Page 38 of A Summer of New Beginnings
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After analmostrefreshing night of sleep Zara woke feeling positive. She was over halfway round the route, which meant she would be going home soon. That also meant she would be going to her high-school reunion, which didn’t fill her with as much glee, but text messages from Shelley had revealed she was quite excited about the event now, so Zara hoped her enthusiasm would rub off on her.
Every time she was in an area where the signal peaked she received a barrage of texts from Shelley, Marco and her family. They all had encouraging messages and said how much they missed her. Contact from Noah had been scarce and she just knew that it was because he was scared of her backlash. She was past the point of hating him now though. Aside from a few glitches the trip hadn’t been as horrificas she had expected. She still wanted to give him a piece of her mind, simply for his lack of contact. But it would wait.
Today’s journey would take her to Lairg. She had been advised to take the smaller roads as the main route was known for heavy traffic and she really didn’t fancy battling with that on SD. After packing away her tent for what felt like the millionth time and making a completemess of it for the same number, she set off. There was a brief stop at a little bakery where she grabbed a buttered scone and a tea for breakfast, which she ate whilst enjoying the view before her.
*
The scenery was more and more breathtaking with every new turn she made and Zara was beginning to think that Lachlan was right about this too: Scotland reallywasthe place where you could findyourself; the place that got under your skin and into your heart. She had never before in her life been emotionally affected by hills and trees. Possibly because she lived in a fast-paced city with every conceivable thing she could need or want at her fingertips. Who would have ever thought that a beautiful landscape could bring a tear to her eye?
The people she had met along the way had chosento come to Scotland. And then there was Lachlan, who was clearly affected by the place. He’d chosen to comehome, after all. His words had rattled around her head in the hours since she’d left his croft. And he was so incredibly sweet and quite sexy. Although, she reminded herself, the last thing she had needed was another brush with romance, so it was a good thing that he was behind her.
Jeez,no. No more men. Not after what happened with Josh. Ugh, Josh…She hadn’t thought about him for a while and it’d been rather nice not to have been reminded of how hurt she’d felt. But he had cheated on her and there was no coming back from that. So she would have to keep moving forward and eventually she’d stop remembering how good she’d had it with him for a brief time. She just hoped that ‘eventually’would happen sooner rather than later.
A loud crack echoed through the air and birds scattered from their branches. Then she heard what she thought was gunfire and shouting coming from over a hill to her right and her heart began to pound.Shit. I thought this was a fairly safe place. Guns and trouble in London were just par for the shitty course these days, but the Scottish Highlands?She continuedcycling as the gunfire got louder. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she made her legs work harder. It was a distinct possibility that within seconds the gang of thugs could be over the hill and she’d be in plain sight.Fuck! Oh, God. Oh, God what do I do? There’s nowhere I can hide. Her legs burned with the effort of pushing the pedals so hard, as fast as she could, up what was nowa steep incline. Her chest heaved.If I keep pedalling… If I push harder, I can get away. They won’t see me.Fear gripped her stomach and twisted it in knots. Her eyes began to well with tears and her knuckles turned white. More gunfire. More shouting. More pounding of blood through her veins until she felt light-headed.
Her front tyre hit something and before she knew it she was flying throughthe air in slow motion, like something from a car-chase movie. The floor became the sky and vice versa. She let out a piercing scream and impacted with the ground with a thud and then blackness…
*
‘Fuck.Is she dead?’
‘Don’t say that, Tosh.Jesus, man.’
‘But she’s no moving, Rab. She went with a muckle thud. She might be dead.’
‘Na, mate, that wee backpack will have taken the impact.’
‘Ayebut landing on it cannae be good for her spine, eh? If she’s no dead she might be paralysed.’
‘Fuck’s sake, Tosh, I hope the poor wee lass cannae hear your death knell.’
Another voice, this time out of breath. ‘Help’s on the way. They said to check her breathing. But not to move her.’
‘We think she’s dead, Angus.’
‘No, wait… I can see her chest moving up and doon. Aye… aye, she’s breathing.’
‘Thank fuck for that. Any of the guys doctors or nurses, do you ken?’
A new voice chimed in. ‘Erm… what about Lurch? He’s some big-wig bloke, eh?’
‘Nah, you tube! He’s an accountant, not a fucking doctor.’
‘Close enough for me. Hey! Lurch, over here!’
Footsteps approached in the distance, crunching on the gravel road. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Come over here quick, you tube!’
‘Aye all right, keepyour bloody kilt on!’
Zara blinked open her eyes. Her head throbbed and it felt as though every fibre in her body were doing the same. When she focused she realised she was surrounded by a group of men in Highland bonnets and tartan sashes. White linen shirts covered in dirt could just be seen under the coarse, woolly fabric. There was a distinct eighteenth-century appearance to the men but thebizarre thing was that their swords appeared to be made of…wood.What the—?
A strange realisation dawned on her.
She gasped and widened her eyes.Shit! I’ve somehow gone back in bloody time. Like that woman onOutlander. How the hell?Her breathing rate increased and she began to hyperventilate.This can’t be happening. Outlander isn’t real. I didn’t touch a big bloody stone. I must be dreaming.I remember the gunfire…
