Killer Ute (6 page)

15

In the morning I wake up in a sweat. I've had the most horrific dream: the ute was alive. Its aerials could aim and shoot poison like a giant squid. Its lights were eyes that could swivel around and keep me in its sights. It had no driver, it didn't need one. It knew where I was at every second of the day and would turn up wherever I went. Its wheels were turning into claws like a lobster's and it was getting ready to swallow me through the bullbar when I woke up. ‘Just a stupid dream,' I keep saying to myself. ‘I will take no notice of a nightmare.' I say it again so my brain will take notice.

I'm late to breakfast. Dev gives me a searching look but he doesn't say anything.

At the breakfast table we report that we saw the ute. Felicity's not too pleased about what we did last night but Dev believes we have to tell her everything. Something we say may help them catch this guy and put Scott away for good. This is when I give her the rego. ‘It's Killer1.'

She looks at me, amazed. ‘How arrogant is that? To push someone off the road, with a personalised rego. Doesn't he think he'll get caught?'

‘The bloke's staying at the motel,' Dev says.

Felicity's drumming her fingers on the table. ‘Someone must be paying him,' she says. ‘The police will be keen to have him for questioning.'

‘This is presuming he is after Joel, Felice.' Max is buttering his toast. ‘Though they'll still want to talk to him for not stopping after the accident.'

Mei gives me a tiny smile. She's looking down at the table a lot today and twirling her hair around her fingers. She does that when she's worried.

‘So, as far as we know, we're safe as long as we don't go into town or pass the motel?' Dev asks Felicity.

She nods. ‘But we have to be careful.'

‘What if Joel and I went for a ride, every now and then, in the opposite direction?' Good old Dev, he's trying to make things seem more normal. Everyone looks at Felicity. She seems to understand. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and catches a corner of it between her teeth. Even like that she's pretty.

‘You still have to be careful. He may roam, try to find you. He may not be alone.' But Felicity's tone has lost its force and Dev knows he's won; he smiles at her and she blushes. Oh no. That's all I need – Felicity falling for Dev. I get up with my dirty plate and Mei follows me to the sink.

‘What's wrong?' she whispers.

‘Felicity.'

‘She's great, isn't she?'

‘Yeah, too good by half.'

‘Oh.' Mei knows what I mean. ‘I don't think she's after Dev. She's just doing her job, besides . . .' Then she stops.

‘Besides what?' But Mei doesn't say. There's no point trying to get something out of Mei once she's decided to keep quiet. Instead we go outside to pick the vegies for the dinner we'll be cooking that night.

16

Mei's happy exercising the horses with Felicity today, so Dev and I go for a ride. Being forced to hole up at the farm doesn't rest easy with Dev. Nor me. If Shawn Houser warned me to stay away from the pool because he wanted to swim, I'd still dive in if it was what I'd planned. Why should someone else control our lives? Though that ute will do more damage than Shawn Houser if it finds us.

Felicity has given Dev a mobile with numbers preset into it; all he has to do is hit the number seven and it will ring her phone. She's acting like we're going to the front-line of a war zone, but we'll be fine. We're going in the opposite direction to town; that ute will have no idea where we are.

I'll never tire of riding with Dev. When I'm old enough I'll get a bike of my own. The rumble of the engine shakes me up to my neck, growling as we exit the corners, roaring when Dev shifts through the gears. When no one's around we go faster than Gran would like. We're doing that now, and I see a flash out the corner of my eye. Was it anything? When I look back nothing's there. I'm more jumpy than I thought.

We scream down a dirt track and turn left into another. The whole place is crisscrossed with tracks. So farmers can get to different paddocks, I guess.

Then suddenly, the bike squeals. I hang onto Dev as we brake, skidding sideways, the engine still thumping. Dev's staring up the track, his boots on the gravel, and I see it too. The ute's ahead of us. Parked on a side road. It looks asleep but I'm not fooled. Nor is Dev. How did it get there? We get a good look at the ute while it's quiet. I wasn't wrong – it's a monster straight out of hell.

