Oh, How We Drift

Chapter Four

4.

Rain streaked down the window in constantly zig-zagging patterns, little droplets forming miniature streams down the pane, as the water cascaded along the surface. The sky outside was a frighteningly dark grey, flashes of thunder could be seen in the distance amongst the clouds, illuminating the turmoil in the sky up above; wind howled and thunder clapped, trees bent and creaked in the gales as the window moved past them, the car hurtling down a narrow country road, surrounded on either side by a steep, muddy embankment.

The little girl looked out of the window at the storm outside and folded her jacket around herself even tighter. Her eyes scanned the world outside as it was battered by the storm, the noise of the windscreen wipers sweeping back and forth filled her mind, the car radio had turned to a dull static with whimpers of conversation occasionally breaking through the white noise wall. The inside of the car was comfortingly warm, even as the girl placed her hand on the cold surface of the glass, she felt slightly safer in the warmth of the heaters.

A spark of lightning suddenly illuminated the world outside the window, harsh shadows of spiked evergreen trees formed a barrier to the side of the road, the eerie shapes seemed so close that the girl could almost touch them. Suddenly a voice cut through the static of the radio and began an urgent weather report, 'torrential rainstorms-', 'Winds of up to one hundred miles per hour', the phrases cut through the white noise and then faded away once again.

The older man in the driving seat reached down and turned the radio off for good, "We're not going to get anything out here. It's just a bit further down the road, once we're inside we'll be safe and sound."

"I can't even see the road signs through this weather Eric, how the hell will we know where the turning is?"

"Relax, I've been here hundreds of times, I bet even Jules knows the way, isn't that right sweetheart?" He said, turning to face the backseat, the little girl nodded her head in nervous agreement. "See? Nothing to worry about. Just keep your eyes peeled for the sign."

"Where are we going again Dad?" Jules asked from the back seat, her eyes peering through the windshield as the wipers frantically threw rain off the surface.

"Well, it's a cottage, a nice little cottage tucked away in the middle of nowhere. I used to go there when I was your age, maybe even younger than you." He said, laughing to himself as his wife rubbed the misted windshield with her jumper sleeve, "But your grandma and grandad used to take me there every autumn, way before they lived there, they'd take me around the woods to go hunting for long lost dinosaurs, we'd find their tracks and everything."

"Dinosaurs aren't real Dad, don't be silly." The girl objected,

"Well, they were at one point. And they say that a few survived, and if you go to just the right place, in just the right forest, you can find them as if they had never even disappeared. You just need to know where to look." Eric said, tapping his nose with his index finger.

"Is that true mum? Are dinosaurs really there?" Jules asked excitedly, the mother turned around and looked at the little girl, debating what to tell her.

"Go ahead Lucy, tell her the truth, tell her the real truth about the dinosaurs." Eric motioned for her to talk, raising his eyebrows before turning back to the road.

Lucy turned around in the passenger seat to face the back of the car, shaking up and down as the car trundled down the narrow country roads, "Okay, but you have to keep this a secret between us three okay?"

Jules nodded her head excitedly, leaning forward in her chair.

"If you go into the back of the forest, the very, very far away part, you'll reach a big open clearing. The grass there is taller than any grass you've ever seen, taller than Dad even. And if you make it through the grass, there's another forest, but this one is different. The ground is covered in massive plants, there are dragonflies the size of eagles and little tiny mice run around in the plants by your feet. Then, when you get far enough into the forest, you'll hear a loud rumbling noise; not a scary one though, it's getting closer and closer. Then you see a big, long necked dinosaur come through the trees, his legs are as big as tree trunks and he stands as big as a house!"