The dog must have been howling for a good twenty minutes before Hal climbed up on the back fence to look for it. He’d been standing on the fence, peering into the paddocks towards the hills, for about eleven minutes and forty seconds now.

He knew, because yesterday he’d timed himself with Dad’s old watch and that was how long it took for his legs to start trembling. Another minute and they would start to seriously ache. He squinted into the paddocks searching for the dog.

Couldn’t see it anywhere. But some huge bird—an eagle maybe?—swooped down across his vision, three or four crows noisily pursuing it until it shook them off, vanishing into the fierce blue sky.

Shouts came from over Mrs Next Door’s fence.

‘Wretched birds! Get! Go away!’ Hal wished she’d shut up.

He didn’t mind old Mrs Armstrong, but he was listening for the dog to start up again. From far over the paddocks the howling and yelping had become gradually weaker, until you could barely hear it. Then it stopped. Like it was worn out and miserable. Or bored out of its mind, like Hal was with this yard, their new blue house, the whole ruddy town their mother hated so much.

The screen door squeaked open as if she’d read his mind.

‘Boys? Come in and get dressed. You haven’t got long.’

‘Soon, Mum.’ She sighed as if it was too hot to stand there arguing with them and went back in, closing the main door after the screen door.

As if the heat would stay outside like an obedient pet. Hal stood on the fence and listened again, but the dog was silent. Mrs Armstrong stopped cursing the magpies and went inside.

Soon even the cicadas quit their racket and deathly quiet descended on the yard and the paddocks beyond. Next thing Evan shoved himself up on the fence beside Hal.

‘C’mon Hal, you said…’

‘I know. But we haven’t got long.’

‘Yeah we have? Heapsa time.’ Hal glanced back at the house.

They had an hour, give or take. Nothing else to do. ‘Come on then.’

Continue reading the extract here…

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