by J A Mawter
As they got closer one of the skateboarders called out, ‘This is what happens when bikes and boards mix.’
Mio strained to see who it was. Dunk Dog! What was he doing here? And how did he know they were presenting at this meeting tonight?
The skateboarders strode up to the Freewheelers and took up a chant: ‘Bikes and boards don’t mix. Bikes and boards don’t mix.’
Three of the council members looked decidedly scared. One stood on a chair yelling for the ‘ruffians to get out’. A couple of the men were trying to usher the kids out the door but the skateboarders stood their ground, clapping and banging their boards in time with the chanting.
‘Bikes and boards don’t mix. Bikes and boards don’t mix.’
Mr Lark was yelling out for everyone to ‘settle down’. The other people in the public gallery made a beeline for an exit. There was total mayhem. It was obvious that the council had no Emergency Response Plan in place.
Mio surveyed the room, anger rippling to the surface of her emotions. ‘They’ve sabotaged us!’ she cried to Darcy. ‘Now we’ll never be able to use Wheels Park.’ Aware that there was nothing to be salvaged at this particular point in time she turned to the others calling, ‘Let’s get out of here,’ and reluctantly they followed her out of the room. As she passed Dunk Dog, Mio stopped and said, ‘This isn’t the end. It’s only the beginning.’ She turned to the others and put out her hand. Four hands piled on top.
Freewheelers!
A sixth hand joined the tower. It was wrinkled and knobbly, scored with veins and smudged with sunspots.
‘Free the wheelers,’ Mr Lark cried.
As Mio turned to glare defiantly at Dunk Dog she noticed something that took her breath away. ‘Where’d you get those?’ she asked.
Dunk Dog brushed her aside and strode to the doorway.
Mio rushed after him repeating, ‘Where’d you get the dog tags?’
She half-expected him to say something like, ‘Lots of people wear dog tags,’ but he didn’t. With his hands on his hips, one foot on his board and the other poised for flight, he said, ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out!’
And he slipped into the night like a moon shadow.
Chapter Twenty
‘After him!’ cried Mio as she followed him in hot pursuit. She could hear Dunk Dog carving up the pavement with his skateboard, the wheels spinning as he claimed the night. Then she realised with a pang that she didn’t have her bike. In fact, no-one had their bike except Bryce.
‘Can I borrow your bike?’ asked Mio, gripping the handlebars before he’d had a chance to say ‘No’.
‘The chain,’ yelled Bryce, staggering alongside the bike and trying to unlock the safety chain.
Mio reeled with impatience. Already the zwooshing skateboard sounds were getting fainter.
‘Mind the dog poo on the tyres,’ said Bryce. ‘I wasn’t watching and found a fresh one.’
By now Mr Lark had joined them. He grabbed Mio’s arm, demanding, ‘What’s going on? Who is he? Why’s he wearing dog tags?’
Mio gasped. Her secret was about to come out. But before she could answer the other skateboarders burst from the building, slammed their boards on the ground and pushed off like a bobsled team at the start of a race. Then they jumped on and hunkered into a streamlined position, cannon-balling down the street.
By now, Bryce had removed the lock. Mio jumped on the saddle, but just as she began to peddle Darcy grabbed the frame and held fast. ‘You can’t go off by yourself. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I’m faster and stronger. Let me.’
Mio hesitated. She knew what Darcy said was true but her grandmother had taught her another truth. Keizoku koso chikara nari [Perseverance is power]. And with that thought she gritted her teeth, yanked on the helmet, and thrust on the pedals. ‘No, but thanks.’
‘Mio!’ yelled Darcy.
Mio propelled the bike even faster. She was going to catch Dunk Dog, whatever it took. She’d ride through the night if she had to.
The others were left peering into the darkness.
‘You let her go!’ Clem accused Darcy. ‘You should’ve stopped her.’
‘I couldn’t.’ Darcy snorted saying, ‘At least I tried.’
‘Rolled over more like it,’ said Clem. ‘Just like Bella wanting a pat. Now what are we going to do?’
‘Alert the police,’ said Mr Lark.
Bryce gave him a look that could nuke onions, always cautious of landing in trouble. ‘What are they going to do?’
‘Send out a search car.’
‘As if.’
