Nowhere Boys (16 page)
Oscar could walk, so Felix should be happy, right? But he wasn’t happy. And it wasn’t because any minute there might be an elemental attack. It was because he could see that Sam, Jake and Andy were miserable. They wanted to go home.
Felix had never intended this to happen. The spell was just supposed to unmake Oscar’s accident, not unmake all of them. But that’s what had happened. And now it was his responsibility to get them home.
Not that he knew how, yet.
But getting them home would mean he would have to go home too and that was something he wasn’t sure he –
Creak.
Felix looked up. The door opened as if by magic, and a silhouetted figure stood in the doorway.
‘Thought we had a deal.’ The figure moved into the room.
Phoebe. Damn.
‘I was just on my way to see you,’ Felix said weakly.
‘Save me the BS. Did it work?’
Felix felt the talisman under his shirt. If he told her it worked she’d probably want it back. If he told her it didn’t, she’d take it back anyway. What to say?
‘I’m not sure.’
‘What do you mean you’re not sure? You survived the attack of the killer bees, didn’t you?’
‘They didn’t come back. So I haven’t had a chance to test it.’
It was a bad lie and Phoebe knew it. She narrowed her eyes. ‘Really.’
Behind Phoebe, a crow hopped into the shack. It was just like the one Felix had seen that morning with Jake. It flicked its beady eyes around the room as if looking for something.
Behind it, another crow appeared.
Without wanting to appear obvious, Felix moved towards them. Both crows stood their ground. A third one appeared in the doorway.
When Felix had approached the crow that morning, it had flown away immediately. But these ones weren’t fazed by him at all.
Phoebe watched him curiously. ‘What are you doing?’
Felix pushed the crows outside with his foot and slammed the door. ‘Nothing. You should just close the door behind you, that’s all.’
He heard the scraping sound of a dozen or more claws landing on the roof.
‘Another elemental attack, perhaps?’ Phoebe stared at him intently.
Felix wasn’t sure exactly why he didn’t trust Phoebe enough to tell her the truth. She’d trusted him with the talisman, hadn’t she? If he told her he’d activated it, she’d be happy. All he had to do was one small favour for her in return. How hard could that be?
Felix hesitated. What if she just wanted the talisman activated for her own purposes and had no intention of letting him keep it? And if they didn’t have it to protect them –
‘Give it to me, Felix.’ Phoebe held her hand out.
The sound of cawing outside grew louder. Phoebe moved closer to Felix. ‘I said give it to –’
The door flung open and Sam and Andy burst into the shack, slamming the door behind them. ‘A bunch of crows chased us from town.’ They collapsed on the floor, breathless.
Felix ran to the window and looked out. Crows were gathering around the shack, perching on every tree, every log. The ground was a moving mass of black feathers. Conscious of Phoebe’s eyes on him he quickly glanced down at the talisman. Not glowing. If this was another attack why wasn’t it protecting them? He started to mutter the spell:
‘Divinity of the elements, I summon thee.’
Andy looked at him in disbelief. ‘Do you really think a poem is the right response?’
‘Earth, water, air, fire.’
Felix stopped suddenly. That was it! The protective talisman didn’t just need all four elements to be activated. It needed all four elements to
work
. It was just like the spell he’d cast in the forest. ‘Where’s Jake?’
‘He got arrested,’ said Sam.
‘What?’
‘By his dad,’ said Andy.
‘For shoplifting,’ added Sam.
Felix looked at the dull talisman. Without Jake they’d have no hope against an attack. ‘We have to get him back!’
‘Yeah, well, good luck with that,’ said Sam. ‘His dad knows all about the gym break-in. He’s got us on tape, so if any of us go near the station, we’ll be arrested.’
Felix looked out the window at the steadily increasing number of crows. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be locked up than clawed to death by crows. And without Jake, that’s pretty much our only option.’
‘Maybe I can help?’ Phoebe moved out of the shadows.
Andy yelped in surprise.
‘Did you just scream like a girl?’ asked Sam.
