Nowhere Boys (25 page)

Jake watched her bang out of the front door and set the sign up outside the shop. He turned to the others. ‘Is today Mother’s Day?’

Sam slugged some water onto the window. ‘Who cares? It’s not like we’ve got mothers.’

The door jingled as Phoebe came back inside. ‘Working hard, I see.’

Jake picked up his feather duster. He started to dust an array of ceramic frogs dressed in aprons and overalls. His duster moved past them towards a collection of glass dolphins. He looked at them. His mum loved dolphins. She always talked about going to Monkey Mia one day and swimming with them.
Far more intelligent than humans
, she’d always said.

Jake picked one of the dolphins up. It gleamed a glassy blue in the sunlight, like the ocean on a perfect sunny day. His mum would love that. She could add it to her collection.

Jake looked around. Phoebe was busy arranging heartshaped boxes on the counter. Would she even miss it? He quickly slipped the dolphin into his pocket.

‘On Mother’s Day, my dad always made me and my brother make a card.’ Felix sidled up next to Jake, making him jump. ‘And then Oscar would give it to her and she’d cry. Oh, happy days.’

Jake wasn’t sure how to respond. For him, Mother’s Day was always happy. Pancakes for breakfast. Picnic in the park. An early movie. He felt the dolphin twisting in his pocket like it wanted to escape.

Felix moved closer. He opened his hand to show Jake the broken pieces of the talisman. ‘I found some glue in the back room. If you hold the pieces, I can glue it back together.’

Jake looked at him, unconvinced. ‘You really think that will work?’

Felix shrugged. ‘Worth a go. At the very least it’ll keep Phoebe off our backs. If she sees it’s broken, she’s going to totally freak.’

Felix pulled Jake behind a shelf and lay the pieces of talisman down on a book. He carefully slotted the pieces together and pulled out the glue.

‘Wait,’ said Jake. It didn’t look right. He moved the pieces into a different order and they still fitted perfectly. They looked at each other.

Sam stuck his head around the side of the shelf and Andy walked over with a mop in his hand. They gathered around the talisman.

‘Which way does it go?’ asked Jake.

Sam grinned. ‘Okay, so the demon is weird, violent and super bad, but it just may have helped us out.’ He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and lay it down next to the talisman. ‘Demon Mia made me draw it.’

Felix quickly rearranged the pieces to match the drawing. ‘Bingo.’

He grabbed the glue and started to stick the pieces together.

‘Oh, how I love the smell of acetate in the morning.’

The boys looked up. Phoebe stood behind them with her arms folded.

‘What exactly are you doing to my talisman?’

‘Ah,’ Felix looked around wildly for an answer.

Jake jumped in. ‘Sam’s girlfriend was possessed by the demon and she controlled him and made him destroy the talisman.’

‘What?’ Phoebe’s jaw clenched. ‘Have you any idea how precious that was?’

‘It’s not destroyed,’ said Felix, quickly gluing the rest of it together. ‘See. As good as new.’

Phoebe picked it up carefully. She gave Sam a filthy look. ‘I always knew you were a total bonehead.’

‘Can I have it back?’ asked Felix.

‘Not much point, is there?’ said Phoebe. ‘It’s hardly going to work after being smashed to pieces.’

Felix looked at the talisman. ‘It might just need reactivating.’

Phoebe considered this. ‘Maybe. But we’ll have to wait until there’s another threat.’

‘So, we won’t know whether it works until the demon comes at us again?’ asked Andy.

‘Yep,’ said Phoebe. ‘That’s about right. And this demon is becoming pretty smart if it’s learnt to target the weakest link.’

Sam had gone a deep shade of red.

Jake felt bad for him. ‘Sam’s not the weakest link. He just didn’t realise his girlfriend was possessed.’

Phoebe snorted. ‘Typically observant teenage male.’ She turned to Sam. ‘And where’s your girlfriend now? Maybe if she’s still possessed we can use her to try and reactivate it.’

Sam shook his head. ‘She’s fine now. I waited outside the workshop. After Felix and the others left, she suddenly returned to normal.’

Phoebe frowned. ‘Interesting. Once the centre of disturbance had moved on.’

‘What does that mean?’ asked Jake.

‘It means,’ answered Andy, ‘that the demon is only interested in Felix, for some reason.’

‘That’s just one of your crazy theories,’ said Felix quickly.

‘Actually,’ Andy countered, ‘it’s an observable fact.’