In the midst of all the squabbling Mrs Jacobs pulled up in the family car, ready to pick up the twins. And sitting beside her, a huge grin on her face, her tail moving like a pendulum in chaos, was Bella.
‘I know!’ suggested Bryce. ‘There’s dog poo all over the tyres. Bella can follow the scent.’
‘Mum!’ Clem raced up to the car, yanked the door open, and grabbed Bella’s lead. ‘I’ll explain later,’ she called as she pulled Bella to the pavement and took off. At the spot where Mio had jumped on the bike Clem stopped, pointed to the ground and said, ‘Find Mio, Bella.’ Bella’s nose hovered over the ground. When she picked up the scent she gave a series of frenzied yelps and leapt off in the direction that Dunk Dog and Mio had gone. ‘Good girl,’ cried Clem running along with her.
Tong and Bryce bolted after them. Darcy tugged Mr Lark towards the car and ordered him to, ‘Get in. Explain to Mum. And follow us!’
Once on the scent Bella bounded along. It was all Clem could do to stay with her. Bella wove back and forth as she went, making sure she stayed on target. Her ears joggled and her tail worked harder than a windscreen wiper in a thunderstorm. Every so often she’d make little grunting noises and give the occasional yap, unable to contain her excitement.
By now, Darcy had caught up, and he, Tong and Bryce followed in Clem’s wake. Cruising behind them, headlights illuminating everything in their path, came Mrs Jacobs and Mr Lark.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Mrs Jacobs, gripping the steering wheel and trying to keep her eyes on the road and the kids at the same time. ‘Why did Mio take off?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said Mr Lark. ‘But when we catch up with her I’m going to give her a stern ticking off, I can assure you. Racing off into the night on her own like that.’
‘Was she upset about the meeting? Was there a fight?’ Expertly Mrs Jacobs negotiated the corner, pleased that the fluoro strips on Bryce’s runners were easily spotted in the beam of the headlights.
Mr Lark shook his head. ‘Yes, to both those questions. But I don’t think that’s the problem. She wanted to talk to one of the skateboarders.’
‘Oh.’ Then, Mrs Jacobs’ attention was consumed by the task at hand and she stayed silent.
Mio, Dunk Dog and the others were several blocks up ahead. Dunk Dog had tried every trick in the book to shake Mio off but she’d been relentless. She’d ridden up concrete embankments, hopped up and down gutters, swerved her way through some witch’s hats on the road and managed to avoid every pothole.
On congested streets, Dunk Dog and the others had an advantage. They could physically pick up their boards and run round dangerous obstacles, like roadworks, but Mio had to negotiate her way through. And Bryce’s bike was bothering her. She was used to her own bike, small but snappy, that responded to her every touch. Bryce’s bike was older and heavier. The difference was like driving a tank after driving a mini minor. Mio was riding through the darkness and second guessing Dunk Dog at the same time, trying to work out where he was heading. Maybe she could find a shortcut and cut him off?
Some skateboarders peeled away, piking from exhaustion. Others literally fell away, toppling as they mucked up their landings and scooted along the ground. There’d be many a bruised hip, bottom or thigh in the morning. One skateboarder fell so hard his board shot out from under him. With trigger reflexes and skill Mio bunnyhopped over it, only to hear it slam into a gutter and clatter as
it skidded several metres down the road.
Soon, there was only Mio and Dunk Dog left in the race.
Both were conserving energy, using forward momentum to propel themselves, rather than their usual pushing and pedalling actions.
Up ahead, Mio could see a person bending down to pick something up. She couldn’t tell if they were a man or a woman, young or old; all she could see was that Dunk Dog was headed straight for them.
‘Stop!’ she called.
Mio couldn’t believe her eyes as Dunk Dog skated onto a bus stop bench, then leapt, the board sticking to his feet as he sailed over the person’s head. The old man didn’t move. He seemed to rust with shock. Mio swerved, shouting ‘sorry’ over her shoulder as she went in pursuit. She could tell Dunk Dog was tiring. His t-shirt was soaked with sweat and he stood cruising more than pushing on his board. More and more frequently, he glanced over his shoulder to check out where she was. Mio noticed with satisfaction that every time he did so his board wobbled and swerved and he lost ground.
