Chapter 27

Drake woke up, with a stretch and a groan. “Oh dear God, how do you sleep in here?”

Evie opened her eyes. “Think i’m used to it.”

He patted her belly. “Thanks for the pillow. Better than memory foam.” He looked around. “I guess the hotel was a waste of money.”

“You can stay there tonight if you want.”

He smiled. "First things first, I need to go to the loo. Back in a moment."

Drake pushed open the rear door and stepped out. As he began to leave his leg started to shake.

"Are you alright?" asked Evie, the tremor shaking the car.

Drake nodded. "Trapped nerves." He rubbed his thigh. “Not used to being cramped up like that.”

A few moments later he stood up. His leg spasmed as it left the car. He tried to stretch it out of the door, but he couldn't lift it, like it suddenly weighed a tonne. "What the hell?"

Evie's eyes widened. "No. Try again."

Drake had a cold sweat. He lunged forward out the door, his head was pushed down, as if he was caught in a strong well of gravity. Evie grabbed him and pulled him back inside. "Are you okay?" She asked a little frantic, shaking him.

Drake grimaced and clutched his head. "What the Hell?" he repeated.

"Just sit back. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like my brain was squeezed." He blinked. "I think I'm getting a migraine."

Evie looked at him, incredibly anxiously. "Please, no."

Drake rubbed his temples, seemingly dazed, but suddenly came to. "Wait. What?"

"Just dont panic. Don't try and run off." She put her hands on his shoulders.

Drake leaned back in the chair, catching his breath, before speaking calmly. "Okay. I suppose there's no chance you were making up the curse?"

Evie shook her head, with a sympathetic expression.

"Damn. No offense, but I didn't one hundred percent take it literally."

She paused. "Until now?"

"I don't think I'm going to try to leave again for a while." He said, nursing his temples.

"If you need to throw up, you can get your head out the window a little bit, without too much pain."

He nodded. "Now what?”

Evie said nothing, just looked around the car, with the bed in.

"Okay, I get the picture. But still, now what?"

She shrugged and then handed him an empty cola bottle.

He sighed. "Look away. And don't listen."

She turned her head as he went to the toilet in the bottle. "Just pour it out the window when you finish."

He followed her advice and lay back. "hand sanitizer?"

She passed him a bottle of alcohol gel. "I'm sorry."

He sighed. "I thought it was psychosomatic. You thought it only affected you. No point trying to blame anyone for this."

She still looked guilty. "I'd be mad."

"Let's just figure it out, alright? I'm off work for a couple of days." He lit a cigarette and looked at it. "I'll need more of these."

Drake took a while to recover, lighting several more cigarettes, until they decided to go for breakfast.

Evie drove them to get burgers, getting herself a couple, whilst Drake stuck with a wrap and black coffee. She parked the car in a new quiet place for them to eat.

Drake stared at the wrap. "So, this is it then?"

Evie shrugged with a mouthful of burger.

"I'm not a huge fan of this stuff."

"You have to get used to it."

He sighed. "I'll get us out. Don't worry."

Evie continued eating.

Drake took a bite. "What about my car? That's going to get towed if I leave it."

"Try to not think about that sort of thing."

He put the wrap down and stared into space. Evie rubbed his back, gently. The two sat in silence for a while until she finished her meal.

Not able to finish his food, he sipped coffee and finally asked. "So. What have you managed to find out about this curse."

Evie put down her fries and thought for a moment. "There's nothing to find."

He gave her a curious glance. "Meaning?"

"Well if you Google anything about curses, it's just silly things. Black magic, voodoo, evil spirits. But none of it is real. So there's no actual answer."

"So you haven't tried anything?"

"What is there to try? an exorcism? a white witch? Drake, curses are just people trying to explain bad luck, accidents or people from a century ago who didn't understand medicine or that crops are vulnerable to bugs."

"So you are the first person in all history to actually be cursed?"

She shrugged.

"What if it's not even a curse? heavy metal poisoning from the car? something which causes lethargy or photosensitivity after exposure?"

"Do you have a heavy metal testing kit?"

He sighed. "That's not the point. This has to be caused by something and if it has a cause, it has a solution." His hand trembled a little and he lit a cigarette.

"Hope you can figure it out."

"Look. Maybe its wearing off. I mean I was in the car for hours before it took effect. How long did it take to get you?"

"Was a half hour journey to work. But for all I know the car could have been cursed for weeks before it took effect."

He paused. "Good point."

"Relax a bit, Drake. We have a lot of time to think about this."

He gritted his teeth a little. "I'm at work again, the day after tomorrow. They need me back."

"Drake, that might not happen. Just take a minute and relax. Ok."

They talked about it for a few hours but discovered nothing helpful.

Evie's stomach eventually began to gargle again.

Drake was now on his last cigarette. "Okay. We'd better get you fed and me more smokes. I guess tomorrow is another day."

They circled the town again, restocking with junk food and cigarettes.

Drake watched Evie pulling another burger from a new brown paper bag. "Enjoy."

She smiled and looked at his coffee and cigarette. "You too."

"So. I was thinking. Can we go back to mine tomorrow?"

She swallowed her mouthful. "Get the ferry?"

He nodded.

"I don't have a passport on me."

"Yeah." He glanced at the boot of the car. "They don't search commuter vehicles from what I've seen."

"I suppose. But what if I am caught?"

"Just stay quiet for a few hours. I'd have to hide too. They don't let people stay in their cars."

"That's a bit risky, isn't it?"

"I don't really have any other option. If I can get my laptop, I can park in my garage and set up an office in the back of the car."

"Get a laptop here?"

He shook his head. "Power it with what? The car battery would drain. Then we're stuck. I know theres an extension lead I could bring in."

She stopped to think.

"Come on. I'll need to order a new ferry ticket under this car. Think of it as a holiday. Plus once we get into the garage you'd have somewhere quiet to spend the night. Could even get you set up with a television. I don't know."

She sighed. "Fine."

He nodded and sipped the coffee.

Drake spent the evening cleaning out the car after booking the 7AM crossing, assuming that would be the busiest time, where nobody would want to check cars or make sure all passengers were on deck. He folded the bed away in the boot, piling everything he could find on top of it, leaving a very small gap underneath for Evie to crawl into.

On the way to the ferry port that night He had the car fully washed as Evie slept in the back seat.