The village was in
darkness, just a string of pearl like roadside lamps leading the way through a
single narrow street. Slowing the car to
the speed limit the road ahead was dark and wet from an earlier shower. In the hills above the village, he had driven
through a deluge that flooded the road but here the weather had been
kinder.
Daniel had spent a few
nights staying at a hilltop hotel, which offered breathtaking views across the
Derbyshire countryside. A favourite
haunt for artists, they seemed to fill the place leaving just a few rooms for
Daniel and his business colleagues. The
hotel itself was pleasant enough but Daniel was not happy about the treatment
he and the other guests had received.
The staff although very young lacked what he would have expected from a
luxury hotel. Senior staff members were
not much better, in fact he had witnessed one of the receptionists being very
rude to one of the elderly artists and Daniel himself had suffered curt comments
from a manager. It was then that he decided
that once home he would make a complaint to the head office of the chain who
owned the hotel. He was not supposed to
check out until the following morning but he was missing Clara and wanted to
return home as soon as possible so he made the decision to drive through the
night.
Following the gentle
curve in the road, he pushed the gear stick forward slowing the car even
more. His sat nav told him that once on
the motorway the journey time would be just under four hours. He doubted that, closer to five he thought,
but at least at this time of night there was less traffic to contend with.
As he approached the
last house in the village, his eyes flicked to the darkened space to his
left. This was a water meadow and open
fields. Here a river ran through the
valley, he imagined the view on a summer’s day.
Suddenly movement caught his eye and before he had time to react, a car
shot out of a small side turning in front of him. It bounced across a narrow pathway completely
out of control before disappearing into the darkness. Braking hard, Daniel brought his car to a
stop and threw open the driver’s side door.
Climbing out he stood in the road hardly able to believe what had just
happened, then running to the spot where the car had left the road, he peered
into the darkness. He could see very
little but there was a vague shape against the denseness of the shadows. Moving forward he soon discovered the car
resting on its roof. The headlights were
out so searching his pocket he found his mobile phone and turning on the torch
directed the beam into the car. Air bags
had deployed but were now deflated, the limp material filling the space where
the driver should have been.
“Hello,” he called out
and reaching for the handle pulled open the door.
It was a small sports
car, just two seats but luckily, it had a hard top. A soft top car would have collapsed
completely crushing the driver. Leaning
in he found the driver squashed into the foot well.
“Are you hurt?” leaning
in further he reached out.
Strands of dark hair
covered the face that peered back at him and playing the light over the
interior, he realised that he was looking at a woman. She groaned.
“We need to get you
out,” he said shuffling further into the car.
Grasping her by the
hand she responded by wriggling out from the cramped space.
“Can you stand?”
“Yes I think so, help
me please.” Holding onto him, she pulled
herself from the wreckage.
Daniel supported her gently and she
groaned again as she collapsed against him.
He could feel her heart racing, her body trembling then he caught the
aroma of expensive perfume. They stood
like this for several moments before he suggested they move. Lights from his car were a welcome beacon in
the darkness of the street. The last
roadside lamp was a hundred yards away, its beam failing to reach them.
“You are hurt,” Daniel
said as he helped her into the passenger seat.
“I should call for an ambulance.”
“No please.” Alarm filled her face.
“At least let me take
you to the nearest hospital.”
“There is no need,
please do not concern yourself, it’s only my pride that is injured.”
He doubted that, but
doing as she asked he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“My name is Daniel.”
“I’m Sophia,” she
replied and laying her head back against the rest closed her eyes.
“Where would you like
me to take you? We should call someone
to take care of your car.”
“No please, tell no
one. Will you take me with you?”
Looking at her, he
frowned. “Surely someone will be worried
about you.”
“There is no one.” Pain masked her face but she hid it well then
she opened her eyes. “Will you take me
with you? I will explain everything
later.”
“Is there anything that
you would like me to fetch from your car?”
“No, I have everything
that I need.”
Daniel hesitated uncertain
about what to do next. What would the
consequences be if he did as she asked?
Clearly, he had to do something, he could hardly throw her out into the
night. He told her where he was going
and she simply nodded her head then closing her eyes again, she sighed.
Daniel drove slowly
away leaving an overturned sports car in a field on the edge of a village
somewhere in Derbyshire.
I woke up the other morning with this running through my head so I wrote it down. It could be the beginning of a new thriller so perhaps I should develop it a bit further see where it goes, but first something for you to think about.
1. Who is Sophie?
2. Who/what is she running away from?
3. Has Daniel done the right thing or should he take her to a hospital or police station?
4. What would you do in the same circumstances?
I'm considering the same questions so this might just turn into a full blown novel.
