Monster Republic by Ben Horton

still rang in Cameron’s ears. And he didn’t think that had anything to do with his enhanced hearing. Rather, it was down to the disaster that had unfolded when he tried to contact his family.
    This time would be different, he told himself. Firstly, he had to trust that not everything he did would turn into quite such a catastrophe. And secondly, he was determined to be more careful. This time, at least he had use of his in-built phone. What better time to put it to the test? Even if his family was out of bounds, hehad other friends back up here in the real world.
    Providing some of them had survived the explosion.
    Cameron’s stomach did a back-flip at the thought. He hadn’t considered that. But surely not everyone could have been killed?
    Walking along, head down, Cameron paced a little-used back lane behind a row of houses, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. It was grey and drizzling, with gloomy clouds overhead. The miserable weather was just right for his mood, but more importantly it kept people indoors. At the moment a few wheelie bins and some loose rubbish were all he had for company.
    Summoning up the phone function on his HUD, he mentally tapped in Darren’s number. He knew it so well he didn’t even have to think – he’d dialled the number almost every day since they’d become friends at primary school. He just hoped that it wasn’t Darren’s mum who picked up the phone …
    A couple of rings and Darren’s voiceanswered: ‘Hello?’
    ‘Hey, Darren! It’s Cameron.’
    There was a pause.
    ‘ Cameron? ’ Another pause. ‘You’re having a laugh , right?’
    ‘No,’ said Cameron. ‘Seriously. It’s me. As I live and breathe.’
    ‘Live and breathe is right. I mean, God, Cam, they said you were dead.’
    ‘Yeah, well, whatever they said, it’s not true. Especially that part. You can tell it’s me, right?’
    ‘Yeah, yeah. I mean, I’d know your dulcet tones anywhere. So – what happened?’
    Cameron glanced up and down the street. Still no signs of people. ‘Well, there was some mix-up with the hospital records. I was, um, badly hurt. But I got out … OK.’ He couldn’t bring himself to say ‘in one piece’. He needed to strike a balance between preparing Darren for the truth and not scaring him off. ‘To be honest, I look a bit of a mess though.’
    ‘Yeah, me and all,’ answered Darren. ‘But that’s par for the course just after I get up.’ Helaughed, and Cameron smiled. It was good to hear his friend’s usual jokey voice. ‘Hey, listen,’ continued Darren, ‘let’s hook up. I wanna hear what happened to you.’
    ‘Yeah, all right,’ Cameron replied, relieved that Darren had been the first one to suggest a meeting.
    ‘Cool. Where are you?’
    Mentally cursing himself for not having thought of a place in advance, Cameron thought quickly through a handful of options.
    ‘Uh, you remember that building site where we used to skateboard?’
    ‘What, out near the bypass?’
    The place Cameron was thinking of was eventually going to be a new shopping centre or something. On Sundays, when there were no workmen around, there had been a whole lot of ramps and obstacles, ideal for stunts. Or for spectacular crashes at any rate. The site itself might be a little too public for what Cameron wanted, but the bypass would offer a bit of cover.
    ‘Yeah, meet me under the flyover there.’
    ‘All right. Give me an hour to make myself presentable.’ Darren laughed again, and Cameron laughed with him.
    But at the same time he was thinking that he would need a heck of a lot more than an hour to do that himself.
    The rain had eased off to a gentle spotting, and the clouds were looking a good deal less threatening by the time Darren came rolling into view on his board.
    Cameron waited well under the shelter of the flyover all the same. It wouldn’t keep him hidden for long, but he felt like putting off the actual ‘unveiling’ until the last possible minute. He spent the