The Ice-cream Man (14 page)
Authors: Jenny Mounfield
14
Once the trees closed around him, Rick lost all sense of direction. He pelted through the scrub, ducking and weaving, letting his panic lead. When the stitch in his side grew so painful he could barely breathe, he fell to his knees in the leaf litter with a fist pressed to his ribs. The sound of his breathing howled in his ears, blotting out any sounds of pursuit there might be. Maybe the creature hadn’t bothered to follow; surely there was easier prey to be had.
A deep rumble of thunder sounded overhead. Rick glanced up and felt the first fat drops of rain strike his face, bursting like saltless tears on his cheeks. He opened his mouth, swallowing the rain greedily, and then surveyed his surroundings. The ground dropped away to his left. The creek would be on low ground, he figured, so he followed the downward slope.
The rain beat a steady rhythm on his head as he walked. It pattered on the leaves and filled the air with the smells of earth and eucalyptus. How had he ended up here, when only a week ago his life had been so ordinary? Visions of his mother lying lifeless and pale on her bed rolled through Rick’s mind. No, his life hadn’t been ordinary. Anything but. His steps faltered. He blinked tears and rain from his eyes. For the first time in his life he was utterly alone. What would happen to him now?
Rick found the creek without trouble. It wasn’t much more than a thin muddy trickle after the months without rain. He wiped his face with a forearm and tried to decide which way to go. He could continue straight ahead as he’d planned, but there was no telling how far he’d have to walk, or he could follow the creek, which would lead him to the timber mill. But should he go left or right? He chose to go left and somehow wound up back at the billabong.
Rick could have screamed – would have if he’d had the energy. It was as though all paths led to the billabong, as though some force refused to let him leave. Perhaps the mythical bunyip had him in its sights after all. He stared at the dark water, pricked by tiny needles of rain, and with a jolt remembered the thing that had stalked him here. His eyes darted, scouring the bush. Stuff it! Some stupid animal wasn’t going to keep him from going home. There was no way he was following the creek back the way he’d come. It would take too long. No, he’d walk back to the track and past the lagoon and if anything got in his way then . . . well . . . he’d deal with that when he needed to.
He ploughed through the bush, ignoring the shrubs that slapped and tugged at him and headed for the far side of the billabong where the VW stood guard. Lightning flashed, turning the water into quicksilver, and Rick used the light to quickly scan the bank for signs of life. Seeing nothing threatening, he hurried through the trees and onto the track that would take him home.
Rick rounded the last bend and glimpsed lightning reflecting off the lagoon up ahead. The surrounding trees resembled black cut-outs as another blaze of lightning lit up the bush. From all around came the patter of rain. It was hotter than ever. Rick could almost see the steam rising from the ground.
A deep rumble sounded, and right after it came a more sinister sound: the growl of an animal. Rick spun around, eyes scanning the scrub on either side of the track. He saw nothing, which was hardly surprising considering the poor light.
Come on, Ricky-boy, get a grip
.
Not far now.
Already
he could see the dark strip of the bike path, and the sheer sandstone wall through the trees. He took a deep breath and shook the tension from his arms.
A high-pitched scream, which Rick felt all the way to his bowels, suddenly sliced through the air. His feet faltered. His eyes were drawn upward to the top of the rock wall where he saw Marty, hunched low in his chair with an obviously terrified Aaron clinging to his back, roll onto the ramp.
Thunder cracked like a gunshot, and a blaze of sheet lightning illuminated the sky, throwing the rock wall into dark relief. The smell of ozone and tar filled the air.
Aaron screamed again as the chair shot forward down the ramp. Rick watched the sight, hardly believing what he was seeing. As the wheelchair hit level ground, Aaron was flung violently backwards. He landed on his back with a loud ‘
OOOMF
!’
Surprisingly, Marty fared better. With his white- knuckled hands gripping the wheel rims he somehow managed to keep the chair upright by throwing his weight forward at the crucial moment.
‘I did it! Man-o-man, I did it!’ Marty yelled.
Rick ran to where Aaron lay, staring dazedly up at the bruised sky.
‘That was the maddest thing I have ever seen,’ he said, hauling Aaron to his feet. ‘But whatta youse doing here?’
Aaron got his legs under him. ‘Billabong. Quick,’
he wheezed, lurching away from Rick.
