So Feral! Read Online Free PDF Page A

told you. I’ve got no intention of dying.’
    Leo snorted. ‘You can’t get cursed if you’re out side the property,’ he said, ‘only if you trespass. And standing beside a wall is not trespassing.’
    ‘What about being on the wall?’ asked Marty.
    Leo shook his head in disgust. ‘Gavin’ll be on the wall, stupid. And Gavin’s already cursed, so it doesn’t matter.’
    ‘Gee, thanks,’ said Gavin.
    ‘If you’re so sure about that then you can give Gav a leg-up,’ said Marty. ‘I’ll stay here and be lookout. Tell you what’s happening in the front.’
    ‘And how are you going to help if Mr Bellows comes out?’ asked Leo, peeking at the other flowering plants in that section of the nursery. ‘Chuck a rose petal at him?’
    Gavin laughed as Marty looked sheepish. ‘It’s all right, Marty. I understand.’ Marty smiled but the smile quickly left his face when Leo added, ‘You can’t help it if you’re a prize chicken. Cock-a-doodle-do-o-o!’ he crowed.
    Marty gave him a shove. ‘That’s a rooster, stupid!’
    ‘Shhh to the both of you,’ said Gavin, elbowing them in the ribs. ‘We’re trying not to stand out, remember?’ Nudging Leo again, but this time more gently, he said, ‘C’mon. Let’s go and see if we can find where this room is. Maybe see that baby in the bottle.’ Gavin pulled an old tennis ball from his pocket and started to throw it in the air.
    Leo nodded and followed Gavin towards the nursery exit, saying, ‘Bye-bye, flower girl,’ to Marty as he left.
    ‘Idiot,’ cursed Marty under his breath as he settled down to watch.
    Gavin and Leo threw the ball to each other. With each catch they eased closer and closer to Mr Bellows’s wall. Even from the street Gavin could see that the front door and windows were shut tight and the blinds were drawn. It reminded him of a funeral parlour.
    He’s obviously got something to hide, he thought, diving low for a catch.
    Flicking the ball back to Leo, Gavin put some spin on it. It bounced, clipping the jutting edge in the footpath and hooking up so that it disappeared over the wall. A perfect shot.
    I’ll bowl for Australia one day, thought Gavin modestly.
    ‘Hey, Leo,’ he said, looking around to see no one was watching. ‘Give us a leg-up, will ya?’
    Leo braced himself against the wall and waved at the cluster of orchids that was Marty.
    ‘Move down a bit,’ said Gavin, pushing him back a few steps. ‘The window’s about here.’
    ‘Ready,’ said Leo. Linking his fingers to form a step, he waited for Gavin to place his foot. Deftly he hoicked him up.
    But it wasn’t enough. The wall was higher than they realised. Gavin hung from the top, dangling, as he fought for a toehold.
    ‘Great view from down here,’ said Leo looking up. ‘Reminds me of a joke. What has a bottom at the top?’
    Gavin didn’t answer. He was too busy scrambling for a place to put his foot.
    ‘A leg!’
    ‘Now’s not the time for jokes,’ hissed Gavin.
    With a final shove from Leo, Gavin landed on the narrow top platform of the wall.
    ‘Can you see anything?’ asked Leo. ‘Tombstone? Torture rack? Acid bath?’
    ‘Very funny,’ said Gavin, craning his neck to peer through the window.
    ‘Hurry up,’ hissed Leo, impatient for the job to be done. ‘Delay can be deadly.’
    ‘I know,’ whispered Gavin. ‘I’m doing the best I can.’ He eased himself along the wall to get a better view of the window.
    ‘What the …?’ said Leo under his breath. An azalea bush had made its way out of Shellingham’s and was cruising across the footpath.
    ‘Huh?’ asked Gavin, irritated by the distraction.
    Leo bit his lip as his eyes zoomed in on the moving target. ‘Nothing. Just hurry, will you?’
    The azalea bush was jumping up and down with two arms flailing about.
    To Leo it looked like it was trying to make smoke signals. ‘Azalea bush at fifty paces,’ he said at last.
    ‘Will you be serious!’ said Gavin, trying to peer through the