The Second

Chapter 4: Attack

Clara sped down the highway with fury in her eyes and a sense of hope in her heart. The drive was long and boring. The city skyscrapers fell into the salmon horizon as the road turned from freeway to a rural highway, and eventually to a gravel road carving a path through thick bush. Clara's destination; the family farm house.

The stars began to emerge and twinkle in the deep orange hue of the sky, providing breaks in the never-ending expanse of nothingness above them. The sun dipped below the horizon and let darkness ebb its way across the scrubland as the moon crept into the sky to illuminate the ground below with an eerie glow.

"So..." Mitch began, breaking the silence that had enveloped the car for the past few hours. "Not that it's important or anything... but, where are we going?"

"I already told you," Clara snapped, "I'll tell you when we get there. This isn't the time for talk right now."

"But, Clara," Mitch alleviated, "this is the perfect time for talking. You can't make the car go any faster. We can either talk or sit here in silence so, please, tell me, what's wrong?" 

Trust no-one flitted through Clara's mind again. She thought back to the strange man dressed in black and the confusion message he sent her. She glanced at Mitch through her peripherals. Hazel met Azure as she stared into his eyes and, for a brief moment, Clara began to relax. Maybe she could trust him. After all, what lunatic would drop everything in their life to help somebody and head out into the middle of nowhere on a whim?

"Clara, the road!" Mitch warned. Clara snapped her attention back to the road as the car began swerving off the gravel dangerously. A huge, thick tree was racing up to meet them. Clara wrenched the steering wheel sideways, narrowly avoiding smashing into the sturdy trunk. The car span in circles as Clara gripped the wheel for life with white knuckles. She slammed on the breaks and the car screeched to a halt.

There were a few seconds of stunned silence as Clara let out a sigh. Suddenly, Mitch began to shake violently and exploded with hearty laughter.

"That was close," he chortled. Clara was stunned by his response, but as the reality of their near-miss dawned on her she couldn't help but be overwhelmed with an uncontrollable fit of giggles too. The fear and doubt that had been consuming her mind the whole trip finally left her as she decided to open up to Mitch and tell him everything she knew about her situation.

***

In a world of red ravaged blackness, the sharp sounds of the Professor's maniacal laughter could be heard piercing through the pain. However, through the towering flames, a singed hand reached upwards and grasped the open hatch of the incinerator like that of a man clawing his way out of his buried grave.

Slowly, a tall, thin, badly burnt body hauled itself out from the ferocious flames and rescued itself from the metal contraption. It tried to stand but that pain was immeasurable, and it fell to the floor, rolling around in agony as smoke billowed from its burning body. It was Samuel Thin.

The former suit he wore was ripped from his body in black ribbons as he lay there naked. All the hair on his head had been burnt to the scalp, even the hair of his eyebrows and lashes. Through pain and turmoil ravishing his being Mr. Thin could only think of one thing – Revenge!

***

The lone, silver car pushed on through the night and down the long dirt road. Nothing but grey trees and bushland decorated their surroundings. The moon hung high in the sky as time raced forwards to midnight.

"I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you this past day, Clara," Mitch apologized empathetically.

"It would have been more than a day. I've no idea how long those people were performing their sick tests on me," Clara spat.