Death Wind

  Death Wind

  William Bell

  Orca Soundings

  Copyright © 2002 William Bell

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

  any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

  recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be

  invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Bell, William, 1945-

  Death wind

  ISBN 1-55143-215-3

  I.Title. PS8553.E4568D42 2002 jC813’.54 C2002-910138-7

  PZ7.B41187De 2002

  Summary: When Allie fears she is pregnant, she leaves home with Razz, a skate-board

  champion. Returning home she is caught up in a tornado that threatens to

  destroy everything. She learns to believe in herself and face her future.

  First published in the United States, 2002

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002101408

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing

  programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada

  through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), the

  Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council.

  Cover design: Christine Toller

  Cover photography: Eyewire

  Printed and bound in Canada

  IN CANADA:

  Orca Book Publishers

  1030 North Park Street

  Victoria, BC Canada

  V8T 1C6

  IN THE UNITED STATES:

  Orca Book Publishers

  PO Box 468

  Custer, WA USA

  98240-0468

  04 03 02 • 5 4 3 2

  Dedicated to those who suffered through the

  Barrie Tornado, and to those who helped.

  WB

  Other books by William Bell:

  Novels

  Crabbe

  Absolutely Invincible

  Five Days of the Ghost

  Forbidden City

  No Signature

  Speak to the Earth

  Zack

  Stones

  Picturebooks

  The Golden Disk

  River My Friend

  Chapter One

  ALLIE’S PARENTS were arguing again.

  Allie slammed her bedroom door, rolled onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Eight o’clock in the morning and they’re at it already, she thought. She tried to block out the noise, but the harsh words made their way upstairs and through her door. Her mother was a shrieker. The madder she got, the higher her voice went. Her father was a rumbler. When he got mad, his voice got deeper—and he would have the Hurt Look on his face.

  They were arguing about Allie again. It was the old story. Her mother said her father was “too soft” and let Allie get away with too much. After she shrieked for awhile, Allie’s father would say her mother was “too stiff” and she should give a little. Right on, thought Allie as she lay on her bed. I wonder what you guys would think if you knew the mess that I’m in now.

  Allie climbed out of her bed and plunked herself down in the chair at her little desk, leaning on her elbows and cupping her hands over her ears. Stop! She cried, inside her head. Stop arguing!

  The report card lying on the messy desktop caught her eye. She groaned, flip-ping the stiff yellow booklet open. There were three bright red circles on it. She had failed three out of four subjects. Last year she had stood near the top of her class, but this year, since she started going out with Jack, her marks had dropped. Her nickname used to be “Brainy”—Razz had given it to her in grade seven—but no one was using it lately.

  Allie looked across the room to the calendar. There was a big photo of a pink kitten batting a ball of blue yarn with its tiny paw. The yarn was all tangled around the kitten’s legs and head. Below the photo the days of the month were arranged in neat rows. May 1 had a red circle around it, drawn in crayon. Today was May 6.

  Allie was five days overdue. She was afraid she was pregnant. Wouldn’t that be just my luck, she thought. Jack had dumped her three weeks ago. He had told her in the cafeteria at lunchtime, while stuffing fries and gravy into his mouth. He told her he didn’t want to be pinned down anymore. But they could still be friends, he had said. Yeah, sure, thought Allie, you’ll be my buddy if I’m knocked up, won’t you, Jack?

  Allie wondered now what she had ever seen in Jack. He was cute, sure, and a lot of fun. And it had made Allie feel good when she stole Jack from that snob, Angela Burrows. But for the last couple of months he hadn’t paid much attention to her. Except for sex. Allie knew she could never tell him about the red circle on her calendar.

  The shrieking and rumbling downstairs got louder. Her parents were arguing about money now. Allie looked down at the three red circles on the report card, then back at the red circle on the calendar. She could imagine what would happen when her parents found out. Her father would put on the Hurt Look and make her feel super guilty. Her mother would put on the I Told You So Look and start to wind up the shriek machine. Worst of all, Allie admitted to herself, they would be right.

  Allie wished she could disappear. She wanted to be like that soft white fluff on a dandelion and float away on the wind. Somewhere, anywhere but here.

  Then Allie made up her mind. Maybe she could disappear—get away from her parents’ arguing and from the four red circles.

  She went to the dresser and got a scrap of paper out of her purse. She stepped outside her room to the upstairs phone and punched in the numbers on the piece of paper. Allie cupped her hand around the mouthpiece of the phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello,” said Allie. “Is that you, Razz?”

  “You’re talkin’ to him.”

  “This is Allie,” she said. Will he remember? she thought. I hope so, or I’ll look like a total goof

  “Hey, Brainy! How are ya?”

  “O.K., I guess.”

  Allie took a breath. Say it, she said to herself. “Umm, I was wondering if your offer still stands.”

  William Bell “Well, sure, Brainy, but I thought—”

  “Things have changed,” she cut in. “I’d like to go with you now. When are you leaving?”

  “In about two hours. Can you be ready?”

  “No probs,” she answered.

  “O.K., where?”

