This is Shyness (21 page)

‘I think I heard his nose break.'

‘They were trying to hurt you,' I tell him, rubbing his leg. ‘You had to.'

‘It was like I was outside my body, watching myself do it. It was easy. But now I feel sick.'

‘Because you're a good person. That's why. You didn't have a choice.'

He's still cloudy with doubt. Whenever there are fights at the Commons, the fighters always seem so proud afterwards, even if they've lost. It's never occurred to me that they might go home and feel ashamed.

‘And you didn't see the Elf?' I ask.

When I came off the roof I was ready to do battle with my gardening fork, but the Elf was nowhere to be seen.

‘No. I was so worried he would be waiting for you in the stairwell. When I saw the grate had been moved I knew you'd made it. And once I was in the tunnel I saw your ukulele.'

Wow. That was real smart of me. Maybe I could have flown some kind of welcome flag and let off a flare while I was at it. ‘What do we do now?' I ask.

Right now the only thing I want to do is curl up and sleep for a few hours, but we're still under the evil empire, and not that well hidden. At least a few Kidds must know about these tunnels.

‘I think we should see where the tunnel takes us.'

‘Okaaay,' I say.

‘I thought you were fine with being underground.'

‘You didn't like it at first either. What if we're wandering around for days without food and water?'

‘And in fifty years' time they'll find our skeletons, one of them with a bony hand extended in despair?' Wolfboy does a pretty hot impersonation of a grasping skeleton.

‘Exactly. I could figure out the direction of the tunnels between the buildings in Orphanville, but once we go beyond that I have no idea.'

‘We'll work it out. The tunnels will take us somewhere.'

I look into his eyes. I can only see their shine and not their colour in this light. I'm so glad he doesn't blame me.

I don't know why I cried so much. It's not like me at all.

‘And are you okay?' It's his turn to ask.

‘I'm just relieved.'

Wolfboy looks a million times better than when I first met him. I know what lies underneath now. His patience. The way he'll make a joke and then look like he wants to take it back. How he listens to me, really listens. How he's survived the terrible things that have happened to him.

He stares back, and we really
see
each other. Wolfboy touches me on the tip of my nose with one finger, making me smile. I move closer, very slowly. His breath is hot and short against my cheek. I close my eyes at the last minute, and feel his lips against mine. Soft. I let my lips rest on his for a few seconds and then I pull away. He gently pulls me back in.

twenty-eight

The ceiling is still high enough to walk upright, but the tunnel has narrowed noticeably. The walls are lined with orange styrofoam in parts.

‘Is there any chance the Elf knows we're using the tunnels?' Wildgirl asks.

‘I don't think so.'

I suppose while we were on the roof he could have followed our trail here, but I don't think it's likely.

‘Blake said he could climb.' Wildgirl is anxious. ‘I keep imagining I'm going to look behind us and he'll be crawling on the ceiling like a spider.'

There's a comforting vision. I stop and face her. It's too easy to get spooked in the Darkness. You have to keep on top of your more paranoid thoughts. ‘I think he went to find the rest of the Six-Sevens,' I say. ‘He would have won big points with Doctor Gregory for luring us to Orphanville. That would have been enough. He won't bother us anymore.'

Tonight at least, I think, but don't say. We pulled the grate back over the entrance and secured it to some pipes with the rope I had in my bag. Of course there's the basement entrance in Seven and more in other buildings, but the acoustics are so good down here we'd get fair warning. There've been no obstacles so far and we've made good progress.

‘Was that what this was all about? Luring us to Orphanville?'

I hold my arm over a low part of the ceiling while Wild-girl passes. She has something blue and spangly wrapped around her head like a turban. No one else could get away with it. She looks beautiful.

‘I don't know what to think.'

Doctor Gregory had done his research. I was his mark, and he thought he knew how to get me.

‘We walked right into their trap.'

‘Yeah. They knew I wouldn't let the lighter go easily.' The problem was, I almost did let it go. If it wasn't for Wildgirl I might have. It turns out I'm more of a coward than they thought I was. ‘Maybe they didn't expect me to do anything about it tonight, but—'

‘Why didn't they just ask for the card? I would have handed it over. Why go to all that trouble?'

