most often nearly killed him Crick-et-y crick-et-y crick-et-y He could hear each cog ratcheting into place hauling them slowly upward to the crest Will slid his eyeballs sideways and down and spotted Mr Wrigley Riddle Gully’s oldest mechanic at the rollercoaster controls He was shading his eyes and looking up at them His bottom lip was jutting in a worried pout Will was sure Crick-et-y crick-et-y Will gulped down the rising lump in his throat Pollo jabbed him with her elbow Take a chill pill Will No one ever dies up here on these things She pointed to the ground below They all die down there In the dirt Splat Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Crick-et-y Their carriage inched to the crest of the iron-girder mountain Will saw dotted farms and distant hills lumpy with trees that looked much nicer from the ground He saw the steely blue sky stretching around them perfect if you were an albatross He felt his heart hammer against his ribcage The carriage teetered at the peak Here we go yelled Pollo The fun’s about to Whoa-aa-aah Slowly irrevocably they tipped Suddenly Will 6
and Pollo were hurtling into a bone-shaking plummet toward earth Down they flew their bodies pressed back by centrifugal force or terror Will couldn’t tell which The car juddered on the narrow rail sending tremors through their insides down their limbs to their fingers and toes Will’s teeth jangled and his mouth gaped but just a terrified squeeze of air a scream so high-pitched only dogs could hear it escaped Beside him Pollo let go of the bar threw both arms in the air and hooted like a banshee No sooner had they bottomed out than the car swung hard right throwing Will against Pollo He was still trying to spit Pollo’s long springy hair from his mouth when it swung hard left flinging Pollo his way bringing their heads together with a clunk The tinny taste of blood filled Will’s mouth and his tongue began to sting Will could see it up ahead the twenty metre high gravity-defying Loop of Extinction the rollercoaster was named for looming against the sky Ten minutes earlier he and Pollo had laughed at the terror on the upside-down faces of the passengers their hair flying beneath their heads their pleading screams as they hurtled around the loop Now Pollo and Will flew at it 7
headlong their car rocking side to side They whizzed upwards The passengers shrieked as a single organism For a second Will saw the gleaming steel rollercoaster rail below then they whipped downwards As Will’s insides were catching up with the rest of him they rocketed into an S-bend right left right to the groans and squeals of the riders behind They missiled toward the string of tattered flags that marked the finish Then as violently as it had all begun invisible hooks grabbed their carriage and yanked them to a dead stop A lanky teenaged attendant his baseball cap angled over an ear leaned across and unlatched the bars He offered a steadying hand Pollo didn’t seem to notice it and sprang unaided onto the platform That was insane she screeched Let’s go again She hurried toward the exit steps shouting over her shoulder I’ll pay for you Will if you’ve run out of money The attendant hauled Will from the car and gave him a nudge But Will remained rooted to the spot his legs wobbling like jelly-snakes the mob pushing past either side He stared like a zombie his mouth hanging open at the attendant’s chest as though hypnotised by 8
the image on his black T-shirt Ee-yew Will You don’t look so good Pollo was making her way back along the platform to her friend Will’s skin had taken on the colour of boiled cabbage The ride attendant unplugged music earphones and jerked his head toward the exit Move along please buddy Pushing a tss-tss-tss-tss cymbal sound through his teeth and dipping his head to the beat he shrugged and took Will by the armpits Pollo alongside he eased Will along the platform and down the metal steps onto the grass thoroughfare Will’s feet trailing unhelpfully Take it easy eh said the attendant plugging in his earphones and springing back up the steps for the next round of victims Will stood on the pathway swaying with the crowd at the Riddle Gully annual fair snaking around him and Pollo He tried to breathe deeply tried to focus on something other than his squirming insides Gee Will said Pollo I’ve heard of people going green before but I’ve never actually seen it I’ve gotta get a picture She pulled her camera from her pocket and snapped before Will could summon the strength to duck You’d better not put that in your newspaper column he mumbled 9
