Laura’s face gleamed at her daughter’s bravery. Ben reached behind, holding his wife’s hand. ‘I’m certain he’s out there now, waiting for us, watching us from the darkness. He’s able to see us, to view our every move. We’re sitting ducks. We have no chance of knowing where he is.’
‘Hon, don’t talk like that. I know you’ll think of something.’
‘What? What can I think of, Laura? It’s pitch-black outside. We haven’t seen a light for ages. He’s steering vehicles away, diverting them, he’s probably a few yards from here. He can listen for a car, move along the fields and keep anyone from coming up this road. He has a hi-vis jacket. No one is going to question him. No one is going to come along this road.’
Laura placed her hand on his shoulder. ‘I love you.’
Ben smiled. ‘Why couldn’t this have happened on the way home from Barcelona?’ Ben turned, then stood, slowly moving down the coach, observing the passengers. He peered to his right, Edward and Mary were sat in silence. Behind them, Abigail was focused on the seat in front of her. He moved further along. His daughter Milly was sat beside Lydia, trying to comfort her. A couple of rows back, Stephen was resting and had closed his eyes. The swelling above his eye had diminished slightly.
Laura called from where she was sitting at the front. ‘Ben, come quickly.’
He came along the aisle. ‘What’s up?’
Laura was pointing ahead. ‘Look. There.’
Ben moved his head closer to the glass. ‘I don’t see anything.’
‘Look harder. A light.’
‘Oh yes.’ Ben saw it in the distance, around 300 yards or so from where they sat. A small speck which appeared to be enlarging.
‘Do you think it’s another vehicle?’ she asked, hope in her tone.
‘I don’t know. It’s possible. The light is moving towards us. There are two of them. I’m certain it’s a car,’ Ben said.
‘What if it’s the guy, walking towards us with a torch?’
‘No, Laura, there’s definitely two lights. It’s a vehicle. I’d bet my life on it.’
‘Two torches?’ she stated firmly, mildly deflating his anticipation.
As the lights gained, so did the apprehension. Ben and Laura kept it quiet from the others. The last thing they wanted was to build up the hopes of the passengers. They’d been through so much already.
Suddenly, the lights halted. Ben and Laura peered through the window, looking for a shadow, a figure exiting the vehicle, moving towards them, but they couldn’t see anything. Then the lights went off.
‘That’s strange? Surely whoever was driving would move along the road, approach us, realise they couldn’t get past, then back up.’ Ben hit the dashboard.
‘Maybe they’ve broken down?’ Laura suggested.
They kept watching; seconds turned to minutes. The sudden hope started dissolving, the possibility of help was fading fast.
‘Should I go down and take a look?’ Ben asked.
‘Yeah. If you’re mad. No, Ben. Stay here with us. Maybe someone’s broken down. What could we do anyway? The caller is never going to let us leave the coach.’
‘But–’
Laura stuck to her guns. ‘So what, you go down there, get the driver to call for help? Or we get as many passengers as possible in the vehicle. It won’t work. Or we call 999, but as soon as the emergency services turn up, he’ll hear the sirens, shoot the lot of us and run.’ Laura was puffing quick breaths from her mouth.
‘So we just sit and wait, hope he has a heart attack or gets bored?’ Ben was agitated.
Laura didn’t have the answer. She waited, letting her husband gain control of his emotions and gather his thoughts.
Ben rubbed his face; the bristles of his stubble were sharp against his hand. His back was aching; stress was taking its toll on his body. He wondered how the passengers were coping. The elderly couple, Abigail, whose husband had been taken, Stephen and his friend on the coach together, one of them gone. Lydia, worried sick about her husband Jack. Why had he chosen these people? What were his plans? Would he kill Ben and his family?
‘We should be at the airport now, departure lounge. Sipping a beer, you with a gin and tonic, Milly with her headphones on, listening to grime.’
Laura eyed her daughter, conversing with Lydia. She was so caring, a beautiful young lady. They were so proud of her. Milly was confident, generous and understanding. They’d struggled with her at school: the usual, not putting effort into her lessons, revision troubles, late nights and even later mornings. She loved her bed, like most people her age. But in the last year she’d shown incredible maturity. They’d worried less about her, understood her more. In the end, Milly had passed her exams with top marks. She’d gained a place at the University of Leeds, and things were on the up. Ben and Laura were approaching their twentieth anniversary, hence the trip to Barcelona.
They’d opted to take Milly; it was too risky giving her the run of the house. It wasn’t the mistrust of their daughter as much as the people she’d have over while they were away. Teenagers and alcohol were a dangerous combination, especially with parents out of the country. Luckily, when they’d asked Milly, she’d jumped at the opportunity.
This wasn’t how they’d expected to start the holiday.
The atmosphere became placid; the low, hushed conversation was a testament that the passengers were a little more relaxed, despite the circumstances, they seemed to be coping with the situation.
Ben and Laura watched from the front seats, searching the distance for the lights. They’d seen little evidence to confirm whoever had been on the country road was still here. The passengers behind were beginning to communicate, chatting, mixing with each other. It was a good sign.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Ben jumped. Laura squeezed his leg a little too hard. He turned, facing everyone. ‘Quiet. Please, keep quiet.’
The voices dropped as if someone had tapped a fork against a wine glass in a packed room.
Ben reached forward, lifting the phone off the dashboard, his heart quickened, pumping through his chest, his hand numb with fear. The phone felt like a lead weight. ‘Hello?’ He put the speakerphone on.
‘You’re going to do something for me.’
Ben threw a quick look at Laura. ‘What is it you want?’
‘There’s a passenger on the coach. Stephen Holmes. It’s amazing what you can find out. Social media these days is an entry to everyone’s world. He’s on his own, sat towards the back. Recently he was involved in a hit-and-run. He thought it was okay to drive off, leave the old lady on the country lane. What he didn’t comprehend was that he was being watched. I saw everything. I saw him pull over, get out, then flee the scene. Now it’s his turn to correct his actions. To put it right, so to speak. He’s going to be the one on the receiving end.’
Ben replied, ‘I don’t know what you want from us.’ He raised his voice. ‘You need to let these people go. You can’t do this.’
‘Move away from the driver’s seat and untie him,’ the voice demanded.
Ben shivered. A wave of shock darted through his body as he realised the caller could see him, sat at the front, him and Laura. Any second he could kill them all.