––––––––
We headed back to the safe house in morose silence. All of us were filthy, stained by the ooze of the fallen and from wounds we’d received. My first order of business was to take a shower. My wounds had healed by now so at least the water didn’t sting when it hit my skin.
Clean again, I dressed in my old clothes, having depleted the safe house of anything else that would even remotely fit me. There didn’t seem to be a washing machine on the premises. Not that I had much to wash.
It occurred to me that Luc might have a change of clothes that I could borrow. They would be far too large but I’d be able to live with that until I could find something more suitable. I could hear him moving around in the room next to mine. No time like the present.
Knocking lightly, I entered at Luc’s quiet, “It’s open.”
“I was wondering if,” my words trailed off at the sight of Luc wearing a pair of pants and nothing else. A knowing grin slid into place when he saw my attention wander to his chest. “Do you have any spare clothes?” I finished up, forcing my eyes back to his face.
“Check the dresser,” he indicated a chest of drawers then slid his thumbs into his waistband. I turned away after a flash of white flesh, glad my face couldn’t flame red anymore. Luc’s pants dropped to the floor then he entered the bathroom. Trust him to have his own bathroom.
Opening a drawer at random, I pulled out a black t-shirt and jumper as the shower started. Resisting the urge to join Luc, my eyes happened on the keys to his rental car. They sat on the bedside table, unused and possibly feeling lonely. Maybe I should pop downstairs and warm the car up. Maybe I should even take it for a short drive, just to make sure the engine doesn’t seize up from lack of use.
Convinced by my own desperate logic, I snatched up the keys and tiptoed back to my room. I didn’t really need to take the prophet’s journal on my short journey but it seemed safer to take it with me than to leave it lying around. Igor or Geordie might stumble across it and then explanations would have to be given.
Moving quickly but quietly, I made my way downstairs. I held the borrowed handbag stuffed with Luc’s fresh clothes to my side tightly so it wouldn’t make a noise and betray my presence. Igor and Geordie’s voices were a low murmur coming from the dining room. The front door was in their line of sight so I sidled over to a window, not wanting to interrupt their urgent conversation. The window slid up silently and I slipped outside.
Luc’s rental car was sitting where we’d left it in the garage. Taking a seat behind the wheel, I put the key in the ignition then just sat for a few seconds. During the fight with the imposter’s minions, one thought kept coming back to me; I was going to die. With Martin’s shadowy arms wrapped around me, sucking my energy away, it had finally hit home. There was no way for me to survive after I took down the imposter then ‘decimated the damned’.
Or was there? A crazy new thought had been plaguing me. One that I hadn’t allowed to surface until a couple of minutes ago. What if I didn’t face the imposter at all? What if I just...ran away? Luc hadn’t seen the last page of the journal. He had no idea it would be his hands that took my life. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt me. It seemed like sound reasoning to me. Running away might not be the noblest thing to do but self-preservation was far more important to me right now. The key turned, the engine caught and I put my foot down. Dirt spurted from beneath the tyres, hitting the underside of the car as I reversed out of the garage. Cowardly fleeing for my life, I almost hit the door on the way out.
Peeking in the rear view mirror, I saw a face appear in one of the unshuttered downstairs windows as I took off. It looked like Geordie but the image dwindled too rapidly for me to be certain. Luc would be sure to follow me and I had to get far away as quickly as possible. I kept my foot to the floor and I also kept the lights off to make it harder for him to tail me. My night vision was good enough that I didn’t need headlights anyway.
Finding a highway that led north, I swung onto it and started passing traffic. Startled stares followed me when my fellow motorists spotted my lightless car zooming past. If any cops started chasing me, I’d just keep driving. I could take an exit and evade them fairly easily without any lights blazing to give away my position. I’d never been an overly confident driver before but necessity had turned me into a speed demon.
I drove until I felt the pull of dawn tugging at my mind, making me drowsy. Picking an exit, I wove a random path until I found an underground parking area. Taking the ticket that popped out when I pushed the button at the gate, I wondered how I was going to pay to get out when I didn’t have any money. Worry about that later, I instructed myself. Dawn was coming and I had to take steps to ensure my safety.
Driving two levels down to where the sun’s rays shouldn’t be able to reach me, I picked a spot at the back of the lot and reversed the car into the slot. My much sharper senses told me that no one was around when I exited the car. Opening the boot, I boosted myself inside then pulled the lid down, enclosing myself inside a handy metal coffin.
It was possible the car would be discovered and towed away while I fell into the temporary daylight death of a night dwelling monster. My chances of remaining undiscovered were higher if I hid in the boot. It seemed safer than sleeping on the back seat.
Lying in the stuffy confines, I wriggled into a more comfortable position and tried to come up with a plan. I had no money, only one change of clothes and nowhere to go. In effect, I was in the same position I’d been left in after dispatching Silvius. Except this time I was in a foreign country where English wasn’t the national language. I might not have trouble understanding foreign languages now but I still wouldn’t be able to communicate with most of the population.
That decided me, I’d have to go someplace where English was the national language. Australia was too far away. I had zero confidence I’d be able to make it all the way home without either burning to death from the sun or being discovered as a non-human entity. What about England? It was close and they definitely spoke English there.
I fell unconscious with the idea of driving north until I ran out of road and hit the English Channel. Once there, I would cross over to the land of my distant ancestors.
·~·