Frowning, Rick looked from Aaron to Marty.
‘What’s going on?’
Marty shook his head and wheeled onto the track.
‘No time. We’ve got to go to the billabong.’
‘But I just came from there,’ Rick said. ‘I’ve gotta go home.’
‘You can’t!’ Marty yelled. ‘Mr Gunner’s after us.’
‘Huh?’
Aaron grabbed Rick by the arm and started dragging him into the scrub.
Rick allowed himself to be pulled along. By now Marty’s and Aaron’s fear was infecting him, too. All sorts of alarms were firing in his brain.
A car door slammed. They all turned towards the sound.
‘Hurry!’ Marty yelled, taking off down the track. Aaron ran after him with Rick on his heels. Rick
didn’t get it. What was the relief teacher doing with the ice-cream man? He turned his head for one last look at their pursuers and the toe of his jogger snagged a tree root. He crashed to the ground, twist- ing his ankle and landing heavily on one shoulder.
Aaron saw him go down and ran back to help him up.
‘Ow!’ Rick winced as he tried to stand.
‘It’s all right, I’ll help you. Lean on me,’ Aaron said.
Rick limped a couple of steps before his injured ankle gave way. He leaned on a tree for support. ‘No, you and Marty go without me.’
‘No way. We’re not leaving you.’
Hearing movement, Rick looked around. Mr Gunner was marching through the scrub towards them.
‘Will you just go!’ Rick said, pushing Aaron away.
‘Marty!’ Aaron yelled, moving away down the track.
A moment later, Mr Gunner reached Rick. He wrapped his long fingers around Rick’s neck and began choking the life out of him.
‘I’ll teach you to cross me, mister!’ the teacher screamed. Gunner’s grip tightened.
A roaring sound filled Rick’s head. Gunner’s twisted face filled his vision, swelling and contorting like something made from clay. He dimly heard Aaron’s voice and then Rick’s throat was released and he was falling sideways.
‘Are you all right?’ Aaron said.
Rick tried to swallow and nodded. He looked away from Aaron and saw Mr Gunner beside him on the ground. ‘What’d ya do to him?’
‘Same thing he did to you.’
‘Hey, what’s going on?’ The ice-cream man came into view. Rain soaked his hair, pasting it to his doughy cheeks in limp strands. He took one look at Gunner now sitting up, rubbing his throat, and charged.
Rick’s fingers scrambled in the dirt for something to use as a weapon and closed on a rock the size of his fist. He tore it from the earth and got clumsily to his feet. ‘Stop!’ he yelled, pulling his arm back and taking aim.
But the ice-cream man didn’t stop. Rick waited until he was almost on them and then threw the rock. It connected with the ice-cream man’s forehead with a dull thud. His eyes widened and then he collapsed in a heap.
Rick looked around. ‘Where’s Marty?’ he yelled, and saw that Marty was there.
‘We’ve got to get help,’ Marty said, moving past
Rick.
‘You’ve killed him!’ Mr Gunner shrieked. Back on his feet and with his arms outstretched, he swung towards Marty.
Marty reared up on his back wheels and rammed him, smashing the wheelchair’s metal foot plate into his shins. With a howl of pain the teacher stumbled backwards, tripped over the ice-cream man and thumped to the ground on his back.
Thunder rumbled overhead and lightning tore the sky in two.
Marty wheeled around the ice-cream man’s prone form. Aaron followed and then Rick. As Rick limped past, Gunner dived, snagging his fingers in Rick’s laces. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he hissed, baring his teeth like a demented chimp.
Gunner had hold of Rick’s uninjured foot, so it was all he could do to stay upright. ‘Get off me!’ he yelled.
Renewing his grip on Rick’s jogger, Gunner glanced at the ice-cream man. ‘Get up, you fat lump, and help me teach these boys a lesson.’
The ice-cream man groaned. He tried to sit up and then fell back.
Gunner clutched a fistful of the ice-cream man’s shirt with his free hand and shook him. ‘Must I do everything myself !’ he screamed.
While the teacher’s attention was diverted, Rick took the opportunity to pull his foot out of his shoe. It came free with a wet slurp. He staggered into Aaron.
‘Marty’s ringing the police,’ Aaron said.
