Installment 38

The car was a large, silver people carrier with plenty of room for the five of us, as well as the family's luggage. I got in through the back door. Harry had climbed over into the very back seats and was curled up across two of them with her coat over her. I sat down in front of her, and Janet climbed in beside me. She squeezed my hand and smiled at me. I forced a smile in return.

Brin got into the front passenger seat and Gwendolyn, the driving seat. She started the car and sped out of the car park. She didn't seem to be paying that much attention to the small winding roads as she drove along singing some Welsh folk song at the top of her voice and swaying wildly from side to side, occasionally seeming to take the whole car with her.

The alarm must have shown on my face, because Janet put her hand on my leg and said, "It's ok. She knows what she's doing."
"I guess," I muttered, unconvinced.
"Trust me, babe. I'm not going to let you get hurt."
"But I'm the only one here who could, aren't I? A car full of immortals and me."
Janet leant forward between the two front seats, "Tame the driving a bit, will you? You're scaring her."
Gwendolyn turned round, nearly veering off the road, "What's that, love?"
"Watch the fucking road! If you crash this thing, if she gets hurt, I'll fucking... I'll..." her voice dropped so I could barely hear that she was making a sound at all.
"Ok, ok... I'll watch the road," she sighed and drove the car straight and stopped singing.
Janet put her arm around me and kissed me lightly.

“Sorry,” she said, as I flinched away.
“It's fine,” I replied, “Just unexpected, that's all.”
Kelly laughed, “Yeah, I don't normally make the first move, if I'm honest,” she rolled her eyes, “I guess there's a reason for that.”
She turned away from me.
“No,” I said, touching her shoulder, “I... I'm glad. I just... just didn't expect it.”
“But we've been talking all night, Fiona. Shit, I've barely said two words to my friends.”
“Yeah, I just didn't realise...”
“What?”
“I kinda thought you were straight, if I'm honest.”
She turned back, smiling, trying to hold in a laugh, “Seriously?!”
I could feel my face starting to grow red and I looked down, “They forgot to give me a gaydar.”
She laughed, “Clearly!”
I leant in and kissed her, as much to hide my embarrassment as anything else. She kissed me back, turning to face me, her hand on my waist. I felt her tongue lightly touch mine and a wave of electricity went through me. I put my hand round onto her back and pulled her closer. There was almost a desperation to it. I needed to be kissing her; I couldn't explain why, but I needed it.
“Christ, you two, get a room, will you?” some woman I didn't know told us. I didn't care if we were being rude to our friends. They didn't matter to me right at that moment.
Kelly smiled at the woman, “Ah, lovely Gem, there's no need to be jealous. There's plenty other ladies out there for you.
Gem rolled her eyes and wandered off into the next room. Kelly put her hand under my chin and turned my face back toward her. She was so beautiful, her eyes, her smile, everything about her just so lovely. She kissed me again, and the air seemed to all leave the room.

I pulled away suddenly, shook my head and was back in the car.
“What the fuck, Janet?”
She shrugged, “You were panicking. I thought a nice memory might help you relax.”
“But you knew it; every detail. How could you know that?”
“Calm down, Fi. I didn't know. I just instructed you to remember.”
“It's private,” I couldn't say why I was uncomfortable with Janet knowing a story I had told a million times over. The story had gotten embellished over the two years we'd been together to the 'How Fi's big mouth nearly fucked up everything' story. Looking back, I wasn't actually as much of a tosser as I'd thought.
“It's ok, love. There's no need to hide stuff from me.”
“I don't mean that. I just mean... you... you should have asked.”
“Asked?”
“Yeah. We should have some kind of rules about what you're allowed to make me think and stuff.”
“Alright then. Tell me.”
This kind of took me by surprise. I hadn't really thought about what she could and couldn't know. I'd wanted Kelly back. Janet was giving me that, right from the very start, but it felt wrong to let her have those real conversations and situations, rather than just, well, sex. It was like I was letting her be Kelly for real if I let her take all that stuff too, but that's what I'd asked of her – to give me Kelly back. How could I expect her to do that if I wasn't going to let her know who Kelly really was.
“I'm not sure. I need to think about it.”
“Ok.”
“I think I just want to sleep now, though.”
Janet smiled, “Sure.”
I rested my head on her shoulder, and let the swishing of the windscreen wipers send me off to sleep.

Installment 37

Gwendolyn's eyes widened.
"What is it? Mam, what's wrong?"
"You," her frail hand reached out to Janet, "You're her? The one from the stories?"
"What stories, mam?"
"It was written that the one who brought it to us would one day come to take it back, and an almighty war would break out between earth and the heavens. That's you, isn't it?"
Janet frowned in thought, then smiled cheekily, "You know? I think it just might be."
I looked at her in disbelief, "You! You let me believe you were on my side. You said you'd help me. Why did I ever trust you?"
"Woah, now," she said, taking my hands in hers, "I am on your side, my love. Always on your side; always by your side."
"Then how can you be what she said."
"Oh, love, I did bring it here, and I did come to take it back. You knew that."
"But... the rest of it?"
"They're coming for me, darling. Coming for you too."
"Elena and Daniel?"
"Daniel?"
"That man. He said he didn't have a name, but... I wanted him to."
"Ok, yeah, them. They're coming and they will do whatever they can to get the pendant back where it belongs; back in my home."
Brin interrupted, "It belongs in Ogmore."
"Oh, shush, you. What do you know?"
"I know I'm not going to stand aside and let some stupid bitch ruin my mother's life's work; my sister's life's work."
"Brin!" Gwendolyn snapped, "Calm down, boy."
He opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and sat down with his arms crossed tightly across his body.
"Right," she said, authoritatively, "We need to work out what we're going to do. You?" she turned to Janet, "You'll stand by us against them when they come?"
Janet moved her face close to Gwendolyn's in an aggressive manner, "I'll stand by Fi. If that's where you are, then I'll stand by you, but don't think for a second my loyalty lies with you."
Gwendolyn nodded slowly, "Understood."
"So, you'll stand by us then?" she turned the question back on Gwendolyn.
"We will."
Brin grunted.
Gwendolyn turned to her son. "We will!" she said insistently.
Janet forced a smile, "Right then, we should get out of here. We were headed to Ogmore."
"But that's the first place they'd think of, surely?"
Janet shook her head, "Actually, no. There's more to Ogmore than your stories and traditions, Brin."
Brin flinched when she said his name. I looked at him, confused. He shot me a stern look, and I said nothing of it.
"You have a car?" Janet asked.
"Yes, outside."
"Right, pack up and meet us in the car park in 20 minutes."
Gwendolyn looked as if she might protest, then nodded. Janet grabbed my hand and led me back to our room, although we had no packing to do.

"I don't trust them," she said.
"I'm not sure I do either, but they seem to want the same as we do."
"What?"
"They want the pendant. I want to not have the pendant. Gwendolyn can see it, so Daniel can go after her for the answers or whatever."
Janet laughed slightly and nodded, "Use them as bait."
"No, not..." I paused, thinking, "That's what it would be, isn't it? We're not going to stand by them; we're going to stand by and watch them be destroyed."
"That's the plan," Janet smiled.
"I... I'm not really comfortable with that. Shouldn't we warn them, or something?"
"And say what? Yeah, you can have the pendant, but some supernatural being might want to rip you apart?"
"Well... yeah..."
She put her arm around my shoulders, "Darling, I don't think it'd make a difference. They wouldn't understand, or wouldn't believe you. The pendant's been their life for so long. It means more to them than you can comprehend."
"Will he kill them?"
"I don't know, love... maybe."

I sat down on the bed staring at the carpet and following the swirly patterns with my eyes until it made me slightly dizzy, then I closed my eyes and just sat listening to the tiny noises of the room. The slight buzz from the fridge in the corner, the birdsong from outside, Janet's light footfalls as she paced around the room. After what seemed like a lot longer than 20 minutes, Janet put her hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and silently followed her out of the room and down to the car park.

When we reached the car, Gwendolyn, Brin and the young girl were leaning against it. They looked like a picture from the 1940s. Brin wearing a trilby and three piece suit and Gwendolyn and the girl in old-fashioned dresses. I smirked slightly, remembering a long time ago when I was about the girl's age and my family had tried to dress me up in a similar dress. I'd always been a tomboy and hated the idea of any kind of dress or skirt. Not a great deal had changed, I realised looking down at the men's jeans, men's shirt and men's jacket I was wearing.

The difference was that I no longer had to answer to anyone about what I wore. Even Kelly had eventually accepted that I was never going to be a make-up kind of girl. She hadn't been out in public without her make-up since she was 16 and left school. She agreed to go out with me one time without it on the condition she got to paint me up however she liked. We both felt really uncomfortable, and made it halfway to the pub before turning back.

Janet held out her hand to the young girl, "I'm Janet."
"Angharad... Harry," she said.
"Harry," Janet repeated, "Right, you are."
"Fi," I said, pointing to myself, "Pleased to meet you."
The girl smiled with one half of her mouth and nodded in a disinterested way, then opened the car door and climbed into the back.

Installment 36

[author's note: I have been thinking of the man who kidnapped Fiona as "Daniel". Imagine, if you will that, although he says he has no name, Fiona told him that she wanted him to have a name, so decided to call him Daniel. Neither Janet nor Elena were involved in this conversation.]

Janet stood up and paced around the room. I tidied up my clothes and sat on the edge of the bed staring at her through the tears that had started to well in my eyes.

"We need to get out of here," she said.
"Won't he just find us?"
"I... I don't know, Fi."
I took a deep breath, "There's some people..."
She looked at me, waiting for more, but I didn't know how to continue.
"What people, Fi?"
"A man and a woman. Mother and son. She said she was the pendant's keeper."
"Its keeper?"
"Yeah."
"What does that mean?"
I shook my head. I thought I vaguely understood what Gwendolyn had been talking about, but when I tried to find the words to explain it to Janet, my mind went blank.
"Fiona, what are you talking about? Who are these people?"
"I... I could take you to them."
She nodded and held out her hand to me. I took it and stood up, leading her from the room and down the corridor. We reached the room where I had been less than 20 minutes earlier and I knocked lightly.

"Who is it?" Brin's gruff voice called out.
"It's me," I said quietly, "Fiona Barnes."
The door opened and Brin stood in the doorway, seeming much larger and more threatening than before.
He cocked his head, "Who's she?"
"This is Janet. She's one of the... I told you about her. She's like Elena."
He stood, unmoving for several seconds, staring at Janet, as if trying to assess her, then stood aside and beckoned us in.

