, smashing into the handrail with his arms and chest, then crashing to the hard concrete of the footpath with a sickening crunch.

  Adam raced to him, dropping to his knees beside his friend. “Finn … Finn, are you all right?”

  “Don’t touch him!” yelled the Suit desperately scrambling for the phone.

  “Can you hear me Finn?” called Robbie, squatting beside Adam.

  “Rrrrrrrrrrr,” groaned Finn, his eyes opening a crack. Blood seeped from a cut in his hair, one arm was bent awkwardly beneath his body and his face was pale.

  Chapter 15

  Adam walked out of the pool gates after swimming club on Thursday. He stopped outside and waited. Robbie caught up with him and nodded. “Are you going to the old church today?”

  Adam shrugged. “Dunno, after what happened…” his voice trailed off.

  Kim and Tara came out, bags over their shoulders and hair wet. “How’s Finn?” asked Kim.

  “He’s getting better. I saw him at the hospital last night, he should be coming home today. His arm’s in plaster and they’ve still got his ribs strapped but it looks like his head’s okay.”

  “That’s good news,” said Tara.

  “Yeah, could have been a lot worse,” agreed Kim. The others nodded.

  “His parents have calmed down a bit,” said Adam. “They went mental when they found out it was a dare.”

  “Not surprised,” said Kim.

  “Did he tell them about the Dare Club?” asked Tara.

  “Nah, he just told them I dared him to.”

  “So you’re in the bad books too?” asked Kim.

  Adam shrugged again. “A bit.”

  Everyone stood around for a moment, looking at their own feet.

  “Are you guys going up to the loft today?” asked Robbie.

  “Dunno,” said Tara. “Are you?”

  “I think we should,” said Robbie. “It’s a good place to talk anyway.”

  Tara nodded. “Okay.”

  “So are we still doing the dare thing?” asked Robbie when they were all sitting in the choir loft.

  “Finn’s was the last one wasn’t it?” asked Adam.

  Robbie shook his head. “Nah, I’ve still gotta do one.”

  “I don’t think you should,” said Kim. “It’s getting out of hand. Tara could have got trampled, Adam was nearly strung up on that fence and look what happened to Finn.”

  “Yeah,” mumbled Adam, shaking his head.

  Robbie frowned. “I’m the only one that hasn’t done it though – it’s not fair,” he stared around the group. “Tara, what do you think?”

  Tara thought for a moment and shrugged. “Dunno, I think you should definitely get a truth question. No one’s going to get hurt doing that.”

  The others agreed.

  �
�But what about Finn?” asked Kim. “He should be here for it too.”

  Adam shook his head. “Nah, he’s all right. I’m going to see him at his place tonight. I’ll tell him what happened. Anyway it’s going to be ages before he can squeeze through the fence to get into this place.”

  Robbie looked at Kim for a long moment. He already had a question for her. “You know sometimes when you’re thinking about something, or when you don’t think anyone is watching, you talk to yourself? What’s that all about?”

  “Oh no,” said Kim, putting her head in her hands, and looking out between her fingers. “How many of you guys noticed that?” Everyone in the group nodded. Kim groaned. She took a moment, then sighed and started talking slowly, looking at the floorboards as she spoke. “I had a twin sister, Karen. We did everything together, we even had our own language that no one else knew.” Kim stopped, looked at the far wall and continued. “She died in an accident when we were four. Sometimes when I’m not sure about something I sort of ask about it in our language.” She glanced around at the others, her eyes shining. “It’s not like I can see her or hear her or anything. But usually when I ask, the answer pops into my head.” She shrugged and looked down.

  Tara leaned over and gave Kim a hug. When she let her go both their eyes were damp.

  “That’s kind of cool,” said Robbie quietly.

  Adam nodded. “It must have been amazing having a twin. I wish I had one sometimes.”

  Tara rolled her eyes.

  “Nah,” said Adam. “It’d be cool, you could swap places and blame each other for things or get them to sit a test for you, heaps of stuff like that.”

  Adam saw Kim looking at him, tears in her eyes. His face dropped. “Awww, sorry Kim. I didn’t mean it to make you feel bad or anything.”

  Kim smiled weakly. “That’s all right.”

  “Well,” said Robbie. “That’s it then.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Adam. “I had a good dare too.”

  “What was it?” asked Tara.

  “To pinch Ivan Spittle’s beanie.”