‘Hear that, ya nut-job? The police are coming,’ Rick yelled at Gunner. His fear was fast giving way to anger. How dare these freaks do this to him!
The teacher got to his feet. His finger jabbed the air, emphasising each syllable. ‘When I want you to speak, I will tell you to speak, mister. Open that mouth of yours again and I’ll –’
‘Give it up. We’re sick to death of your threats.’ Marty rolled towards them. He stopped and plucked the mobile phone from his lap. ‘See this, Mr Gunner? I rang the police and told them what you’ve done to us and they’ll be here any minute.’
This revelation seemed to confuse the teacher. He stared blankly at Marty, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.
The ice-cream man heaved himself onto his elbows. The lump on his forehead was already the size of an egg. ‘Threats? What else have you done, Myron?’
‘Oh, didn’t you know?’ Marty said. ‘Your mate, Mr Gunner, here, thinks he’s the Grim Reaper. He’s even got pictures of kids all over his bedroom wall. What do you think the police will say about that, eh?’
‘He’s not my mate, he’s my brother,’ the ice-cream man said. With a moan, he sat up. ‘Is what the kid saying true, Myron?’
‘I told you we had to teach these bad boys a lesson,’ Mr Gunner said to his brother. ‘Someone had to. They’re out of control. You saw what they did to the van.’
‘We’re outta control? That’s rich,’ Rick said. Aaron gripped Rick’s shirt sleeve and pulled him
back. ‘He’s crazy. Don’t waste time trying to talk to him.’
Thunder cracked over their heads, and the rain bucketed down.
‘C’mon, we can wait for the cops at the top of the ramp,’ Marty said, moving off.
‘Get back here right this instant, or you’ll have detention!’ Gunner screamed.
‘For pity’s sake, shut up,’ said the ice-cream man.
15
The clouds had moved on, leaving behind a pale summer sky. Marty and Aaron made their way along Fifth Avenue in silence, each occupied with his own thoughts. After the drama of the previous day there was more than enough to think about. Marty felt flat, as though he’d used up his quota of emotions for this lifetime and would never feel anything again. Judging by the way Aaron dragged his feet, Marty figured he felt much the same.
‘Did your parents totally freak when you got home?’ Aaron said, raising his eyes from the road and fixing Marty with a weary stare.
Marty let his wheel rims slide through his fingers for a moment and laughed. ‘Freaked doesn’t even begin to describe how my mother was,’ he said, spinning his wheels again. ‘She’s going to need therapy for the next year, I reckon. Can you believe she was the one who gave Gunner my mobile phone number? Next time she gives me a hard time I’m going to remind her of that.’
‘You’re kidding?’
Marty shook his head. ‘Nope. Apparently he rang her up that day we had detention. Told her all about it. Said I’d be getting in more trouble if she didn’t stop me hanging around with Rick. Mum told him she was worried about me and how Dad had bought the phone and he asked for the number.’
‘And she didn’t bother to tell you?’
‘Well, we kinda got into a fight about the detention and I stormed out. So I guess she didn’t get much of a chance.’
‘Yeah, and like an idiot I gave him my email address. He said I could email my English homework. I didn’t even think of that when that Grim Reaper email came.’
Marty looked up. ‘Right, but he didn’t send that one through his own email address. He used a free mail account.’
‘Yeah, but I still should have thought more about who had my address.’
‘Wouldn’t have helped, mate,’ Marty said. ‘There’s no way you’d have guessed it was Gunner. What about your olds? You’re obviously not grounded or anything.’
‘As soon as my mum found out I wasn’t hurt she was okay about it all. Roger did the big lecture bit about how stupid I was going off looking for the ice-cream man’s house and all. It’s weird, but I think he was kinda proud of me too, you know? He even offered to get my bike from Gunner’s place.’
Marty grinned and nodded. ‘What’s with parents, eh? It’s like they have to tell you off for almost getting yourself killed, like it’s their duty, but at the same time they think it’s cool that their kid’s a hero.’ Aaron kicked gravel onto the road. ‘Do you think
it was worth it? I mean the ice-cream man didn’t kidnap Rick, but if things had gone differently, we could’ve really been hurt.’
