brian cross

THREE MILE DROVE CHAPTER FIVE Darren guided his vehicle warily back along the narrow drove, paying particular attention to the area from which he thought the missile was thrown. Of course, he couldn't see a thing out there, everything was in total darkness. Total darkness that was, apart from a faint light that flickered somewhere off to his right. His curiosity aroused, he slowed the Jeep to a crawl. The glimmer was coming from an upstairs window of a house some distance back from the road, though the light was so faint and wavering that it had to be candlelight. Jesus, he thought, did everyone in the outback do without electricity. The concept was as unreal to him as the landscape.

THREE MILE DROVE, Chapter Three, Part Two Darren reached Ely a little after two o'clock, finding a car park close to the main street where the offices of Henley & Son were situated. As he left the confines of the car park, he was surprised to find himself thinking that the place exuded character and a warm charm; it seemed to stand defiant in the face of the isolated wilderness he'd just driven through. As if to emphasise as much he noticed the leaden skies had begun to lighten from the west and the heavy rain relent into a drizzle.