The Hitchhiker

The Hitchhiker

It’s a cliché, isn’t it? Picking up a hitchhiker who turns out to either be a) a psycho, b) a ghost, or c) a mixture of the two.

But when I saw the girl trudging through the mud beside the road I felt compelled to give her a lift; like if I ignored her it would be the biggest mistake of my life.

When she climbed into the car I noticed she was caked with mud from head to foot, and I couldn’t help worrying about the state in which she was going to leave the seats. I kept my mouth shut on the matter though, she had a haunted look in her eyes and I was worried I had indeed picked a, b, or c.

I watched as she slowly put on her seatbelt; her every movement seemed unnatural, like she was occupying a body she wasn’t used to and had to concentrate on getting it to work. Once she was strapped in she sat staring straight ahead, rigid.

“I don’t normally pick up hitchhikers,” I said “Where you headed?”

She didn’t reply, so I sat waiting, the engine of the car idly ticking over waiting to be gunned into action.

“Are you OK?” I asked “Do you want me to take you to the police?”

That got a reaction; at the mention of the P word she flashed me a look of terror so pure I’ll have nightmares about it for the rest of my life.

“Are you hurt?” I tried again “Do you need a doctor?”

She whispered something then, I know because I saw her lips move, although she was speaking too quietly for me to hear.

“I’m sorry?” I said leaning in slightly “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Where am I?” she said just loud enough for me to hear.

“Just outside Newcastle,” I said “Stannington, actually.”

“Newcastle?” her brow furrowed in confusion “You’re lying.” She suddenly growled, a look of anger swamped her features and she flashed me a look of undisguised hatred “You’re one of them aren’t you?” she spat.

“One of who?” I asked “You’ve lost me.”

She slumped back in her seat “Are we just going to sit here all night?” she asked wearily.

I should have told her to get out of the car; I should have driven away and left her there, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that would be a terrible mistake, so I put the car in gear and pulled away.

“I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot here,” I said trying to sound cheerful, but failing to hide the nervous tremor in my voice “My name’s Jack, Jack Brown...” I left the sentence hanging, waiting for her to tell me her name “And you?” I asked when I realised she wasn’t going to answer.

“Delphine.” she said softly.

“Well, Delphine,” I said when a second name didn’t seem to be forthcoming “Where can I take you?”

“I was heading for...” she said quietly “I can’t remember.” She said after a pause.

“Well my destination is Newcastle,” I told her “After that, I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

“I knew it,” she shouted “You are one of them.” She made a grab for the steering wheel and I had to hold her off with one arm while trying to keep the car straight with the other.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” I gasped when she had finally calmed down “Are you trying to kill us? Are you crazy? We’re lucky there was no one else on the road.”

“I’m sorry. I...I don’t know why...” she suddenly let out a high pitched scream, her hands grabbing the side of her head like she was scared it was going to explode. She started thrashing in her seat, her legs kicking against the front of the car, her back arching, and all the time screaming at the top of her voice.

I slammed on the brakes and frantically tried to calm her down; slowly she returned to normal. For the second time I thought I should have kicked her out of the car, but she was obviously in need of medical attention, and I still had the feeling something important was about to happen and she was at the centre of it.

“What the...?” I started.

“Why have we stopped?” she interrupted me.

“Are you kidding?” I asked, wide eyed. I could tell by the look on her face she really had no idea why I’d stopped the car “You were having a fit or something.” I told her.

For the second time I thought I should have kicked her out of the car, but she was obviously in need of medical attention, and I still had the feeling something important was about to happen and she was at the centre of it.

“I’m taking you to the nearest hospital,” I told her “You definitely need...” the attack came with such ferocity I was too shocked to defend myself; she punched me several times before I came to my senses and threw my arms in front of my face, all the while she screamed obscenities at me.

Her anger stopped as quickly as it had erupted. I sat staring at her, not knowing what to think while she went back to staring forward with a blank expression. Without knowing why I stepped on the accelerator and started driving again. My head was swimming with questions; who was she? Where was she going? Was she in trouble? Was she running away from someone? All these and more questions spiralled through my brain, but I found myself unable to ask any of them.

Neither of us said anything as the countryside rolled past, illuminated only by the beam of the cars headlights; we were too far in the countryside for any council to waste money on streetlights.

“I’m sorry,” Delphine said suddenly “But I mustn’t go to any hospital, or doctor, or anything like that.”

“Would you like to explain?” I asked, still reeling from the unexpected attack.