Marty didn’t hesitate. ‘Sure it was worth it. We got that nut-job, Gunner, locked away where he can’t hurt anyone. Who knows what he might have done? His own brother didn’t even know how crazy he was.’
They neared the lagoon and Marty rolled onto the bitumen path and picked up his pace. It had been chaos yesterday when the cops and ambulance had turned up. The rain had continued to bucket down, making the paramedics’ job almost impossible.
‘You sure Rick’s going to be at the billabong?’ Aaron said, puffing along behind Marty. ‘I mean, after finding out about his mum and everything . . .’
‘Yeah, I reckon he’ll be there.’
Marty expected the trek through the bush to be hard going after the storm, but the ground, while still damp, was firm. His arms pumped, propelling the chair over the uneven patches and past overhanging branches still heavy with rain.
‘What’s the hurry?’ Aaron panted.
He didn’t have an answer. All he knew was that the billabong was like their very own home base – safe.
As Marty had hoped, Rick was waiting. Marty scrambled across the bank on his backside, grinning.
‘How’s it hangin’?’
Rick turned and grinned, too. ‘Okay, apart from this rotten ankle. You?’
Marty eyed the bandage poking out of Rick’s jogger. ‘Can’t complain, eh, Aaron?’
Aaron dropped to the ground. ‘I didn’t have a chance to say it yesterday, but I’m glad Mr Gunner didn’t do anything bad to you,’ he said to Rick.
Rick shrugged. ‘Reckon it’s time you told me all about Gunner and the ice-cream man. Sorry I didn’t hang round for that story yesterday, but I had to see how my mum was.’
‘Is she going to be all right?’ Aaron said.
Rick nodded and scooped up a handful of stones. He threw one at the VW. ‘Yeah. Geez, I was so sure she was dead.’ He shook his head. ‘Reckon I was almost as crazy as Gunner for a while.’
‘Hey, it’s understandable, mate,’ Marty said. ‘I bet if I’d found my mother after . . .’
‘You can say it, after a suicide attempt.’ He sighed.
‘At least she’s gonna get help now. I’ve even decided to talk to the counsellor, too. Y’know, off-load some stuff.’ He threw another stone at the car and then turned to face the others. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw youse coming down that ramp yesterday. Geez, was that a sight. If only I’d had a camcorder.’
Aaron cracked a smile. ‘Yeah, thought for sure I
was going to mess my pants when Marty did that.’
‘You’ll have to do it again so I can film it. We’ll get a million hits on YouTube, I reckon.’
‘I’m game.’ Marty grinned.
‘No way,’ Aaron said.
‘So, ya gonna tell me the whole story, or what?’ Marty collected some stones and began to throw
them one by one into the water. He and Aaron took turns filling Rick in on what had happened while he had been down at the billabong.
Rick nodded. ‘Yeah, I can see how you’d think the freak had kidnapped me. From what you said about all them photos Gunner had in his room, I’m kinda surprised he didn’t think of it himself. Only thing I don’t get is, who was after us, Gunner or the ice-cream man?’
‘Both of them,’ Aaron said. ‘Gunner started it the day Marty slam-jumped the ice-cream van. The police questioned the ice-cream man at the hospital and he said Gunner drove the van on weekends and sometimes after school.’
‘So, Gunner was the one who ignored me that day at the lagoon when I wanted to buy an ice-cream?’ Rick said.
Marty rolled the stones around in his palm.
‘Yeah.’
‘And what, he hid under the van ’cause he didn’t want us to know it was him?’
Marty nodded. ‘Guess so.’
Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a Mars bar. He started to unwrap it. ‘You know, I feel a bit sorry for him.’
‘What? You must be mad,’ Rick said.
Aaron took a bite of the chocolate and passed it to Marty. ‘The police told my mum that Mr Gunner got bashed by a student last year and had a nervous breakdown. Looks like he’s been getting revenge on any kid who crosses him ever since. You know how some of the photos in his room had their faces crossed out? The police think those are the kids he’s paid back somehow.’
‘Or killed,’ Marty said. He shuddered.
‘Rick’s face had a cross and he’s not dead,’ Aaron pointed out.
‘He crossed my face out? That’s so creepy.’ Rick shook himself and then reached across and took the half-eaten Mars bar from Marty.
A light breeze rustled the trees. Ripples played on the surface of the billabong.
