Flashman relaxed in his seat, and
took in the sensuous voice of Mary Hopkins. 'Those Were The Days' was playing
on the radio and he tapped to the beat of the music, on the steering wheel.
Never mind the sadness of the song, just listen to that bouncing rhythm,
he thought. A cocktail of tears and joy mixed in one heavenly melody. Perhaps
things aren't so bad, after all.
He changed gear and cruised down
the quiet high street. It was a beautiful still night and not a soul in sight.
As he passed the Brookton playing field, he took in the little pitch and
smiled. The quaint surroundings captured so many memories for him. How big
this had all seemed to him, once upon a time.
He turned off the main road and followed
the country lane that would eventually lead to his house, steering carefully
around the familiar bumpy terrain. Glancing to his left, he could see the
clubhouse, with its light shining brightly. Obviously there was a meeting
in progress, he thought, and wondered what they might be
discussing.
He switched his main beam on and
eased his foot off the accelerator, to avoid a pothole. As he did so, some
headlights reflected in his interior mirror. In a moment they were shining
in his mirror so brightly, he could barely open his eyes.
He put his foot on his accelerator
slightly to gain some distance and thumped on his horn. "For heaven's sake!"
he squirmed and frantically wound down his window.
The car behind got ever closer and
Flashman was momentarily blinded.
"Slow down!" he screamed, thrusting
his head out the window. "Slow down!"
He waved his fist out the window,
but the driver behind started sounding his horn, repeatedly.
Flashman screamed and honked his
horn again. Then the front tyre on his passenger side jumped up on a steep
grass verge and sent him hard against his door. His seat belt pulled taught
and he gasped with surprise.
The honking continued from the car
behind, as Flashman lost control of the vehicle. He forced the wheel to his
right and then the left and felt his back tyres slide to the right. His fingers
tightened on the wheel, in the panic and he gritted his teeth and hit the
break pedal.
He was thrown into the door again
and stuck there like glue, as his car spun a full sixty degrees. The next
thing he knew he was against the grass bank, facing the opposite way, and
he could see a startled face in the car in front of him.
The driver frantically forced his
steering wheel to his right and swerved to the left of Flashman. There was
a screech of his tyres and dust flew against Flashman's windscreen. He covered
his face, anticipating contact with the other car. To his shock and great
relief all he heard was another screech and when he craned his neck to look
out of his open window, he saw the car disappearing into the
distance.
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