Dev makes a decision: he revs the engine and turns. Soon we're racing back the way we came. I check behind us and instantly regret it. The ute lurches out from the side road and practically flies the first few metres, then its wheels touch the gravel and it thunders after us. How fast can that thing go? Faster than us? Guess we're about to find out.

No one else is on the road: no cops, no cars, no tractors or harvesters. It's just us and the ute. Dev's not taking a chance on the straight track: we could end up as roadkill. He turns right at the next gravel road. The ute doesn't follow us. ‘We've lost him,' I shout. Dev shakes his head, but he cuts the engine. We both listen. There's the groan of an engine in the distance but it could be a farm truck for all we know. Maybe it's not. Dev restarts the bike and twists the throttle.

We ride to the next crossroad and turn left. At another road we turn left again. We must have lost it by now. I'm still checking behind me when the bike skids to the side again. What now? I look ahead. And there it is. The ute. It hasn't even worked up a sweat while we've been dodging down country roads.

Dev shouts to me, ‘We'll head to town. Ring Felicity.' He turns the bike; I reach for the phone in his pocket and thump the number seven. Nothing happens. There's no coverage out here. I thought Felicity would have thought of everything. Guess she didn't know we'd be in the back blocks.

I slip the phone back into Dev's pocket. I shout near his ear what happened. He opens the throttle. So this is it then. A race to town. He skids onto another road. There's so much dust behind us I can't see the ute. Another two turns and we're onto bitumen.

When I look again, the ute's not far behind, steadily closing the gap. Now it's like it knows it has us, it's not rearing or snorting, just pacing it out, sure it will get us soon. Dev makes the bike fly, but I wonder if it will be fast enough. I can tell we haven't seen the ute's full speed yet. The bike is roaring; trees whip past in a blur. How far to town? Ten kays? I glance behind us: the ute is still there. When I look again it seems closer. I squeeze the bike with my legs, urging it on. If I could make it go faster I would. Before today I thought Dev's Harley could beat anything, but that ute's been souped up. A few cars pass in the opposite lane. Bet they think we're hooligans. If only they knew. The cars soon disappear and the ute edges relentlessly closer.

I've got my arms around Dev and I feel his middle clench. Something's wrong. Ahead is a crossing. Can we get across the two-lane highway before any traffic comes? Dev gives the bike all it's got, but it's not enough. Traffic shoots in front of us. A semi-trailer barrels along in the distance in the left lane. We screech to a stop and the ute looks like a killer whale bearing down on us. I wonder if the guy will get out while we're stopped. This would be a good time for him to nab me, if that's what he wants, or does he just want to frighten us to death?

But the ute doesn't stop. It bumps into our back wheel. And doesn't let up. The ute is pushing us out into the traffic. Just little by little, so the passing cars in the far lane won't notice, but right into the path of the semi. We're over the white line. I can imagine the headline:
Biker collides with semi-trailer.
Dev turns to see. His feet are on the road and the brake's on, but he won't be able to hold the bike against that killer ute. I grab the mobile from Dev's pocket and press seven. It has to work here so close to town. It does. I have no time to pull off my helmet. I wouldn't be able to hear Felicity even if I did. I hope she answers.

I shout anyway. ‘It's Joel. The ute's forcing us into oncoming traffic, and he'll get us if we run.' Then I remember to say where we are. ‘We're at the crossing outside town.'

The phone rings off. She must've heard.

The semi-trailer is rumbling closer. The bike groans and shifts forward like a kid with his heels dug into the dirt. Dev shouts at me to get off. He points to the side of the road, but I don't want to leave him. Besides, the ute might run me down. The ute pushes harder. We're right out in the middle of the lane and Dev can't hold the bike any longer. The semi is just metres away. Dev drops the bike and drags me off. The semi sounds its horn just as it swerves into the right lane. It rushes past, too close, horn still blaring. We're standing by the bike. Now what will the ute do? Ram us? That bullbar will crush our legs. Or should we run?

