was ahole under the mossy, grey concrete wall around the back of the factory, where the guard dogs – in a desperate bid to escape the stink – had dug their way out and run howling down the street, never to be seen again.
This was where Joey would have to go in. The Root Street Gang made their way round to the back wall, where they found the hole, hidden by a half-dead clump of thistles.
‘Right, in you go,’ Gaz told him. ‘And don’t mess about. Your mission is to just grab the ball and come back. I’m timing you. And don’t make any noise. And if anybody catches you, don’t tell them about us. Nobody likes a squealer. Now, go on.’
Joey looked around wide-eyed at the other two, still hoping that one of them would stick up for him. But Gaz was the leader of the gang, and nobody argued with him when his lips went all thin like that. He could get really worked up when things didn’t go his way. Joey got down on his knees, trying to push the stalks of the thistles aside, but the prickly plants still snagged on his clothes as he crawled down into the hole. The wall was a metre thick, and he had to pull himself along on his elbows to get up to the other side. Gaz’s eyes followed his little brother’s feet as they disappeared, and then they all knelt down to watch Joey go through.
‘You’ll be right as rain!’ Hayley whispered, justbefore she lost sight of him.
They all sat back on the ground, eyes fixed on the hole, and waited for Joey to return. And they waited. And they waited. And they kept waiting.
Suddenly, the sound of a scream made them jump to their feet. It was Joey – there was no mistaking his voice. He screamed like he was seeing something that was scaring him out of his mind. Then he shrieked again, as if he was fighting for his life. Then he gave another, weaker scream; a horrible, final, despairing cry that was cut off abruptly, leaving an eerie silence. Gaz, Hayley and Damo stood, clutching one another and trembling.
‘He could be having us on,’ Gaz said. ‘He’s just messing us about.’
‘That sounded realto me,’ Hayley whimpered, close to tears. ‘And his aura is in pain, I can feel it!’
‘I don’t know about his aura, but he’s good at screaming,’ Gaz told her. ‘He’s always screaming.’
‘Yeah, but, like normally you’re the one making him scream, man,’ Damo said softly, pointing at Gaz with both hands like a gangsta rapper. ‘He was all on his own in there. And that didn’t sound like he was trying to get you in trouble with your momma. That sounded like … like …’ He didn’t want to say what they were all thinking.
Gaz gazed down at the hole in the ground, anger boiling up inside him. Trust Joey to get in trouble. If he went home without his little brother, their mother would have a fit. And Gaz was bound to get the blame. He let out a yell and kicked the wall a few times until he was able to calm down a bit.
‘Right,’ he said, breathing deeply as he stared down at the hole. ‘S’ppose we’d better go and get him then.’
2
The Hunt For Molars
T he smell was thicker on the other side of the wall. Gaz was always the first one in the gang to take risks – he was more afraid of being seen as a chicken than getting hurt. He led the way under the wall, squeezing through the small hole, dragging himself under and finally pulling himself out the other side, carefully brushing the dirt from his beloved trainers.
The air had a chemical feel to it; it felt damp against his face, and he could feel the stink soaking into his skin and his clothes. Damo crawled out behind him, nodding his head like he was listening to music, as he did whenever he was nervous. Then Hayley appeared, chewing on her fingernails as she looked around. The pink blotches on her cheeks always got bigger when she was scared. Now theywere covering most of her face. They all stood and stared.
There were wooden crates and stacks of barrels and plastic containers on pallets,
This was where Joey would have to go in. The Root Street Gang made their way round to the back wall, where they found the hole, hidden by a half-dead clump of thistles.
‘Right, in you go,’ Gaz told him. ‘And don’t mess about. Your mission is to just grab the ball and come back. I’m timing you. And don’t make any noise. And if anybody catches you, don’t tell them about us. Nobody likes a squealer. Now, go on.’
Joey looked around wide-eyed at the other two, still hoping that one of them would stick up for him. But Gaz was the leader of the gang, and nobody argued with him when his lips went all thin like that. He could get really worked up when things didn’t go his way. Joey got down on his knees, trying to push the stalks of the thistles aside, but the prickly plants still snagged on his clothes as he crawled down into the hole. The wall was a metre thick, and he had to pull himself along on his elbows to get up to the other side. Gaz’s eyes followed his little brother’s feet as they disappeared, and then they all knelt down to watch Joey go through.
‘You’ll be right as rain!’ Hayley whispered, justbefore she lost sight of him.
They all sat back on the ground, eyes fixed on the hole, and waited for Joey to return. And they waited. And they waited. And they kept waiting.
Suddenly, the sound of a scream made them jump to their feet. It was Joey – there was no mistaking his voice. He screamed like he was seeing something that was scaring him out of his mind. Then he shrieked again, as if he was fighting for his life. Then he gave another, weaker scream; a horrible, final, despairing cry that was cut off abruptly, leaving an eerie silence. Gaz, Hayley and Damo stood, clutching one another and trembling.
‘He could be having us on,’ Gaz said. ‘He’s just messing us about.’
‘That sounded realto me,’ Hayley whimpered, close to tears. ‘And his aura is in pain, I can feel it!’
‘I don’t know about his aura, but he’s good at screaming,’ Gaz told her. ‘He’s always screaming.’
‘Yeah, but, like normally you’re the one making him scream, man,’ Damo said softly, pointing at Gaz with both hands like a gangsta rapper. ‘He was all on his own in there. And that didn’t sound like he was trying to get you in trouble with your momma. That sounded like … like …’ He didn’t want to say what they were all thinking.
Gaz gazed down at the hole in the ground, anger boiling up inside him. Trust Joey to get in trouble. If he went home without his little brother, their mother would have a fit. And Gaz was bound to get the blame. He let out a yell and kicked the wall a few times until he was able to calm down a bit.
‘Right,’ he said, breathing deeply as he stared down at the hole. ‘S’ppose we’d better go and get him then.’
2
The Hunt For Molars
T he smell was thicker on the other side of the wall. Gaz was always the first one in the gang to take risks – he was more afraid of being seen as a chicken than getting hurt. He led the way under the wall, squeezing through the small hole, dragging himself under and finally pulling himself out the other side, carefully brushing the dirt from his beloved trainers.
The air had a chemical feel to it; it felt damp against his face, and he could feel the stink soaking into his skin and his clothes. Damo crawled out behind him, nodding his head like he was listening to music, as he did whenever he was nervous. Then Hayley appeared, chewing on her fingernails as she looked around. The pink blotches on her cheeks always got bigger when she was scared. Now theywere covering most of her face. They all stood and stared.
There were wooden crates and stacks of barrels and plastic containers on pallets,
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