Unleashed! Read Free Page A

bouncy little dog, straining to be free. With its whiter than white tummy and its brown and black back it looked like it had waded through a stream of white paint. Long floppy ears and a pink tongue completed the look.
    ‘Sit!’ said the man, pushing on the dog’s rump.
    The dog sat.
    ‘Isn’t it adorable?’ Clem stood on tiptoe to get a better look. The dog stared mournfully at its owner. Brown eyes were ringed with black. ‘It looks like it’s wearing eyeliner,’ said Clem. Ever since she could remember Clem had yearned for a dog, preferably a girl. There were far too many boys at her house.
    ‘Quiet!’ warned Mio and she pulled Clem back. ‘He doesn’t know we’re here.’
    ‘Look at its cute little tail,’ gushed Clem. ‘The tip looks like it’s been dipped in white paint.’
    Mio glared, trying to bully Clem into silence. Clem ignored her and dragged the crate to the window. She knelt on it for a better look, saying, ‘Wouldn’t you just die for a dog?’ She thought of her room, its walls plastered with dog pictures. Then her father’s words from the last time she’d asked rang in her ears. I’ve got eight mouths to feed. A pet is not an option. Clem sighed.
    The kids watched as the man took three steps backwards and, holding up a cautionary finger, ordered the dog to ‘Stay!’
    The dog rose on its haunches, its high-set ears flip-flopping away.
    ‘Sit,’ ordered the man, then because the dog was too slow he bellowed, ‘Sit!’ He raised his arm threateningly and the dog sat.
    ‘I’d sit, too, if I were you,’ said Darcy under his breath. ‘He looks like he means business.’
    ‘Good dog.’ Clem’s voice was mushy, like when she talked to her baby brother, Drew. ‘Who’s a clever little beagle, then?’
    The man reached into his coat pocket, took out a biscuit, then showed it to the dog. The dog’s lips were drawn back in a lopsided grin and its nose was twitching. The tail was swishing and swashing like a windscreen wiper.
    ‘What’s he got?’ whispered Bryce.
    ‘Dog biscuit,’ said Darcy.
    The man took three cups from his pocket and placed them on the ground, one metre apart. Making sure the dog couldn’t see, he slipped a biscuit under the last one. At the same time he told the dog to ‘Stay’.
    The dog did stay for one, two seconds max, then it leapt forward and pawed each cup till it found the food. With a snatch and gobble it reared, careful to avoid the kick that was on the way.
    ‘Meaniac!’ cried Clem when the man’s boot stabbed the air. The hair on the back of her neck rose and her hands gripped the window ledge. ‘People like that don’t deserve to have a dog,’ she said.
    The man called the dog to ‘Come’. His voice was deep and stern. The dog stopped so the man called again. This time, the dog slunk on its tummy towards him.
    Thwack! Palm met tender nose.
    Clem flinched. The dog whimpered.
    ‘Why, you…’ Clem jumped from her crate and headed for the door.
    ‘No!’ said Mio, grabbing Clem’s T-shirt. ‘We don’t want people to know about us, remember.’
    Clem stopped but she didn’t want to. She climbed back on her milk crate and glared through the window.
    The man did it all over again. The dog was told to sit, he hid a biscuit, the dog was told to ‘Stay’. Once more, the food was too tempting. Once more, there was the sound of a whack.
    Clem leapt for the door, saying, ‘I’ve got to stop him.’
    ‘Don’t!’ Mio stepped in her path as she asked, ‘Do you want to lose The Van?’
    Clem’s nostrils flared. She tugged her hair back behind her ears, so hard that it hurt. ‘I don’t care,’ she said. ‘Someone’s got to stop him.’
    ‘But not you.’ Mio wouldn’t budge.
    Clem tugged at her T-shirt and took a step back. Though she was taller than Mio by a good twenty centimetres, it was Mio who was usually the boss. ‘That man should be reported,’ said Clem.
    Mio nodded but still she didn’t move. All those years of