Chapter 28

At Six O'Clock he shook her awake. They were parked at a service station.

She stared groggily. "What's going on?"

"Nearly ready. Need to hide you now."

She grumbled and sat up. Her stomach growled.

Drake glared. "You can't make any noise."

"I can't help it."

"We need to be there in half an hour. Keep your stomach quiet."

She looked dejected. "Oh come on, I can't control it."

He looked out at the service station. One of the drive throughs was open, but there wasn't a queue. "Fine. Come on."

He accelerated harshly out of the parking space. Evie flopped back, trying to put on her seat belt.

He made a beeline for the drive through. "How much do you need to not be hungry until we get to the other end? Six hours I guess."

She was half asleep and confused. "I don't know."

He sighed. They arrived very quickly at the order board. "Need ten breakfast meals."

Her eyes widened. "Now?"

He ignored her and drove down to pay and collect. They had already been prepared and the cashier passed him three bags full.

He drove away, thrusting the bags into the back seat. "You have twenty five minutes to eat as much of that as you can and crawl into the boot. I don't want you making any accidental noise at this end or the other."

"I just woke up!" she protested.

He pulled out onto the motorway. "Just pack your stomach and hide. You'll be fine."

She yelped as He swung out and accelerated. Once the car was going straight, she stuck her hand in one of the bags, pulling out an egg and bacon muffins, trying to cram it in her mouth.

Drake looked at her in the rear view mirror. "That's good, keep going."

She flopped around in the seat as he overtook cars, but still managed to chew.

"Don't waste time chewing, just swallow."

She glared at him. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"I didn't think about breakfast. Just pack your stomach as much as you can."

"You're hiding with me. You eat some too."

"My stomach never rumbles. Come on, it's boarding in twenty minutes. Eat!"

For once almost reluctantly she forced in the food. Ten minutes on the motorway passed, she watched him follow the signs for the ferry port, having managed to swallow five of them.

"I cant eat when you're driving this fast. I feel a bit car sick."

"We're off the motorway." He looked ahead and saw a siding for trucks and pulled in.

She panted for a little breath. "It doesn't matter if you're a few minutes late."

He reached through the bags, pulling another out, unwrapping it and passing it to her. "Yes it does. I want to be in the middle of the cars. They're never going to check there."

Evie forced the muffin in. Drake was unwrapping the other four for her and bagging all the rubbish together.

Evie squeezed her belly. "I think I'm getting full. I can't eat that fast."

"Just this once. I promise."

She burped.

"Come on, no burps either." He reached back and grabbed her belly, shaking it.

Evie tried to eat more, between forcing out little burps. "Okay, okay."

"You don't feel full yet. Still soft." He squeezed harder.

She forced in more food, wheezing a bit. "I'm always kind of soft."

He sighed. "Sorry. I'm just anxious. I'll throw the rest away, you need to hide now."

She grabbed the last two and pushed them into her mouth and tried to chew them together.

"Okay. Well just eat up and get all the burps out of your system."

She nodded, rubbing her own belly as Drake let go, to throw the empty bags out of the window.

Her breathing was labored as she finished. the last of them. "No room."

"Good. Might be a bit tight in the boot, just pull the seat down and crawl under the mattress."

She nodded and slipped under. Drake had left enough room for her to curl up comfortably, even if it was a tight squeeze to get in from the back.

Drake watched her bum disappear behind the backseat, then pulled it back up, locking her away and hidden. "Thanks. Now no talking, burping, stomach noises and don't sleep, you do snore a little."

Her reply was muffled, but she understood. Drake opened the windows to freshen the air inside, gripped the steering wheel and pulled out.

Evie was cramped in the back. Not uncomfortable, but just restricted. The mattress, clothes and other accumulated detritus weighed down on her as she lay curled up. As drake pulled away, she felt the vibration of the road against her full belly. She was glad to not be claustrophobic.

As they went a short way along the road, she could just about hear the sounds of the sea. The car rolled slower and stopped. The car sounded like it was driving over metal now.

She briefly heard Drake speaking to someone. It sounded like he passed the passport check and was now driving up a ramp.

Not a few moments later, she heard him scramble through the car and thud down into the backseat footwell. Other mechanical noises and clunks suggested he was pulling the seats back over himself. They must be strict on not letting people stay in their cars.

She breathed a sigh of relief. They both boarded the ship without any incident. Not long after, there was a deep rumbling and the ferry began to depart.

----

Four hours, she was cramped up there. The boat rocked gently until it arrived in port. Another twenty minutes before she could hear the loud sound of a metal hatch opening and Drake scrambling back into the driver's seat.

The engine started again and they rolled off the ferry, quickly stopping at passport control. Drake was waved through again and the car began to make it's way along a road again.

"Are you okay back there?" Came a voice shouting from the front.

"Yeah." She shouted back.

"I'll stop as soon as I can to let you out. Need to get away from the port authorities."

"Okay!"

They kept driving for another half an hour until Drake started slowing down and the car felt like it was leaving the road.