‘No.’
Sam turned to Phoebe. ‘Who are you?’
‘Never you mind. I can get you to the police station. I’ll tell them I’m Jake’s guardian. As long as they don’t have evidence to hold him, they’ll have to let him go.’
‘Why would you help us?’ Sam asked.
‘Let’s just say I’m waiting to collect on my investment,’ answered Phoebe, looking pointedly at Felix.
‘If they’ve got us on the security tape, they’re not going to let us go,’ said Sam.
‘I can fix that,’ offered Andy. ‘It just needs degaussing.’
Everyone turned to him.
‘De-magnetising,’ Andy explained. ‘You just need a magnet of equal strength to overwrite the magnetic code.’
‘And where are we going to get a magnet from, doofus?’ asked Sam.
Andy looked around the room at all the junk they’d collected from hard rubbish. ‘I know where we’ll find one. Who feels like smashing open some speakers?’
Andy, Felix, Sam and Phoebe stood behind the door of the shack. The crows were flapping against the windows like black curtains in the wind.
Andy handed out his packets of popcorn samples. ‘So, we fling the kernels as hard as we can and run for the kombi. Okay?’
‘Okay.’ Felix put his hand on the latch. ‘One, two, three.’
The popcorn barely distracted the cawing birds. Andy, Felix, Sam and Phoebe raced across the grass to the kombi pursued by a furious black cloud of claws and feathers. The boys leapt into the back, slamming the door.
Phoebe adjusted her hair in the rear-view mirror. ‘I’m sensing some deja vu. Bees, birds, what will it be next?’ She caught Felix’s eye in the mirror.
A crow landed on the windscreen and opened its beak as wide as a screaming fan at a football match. ‘Okay, okay, we’re leaving. Keep your pants on.’ Phoebe started the engine.
‘Why did you have to get her involved?’ Sam whispered to Felix. ‘She totally creeps me out.’
Felix sighed. ‘No choice.’ He looked out the window. It was true – Phoebe was backing him into a corner. She wanted that talisman working and was using Felix to do it. He wasn’t sure he could trust her, but he’d just have to play along, at least until they got Jake back.
The kombi made its way quickly through the bush and bumped onto the Bremin backstreets. Phoebe drove erratically and the boys were thrown around in the back like fish flailing in a bucket.
Phoebe screeched the kombi to a halt outside the police station. The boys spotted Jake’s dad talking to a severe-looking woman who was leading Jake towards her Prius.
Phoebe jumped out. ‘I thought I told you to unstack the dishwasher,’ she yelled.
Jake turned, surprised.
The boys slid open the kombi door and tumbled out.
Felix looked down at the talisman.
Yes. His hunch was right. With the four of them together, the talisman began to glow – that warm, orange, comforting glow meant everything was going to be all right. He quickly hid it under his shirt.
Jake’s dad moved towards Phoebe. ‘What do you want, Phoebe?’
‘Just here to collect my nephew.’
Jake’s dad snorted. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really.’ Phoebe gestured to the other three. ‘They’re all cousins.’ Noting Andy, she added, ‘He’s a step-cousin. Chinese brother-in-law. Okay? Let’s go, boys. Who’s on dinner duty?’
‘Not so fast.’ Jake’s dad moved in front of her. He eyeballed the teenagers. ‘Four boys, huh? I think I’ve got something that might be of interest to you. Inside,
now
.’
Felix looked up as a flock of crows swooped onto the roof of the station.
‘Leave it to me,’ Andy whispered, tapping his pocket.
Felix nodded, but he knew this was bigger than Andy and his magnet. Way bigger. He clenched the talisman, which was glowing beneath his shirt. He hoped its magic was going to be strong enough to get them out of this one. The boys made their way into the station.
Jake’s dad plonked himself in front of the computer monitor. ‘Righto. I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to know that the mystery of the school break-in has finally been solved.’
Felix watched as Andy pulled out the magnet he’d salvaged from the speaker. Jake’s dad clicked his mouse and sat back in his chair as the security footage started to play.