Marty threw his handful of stones into the water and remained silent until the ripples died. Two king- fishers watched the movement from a branch hanging out over the water on the far bank. The larger one flitted down to the water’s surface then back into the trees with something wriggling in its beak.
‘I know what you mean about sorting stuff out,’ Marty said at last, directing his comment to Rick.
‘I accused my mother of not accepting me the way I am, and the funny thing is I don’t accept myself either. That’s why I’m always doing stupid things, trying to prove to myself I’m okay. How lame is that, eh?’ He averted his face as heat crept into his cheeks.
‘I think we all do that,’ Aaron said.
‘Yeah.’ Rick leant over the bank and splashed water on his face. When he was done he looked around. ‘Well, at least we don’t have to worry about the ice-cream man anymore. When he gets out of hospital the cops are gonna lock him up and throw away the key.’
Aaron and Marty exchanged a glance.
‘They couldn’t charge him with anything,’ Marty finally said. ‘He’s free. They reckon he’ll probably be out of the hospital today.’
‘What? You’re kidding?’
Aaron shook his head. ‘He said he didn’t know anything about the threats and stuff and the police believe him. The only thing he did was give us the finger that day we were at Aaron’s shop, and have a go at you for painting his van. All that weird stuff in their house is Gunner’s, and he’s gone back to the nuthouse where they put him last year. They don’t reckon he’s well enough to stand trial.’
‘Geez, that’s just great,’ Rick said, getting to his feet. Limping slightly, he walked over to where the VW huddled on the bank and then turned back. ‘But if Gunner was the one Marty slam-jumped, then why did the ice-cream man flip the finger at us the next day? And if he didn’t know about any of the other stuff, then why didn’t he ring the cops when I painted the van? It doesn’t make sense.’
Aaron frowned. ‘You know, that is weird.’
‘Mr Gunner must have told the ice-cream man about the slam-jump,’ Marty said.
‘And the ice-cream man was sticking up for his brother,’ Aaron added.
Rick nodded. ‘Right, and if he told him about that, what else did he tell him? Why didn’t the ice-cream man want the cops to know about the graffiti?’
Marty raked his fingers through the gravel at his side, leaving long gouges in the damp earth. His eyes met Rick’s. ‘Because maybe he didn’t want the cops looking too close; they might’ve questioned Gunner and found out everything.’
‘Exactly,’ Rick said. ‘And now Gunner’s having a nice holiday and the ice-cream man is still out there planning I don’t wanna think what.’
‘Oh, geez,’ Aaron said.
Rick shook his head. ‘Where’s the friggin’ justice, eh?’
‘But we might be wrong,’ Marty said. Aaron licked his lips. ‘Yeah, maybe.’
Rick scanned the water for a long moment. He seemed to deflate. ‘At least the freaks’ll think twice before messing with us again. And no one’s gonna buy his ice-cream after we tell everyone what he and his nut-bag brother did.’
A slow smile twitched at the corners of Marty’s mouth. ‘Yeah, I reckon you’re right.’
Pointing at the bushes behind Aaron, Rick said,
‘Something was growling at me from them bushes yesterday. Reckon it followed me all the way to the lagoon.’
Aaron scrambled to his feet, head swinging left and right. ‘Geez, why didn’t you say so before?’
Marty laughed. ‘Rick’s stirring, aren’t you, Rick?’
‘Nope. It’s all true.’
‘Yeah, well I reckon you were probably hallucin- ating after all that sleep you missed.’
‘Maybe. Maybe not.’ Rick smirked at Aaron and then pulled his joggers off. ‘Anyway, as long as we stick together we’re invincible, I reckon.’
‘All for one and one for all,’ Aaron said.
‘Oh man, that’s so gay.’ Marty rolled his eyes. They all laughed.
Rick pulled off his shirt. ‘Last one in the water is a stinky fish.’
‘Hey, that’s not fair,’ Aaron yelled, diving at Rick’s legs.
Rick danced out of reach and leapt into the water, the bandage still wrapped around his ankle.
Marty fell in behind him and so did Aaron, clothes and all.
The sounds of splashing and laughter, bravado and birdsong drifted on the warm summer breeze. And from far off in the distance came the merest hint of a melody:
Half a pound of tuppenny rice; half a pound of treacle
. . .