Crown Park (9 page)

Anzac Day.

Jack filled in the time before
two thirty watching television. But he couldn’t concentrate. Today
was the day when Fluoro was going to sort out the Bennett brothers,
and that would be something worth seeing.

The steam around Crown Park
seemed to be thicker than ever. Jack had trouble finding his way up
the little gully that led to Fluoro’s shelter.

When he got through he found
Fluoro fiddling with an electronic game.

“Are you winning?” Jack
asked.

“In a way. But it’s not a game.
It’s a GPS navigator.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

Fluoro chuckled. “No. But the
Bennett brothers will be after I’ve given it to them.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “You’re
giving them that?”

“Yes, but not for long. I’ll get
it back.”

“They won’t give it back,” said
Jack, annoyed. He’d arrived full of hope about what would happen to
the Bennetts. Now Fluoro was giving them stuff. “It’s stupid giving
them something like that,” he said, angrily. “Where’d you get it
from?”

“There are still bits and pieces
of my previous life around,” said Fluoro. “The question you should
be asking is:
why
am I giving it to them?”

Jack relaxed a little. “OK, why
are you giving it to them?”

“So that they can go on a
treasure hunt.” Fluoro’s fingers moved over the screen. “I’ve
programmed eight places in here, along with a clue to the treasure
they’ll find.”

“What sort of clue?”

“Here’s the first. ‘Collect five
black things that come in pods. What’ll happen if you crush them in
water? They’ll stink, that’s what’ll happen.’ OK, Jack, what do you
think that might be?”

Jack thought for a time. “Seeds
of some sort. Aren’t there some seeds you can make stink bombs
from?”

“Exactly. Do you know what type
of seeds?”

Jack shook his head.

“Wattle seeds. And there’s a
tree right by where this GPS will take them.”

Jack was puzzled. “So they pick
some wattle seeds. So what?”

“Ah,” replied Fluoro. “I don’t
think they’ll be clever enough to get wattle seeds from that clue.
You see, also at that location is a rubbish transfer station. There
are lots of black rubbish bags in containers called pods. They’ll
get five of those and take them away.”

“Then what?” asked Jack.

In reply Fluoro put a finger to
his lips. “Shush. Here they come.”

A moment later Brian and Liam
Bennett appeared out of the steam. They stood in front of Fluoro
with their legs apart and arms hanging wide.

“Where’s the treasure?” asked
Brian.

“Right here,” said Fluoro,
holding out the GPS.

Brian grabbed it. “What’s
this?”

“Your guide to fame and
fortune,” replied Fluoro. “It’s a GPS. You have to follow the route
I’ve put in there and collect things from each place.”

“GPS?” said Brian. “But we don’t
have a car.”

“You don’t need one. All of them
are within walking distance.” Fluoro leant over and picked up a
box. He held it out to Liam. “The instructions and battery charger
are in here.”

Liam took the box. “What do we
do with the things we collect? Are they the treasure?”

Fluoro shook his head. “They’re
all jewels in a way, but they’re not the treasure. You must take
them to the last place to swap them for treasure.”

“What’s in this treasure?” asked
Brian.

“Ah,” said Fluoro, smiling.
“You’ll have to wait and see. But it’s worth a lot more than
gold.”

For a time, the Bennett boys
stood in silence. They were suspicious. But they also liked the
talk of treasure, jewels, and gold. Liam, in particular, had greed
written all over him. Brian was more wary. Fluoro must’ve seen it,
for he chose that moment to close his eyes and start mumbling.

“Om mani padme hum. Om mani
padme hum…”

It did the job. Brian was back
to thinking crazy man again. No wonder the scheme sounded a little
nuts.

He turned to Liam. “C’mon, let’s
get started.” Then to Jack. “Tell Freakhead we’ll be back if
anything goes wrong.”

“You’d better hope that it
doesn’t, Spewit,” added Liam as he followed his brother into the
steam. “Or we’ll have to take it out on you.”

As soon as they’d gone Fluoro
stopped chanting. “That seemed to work.”

“What are the other things
they’re meant to collect?” asked Jack.

“Oh, just things that are around
this time of the year. Red maple leaves from down at the shore;
sycamore seeds at the cemetery; blackberries near the spa; cricket
eggs around the golf course. That sort of thing. They’re all
natural, of course. Each is one of Nature’s little jewels.”

