Hysterical

Turning the car round was accomplished quickly. The rain had stopped, and a watery sun was doing its best to push through the grey clouds.

Kim felt as though her heart was thumping against her chest and she began her deep-breathing exercises to ward off the hysterical panic that was ballooning inside her. A growing sense of dread threatened to engulf her and the longer she sat in the car, on her own, the worse it became. 

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. In, hold, exhale. In, hold, exhale. She shut her eyes, the better to concentrate and when the car door was yanked open, she almost had a heart attack.

‘Drive, drive!’

Fortunately the engine caught the first time and they rocketed along the road, accelerating as fast as the elderly Skoda could manage.

‘What happened?’ Kim didn’t take her eyes from the road but was aware of Xavier gasping for breath.

‘Just - give - me - a - minute,’ he panted. ‘Keep going. No - turn off here.’ He reached across and wrenched the steering wheel as they turned a sharp bend. The car skidded down a lane, which turned out to be the access to a farm.

‘Can’t go any further,’ said Kim, pulling up at a stout five bar gate.

‘No, it’s OK,’ said Xavier, half-turning in his seat to look behind. ‘I think they went past us. That was close.’