Vulture's Gate by Kirsty Murray Page B

valley.
    Hours later, Callum lay crumpled in the corner of the aviary, trying to sleep, when he saw a ripple of movement in the shadows across the yard. For a moment he thought it was a wild animal, but when it crossed into a patch of moonlight he realised it was Mr Pinkwhistle. The roboraptor moved swiftly along the edge of the buildings, circling the yard, keeping in the shadows until he reached the aviary.
    â€˜Hey Mr Pinkwhistle,’ whispered Callum. For the first time, he was glad to see the roboraptor staring at him with beady red eyes.
    Mr Pinkwhistle bobbed his head and then lunged forward, snapping his jaw shut on a mouthful of wire. Callum managed to get his fingers out of the way just in time. Mr Pinkwhistle’s teeth tore through the mesh as if it was fairy floss. In less than a minute, he’d gouged a hole in the cage big enough for Callum to climb through. He scurried along the edge of the buildings in the shadows and Callum followed. When they reached the door of Bo’s hut, he was relieved to find it was simply bolted. He unlocked the door as quietly as he could and pushed it open.
    He was about to whisper Bo’s name when a hand slid across his face, clamping his mouth shut. He nodded to signal he understood. Moving as quickly and quietly as possible, they hurried into the orchards. It was only when they were in the dappled moonlight among the trees that Callum realised what Bo had done.
    â€˜Your hair,’ he said. ‘What did you do to your hair?’
    Bo raised one hand to the bare skin on the nape of her neck. ‘I cut it off and spread it across my pillow. I used your bedding to shape a body under my blankets and then I gave it my hair.’ Callum stared at her. She looked much younger without her long dark mane. She had hacked her hair off unevenly and jagged tendrils framed her face. He touched her cheek.
    â€˜Why?’ he said.
    â€˜Because Mollie came back to my hut after he locked you in the aviary.’
    â€˜Did he hurt you?’
    â€˜No. He told me what he’d done with you and said we all needed to work out how to live together. We talked for a long time and I asked him all about the cameras and how he watches us.’
    â€˜And he turned them off?’
    â€˜No,’ said Bo. ‘But I found out he doesn’t record anything, so he has to be watching us to see what’s going on. After he locked me in I took Mr Pinkwhistle under the covers with me and watched his sensors. I could tell when Mollie had gone to bed so I knew he wasn’t watching me. Then I hacked off my hair and spread it across the pillow. If Mollie does look, he’ll think I’m asleep.’
    â€˜But how did Mr Pinkwhistle get out?’
    â€˜Up the stovepipe of the old wood stove. He fitted perfectly.’
    â€˜Mollie will see I’ve escaped,’ said Callum. ‘It won’t take him long to figure that out. He knows where the Daisy-May is too. He’ll follow us.’
    â€˜Not until dawn.’ She took Callum’s hand and they ran through the night orchard. Mr Pinkwhistle loped ahead of them, his head swivelling back to check they were keeping up. They avoided the main pathways, weaving their way through the vineyards and orchards, past the dam and the water tanks until they reached the thick stands of bamboo.
    They had nearly beaten their way through the dense foliage that rose like a black wall on either side of them when they heard cockatoos screeching. Above them the sky was tinged with dawn light. Bo stopped in her tracks and looked around for somewhere to hide, her eyes wide with terror.
    â€˜We can’t outrun them,’ she said. ‘And they’ll have woken Mollie.’
    â€˜Don’t stop,’ said Callum, dragging her in his wake, forcing her to keep moving.
    Minutes later, the first cockatoo attacked, tearing out a handful of Callum’s hair, while the others circled above, signalling to Mollie the location of