Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub (13 page)

Tane, we should've hidden in the trees. You could've kept us safe there, made us a camouflaged hideout or something. But the corrugated-iron houses were closer and there wasn't time to think.

Now we're standing behind two barrels of water, sneaking peeks around the side. Police circle the whare, surrounding the building. Every cop in the country must be on the job; from here it looks like there's two hundred Gazs floating over the hill. Those protestors don't stand a chance.

My stomach slops around like a washing machine. All this running hasn't helped, and the idea of getting caught makes me want to puke again. My brain's still playing dodgeball inside my head, so I take a deep breath. It must be one of those twenty-four-hour bugs – talk about bad timing.

Next to me Suzie mutters, ‘I can't see. Conrad, you're closest to the edge, what's going on?'

‘Um, nothing. There's a guy with a loudspeaker talking
about Crown land and trespassing …'

‘I'm not deaf, I just can't see. What are they
doing
?'

Jasper peeks around the corner. ‘It's like a staring competition. The cops are looking at the protestors and the protestors are looking back at the cops. No one's doing anything.'

He's right. Whatever you do, Mr Kelly, don't blink first.

Jasper frowns. ‘Well someone's got to move … Uh-oh.'

Behind us cops spill over the field, marching in formation. They move across the grass, slow and steady as the tide. The crowd makes a weird noise like wind; I guess two hundred people just sucked in their breath.

And then, the protestors start singing.

Tane, it's not an ordinary song. They're singing hymns, only in Maori. So really they're talking to God, which means he must be up here somewhere, too. I hope these cops know what they're doing. You can't mess with gods and you definitely can't get an arrest warrant for one.

Tane, I don't see Gaz.

Good.

Crawling further out, I try getting a clear look at the protestors. No one on the whare porch looks scared. Angry, maybe, and wearing what Mum calls my ‘stubborn as a mule' face, but not scared.

And then, the cops move again.

Walking, not running, they march towards the protestors and grab their arms. It's like untying a
human knot, trying to pull them all apart, away from each other. Everyone holds on tight. Nobody fights back, but a bunch of women start wailing and, one by one, the cops drag people away.

An old lady gets pulled out of the group; two teenagers try to help her, weighing her legs down with their arms. But the officers yank them out like teeth. No one pushes or shoves. On the whare roof, a protestor yells encouragement through a megaphone, ‘Don't fight back! This is a peaceful protest! I repeat, this is a
peaceful
protest!'

Guess they listened 'cause instead of fighting, they drop like stones. The police have to drag them away, sometimes by their ankles, like sacks of potatoes. You can see it's hard work, sometimes three cops on one man. It's like their bodies are weighted down by invisible magnets, pulling them to Papatuanuku, the earth mother.

Jasper's eyes are big. ‘Man, those cops look scary.'

They do, but I think about Mr Watkins and shake my head. ‘Some of them are nice, you've just gotta know them. They're doing their job.'

‘Yeah? Well, if I was protesting I wouldn't let them drag me away. I'd put up a fight.'

Suzie curls up, refusing to look, hugging her knees to her chest. ‘Nah, they can't fight back. You'd get in big trouble for attacking a police officer.'

Tane, I reckon it's more than that. See, if they fight
back, they're in the wrong 'cause hurting people is bad. But if they're peaceful and the cops drag them off, then the police are wrong. That's gotta count for something.

Suzie whispers, ‘They can't win. Why don't they just go home?'

‘Um,' I clear my throat. ‘The thing is, they
are
home.'

‘What?'

I look across the houses and yellow caravans. ‘This land belongs to them. Mr Kelly told me they owned heaps more too, all the way down to the ocean. One time cops came and burnt their houses down and …'

‘No way!' Suzie interrupts, shaking her head. ‘That can't be true. It can't.'

‘I don't think Mr Kelly would lie. He's a teacher.'

There's no arguing with that. Suzie bites her lip.

‘But …' she twists up her mouth. ‘They're not going to get their land back. Not like this. There's way too many cops here.'

I try to explain, ‘It's all about biology. Turns out we've got mana in us, just like lungs and a heart. If someone takes it, we lose our self-respect and –'

‘
Hey
!' A man's voice cuts my sentence off like a guillotine. ‘There's some kids back here!'

