More than ten minutes later, not a single car had passed. I was freezing. I mumbled swear words to keep myself company.
Suddenly, a car appeared. I thought about standing in the middle of the road to force it to stop, but decided that would probably amount to suicide. I jumped up and down, yelling and waving. “Hello! Hello! Please stop!”
The car raced passed me at full speed.
“Wait!”
I screamed and screamed as the taillights faded away.
I was about to burst into tears. It felt like I’d been walking for an eternity, and I still didn’t know how far I was from town. I wasn’t about to go back to the castle. Anyone looking for me there would have to pass me on the road anyway.
When it started to rain, I decided to run. My shoes were soaking, and my hood wasn’t making a bit of difference. Water was dripping into my eyes and down my neckline, running together with my tears. I desperately shouted, “Fuck it! Where is everybody?”
Then I heard a motor behind me. I turned around and saw a single headlight, coming toward me fast. A motorcycle was going far too quickly on the wet, dark street, spraying plumes of water to the side. I jumped out of the way, to avoid getting drenched.
I was about to yell after it when the bike’s rear brake light lit up. The bike had actually stopped! The driver turned, and I ran forward, waving gratefully.
Brushing my wet hair off my forehead and gasping for breath, I looked at my savior. It was hard to tell, because the biker’s face was hidden by a black helmet with a shaded visor, but it seemed to be a tall man, with a black leather outfit on.
I was exhausted, completely out of breath, and shaking all over. “I’m sorry to bother you, but can you give me a ride?”
There was a brief silence. Then a voice answered, muffled inside the helmet and a bit breathless and hesitant. “Sure. Where are you trying to go?”
“I need to get to Aviemore, but if you’re not going that far, that’s OK. I really just need to get to a phone.”
Another long pause.
“I can take you to Aviemore. It’s on my way. Hop on.”
He reached out to me, and when I took his hand, he twitched, as if he’d been zapped by a shock. I raised my eyebrows and paused, expecting him to explain, but all he said, impatiently, was, “Come on, get on the bike!”
Relieved to be on my way to Alison and Roy’s cozy little cottage, I swung my leg over the bike, settled onto the seat, and grabbed hold of the unknown driver. He revved the motor, which was so powerful that we almost started to fly. Oh, great, I thought, this guy’s insane. I wasn’t even wearing a helmet, and he was racing along the dark, wet road at an unbelievable speed.
After the first few minutes, though, I seemed to have used up all my adrenaline and somehow managed to get over my fear of death. I held on to his wet leather jacket with all my might. We sped through the night, along Loch Ness’s shimmery coast, with my hair blowing in the wind and the rain whipping me in the face.
The ride didn’t take as long as I’d expected, but I was stiff when I got off the bike.
“Thanks. I don’t know how…”
My knees buckled, and I almost lost my balance. I groped for something to hold on to, and when I grabbed my mysterious driver, he again twitched at my touch. Then he pulled his arm away and rocketed down the road.
Irritated that I hadn’t gotten to properly thank him, I stood in the dark, thinking that they were certainly strange people, these Scots.
The warm shower I took that night was amazing. I threw my cold, wet clothes in a heap on the floor and turned up the temperature as hot as I could stand. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to let the water spray over my entire body.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the biker’s weird behavior. Why had he bothered to help me when it obviously made him so uncomfortable?
I soaped my hair with a honey-scented shampoo and, at long last, felt I’d rinsed the cold from my bones. Then I wrapped myself up in a big, soft towel, sat down on the bed, and started to sip the cup of hot tea Alison had set on my bedside table. The tea made me feel warm inside, too. I dried my hair, put on my pajamas, and slid into bed.
“Ow!”
My hand went to my chest. That burning feeling under the pendant again.
I went to the mirror and pulled back my pajama top. My skin was bright red, but the pendant itself was cold. Was I developing an allergy to the metal? I hated to think so. Just in case, I took off the necklace and put it on the table. I turned out the light and let myself sink into the mattress.
The clouds and rain had passed, and the night had turned cold and clear. Moonlight shone through the window and danced on the silver pendant. I stared at it for a few minutes, then drifted into my pillow, giving in to sleep.