Felix avoided Andy’s eyes.

‘In the forest, Roland was really only after you,’ continued Andy, ‘and Demon Mia seemed more interested in destroying you than any of us.’

Felix quickly turned to Phoebe, changing the subject. ‘It does seem to be taking longer to recover after each attack.’

Phoebe nodded. ‘The more evolved the demon is, the more energy it expels and the time between attacks lengthens. However …’

Jake felt the dolphin twist in his pocket. That was all he needed to hear. He dropped the duster and headed for the door.

‘Jake, where do you think you’re going? You have to stay together,’ he heard Phoebe calling. But he didn’t care. He wouldn’t be long and by the sound of it this might be his only chance.

He bolted out onto the street. He knew what he was doing was crazy. There was really no point, but he couldn’t explain it. He just had to try. After all, today was their special day.

He jogged through town. In the main street, there was a large crowd of people gathered near a banner that read
BREMIN MOTHER’S DAY CLASSIC FUN RUN.
There were women everywhere, laughing good-naturedly, stretching in the sunshine and looking like they were ready to race. It looked like most of the town was there, but Jake was pretty sure his mum wouldn’t be – she hated running.

Jake dodged past the marquees and the crowds. The dolphin jiggled up and down in his pocket. It was probably happy to be released from Phoebe’s stuffy shop. Eventually he turned into his mum’s street and slowed down. If she was there, he didn’t want to turn up, puffing and red in the face.

As he approached her house, he noticed a figure up a ladder. Great. Bates was probably doing home maintenance. He moved closer and, to his relief, saw that the figure was his mum.

She was balancing precariously on the top rung of the ladder, pushing leaves out of the guttering with the end of a broomstick. She leant a bit too far and the ladder began to tip.

Jake quickly jogged up the driveway and grabbed the end of the ladder.

His mum looked down, surprised. ‘Oh, thanks. That was close.’

Jake smiled. ‘No worries.’

She looked at him for a beat. ‘What are you doing here again?’

Jake felt his throat catch. How was he supposed to answer that without sounding like a crazy stalker? He thought fast. ‘I just, ah … wanted to apologise to Bates, er – Mr Bates. For what happened in the forest.’

‘Oh, that’s sweet of you. He’s actually not home right now, but I’ll tell him you dropped by.’

Jake felt a wave of relief. Thank God. The thought of having to actually apologise to Bates made him feel ill.

His mum had turned back to the guttering. ‘I have to say, this is my least favourite chore.’

‘Yeah, horrible job for someone who’s afraid of heights,’ agreed Jake, without thinking.

‘How do
you
know I’m afraid of heights?’

‘Ah, just a lucky guess.’ He had to stop doing that. ‘Hey, why don’t you come down and I’ll do the rest?’

She smiled. ‘You’re a nice kid. Your mum’s lucky to have such a considerate son.’

Jake looked away. What was he supposed to say to that?

His mum made her way down the ladder. When she reached the ground, she stopped and put her hand to her head.

‘Are you okay?’ asked Jake, concerned. She’d gone very pale.

‘I thought I’d got over this bug, but it just keeps coming back.’

Jake guided her to a bench.

She smiled at him. ‘I’ll be fine. You go ahead.’

Jake moved away and climbed up the ladder. He didn’t like his mum feeling unwell all the time. He was used to her soldiering on, no matter what. For as long as he could remember, she’d never taken a day off work.

He dug the broom handle along the guttering and a damp cluster of rotting leaves fell onto the driveway with a wet thwack.

‘So, what do you like at school, Jake? What’s your best subject?’

He looked down at his mum. She seemed a bit better.

‘Um … football?’

She laughed. ‘I’m a huge Bandicoots fan.’

‘I know. I mean, everyone here is, aren’t they?’ He bit his tongue. If he wasn’t careful, she’d think he was nuts.

‘Not everyone,’ she was saying. ‘Brian hates football.’

Yeah, thought Jake. Of course he does, the schmuck. More wet leaves splattered onto the driveway.

‘Really?’ He said politely. ‘So who do you go to the games with?’

His mum laughed. ‘Gosh. I don’t go to the games.’

Jake looked at her in disbelief. ‘But you always went …’ Dammit! He’d done it again.

‘That’s true, I used to,’ she looked up. ‘Wait. How did you know that?

Jake quickly changed the subject. ‘Okay. Job’s all done.’ He headed down the ladder. As he got closer to his mum, she grimaced and her hand flew to her head.

