Disharmony

of the escape… He figured that Ms McNichol had better have plenty of maternity leave and a great union rep, or she’d be in the unemployment queue as soon as she’d popped out McNichol Junior.

With each step he took, he became even more certain that there was just no way they could run from the oval into the bush without Singh spotting them immediately and sending someone after them. Whatever. Luke figured he’d get at least five to eight minutes to question Nguyen, and later he might be able to talk his way out of being sent to segro. Yeah, right. He sighed. He did not need this. He didn’t need anyone. He’d had this place sorted before Zac showed up. He decided that he did not like this feeling at all – needing someone. The way he remembered it, he’d given up on that idea when he was two.

Luke watched the mist from the morning-wet soil swirling around Zac’s shoes as he ran. It only heightened the illusion that his feet didn’t even touch the ground. Zac was parallel to the woods now, and Luke put on an extra spurt to try to catch up. Zac had told him to stay close. At the same time he knew the plan was hopeless, and he felt vaguely disappointed.

It looked as though Zac was just going to keep running anyway. Of course he’s not going to try it, he thought. There’s no bloody point.

And then Zac disappeared.

Luke stumbled, but Travis ran on, breathing hard, running in sync with him. He didn’t seem to have noticed anything at all, which was bizarre, as Zac had been the only person ahead of them. What the hell? That kid is seriously fast, he thought. I must have only blinked and he was gone. Oh well. No way I can run like that. Nevertheless, he tried to draw even deeper breaths, ready to give it a go.

He and Travis hit the spot. Now or never, he thought, and bolted to the right, straight for the trees. He was sure that Travis would yell out in surprise, or at least stop and watch, but to his credit, Roberts did nothing. He just ran on as though nothing at all had happened. Good on him, thought Luke. That’ll give us a little more time at least.

The ground was much wetter off the track and boggy patches sucked at his feet as he sprinted. He felt freezing water slosh over the rim of his sneakers; his shoes squelched with each step. Great.

He reached the first of the grey eucalyptus trees, sentinels guarding the entry to this patch of woodland. He’d never been this far off the running track, and he was already way out of bounds.

Where’s Zac? he wondered, slowing as he passed the first of the dripping trees.

In here, the dim morning light was even weaker. Just beyond the first edge of the wood, it became pretty much dark. He stepped cautiously in the gloom, listening carefully, leaves and branches moving wetly underfoot. The trees huddled together in the winter fog, and Luke could hear nothing but his footsteps, his breathing, slowing now, and the blood still pounding in his ears. The sounds of the others on the oval had vanished completely.

‘Nguyen,’ he whispered. ‘You in here?’

Nothing. Great. Where the hell is he?

‘Zac?’ he tried again. Louder now.

‘In here.’

The voice came from deeper in the wood and Luke frowned, annoyed. Any minute now Singh would notice them missing.

The events of last night were replaying in his mind, itching at his subconscious.

Nothing had seemed right from the moment Abrafo had walked into the Admin building, but it was obvious that Zac knew more about it than he did. And Luke did not like that. He made it his mission to understand everything he could about every environment he was thrown into. Until last night, Dwight had been predictable and was about as safe as anywhere else he could remember living. But now there was something he didn’t understand. He trudged further into the woods.

The air was frigid and he picked his way forward through mist and the steam of his breath. A deep, musty smell wafted up from the sodden soil and leaf matter.

‘Nguyen?’ he called.

‘Yep. Right here.’

Zac was crouched at the base of a tree, grinning. ‘These are those mushrooms I was telling you about,’ he said. ‘The Yellow Stainers. Here. Put these in your pocket, but whatever you do, don’t put your hands near your mouth until you wash.’

Luke stared. ‘You said you found these when we were out running the other day. Have you been in here before?’

Zac grinned and raised his eyebrows.

‘You’re a weird one, Nguyen,’ said Luke, holding out his hand and pocketing the mushrooms. They looked just like the mushrooms he’d seen in the shops. Whatever.

‘Who is Abrafo?’ he said.

‘Um, a bad guy,’ said Zac, squatting again.

In the gloom, Luke couldn’t see his face.

‘Why did he call me Lucifer?’ he said.

‘I don’t know. Do you?’ said Zac.

‘Um, hello. Why would I ask you if I knew that?’ Luke shook his head. ‘Why were you fighting him?’

‘To protect you,’ said Zac, looking up. The skin of his face seemed to glow, but his dark hair and eyes were like pockets of the forest.

‘Protect me? Why? What are you talking about?’

Zac shrugged and stood. ‘It’s why I’m here,’ he said.

Zac was a head shorter than Luke, and thin as a rake, but Luke had seen him fight. He didn’t mind that this kid was on his side, but he sure as hell had no idea why Zac would want to protect him. What was the catch? No one did something for nothing.

‘What are you talking about, Nguyen? You told me you were locked up because of an assault charge.’

‘Yep.’

‘Well, who did you assault?’

‘Zecko Sevic.’

‘What! My case worker? How the hell do you know him? Why did you assault him?’

‘He was going to come after you again. That’s when the Council decided they needed to send someone in to protect you. I guess, though, after Zecko’s run-in with me, your enemies finally figured that he wasn’t going to get the job done. So they sent in Abrafo.’

Luke forgot about Singh and the others running on the oval. He forgot about the fact that he was standing in a freezing, boggy wood in winter. He sat down in the grass and put his head in his hands.

‘What are you talking about, Nguyen?’ he said through his fingers.

‘Well, don’t you ever wonder why you’re always getting hammered, Luke?’ said Zac, standing above him.

‘Not really,’ said Luke. ‘That’s life.’

‘Yeah, maybe. But you attract more than your fair share of haters, wouldn’t you say?’

Luke felt water seeping in through his tracksuit pants. He stood quickly, brushing at his backside, frowning.

‘Well, yeah, I guess so. Especially lately,’ he said. ‘But what have you got to do with it?’

‘They don’t tell me a lot,’ said Zac. ‘I’m kind of new at this.’

‘What are you new at? Being a bodyguard for kids in lockup?’ Luke shuffled in the grass, freezing now that his bum was wet. ‘And who’s they? Who’s this Council that told you to protect me?’

‘You don’t know them,’ said Zac.

‘Well, how do they know me?’

‘They’ve never met you either. But there are some people out there who want to help you.’

‘Why me?’ said Luke.

None of this made any sense, and he’d ninety-nine per cent made up his mind that Zac Nguyen was insane and was making all this up as he went along. He was suddenly much less curious and more amused by what this crazy kid would come out with next.

‘That bit I really don’t know,’ said Zac, bending over to pick a few more mushrooms. ‘I mean, you can’t run, and you definitely can’t fight. I don’t know what it is that’s supposed to make you so special. They just told me to do whatever I had to do to stop anyone killing you.’