‘I don't think the card has anything to do with it. The Kidds only saw you with it at Little Death—after they stole the lighter. They didn't know about it when they mugged us.'

‘Then why?'

I sigh. Doctor Gregory knows too much about me. The way he stood there and fixed his hair, watching me leave. He didn't look worried about letting me go. He looked like a man who was biding his time.

‘I think he wants to collect me, like a specimen in a jar,' I say eventually, even though I'm sure it's more complicated than that. Somehow Doctor Gregory got what he wanted, even though I got to leave with the lighter.

‘If they didn't give a shit about the card I wish they could have let me keep it.'

‘And have you run around spending their money? I don't think so.'

The tunnel broadens again and we follow it to the right. So far we haven't reached any intersections. That's when things will get tricky.

‘Wait, Wolfie!' Wildgirl pauses and looks directly upwards. ‘Did you see this?'

I join her. I missed the barred hole with fresh air flowing through it. The night sky is visible. I brace my arms against the walls, and then step up on some pipes, so that I'm closer to the ceiling. I can't see anything more, but I can smell fresh air. It's quiet above ground.

‘Do you think we can get the cover off?' Wildgirl asks. I run my fingers around the edges of the hole, and it feels like the bars are cemented in.

‘No. It's good though because it means we're close to the surface. We should look for another exit close by.'

‘Are we far enough away from Orphanville?'

‘Yeah. I have a feeling we're near the memorial gardens.' We keep moving forwards, passing a circular tunnel. ‘What am I looking for?'

‘I'm not sure,' I say. ‘Another grate, or a ladder, or a manhole.'

I reverse a few steps and look down the tunnel. It's pitch-black and oozes damp air.

‘Do you think there's something down here?'

I shrug. I have a hunch, that's all.

‘Hey,' Wildgirl says, ‘let me into your backpack. I've got a light on my keys that I totally forgot about.'

I turn my back to her and feel her fumbling with the zip of my pack. It's a lot lighter now.

‘I'm glad you hung on to your bag. I would have had to kick your ass if you lost all my stuff.'

I probably wouldn't mind that, although if I were given a choice, I'd opt for another kiss. It's the first time I've been so close to someone since I've changed. Kissing felt better than I remembered, but it also felt like it was something I had to be careful about. It never felt that way before.

Wildgirl's keyring throws off a surprisingly strong beam. She stalks into the old tunnel, sweeping the light back and forth. After a few minutes lingering in the one spot, she calls out. ‘Wolfie, come look at this!'

Wildgirl illuminates the side of the tunnel, which gives way to a narrow room. At the back of the room is a rusty spiral staircase.

It's hard to see where the staircase leads, but it can't be far. Wildgirl holds her keyring up as high as she can, but the dark eats up all the light. The staircase is big enough for only one person at a time.

‘What if it doesn't go anywhere?'

‘Let's find out. I'll go first.' She takes my bag and soon I can see only her legs, leaving me to climb in darkness.

I reach out to get my bearings, and find the walls wrapping closely around the staircase, as if we're climbing a smoke stack. My arms and legs don't straighten fully, and the narrow steps are more like rungs on a ladder. The black is so complete I can't see my own hands.

I'm confused after a few metres. How can we be climbing so far when we're just below the surface?

‘I've reached the end.' Wildgirl's voice is stifled.

‘Can we get out?'

I hear Wildgirl fumble with my bag. ‘You've got a spanner in here, right?'

‘Why?'

‘It's locked.'

There's a dull clang as Wildgirl bashes the spanner against the lock. She swears and puts more force into her blows. ‘Got it!'

Her feet disappear. She laughs above me, but the sound fades weirdly, as if she's falling upwards.

First air, then moonlight floods the staircase. I see a square of starry sky above, then I half-fall, half-crawl out of the hole. The ground is further away than I think it's going to be, and I tumble over with my arms shielding my head. When I come to a rest Wildgirl is at my feet, laughing and pointing. I look behind me.

We're in the middle of an empty pond. Behind me is a fountain decorated with cherubs and a horse. I recognise the fountain as the one at the centre of the memorial gardens, but I don't remember ever seeing the small door set into its side, a metre or so above the ground.