‘Damn this thing. Wait here. I’ll just get something for it and then I’ll make you some lunch – as payment. How’s a BLT sound?’

Jake grinned. ‘That’s my favourite.’

His mum smiled back. ‘Mine too.’ She got up off the chair and made her way unsteadily to the front door.

Jake watched her disappear inside. He felt a wave of happiness. She liked him. She may not have a clue who he was, but they’d at least had a chat and she seemed happy to hang out with him.

He put his hand in his pocket and felt the smooth glass of the dolphin. He wanted so badly to give it to her. But would she find that weird? Maybe he should just leave it somewhere for her to find? He looked at the open front door. Yes. That’s what he’d do.

Jake tentatively walked through the front door. There was no sign of his mum. He looked around the lounge room. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Not a thing from their place was there. The couches were a soft leather, the carpet white and plush, perfectly placed cushions were scattered around and a massive flat-screen TV took up a whole corner. Jake stared in disbelief. Where was the colourful chaos of his home? The crocheted rugs, the mantelpiece full of photo frames, the beanbag that always left a trail of tiny white balls?

He took the dolphin out of his pocket and looked at it. It didn’t seem right to put it here. This room didn’t belong to his mum. It didn’t have any of her warmth.

He heard a crashing sound come from the kitchen. He quickly stuffed the dolphin back in his pocket. ‘Mum?’ There was no answer. ‘Mrs Bates?’ He hated the sound of those words. Still no answer.

Jake made his way across the white expanse of carpet towards the kitchen. He opened the door and found her collapsed on the floor. He ran to her and turned her over. She was unconscious. Jake grabbed her wrist. He could feel her faint pulse but then he noticed that where he’d touched her, a bright red rash had appeared. He pulled his hands away and stared in horror as the rash rose up her arm. ‘Mum? Wake up! Mum?’

The front door banged loudly. ‘Sarah? Are you home?’

Jake looked up in alarm. It was Bates. How was he going to explain why he was –

‘What the hell have you done to my wife?’ Bates stood in the kitchen doorway, his jaw hanging open.

‘Nothing,’ said Jake. ‘She came in to get some tablets and then she collapsed. I’ll call an ambulance.’

Bates turned on him. ‘You’ll get out of my house this instant. You have no right being here.’

Jake didn’t move. He couldn’t just leave her.

‘Go. Now. Before I call the police,’ bellowed Bates as he knelt down beside her.

Jake hesitated for a moment, and then ran. He raced through the main street of Bremin. If Bates called an ambulance then they’d take his mum to the hospital. That’s where he’d go. He had to make sure she was okay.

The sound of sirens stopped him. Ahead of him in the main street, two ambulances skidded to a halt near the square.

A crowd was gathered around the fun run banner. Four paramedics jumped out and ran towards the first-aid tent.

Jake watched as the crowd parted to reveal three women looking ill and distressed. Felix, Andy and Sam were all in the crowd nearby. What were they doing here? And then with a jolt he realised: the three women were their mums.

He pushed his way through the crowd to the other boys.

‘It’s our mums,’ said Andy. ‘They collapsed as soon as we started talking to them.’

‘Mine too,’ said Jake.

The boys watched, concerned, as their mums were loaded into the back of the ambulances.

‘Try now, Felix,’ came a voice. They turned to see Phoebe standing behind them, holding the talisman.

‘Are you following us?’ said Felix.

‘You think I’m going to let you out on your own with a demon after you? I’m your guardian after all,’ she said sternly. She handed him the talisman. ‘Go on. Try.’

Felix began to chant. ‘
Divinity of the elements, I summon thee.

’ The talisman didn’t glow.

‘
Earth, water, air, fire
…’ Felix kept chanting, but nothing happened. He stopped. ‘There’s no point. This thing is totally dead.’

They all turned to look at Sam.

‘Guys, I’m sorry. What else can I say?’

‘Unless,’ said Phoebe thoughtfully, ‘this is not a demon attack.’

Jake watched the ambulances take off, their lights flashing and sirens blaring down the street.

Demon or no demon, what did it matter? He had to get to his mum. ‘I’m going to the hospital.’

‘Wait,’ said Phoebe, putting her hand up. ‘Is this the first time your mums have responded to you like this?’

The boys looked at each other.

‘Actually, mine always sneezes when she sees me,’ said Felix.

‘And mine complained of a stomach ache when I first saw her,’ said Andy.