On the screen, Felix could see the empty gym. He glanced at Sam and Jake’s anxious faces and touched the talisman, now glowing fiercely. He could hear crows cawing outside, their wings batting against the police station doors, and their claws scratching on the roof as they tried to find a way in.
Felix started to whisper under his breath:
‘Divinity of the elements, I summon thee.’
A small surge in power – and the lights flickered.
‘Earth, water, air, fire.’
The cawing of the crows became deafening.
‘Within this stone I invoke ye place
Your greatest strength, your kindest grace
And while this stone remains at hand
Thou shall be safe throughout this land.’
The talisman flashed brightly and then there was a sudden silence.
The video kept rolling, but the boys didn’t appear onscreen.
Jake’s dad sat forward and checked that it was playing. It was. He pressed rewind and then fast-forward. Nothing. No mystery figures running amok. No Andy spinning around in the trolley. Furious, he turned to Jake. ‘You saw it.’
Jake shrugged. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘On the tape. I showed it to you.’
Jake looked at him blankly.
Felix felt the glowing talisman through his shirt, surprised at its power. It had protected them against bees, crows and now –
Andy looked across at him, his thumbs up in victory.
Felix nodded, but he knew it wasn’t a magnet that had wiped them from the tape. Somehow the talisman was protecting them from anything that might threaten them. A small smile crossed his face, but when he looked up his smile faded.
Phoebe was staring at him. Her eyes were on the talisman, pulsing and visibly glowing underneath his shirt.
Sam turned on the rusty tap outside the shack. He put his face under the stream and splashed water under each armpit. If he had to go back to school, he wasn’t going to go stinking like Felix.
He slid his fingers through his hair. Man, there was enough grease in there to fry chips.
The sound of a muffler exploding made Sam look up.
Phoebe’s kombi had just pulled up out the front. She leant out the window. ‘Don’t keep Aunty Phoebe waiting, now.’
Andy, Felix and Jake banged out of the shack and Sam jogged across the grass to join them.
‘So, Felix. Tonight after school, how about I cook you dinner?’ said Phoebe, as the kombi made its faltering way through Bremin.
Felix shrugged. ‘That’s cool, we’ve got a stove now so –’
‘Dude, you’re knocking back a home-cooked meal?’ said Sam. ‘I’m in.’
‘Didn’t invite you,’ said Phoebe, bumping onto the kerb as she negotiated a roundabout.
Sam looked out the window. Great. Their ‘guardian’ was rude as well as weird. He had no idea why Phoebe had helped them at the police station. It was actually kind of freaky. She didn’t seem to have any interest in any of them, except Felix.
‘You don’t have to eat, Felix. Just come over and we’ll have a
talk
.’ Phoebe wasn’t giving up despite Felix’s complete lack of interest.
‘Okay, sure,’ said Felix reluctantly.
Sam watched Bremin High approach. Secretly he was kind of relieved that Jake’s dad had handed them over to Phoebe on the strict condition that she make them go to school. There were only so many days you could spend hanging around that lame shed thinking about where your next meal was going to come from.
School would be paradise compared to that. There were hot showers, girls to talk to, and maybe if he did some skate-busking he could buy something from the canteen.
He might not belong to his family anymore, but he’d always belonged at school. People looked up to him and respected him.
He checked himself out in the side mirror. Not bad.
A plastic-wrapped sandwich hit him on the back of the head. ‘Stop checking your reflection, boofhead,’ said Phoebe. ‘I’ve got a shop to open.’
Sam picked up the sandwich and wrinkled his nose at its contents: a kind of green slush.
‘You got a problem with alfalfa and wheatgrass mayo?’ asked Phoebe.
‘No, all’s good.’
‘Then get out.’
Sam realised the other three were already inside the gates. He stepped out of the kombi.
Okay, here goes. Watch out Bremin High, Sam the Man is back.
He jumped onto his board and skated towards the school gates.
As Sam caught up to the others, a gaggle of girls made their way towards him. They were pointing and giggling.