When Wildgirl stops being amused at my expense, I let her climb onto my shoulders while I stand on the stone rim of the pond. Only a few of Orphanville's towers are visible above the trees, but it seems like every light is on. Our escapades haven't gone unnoticed.

I lower Wildgirl carefully. She's starting to shiver despite her jumper and jeans. Even my breath is misting in the air. It's late. The night is always coldest before dawn, even though the sun won't rise over the gardens.

‘What
is
that thing on your head?'

She takes it off and shows me.

‘It's a jacket. I found it in the cubbyhole and thought it was cool.'

She wraps it back around her head, tying the sleeves in a knot at the back. ‘I'm rocking the disco nomad look,' she says. ‘It's going to be big next season, just you wait and see.'

No wonder she got along so well with Ortolan.

‘Where do we go now?' Wildgirl looks suddenly forlorn. I wonder if she's thinking about the lost card.

‘You asked me earlier about where Paul and Thom live?'

‘Yeah.'

‘Their house is nearby. We can clean up there, and figure out what to do next.' I don't want to go back to my house yet. I don't know what I'll find there. If Blake will still be around. Or if someone else will be waiting for me.

We walk up one of the many paths that radiate from the fountain, my arm across her shoulder, hers around my waist. I steer us across the shrivelled Oak Lawn, which is more mud than lawn now. I wonder how long we were in Orphanville. It must be getting close to dawn in the City. The night isn't going to last forever, not for us. The best thing I can do for Wildgirl is to get her home safely, even though I wish she could stay. I can think of a million things to show her now, and I would have had the chance to if Doctor Gregory and the Kidds hadn't waylaid us. I want to ask her if she thinks we'll get to hang out again but I don't know how to.

‘Hey.' Wildgirl stops. ‘Look.'

It takes me a few seconds to see what she means. All around us, peppered all over the Oak Lawn, are furry brown blobs standing to attention.

Tarsier.

They watch us solemnly as we pass through their midst, but they don't move.

‘I guess they found their new home,' Wildgirl says. ‘I still wouldn't mind one as a pet.'

‘What would you call it?'

‘Maybe Snoopy. Or Gerald.'

After the lawn we cross the main avenue. On the other side is a stone cottage with white shutters and a chimney and a wooden door. I pound on the door with my fist, but there's no answer.

29

While the outside of Paul and Thom's place looks like a gingerbread house from a fairytale, the inside most definitely does not. The cottage is a disaster-zone. Someone has been sleeping on the couch, and another bed has been made from two chairs and a door. There's a laptop and printer on a sideboard, along with a whole bunch of other stuff: textas, badges, t-shirts. An old-fashioned writing desk is covered with takeaway containers and LPs. One set of curtains has been ripped almost off the rod, and the room smells strongly of boy.

‘So much for security,' says Wolfboy, shutting the front door and switching on an overhead light that doesn't work. He turns on a table lamp with a colourful glass shade instead.

‘What kind of house is this?'

‘It used to be a historical museum; you know—come see how the old-timers lived. But when the Darkness happened everyone forgot about it until Paul and Thom adopted it as their bachelor pad. Funny, huh?'

‘Yeah.'

That explains the odd mix of antiques and boy arte-facts. I spot a pair of jocks stuffed in a milk jug. Gross.

‘They're definitely not home.' Wolfboy taps out a quick message on his phone. ‘At least we can clean up.'

‘Is that your polite way of telling me I look like shit?' ‘You look great,' he lies. ‘But there's a basin around that corner if you need it.'

I cringe when I see my reflection in the mirror above the basin. My glamour turban doesn't hide my frizzy hair and I have panda eyes. The rest of my make-up has worn away. I take the jumper off and wear the sequined jacket over my Wildgirl shirt. The eyeliner dissolves with water. I consider using one of the toothbrushes balanced on the basin and then decide I must be temporarily insane. Toothpaste and a rinse will have to do. I test my breath by holding my hand in front of my mouth. Sweet cheeses. I'm glad Wolfboy ate the same kebab as me.