Gwendolyn smiled at us as we walked in timidly.
"So you're the angel?" she said, kindly.
Janet laughed, "Angel? I'm not... I'm... I'm just like you."
Brin smiled, "Truer words than you might think, girly."
She looked suspicious, "Fiona said you may be able to help us. Someone is coming for us. He's not a nice man. He wants to hurt us."
"And how could we help?" Brin asked.
"The pendant," I said, "You know about the pendant. That's what he wants, but he can't see it."
"And why would we help?"
"Because... I don't know... you seemed to... to want to?"
He nodded, "Well, that's not entirely untrue, but you do realise that we want something else as well."
I looked from Brin to Gwendolyn and back again. Both were staring at me intently.
"The... the pendant?" I asked.
He nodded, "But not just that. I want you to find my sister and bring her back."
Gwendolyn stood up, "With the pendant and Arianwen back in their rightful place in Ogmore castle, all will be well, and I can move on to a better place."
Janet moved in front of Gwendolyn, "So the pendant belongs in Ogmore? That's what you reckon is it?"
"It's where it's been for many generations, as far back as history remembers."
Janet smirked and leaned close into the old woman's ear and whispered, "I remember further than that."

Installment 35

I burst through the door and Janet was standing just inside.
"Oh, thank god," she let out a sigh, "Where were you? You scared me."
"I... I just went for a walk. I couldn't sleep."
She took a deep breath and smiled, "Well, you're ok, that's all that matters," she pulled me into a hug. It felt nice, feeling her warmth against me, and I buried my head in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. She kissed the side of my face lightly. Soon, I found myself kissing her, my tongue running lightly over her lips. I looked into her eyes, and there she was; my love, my Kelly.

I pulled her close and kissed her neck, my hands running down her back.
"God, I've missed you. I thought I'd lost you."
"It's alright, darling, it's all going to be alright."
She pushed me back onto the bed and lay next to me, her hand just inside my shirt, lightly stroking my belly. I kissed her softly; slowly moving my mouth across her cheek to her ear and down to her neck. She shivered slightly. I moved my lips down the side of her neck, and along her collar bone. I felt her hand fumbling with the buttons on my jeans, slowly managing to undo them, then sliding her hand inside my underwear and between my legs. My breathing starting to go shallow and every breath becoming a moan, and every moan making my head swirl a little. I closed my eyes, and the swirls became bright lights in front of my eyes. My whole body spasmed I felt a wave of anxiety rush through me.

I let out a scream. She smiled, and nuzzled into my neck.
I turned to her, shaking my head, "No, I... it's him... He's here. I saw him."
"What? What are you talking about?" Kelly asked me, then flicked her head and was Janet again.
"I..." I could barely get the words out, "I can see things. That's what he told me. He... he tried to help me learn to control it, but..." I shook my head.
"Sweetheart, you're not making sense."
"I saw the future. He's coming and he's angry."

Installment 34

"The pendant's keeper?" I repeated the words, not quite sure whether to believe them, and what they meant if I did.
She nodded, "The story goes that there was a huge war between heaven and hell and somehow the pendant fell to earth. My ancestors found it, and for many years the women of Ogmore kept the pendant safe. We were the only ones who could see it. When my mother was old, she handed it to me, and I looked after it for many years. Then I grew old and I handed it to my daughter.

"Then one day, a man came. He was handsome and charming, and my sweet Arianwen fell madly in love with him. Together they had a daughter and they lived happily for many years, and she shared the treasures of Ogmore with him. One day, she showed him the pendant and its power. His desire for that pendant grew and grew, until one day, he walked out on his wife and daughter taking the pendant and much of the other treasure of Ogmore.
"Arianwen vowed that she would take her revenge on him and bring back every piece of treasure to Ogmore Castle. The man grew ill shortly after that day and died from a fever that no doctor could diagnose. We believe that she went mad at his betrayal and invoked ancient magics to curse him.
"All the other treasures, she brought back to Ogmore, but the pendant remained missing. Anyone who finds the pendant, it is said, will find whatever he asks and no other may see the power that the pendant holds."
I was entranced by the story, "But the man," I asked, "What did he ask for?"
She smiled slightly, "All his life, he had vowed that he would die a rich man, and that he did."
I stared at her, not sure what to think or whether to believe.
"Arianwen vowed she would find the pendant and return it to its rightful place in the castle. She left her child with me and Brin and went off into the world searching. Our family was cast out of Ogmore for allowing that treasure be taken from us, never to return unless the pendant returned with us. We've travelled around, but nowhere else feels like home."
"And your grand-daughter? She thinks it's just a story, right?"
"She was young; too young to understand."
"What does she think happened to her parents?"
"She knows her father is dead, and she knows her mother is elsewhere, working."
"Doesn't she want to see her?"
"No. She's happy with us."
"But, surely..."
"She's happy with us," Brin repeated his mother's words, but coming from him, they sounded more like a threat than an explanation.
I looked at him, saying nothing. He held my stare, as if we were children, seeing who would be the first to blink or laugh.
Gwendolyn's voice made us both turn away, "But it doesn't matter now anyway. You have the pendant. She must have found it. Where is she? Where is my daughter?"
"I... I don't know. I brought the pendant from Ogmore. It was in a shop there."
"A shop?"
"Yes, it was, like, a gift shop or something. Lots of weird trinkets and stuff."
"So, you bought it?"
"No, she said I could have it."
"Who said?"
"Elena. Well, kind of. The woman in the shop said I could keep it if Elena said it was ok."
"Who's Elena?" Brin piped up.
"She's... um... it's complicated."
"Then tell me the simple version."
"Elena is... she's, like, an angel."
"An angel?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Or possibly a daemon... or a superego."
"Are you drunk, woman?"
I shook my head, "No, not drunk. Just confused."
He nodded, looking angry.
"Look," I said, "I don't know what she is. She appeared from nowhere and she... I don't know... I'm not sure what, if any, of what she told me is true and what is made up, but she's not normal. I mean, not human, I don't think. Not... not, like... what?"
Brin was laughing and Gwendolyn smirked a little too.
"Oh, dear girl, there are so many things in this world that are neither normal, nor human. Things are so rarely what they seem."
"Wha... I... How do you mean?"
"What? Were you just not listening to the story? My sister cursed a man and he dropped dead. You think she sneezed on him or something? We're not human, girly," he waved his hands around and widened his eyes, "We live among you," then he burst out laughing again.
I felt like I was back at school, with the popular boys mocking me for everything I did. I could feel tears starting to well in my eyes. I looked up, trying to stop them coming, then when I couldn't, I got up and ran out of the room, down the corridor to my room.

Installment 33

I pulled the pendant over my head and walked along the corridor and past our room, slowly and quietly, listening out for any sound from the other rooms. The silence was almost eery in its completeness. I could hear my footfalls on the soft carpet, slowly making my way along the corridor. The door to a room on my right was slightly ajar. I stopped just before I got to it, trying to see if I could make out anything through the crack in the door. All I could see what a small sliver of the wall, and shadows moving on it, but the caster of the shadows made no sound at all.

I moved closer to the door, trying to make out any sound or sight. I crept almost into the doorway, hardly breathing for fear the noise would alert the occupant to my presence. I listened carefully and heard footfalls behind me on the soft carpet. I spun around and almost fell into the storyteller from the lounge.

"Shit!"
"Language, young lady!"
"Sorry. Wait... You can see me."
"Of course I can see you."
I grasped at the pendant around my neck.
The woman let out a sigh, "So she found it!" she whispered.
"Found it? Who? Found what?"
She waved her hand toward the door, "Come in, dear. We have much to talk about."

I followed her into the room, where the man I'd seen earlier sat on an armchair by the window. I didn't see the girl, and assumed she was in another room.

"This is Brin, my son."
The man looked at his mother, confused.
She waved her hand at me, "Take that daft thing off, the boy can't see you."
I pulled the pendant from around my neck and his face fell into shock.
"What?... How?"
"It's the pendant, love," the woman said, "She found it. She must have."
"I... It was in a shop. I... just... I..." I trailed off into silence.
"Sit down," she said, and pushed me into a chair next to Brin.
"My name is Gwendolyn, and I was once the pendant's keeper, see?"

Installment 32

I slipped the pendant round my neck.

The woman looked expectantly at the others. The man looked quite pleased, but the girl just looked confused.
"But it's just a story, right? I mean, the pendant doesn't really exist, does it?"
"No, love. It's just a story. In the old days, folk stories were thought of as true, and many men spent their lives looking for the pendant, but they never found it. It's just a myth, sweetheart."
The girl smiled, "You should write a book, gran. Welsh folk stories as told by a Welsh grandmother."
She woman smiled and laughed slightly, "Ah, I don't think so, cerriad. I'm too old for that nonsense. I'm happy if you enjoy the stories. Maybe when you're older, you could write them for me."
She looked up, right at me and smiled. I half smiled back, wondering how she could see me. The man didn't seem to notice, but the girl turned round to follow her grandmother's gaze. Her face turned quizzical, and I retreated back to the dining room, pulling the pendant from my neck and stashing it back in my pocket.

The soup bowls had been replaced by plates of pasta with spinach and cheese. I sat down and silently spooned some into my mouth, chewing slowly. It was the typical concession to vegetarians by people who think it's not a meal if no part of it bled at some stage - bland, overcooked and, I suspected, overpriced. Janet picked at her food, moving it around her plate more than eating it.

"Not hungry either?" I asked.
She shrugged, "Not sure I ever have been."
"Oh... right... yeah."
I refilled both our wine glasses and knocked half of mine back in one go.
"Careful, love. You're getting through a lot of that."
"So?"
"We have to leave pretty early tomorrow. Don't want you too hungover."
"Guess not."
"Do you want dessert?"
"Not hugely. I think I might just go to bed."
"It's only 8."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"It's ok. I'm going to take the rest of this bottle through to the lounge. I'll be up in a bit."
I tried not to look alarmed. I didn't want her to run into the people who'd been in the lounge, but I couldn't explain why, so I said nothing.
She sensed something was wrong, "I can come up now if you want."
"No, it's ok. I'm... I'm ok."
"Alright then. See you in a bit."
I nodded and walked slowly through the lounge to reception. The seats where the family had previously sat were now vacant. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Enjoy your wine."
Janet smiled back, "Thanks, love."

I walked up the stairs slowly, keeping an eye out for the family I had seen in the lounge, but there was no sign of them. I really wanted to hear the full story. I was certain it was about my pendant and I felt that if I knew more, perhaps I could protect myself from the Elena and the man.

