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.