The roar and rattle of the train mixed with the sound of my racing heart.

Sas swore and ran.

A second after her, I sprinted down the hill, gravel slipping beneath my shoes. As I reached the tracks, I fell. Rocks tore my legs and palms and the rail slammed into my chest, knocking my breath from me in a whoosh.

The rhythm of the train pulsed through the rail.

*Ruby!" screamed Sas. *Move!"

The train horn sounded-once, twice, the third time longer, more urgent. The train"s brakes squealed. Sparks flew onto the rocks.

Khaden gripped my shoulders and dragged me out of the train"s path. Pain streaked my knees. I stumbled to my feet and lurched forward, engulfed by noise, heat and the reek of metal on metal.

*Run," yelled Khaden, dragging me by the arm.

*My shoe-"

*Stuff your shoe!"

He sprinted over the rocks and through the native shrubs. I glanced over my shoulder. The train had stopped. Faces peered out of the carriages. I looked away from them and saw my slip-on shoe lying in the middle of the track behind the train.

Eyes fixed on Khaden"s Volleys, I ran after him and Sas, down a street, a lane, across an oval. Somewhere in my brain, I realised we were running in circles but closing in on Sas"s place.

With each step, my terror transformed into raw energy, and laughter bubbled in my throat. My whole body felt light.

*Khade, slow down," panted Sas. *I"m going to spew."

*Too bad," snapped Khaden, turning down another street.

Sas was power walking. *Khaden, seriously, we"re k"s from the train line."

*We stop at your place."

Sas groaned and slumped against a brick fence, sweat staining the armpits and back of her shirt. *Enough."

I stopped beside her and let out a ma.s.sive whoop. *How. Much. Fun. Was. That?" I gasped for air between each word.

Khaden marched back and stood over us. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead to the pavement at my feet. *Fun?"

*Yeah. Ma.s.sive! Did you see those randoms staring out the train window?" I straightened up, laughing.

*What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?" asked Khaden, his face twisted with rage.

I looked from him to Sas and back. *What are you talking about?"

*That sucked, Ruby."

*Oh, come on, it was funny."

*Funny? You were nearly killed! I was nearly killed. What"s funny about that?"

I stepped back. The brick fence dug into my thighs. *Yeah but-"

*This whole compet.i.tion thing between you and Sas is stupid."

The world heaved under my feet. *What compet.i.tion thing?"

Khaden clicked his tongue. *The always having to be better than Sas-beat her at chicken, steal more than her." He was waving his arms around. *It never used to be like this."

*Khaden, I-"

But he wasn"t done. *Isn"t it enough your stupid compet.i.tion killed Mojo? Do you have to try to take me out too?"

My throat tightened. *Mojo escaped because of the gate," I whispered.

*But if you hadn"t run in front of the traffic..." He shook his head.

*That"s not fair." I turned to Sas. *Is it?"

Sas picked at the moss growing on the fence.

*Sas?"

*Ruby, you"ve-"

*You too?"

Sas growled then lashed out, her words tearing chunks from me.

*You think you have it worse than anybody else, that your life is the worst ever. Your mean parents, painful brothers, your horrible life, boring job, but you don"t get it, Ruby, you have it all-your parents are together, you have a cool house..." She stared at the leaves of the magnolia tree and sighed. *You have no idea what our lives are like, and you don"t care. You only care about yourself, Ruby. We"re over it. Over you."

*What"s that supposed to mean?"

*You work it out," said Sas, her eyes hard. *Shouldn"t be too hard-you think everything is about you anyway."

My hands balled into fists. *Me? You"re the one who encouraged the stealing, made us do a runner, had us slaving over your stupid room." My voice was strangled by the fury lodged in my throat. *The whole friendship, if that"s what it is, is about you, Sas."

*What it is?" Sas scoffed. *What it was."

The anger rushed from me in a soft hiss.

Behind us, a security door slammed. An old woman shuffled across the verandah and down the concrete path, holding a broom in front of her like a knight"s lance. Her stockings, wrinkled around her ankles, made me think of elephants.

*Get away from my home," she yelled, aiming the broom at Sas. *Go on, move!"

Sas raised both her hands and backed up to the nature strip. *We"re just talking."

*Hah! I watch the news. Planning to rob me, more like. Shoo, go on, go away."

*We were-"

She cut me off with a flourish of her broom. *Scoot. I"ve called the police."

*Come on," said Khaden. *The last thing I need is to see that cop again."

*We"re going," said Sas. *Old witch."