Installment 31

[author's note] I should mention that I am part of a writing group with, among others, my sister, and as part of this, we've been taking bits from each other's stories. I have now completely invaded my sister's story, but this will probably not make sense in the grand scheme of things, so the people talking at the end of this segment will probably be inconsequential and edited out later. It's just a way to keep us writing. Although, maybe I'll keep them in. Who knows? [/an]


"Like me being able to see the pendant."
"No," she shook her head, "We didn't do that to you. That's altogether different."
"So what's that?"
"That's... weird. I dunno. We don't understand why you can see it. No idea at all."
"Um...."
"Yeah?"
"How did you know it existed if you can't see it?"
She shrugged, "Legend. It was kept in a glass cabinet. I guess way back someone must have known how to control it, but it sure as hell wasn't me."
She seemed to shudder at the memory of it.
"What was it like?"
"What was what like?"
"Wearing the pendant; not being aware of yourself."
"It was... not scary... and not painful... but intensely uncomfortable. It was like wearing someone else's glasses, but not just for sight, for every sense. Everything was blurred and I started to forget... to forget who I was. I... it was the worst thing I have ever experienced and I'd rather not think about it."
"I'm sorry."
"It's ok. Are you hungry?"
I slumped into my seat, grinning, "Yes. So, so hungry."
"I think maybe we should stop for the night."
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we get to Ogmore?"
"It's fine. I can sense them. I'll know if they're near."
"What do we do if they find us?"
"You put on the pendant and run. I stay and deal with the situation."
"Won't they be angry?"
"Yes."
"Won't they hurt you?"
"It's possible."
"But..."
"It's ok. They probably won't find us. if they do, I'll deal with it."

I bit my lip and stared out the window at the fields and trees as we zoomed past them.

Janet pulled off onto a sliproad and slowed down. There was a a series of roundabouts and soon we were on a small country road with no markings or lights. We drove along it for about 30 minutes before I saw any signs. Straight on for Snowdon, or left for Beddgellert. Janet turned the car left and soon we pulled into a small town, full of postcard shops and B&Bs. She pulled into a car park and got out of the car. I opened my door and walked round to where she was pulling bags out of the boot.

“I left all my stuff in Elena's car.”
“It's ok, love. I've got a few clothes that'll fit you and we can get you more.”

I nodded, thinking of my flat and all the stuff I'd left there. I had no concept of how long it had been since I left. It could have been weeks or months ago. My time Ogmore had drawn out and everything that came before was a dull memory now.

Janet walked across the car park to the entrance of a hotel and I followed her. It was an old building with décor to match. The reception desk was ornate and made from dark wood, polished so that it reflected all the dim lights around it. There was a lounge just off the reception area with dark red leather chairs and wooden coffee tables. I wandered in there, gazing out of the window into the garden. The window was framed with ivy and the garden was full of rose bushes, with a large weeping willow in the centre.

I remembered the first time Kelly and I had gone away together. We took the eurostar to Brussels, then hired bikes and cycled out into the countryside and found a little guesthouse in the middle of nowhere. We spent lazy days sitting around sipping wine in the gardens of the guesthouse. It was perfection.

I felt an arm around my waist and I leaned into her shoulder, revelling in the warmth.

"C'mon, love. I got us a room."
I turned, blinking to bring myself out of the daydream, "Um... sure, ok."

I followed her to the room and sat down on the bed.

"What now?"
"We eat, sleep, then get back on the road. Head down the coast and round to Ogmore. Should be an easy day's drive."
I nodded.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... I dunno, tired or something."
"Ok. I'm going to take a shower."
I smiled, then lay down on the bed, and rested my eyes. I wanted to sleep. I thought that if I was asleep when she came out of the shower that she would bring Kelly back for me, but my mind was racing. Thoughts of Elena, thoughts of that man, thoughts of what would happen if they found me. I started getting annoyed at myself that I couldn't just drift off into a peaceful sleep. I tried to remember some meditation technique that Kelly had tried to teach me. Let my feet go limp, let my legs go limp, feel all the stress leaving my body, but my brain wouldn't play along. Thoughts of relaxing brought thoughts of Kelly, which brought the knowledge that she was dead and I killed her and now some other-worldly being was going to cut me up to see how my brain worked and I just wasn't sure that it did anymore. I let out a sigh and hit the pillow, then sat up. I looked around for something to do. There were no books in the room other than the Gideon bible, which didn't appeal hugely.

Janet came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She looked at me, a little confused, "I thought you'd be asleep. You seemed tired."
"Tried... Couldn't..."
She nodded, "Never mind. Maybe after dinner."
"Yeah, maybe."
"Come on, let's go and eat."

I followed her downstairs, feeling numb and slightly distant, like I wasn't really there, just letting my body do as I was told. The dining room led off from the lounge and was similarly decorated with big, dark wood tables and chairs with dark red velvet cushions. We sat down and Janet ordered food for us both, and a bottle of wine. The soup arrived quickly with big chunks of crusty bread. I dipped the bread in the soup and ate it wordlessly. Janet kept looking like she was about to speak, but then changed her mind. I felt like I was about to cry, but I didn't have the energy. I saw someone moving in the lounge; a girl, with an man and an older woman sat down. I wanted to know who they were. I couldn't say why, but I wanted to.

"Excuse me," I said, getting up from the table.
Janet looked up from her soup and blinked, "Ok."

I walked out into reception, toward the toilets, then went back round to the entrance of the lounge. I could barely hear what was being said. The woman was talking and the other two were listening intently.
"...Anyone who finds the pendant, it is said, will find whatever he asks and no other may see the power that the pendant holds.”
I gasped. They were talking about me. I wanted to stay and listen, but I was afraid they'd see me.

Installment 30

"So, what was the point? What did he want?"
She shrugged, "He wants to study you; to see how your brain works. I mean, he wants to learn from you, but not for you to teach him."
"Well, that's ok, isn't it?"
"You're not much of a biologist, are you?"
"Sorry?"
"Well, he can only do so much of the investigation from the outside."
"What do you mean?"
"He'd study your behaviour, then he'd have to study your actual brain. He was going to kill you, Fi. That's why I had to get you out of there."
"Why should I trust you? You lied to me. You made me... you..."
"Because I love you. Isn't that enough reason? It doesn't matter how you feel about me; you've got to know that I will do anything to keep you safe, even... even if it means I can never go home."
I couldn't think of anything to say. I felt like the director should have shouted "cut" and we'd go to an ad break, "Good answer," I said, eventually.
We both burst out laughing, not because anything was particularly funny, just for something to do.

I gazed out the window at the world going by, counting the posts at the side of the motorway, seeing how many there were between each emergency phone. It always struck me that there should be the same number, so that you could know which way the nearest phone was, but not many people really counted them as they went, I figured. I noticed a sign at the side of the road, written in English and Welsh.
"We're in Wales again."
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Going back to Ogmore."
"But won't Elena expect that?"
"Probably, but it won't occur to her to go there."
"Why not?"
"Because of the enchantment."
"But she found me there before."
"That was before she knew about the pendant. She wanted to help you then."
"And now she wants me dead."
"Not especially, just wants to go home."
"Don't you?"
She paused, "We've been over this. Why don't you believe me?"
"Sorry."
"It's ok. I kind of understand, I guess."
"Why didn't we just go to the place in Scotland?"
"What place?"
"She was taking me somewhere in Scotland. It was like Ogmore. She was afraid that whoever killed Tim and Errol was after us."
"Fiona, you really are incredibly gullible."
"I... yeah."
"There's no place in Scotland. There's only Ogmore. It's a completely unique place. I mean, there are other places with mystical qualities, but different."
"Like what?"
"Um... there's a place in Finland that makes you kinda angry, and somewhere in the middle east, not sure exactly, that makes you feel kind of, how to put it, spiritual? Euphoric, I guess, but in a really odd way. It's hard to describe."
"Right..."
"People too, and animals, they can have effects. Everyone just puts it down to personality or something, but it's the same kind of enchantment."
"Like me being able to see the pendant."
"No," she shook her head, "We didn't do that to you. That's altogether different."

Installment 29

She blinked a couple of times, still staring at me.
"Fi, it's not that simple. I can only do that when you're dreaming."
"Then I'll stay asleep. I don't care, Janet. This is all too weird and crazy and I don't like this world. I just... I just want things to be simple."
"Nothing's every simple."
"Some things are."
"This isn't."
I sighed and looked at my hands; my fingers intertwined and twisted.
"Fi, I wish I could do this for you. I mean, I can, sort of, just not all the time. It's just not possible. It'd kill you."
"I don't care. I don't need to live. I need her, though."
"I need you to live, Fi. Don't you get it?"
"I... shit... yeah, I guess I kinda do."
"Come on, let's get out of here. We'll work something out, but we need to get away."
"Ok."
She started the engine and drove out of the car park.

***

I woke with a start.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep."
"Christ, I don't remember falling asleep. How long have I been out?"
"Silly... no-one remembers falling asleep."
"I meant... I don't remember being tired. I just remember talking to you, then waking up."
"It's that place. I wouldn't worry about it, love."
"That place?"
"Yeah, just the dimensional shift probably made you pass out. It's fairly normal."
"Dimensional shift?"
"Yes."
"So I was... what? in a different dimension?"
"Yes."
"Shit!"
"Didn't you realise?"
"No. I thought I was in Blackpool or somewhere."
She laughed, "You're funny."
"Why's that funny?"
"Well, as if he'd ever go to Blackpool, or, well, earth."
"Why not?"
"Well, it's beneath him!"
"But not you?"
She sighed, "I used to think so, but, well, we screwed up, Elena and I, and now we have to pay."
"What happened?"
She shook her head, "We were stupid. We were always like sisters. We loved each other, but we hated each other. We spent all our time playing tricks on each other. We were just inseparable. Well, then one time, we went too far; I went too far. I took the pendant from him and put it on. I thought I'd just be invisible, so Elena wouldn't be able to see me and I could scare her, but I lost all sense of myself. I couldn't tell where I was, or what I was doing. It was like I was just a body-less soul. She found me and she brought me back. I don't know how she did it, but she took the pendant from me and freed me. Anyway, the pendant was lost and we were banished. That was the first time we've been allowed back since. We brought you to him. We brought the pendant to him. Elena was supposed to get it from you the same way she got it from me, only she couldn't. She didn't remember how."
"But he said that I could teach him how to see the pendant."
"Did he?" she smiled, almost laughing, "He's full of shit."

Installment 28

I woke, feeling like I was underwater, but it wasn't scary. I wasn't drowning, I was just surrounded by calm water. I felt well rested, in a way that I hadn't in a long time. I looked around for the man, but couldn't see him. I couldn't see anything much. I didn't mind. I was content for the first time in a long time. The guilt over killing Kelly; the guilt over letting Leon get hurt; all dissipated.

