––––––––
I had to wait almost an hour for the car that was to take me back to Camthorpe. I wasn't handcuffed, so maybe they did believe my story. The driver introduced himself as DC Andrew South. With him, was a WPC who said I should call her Anne. She sat in the back seat with me. I wasn't sure why it needed two of them to make the journey with me, but I didn't question it. I just wanted to get back home.
Anne was very friendly, and it wasn't long before I forgot she was a policewoman. She was incredibly chatty, and I was happy to let her do all of the talking. She was due to get married in two months time, and was understandably excited. Normally, I'd have found such conversation tedious, but after the previous few days, I welcomed anything normal.
“Bloody idiot!” DC South cursed. He kept glancing at the rear view mirror.
Both Anne and I looked through the rear window. A blue BMW was tailgating us. We were on a quiet country road with plenty of room to overtake.
“Why doesn't he come past?” Anne said, more to herself than anyone else.
“Because he's an arse hole.” DC South pressed the button to open the driver's side window. Once it was open, he put out his arm to wave the BMW past. “Come on then!”
The BMW made no attempt to overtake nor did it reduce its speed.
“Are either of those two the guy who abducted you?” DC South asked.
“No.” I'd already checked to see if it was Craven, but I didn't recognise either of the two men in the BMW.
“I'm going to call for backup,” Anne said.
Just then, the BMW pulled out and began to overtake.
“Wait,” DC South said. “Looks like he's got the message. Bloody idiot. Get a note of his registration. We can have words with him later.”
As the BMW began to overtake us, I could see the faces of the two men more clearly. I still didn't recognise either of them.
“Come on then!” DC South sounded exasperated. The BMW had drawn level, but seemed to be making no attempt to complete the manoeuvre. “Come on—”
Just then, I was thrown sideward into Anne. The BMW had hit our car on the side.
“What the fuck?” DC South managed to regain control of the steering, but the next impact sent us off the road.
*********
When I came around, the police car was at a strange angle. My head was spinning, but I soon realised I was alone in the car. I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious—probably no more than a couple of minutes. I tried to release the seat-belt, but the catch was stuck—the impact of the crash must have damaged the mechanism. I could see four figures on the road. Anne had a gash on her head. DC South appeared to be unhurt. Opposite them were the two men who'd been in the BMW. DC South had his baton drawn; Ann had what appeared to be a taser in her hand. I hit the seat belt catch again—it had no effect. DC South was gesticulating and shouting at the two men. They didn't appear to be intimidated—one of them was actually smirking. DC South edged closer to them. Anne followed his lead. I hit the seat belt catch again. It wouldn't budge.
DC South and Anne were only a few feet away from the two men now. Anne had the taser pointed towards the man closest to her. Suddenly, one of the men made a move. I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. The man's clothes appeared to drop from him as his body changed form. Both DC South and Anne stopped dead in their tracks. In what was no more than a blur, the second man transformed too. Where moments earlier there had been two men, there now stood two huge wolves—teeth bared. Anne was taking small, backward steps away from the beasts. DC South seemed to be frozen to the spot. When the first wolf pounced, Anne tried to fire the taser, but the wolf was on her before she had time to pull the trigger. DC South looked on in horror as the first wolf ripped open Anne's throat. Before he had a chance to move, his own throat was pouring blood.
I couldn't breathe. My whole body was shaking. The two wolves wasted no time in tearing the two stricken bodies apart. I tried the seat belt again—desperate now. It was hopeless. When I looked up again, the two wolves were walking towards the police car.
“Help!” I screamed.
The first wolf was next to the car now. Its snout smeared the side window—it was only inches from my face. The second wolf growled and bared its teeth. The front passenger door was hanging off its hinges. If I could just get the seatbelt open, maybe I could make a run for it. I hammered the catch so hard it cut my hand. I hit it over and over again.
“Come on, damn you! Open!” I screamed just as the catch gave way. The seatbelt popped open.
I pushed the belt away, and turned around.
The wolf's head was now inside the open door.
*********
As the wolf moved closer, I braced myself. Any second now, it would launch itself at me. It was all too much to bear, so I closed my eyes.
The car rocked under a tremendous impact. It felt as though it had been hit by another car. When I opened my eyes, the wolf, which had been only inches from me, had disappeared. A terrible howl came from the road. There were now three wolves just feet from the car. The largest of the three had its back to me, and appeared to be in a stand-off with the other two. This was my chance to escape.
I slid forward into the front seat. The original two wolves were moving gradually to either side of the larger wolf in what appeared to be some kind of scissor manoeuvre. I was in the front seat—next to the open passenger-side door. I noticed a gash on my right ankle; I hadn't even felt the pain. The larger wolf growled loudly. Moments later, the other two attacked it. That was my cue.
I pushed myself out of the car. It was slippery underfoot, but I managed to scramble up the grass bank. In front of me was a stretch of open land covered in heather. Behind me echoed the sounds of a ferocious fight. I didn't look back—my only thought was to get as much distance between me and the wolves as possible. If I could just find somewhere to hide—maybe a cave. Perhaps my dreams hadn't been nightmares at all—perhaps they'd been premonitions. There was no time to worry about that.
The ground was uneven, and my ankle was throbbing. Twice I stumbled—grazing my legs. When I'd covered about a hundred metres, I realised I could no longer hear the sounds of the fight. I stopped and turned around, but immediately regretted my decision. There, in the distance, I could see the figure of the larger wolf. He was looking directly at me. I turned and ran, but my legs felt like jelly. I seemed to be making no progress at all. Within seconds, I could hear the sound of paws pounding the ground behind me. I looked for anywhere I might seek refuge—anything would do—there was nothing. I stopped running—it was pointless. Exhausted, I turned to face the predator.
The wolf skidded to a halt no more than six feet from me. Its snout was stained with blood. There was no sign of the other two wolves, so I assumed this giant had seen them off. I was bout to become its third victim.
“Come on then!” I screamed. “What are you waiting for?” I picked up the small rock by my foot. At least I could him a bloody head before he took me out. “Come on you bastard!”