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The back driveway came out onto the main road which led into town one way and to the north the other. Scott turned north.
“So where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe, Cait. Don’t worry.”
The vehicle jerked to a halt as the seat belt dug into her neck and burned. Across the road leading north two cars were alight. In front of these a group of men with metal poles—broken signposts most likely—stood as a further barricade. Scott cursed under his breath as he skidded the car around and headed into the village.
Ahead, rubbish littered the street, and the breeze picked up a long sheet of plastic wrapping blowing around the feet of distressed shop owners, their hands hanging by their sides as they stood in front of their businesses. Glass covered the footpaths and road. Apart from the stunned locals, the street was empty, with no sign of the mob. Scott drove cautiously through the rubble, the tyres crunching over the broken glass.
Following the road through the village, they approached the gatehouse to the estate. Caitlin’s breath caught in her throat as she looked along the driveway. The mob still massed at the front of the house and some men moved along smashing the lower floor windows. Others were dragging out the furniture and paintings.
“There’s Andy! We’ve got to help him.”
Scott ignored her.
She tried the car door. Still locked. “We have to help him. Uncle Kieran’s probably with him!” she screeched, frantically shaking at the door catch.
Caitlin’s heart pounded. Her head swam.
Uncle! Aunty!
Scott accelerated past the end of the driveway. She yelled with all her might as a large man swung his fist toward Andy’s head, using full force to land the blow. She let out a strangled cry as Andy crumpled to the ground.
“No! Go back! We’ve got to help them!” Her empty lungs burned with their struggle for air. She punched out at his arm trying to hit his face, but he was out of reach. Scott drove on, raising his arm to block her futile blows. It was like punching a concrete wall.
Her knuckles crunched as pain shot up her arm.
“Scott!” Her voice was hoarse now as she pleaded with him. “Let me out. We have to help them.”
“Quiet!” His shout was deafening. Caitlin flinched. He scowled at her and continued to drive, glancing constantly at the rear-view and side mirrors. His breathing came loudly through his nostrils, matching her own ragged breaths. A silence settled in the vehicle’s cabin, its engine the only sound as Scott read the road signs. This man was hard-hearted or a psycho. What had she got herself into?
“You’ve let them die.”
“No, I have nae.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I ken, that’s all.”
Caitlin glanced back trying to get a glimpse of the house. Now in the distance smoke rose from the stables. “Bonny! My mare!” What if she’s caught in the fire? What if they stole her? Or killed her! Caitlin’s throat tightened. But it was more from seeing Andy slump to the ground.
She would never forget it.
Never. And the fact that this man would not go back!
“Caitlin lass, we cannae go back.” Scott’s voice took on gentler tones. “It’s too dangerous. Your uncle and aunt survive. I dinnae ken for certain about that nice old man Andy.”
He drove on in silence.
How could he know that? The crazy-man-theory was looking more and more plausible. She glanced at the equipment in the back of the 4WD. It was boxes containing who knows what—camping gear and guns? She recognised gun covers from the shoots her uncle held at the estate in summer. Why did he need guns? Emotions swirled within her; chilling fear tempered by the subtle warmth of curiosity.
“How do you know? You can’t know —”
Scott’s raised index finger silenced her. “I’ll stop up ahead and we’ll talk. Give me your phone.” He held out his hand. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“For what?” She took her mobile out of her jacket pocket and slammed it into his open palm. “Oh yes. Thank you for saving me from the bad men.” She repressed a shiver and tried to keep up the bravado. If she made him think she was compliant, she might be able to lull him into a false sense of security and then make a run for it. Another run for it. He drove until they came to a secluded wooded area off the road and then parked.
“I must explain it to you. But not all at once, for ye will have trouble accepting it. The reason I am here. You see... och how do I say this?” He ran the thumb of his left hand over his brow as he sucked air between his teeth. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to make it easy but there is nae one.” He lifted his head and looked her directly in the eye. “So Cait, I’ll just go right with the truth. I’m from the future and I’m here to protect you.”
Caitlin blinked, and nothing came out of her mouth, no matter how much she wanted something to.
“In the future,” he continued, “I know you. And you, young lady, are a great leader. You see, I need to keep you safe during this time, so you can do your job in the future and help the world get back on its feet.” He paused and blinked a few times as she held his gaze and took deep breaths.
“You mean like Terminator? You’re not an android, are you? I knew the crackpot-theory was going to win in the end!” She grabbed for the door handle.