I heard a voice, although I couldn't make out the words, then a strong hand clasped my own hand and I was pulled from the water.

"That's the way. How are you feeling?" the man asked me.
"Um... yeah, I feel really good. What happened?"
"Well, the human brain develops easily when you're a child, but it's harder to make those kinds of changes once you're an adult. You had to reconnect the part of your brain that let you know your friend was going to get hurt, and that's a big change. It will take some training to be able to fully control it, but once you can, you'll be able to teach me how to see the pendant."
"How?"
"It's difficult to explain until you experience it, but you'll change; the way your brain works will change and then you'll understand."
"Okay."

It was easy to trust him, the way I felt in that moment. So easy to believe that every word he said was true and that it was all for me; to improve my mind; to make me better. Pretty soon, I would be able to predict the future. I almost felt that I should laugh at the idea, but it felt so real; so right. This was my destiny. To see the future; to change the future; to make the world a better place.

He looked on, smiling, as I daydreamed. Eventually, I turned to him and he spoke softly, "Shall we begin?"
"Yes," I replied.
"When you had your experience, your premonition, that is, you were asleep?"
"No, I don't think so. Not quite awake, but not really asleep either; just kind of in between."
"Good, it's good that you can see that distinction. To use this power, you must be neither awake nor asleep. It's a different state of consciousness altogether."
"Is that what happened before I fell asleep?"
"You felt something?"
"Yes. You were shouting and I was upset, then suddenly I wasn't. I was happy, like I am now."
"Most likely it was an experience, of sorts. It's unusual to have such experiences over something so small as being happy, but perhaps your brain needed to try out the power in order to overcome the years of denial."
I smiled at him. He returned the smile, his face so soft now where hard lines of frustration and contempt had been just hours ago, "Different people have different ways of dealing with it."
"What about you?"
"Me? I don't have that power."
"What power do you have?"
"I can... I can do other things. It's not important."
"Okay."
"Anyway, you need to learn to put your mind in that state of consciousness between sleep and waking, and then you will be able to control the power."
"How do I do that?"
"It's mostly about learning to recognise the feeling, then recreating it."
"I don't really understand."
"Ok, I want you to lie down."
I lay down on my back, with my knees bent and my hands rested on my belly.
"Breath deeply and try to clear your mind."
My mind was still swimming with the new ideas and new possibilities. I tried to think of a blank screen at the cinema, before the film starts, but my mind ran off to the idea of sitting in the cinema and knowing what will happen next. I tried to think of a blue, cloudless sky, but my mind ran off to weather prediction.
"Just clear your mind, Fi. Nothing in this plane of existence matters."
I thought of a blank canvas, like the one that sat in our hallway for weeks before Kelly finally acknowledged that she was never going to touch the oil paints she'd gotten for her birthday and given it to a painter friend. I felt the grief of losing her fill me completely. I didn't feel any guilt anymore. I felt betrayed. She had left me and gone on somewhere new and I... I couldn't follow her. I felt angry. So, so angry. I opened my eyes, suddenly.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I think, maybe it's all a bit much for me. I'm really worn out. I am trying, but I don't think I can do it."
The man looked a little surprised. I thought he was going to shout again, but he smiled, "That's ok, Fiona. Why don't you go to sleep and we'll resume this later? Or are you hungry?"
I thought for a moment, "I'm a little hungry, but mostly just tired, I think."
"Okay. I'll leave you to sleep and someone will bring you some food when you wake up."
"Thanks."
I lay down on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

***

I woke with a start and blinked my eyes hard a few times to adjust to the dim light. Janet was shaking my shoulder.
"Oh, it's you."
"Yes," she whispered, "Come with me if you want to live."
I stared at her in disbelief, "What are you? Terminator?"
She shrugged, "I kinda liked the films; always wanted to say that, but seriously, your life is in danger and I can get you out of here."
"Why?"
"He wants to take your power. It'll kill you. You need to come with me."
"Why should I trust you? You deceived me. You made me think... You made me think you were her."
"I'm sorry."
I sighed. I felt like I should have more to say to her, but I just didn't. I didn't understand any of it anymore. I rolled off the bed onto my feet, still fully clothed and waved my hand at the door, waiting for her to lead the way.
"Put the pendant on and stay close to me."
I did as she said and followed her out of the room, down the corridor, and to her car in the street below. I didn't recognise where we were at all. The road markings looked odd and the sky seemed bluer than I had ever seen it before. There were small white clouds. The sun slid behind one, lighting it up in a golden glow. When the sun began to emerge from the other side, it looked almost like a dragon breathing fire.
"Fi?" Janet whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Fi, I can't see you. You need to take the pendant off and get in the car."
I did so, and she smiled at me, starting up the engine. I put my hand on her arm to stop her. She turned and looked at me, waiting.
"I want you to do something. I don't care if I live or die, or if I'm unconscious forever. I know you can do it. I want you to give me Kelly back."

Installment 27

"Ok... let's start with something simple. Ever seen a ghost?"
I shook my head and smirked a little.
"Ever... had a premonition."
I stared at him for a moment, still smirking, but slowly my face fell as a long forgotten memory returned to me.
"Yes, I have. I'd forgotten.
"I was only 13 or so. A group of us used to hang out in the woods. We'd built a rope swing over the river. It was so high; it kind of felt like you were flying. Leon was in the Sea Scouts and knew a lot about knots, so he climbed up and tied the rope. That first time, when he jumped out across the river, none of really, truly believed it was going to hold, but it did. We had a broom handle that someone had cut in half as a seat and we'd take it in turns to try to go higher and further. We spent hours pretty much every day that summer, just swinging across the river.
"Then one night, I had a nightmare... or... a kind of waking dream, I'm not sure. I felt like I was awake, but I suddenly had all these feelings. It wasn't so much a vision as hearing and feeling something. There were screams and just the most painful terror I have ever experienced. I knew that something bad was going to happen. So, the next day, we went off to the woods, and I really wanted to say something, I really did, but... well, I was afraid they'd laugh at me. It seemed stupid, so I didn't tell anyone.
"Someone had sawn into the branch. The found it later and it was smoothly cut halfway, then broken and splintered the other half. Someone did that.
"Leon was in a coma for 7 months. It was a miracle he survived. They say the chances of waking up after more than a few weeks are..." I waved my hand. I couldn't remember the statistic.
For the first time since I started speaking, I looked over at the man. He looked bored; like he didn't believe me, or like he was waiting for me to say something interesting.
I coughed quietly and continued, "He's ok now. I mean, he can't walk without sticks, but he's... well, he's ok. I told him once. I felt so guilty for having let him get on the swing when I knew something bad was going to happen. He didn't believe me. He said, 'Memory's a funny thing. It so often gets mixed up with hindsight'." I shrugged, "I know I didn't get it mixed up. I know what I felt. I remember the dread as we walked to the woods," I paused, waiting for him to say something. He didn't.
I took a deep breath and said, "I haven't spoken about that in, what, 15 years, maybe more."
"Ok, well how did you do that?"
I looked at him quizzically, "Do what?"
"Have the premonition. How did you do it?"
"I... I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"I didn't mean to do it. I'm not sure I did do it. It just kinda happened."
He stood up and picked up one of the empty beer bottles onto the bed, "Well, what use is a power if you can't control it? Or even re-create it? You're useless to me!"
"I... I don't know... it only happened that one time. I had forgotten all about it."
"Well, of course you had! Guilt like that? Either you're strong and you learn to control and use your power, or you're weak and you just repress the memory and any further premonitions, and you are weak," he almost spat out the words.
"I didn't mean to. I don't know why you're so angry with me. It's not my fault," I could tell as the words left my mouth that this would not placate him. My voice had become a high pitched whine and I was now even irritating myself.
"You don't know why I'm angry? I'm angry because you have what's mine and you have the power to help me take it back, but you're too weak to do it. They told me that you could do this and brought me here and you're nothing. Just a chancer. A fucking mortal chancer, with your sob-story about how you could have saved your friend but did nothing to learn to use that power. You just hid from it, feeling sorry for yourself, never thinking that you may be able to use it to do great things. You're a wasted opportunity. Nothing more."

I could feel tears streaming down my face as I stared at him, wide-eyed. I let them fall; made no attempt to hide them. What was there to hide? There was my whole life boiled down into two words. My gravestone could read "Fiona Barnes - 1981-whenever - Wasted Opportunity".

And then suddenly, I felt a rush of calm run through me. My muscles relaxed and I let out a sigh which seemed to rid my body of all the anxiety. I felt... loved. I think I smiled; I closed my eyes and fell back on the bed. I thought I heard him say something as I fell asleep. I thought I heard him say, "That's my girl."

Installment 26

About 20 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and was handed pizza and a bag by someone I didn't know. He didn't seem to be from the pizza place and almost growled when I tried to step out of the door to take the food from him. I quickly grabbed the pizza and bag and went back inside. Sure enough the bag clinked in a satisfying way and I pulled out 4 bottles of corona and a lime. Good on Elena for thinking of everything. Well, almost everything. I still have to pull the lime apart with my fingernails, but the first swig of beer made it well worthwhile.

I opened the pizza box and scoffed down 3 or 4 slices really quickly, before slowing down and savouring the taste. I hadn't eaten since I left Janet and Elena at that pub in Scotland, and not for a day at least before that. I couldn't even tell how long ago that was. It was good pizza. Not too much cheese, and a decent selection of vegetables, rather than just the usual lazy peppers, sweetcorn and onions. Peppers and onions, I could go with, but sweetcorn on pizza never quite worked for me, mostly because it was almost always the kind that came from a tin and tasted more of sugar then of sweetcorn.

I polished off the first beer and opened another, ripping the lime apart get another slice and shoving it into the opening of the bottle, squeezing as much juice as possible into the beer. I decided to save the last couple of slices of pizza for later in case my captors forgot that I needed to eat more than once a week like Elena had before. I looked out the window and saw it was getting dark. With nothing else to do, and no desire to sleep, I drank my way through the other two beers, then sucked the juice out of the remainder of the lime, all the while, I imagined what lay in store for me. Who this strange man, or not man, but being was. What he wanted. What the pendant was. So many questions, but I didn't get the feeling I was going to be asking many of them. I had a horrible feeling I was going to be expected to answer questions, and I was fairly sure I didn't know the answers.

I wondered what he'd look like. Would he even look like a man? Janet and Elena were both pretty attractive, but in the kind of way that you wouldn't necessarily notice them immediately. I wondered if he'd be the same. I wondered if he'd be nice to me like Elena was when she wasn't losing her temper.

