Authors: Charlie Human
Kill Baxter (38 page)
‘Well do me a favour,’ I say. ‘Don’t try to do it alone. Let me in.’
Maybe one day I will.
My dad takes Rafe for a go on the skateboard ramp while my mom cools off. I sit next to her on the grass. We get dirty looks from the parents who are taking their toddlers for a stroll. They clearly didn’t appreciate my mom’s creative approach to swearing.
‘You spoke to Rafe, didn’t you?’ she says.
‘Yeah.’
‘I can tell. He’s doing much better, being much more social. Thank you, Baxter.’
‘What can I say? I’m a natural-born philanthropist.’
She laughs and ruffles my hair.
‘How is your new school?’ she asks.
‘It’s different,’ I say.
‘How?’
‘Oh, you know, just different.’
We meet on the platform. Faith, Chastity, Nom and Stevo on one side; Kyle, Zikhona and the Inhalant Kid on the other. They look at each warily, like rival gangs. Kyle has his suitcases with him. He managed to convince his parents to take him abruptly out of Westridge and send him to Hexpoort. A faked letter saying that Kyle had been chosen to take part in an elite academic programme didn’t hurt with that.
I stand and look at my friends, old and new.
‘Things have changed. I’m reinstating the Spider,’ I say. There’s a small sob and I look up to see a single tear of joy running down Kyle’s face. ‘Zikhona and the Inhalant Kid will run things here in my absence. And I’m creating a new satellite organisation called the Web at Hexpoort.’
‘What are we going to be doing?’ Zikhona asks through her gum. ‘The porn trade has been taken over by Anwar.’
I open my hand and show them a palmful of Mumblerock crystals. ‘We’ll be transporting Runeshine and Mumblerock to Cape Town, where you’ll distribute it. We’ll be moving in on Anwar’s territory, so we’re going to have to recruit more members. Especially ones with magical ability. This isn’t purely a commercial endeavour. We’re looking to build an organisation with talented kids, magical and non-magical.’
‘I’m going to be part of a teenage underground revolutionary organisation AND a drug dealer. That is so damn cool,’ Kyle says, rubbing his hands together.
Chastity gives him a look. ‘Is he always this weird?’
‘Always,’ I say, clapping him on the back. ‘And I wouldn’t want him any other way.’
I say goodbye to Zikhona and the Inhalant Kid and we sit waiting for the train to take us back to Hexpoort. It eventually comes and I help Kyle with his bags. We’re walking down the corridor when someone slams into my shoulder and pushes me against the wall.
‘Hey, asshole,’ Hekka says as he passes me. ‘Ready to get back to where we left off?’
I move my neck from side to side and crack my knuckles. ‘Ready?’ I say to Kyle.
He smiles. ‘Ready.’
‘Let’s go destroy this kid.’
Kyle puts his hand on my shoulder. ‘Welcome back, Bax,’ he says and we set off after Hekka.
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Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781448150939
Published by Century 2014
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Copyright © Charlie Human 2014
Charlie Human has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
The poem
here
is
Winternag
by Eugène Marais.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by
Century
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781780891323
