Part 6 - Have you ever, ever felt like this?

New to Thieves? Start at Chapter One

‘Hemi! Hemi! I think I got something!’ Stu was rummaging around the storage cupboard in Sydney. The boys had been set a mission to build a South Island catcher.

The Aussie cupboard was full of Caramello Koalas, Stefan Dennis singles, and inflatable kangaroos.

‘It isn’t another digeridoo, is it?’ said Hemi. ‘I really don’t think that’s going to help.’

‘No, this is better,’ said Stu. He emerged from the cupboard. His arms were piled high with slim plastic boxes.

‘It’s the Aussie DVD collection!’

Hemi gave Stu a sceptical look.

‘They’ve got way more discs than we do back home,’ insisted Stu. ‘We’ll find inspiration. Look – ‘Round the Twist’, ‘Blue Heelers’, we’re sure to get a heap of ideas from these!’

Hemi frowned, unconvinced.

‘Hemi…’ pleaded Stu.

‘I guess the Chief Kiwi would want us to think outside the box,’ Hemi said after a minute.

‘I’ll put the first disc on,’ said Stu. ‘And there’s some potato chips, and a few tinnies in the fridge to wash them down.’

Hemi was about to speak, when the haunting melody of Theme from Round The Twist called out from the television. Have you ever, ever felt like this? Within seconds, he was firmly parked on the Aussie sofa.

As the boys sank deeper into their evening’s entertainment, the house seemed to come alive around them. An insidious, mechanical whispering filled the air of the room.

It was that most Aussie of sounds, low, sinister and sibilant…it was air conditioning…

And the Kiwi boys were in more danger than they could know.