I had started to think 'like Janet was' but my brain still couldn't quite work its way round Janet. She was, what? In love with me? How does that make sense? I'd felt bad when I'd woken up and realised that she wasn't Kelly, but she'd orchestrated the whole thing. It was strange. I'd felt so safe with her until then... and I missed the dreams. If I was honest, I'd been disappointed that it was Elena walked through the door, because Janet would give me Kelly back, even if it was only an illusion, I wanted to feel her again.

I lay on the bed, pulled the covers around me and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. I so wanted sleep. I wanted the comfort of sleep, even if I couldn't get the dreams.

It seemed like hours later. The sky outside had gone dark and the only light in the room came from the small table lamp by the bed. I heard the door handle turn slowly. I didn't move. I thought maybe if I pretended to be asleep, they'd leave me alone.

“Hello Fiona,” I vaguely recognised the voice, but I couldn't quite place it.
I didn't move.
“Fiona, I know you're awake, there's no point pretending.”
I didn't move.
“Seriously, I'm not just trying it on saying that I know you're awake on the off-chance you are. I can actually sense consciousness. Didn't they explain this to you?”
I turned over to look at him.
“That's better.”
“Who are you?”
“I'll ask the questions, thank you,” he paused, as if waiting for objections, but I didn't have the strength, “How are you, Fiona?”
I thought for a moment, trying to come up with something witty to say, but couldn't, “I'm reasonable, I guess.”
“Are you tired?”
“No,” I told him, “I wish I was. I wanted to sleep, but couldn't.”
He nodded. As I'd expected, he was attractive in a very ordinary way.
“I mean, I guess I'm kind of tired, but not sleepy, if that makes sense.”
He nodded again, still saying nothing. He reminded me of the Occupational Health guy I'd been sent to when I'd been off work for 3 weeks once. They just sit back and expect you to tell them everything. Even though I knew I'd been genuinely sick for that 3 weeks, the OH guy's silences made me feel guilty.
“Say something.”
“What would you like me to say?”
“I dunno. Hello?”
“Hello, Fiona.”
“Tell me your name.”
“I don't have a name. Not one you'd understand, anyway.”
“What does that mean?”
“Speech is a mortal thing. I never chose a mortal name because it didn't seem necessary. I so rarely speak to mortals.”
“Should I be honoured?”
“Honoured? Honoured is one way of thinking of it.”
“How would you describe it?”
“You should be... wary.”
“Whatever. I'm sick of being worried and scared and wary or whatever. I tried to turn myself in. They wouldn't take me. I need to get back to London. Maybe they just don't know what's going on in... wherever we are.”
“Where do you think you are?”
“Dunno, Lancashire, I guess.”
He nodded.
"Is that you confirming we're in Lancashire?"
"No."
"Are we in Lancashire?"
"Not exactly."
"What's that mean?"
He just shook his head.
I shrugged, deciding that I'd play his game too. We shared the silence for several long minutes.
Eventually, he cleared his throat and I looked up, expecting him to speak. He didn't; just stared at me.
"What?"
He blinked, but said nothing.
"Look, what do you want to know? Why am I here?"
"You know what I want to know."
"About the pendant?"
"Yes."
"But what about it?"
"You can see it."
"Yes."
"Most people can't."
It sounded strange when he said 'people'; as if he was spitting out the word.
"You mean you can't?"
"I mean most people can't."
"But mortals can?"
"No, Fiona. Most mortals can't see it. Most people can't."
"Right... but I can?"
"So it seems."
"So, what do you want to know?"
"We want to know how it is that you can see the pendant, and we want you to teach us."
"Elena said you could see it."
"She was wrong."
"But she said it's yours."
"It is... in a manner of speaking."
"Let me guess; it's complicated."
He half smiled in a patronising way, "The world is a rich and complicated place. Very little in it is simple."
I really wanted to say something clever in response, but I couldn't think of anything.
"I don't know why I can see the pendant. I just can."
"Not good enough."
I put my hand in my pocket and lightly ran my fingers over the smooth design of the pendant.
"You know that you can't get out of here even if I can't see you, don't you?"
"Why not?"
"The door's locked. The key is outside with Elena. She won't open the door unless I tell her to."
I frowned, thinking that there must be some way to trick him and escape, but unable to come up with a more detailed plan than that.
"So... shall we start?"
"Start what?"
"We need to discuss why you can see the pendant, so I can learn to see it too."
"Ok."
He smiled at me, expectantly. I watched him for a moment, then looked away, feeling awkward.
"So, tell me."
"It's just there, so I can see it."
"Right, but I can't."
"Jesus! I know that. I just don't know why."
"Well, can you see other things?"
I looked at him in disbelief, "Yes. I can see many things. Pretty much all visible things."

Installment 25

I woke up in a room I didn't recognise. It was kind of dim, but not really dark. I always thought kipnap victims were kept in dark rooms, tied to chairs with blindfolds over their eyes. I was in a pretty comfortable room, probably a hotel room, in fact. I opened the curtain but the windows were frosted and didn't seem to open. I walked over to the door and put my ear against it, listening out for my kidnappers, or anyone else. I heard nothing, so I tried the door. Predictably, it was locked. I went round the room looking for other exits or windows. There were none.

I sat down on the bed, trying to think what my next move would be. Everything I'd done since leaving London had been on a whim and with no particular plans in mind. I needed a plan. I racked my brains trying to think of the best way to proceed. There must be some way of getting away from them. I assumed my captors were Janet and Elena, or the unknown being they were supposed to take me to. If I knew for sure who it was, then maybe I could think better. At least I knew Janet and Elena a little.

Ok, best thing would probably be to assume it was them to had me, and try to formulate a plan with that in mind. If it turned out to be someone else, I could rethink, but it seemed most likely it was them. I'd seen them near and I knew they were after me. The police, on the other hand, seemed not to be. Maybe I wasn't even a suspect in Kelly's murder case. Maybe they hadn't even realised she'd been poisoned.

I tried to get comfortable on the bed with little success. The pillows were lumpy and the thin duvet didn't hold off the cold air. There was nothing to read and nothing to do. My planning wasn't going well enough to keep me entertained and my mind kept wandering to imaginings of what was going to happen to me when that door opened. The idea that I would be able to overpower Elena was ridiculous. I figured the same was true of Janet or any other supernatural being who might be holding me hostage. I needed to know what they wanted. I needed more information. The only thing to do was to wait.

***

And so, I waited, for what seemed like hours. I began to feel thirsty, and eventually this feeling became overwhelming, so I drank directly from the tap in the bathroom. After a while longer, I began to feel hungry, so I drank some more, hoping this would satisfy that feeling too. I felt bloated, but my hunger was not satisfied. I curled up on the bed and tried to sleep, but sleep would not come. I was soon bored and frustrated. I knew I should be frightened, but I wasn't. I'd been so ready for it all to be over, and now it wasn't.

[Author's note: for continuity, for the next bit of the story, you need to think back to when they were leaving Ogmore and pretend that the conversation about the pendant went a little differently to how it did. Elena did not pick up the pendant and ask Fi about it; Fi asked Elena about it. This is what happens when you write a story without really thinking about what's going to happen next, but it will be fixed in the editing stage.]

The door opened and Elena walked in. I launched myself off the bed and towards her.
“What the fuck, Elena? You were supposed to be taking me to turn myself in, and now you won't even let me do that. I just want all this to be over. If that means years in prison, I'll deal with that, but I can't deal with all this shit anymore.”
“Fi, shut the fuck up. You're in a lot of danger.”
“Yeah, I worked that out, just turns out that you're the danger, not the protector. Yeah, you'll help me run from the nasty, evil Janet, then turns out you're both trying to do the same thing. So, who are you to deliver me to, Elena? Where is he? Fucking tell me!”
“He's on his way, and he's not happy, so you need to listen to me, and do what I say. There's no need for this to be a bad experience; but you need to co-operate.”
“Who is he and what does he want? Is he like you?”
“Yeah, he's kind of like me, but he's higher up. He's not nice and he won't take any shit from you.”
“Higher up? Like... God or something.”
“Or something.”
“What does he want?”
“He wants the pendant?”
I looked at her for a moment, confused, “The pendant? Is this what all this has been about?”
“Yes and no. Not entirely, but it's part of it. I didn't even know where the pendant was until you showed it to me. It had been lost to my people for many years.”
“But it was just on display in that shop.”
“Not to us.”
“The woman said it belonged to you.”
“That's not entirely true. We're its... keepers.”
“Keepers? But you lost it?”
“Yes. We lost it. Janet and I lost it and we've been left as mortals ever since being given menial tasks as punishment.”
“And that's what I am? A menial task?”
“That's what persuading you to go back to London was, yeah. Menial. Think about it, Fiona, we are the world's protectors. The guardian angels, is how you described us, I think. Do you really think that getting you to go back to London and face up to what you did is all that important in the grand scheme of things? Seriously?”
“Guess not.”
“The pendant, however, is very, very important.”
“Why?”
She looked down, “You wouldn't understand.”
“Wouldn't I? Is it because it gives me special powers? Is it because, when I'm wearing it, I become invisible?”
She looked at me in disbelief for a moment, “For god's sake, Fi, when will you understand, it's not about you?”
“I know... I just... I just meant that I know what it can do.”
“You don't know the half of it, Fi.”
“Look, I don't care about the sodding pendant, Elena. You want it, you can have it. Will you let me go if I give it to you?”
“It's not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“We need to know how it was that you could take it in the first place.”
“The woman in the shop gave it to me.”
“It wasn't hers to give,” she sounded angry.
“No, but you said it was ok.”
“What was I supposed to say? 'Hey look, you've got that thing that's going to turn my life from the shit I've been living in for centuries back to the bliss I used to live in, but I can't see it and I can't take it from you.' The only way to know where it was was to let you keep it and to keep you with me. I couldn't take you back to London and I couldn't let you out of my sight. I needed you to believe you were better off with me until I found a way to get the pendant from you. You don't understand, Fi. I've been living in hell for centuries and you can get me back. I need you.”
“Wait? You can't see it?”
“No.”
“Can other people?”
“Some.”
“And they can't see me when I put it on?”
“No.”
“Can you?”
“No, but I can sense you. Sight is such a minor thing to me. I have other senses. It's hard to explain. It's like trying to explain colours to someone who's been blind since birth.”
“But you can't sense the pendant?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
I reached in my pockets with each hand and pulled the pendant out, holding both hands up in front of me at the same height.
“Which hand?”
“I don't fucking know, Fi. Stop pissing about. He'll be here soon, and you need to answer all his questions honestly and completely, or he'll hurt you.”
“Let me go and I'll give you the pendant.”
“Don't you fucking get it?” she leaned close in to my face and whispered threateningly, “It's not yours to give.”
I stepped back warily and didn't speak for a while. Elena and I seemed to be having a staring match, neither of us moving, or even blinking for a moment, then I looked down and muttered, “Whose is it?”
“It's his,” she said, gesturing at the door.
“Who is he?”
“He's... my boss, I guess. It's complicated.”
“Everything's complicated!”
“Yes.”
“Yes? That's all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say, Fi? Everything is complicated.”
“I want you to say something that makes sense of all of this; something that makes it all seem ok. I want you to tell me something comforting.”
Elena looked down, “Comforting isn't really my style, hon.”
“Can I have some food?”
“Jesus Christ, Fi, is that all you think about?”
“No, it's a lot of what I think about when I'm stressed, though,” I said, and Elena half-smiled at me.
“I'll see what I can do. Pizza? A large vegetarian for a large vegetarian, right?”
I smiled, feeling the tension lift from the air, “You calling me fat?”
“Yep.”
“Bitch.”
“Yep,” she grinned, “But you already knew that, right?”
“Thanks, Elena.”
“No worries.”
“And maybe a beer or two?”
“I'll see what I can do. Loosen your tongue, maybe.”
“Maybe.”
She left the room and I lay back on the bed awaiting food.

