Eutopia (First version)

Chapter 6

The bright glare of the service station lights made Eutopia squint, invading the quiet shadows of the car.

‘Are we stopping?’ she asked, looking over at Jinn and noting the tension in his solid jaw.

‘Just for a minute,’ he replied, pulling up next to a petrol pump, un-clicking his seat belt and jumping out of the car in one fluid movement. She was surprised by Jinn’s sudden abruptness since they had slipped into a companionable silence for the most part of the journey. Eutopia turned in her seat to follow Jinn with her eyes as he stalked purposefully past the fuelling station and stopped at the driver’s side window of the dark blue Saab parked behind.

‘What’s he doing?’ she murmured to herself as she watched Jinn pull open the car door. ‘Oh, God!’ Eutopia flung her door open and tried to clamber out of the car quickly, only to be restrained by her seatbelt. ‘Bugger, bugger!’ she panicked, fumbling to release the catch before she stumbled over to the Saab where Jinn had the driver slung over the bonnet of the glittering paintwork and pinned down by the throat. Eutopia launched herself at Jinn, grabbing his heavily muscled arm and trying to pull it away as the man gasped for air.

‘What are you doing?!’ she cried in disbelief, ‘Jinn, let him go, you’ll kill him!’ Eutopia pounded her fist as hard as she could against Jinn’s unyielding muscle but Jinn’s fiery eyes were burning into the man in front of him.

‘He’s been following us,’ was all he said, coolly, without looking at the girl beside him. The man sprawled out on the bonnet was in his early forties and smartly dressed; a businessman perhaps. Through his own shock and confusion he made note of the battered and bruised looking girl who stood terrified beside the tank of a man who held him down.

‘What?’ he sneered, his shaking voice strangled by the hand squeezing his neck, ‘you’re such a big man, gonna beat me up like you’ve done your girlfriend?!’ Jinn’s hand tightened all the more, causing the man to splutter and choke as his eyes blazed.

‘Please,’ Eutopia begged, quieter, ‘let him go, Jinn, we have to get going.’ It was the fear in her voice that made Jinn look around at her and he caught the terror in her eyes. He looked up at the pay kiosk where the shop attendant was gazing out, slack-jawed, from behind the glass. Luckily there were no other cars around, no other witnesses. Jinn let go of the shaking man who scuttled back quickly into his car and revved the engine before he’d even closed the door.

‘You’re mental!’ was his parting comment out of his window, his tyres squealing against the courtyard in his haste to get away. Jinn looked back at Eutopia who was stood trembling and staring wide eyed at him. He caught her upper arm gently and steered her back to his car, leaning in to fasten her seatbelt when she made no move to do it herself before closing the door behind her.

‘What the hell were you thinking?’ she growled at him as he pulled the car away with an echoing screech. Jinn could see her fear had given way to anger now and it caused his lips to turn up slightly, though fury still emanated from him in waves that Eutopia could feel like static against her skin.

‘He was following us. He’d been tailing us for at least six miles.’

‘Jesus, Jinn. It’s a motorway. There is only one direction cars can go on this road and it happens to be the same direction as us!’ Eutopia pulled her legs up onto the seat to rest her chin on her knees, massaging her bare toes absently as she watched him watch the road. ‘You’ve probably made more trouble now. He’ll probably report you to the police and they’ll check the CCTV and see me with you.’ She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, snarling through gritted teeth in frustration, ‘Why does my life have to be such a mess?’