text: &#x200B; **Sneakers and Keys** &#x200B; "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times... You need new sneakers! These ones are just hanging together with smiles and hope!", Linda said, holding a disheveled shoe up with two fingers, arm fully outstretched as if the thing might give her rabies if it got too close. &#x200B; Max turned his body slightly, so he was now fully facing away from the kitchen behind, where Linda sat smoking. He slunk down further into the couch and refocused on the story he was reading. The room was dark except for the dim yellow light of a lamp in the corner. It was hazy with Linda's slowly dispersing smoke. &#x200B; She's right, he thought. The shoes are terrible, but dammit he loved that pair of Nikes, and he wasn't about to throw them away yet. Also, they seemed to annoy her, so there's another win! He smiled a secret little half-smile in the half-darkness. &#x200B; Linda continued, "And have you put the spare key case back under the car yet?" "You haven't, have you Maximillian? Get off your lazy ass and go do it right now, before you forget again." "The rain will do you good! Wash some grime off your bones." "Get off my back Linda! I don't even know where the spare is." "I'm going to work now. Back ... late." &#x200B; Max opened the door, pulled his jacket up over his head, and ran out to the car, through heavy rain. As he ran, Linda opened the door behind him and called out sarcastically: "Have a nice niiiiight..." "You too, bitch", he muttered under his breath. "I heard tha.." - he slammed the door shut, drowning her out. &#x200B; Sighing heavily, Max put his phone on the mount, started up the Uber Driver app, spun his wheels and drove off into the rainy night. &#x200B; &#x200B; **Four McLaren Drive** &#x200B; "Hi there ... Xavier?", Max asked, as the man got into the back seat. "Yes." "Okay buddy .... going to Four McLaren Drive?" "That's right." Max waited for the man to put his seat-belt on and pulled out into the flow of traffic. Another rainy Uber night. Max turned the windscreen wipers up to the next speed, and peered ahead through the rain. He sighed. &#x200B; "Pretty crappy weather hey,'' Max said. "Mmm.", the man grunted. "So what are you up to tonight?", Max asked. "Nothing.", he said. "Hoookaaaaay thennn....", Max mouthed silently. &#x200B; He felt for the volume control on the steering wheel and turned the radio up one click. He snuck a quick look in the rear-vision mirror. The man was tall, with a lean face. He had on a black hooded poncho and had left the hood on, even though he was now out of the rain. Straggly wisps of wet dark hair were poking out of the front of the hood. &#x200B; Max felt a vague uneasiness when he glanced back at the man, but he couldn't quite put his finger on the reason. He looked back at the dark wet road ahead. He made a few turns before getting onto Magilvray Road. The road started to rise slowly, as they moved towards the hills. They reached the edge of the suburbs, where Magilvray turned into McLaren Drive. Still rising, the road continued ahead, straight as an arrow. &#x200B; Through the rain, Max made out the first letterbox, and a big white "1". The properties were large around here, and streetlights were few. It took another few minutes before they finally came to a driveway, with the number "4" on a post. Max slowed the car down, but not quite to a stop. &#x200B; "Just here", the man in the trenchcoat said. "Are you sure? Looks like a long walk up to..." The man cut him off: "Just drop me here, I said!" &#x200B; Max stopped suddenly, flinching slightly at the man's words. The man got out, slamming the door behind him, and started striding off through the rain. Max cracked his window open a fraction and called after him: "Have a nice waaaaalk..." &#x200B; What an asshole, thought Max. Through the darkness and the rain he thought he saw yellow light dancing in two windows in the distance. Good night for an open fire, Max thought. He hit the second star out of five on the rider-score selector, and chose the reason “Attitude”. He scoffed “Some people!”, turned the car around, and headed back down McLaren Drive, towards the city. &#x200B; &#x200B; **Valerie** &#x200B; The rain stopped briefly, as Max reached the edge of the suburbs. The road turned back into Magilvray, and a few seconds later the four rising chimes of the “Trip Found” indicator sounded. Max hit the “Accept” button, and started following the blue line on screen, to pick up “Valerie M”. &#x200B; “2.7 km”, the indicator showed. After about the first kilometer the rain started up again. Max continued following the map, and eventually pulled up to the curb outside 29 Drivat Lane. &#x200B; After a few seconds there was the sound of little feet running up to the car. Max hit the ‘unlock’ button, and a girl got into the front seat alongside him. &#x200B; “Hellooooo”, she said musically, smiling at Max, then reaching to put her seatbelt on. “Oh! Hello there!” said Max, thinking to himself wow she’s just a kid. She couldn’t be more than 10 years old. There was an Uber rule about picking up minors without an adult, but other drivers had told him they just pick them up anyway, and he needed the money tonight, more than he needed to kick up a fuss about it. &#x200B; “Valerie M.?”he asked. “Yes, I’m