Uh-oh.

Slowly, we stand up. At first, I can't tell who spotted us. This place is crazy with cops, reporters and buses being loaded up with protestors. But it doesn't take long. A
guy with long sideburns points at us, waving a massive hand. ‘Get those kids to a safe place.
Now.
'

I thought we
were
in a safe place, but not any more. Gaz's face doesn't jump out of the crowd, but he can't be far. ‘Um, guys, I've gotta go!'

‘What?' Jasper grabs my arm.

‘Gaz … he'll find me. He can't see me … he
can't.
'

‘Oh, but …'

I don't waste time explaining. Twisting around on my heels, I make a run for it. My head thuds like a heartbeat.

Suzie and Jasper shout, ‘Conrad! Come back!'

Plenty of cops shout too, but not at me. It's a place full of yelling, singing, arguing, noise and –

‘
CONRAD COOPER
!'

My legs freeze like someone oiled the joints with glue. I know that voice. Swinging around, I see loads of faces but only one glares at me, digging holes in the air with his eyes.

It's Gaz.

He's miles away, off by the buses, but his voice cuts across the crowd like a chainsaw. ‘Conrad!
Get here
!'

I'm done for, unless … can I get to the whare? There's journalists everywhere; Gaz can't make a scene in front of the press, he said so himself. And who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky. Maybe the protestors
will
fight back and win.

I bolt for the whare.

‘Conrad!'

Only, it's not Gaz's voice. Suzie and Jasper race behind me, panting. I catch a glimpse of Suzie, banging against my elbow and wiping hair out of her eyes. ‘What the heck are you doing?'

‘Just … run!'

Maybe it's stupid. I dunno, but I waste valuable seconds looking back, checking for Gaz in the crowd. He's there, miles away but moving fast, hotfooting it through the lines of police and aiming straight for me.

Jasper grabs my arm, pulling me along. ‘Come on.'

And we're running.

Don't ask me how, Tane, but Jasper knows to head for the whare. He's not stupid. But even before we reach the steps, it hits me. We've made a mistake.

We're stuck, cut off from the whare by a wall of faces. No one wants us. I stare at the crowd, five people deep in places, looking for a way in. Right in front of us, a grandma holds up her chin like she's afraid her head might fall off. Her nostrils stretch wider and she glares at me, like all her anger got stuck up her nose. I wouldn't want to mess with her.

Frowning faces watch us, voices growling.

‘Get outta here.'

‘No place for kids!'

‘Shoo!'

I can't see Mr Kelly anywhere, he's over the other side
of the whare and already other cops have spotted us. We've got seconds before someone grabs us. A protestor in torn jeans shouts, ‘Didn't we tell you guys to clear off? Get home!'

But what else can I do?

Suzie pulls me backwards, away from the crowd. ‘This is stupid, he's already seen you.'

She doesn't get it. Desperate, I say to the old lady, ‘You have to let us in.'

‘Get outta here,' she snaps. ‘You've got no business here.'

‘But he's right behind me!'

‘
Get
!'

No … Gaz will kill me. I'm not making sense and I can't explain. So I do the only thing I can. I drop onto the ground and grab her leg.

‘
Conrad
,' Suzie gasps. ‘Let her go!'

Maybe I can crawl between her feet and get into the whare. The woman kicks, but I hang on to her jeans. Words spit out my mouth, firing in every direction, ‘No, no! I'm not going anywhere! You can't make me!'

Dunno what she makes of that, but the lady stops kicking. She can't pull me off, her arms are wound around other protestors and she's staring like I'm a stain on her shoe.

She opens her mouth, but I get in first. ‘Let me in! They're here,
he's here
.'

Slowly, the grandma unwinds one arm from the group. Oh, man. She's going to clobber me. Her face looks fierce and she reaches down, fingers digging into my bones. Pulling me up by the elbow, she stares into my eyes. ‘Well? What're you waiting for?'

And she pushes open a gap in the crowd.

