I see something on the side of the road as we pass in a blur. What was that? A body? Uneasiness creeps up as his foot presses down on the accelerator. Prickles begin to creep down from my sweating head. I look around. All seems quiet. Normal. The beautifully manicured countryside is as picture-postcard perfect as I had expected. It’s quiet. So quiet. There’re no farmers in the distance. No traffic coming toward us.
It must have been a body. A dead body? No.
Turn around. We must go back, help.
No. We can’t. Something’s happening, something’s wrong.
Where? Where can we turn? The road’s so narrow. Just a strip of black, snaking off into the distance.
No!
Bodies. Lying on the road. On the verge. In the fields. They’re moving. They need help. Conquer fear. Conquer fear.
There must be snipers. We must turn back. Here.
Oh God. Fear. Get down, lie down. Adrenalin swoops through my brain. Through my leadening limbs, fingers. Breathing stops. Hold my breath. Eyes close. Shakes set in. Cold.
Later. Hours later.
We’re safe.. I don’t know where. Darkness all around, silent, still. A light, a small flickering light. The nightmare begins again? No. There’s someone there. A small, creeping bundle of white. It’s a child. No. The blood. Quickly, bring him here. Hide him. Oh no, there’s someone else. Who is it? My father, he gurgles. Take him, I must go back. The village’s been hit.
No time for the shakes now. Get the car. Gat a blanket. Lie him in the back, on the floor. Throw that over him. I’ll sit back here.
Drive! We flee through the darkness with fear on our tails. Pounding silence above the roar of the engine. No lights, no traffic.
Later, much later. Hours?
A hospital. The Doctor? The Doctor! The boy, Doctor.