“Now Caitlin, give me a chance!” He restrained her with a firm grip, his massive hand encircling her right arm. “I’m no’ a robot.”
She looked at him with squinted eyes. “If you’re from the future where it’s a mess, how do you know what a terminator is?”
“You made sure people rescued books and made anyone who remembered a movie to write the story down.”
“Really?”
“Aye. Really.” He slowly nodded his head; his mouth became a thin line.
“How do you know me?” She kept her eyes narrowed.
“I know you well.”
“No. That’s not what I asked. But you claim you know me well. Tell me something about myself. Prove it!”
“Ye have a dark mole on your upper inner thigh very close to—”
“Wait a minute!” Caitlin gulped. How the hell did he know that!
“I said I know you.” His voice rose to a defensive squeak.
“What else?”
“The cause of death recorded on your mother’s death certificate is not correct.”
“How not correct?”
“The young doctor who completed the form wrote Sarcoidosis instead of Lymphoma. Sarcoidosis was the initial, but incorrect, diagnosis. Sarcoidosis mimics many diseases. The doctor had nae looked far enough into your mother’s history when she came to write the death certificate.”
“Now, you could have somehow got those records yourself and found that out!” A coldness began in the pit of her stomach as he continued with his revelations.
“And you refused an autopsy. They wanted to perform one because your mother had undergone surgery in the previous two weeks. But you said that ye knew what she died from, and ye wanted her buried untouched.” His Scottish accent lilted throughout his explanation.
No one else was in the room with her, the doctor, and her mother’s corpse when that conversation occurred four years ago. Only someone whom she herself had told would know this.
And she had told no one.
Caitlin sat straighter, breathing deeply. His grip remained on her arm as she still held the doorhandle. He raised an eyebrow.
“Are we good then? Can I proceed?”
“I’m not totally convinced you’re not a crack-pot. And I really want to know how you know all this stuff about me.” She chewed her bottom lip. “What do you propose to do with me now?”
He sat back in the driver’s seat a little, having released his grip. Mirroring her, he now chewed his bottom lip and stared intensely.
“Okay.” He leaned forward on the steering wheel. “The plan is to take you somewhere safe to ride out the chaos which is erupting.”
“What then? A couple of weeks hiding away and then you take me back to my family?”
He shook his head. “Remember I said I’m from the future?” He hesitated. “Well, this anarchy and world-wide chaos will last for years.” He paused only slightly to acknowledge her exclamation of disbelief. “And my plan is,” he continued, “to take you to a secluded place in the Highlands and ride it out.”
“The Highlands! What’s in the Highlands?”
“Not much in the place I’m going to take ye, and that’s the point. Now, we should get movin’.” He looked her directly in the eye, ensuring he had her attention. “Please, Caitlin, will ye promise you will nae attempt to leave me? This is all for your safety. We will keep listening to the radio, and ye will see that today was just the beginning.”
Caitlin returned his direct gaze but made no reply. In the present situation locked in a vehicle, escape was impossible. She settled down for the drive to the Highlands, determined she would find the means of escape once her circumstances changed.
They journeyed for an hour or so without speaking. Caitlin tried to absorb everything he had told her.
“You say my aunt and uncle survived. Can you at least let them know where I am? Or just that I’m safe?”
“No, Caitlin. No one can know your location. It’s for your own safety.”
“Why the Highlands for heaven’s sake?”
“I grew up there,” he smiled. “I know parts of it full well, ye ken. Have you ever been there? And I dinnae mean Inverness or Loch Ness and all the tourist places. Have ye been to the real Highlands?” Caitlin shook her head. “The Highlands of Scotland are wild and beautiful. Some parts are so remote ye can spend days there and never see another soul. Ye may as well be on another planet. It’s ideal for what we need.”
Caitlin repressed a shiver.
“Aye, it’s cold, and it’s windy,” Scott continued. “And it almost always rains, but I have equipment and warm clothing and stores to see us through till I can stock up a larder with game.”
“So, you’ve really thought this through?” Caitlin glanced again at the stores, camping gear and guns in the back of the 4WD. Like a Doomsday prepper would collect. “You sound like the conspiracy theorists in the USA. The ones who prepare for the end of the world by going out to the wilds and living ‘off-grid’.”
“Aye,” he nodded. “That’s exactly what we will do.”
“And you are trying to convince me you’re not mad. I’m having difficulty here!”
He smiled and tilted his head slightly as if she was behaving exactly as he had expected.