Further back, Bella was like a dog possessed. She was snuffling and barking and grunting and puffing as she followed the scent. Clem ran with her, trying to stop the lead from getting tangled or caught as they went. She already wore a crown of leaves from when Bella had run under a low branch and Clem had had no time to duck. She had a stitch in her side and was struggling, so that now, although Bella was still hot on the track, she was also having to pull Clem along at the same time and this was slowing down their progress. Instead of giving up, Bella grew more determined, digging in with her paws and lowering her belly to the ground to shorten her legs and increase her strength.
‘Swap,’ said Darcy, running beside them. His hair and face glistened with sweat, but Clem knew he was right. If they were going to catch up with Mio, it was Darcy’s turn to take the lead. Trying not to stumble she slipped it over her wrist and held it out to Darcy, who snatched for it and looped it over his hand, barely missing his stride. It was a grateful Clem who staggered to a halt and watched Tong and Bryce overtake her.
Mrs Jacobs drew into the kerb, yelling ‘Get in’ as Mr Lark reached back and swung the door open. Clem’s chest burned. Her lungs felt raw, but she did manage to yell out ‘Go!’ before collapsing in her seat and clipping on her seatbelt.
A relieved Mrs Jacobs took off. At least one of these children was now safe. All she had to worry about were the other four! Up ahead, she could see the brightly lit sign of a service station. She glanced at the fuel dial, relieved to see she wasn’t on empty and wouldn’t have to stop.
Dunk Dog had spotted the service station, too, and made his way through the petrol bowsers. Mio followed, looking like she was doing a sequence of pirouettes as she tried to close in on Dunk Dog and avoid the pumps at the same time. At one point she got close enough to reach for his hair, but with a shriek like a war cry he twisted away, leaving just a few strands clutched in her fist.
‘Stop!’ called Mio.
Dunk Dog hurtled down a ramp to a lower level, then headed for a metal fence. He crouched, flung his arms into the night sky and jumped, his skateboard whizzing under the fence, to nail the perfect landing on the street below and roll away.
Mio prayed there weren’t any cars as she pulled up, up, up and sailed over the fence, to land with the grace of a duck on water on the other side.
Darcy could see what was up ahead and let go of Bella’s lead. She shot under the fence and landed on the road, rolling a couple of times like a dirty snowball, before once again finding her feet. She stood for a moment, shaking herself to get her bearings. With a hop, step and jump Darcy joined her, scooped up the lead and they resumed the chase.
Mrs Jacobs accelerated up to Tong and Bryce then slammed on the brakes. ‘Get in!’ she roared. Drained to the core, they gratefully accepted the ride and flung themselves into the back seat with Clem. Mr Lark wondered half-jokingly if Mrs Jacobs was going to take the ramp and jump the fence too, but she was familiar with this place and took the side road instead, pulling into the street below with barely seconds wasted. Clem made a mental note to ask her mother where she’d learnt to drive like a racing car driver but still short of breath, she stayed silent. Mrs Jacobs, however, used to her own six kids and head counts, was telling herself, Three down, two to go.
‘There they are,’ cried Mr Lark. Then suddenly he pointed to the right. ‘And there they go!’
Chapter Twenty-One
Jumping off his board and plucking it up without a falter in his step, Dunk Dog raced up to a building that was being renovated. Metal scaffolding crisscrossed each wall. Long planks had been lashed down to form walkways and work stations. Dunk Dog flung himself through the scaffolding and onto the boards, pushing himself to his feet and starting to run.
At this point Mio felt like giving up. She had nothing left. But her grandmother’s saying haunted her: Keizoku koso chikara nari [Perseverance is power], and she knew she could not give up.
She hopped off the saddle, left the bike to skittle along the grass verge, and plunged headfirst through the scaffolding and onto the walkway. Now, Mio had the advantage. Without the impediment of a skateboard, she could manouvre herself easily through the metal pipes and beams.
Being too short to jump the height, Bella pulled up on the ground beneath, her whiskers and nostrils twitching as she ran in circles of frustration. ‘Good girl,’ said Darcy, giving her a lightning pat. ‘Now stay!’ He was shocked when Bella sat, without a whimper of protest. She looked at him as if to say, ‘I will guard the bike. Now you be off.’
With an encouraging ‘woof’ Bella watched Darcy scale the scaffolding. In no time at all she was joined by the others.