Installment 24

I woke with a start. The car wasn't moving and the driver had gone. I sat up on the back seat, squinting and my eyes re-adjusted to the light. After a minute or so, I pushed the passenger seat forward and tried the door handle. The door was locked this time. I had a quick look around for the key, but didn't really expect to find anything; and, indeed, didn't find anything. Anyway, I didn't really want to steal the car. Murder, manslaugher, accidental killing, whatever – that's enough criminal/potentially criminal activity for now.

I pulled the door lock up, and the car alarm sounded. I quickly grabbed the handle and jumped out of the car. Someone was walking toward me fairly quickly. I thought about running, but she just carried on past me muttering something about “bloody car alarms” and how they go off for no reason. Dodgy technology working in my favour.

***

I walked down the street, unsure of where I was or where to go. I knew I needed a police station, but I didn't know what town I was in, let alone where the police station was. I wished I had my phone. I wished that I hadn't been so rash in destroying my sim card. I could pick up a new sim, I supposed, but I wasn't sure whether it had any power, and I didn't think I'd brought a charger. I also wasn't entirely sure how having a phone would help me know where to go.

I continued to walk down the street, feigning nonchalance, but, in reality, I was scared every time I saw anyone who was vaguely the same size or build as Janet or Elena. I knew it was damned near impossible that they were here, but something deep in my stomach told me that they knew where I was, even though I didn't.

I walked down what looked like the main shopping street. I glanced in the shop windows, pretending that this was the purpose of my being there. There was a shoe shop full of shoes that looked more like torture devices to me, with the high heels that would quickly lead to sore feet and sore back. Kelly used to love looking at those sorts of shoes. She thought that she liked wearing them, but I knew better. She seemed to forget immediately that she'd taken them off that she'd spent the whole evening complaining about the pain they caused her and leaning on me to take the weight off her feet a little. The number of times I'd tried to persuade her to wear less painful shoes. I wondered if anyone actually enjoyed wearing those shoes. People probably just forgot how much they hated them once they'd taken them off.

Next to that, there was a camping shop. I loved camping shops, with all the random gadgets. Something to solve every problem you never realised you had, and probably never would, but you just knew that if you didn't get that gadget, you almost certainly would. From when I was only about 8 years old, I wanted a pen knife. For my 12th birthday, I got one. It was black with a horse etched into the metal casing. I used to carry it with me everywhere, although it was so blunt it was next to useless. Later, I longed after the big swiss army knives, with their 20 different functions, or the Leathermans with all that and pliers too. I stared at the display now with the same longing I'd had when I was 15.

I was brought out of my daydream by a glimpse in my peripheral vision of my so-called guardians. I turned to check, and sure enough, they were walking slowly down the street. How the hell did they find me? Maybe the pendant did draw them to me, but, no, that felt wrong. I turned away from them and walked quickly back down the high street. The didn't call out or run after me; perhaps they hadn't seen me. Perhaps they didn't even know I was here. That seemed too much of a coincidence, though.

I needed to find the police station before they found me. I turned left onto a busy street and ducked into a newsagents. I picked up a chocolate bar and took it to the counter.

“50p please, love.”

I handed over the money, then said, “Could you tell me where the police station is, please?”

The woman behind the counter looked at me slightly suspiciously, but after a moment or two replied, “Turn left out of the shop, then up to the top of the road, right down Maple Street and it's on your left after about a hundred yards.”

She seemed to want to ask more, but I cut her off with a word of thanks, then walked swiftly out of the shop, following her directions to the police station. There was an almost empty pub on my right that caught my eye. Maybe one last drink before I go down. No cider in prison. I wandered in. There was hardly anyone in there. I went to the bar and ordered a bottle of nice cider. Normally I'd just drink whatever was on draught, but as it was my last, I thought I may as well have something nice.

The bottle was tall and thin and I declined the offer of a glass to go with it. I never understood why someone would take a glass with ice when you can drink it from a chilled bottle that will stay cold much longer than in a glass and doesn't mean you're drinking watered down cider.

I sat sipping the cider, breathing in the atmosphere. I loved empty pubs. I never understood why people chose to frequent busy pubs for the “atmosphere”. Nowhere to sit; can't hear your friends; no space to dance even. The idea of spending the evening stood nodding at your friends doesn't strike me as a sociable evening.

The cider went down surprisingly quickly. It tasted truly lovely compared to the mass-produced rubbish I was used to. I went to the bar and ordered another one. I decided to savour this one and not just knock it back, but it too went down all too quickly. I'd barely been in the pub 40 minutes and gotten through 2 bottles. The more I drank, of course, the more I wanted. Pretty soon, I'd gotten through 5 or 6 bottles and finally decided that I needed to leave. I thanked the barman and left.

The police station was not far from the pub. There seemed to be a lot of commotion inside. The receptionist was on the phone and waved his hand at a set of chairs. I sat down. Once he was finished on the phone, I stood up, as did 3 other people. I sat down again, realising I was quite far back. Before anyone could speak to the receptionist, the phone rang again and he waved his hand to dismiss them again.

When he came off the phone this time, he stood up and said loudly, “OK, people, there's been a huge incident that we're dealing with here, so if you're here for anything that can wait, you might be better coming back later, or phoning in to the station.”

Two people sat on the opposite side of the room from me conferred for a few seconds, then got up and walked out. Another person who had been sat next to me followed them after two or three more minutes. That left me and one other person.

After about 20 minutes, the phone stopped for long enough for the other person to try to report the theft of their camera. The receptionist seemed annoyed and gave him a phone number to call. I stood up, but the phone rang again, so I sat down once more. I felt my eyelids growing heavy from the cider. I kept pinching my arm to keep myself awake. After about another half hour, I was beckoned up.

“Hello, madam, how can I help you?” the receptionist asked wearily.

“My name is Fiona Barnes and I am wanted for the murder of Kelly Wheatley.”

He looked at me with disbelief bordering on contempt, “Madam, are you wasting my time?”

“No, I... I'm turning myself in. I... well, I guess it might not be murder. I mean, it was an accident if I'm honest, but I've not been about to explain, so I figured that they wouldn't realise...” my voice trailed off and I realised that I sounded like a child trying to justify eating sweets between meals.

He sighed, typed something into his computer, then looked back at me, “I have no record of either name. I do, however, have a station full of students who decided it was a good idea to attack the Dean of the Science Faculty in the hope that it would stop the university doing animal testing which, as far as I can tell, they don't. I also have a faceful of what smells like cider breath coming from your mouth. Can I suggest, therefore, that you go away, sober up and come back when you make more sense before I fine you for wasting police time?”

“I...”

The phone rang, he picked it up and gestured angrily at the door. I waited a minute or so, and he turned away, continuing his phone conversation.

After a little while, I walked out of the police station. I decided that it would probably be better to come back when there was someone else on reception. As I stepped out of the door, I felt a pull around my neck and a bag over my head. I struggled and tried to tug at the thing which was choking me, but before too long, I passed out.

Installment 23

After what must have been an hour or so, the cramp in my lower back got the better of me and I had to sit up a little. I tried to stay in the footwell, but it was awkward and uncomfortable, so I sat on the back seat, and leant down in the hope that, even if the pendant wouldn't hide me from my accidental chauffeur, the headrest would. We were on the motorway, and I saw a sign that we were heading toward Manchester. Manchester would be a decent enough place to hide out. I knew a few people there. Maybe they'd put me up. Of course, they were Kelly's friends too, so maybe they'd be best avoided too. I decided I'd just wait and see where I ended up. Anywhere further from Janet and Elena was better.

The pendant felt heavy around my neck. I began to wonder how it was linked to Janet and Elena. It clearly was in some way. The woman in the shop wouldn't let me take it without their say so. Maybe it protected me from them. Maybe it would lead them to me. It was powerful, certainly, and I felt like I needed to know more about it. I just didn't know how I would go about finding that out.

The car shook a little as it drove over a bit of bumpy road. I shrunk lower into my seat. Logically, there was no reason why the driver was more likely to look behind him because of a bumpy road, but it just felt the right thing to do. I was still uncertain of the pendant's ability to hide me. I should test it, I thought, but I didn't really think that the motorway was the right place to do so. On the other hand, it's not as if I could be thrown out of the car. Perhaps, if he saw me, I could pretend that I was hijacking his car and make him drive me to... to where? Somewhere anyway.

Cautiously, I pulled the pendant over my head and put it back in my pocket. I remained low in my seat and hoped he wouldn't look round. When we stopped, I though, I'd put it back on, then get out of the car, and try talking to him to see if he could see me. And if he saw me before then, he'd have to stop the car before he could do anything about it, so I'd jump out and run away.

***

He left the motorway several junctions north of Manchester. I looked out of the window and saw signs for Blackpool and Preston. I was fairly sure I could get lost in Blackpool quite easily, but was that what I wanted? To get lost? Perhaps the better move would be to make my way to a police station and turn myself in. It would all be over soon if I did that. Prison would be tough, but at least there'd be an element of certainty about my future, which was greatly missing from my life at the moment.

