Where the Shadows are Heavy (Bastille)

CHAPTER 12

When she went missing, the police had no choice but to release him.

As soon as he was back home, he tried to call the psychic. When he got no answer, he went to his flat and banged on the door. There was no reply. He went to his other friend's house and dialled the first's number on his phone and tried again. Still there was nothing.

It seemed as if the boy who could see ghosts was missing.

He hadn't been out of custody for long, barely a day, but the other's absence bothered him. It grated on his nerves, the feeling that something bad was happening.

He would pace up and down in a home that wasn't his, until he saw, resting on the dining room table, a notepad with the words 'Dan - docks'.

He left in his car a few minutes later.

---

Kyle fell silent for a few seconds, and Dan guessed he was using his otherworldly ghost connection to talk to Will.

Dan had been in the car for a while. He was pretty sure he'd slept for a few hours, probably due to exhaustion or passing out from sheer terror rather than actual tiredness, and it was now the next day. The bumps of the car had bruised his shoulder and hip as it trundled along down winding country roads. Dan wasn't sure where they were going.

With every jolt pain shot up his leg. Even in the dark he knew his ankle was swollen and discoloured. He'd tried to kick out one of the headlights to try and signal for help to a passer-by, but his foot had hit the boot at an odd angle, his ankle twisting painfully.

"Will says he's on his way." Kyle whispered. No one could hear him except Dan though, but he still kept his voice low.

The car boot was cold, and Dan felt stiff. He hadn't changed his position since he'd been roughly flung into the cramped boot yesterday. He hadn't been able to.

His cheek hurt and he guessed there would be a bruise. Something he'd earned in the struggle. He could still feel the knuckles across his face.

There was a bump, and Dan almost hit his head on the roof of the boot. The car had dropped off of the road and was now ploughing over what sounded like gravel or pebbles. They crunched under the wheels, and soon enough, slowly, the car came to a halt. The breaks letting out a long squeak. The rumbling of the engine ceased and Dan was left in silence.

"Dan?"

"Yeah?"

"As soon as that boot opens you need to make a break for it." Kyle said, tone serious.

"Okay." He whispered back.

They hadn't bothered restraining his arms or legs, or even blindfolding him, so obviously they didn't anticipate him to put up much of a fight. It wasn't surprising considering how they'd manhandled him with ease the day before.

His eyes were open but only to darkness, as little light escaped in. He breathed in and out as he listened to footsteps crunching on the gravel, getting closer and closer, louder, and louder. Face pressed against the carpeted floor, Dan waited.

The footsteps stopped, and there was a click just in front of his face. He flinched.

As soon as he saw a sliver of light, Dan leapt up and launched himself from the boot. He landed heavily, buckling to his right as his ankle gave way. He fell onto his knees and immediately scrambled forwards, onto his feet.