  “Umm, park around the corner. Ten o’clock, right?”

  “See you then, Brainy.” He hung up.

  Razz and Allie had been friends since forever. He lived on a farm outside of town now, but he went to the same school as Allie. Last week, she had been complaining to him about how her life was falling apart. Razz had been really concerned about her. He had even offered to take her on tour with him. The skateboarding season was starting, and Razz was leaving today.

  From downstairs, Allie heard some more shrieking and rumbling. Then the kitchen door slammed. As she went back into her room and closed the door, she heard the Chevy roar to life in the driveway. She knew her mother was taking off in a fit again. She always raced the engine like that when she was throwing a fit.

  Allie got her little suitcase out of the closet. It was pretty banged up—the result of a few summers at camp. Soon, the bag was packed. She sat on it so she could close the snaps. Then she got her backpack and threw in her hair dryer, brushes, combs, can of mousse, toothbrush, and makeup. Next came the Walkman and a dozen tapes, along with a couple of movie mags. Finally, she stuffed in a new box of maxi-pads. Here’s hoping, she said to herself. When she was packed, Allie went to her de
sk and ripped the report card into shreds. She dropped the pieces into the waste can. Only one red circle left, she thought.

  Then she put a tape in the deck, turned it up high and settled down at her window to wait.

  Just before ten o’clock, Allie yanked at the window. It creaked and groaned as it slid up. She dropped the suitcase and the pack out first. Then she climbed out and dropped to the flat garage roof. Allie looked around. She tossed her stuff into the backyard and slid down the drainpipe, scraping her hands.

  Allie slipped between the garage and the hedge and was soon headed down the street. Before she turned the corner, she looked back at the house. The bright morning sun blazed in the windows. Her dad would be in the kitchen, working. He’d be going over the accounts, shaking his head and worrying. Behind the house, the big maple swayed in the wind. That tree was the only thing she liked about the house.

  When her mom got home, Allie wouldn’t be there. They would find only the note she had pinned to her pillow:

  Dear Mom and Dad,

  I’m going away. You’ll be better off without me.

  Love, Allie

  Chapter Two

  The first thing Allie noticed when she climbed into the van was the mattress in the back.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” she said.

  Razz was dressed wildly, as usual. Green running shoes, unlaced. Yellow pants and a cherry red shirt. A green painter’s hat.

  All of her friends thought Razz was cute. He was seventeen, tall and dark. Allie thought so too, but she had known him too long to be interested in him that way. Besides, she thought, I have enough of that kind of trouble as it is.

  “Relax, Brainy,” he laughed. “I’m not putting the move on ya. Take it easy.”

  He started the van and pulled away from the curb. Looking around, Allie’s eye was caught by the skateboards. There was a rack along each side of the van and at least eight boards hung from them. They were all different colors, with wild graphics on them. The decks were different shapes, but each one had the name RAZZ in big letters on it. Behind her seat was a big wooden box with dozens of stickers showing company logos plastered on the lid. Behind the driver’s seat was a blue SkyGrabber BMX cycle. Razz had been a BMX racer in grade nine, but now he spent all his time on a skateboard.

  “Better buckle up, Brainy,” Razz told her.

  Allie turned around and snapped the seat belt on. “New van?” she asked.” Just picked it up last week,” he answered. “Like it?”

  Allie checked the interior. The red carpet felt soft under her feet. The seats were covered with real sheepskin throws. There seemed to be a thousand dials and gauges on the dash. Music thumped from a tape deck that was covered with buttons.

  “What kind of music is that?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “Skunk music.”

  “Huh?”

  “Skunk—you know, skateboard punk. Like it? No? Well, there’s some other stuff in the rack.”

  She flipped open the box on the console between the seats and got a Killjoy tape. She put it into the deck.

  “Hungry?” asked Razz. He pointed to a giant jar of peanut butter and a bag of red twisters on the dashboard. “They taste great together.”

  “No, thanks,” said Allie, trying not to screw up her face at the thought of the taste. She settled back in the soft bucket seat.

  They were turning onto Highway 400. The van picked up speed. Allie kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the dash. She watched the scenery flash past, wondering how long it would be before her parents noticed she was gone. Would they phone the cops?

  Hours later they were on the outskirts of Ottawa. They stopped at a restaurant to eat. Razz had a big plate of fries with hot dog relish and ketchup on them. The green and red mess on his plate looked like one of those dumb modern paintings Allie’s art teacher raved about. Allie ordered a hamburger but couldn’t eat it. When they were finished, Razz pulled a wad of money from his pocket—all twenties. He peeled a bill from the wad and handed it to Allie.

  “How about you pay and I’ll bring the van out front?”

  “O.K., but I can pay for my own,” she said.

  “You can pay next time, Brainy, O.K.?”

  When they got to the fairground, it was packed with cars, vans and people. Razz showed a pass to the cop at the gate and they drove under a huge white banner that read “Ontario Skateboard Championships.” They parked on the grassy infield and got out.