There's no time to breathe, let alone say thanks. We run in, pushing and shoving through shoulders. People complain, their voices snapping in my ears, but the old lady just says, ‘You fellas want a piece of me, too?' And they all shut up, making way for us. One elbow and two pushes – we're at the back of the crowd.

We'll be safer here; Gaz can't pull the whole protest away. I lean against the small building, panting. My head hurts still, but at least my heart isn't trying to shoot through my ribs like a cannonball. A couple of men glare, but then the guy on the roof starts talking through his megaphone and no one worries about us any more.

‘This is a peaceful protest,' he repeats and I can tell he's serious, like the teachers at school lineup, telling us not to muck about. ‘Do not fight back. This is Maori land, let's set an example …'

I dunno what he says next, 'cause Gaz's face appears. He's four rows back, glaring at me through a gap between two heads, but it feels as though we're standing nose to nose. Gaz's face blocks everything out, like an eclipse.

‘
Conrad
! Get outta there,
right now
!'

I stare at him, living inside the split second where I don't answer. It's a safe place where I haven't refused. I haven't broken rules and ignored him, not yet.

Gaz stares back, standing on the other side of the protestors. His white hat keeps vanishing behind heads as the crowd moves left and right. But every time his face appears, he's shouting, ‘
Conrad
! Do you hear me?
Now
!'

I'm trapped. Looking around for help, I'm surrounded by strangers except Suzie and Jasper, who stare back at me with wide eyes. No one's here to help and Mr Kelly's words sink in like stones, dropping to the bottom of my stomach – sometimes, you've gotta sort out your own problems.

But how?

Jasper says, ‘Don't you think you'd better go? It'll be worse if you stay.'

I can't escape, but is it worse? I'm not sure … Gaz's looking at me funny, almost confused, like he's seeing me for the first time. I feel stripped back, like I've been wearing a mask and it's dropped off. Now he sees me.

Wait, that's it. He's looking at …
me.

I've spent years trying to be invisible so Gaz wouldn't see me – but now? It feels like the centre of me coming out, rushing to the surface. Whatever's been holding it back pops, and the me-ness sizzles, spreading faster. It won't stop, not for anyone.

Heat spills through my chest, burning. I'm like one of those thermal geysers, pumping and boiling from a crack deep under the surface. Words rush through my head, shoving ideas into sentences. Inside I'm a hot flowing river, I'm
me.

I wait for the crowd to sway back, giving me a clear view of his face. Now … it's now or never. My head moves left, then right, shaking itself and I hear myself shout, ‘
No
.'

People around me are wailing, others shout words of encouragement, or abuse, but Gaz's voice cuts through them all like a sharp knife. ‘
What did you say
?'

And this is my chance, to show what I look like, on the inside. I don't want to hide, not any more. I take a deep breath, let the air rush in and blistering words pour out. ‘I said NO!'

I've never said no to Gaz, not ever. His face pops with surprise, the lines on his face bursting and stretching in different directions; exploding. But I had to say it. The air rushes back into my chest again, lighter, filling my lungs. I can breathe.

And I know.

Right now, see that look he's giving me? It's the one he gives Mum, right before he tells me to go outside. Oh, man. I'm gonna get it.

One by one, cops pick off the protestors.

My head keeps thudding like it's playing squash with my brain. Jasper's face grows whiter, until I remember to tell him that kids can't really go to jail. He perks up a bit after that, but keeps his eyes on Gaz. The line between us gets thinner and thinner.

‘You know, you can go,' I say. ‘It's me who's in trouble.'

But Jasper just shakes his head and Suzie doesn't even bother answering.

Squinting at Gaz, Jasper scrunches up his face. ‘Why's he so angry?'

‘Um, he just is.'

Suzie looks at me, but still says nothing. Jasper, on the other hand, keeps talking.

‘Conrad, they're going to pull everyone away and then you'll have nowhere to hide. Just …' He shrugs. ‘Go out there and get it over with.'

He doesn't understand.

I've got a weird feeling – and just looking at Gaz makes
my skin pull tight across the bones, like it's trying to hold on. He's never hurt me before, but something about Gaz reminds me of Mr Anderson's house, at the top of our street. He's got a vicious Rottweiler tied up by the gate and no one likes walking past. You know that dog's thinking – if this cord breaks, you are
lunch.

