***
Sam and I stood by the car in the freezing dark. We alternated feet, breathed into out fists trying to keep warm as we stood watching the black tapir candle approach its home in the earth. The candle flickered lightly from time to time, but we still had a few minutes before it burned completely down to the dirt that covered the token. The tension created little room for conversational topics so we both stayed quiet, watching. We had picked a location near enough to the town we could walk as neither of us liked the idea of driving with her in a closed space, but far away enough that the chances of anyone coming across us was low. As a result it was pitch black, except for the moon and the headlights of the car, and being so far north it was cold as hell.
I knew she was bound to follow through on her promise to owe me a favour, but I was equally aware that if she wanted to she could exploit any loophole. I had carefully chosen my words on asking her the favour. ‘I need you to help us safely and successfully find a resolution to our problem before you leave us in peace and return to your duties.’ That way she couldn’t turn on us, endanger us, and had to see things through to an end before we expected her to leave. I repeated the words in my head over and over in what seemed to be a vast black silence.
The flame flickered and drew closer to the ground.
“Maybe walking wasn’t such a good idea.” Sam said suddenly.
“What?” I asked incredulous. In the midst of all that tension, all the build up to being on the side of the road waiting for an unearthly being to present itself so we could execute our plans and save apparently innocent people being drained of life on the way, this seemed so out of place on the scale of things to be second guessing.
“It’s just as likely if something is going to go wrong it will happen in the car.” He indicated.
“True.” I admitted, “But who gets the front seat?” Sam laughed, first nervously, but the break in the tension was catching. I laughed. We laughed hysterically, leaning against the car, becoming abruptly silenced again when the flame extinguished itself.
We both straightened ourselves, feeling bolted to the ground, holding our breath, waiting for her to appear.
Rachael didn’t though. It was just Sam and I standing in the middle of a dark, empty dirt road. Through the intensity and unbearable vacuous stillness we waited. Waited for something to happen. We looked at each other and burst out laughing again.
“All this…. All this…” I stammered.
“And it doesn’t work.” Sam thumped a hand on the car roof, and I doubled over. That’s when the car lights went out. There was a tremor and the laughter stopped. The tremor build and we braced ourselves once more in the darkness. A moment later the ground was still but the darkness remained. I searched for a silhouette, any sign of Rachael being there. But there was nothing. The car lights came back on and Sam and I took a few paces forward. Nothing.
“Hello boys.” Rachael’s voice sounded from behind us.