Then I hear this sweet sound: the thunder of bike engines, lots of them. They flank the ute and a Harley rides up next to Dev and me. It's Mick. He grins. ‘Spot of trouble, mate?'

Dev grins back. ‘We'll be right now.'

That's when the police car turns up opposite us. Felicity's behind, in the four-wheel drive; she jumps out. The ute reverses, knocks over one of Mick's riders and hurtles back the way it came, with the police car streaming after it. But there's no way the police car will be fast enough to catch that beast.

Mick's off his bike in a flash to help the rider. When he pulls up the helmet's visor, I can see it's Ben; he's already getting to his feet. And by the way Mick's hugging him, I can see something else too: Ben must be his kid. It all hits me afresh how good that must feel, to be that wanted. To have a dad who goes crazy when you're knocked off your bike. My real dad is the one trying to get me knocked off mine.

17

In the evening, after Dev's done some work on the bike's back fender, Felicity holds a meeting around the dinner table. Mei's looking at me with a frown in her eyes. Dev's fiddling with his dessert spoon. Felicity tells us that the guy in the ute knows she is involved now since she was at the crossing before the ute burned off. ‘We have to stay close together from now on so we can protect you better.'

‘I don't need a bodyguard,' Dev says.

‘You mightn't,' Felicity says, ‘but what about Joel?'

There's a silence. I know Dev won't risk my life. ‘I don't need one either,' I say.

Felicity purses her lips. Bet she's thinking I know nothing. Actually I'm more scared than I've ever been, but I'm not about to let on, or they'll lock me up in the bedroom or something.

Dev hasn't finished. ‘I've said it before – we can't stay cooped up in the house. We'll go crazy. Besides, we're sitting ducks. It won't take long for that guy to work out where we are.'

Felicity sighs. ‘Okay, there's a place where I can protect you and you can be outside.' She throws me a glance here. ‘But we'll come back if you don't follow my rules. We'll stay in the park until the police can nail this guy.'

My eyes open wider. ‘The conservation park?'

She nods. ‘It's where I work; I know practically every tree.'

‘Cool,' I say.

‘It's not a holiday,' she snaps. Dev puts a hand on her shoulder. It's something he'd do to Gran. Felicity calms down, but I don't. ‘
You're
our bodyguard?' My voice is nastier than I mean it to be, but I'm thinking of Felicity and Dev camping together in the romantic wilds.

Felicity shoots a look at me, but I don't back down. ‘No, I won't be your bodyguard – I'll just be with you.' Then she adds with a smile at Mei, ‘You can sleep in my tent.'

I'm tempted to tell Felicity we don't need her, but then I glance at Mei. She looks pretty relieved that she'll be in a tent with Felicity so I keep quiet. It's an effort but I'm getting better at it.

Mei finally speaks up. ‘So because we have to be careful, you won't be able to take me back to the jetty, will you?'

Felicity sighs. ‘I'm really sorry, Mei, we'll get you back home soon, but right now the police think it's best we lie low and don't give that guy any leads to follow. There's no way to get you down to the jetty to meet up with your father now, not without being seen.'

She glares at Dev. ‘If we ride bikes around the countryside, it won't take him long to work out where we live, if he hasn't already.'

I'm surprised Dev doesn't argue back. ‘Okay,' is all he says.

Felicity looks around at us, her glare gone. ‘We'll leave at 5am.'

Max brings in the apple cake and custard he's made. I wink at Mei. Camping could be okay. The park will be close to the beach. Maybe we'll be able to go snorkelling. Mei's frown isn't totally gone but her eyes crinkle up over her spoon at me. I love the way they do that.

18

We're packed before sunrise. Mei goes with Felicity in her jeep; Felicity's got a trailer with the tents in it and a Jet Ski. ‘Just for emergencies,' she says when she catches me looking. It took Felicity a long time to convince Dev the bike could give us away and to leave it in the farm shed. I bet she doesn't want a repeat of the day we roared off and lost them.