“I’m not sure if I can,” she mumbled, hanging her head “I...” she stopped when the sound of a siren burst out of the darkness behind us; I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a police car rapidly gaining on us. I pulled over and waited “Please,” Delphine asked, a note of horror causing her voice to tremble “Don’t let them find me.”

I looked at her and noticed she was shaking with fear; her eyes were wide with dread and her whole body trembled with undisguised panic. She was clenching her fists over and over, her eyes darting from side to side like a frightened animal looking for a means of escape.

“Look,” I said as the police car came to a stop behind me “There’s a pile of blankets on the back seat, try and get underneath them before they get here.” What am I doing? I thought, for all I know she’s a serial killer and I’m hiding her from the police.

I kept looking in the rear view mirror, watching as the police officer climbed out of the car and walked towards us. He was just climbing out of the car, taking his eyes off us for just long enough for Delhpine to dive into the back seat and pull the blankets over her, by the time the policeman reached the car she was completely hidden.

When the policeman tapped on the window I rolled it down and looked up into the shadowy face of the most menacing policeman I had ever seen. It might just have been an effect of the strange happenings I’d already experienced that night, mixed with the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere – not the kind of place you get a lot of police cars – but something about the policeman seemed wrong. And I had no idea if he had seen Delphine, and what would happen to us if he had. I was terrified beyond belief at the prospect of dealing with this policeman.

“Sorry to be of inconvenience, sir,” the policeman said “But have you seen anyone while you’ve been driving tonight?”

“Can’t say as I have, officer,” I lied “Is there a problem?”

“A woman escaped from an asylum yesterday,” he said “She’s highly dangerous.”

“Well, like I said, I’ve seen no one.”

“Hmm,” he said shining his torch in to the back seat; I held my breath, had he seen her? “If you see her, call us immediately.” He said, finally turning off his torch “Under no circumstances let her into your car.”

“No problem with that,” I laughed nervously “I never pick up hitchhikers.”

“Very wise.” The police officer said “Sorry to have bothered you. Have a good night.”

He walked away and I let out a long breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding in. I started the car again and drove away; I looked in the rear view mirror as we left and noticed he was standing staring at me. He hadn’t said anything odd in any way, but something about him scared the hell out of me.

“It’s safe,” I said over my shoulder “You can come out now.”

Cautiously Delphine pushed the blankets off and sat up “Thank you,” she said, clambering back into the front seat and smiling for the first time “I can’t let them find me.” she added.

“What do you mean?” I asked as kindly as possible “Who’s looking for you?”

“They’re called the Four,” she said softly.

“The Four?”

“They...” she stopped; I could see she was trying to think of a way of explaining that I would understand “Erase unwanted Elements.”

“And you’re an unwanted element?” I asked, thinking that was a strange choice of words.

“To them.”

“This is all a bit vague,” I said stopping the car again “Look, if you want me to help you I’m going to need something to go on.” I had no intention of not helping her, the thought of leaving her to fend for herself filled me with dread, but a bit more detail about what she needed couldn’t hurt.

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“I have an open mind, try me.”

“The Four, like I said erase unwanted Elements,” she began after a long pause “And that’s the key word, Elements. I’m sure you know the four elements that are the building blocks of the world - earth, air, fire and water.” She indicated the mud that still caked her entire body “I am an earth element. The last one. I know because I felt the pain of my last sister dying earlier.”

It was at this point I couldn’t help having the thought I’ve definitely picked up a psycho. But then I remembered the policeman; I’ve never been an irrational person but the burning fear I felt when looking into the policeman’s eyes made me think this was entirely possible.

“Ok,” I said “This is a bit weird, but go on.” Weird? I thought, Try absolutely fucking terrifying.

“Their sole reason for being is to wipe humanity from the face of the planet,” Delphine went on “They hate your existence. There are too many of you to simply hunt down one by one, and so they have been destroying the things that you need to survive.”

“The elements.” I said.

“Yes,” Delphine nodded “There are very few of us left. I am the last earth. We have one chance to end this tonight, to destroy the Four. There is somewhere I need to be, but I still can’t remember where.”

A movement made me look up; the policeman was standing a few feet away. There was no way he could have got in front of us, but there he was. Delphine was breathing heavily, she had seen him too, and now she was panicking.

I stamped my foot down on the accelerator and sped towards the policeman; he was too close to cause any real damage, but I still didn’t expect him to just stand his ground. The car slammed into him at no more than ten miles an hour, but I saw him go underneath. I didn’t stop to see if I had really hurt him, instead I just kept driving.

“That won’t stop him,” Delphine said “You could have hit him at top speed and you wouldn’t have hurt him.”