“But each could be something
else,” said Jack.

“Precisely! And if they’re
stupid and choose the wrong thing, then they’ll be in trouble at
the final location.”

“Which is?”

“Melissa’s house.”

Jack nodded slowly. Now he
understood. “Whose father is a policeman?”

“Yes!” said Fluoro with a
satisfied grin.

“Won’t they get suspicious when
they find out where they’re going?”

“Melissa says that neither of
them know where she lives.” Fluoro leaned forward. “Believe me,
Jack. This will work. Those brothers are greedy, and greedy people
will do anything for money. Especially if it comes from a crazy
person.” He climbed out of the La-Z-Boy. “Now,” he said, rubbing
his hands together, “how about some noodles for lunch before we
head back and find out what’s happening with that eruption. I have
a feeling this will be our last visit.”

Chainsaw arrived during lunch and Jack
gave him some scraps he’d brought from home.

Fluoro watched the cat scoffing
it down. “Good idea to fill him up before we return.” He smiled.
“We don’t want him eating the moho.”

“Why did you say this might be
our last visit?” asked Jack.

“Because of the eruption. The
activity has increased on each visit. The climax must come
soon.”

Jack looked around at the steam.
“Does all this steam mean something is going to happen around
here?”

Fluoro shook his head. “The lake
isn’t going to erupt, if that’s what you’re worried about.
Geothermal fields like this are always changing. It could have
something to do with the new geothermal power stations they’re
building. Or maybe all the rain we’ve had this autumn. It’s more
obvious today because it’s cold and there’s no breeze to take it
away.”

However, when Jack went to have
a pee, he found that the holes around the cliff face were venting
more gases than ever. An empty feeling formed in his stomach.

And it didn’t get any better
when he lay down on the lounger. He patted his lap, inviting
Chainsaw to jump up, but the cat refused. He sat on the ground
staring up at Jack. His tail was snaking back and forth as it did
when he was unsure of things.

“What’s the matter boy?” asked
Jack, reaching over to stroke the cat’s head. Instead of purring,
Chainsaw replied with a small meow.

By then, however, Fluoro had
started into the story, so Jack leant back and tried to empty the
fears out of his mind.

As soon as they arrived, Jack knew that
something was wrong. Grey ash was falling from the sky and the
smell of sulphur filled the air.

Jack looked at Fluoro. “You said
they’d be safe here.”

“It will only be temporary,”
said Fluoro. “Must’ve been a change in the wind.”

Before Jack could comment
further, Lucy was in front of them, and she was not happy.

“We should not have listened to
you humans,” she said, angrily. “We would have been better off back
at the lake. At least there we’d be safe from the adzebills and
none of the moho would have had to die.”

“Have the adzebills attacked?”
asked Jack.

“Yes! And taken one of the most
beautiful creatures there ever was.”

“It was my fault,” said
Godfrey.

“No, it wasn’t,” said Lucy. “We
wouldn’t even be here, if it wasn’t for these humans.”

“What happened?” asked Jack.

Godfrey went to answer, but Lucy
got in first. “One got brutally attacked and killed because of
you.” She glared, first at Jack, then at Fluoro.

But Godfrey was not going to be
put off. He wanted to confess. “I was tail-end Charlie,” he said,
sadly, “and everything was going fine. Lucy was setting a good
pace, with Em in the air, and Pat sniffing for danger.”

“That was difficult,” said Pat
appearing out of Lucy’s feathers. “This sulphur makes it hard to
smell anything else.”

“And it was so dark with the ash
falling,” added Emily, from a branch above them. “The adzebills
were impossible to see on the forest floor.”

“Be that as it may,” said
Godfrey, “it still would not have happened if I had kept my mind on
the job.” He looked up at Jack. “You see, I was tired and my mind
always wanders when I’m tired. Somehow, one of the moho—”

“Number Four,” put in Pat. “Or
Lots if you go by their system.”