The sky hasn't started to lighten much yet, but it's dark blue rather than black. I find myself looking down every side road we pass, but I can't see any rogue utes. I see a fox chasing a rabbit though. Man, do I know what that rabbit feels like. In one way, I feel safe with Dev and Felicity but in another way, I don't. Why haven't the police caught the ute guy yet? Why do we have to hide? I can't help wondering what will happen if Dev and Felicity aren't capable of protecting Mei and me.

Felicity drives into the park. It's thick scrub and twisted mangroves with lots of dark places to hide. She ignores all the public camping areas and keeps going. The park is huge, maybe fifty kays long. Eventually Felicity stops in a remote part overhung with branches. It has no toilet block or anything.

‘Why have we stopped?' I ask.

Felicity looks at me like she's checking how much I can take. ‘This is where we're staying.'

I look around. ‘But nothing's here.'

‘That's the plan.' Felicity turns to the trailer and pulls out the tent bags.

‘No toilet?' That's Mei.

‘We'll dig one,' Felicity says and hauls out the shovel. Dev takes it and disappears behind some bushes.

I'm quiet as Mei and I help Felicity take more stuff out of the jeep: a camp stove, gas bottle, fold-up table, a few chairs, blow-up mattresses, huge water bottles. Guess no one will find us out here so Felicity was right. It could be fun out in the bush, like when I was a little kid and lived on the farm: Grandad and I used to camp in the scrub at Easter time.

Felicity pulls a tent out of its bag and I help her peg stakes through the loops and into the ground. We're onto the third tent by the time Dev comes back. ‘I've left the shovel there for when you do your business.'

Mei colours up so I add, ‘You throw some dirt in afterwards.'

Felicity smiles. It's like the pressure is off now that she has us in the park where she thinks it's easier to keep us safe. She hands Mei the rubber mallet for banging the pegs in. Mei does a good job so I start pumping up the air mattresses instead.

‘When can we go down to the beach?' I can hear breakers on rocks. I look up and see Felicity's smile disappear.

‘Not yet, I'm afraid,' she says. ‘We don't want anyone to catch on we're here. A fisherman might sail past and talk about what he saw in town.'

‘Will we ever?'

‘We'll go down at night first. Then we'll see how it goes.'

I glance at Dev. A muscle in his cheek tightens. So we might be camping in the bush but we're still ‘contained'. I pump faster, imagining I'm filling up the mattress with my frustration. If only it was that easy to get rid of.

We finally get the campsite ready to live in. There're two sleeping tents and a lean-to tent with the kitchen gear in it. I feel like an explorer I read about in school. All we need are camels and the scene would be set. At least there are lots of birds for Mei to sketch. She gets out her pencils and diary once the tents are up.

Felicity draws up rosters. We'll share in the cooking, washing up, putting rubbish in a huge plastic bin she's brought, and we're responsible for cleaning up our sleeping tents.

‘We also have to keep a lookout at all times,' Felicity says. ‘Report to me any vehicles you see. The public doesn't usually come this far – it's off the track. Sometimes hikers may walk around here, but tell me whatever you notice. And I'll report it to the police. They'll bring any supplies we may need, or help if there's an emergency.'

I don't ask what she means by that. Snakebite? We won't be falling off any rocks into the sea, that's for sure, if we never get to go to the beach. I don't think I'll be able to stand it: being so close to the sea and not being able to enjoy it. It's like there's this invisible rope between me and the water. If I don't get to swim or fish, I feel like I'm being strangled.

Then Felicity pulls out canasta cards. Dev brightens a bit. We teach Mei how to play, and we start the first of many tournaments. Sometimes we play individually and sometimes in pairs. I like that; usually Mei is my partner. We even gamble with our dish duty. Mei starts winning and Dev ends up with enough dish duty to keep him washing and drying for days.

That night we don't have a campfire. ‘Fire season,' Felicity says, ‘and besides, we don't want to advertise we're here, do we?'

I'm wondering how soon the excitement of being out here will be shadowed by that horrible feeling of being closed in.