*Sorry, really, I"m sorry." I said, backing away as though the woman was a rabid dog.

I trudged up the street behind Sas and Khaden.

*Hey," I called. They both stopped and turned to face me. *That thing you said..."

*You know what, Ruby," said Khaden. *It"s probably best if we take a break."

It was as if I"d walked into a gla.s.s wall. *What?"

*Do stuff apart," said Sas.

*Apart, or just you two without me?" I said, trying not to sound as pathetic as I felt.

*Whatever," said Sas. *I have to go pick up Grace and Eliza. Let"s go, Khaden."

*Actually," he said, without looking at either of us. *I"m going home. See you around."

*Khade," Sas called after him.

He lifted his hand to dismiss her.

Sas scowled. *Happy, Ruby? You"ve ruined everything." She stalked off.

The world closed in on me. I stared at down at my one bare foot and my blood-streaked shins. For the first time since falling, my legs, right foot and chest hurt and my head pounded. Worst of all, the rush of energy, that feeling I could fly, do anything, was gone. Now all I wanted to do was cry in the middle of the lonely street.

Khaden Khaden had tried to outrun the anger and frustration, but just ended up sweaty and tired. He stopped opposite his street and waited for a break in the traffic, sweat dripping down his back and pooling at the waistband of his skinny jeans. Every part of him felt tense, even his skin. The image of Ruby falling on the train tracks was tattooed into his mind. What the h.e.l.l had she been thinking. Had they been thinking?

Khaden didn"t know who he was maddest with-Ruby, Sas, or himself. When had everything become so stuffed up? Sure, he and Sas should have told Ruby before now that they were together, but there had to be more to what was going on between the three of them than just that. Something bigger had changed and it scared him.

On the other side of the road, a police van coasted towards the highway. Khaden recognised the cops, John Dobson and Nathan O"Brien. He hoped they hadn"t seen him. When the divvy van didn"t slow, Khaden let out the breath he"d been holding and crossed the road. He kicked a stone off the footpath and watched it skid onto the road. A police car pulled up behind the stone and John Dobson stepped onto the nature strip.

Khaden"s heart dipped.

*Khaden, how"s it going?" asked Dobson, leaning on the top of the open door.

Khaden stopped walking. *You know."

Dobson nodded. *Yeah, I know."

What did he know? Khaden"s skin felt cold and hot all at once, as he glanced from Dobson to the young cop waiting behind the driver"s seat.

*Thought Stuart Martin was taking you back to his place?"

It took Khaden a moment to remember Ruby"s lie. *What? Oh yeah, he did. I just have to grab stuff from home, you know, more clothes."

Dobson strolled across the patchy nature strip.

*Am I in trouble?"

*Not at all. Just wanted to see if you"d thought about what I said earlier. There are people who can help you, Khaden, and your dad."

*We"re fine."

*Yeah, that"s what I figured when I saw those new bruises."

Khaden ran his fingers along his jaw. *Look, if I"m not in trouble, I have to go. Mr Martin said I had to be quick."

Dobson nodded. *Fair enough, but Khaden if you need to-"

*I know."

Dobson walked back to the car. *Oh and Khaden, no more fighting with your friends outside old ladies" homes."

Khaden felt his mouth drop open.

Dobson waved out the open window.

Khaden jogged home, his brain a mushy mess. Could his life become any more complicated?

At home he locked the door, put his mobile on silent and took the home phone off the hook. He played song after song-Bowie, Clapton, The Doors, Red Hot Chili Peppers-until it was dark. The feel of the strings beneath his fingers and the sound filling the air, eased the tension and made him forget about Sas and Ruby, the near-death experience, John Dobson, and his mother"s letter.

Ruby Harrison stood in front of the TV, waving the Wii control. He twisted away from the game when I walked through the back door. *What happened to you?"

*Fell," I said, without stopping.

*Had a good cry about it too by the look of you."

*p.i.s.s off, Harrison." I climbed the stairs two at a time.

In the bathroom, I took the disinfectant and band-aids from the cupboard under the sink, and cleaned myself up. Water swirled brown and red down the sink. It was like watching my life go down the drain.

*Clear off, Harrison," I growled when there was a knock at the door.

*Ruby, are you all right?" asked Dad. He was home early, way too early. *Harrison said you were hurt."

*Like he cares," I muttered. Like anyone cared.

*I"m coming in."

The last thing I wanted was to get into something with Dad, plus, there was no escape from him in the bathroom. *I"m fine."