I didn’t answer; I was too busy wondering what I had got myself into. Was Delphine crazy? Was I crazy? There were so many questions I didn’t have the answer to.

“I can’t go on like this,” I told her “I understand you’re in some sort of trouble and need help, but I need answers.”

“Like?”

“Like who are you? Why does that policeman terrify you so much? I don’t think it’s because he’s a policeman, I think it’s him personally that scares you.” I heaved a sigh “I think I deserve an explanation.”

“You’re right, you do deserve an explanation. But I don’t think I can give you one.”

“Meaning?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. You’ll call me mad and either kick me out of your car, or hand me into the police, where he will find me.”

“Believe me, I’m not stopping this car until I’ve put some serious miles between us and him. So tell me, who is he?”

“We call him the Famine Bringer,” Delphine mumbled.

“Famine Bringer?”

“Yes. He is the one responsible for all the countries that have no food,” she sighed.

“You expect me to believe a copper is responsible for the starving millions all over the world?”

“He is not a policeman,” Delphine almost screamed “That is just the form he has chosen, he thinks it is the easiest way to track us down. He has had many forms, his favourite being that of a farmer, it amuses him to appear in the form of the one thing those countries They need the most.” She said the last few words with undisguised hate.

“And who is this ‘we’ you keep mentioning?” I asked. I knew what she was saying was ridiculous, but I found myself believing her anyway.

“I told you that before, we are the Elementals, the only ones capable of stopping The Four. Once they were horsemen, but that would attract too much attention these days. Now they are The Policeman, you know who he is, The Doctor also known as Pestilence, The Soldier who is War and The Priest we call Death.”

“All positions of trust,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

“But why are they destroying all the elementals?”

“They have decided the time has come to fulfil their destiny. It is time for the apocalypse. They have tried to get man to destroy himself, but have come to realise man has too much compassion for his own kind to commit all out genocide. The other, quicker way to destroy the world is to upset the elements.”

“Something they’ve been doing for a while,” I breathed “The tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes that kill millions...they’re all the result of one of your kind being killed and upsetting the balance.” I couldn’t believe what I was saying, but at the same time it all made perfect sense.

“And I am the last of the Earth Elementals,” Delphine said softly “Imagine the destruction that will commence at the moment of my death.”

“We have to get you somewhere safe,” I said. I turned a corner far too fast and almost lost control of the car, I wasn’t used to driving so fast, never mind having the scariest conversation of my life at the same time, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t crashed yet.

“No,” she said vehemently “We have to find three of the other elements, only together can we stop The Four.”

“Any idea where to begin looking?”

“In the right place, they will find me.”

“If you want me to help you’re going to have to be less cryptic.”

“I’m sorry; I’m not used to dealing with humans. We need an oak tree; all the Elementals have different connections with different aspects of their particular element. Mine is trees, and oak trees are the strongest of them all.”

“Let’s find us an oak tree then.” I said as jovially as I could manage.

I don’t know how long we had been driving before Delphine gave a shout.

“There, in the field on the left, an oak tree.” She had unbuckled her seatbelt and opening the door before I had had time to stop the car. By the time I had pulled over and got out to follow her she was already in the field, heading towards the tree.

A movement to my left caught my eye and I saw the policeman emerge from behind a bush, he pulled out a gun and levelled it at the retreating girl.

“Delphine look out,” I yelled as I ran towards the policeman. Before I could reach him I heard the sound of gunfire and whirled round just in time to see Delphine fall to the ground. With an almost animal rage I threw myself at the policeman, landing punches all over his face, but he just stood there smiling. It was as if I was punching a statue. Finally I grew too tired to keep up the attack, and that was when he punched me so hard I flew backwards and lost consciousness.

When I came to the sun was just beginning to rise. There was no sign of the policeman. My head swimming I slowly got to my feet and staggered into the field. There was no sign of Delphine’s body, not even the slightest sign of blood. Had it all been a weird dream? Could I have fallen asleep at the wheel and somehow managed to drive all that way without crashing?

As I was driving home I kept hearing rumbles in the distance, and occasionally a tremor would shake the ground beneath me. I tried to tell myself it was my imagination, a result of too much driving and not enough sleep, but deep down I knew the truth. My suspicions were confirmed when I arrived home and turned on the television; the news was saying earthquakes were destroying cities across the world, even places that had never experienced more than a slight tremor before. Then I felt the ground beneath me shaking and there was a deafening rumble; I was now in the middle of the largest earthquake this country has ever experienced, I could hear my neighbours screaming as their houses collapsed around them. That was when I realised it hadn’t been a dream, and Delphine’s death had doomed us all.