Nowhere Boys (15 page)

The boys walked down the main street of Bremin and wandered into the town’s Mini Mart, where they saw Felix’s dad eyeing them suspiciously.

‘Not sure this is a good idea,’ Sam whispered to Jake.

‘Fine, then. You stay out the front and keep watch. Start singing if you need to warn us.’

‘Dude, I can’t sing.’

‘Doesn’t matter. Just go. Andy and I will do the dirty work.’

Andy looked horrified. ‘Jake, I can’t.’

‘Aisle two. Quick, we’re being watched.’ Jake pushed Andy down one aisle and wandered casually down another towards the refrigerated section.

Eggs, bacon, bread. That should do it.

He picked up a carton of eggs and considered how to fit them down his pants. He could of course take them out and put them individually in his pockets but they’d probably break. He put them back. Shoplifting wasn’t as easy as it looked. He moved down further and picked up a packet of bacon. Okay, this was possible. He shoved the bacon down his pants.

‘Ma-ry had a li-ttle lamb
…
’

Jake heard Sam singing tunelesly. He quickly pulled his jumper down and turned into the next aisle. Andy was standing with his hands full of free microwave popcorn samples.

‘We’ve got a stove, not a microwave,’ Jake hissed.

‘Its fleece was white as snow
…
’

‘That’s Sam. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.’

They ducked into an aisle where they had a clear view to the front of the store. There, entering through the sliding doors, was Jake’s dad. He quickly spoke to Felix’s dad, who gestured towards the boys.

‘
And eve-rywhere that Mary went
…’ Sam’s singing was more a screech than a song.

‘Okay,’ Jake turned to Andy. ‘Let’s go when I say run. Ready?’ Andy nodded. ‘
Run!
’

Jake and Andy sprinted to the front of the shop. They burst out of the doors, collected Sam, and turned left down the main street.

‘Hey, get back here!’ Jake’s dad yelled after them.

‘Don’t worry. Dad’s a slob. He’ll never catch us,’ said Jake breathlessly as they ran.

He glanced over his shoulder. Dammit. Cop Dad was fit. In fact, he was gaining on them.

‘This way,’ yelled Jake, veering off down an alleyway.

Sam and Andy followed him. They careered down the alleyway but ran into a dead end.

Jake turned to see his dad powering down the alleyway towards them.

When he got within fifty metres, he slowed down. ‘Right, boys. I think we need to have a little chat, don’t you?’

‘I’ll distract him,’ Jake whispered. ‘You two make a run for it.’

His dad looked them up and down. ‘A gang of three shoplifters, eh? There was also a gang of boys that broke into the school last weekend. Thanks to the security cameras, we got them on tape. Know anything about that?’ He moved towards them.

Jake watched him. It was kind of incredible that even his walk was different. His old dad always wore thongs and kind of shuffled. Cop Dad actually lifted his feet.

‘I’m talking to you, kid.’

Jake kicked a bin, hard, right into his dad’s path, knocking him off balance. ‘
Run!
’ he yelled.

Taking their cue, Sam and Andy charged back up the alley, dodging Jake’s dad and sprinting away.

Jake stood still. Good. Andy and Sam were safe. But what about him?

His dad stepped towards him. The bin lay between them. Jake hesitated. His instinct was to run away but something was fighting it. Maybe if he let his dad catch him, he could find out how it was possible that one person could have changed so much.

His dad quickly grabbed his arm. ‘Right, you. What’s your name?’

‘Jake.’

‘Jake who?’

Jake looked at the nametag on his dad’s uniform:
SNR SGT GARY RILES.

What would he say if he told him the truth?

‘Just Jake.’

‘Well, Just Jake, you’re coming with me.’

Plop!

Jake smiled nervously as the packet of bacon he’d shoved down his pants fell onto the cobblestones.

At the police station, Jake’s dad gestured to a chair for Jake to sit in and took a seat at his desk, opposite.

Jake surveyed Senior Sergeant Gary Riles’s desk curiously.

‘Rightio. Address?’

Jake picked up a Bremin Bandicoots mug. ‘You like the Bandicoots?’

‘No, mate. I’m just their number one ticket holder. Phone number?’

Jake shook his head.

‘Parents’ names?’

Jake shook his head again.

His dad put down his pen. ‘I can sit here all day if I need to. So, why don’t you just cut to the chase and tell me who your parents are? They’re probably worried sick.’

Jake wanted to laugh but thought better of it. ‘You think so?’

‘Strange as it may sound to you, parents do actually care for their kids, despite the trouble they cause.’

Yeah? thought Jake. Even the ones they never knew they had?

‘So, how’s this for a deal?’ His dad continued. ‘You tell me who your parents are and we’ll drop the shoplifting charges.’

For an instant, Jake thought about telling his dad everything: that he was the son he and Sarah had fifteen years ago. That in another world Gary Riles was an unemployed loser who never remembered to pick him up and take him to footy training. That he couldn’t even cook baked beans without burning the pan. That he’d started six TAFE courses and never finished any of them.

‘That’s a fair deal, kid.’

Jake hesitated. ‘I don’t know who they are anymore.’ Which was actually pretty much the truth.

His dad let out a sigh. ‘Well, unless you can “remember” who they are, I can’t release you so …’

Jake smiled. ‘That’s fine. I’ll hang with you.’

His dad was taken aback. ‘Er, Roberts,’ he called out.

A young constable appeared.

