Boomerang: The Great Escape, #6

By Jack Freestone

Book 6 of Jack Freestone's series The Great Escape, set in Australia and New Zealand.

 

The sequel to Weirdly Bland, and prequel to Bruce Grove.

 

Novella based upon the author's experiences surfing, gambling, and traveling in Australia and New Zealand.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Freestone
• Release date: Jul 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224958269

Jack Freestone

Scorpio Snake.Surfer.Criminal defense barrister, in a previous life.IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR AND PUT A RATING ON GOODREADS.https://dev-jackfreestoneblog.pantheonsite.io/If you like my work, you can buy me a beer and share your thoughts here! ? Plus get exclusive access to audio files, original poems, and first chapters of audio books.http://buymeacoffee.com/jackfreestPOr alternatively, PayPal, or Crypto donation:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=RFANJQHW2XKNSSend crypto to:0x3CADA9f951Be57E7450Cd54C8f2D2240243CD4E2Author of The Fake Celebrity in China, China Laid Bare, Cusala, Slice, The Point, The Control Sickness, No Rest for the Wandering Soul, Dark Days and Dangerous Nights, Bali Fungus, and short stories, such as Blind Escort, and The Great Awakening.

Book preview

By

JACK FREESTONE

––––––––

BOOMERANG

Copyright © 2023 by Jack Freestone

Freestone, Jack

Boomerang

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photocopying or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

The author asserts his moral rights

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Also, by Jack Freestone:

The Fake Celebrity in China

China Laid Bare

Cusala

The Control Sickness

Bali Fungus

Weirdly Bland

The Short Works of Jack Freestone

Bruce Grove

Blackjack, Me, and She

The Quotes of Jack Freestone

The Pures

More Keira than Keira

1

I decided to make the most of things. I was on the Gold Coast, after all. Whatever happened, I needed a break from Rochelle, and Germany.

The first thing I needed was a local SIM card for my cell phone. Plus, a local bus card. Then I would reward myself with a new surfboard.

I walked the eight hundred metres to the big shopping centre Pacific Fair. When I had first arrived on the Gold Coast fourteen years earlier, with Cody, I had felt great excitement. That excitement had gone now. All that was left was a feeling of apprehension, and that I was not totally attached to the reality I had arrived in. I was there physically and mentally, but my subconscious, or soul, had not arrived yet. It was not back in Germany either. It was floating around somewhere, in the land of the lost.

Often in my travels, I would land somewhere and feel totally attached and positive about my immediate future. But not this time, even though I had enough money to last me many months, perhaps even a year.

I could not help but notice that the Gold Coast also looked and felt a bit rundown.

The girl at the mobile phone stall was from New Zealand, and though she did her best to show me that she was herself totally attached, I was left unconvinced. But I got my mobile phone set up, and then bought a bus pass card.

After that I sat down at a small café for breakfast and coffee. While I drank my coffee, I noticed a nearby internet café. I suddenly had a thought that I should email Rochelle. Probably should just let her know that I arrived safely.

With that done, I went out to buy a new surfboard. I soon found a nearby surf shop.

On the walk to the surf shop, I saw that a few of the smaller shops had closed down, some with smashed windows and graffiti. I was surprised to see that the larger Centrelink building had suffered the same fate.

Most of the boards in the surf shop had the same pattern, of sorts, a lot of parallel black lines together. I had no idea why they all had the black lines, but I figured it might be some sort of shark deterrent. I did not bother to ask the shop assistant.

I picked out what looked to me to be a nice seven-foot thruster and a top-of-the-range board cover. I got the two of them for just over a thousand dollars.

I was set. I still had my wetsuit and leg ropes, which I had brought from Germany. I happily walked the surfboard back to my room in the motel.

The next day the surf came up to about three foot on the sets. I had quite a good surf, but my paddle fitness was lacking, and even though the board was seven foot long, I still found it hard to catch and get into waves.

When I came in, I was shocked to see that one of the three fins was missing. One of the fin boxes had ripped clean out. I felt dismayed. A brand-new board in relatively small surf. However, damaging a brand-new surfboard was something I had grown accustomed to, over the decades. I just hoped it did not happen again. After getting changed I took the board back to the surfboard shop where I had bought it from.

The guy in the shop dismissed it as a common occurrence, rather than a fault in the design.

There was surf, so I would have to get another board. I decided to buy the first cheap one I saw, and make do with that until my new board was repaired.

That night I walked to a nearby pizza shop. While I was waiting for my order a girl in her twenties approached me and asked me if there was a garage nearby. She was waiting for her order too. She had curly brown hair.

I told her I thought the nearest one was in the direction of Burleigh Heads. I told her I was not sure as I had just arrived in the area from overseas. I asked her where she was from? She told me she was from Israel. I told her I thought she was from Brazil, from her accent.

I asked her what Israel was like? She said it was nice, and had good beaches, and that I should consider visiting there.

I told her I thought the Gold Coast had gone downhill since I had been there last.

2

Next morning, when I walked to Pacific Fair, I saw a petrol station and realized I had given the Israeli girl the wrong advice.

I took a bus to Mermaid Beach. I wanted to try the cheaper motel which I had stayed at over a decade before.

Previously, the place had been owned by an older guy who I had got on very well with. It was the last place I had caught sight of Cody, hiding in the car while her mother collected the money, I had left for her.

The place had changed ownership, and now a middle-aged woman ran it. She was nice enough, and the place looked almost the same, just a little more aged. But the price had certainly changed. Before, I had paid two hundred dollars a week for a room, and now it was over three hundred. I paid for a week, and then went back to get my pack, and other luggage. I had no surfboard to worry about, just its cover.

The room was clean, and large enough, with a bathroom, couch, a TV, and a kitchen area.

The following morning, I found a small breakfast place nearby. Cooked breakfasts were only nine dollars. I had a decent breakfast sitting in the sun, and read a local paper.

After breakfast I found a small shop with cheap internet. I emailed my Australian friends Doug, Luke, and Steve.

Doug was a Kiwi who was a cop in Brisbane. Doug was