I felt calmer, having decided what to do. Turn myself in. Plead insanity or that I was driven to it, or some such bullshit. Maybe even the truth, that it was an accident. I could skip over the part where the accident was who I poisoned, not that I poisoned. No, that's not true. I'd thought about killing her; I had decided not to. It's not the same as murder. Having a slightly sick mind and bad temper is not nice, but it's not illegal either. Running was a bad idea. I should have stayed. I should have seen it through properly.

***

And so, my future seemed more certain. Not perfect, but not running from two people who weren't even really people and had both lied to me about what was happening and were supposed to deliver me to god-knows-who for god-knows-what reason. Prison was preferable, and it was surely unlikely that I'd get a huge sentence anyway. I could cope with a couple of years, couldn't I? Maybe I'd join the prison gym and get really fit or study while I was inside and come out with a whole new set of opportunities. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it seemed. Hey diddly dee, it's prison life for me.

The journey stopped being along such straight roads and started twisting and turning more. Conscious that the driver would be looking in the mirrors more, I slid back down into the footwell, but did not cover myself over with the newspapers this time. Maybe he'd see me when he got out of the car; I didn't care anymore. My mind was clear and I felt strangely light and free.

My eyes grew heavy after a short while and I realised that I had barely slept in the last few days. I half-heartedly willed myself to stay awake, but knew that it wasn't what I really wanted. I let myself drift off, with the thought in my head that I would re-awaken before we stopped anywhere.

***

I was back in London, in our flat, watching Kelly sleeping. Her face looked so peaceful. I leant down and kissed her cheek, then crawled into the bed beside her, my arm around her, my hand resting lightly on her belly. I breathed in the scent of her hair and felt completely content.

I heard a noise and sat up to see that the side of our bedroom had been cut away and filled with theatre style seats. They were mostly empty, but about 10 people sat watching. Kelly sat up too, then took my hand, and guided me to stand in front of the bed. She took a bow, then Janet, Elena, Tim and Errol walked into the room from the sides of what was now a stage. Janet took hold of my other hand, with Elena taking Kelly's, and Tim and Errol standing on either end. Both my hands were pulled up above my head, then down again as we all took a bow for the steadily growing audience. By now, there were close to a hundred people watching and applauding.

Installment 22

I was on the motorway with no real thought to where I was going. I took a few deep breaths, realising that my breathing had gone pretty irregular.

"Ok, Fi," I said aloud, "Where now?"

I was still considering that, when I noticed a passenger in one of the passing cars staring at me. I tried to keep my eyes and mind on the road, but kept having to glance over. Soon enough, the car had gone by and I couldn't see him anymore. I gasped with the realisation, he couldn't see me.

I grabbed the pendant from around my neck and put it back in my pocket. There's no point being invisible if it was going to bring more attention to me. An empty car bombing down the motorway was not inconspicuous. I needed to be cleverer than that. I needed a plan.

I was on the motorway with no real thought to where I was going. I took a few deep breaths, realising that my breathing had gone pretty irregular.

"Ok, Fi," I said aloud, "Where now?"

I was still considering that, when I noticed a passenger in one of the passing cars staring at me. I tried to keep my eyes and mind on the road, but kept having to glance over. Soon enough, the car had gone by and I couldn't see him anymore. I gasped with the realisation, he couldn't see me.

I grabbed the pendant from around my neck and put it back in my pocket. There's no point being invisible if it was going to bring more attention to me. An empty car bombing down the motorway was not inconspicuous. I needed to be cleverer than that. I needed a plan.

***

Ok, so they were taking me to someone in Scotland, presumably, so I should head back to England. But then, I guess they'd expect that, so maybe I should head further north. Shit! Either I do the most obvious thing, or I do the next most obvious thing, and they knew the car I was driving. They probably had some kind of GPS tracker on it.

I took the sliproad off the motorway into the service station and got out of the car. I put the pendant on, and started trying the doors of cars. I knew it was unlikely that anyone would leave their car unlocked - that only happens in films – but I also felt that, when wearing the pendant, I could do pretty much anything.

Sure enough, the fifth car opened. I got in and felt around under the steering wheel for wires to put together to hotwire the car. There weren't any. I felt immediately let down, not only by the pendant, but by hundreds of cop shows and films that had led me to believe hotwiring a car was easy. If Keanu Reeves could manage it, surely, I could!

I pulled down the sun-visor to check for keys, the other foolproof way of stealing a car. There were none. I wasn't as surprised. I had always suspected that was an American quirk. I opened the glove compartment, to no avail, then had a better idea.

I climbed in the back of the car. The back seat footwells were full of newspapers and discarded coffee cups. While I was fairly certain the pendant would protect me from the driver's view, I didn't want to push my luck, so I lay down and pulled newspapers over me. Now I just had to hope that the driver wasn't headed straight back to where I'd left Elena and Janet, wherever that was.

I'm not sure how long it was until someone came back to the car. They started the engine and set off. The stereo was blaring out ABBA's greatest hits or something and the driver was singing along loudly. It was a little difficult not to giggle when he tried to hit the high notes, but I managed to stay quiet. Once we were on the motorway, I sat up a little, still hiding behind the passenger seat, to look at the signs and get an idea of where we were heading. Sure enough, we were headed south again, into England.

Installment 21

I sit in silence for a short while. I was kind of shocked by Elena's anger at my questions, but I still wanted to know. I figured that probably wasn't going to happen, though.

“I'm hungry,” I tell her.
“Well, you should have eaten earlier.”
“You mean yesterday.”
“What?”
“It wasn't earlier, it was yesterday, when we stopped at the service station and you made me get something to eat, which I've eaten and the drink, which I drank. Unfortunately, I'm not a super-secretive immortal assassin, so I need to eat more than once, and I'm hungry,” I stare at her as she grips the steering wheel tighter, “and I need to pee.”
“Fine,” she says, almost shouting, “We'll stop.”
“Thanks,” I say, smugly.

Twenty minutes later, we pull into a roadside pub advertising home cooked food. Elena wanders in and I run to the toilet. When I return, she is sitting at a table with 2 pints of cider in front of her.

“You can't drink. You're driving. You're supposed to be my protector. I don't want a drunk protector.”
“Jesus, Fi, keep up, will you. I'm not fucking mortal. I don't need to sleep. I don't need to eat. I don't get drunk.”
“Well... it looks bad.”
“Fine!” she pushes the pint in front of me, “You have it. Have lots of them. Drink yourself into a coma. You'll be much easier to deal with that way.”
We both stare at the menus, not really reading, just avoiding looking at each other.
“Sorry,” I say after a while, “I'm being a brat, aren't I?”
“A little bit.”
“I just... I guess I don't know how to behave in these situations.”
“Don't piss off your protector is a good start.”
I giggle slightly, but I'm not entirely sure she's joking.
“What do you want?”
“Um... Ploughmans looks good.”
“Ok.”

She goes to the bar and orders the food, also coming back to the table with a glass of lemonade for herself.
“Better?”
I smile, “Much better.”
I take a big gulp of my cider, and haven't quite put the glass down when Elena pushes me to the side and down under the table.
“Hide!” She whispers, desperately, then gets up.
I see her feet move across the bar. I slide round to the other side of the table. I glance out the side and see her talking to Janet. Part of me wants to stay under the table, part of me wants to run away, but a big part of me wants to hear what they're saying. They're standing at the end of the bar, near the door to the kitchen. If I could get into the kitchen, I think I could hear, but I couldn't see how to get in there, and really couldn't think how I'd explain to the kitchen staff what I was doing there.

Just then, I felt a lump in my jacket pocket. I reached in and pulled out the pendant I'd got in Ogmore. I can't quite where it came from, but I knew that it would help. I put the pendant round my neck and took a couple of steps out from under the table. No-one seemed to notice me. I watched Janet, and coughed, ready to leg it out of the pub if she turned round. No-one seemed to notice at all. I walked slowly toward the kitchen, slipping through the swing door without anyone so much as looking my way. There was only one person in the kitchen, chopping salad, presumably for my lunch. She didn't seem to notice me, so I stood to the side of the door, as hidden as I could be, even though I was fairly certain she wouldn't see me if she looked right at me.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Elena seemed to be telling Janet off. I couldn't hear what Janet said, but I didn't dare open the door to hear more.
“Well, we still have to deliver her. You know that, Janet.”
“I know!” Janet spoke a little louder, “I just...” then something I couldn't make out.
“Jesus, Janet! I know she's just a mortal, but that's pretty low.”
“Like what you did wasn't?!”
“Janet, I had her drugged and willing to do whatever. You just had to play. Just as well she put that phone call down to drunken memory, or we'd have been in deep shit, and then to drag her off to Ogmore like that... it's supposed to be a sacred place.”
“It felt sacred, Elena. It felt... human.”
“Janet, what the fuck is so human about manipulating the woman's dreams. She didn't even realise it was you.”
“You manipulate peoples' dreams all the time.”
“I don't make any fucking claim of humanity.”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All the dreams, the day I woke up with her, all her doing... and now I was to be delivered somewhere. I ran past the chef, and out the back door. I saw Janet's car, with the engine still running. I jumped in it, and tore out of the car park.

Installment 20

When I woke up, dawn was breaking and we seemed to be deep into the countryside. Elena was whistling a tune from some old musical and seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Morning, sleepy. Welcome to Scotland," her mild Welsh lilt had softened and her pronounciation sounded almost a little Scots. I wondered if she'd sounded English when we were going through England. I hadn't noticed.
"How long have I been asleep?" my voice was a little croaky.
"A few hours. Feel better?"
"Um... not sure yet."

I reached down into my bag and pulled out a bottle of coke. As I opened it, it fizzed up, and I closed the top before it sprayed all over me. The bubbled died down, and I opened the bottle and took a swig. It was warm and sticky and generally not very appetising, but I drank it all down in two or three gulps anyway, hoping the sugar and the caffeine would clear the fog from my brain.

The scenery zooming by us was breathtaking. I've always thought that there's something that much more beautiful about the countryside at dawn, almost as if God decided that those who could be bothered to get up so early in the morning deserved the best views.

"So, where are we?" I asked, still finding it a little difficult to get my words out properly without slurring.
"South-east Scotland. I'm keeping to the back roads, so the journey may take that bit longer."
"Why the back roads?"
"Harder to find us."
"But easier to do something about if if they do, surely? Wouldn't we be safer on the motorway?"
Elena shook her head, "It's shockingly easy to fake a fatal traffic accident."
"And you'd know?"
"Don't go there, Fi."
"What?"
"I've done some stuff in my time that you may not approve of, but it's all for the greater good."
"You've driven people off the road?"
"Fi! Seriously, don't go there. I'm your protector. If I can help it at all, no harm will come to you. My previous assignments have not always been quite so... straightforward."
"Assignments? Who gives you assignments?"
"Fi - stop. It's nothing to do with you. Stop asking me questions. I can't answer them."