‘Get this kid’s mugshot taken and run it through missing persons.’ He clicked at something on his computer.

‘What are you working on?’ asked Jake.

‘What I’m working on is finding four vandals who broke into the school gym last Sunday and trashed it,’ he said sternly. He flipped the screen around to show Jake.

Jake’s jaw dropped. There they all were – running around the gym, throwing balls and flinging rolls of toilet paper around like maniacs. He wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad news but one thing was clear: they definitely existed.

‘Look familiar?’

Jake shook his head. Luckily the footage was from such a wide angle that it was impossible to recognise faces. But his dad clearly knew it was them. So now what? Would they be arrested and charged? What would the police do with them if they couldn’t find their parents?

His dad zoomed in on a figure sitting in the cleaning trolley. ‘Remind you of anybody?’

Jake shook his head again but the resemblance to Andy was pretty obvious.

His dad turned the screen back to face him. ‘I’m going to give you a bit of advice, kid. If you don’t tell me the truth there will be dire consequences.’

Jake laughed out loud. Could anything be more dire than his current situation?

‘You think this is funny? Well, it’s not going to be funny in ten years when you’re a no-hoper with no money, no job and no future.’

What a perfect description of his dad, thought Jake. ‘Yeah, Mum used to say the same thing about my dad.’

‘And how did he end up?’

Jake was wondering how to answer that when Roberts reappeared.

‘Sarge, Sarah Bates just called in. Apparently her dog, Pippin, has been missing since last night.’

Jake watched his dad carefully. He wondered if his Dad had even dated his Mum in this world and, if he had, did he still have feelings for her?

‘Tell her not to worry. I’ll put out an alert.’

Jake thought he saw him soften, but he could have been imagining it.

Roberts produced a camera and got Jake to stand against a blank wall. He took a number of shots from different angles. Just like in the movies, Jake thought. Only if this was a movie, he would escape and be reunited with his family, and that didn’t look like happening anytime soon.

Jake watched as Roberts and his dad had a muttered conversation. Jake felt pretty sure the missing person’s search was going to come up zero. They’d have to let him go, right? It’s not like he could hang around the station indefinitely.

Or maybe he could? Maybe Senior Sergeant Gary Riles would offer to look after him until his parents could be found. Maybe Jake would move in with him. Then he could get his mum to see how great his dad was now, and she’d ditch Bates and they’d all be together.

He shook his head. Dream on.

When his mugshots had been taken, Jake was taken back to sit in Senior Sergeant Gary Riles’s office.

Jake picked up a photo of his dad wearing a Bremin Bandicoots jumper and a beanie. He had his arms around a German Shepherd.

‘That’s Zeus. Comes to every game.’

Jake put the photo down. ‘So, you don’t have kids?’

‘No, mate. Married to the force as they say. All I can do to look after a dog.’ He looked away, seeming kind of sad. ‘Anyway, don’t know about you, kid, but I’m starving. Got some baked beans out back if you’d like some?’

Jake’s face broke into a smile. His old dad was still in there somewhere. He knew it. ‘Sure, Da – er, Sergeant.’

‘Coming right up.’ He stood up and, as he did, a woman opened the door to the station. She made a beeline towards him.

‘Senior Sergeant Riles?’ She put her hand out like a dagger. ‘Thanks for the call. Janet Hawker from Child Protection Sevices. Come to collect the boy.’

Jake felt the ground opening up beneath him.

He’d been betrayed by his own dad.

felix:
counting crows

Felix sat alone in the shack. He’d barely even registered the others leaving. Something to do with food. Strange how he wasn’t hungry. His stomach felt permanently jittery. He imagined if he did eat something it would probably just bounce around inside him with all his other strange feelings.

He looked at the talisman lying in his hand. It looked so ordinary – just a dull, muddy, stony brown. Nothing magical about it. But when it glowed, that was something else. Knowing how powerful it was kind of terrified and excited him at the same time. The bees had disappeared instantly, so whatever came at them next wouldn’t stand a chance. At least, he hoped.

Felix put the talisman carefully around his neck. He knew he should probably tell the others about it but Andy would diss it as unscientific, and Jake and Sam were taking everything pretty hard – he couldn’t imagine how they’d react to a magical talisman. He would tell them soon. But first, he had other things to work out. It was all very well, being able to protect them from the attacks – but he still didn’t know
why
they were being attacked.

He opened his Book of Shadows and looked at the drawings he’d made of the spirals. The bees had distracted him from finding out what they meant. He needed to see Phoebe’s sister’s Book of Shadows again. He was pretty sure those patterns held a clue as to who or what was after them. If he could work that out, then maybe he could work out how to get them all home.

Home
. It was a nice word – safe and warm. Only problem was when Felix thought about home he thought about his parents’ constant anxiety, Oscar’s life of doctor and physio appointments, and how every day he had to live with his guilt. Guilt for encouraging Oscar to climb just that little bit further.

He’d known Oscar hadn’t wanted to. He’d known he’d been scared, but he’d still pushed him. Why? To prove he was braver? To make Oscar admire him?

Truth was, he didn’t know why he’d done it. Maybe he’d just wanted to share the awesome view from the top of the elm tree? The feeling of being above everyone, away from parents and school and judgement and then –

Crack
.

That sound again. The awful splintering sound that had haunted Felix for two years and three months.

That’s what
home
meant to him. Having to relive that sound every single day – no, every single hour of every single day. He closed his book and paced around the shack. Living here with no food or water was nothing compared to living with that sound.