Snow Kills Read Free Page B

grabbed her phone and turned the radio down. She could hear a man’s voice laughing, shouting and singing.
    ‘You in there Kay? It’s Donny. No mistaking your car, love,’ he said. Her heart missed a beat, but she sighed with relief. She opened the window a little, but the strong smell of whisky on his breath hit her. She could see a young lad behind him, who took a quick swig out of a bottle and grimaced before passing it back over Donny’s shoulder.
    ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she said through clenched teeth.
    ‘Had to abandon the scooter in town,’ he said, shouting against the wind.
    ‘Yes, I saw it.’
    ‘Come with us, we’ll see you get home, won’t we mate?’ he added.
    ‘I’d rather stick pins in my eyes,’ she said quietly. ‘Go away.’
    ‘What did you say?’ he yelled, bending down closer.
    ‘I’ll chance my luck in my nice warm car, thank you,’ she smiled sweetly.
    ‘Whatever,’ he said, swaying in the wind. ‘Is that all men could say, whatever?’ she fumed, reaching to wind the window up. She heard what sounded like a man’s gruff warning bellow in the distance and Donny shrugged his shoulders at her. ‘Fuck off!’ he called over his shoulder. His friend scarpered.
    ‘Are you lonesome tonight...’ she heard Donny singing at the top of his voice as he wandered off into the night laughing like a hyena, oblivious to the cold in his drunken state.
    The radio presenter reiterated the advice to motorists to stay in their cars. It was as though he was warning her personally, so isolated did she feel. Her fuel gauge was into the red and her phone beeped low battery for the final time. She fumbled with it in her lap, but the battery was dead. Mindful of her predicament, she steered her car into the side of the road and it slid sideways and jolted to a standstill, into the kerb. She turned off the ignition and sighed heavily.
    Inside, the car was almost pitch-black. It was heavily blanketed by snow that was getting thicker by the minute. All was silent. Kayleigh flicked on the internal light and scrabbled in her handbag for something to eat, anything, she was starving. ‘Ginger Dunkers,’ she said, peeling off the wrapper frenziedly and biting into the grainy biscuit. ‘Thank you Mavis.’ As she watched the snow continue to build, a wave of sheer panic washed over her. Kayleigh opened the window and gulped a breath of fresh air. She rattled the door, trying to open it more than the few inches the snow would allow. She wanted to run, to escape, to be free from this nightmare. Her heart beat so rapidly she thought it would never again be steady. She closed the window to keep out the cold, closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Time passed and she felt as if she was going to die, but then the panic began to subside. She looked again at her watch – she was alone, and now she was beginning to feel very frightened too.
     
    Kayleigh tried to settle in her seat. . Leaning against the door, she turned the radio on low and closed her eyes. Surely sleep would come and blot out this night? Resting her head against the window, she could hear the slightest tapping, so soft that she turned the radio off and sat up. Holding her breath, she listened again, counting the seconds. There was no further sound, but she could sense a presence nearby. Kayleigh shook uncontrollably on seeing a shadowy figure through the snow mottled window. When would the guy take no for an answer? She swallowed hard, but to her horror the tapping increased to a knock, then, when she didn’t respond, it became more of a thud. She leant away from the door, listening, looking, her muscles tense, her wits alert. Her hands were in fists and her shoulders hunched. She was trapped, snared like an animal. Her mouth was dry as she gasped for breath. Her legs jumped. The knocking came in pulses, getting louder and louder. Scissors, scissors, where were her scissors? She knew it was only a matter of time before