Drake jumped into the backseat and swung down the seats. Evie flopped out.

"Sorry about that. You did fine. Want a bit of air?"

She wriggled her way out. Her top had managed to roll up and the imprint of the mattress had been pressed into her waist. "Need water."

"Oh. Of course. I'll stop at a service station." He smiled reassuringly and lit a cigarette for himself. "Come join me up front."

She had a bit of a stiff leg, but otherwise fine to crawl through into the passenger seat, shutting the boot behind her. "I don't really want to do that again."

"Yeah, I was a bit worried. Didn't have people smuggling on my agenda. It's a few hours drive to mine. Try figuring out how to tune the radio for here if you want."

She rubbed her leg, bringing the circulation back, then played with the radio settings looking for the national station. "So, now what?"

"I have a plan. I'm going to call up my Mum and ask her to pack a bag for me, saying im in a rush. Give me some clothes and my laptop. She can pass it to us. Then we'll go drive around until she goes, then we can go live in my garage until we sort this whole curse thing out."

Evie smiled. It was not exactly the best opportunity in life anyone could offer her. But it was at least something. "Do I have to go back into the boot?"

Drake shook his head. "No. I'll tell her you're a colleague or something." He looked at her dressed in poorly fitting tights and t-shirt. "Maybe just suck your stomach in and cover your chest a little better."

She blushed and self consciously tugged at her top.

"Sorry. I don't mean that in a bad way. You're just popping out a bit."

She scowled.

"Look, we'd better go. I've not slept and I need to get home before I crash."

It was a quiet journey back. Evie stares out of the window. It looked a lot like her home, but with slightly different shades of green and gray. The radio played the same music, but the presenters had a different accent. It didn't really feel like she had just traveled abroad, although she had a mild feeling of alienation from these subtle differences. She was also tired and sore fro the boat ride.

Drake managed to get his coffee and cigarettes along the way when he stopped to fill the petrol tank and Evie had a bit of chocolate and lemonade.

He had called her mother to arrange a pickup as the got close to his town. She sounded very fussy and had a 'proper' accent, but He managed to convince her to pack a bag.

The winter evening crept in early as they drove. It was beginning to get dark as they followed the motorway across the country to the North East. Drake, fatigued, kept yawning. The window opened a crack had chilled the car.

Evie eventually fell asleep. She was jostled awake as they pulled into a gravel drive. She looked around. They were at a reasonably sized detached old stone house in the countryside. The garden was narrow and lined with pine trees at either side, cutting it off from the neighbors view.

He drove down it, towards a short, slender woman, who looked in her seventies. She wore a thick, dark green waterproof jacket with very sturdy boots despite being dry.

Drake wound down the window. "Hello Mother."

"This isn't your car." She snapped.

"No. This is a rental."

"From Ireland? What were you doing there?"

"Just working. Look, I need to get back on the road."

"Who's that?" She eyeballed Evie up and down.

"Evelyn. We work together."

His mother scrunched up his face. "Does she not have her own voice?"

"Hello. Mrs." She paused, not knowing Drake's surname.

"Irish too? Did you come with the car?"

"It is my car."

"And you made my poor boy drive it all the way across the sea?"

Drake interjected. "That's enough. We work together."

His mother nodded. "Very well. Here are your bags. Where are you going? Germany I expect. It sounds to me like every other country wants their railways fixed up apart from ours."

"No. I'll be staying in the country."

"Very good. Don't forget to send me a postcard." She thrust the bags over Drake's lap and into Evie's hands. "Oh and don't get any ideas about marrying this one. His last one was very nice but He couldn't keep her around long enough for grandkids." She said, staring deeply into Evie's soul.

"Mother!" He exclaimed. "Not the time."

"Nice to meet you, Drake's Mum." Evie said, waving meekly.

"And get a shower, you both stink."

Drake started rolling up the window, trying to cut the old woman off. She turned around and got into an old Jeep, which she reversed straight out the drive.

He coughed. "Sorry about that. Hopefully not have to see her again for a while."

Evie forced a smile. "She seems nice."

Drake narrowed his eyes. "Indeed. The garage is around the back. Don't worry, it's remote controlled." He slapped the keys in his pocket and followed the driveway to the back of the house.

The door opened automatically. It looked like an old stable, not connected to the main house.

"Well, this is home for a while." He said, driving in and shutting the door behind them. A sensor turned on the lights. The garage inside just looked like a garage. A lawnmower, a few workbenches and years of cobwebs. "I hope you don't mind just getting some sleep now. I am absolutely wrecked."

Evie felt a bit hungry again, but decided against mentioning it. "Okay. Do you have WiFi?"

Drake yawned and nodded, reading a number he had saved in his phone. He seemed to be falling asleep as he read it out.

Evie entered the code and looked back. He had passed out. She patted him on the shoulder, looked through the bag of clothes, finding a jacket she pulled it out and draped it over his chest as a blanket and she lay back in the seat and opened up her game. Despite the circumstance, she felt more relaxed knowing she had company.