No Turning Back Read Online Free PDF

uphill. Jabu said that people in the bakery would be clearing up and they could buy any leftover bread cheaply. They arrived just in time. The front of the shop was closed, but the back door was still open, and theywent inside. The manager seemed annoyed when he saw them.
    “Do you think I want to stay here all night?” he complained.
    But he took the money they offered and came back with two packages of rolls and a small loaf of bread.
    “This is all that’s left. You’ll have to share. Now move on!”
    Outside the bakery, Sipho listened as the others discussed whether to go directly back to the pozzie —their sleeping place. If Lucas was there, he might have made a fire, and at least they would be warmer there. Sipho was glad when they agreed to go. Already he was very tired. He hoped that when it was time to sleep he would be too tired to feel the cold.
    Starting to walk downhill again, Jabu explained to Sipho that their gang had recently stopped sleeping in Hillbrow.
    “The police chase us too much here,” he told Sipho.
    “And if the shopkeeper finds you in the morning by his door, sometimes he’ll beat you… shuup, shuup, shuup!” added Matthew, whipping his arm up and down.
    Two weeks ago, however, Lucas had found a small unused plot of ground near the railway line at Doornfontein where they could sleep. Theonly problem was that hoboes sometimes came to the plot to drink. The drinking often led to fighting, and the boys were worried the police would then come and take them all away. But at least Lucas had claimed one side of the plot for the malunde, and the hoboes stayed on the other side. Sipho thought of the man who had sworn at him that morning and hoped he wouldn’t be there.
    The streets were now brightly lit up. Even high above, the darkness of the night was broken by lights in the buildings towering upward. If he had been going back home through the shacks in the township at this time, everything would have been completely dark. When there was no moon, you had to fumble your way as best you could between the shacks. Here there were even shops still open, with lots of people walking around. Music drifted out from some of the cafes and bars. In the roads cars were pulling up or moving out, just as busy as during the day. However, the farther they walked down the hill, the quieter and darker it became.
    At the bottom, they turned left. They were beginning to leave the very tall buildings behind. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees above them, and shadows seemed to dance around them as they moved from one pool of lamplight to the next. Jabu told Sipho that behind themwas a park which was very dangerous, even in daytime. Tsotsis hung around there, and sometimes they would take one of the malunde if they wanted him for a robbery or some other bad thing.
    “Okay, we also steal sometimes if we’re hungry or need something,” said Jabu, “but those tsotsis, they actually like killing!”
    “Ja, and they like telling everyone how they cut up this one and stabbed that one,” added Matthew.
    As they turned into a narrower road without any traffic, Sipho could hear the sound of their footsteps. The others were now talking about a man called Peter who liked to finger his knife while forcing malunde to buy glue from him. A couple of times Sipho turned around to make sure no one was following them.

6. Under the Night Sky
    A pproaching the pozzie, they heard voices and the crackle of fire on the other side of the fence. Sipho was the last to squeeze between the broken planks. In the flickering light from the dancing flames, he immediately recognized the gang’s leader, Lucas. Vusi was there too, standing close to the fire with a prong in his hand. The smell of sausages made Sipho feel terribly hungry.
    “Heyta, magents! So, gentlemen, my sausages called your stomachs!”
    Vusi’s voice sounded quite friendly. Lucas greeted them as well. He made no comment on Sipho being there. It seemed he was