‘Darcy!’ screeched Mrs Jacobs. ‘Mio! Come down.’
Dunk Dog had scaled one floor up and stopped, trying to get his bearings, when he realised he’d backed himself into a corner. The walkway had run out and Mio was fast approaching. Homing in from the right was Darcy.
This is it, Mio thought to herself, then yelled out loud, ‘Got you.’ She saw Dunk Dog glance at her, then at the end of the walkway. Dunk Dog looked down, up, and then down again, calculating his escape route. Mio saw him clamber over the top of the scaffolding and balance on the outside.
‘Don’t,’ she cried, then watched with horror as Dunk Dog made ready. ‘Don’t jump!’ she shrieked, but it was too late. Dunk Dog and his board flew into the air, whizzed past her ear, and crashed to the ground.
Clem screamed. Mrs Jacobs tried to cover her eyes, but it was the thud that would echo forever in her head.
Tong and Bryce raced to see if they could help. They were shocked to find Dunk Dog’s landing spot empty and had started to look for him when the others pulled up.
‘He’s gone,’ said Darcy.
Bryce whistled. ‘You’ve got to hand it to him. He’s one hell of a fighter.’
Mio sank to her knees when Darcy said halfheartedly, ‘I suppose we could use Bella and chase him again?’
But Mrs Jacobs thought otherwise. ‘Absolutely, positively, no-room-for-arguments not!’ She went from kid to kid and gave them a hug. ‘This is so foolish. Foolish and dangerous.’ She turned and asked, ‘Mio, what on earth possessed you?’
‘I…’ Mio saw the wrinkles of concern on Mr Lark’s face. ‘I…’
And she couldn’t, didn’t dare say it: Mr Lark, I’ve lost your dog tags. She looked down, anguish wrenching her heart. Mio had never felt so relieved when Mrs Jacobs put her arm round her shoulders and said, ‘Time to get you home, young lady. Time for all of you to be home.’ She pointed to the bike and added, ‘Bryce, put that in the boot. I’m driving you, too. The least I can do is make sure you all make it home in one piece.’ As the kids buckled up their seatbelts she added, ‘We shall talk about this tomorrow.’ Then she glanced in the rear-view mirror and said, ‘Clem, Darcy. If this is what you get up to when you go out, I’m not sure I can trust you to ever go out again.’
Clem stared out the window, too pooped to a
rgue. But Darcy’s fingers curled and he swore under his breath.
‘What did you say?’ asked Mrs Jacobs, glancing at him from the rear-view mirror.
Darcy felt his nails dig into his palms. ‘Nothing.’
And the rest of the trip was made in silence.
Late that night, Mio checked the computer again and was shocked to find 856 emails had flooded her inbox, all sent by the same person, someone calling themselves Cinderella. Mio racked her brains but she couldn’t think of who it could be. Tomorrow she would report this to the internet provider. Tomorrow she would change her contact details and password. Tomorrow, this would stop. In the meantime she forwarded an email to JEAAG outlining this latest development. She wondered why they were taking so long to reply and prayed they’d get back to her soon.
The next morning before school the kids met at the Van. After tying up her bike Clem took a large foil package from her basket and deposited it on top of the TV table.
‘What you got?’ asked Bryce, sniffing the air in a pretty good Bella impersonation.
‘Piggies in a blanket for breakfast.’
‘I didn’t think you guys could eat pig,’ said Bryce.
Clem laughed saying, ‘We can when it’s kosher pig.’ She pulled open the foil to reveal a pile of steaming kosher frankfurts.
‘Here, piggy, piggy,’ crooned Bryce, reaching for a frankfurt.
Clem brushed his hand away, saying, ‘Don’t forget the blanket,’ and she pulled a loaf of bread and some tomato sauce from her backpack.
‘Me no see pig. Or blanket,’ said Tong, and everyone laughed, even Mio despite the weight of her worries.
Bryce grabbed a slice of bread and put on a demonstration of how to wrap the frankfurt inside:
‘Here is the blanket
And a pig, not mutton
Look out stomach
I’m just a glutton’
Clem pushed him off his milk crate, saying, ‘Idiot!’ but it was just what they needed to break the tension. Soon, they were all eating piggies in a blanket.