  “I gotta spend the afternoon practicing,” said Razz. “You can do what you want. But do me a favor and keep an eye on the van, O.K.? Last year, Slammer—he’s my biggest opposition—sent a few of his goons to wreck my boards.”

  “O.K.,” said Allie. “I’ll just look around. I’ll watch the van.”

  Allie didn’t know much about skate-boarding, but she knew Razz was last year’s national champion. He made a lot of money from sponsors. That’s why you could buy boards all over North America with his name on them. This meet was the first one for the season. He was touring the whole country, and if he held onto his championship, the sponsors would keep paying. They paid enough to make Razz the richest seventeen-year-old she’d ever heard of.

  Razz unlocked the back doors of the van and hopped inside to change into his gear. Allie looked at the painting on the bright silver panels of the van. It showed Razz doing a hand plant and grabbing a lot of air. He had a big smile on his face. She knew the same picture was painted on the other side of the van.

  When Razz hopped out, he was wearing red tights, yellow jammers and pink shoes. He had a white helmet on and pads protected his knees and elbows. On his sky-blue T-shirt it said Skate Tough or Go Home. In his hand was a green board with RAZZ written in blue stars.

  Three guys came up to them. They were all decked out in skateboarding gear. And they were all holding RAZZ boards.

  “Hey, Razz. Just get here?” the tallest one said.

  “Yup.”

  “Slammer’s lookin’ for ya,” said another of the guys, smiling.

  “Yeah, well, tell him I’m not home.”

  Razz walked away, saying over his shoulder, “Lock up for me, willya Brainy?”

  An hour or so later, Allie was sitting on the grass beside the van, soaking up the spring sunshine. She had her eyes closed.

  “Well, well, well. Looks like Razz has a new chick.”

  Allie opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was a tall, well-built guy with pure white hair with a black streak up the middle. He was wearing skateboarding gear, but everything was black. On his T-shirt was a picture of a white skull with an ugly buzzard on top. The buzzard had an eyeball in its beak. On the shirt it said Cheer Up and Die

  Allie said nothing.

  The guy in black grinned at her, showing his yellow, mossy teeth. “You guarding the new van?” he sneered.

  Allie looked away.

  The guy took a knife from his pocket and slowly opened it. He looked around. Allie’s heart started to pound. He walked to the front of the van and pressed the point against the new silver paint.

  “Wanna come and stay with me tonight, Sweetie? I can show you a better time than that loser.”

  “Why don’t you fade away, man?” she answered, trying to keep her voice even.

  The guy’s grin disappeared. He began to walk along the side of the van, dragging the knife. It screeched on the metal as he went.

  “Hey, you creep!” Allie shouted, getting to her feet.

  The guy in black kept at it. She grabbed his shoulder as he passed her. He turned and brought his knee up into her stomach. Allie felt a sharp pain as she dropped to her knees, gasping.

  He kept walking slowly, dragging the squealing knife along the side of the van. As he walked away, she saw in big letters across the back of his shirt, Slammer

  Chapter Three

  The next morning Allie woke to a pounding on the van doors.

  She groaned and rolled over. The mattress in Razz’s van was too comfortable. She closed her e
yes again.

  The pounding came again. “Hey, Brainy! Wake up!”

  Allie pulled on her baggy jeans and unlocked the door. She checked her watch. Eight o’clock. Razz hopped into the van, dragging his sleeping bag in after him. He had slept outside on the ground.

  “There are showers at the edge of the infield,” he said. He searched inside a leather bag and pulled out his skateboarding gear. “I’ve gotta warm up. The Street competition starts in half an hour.”

  Allie found her backpack under the sleeping bag Razz had loaned her. “OK, thanks,” she said.

  “By the way, Brainy, did you see anyone hanging around the van yesterday? Some scumbag did a job on the paint.”

  She told him about Slammer, leaving out the part where he kneed her in the gut. Razz looked angry for only a second. Then, to Allie’s surprise, he smiled.

  “No sweat, Brainy,” he said. “That scum is trying to get me hot, so I’ll lose my edge today. But I won’t let him. I’ll take care of him after the meet. Catch you later.”

  After Razz left, Allie hopped down from the van and locked it. She looked at the dull gray sky as the wind snatched at her long hair. Wonder what Mom and Dad are doing now, she thought. Probably arguing about whose fault it is that I left. What would they think if they knew why I left?

  Allie headed toward the showers. She was looking forward to the competitions, to seeing Razz at his best. She hoped that it wouldn’t rain.

  By the time the Street competition was over, Allie knew that Razz was in a class by himself. There was only one skateboarder close to him and that was Slammer.

  All the boarders wore wild clothes. Some, like Razz, wore classy rags in crazy colors. Some went the other way, trying to look poor as beggars. One guy came out in a wet suit! But all of them wore pads and helmets. They swerved, jumped off the low ramp and did all kinds of unbelievable tricks with goofy names like the Ollie, the Truck Grind and the Acid Drop.

  Razz and Allie took a break and had a couple of sodas back at the van.

  Razz was surrounded by kids who asked him a million questions and wanted him to sign their boards. He finally had to shoo them away.