One Dark Night

The tyres screech over the slippery surface as you desperately pull the car around yet another sharp bend. Together with your companion you are travelling through unfamiliar moorland, in the hope of finding some shelter for the evening. You left your home some time earlier to find an old cottage left to you in a relative's will. At the time, the solicitor's directions seemed clear enough, but now...

A momentary burst of lightning dissolves your thoughts and illuminates the sodden undergrowth as you hurtle from one lane to the next, having lost your course many miles before. A dull blur of light and a sharp crack focus your attention on the huge tree suddenly torn asunder by lightning a short distance in front of you. The tree shudders, and starts to topple over as if in slow motion.

There is no time to stop. You push hard on the accelerator pedal and miss the tree by a fraction. It crashes to the ground behind you. You slam the brake pedal down, as hard as you can, realising that the car is out of control. You slide into a bend and strike a high verge a glancing blow before a jarring impact with a series of pot holes see the car roll to a halt at the start of a gravel drive.

You try turning the ignition key again and again, but the car refuses to start. Resigning yourself to this, you peer outside the car and see only the gravelled drive to one side and dense foliage elsewhere. Sitting rather cold and miserable, you discuss with your companion the possibilities of finding help at the end of the drive, wherever it may lead...