Maybe it's stupid, but this feeling is the same. I can't help thinking, the crowd's my leash and it's getting thinner. Any second now, it's gonna break. Then what?

Suzie pulls on my arm; one eyebrow pointing down. ‘Conrad … is it bad?'

She could mean anything, but I nod. The word ‘bad' sums everything up nicely, although disastrous and catastrophic might be better. If I walk out and let him take me … will I get a hiding?

Everything in me screams
yes.

But somehow, walking towards him is worse than the hiding, like he'll win something I can't explain. Maybe that's what Mr Kelly's been talking about. If I give in, I'm going to lose my mana. And Gaz can't have that. It's mine.

Turning to Suzie, I say, ‘I need to buy myself time. Maybe … maybe find a way down the hill. If I get to Mum first, she might calm him down.'

I doubt it, but what else can I do? It's better than walking towards Gaz. And it beats giving up.

‘Yeah?' Suzie pulls on her ponytail, looking sideways at
Jasper. ‘Okay, here's what we're gonna do.'

Suzie and Jasper make their way down the back of the crowd, towards the side of the whare. There, the lines are only two deep and cops pluck protestors out, carrying them off like giant hawks hunting mice.

I move, too.

Shuffling forwards, I try staying behind people's heads so Gaz can't see me. It's not easy. Most of the crowd is still linked up, arm in arm, and every time cops pull against protestors, the line of people moves backwards and forwards. Sometimes it's like being stuck in an ocean and I'm rolling, crushed between waves. Mostly it's like a tug of war with humans instead of rope, and I'm not sure who's winning. No wonder I'm feeling sick.

The dizziness keeps hitting me, too. Good thing there's so many people, if I fall over there'll be someone to catch me. Hope I don't puke on them.

Come on, Suzie … where are you? I can just see the top of her shiny ponytail. A teenager in front gets yanked away, leaving a clear space. Suzie's hand goes up, giving her hair one last pull, and then she bursts through the gap with Jasper.

I can't see her, but she's shouting, ‘Hey, Conrad!'

She's a genius, it works perfectly.

The top of Gaz's helmet jerks right, towards the sound of Suzie's voice. It seems to float, hovering over the
crowd, and then rushes in her direction. He thinks I'm twenty metres down the line, somewhere near her.

Here's my chance.

I shove through the crowd, ducking under two men with legs like tree trunks. My arms swish left and right; two pushes, one sharp elbow to the knees and I'm out.

Yes!

It worked. Cops swarm all over and Gaz marches down the line, glaring in Jasper and Suzie's direction. Looking over my shoulder, I see he's scanning the crowd, expecting me to be with them. And then, he turns around.

Oh, no.

Gaz sees me. Even as he turns, I see the tension snap in his body. Good thing I've got a head start. But will it be enough?

The world wobbles and the field ripples like water. My head's hurting from the fall; it feels like my brain's bouncing up and down, aching with every thud.

Words scrape at my guts, shouting stuff like, ‘You can't outrun him', and ‘He's gonna get you'.

Shut up. I'm not listening.

Tane? Can you hear me? If you're real … help me … whatever you're doing, help
me.

He's getting closer. His feet thump the ground behind me, growing louder.

I shout at the world, ‘Help!' But no one's coming to save me. No one ever was.

Tane, that's why I needed you. Help me!

The panting grows louder, growling. Humans shouldn't sound like dogs, but he's lost it. The grownup part of him has snapped; there's nothing chasing me now except two fists and a snarl.

And I can't run fast enough.

Tane, why won't you help me? Is it because I'm not Maori? Are you even there? Words, so many words; they spill out and I'm screaming –

‘TANE! HELP ME!'

Gaz's hand grabs my arm. No! I yank back, but pull too hard. His thick fingers let go, and I trip over my own feet. My head falls forwards, slamming into the ground. It doesn't seem fair – second fall today – that's all I think as the darkness behind my eyes swallows me up.

The world disappears and nothing can hurt me, not any more. I'm alone now, in the darkness, and the last thing I hear is someone screaming in pain. But it's not me.

It's Gaz.