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.