Death Wind Read Free Page B

again.
    Allie could see the hate in Slammer’s eyes. Razz looked calm, but he had the same look of concentration he showed when he was up on the half-pipe. Slammer threw a punch. Razz ducked and the punch whacked his shoulder. He stepped forward and shoved Slammer away from him.
    Again, Razz stood and waited for him. Slammer looked really mean now.
He isn’t looking too good in front of his friends
, Allie thought.
    Fast as a snake, Slammer bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it into Razz’s face. Razz threw his hands up. Slammer lunged forward, driving his head into Razz’s chest. The two of them went down, grunting, and rolled in the dirt. Fists flew. Legs jerked and kicked.Finally Razz broke loose and got to his feet, blood trickling from his nose. He wiped it away and waited for Slammer to get up.
    When Slammer was on his feet, panting, Razz stepped into him and punched him just below the ribs. Allie could hear the air
whoosh
out of Slammer’s lungs. With a loud grunt, Slammer dropped to his knees.
    â€œWant some help, Slammer?” said the blond goon.
He doesn’t sound too hot on the idea
, thought Allie.
    â€œNo, man. Stay out of it,” Slammer wheezed.
    Razz said, very calmly, “Had enough?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œThen you and your friends leave Brainy alone, all right.”
    Slammer looked up at her and pasted on a weak smile. “Yeah, all right.”
    â€œO.K., suppose you guys split.”
    The goons left, two of them helping Slammer. He wasn’t walking too straight.
    Later, Allie and Razz were in the van, sipping sodas and listening to the radio.
    â€œHow come Slammer hates you so much?” she asked him.
    â€œBecause I’m champion and I beat him all the time. And because of the sponsors. They pay me a lot more. That’s why he wants to win so much. He’ll earn twice as much money.”
    â€œRazz, you didn’t really fight him hard. I mean, you just kept pushing him away and ducking his punches. A couple of times you really could have finished him.”
    Razz tipped up his drink, slurping down the last drops. Then he tucked it into the little bag hanging from the dash. “I don’t like fighting, Allie. It doesn’t solve anything.”
    â€œAnyway, thanks,” she said to him.
    â€œNo probs, Brainy. Now, let’s check thegear. We gotta roll tonight.”
    â€œWhere to?” she asked.
    â€œBack home. My sponsor wants to set up a TV interview on the cable station in Barrie. And get this—they want me and Slammer on the same program! What a drag. Now we gotta backtrack.”
    Backtrack?
Allie didn’t like this news one bit. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. But she wasn’t ready to face her parents yet—she knew that much. The last thing she wanted was to go back home.
    â€œNo, Razz, I can’t go back!” she said.
    â€œRelax, Brainy. We’ll go back. You can wait in the van while I do the taping, and we’ll be out of there in a couple of hours. We’ll leave now, stop along the way and get some sleep, and be there in lots of time for me to clean up.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œWe gotta go,” Razz cut in.
    â€œO.K., O.K.,” she said angrily.
What choice do I have?
she thought.

Chapter Five
    Razz drove for a couple of hours, dipping red twisters into the peanut butter jar before he chomped on them. The night was dark and rainy, with high winds that shook the van.
    Allie sat with her feet up on the dash and tried to listen to the music. Her mind was a mess. She was mad at Razz for headingback home, and she was thinking about her parents a lot. And she was worried about the four red circles—especially the one on her calendar. She was still overdue.
    Every once in awhile Razz would tell an elephant joke. “Hey, Brainy! How many elephants can you get into a compact car?”
    â€œWho
cares
, Razz?”
    â€œI thought you were