The Red Artefact

Chapter 1

The wind tore vigorously through Claire's hair from the open window of her best friend's red Ute. Ollie was in the driver's seat, his fingers bobbing against the wheel in beat of the music that was blaring through the old speakers. Claire rested her arm on the frame of the window, letting the fresh, cooling air rush over her face as she lazily gazed over the sloping mountains decorated with yellow and green fields. She welcomed the green openly, meaning winter was finally approaching. Of course, Ollie didn't agree. He would prefer that the land stayed scorching all year round, perfect surfing conditions he called it. She breathed in a refreshing gulp of air, then leant down to manually roll up the window.

"Do you want to stop somewhere for lunch?" Ollie asked, leaning down to roll up his own window. Claire pursed her lips, contemplating. They drove over a bump on the road, causing the surfboards to rattle in the back. They were driving down to Margaret river for one of Ollies surf competitions. He was actually pretty good, not that Claire would ever admit it. She wasn't much of a surfer, she didn't even like the ocean much, but when he offered a seat for Claire, she was more than happy to tag along.

"You sure you want to leave your babies in the back unsupervised?" She asked, pointing a thumb backwards towards the rattling boards. At that he frowned. There has been quite a few times where he's left the surfboards on the roof of his Dad's car, or more recently in the back of his Ute, where he's went to the shop or for a walk down the beach and come back with his surfboard, or surfboards stolen.

"Hmm, how about we just stop at a servo and get a few pies?" He suggests. "You'll get the pies while I fill up the tank?"

"Yep, sounds good," Claire says leaning back into the seat. Her legs were already numb from being in the car for two hours and was grateful when Ollie pulled into a servo along the side of the freeway, parking next to a pump. She opened the metal door with a slight creek and stepped onto the grey gravel, stretching out her numb and aching limbs. Ollie exited the car as well, stretching out his arms over his head. With the Ute door still open, she grabbed her bag from behind the seat and shut the door with her foot.

"What do you want?" She asked swinging her bag over her shoulder. Ollie was poised over the back of Ute filling up the tank, his blond hair falling over his eyes. He looked up at the sound of her voice.

"What do ya think?"

"If they don't have the usual."

"Oh, just a normal one then."

"Okay," she says already walking towards the building. It was rather plain, mainly gray and white surrounded by a thin concrete path. Even the building was small, though that was expected. Once she passed the plastic curtains at the entrance to the building, she was greeted with an array of colour. Packets of chips covered one shelf and other shelves were full of essential items, drinks and a variety of chocolate and candy. Claire ignored the shelfs and went straight to the hot food next to the counter, looking at the wooden board on the wall above that marked the prices. She observed the board for Ollies usual order, thankfully the steak, cheese and mushroom pie was there. She didn't want to deal was Ollie sulking for the next hour saying that his usual pie would be so much more satisfying. She checked the pies behind the layer of glass, leaning down slightly, to double check the pies were there. Thankfully they were and she approached the counter to order the food, adding a few extra items to the list. She paid for the items and fuel and walked towards the car. The pies in her bag and a milkshake held in either hand. Ollie was already in the Ute, his head gazing down towards his phone. The red P plate on the windshield reflected brightly against the sun, shining in Claire's eyes making her squint. She unfortunately left her sunglasses in the glovebox of the Ute. As she came closer Ollie lifted his head, eyeing the milkshakes in her hands he gave a celebratory clap which made her laugh. She waited for Ollie to open her door from the inside and she stumbled in, nearly dropping one of the drinks which made Ollie laugh but resulted in a scowl from Claire. Her necklace got caught in hair as well, she yanked her head to the side to pull the necklace free with a wince, the movement had resulted in few strands of her hair to be ripped out. But she eventually joined in in the laughter. She jumped onto the passenger seat and handed Ollie his pie and milkshake. Closing the Ute door behind her with a crash of metal.