Installment 19

Elena pulled over.
"What are you doing?"
"Shhh..."

I did as I was told without question. A few seconds later, I saw the headlights of the other car illuminate the road behind us. I stifled a gasp, but it turned in the other direction and drove away.

"Who was that?" I gasped, trying to regain my breath, and wiping tears from my face.
"Not sure."

Elena started the engine and drove on without another word. I only realised when we reached a car riddled with bullet holes that we'd gone back the way we came. Elena stopped the car and we both got out. She shone a torch into the car. Errol sat in the driving seat and Tim in the passenger seat. Both were unmoving and covered with blood. Their eyes were wide, as if staring at some fierce beast approaching.

"A...are they dead?"
Elena opened the car door and lightly put her fingers on Errol's neck, repeating the same on the other side of the car for Tim.
"They're dead."
"Fuck."
"We should get out of here."
"What? No! We have to call the police or something."
"That's not a good idea, Fi."
"Elena, I just want this to be over. I can't cope. I'll turn myself in here. I don't need to go back to London. I just can't take any more of this."
She turned to me angrily; she seemed to grow taller, but perhaps I was just cowering. I thought I saw a slight glow in her eyes, maybe a glint of red, "Not everything is about you, Fiona."
I stood for a moment, unable to break her gaze. I tried to speak, but found myself unable to even open my mouth. I realised I'd been leaving further away from her, and I stumbled slightly, putting my hand out to break my fall, but the fall didn't come. The moment was gone and Elena had returned to normal.
"Come on, Fi. We need to go."
I followed obiently, saying nothing. We got back in the car and drove on, leaving Errol and Tim staring aimlessly into the night.
"So, on to Brigadoon?" I asked.
"What?"
"Brigadoon? You know, the mystical village? From the film?"
"It's not called Brigadoon. It's called Chapelknowe."
"I... I was just making a joke."
"You have a weird sense of humour."
"I've been told that before."
"Look, Fi, maybe you should just go to sleep or something. I need to concentrate."
"Okay," I said.

I hate silence. I always have. It means I talk too much, because I fill in whenever anyone else isn't. I sat in silence anyway, trying to think of something that would take my mind off what had just happened. I ran through songs in my head, trying not to sing out loud. I tried listing things: chemical elements, US states, people who'd taught me at high school. Eventually I fell asleep.

Installment 18

The sun was going down as we crossed the border into Scotland. I began to wonder idly if there were more places similar to Ogmore. It made sense that there would be more than one, but then it made no sense that there would be any at all. I began to wonder if it would be like Ogmore; just another pretty little village. I wondered if there'd be a guesthouse there and if the staff would look at Elena and know who she was and that she'd brought another poor sod there for their own protection. I wondered what had happened to all the people she and Janet had taken there before. I decided not to ask.

We were on a quiet road with hardly any cars around. We'd pass one maybe every 10 minutes or so, and there was only one behind us. It was dark, so I couldn't see much about the car, nor its occupants, other than the headlights. I thought maybe it was following us, but as I kept watching, I saw that there simply was no other route to take, unless the car were to turn back the way it came. After about an hour or so, I saw another set of headlights far behind that car, but closing the gap at quite a pace. I glanced over at the speedometer, and we were driving at about 50mph which, it struck me, seemed surprising restrained for an immortal driver. I caught myself before I laughed out loud at this thought, but still let out an almost-snigger.

"What?"
"Nothing, really. Just thinking that if I couldn't die, I might be tempted to drive faster."
"Are you drunk?"
"No," I felt like I was being told off, "Just making a joke."
"Fi, I'm your protector. You will not be harmed by any of my actions. I hope you will not be harmed by anyone else's actions while in my presence either, but that'd be a little easier to ensure if you'd just take this seriously."
"Sorry," I mumbled, looking down at my knees.

A few minutes later, I looked back up, as I heard an engine revving hard. I turned round to see the car that had been closing in overtake the other car, and then gun shots. They looked like tiny fireflies flitting between the cars. The sound, though, was phenomenal. I'd heard guns on television before, of course, but never really appreciated how loud they'd be.

"Shit!" Elena said under her breath, then swerved off the road. I was thrown around in my seat, the seatbelt digging into me. My head was being shaken up and I couldn barely see anything. After a little while, Elena slowed slightly and turned off the lights. The only thing I could see for miles were the headlights of the pursuing car.

Installment 17

We drove on, pretty much in silence until the signs stopped just saying "London" and started being more specific. Turn-offs for Heathrow looked appealing to me, but Elena kept driving toward central London. She pulled into a hotel near Acton Town. It was about 6pm. We'd been going slowly the whole way, almost as if she wanted to put this off as much as I did.

"Do you want to eat out, or shall I just go and get some food to have here?"
"Here, I think," I answered, "I'm really tired."
"Ok, I'll grab some pizza and a bottle of wine."
"Sounds good."
She left the room and I flopped onto the bed. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I got up and walked over to it.

"Did you forget your key?" I called as I opened the door. Tim and Errol stood in front of me.
"Hi, Fi," Tim said.
"You didn't come and see us before you left," Errol continued.
"I... I couldn't."
"You should have."
"Why? You lied to me. It was all some sick joke."
"Why the hell would we lie?"
"I don't know, but Elena showed me the paper. How would Kelly know I was in Ogmore on Sea? Why would she put an ad in that local paper?"
They looked surprised. Neither of them said anything for a short while then Tim spoke slowly.
"It wasn't in some local paper, Fi. It was in pretty much every local paper."
"What? How do you know?"
Errol looked behind him and tapped Tim on the shoulder.
"Look," said Tim, "We've got to go. Can you meet us tomorrow before you go? We'll show you."
"I dunno, guys."
"Seriously, like 6 o'clock before Elena wakes up. We'll meet you in the car park. You need to see this stuff, Fiona."
I figured that it couldn't make matters any worse, "Okay, then. Why not?"

I shut the door behind them. I didn't think that they had anything that was worth showing me, but it wouldn't hurt to see.

I collapsed back on the bed and was half asleep when Elena returned with 2 pizza boxes and a cold bottle of soave.

"Hey you."
"Hey."
"You ok?"
"Yeah, it's just been a really long day."
"Yeah," she handed me a pizza box and opened the wine, pouring it into two hotel mugs, "Classy, hey?"
I smiled, "Only the best."
We clinked our mugs, then sipped the wine and wolfed down the pizza.

***

I worried I would oversleep. I didn't want to set an alarm. If I'd had my mobile phone still, I'd have set a reminder and then pretended it was a text message telling me to top up my credit, but it wouldn't turn on with no sim card, and I hadn't gotten round to picking up a new one. I woke up pretty much every half hour. Sometimes Kelly drifted into my dreams, but she didn't speak and was gone as quickly as she arrived. At 5:45, I decided it would be foolish to let myself go back to sleep, so I concentrated on staying awake, while listening to Elena's soft, slow breaths. A few times, I had to shake myself out of a slight daze, as if the rhythmic breathing were hypnotising me.

At 6:20, I crept out of bed, grabbed my jeans and jumper and took them out of the room. Once I was in the corridor, I put them on over my pyjamas and set off, barefoot, down to the car park. It was only just light and I shivered as I walked across to Errol's car. Someone did an unconvincing owl impression and I turned around to see Errol and Tim standing close to the wall of the hotel. I nodded to acknowledge them and walked over.

"What are you doing here?"
"You're being lied to."
"You told me this. I'm sorry. I don't believe you."
"I swear, we have the proof. It's in the car."
"You showed me your proof. I don't believe you. I don't know why you're toying with me, but it's not fair."
"Just hear us out. That's why you came out here, right?" Tim looked at me hopefully.
I sighed, "Ok, show me."

We walked toward the car and got within 10 metres of it before being thrown back by the blast. I lay on the floor, unsure of what to do and what had happened. A car stopped beside me.

"Get in," Elena called.
"Wh... what?"
"Just get in!"

I rolled onto my front and crawled to the car door, pulling myself into the passenger seat. The car sped off out of the car park.

"What happened?"
"I'm not sure, but it's not safe here."
I collapsed against the seat and fell fast asleep.

***

When I woke, we were on the motorway.

"Where are we?"
"Just past Birmingham."
"Birmingham? Why Birmingham?"
"We're going somewhere safe."
"London is safe. We were going to the police."
"Yeah, and someone worked that out and now they want you dead."
"What? Why?"
"I'm not sure, exactly."
"How do you know, then?"
"The car exploding - wasn't the first. Well, it was, but I found something on our car last night. It was due to go the same way, but I diffused it."
"You can do that?"
"I can."
"Fuck!"
"So, we're going to a place I know just north of the Scottish boarder. We'll be safe there."
"Safe? For how long."
"This place, it's like Ogmore."
"Oh."
"It's safe."
"Why is it safe?"
"No-one can find you there."
"You found me in Ogmore."
"Yeah, I guess I did. No-one who wants to kill you can find you there."
"That's something, I guess."
"That's everything, Fi. Until we work who's doing this, that's the best we can have."

***

We pulled into a service station. I hadn't had any breakfast, but food held no appeal at this stage. I ordered a cup of coffee and grabbed a bottle of coke too. If someone was trying to kill me, I figured it was probably best to be as awake as possible.

"You should eat, Fi," Elena said as I reached the checkout.
"Not hungry."
She looked at me disapprovingly, and I sloped off to the fridge and picked up an egg and cress sandwich for later.

We sat in the cafe for a while - me sipping my coffee, Elena tucking into a bacon sandwich. The smell of bacon made me a little nauseous at the best of times and doubly so right now, but there was something comforting about the discomfort in my belly; the proof of life, I guess.

We were back on the motorway within 15 minutes of stopping. I stared out of the window at the fields of cows and sheep, mesmerised by the lamp-posts speeding by. The road ahead was empty of cars and behind us, there was just one small van.

"Can I drive?"
"What?"
"Next time we stop, can I drive for a bit? I'm bored."
"Fi, you're half asleep."
"No, I'm not."
"You were awake pretty much all night."
"What? No, I... How did you know?"
"I heard you tossing and turning. I can tell when you're asleep."
"But... hmmmph..." I felt like a little kid sulking, "So you were awake all night too."
"Yes."
"But you're allowed to drive."
"Fi, I'm not like you. Not mortal."
"You still need to sleep, though."
"No."
"No?"
"No."