Godfrey shook his head,
impatiently. “Yes, yes, whichever one it was, it got behind me, and
I didn’t notice.” He closed his eyes as if reliving the event. “The
first I knew was when the moho cried out. I turned and there the
adzebills were. At the front was Boris, that leader of theirs. He
is so horrible.” Godfrey shuddered. “He didn’t attack straight
away. He stood giving the moho the evil eye, until the poor bird
collapsed from fright. Even then, Boris didn’t move. He gave a
signal, and three others came forward to drag the moho off. After
they’d gone, Boris stood and stared at me as if daring me to do
something about it. I’m sorry to say, I didn’t. I couldn’t,” he
whispered. “I was too scared.

“I found what was left of the
body later,” said Emily. “It was only the skin covered in feathers.
I brought it back here for Lucy.”

“And I’ve got it on under my
chest,” added Lucy. “See!” She lifted her head to full height
showing the patch of purple feathers that were now part of her
clothing. “Don’t you think they look wonderful?”

At that the remaining moho, who
were gathered behind her, began whimpering. Lucy turned to them.
“Oh, I’m sorry if I upset you, but it would be wrong to waste such
beautiful feathers. Throwing away the skin won’t bring your friend
back, will it?”

That just made the moho cry
louder.

Lucy lowered her head and turned
back to the humans. “Anyway, these are the ones you should be
blaming. They’re the ones that made us come here.”

“And it was the right decision,”
said Fluoro. He looked up to Emily in the tree. “You can get a
better view than anyone. What’s happening back at the lake?”

“I can’t see that far through
the ash. But when I last could, I saw the whole of the lake area
was covered with stuff. Much worse than here.”

“See,” said Fluoro. “If you’d
stayed at the lake, you’d all be dead, not just one moho.”

“But it’s not going to be just
one moho. Is it?” said Lucy. “They’ll all be gone before we get to
somewhere safe.”

Godfrey stepped forward. “That’s
what we were discussing before you returned,” he said. “And I have
a suggestion to make.”

Everyone went quiet, waiting for
Godfrey’s suggestion.

“We need to trick the adzebills
into thinking that we’ve gone in another direction. Send them after
something else.”

“Send them on a wild goose
chase,” suggested Fluoro.

“What’s that?” asked Lucy,
sharply.

“It’s when someone is sent on a
useless mission.”

Godfrey nodded. “Well, what I’ve
got in mind is more like a
mild
goose chase. I’m the one who
will be leading them astray.”

“And how will you do that?”
asked Fluoro.

“Pat tells me that up ahead the
path splits in two. I plan to go one way while all of you go the
other. The adzebills will follow me.”

“You can’t be sure of that,”
said Fluoro.

“Oh yes I can, because I will be
carrying the dead moho’s skin and feathers. Pat says it still
stinks of moho flesh. The adzebills won’t be able to resist
following a path that smells of moho. They’ll think that some of
them are injured.”

“I won’t allow it,” said Lucy,
loudly. “I absolutely won’t allow it.”

Godfrey turned on her. “That’s
because you don’t want to give up the moho skin. You and your thing
about the colour purple. You’re always thinking of yourself
Lucy.”

“What a horrible thing to say?
Me? Always thinking of myself? I’m the one who has to do the
thinking for everyone else.” She fluffed up her feathers. “I’m
doing this for you, Godfrey. I’m protecting you. For if you do
this, the adzebills will kill you for sure.”

“I know that,” said Godfrey,
quietly. “And I’m ready for it.” He let out a long sigh. “Look, I’m
too old to keep up with the rest of you. If I’m with you, I’ll hold
you all back, and more than just the moho will die. This way, you
all get to a safe place, and I get the chance to do something
really important. You’ve got to let me do it.”

“Mmm,” said Lucy. “Let me think
about it.”

For some time Jack had been
aware that Chainsaw was patting at his leg. Now, he bent down to
the cat. “What is it, Chainsaw?”

In answer Chainsaw ran to a
large tree alongside the path. Up the trunk he went. When he got to
the first branch, he paused to check that Jack was still watching.
He then went along the branch until he was right above the path. He
crouched as if he was going to spring down to the ground. Then he
twisted his head and gave Jack a loud meow.

Cat and boy looked at each other
for a few moments. A plan of action formed in Jack’s mind.

“Wait,” he said turning to face
the others, “There is another way.”

Jack’s plan took some time to
organize.