‘We need to get out of here, now,’ said Mum.
‘This debacle will send up red flags online. Our security has been compromised. We’re not safe here any more.’

Mum was watching the immigration vehicles pull out from the end of the driveway. A couple of them had tried chasing Ingrid on foot, but they were not an athletic bunch. They soon hurried back to speed after her in their cars.

Joe, Fin, April, Loretta and Dad were preoccupied with cleaning themselves up. They were still covered in manure-­laced water. ‘We’re not going anywhere,’ said April. ‘I need a shower. I smell worse than Joe’s feet. Pumpkin, get off!’ Pumpkin was rubbing his face lovingly on April’s soggy sock.

‘I quite like the smell,’ said Dad, sniffing his own shirt. ‘It’s the smell of spring in the garden.’
‘Spring in the garden after a flock of chooks has pooped all over everything,’ said April.
‘You’re not listening. You all need to pack a bag now,’ said Mum.

‘We need to leave this building in less than three minutes. If our cover is blown, there could be helicopters on the way here already.’
‘No!’ said Joe, firmly. This caught everyone’s attention. He was so rarely adamant about anything. ‘This isn’t a b-­b-­building. It’s our h-­home.’
‘Technically it is a building,’ said Fin. ‘It would be more accurate to say, this is more than a building, it is our home.’

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