Valerie Margolis, nice to meet you!”, the little girl answered. “Oh, well you probably shouldn’t tell drivers your surname, but nice to meet you too! I’m Max.” “Why shouldn’t I? I’ve got nothing to hide!”, Valerie chirped. “Oh, indeed.” said Max, deciding to leave the point at that. “Can we hurry a little?”, Valerie asked. “I’m late going to my uncle’s.” “Well, I can’t break the speed limit, but I’ll do what I can.”, Max answered. &#x200B; He looked at the address on the screen and wondered if he’d forgotten to hit the “Complete Trip?” button on the previous job. The address still said “4 McLaren Drive”. But no, he must have completed the last job, else he wouldn’t have been able to start this one. What the hell?, he said to himself. &#x200B; “Are you going to 4 McLaren Drive?”he asked her, puzzled. “Yes, that’s my uncle’s place”, Valerie answered, beaming at him. “Wow, I just dropped a man there a little while ago!”, Max told her. “Oh cool!”, Valerie said, seemingly missing the enormous coincidence “Umm could we start going please? I’m late!” “Oh, right!”, said Max, spinning the wheels slightly on the wet road and heading off. &#x200B; The rain was still falling heavily, and there were few cars around as he made his way through the backstreets, and eventually onto Magilvray for the second time that night. The road was dark between streetlights, with only the Skoda’s headlights to light the way. Valerie was turning some little furry object over in her fingers, and singing quietly to herself, over-and-over: &#x200B; “Eckery, ackary, you care-an, Fillisin, follasy, Nicholas jan” &#x200B; They reached the edge of the suburbs, and just as the road changed into McLaren Drive, something small and dark ran out in front of them. &#x200B; There was a low double-banging sound, as the car hit the thing. It went under them, with a horrible scraping sound. &#x200B; “Shit!” exclaimed Max, braking and looking over at Valerie, who had braced herself with both arms on the dashboard. She looked back at him calmly, with a half-smile on her face. Max pulled the car over to the side of the road quickly. He was breathing fast, still holding the wheel with both hands. &#x200B; “I’d better get out.”, Max said, reaching for his little umbrella and opening the door. He quickly went around to the back of the car, and a few meters behind, there was a horrible moaning sound coming from what looked to be a black cat, lying broken on the wet road. &#x200B; Suddenly Valerie was there too, with no umbrella. Before Max could protest, she ran to the cat, saying “I’ll take care of it, poor thing!”. &#x200B; And with that, the little girl scooped up the cat, with its neck in one hand, head in the other. She twisted her hands sharply, and there was an audible snapping sound. &#x200B; Max lost his dinner in a pool on the road. He wiped his bottom lip and watched as Valerie smiled and went to drop the dead cat by the side of the road. She trotted back quickly to the car, getting in and closing the door. &#x200B; “Bloody hell...”, was all Max could say. He was shaking. He took a couple of deep breaths and joined Valerie inside the car. “Are ... are you okay?”, Max asked the girl. “Here, dry your hair,'' he said, handing her the little towel he kept in the console. “Oh yes I’m fine!” she said, smiling. “I’ve killed lots of animals before.” &#x200B; She dried herself off, wiped her hands and handed back the towel to Max. “Thank you.”, she said, still smiling. Max took the towel and placed it back in the console. He wondered why she had “killed lots of animals”, but was still shaking, and didn’t ask any more. &#x200B; “Okay, I’d better get you to number 4,'' Max said. “Oh yes, I’m very late now!”, Valerie replied. &#x200B; Taking another deep breath in and out, Max put the car in ‘drive’ and pulled back out onto the road. A few minutes later they reached the post with the number “4” on it. “Shall I take you up to the house?”, Max asked. “Yes please.” Max drove slowly up the muddy, bumpy driveway. The house was set back on the hill, and there were stone steps leading down to a parking area. As the car approached the parking area, a man was running down the steps. Several more umbrella-clutching people stood under a light at the top of the steps, looking down at them. &#x200B; The man was the same one Max had dropped off earlier. As Valerie stepped out of the car, the man ran across and wrapped his arm around her neck, covering her with his poncho. &#x200B; “Where have you been? Everyone is waiting!” he snapped, as he led her up the steps. Max listened for Valerie’s answer, but they were getting further away, and the sound of the rain drowned it out. The man in the poncho looked back over his shoulder at the car, and gave a shooing gesture in Max’s direction. &#x200B; Max hit the five stars button (it wasn’t Valerie’s fault he had hit the cat, and she had taken care of the situation for him). He turned the car around, and started heading slowly back down the driveway. As he drove, he turned for one last look in the direction of the people. Valerie and the man were at the top of the steps now, and Max thought he saw the man shoot one last look in his direction before they disappeared into the darkness, in the direction of the house. &#x200B; Pulling gently to a stop near the end of the driveway, Max strummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He still felt uneasy, and he felt a gnawing pull, stopping him from just driving away like he should. He drove the car down the road fifty metres or so, and parked it behind some big bushes on the side of the road. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; **Smiles and hope** &#x200B; W*hat are you doing??* he thought, as he grabbed his umbrella and got out of the car. He felt there were a number of odd things about the man and girl he’d taken to number “4” that evening, and he just wanted to make sure she was alright, he told himself. &#x200B; His old Nikes were fully waterlogged by now. “Held together with smiles and hope”, Linda had said. They made a loud, high-pitched squelching noise as he walked up the muddy drive towards the parking area. *So much for stealth*, he thought. His collapsible umbrella did little to keep him dry, as the angled rain hit his legs and back. &#x200B; Finally Max reached the bottom of the stone steps. He stood under the stone archway for a few moments. He took a deep breath .. *Come on man, just get back in the car and go to the next job*, he said to himself, and yet he couldn’t make himself turn around. Taking one last deep breath, he passed under the stone arch and walked up the steps. &#x200B; Max just wanted to make sure that Valerie was alright, but he wanted to do that undetected, with no fuss. When he’d done that, he would quietly sneak back to his car and head off into the night. The old Nikes were making the “quietly” part difficult, so he walked extra slow, on tip-toes, trying to minimize the noise. The rain had stopped now, so at least there was that, he thought. He collapsed his umbrella and dropped it on the ground. &#x200B; Max approached the house, keeping low as he crept. In the darkness, he could barely see the ground under his feet. There were two windows at the front of the house, lit with a dim dancing yellow light. He was sure now that the light was from an open fire. Stepping ever so slowly and carefully, he went over to the wall of the house, next to one of the windows. He slowly leaned over and peeked in the edge of the window, hoping to see Valerie. What he saw froze the blood in his veins. &#x200B; It was a large room with a fireplace at the far end, and in the middle of the room, a group of people stood around a long dining table. The people wore black hooded-cloaks, with the hoods up, such that their faces could not be seen. The cloaks were hemmed with bright crimson. Some of the figures were very short - they must be children, Max thought. In the gaps between some of them, lying on the table, Max could make out the shape of a woman, lying face-up, naked on the table. "*What the fuck... "* Max whispered. He could hear a low rhythmic chanting sound coming from the cloaked figures. Standing at the head of the table, a tall figure stood with his hands raised. They were bony, but clearly a man’s hands, and Max knew that this was the man he had dropped off earlier in the evening, “Xavier”. &#x200B; The man’s hands were level with his shoulders. He slowly raised them higher in the air, and as he did so, the chanting became louder. The man reached into one of the sleeves of his robe and drew out a dagger. Max’s mouth dropped open and he thought he felt his heart stop. *He’s going to KILL her,* he thought. &#x200B; Without thinking, Max started banging on the window with his open palm. Immediately the chanting stopped and every hood in the room turned towards the window. The man with the dagger pointed at Max, shouting something to the group of cloaked figures. They sprang into action, and so did Max. &#x200B; He sprinted away from the house, back into the darkness towards the steps. He could hear the front door open and people shouting, as they started chasing after him. &#x200B; One of Max’s Nike’s was losing a sole, making it hard to run. He slipped on the muddy ground and fell. He cursed and sprang back up, ripping off his shoes. He made it to the steps and started running down them, trying his hardest not to slip again. The first of his pursuers had reached the top of the steps. Max jumped the last two steps in panic, landing hard on the ground and falling. He groaned in pain but sprang back up, just as the rain started again. &#x200B; Max started running towards the road. His feet were landing on stones, but with the adrenalin surging through his system, he barely felt them. He made it back to the road, and started running down McLaren Drive towards his car. The dark figures were not far behind him. He reached his car and felt for his keys. &#x200B; Again his blood went cold, as the realisation hit him. His keys were not in his pockets. He fumbled, checking his pockets again, madly, while at the same time looking back at his pursuers. *Shit, shit shit,* he thought, before having a sudden brainwave. “Spare keys!”, he said, dropping to the ground and reaching under the back of the car. The container wasn’t there. “Oh shi-”, he started cursing, just as something hit him hard in the back of the head. &#x200B; Then there was just blackness and silence. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; **If your Snark be a Boojum.....** &#x200B; Max wondered what that strange sound was, why this bed was so hard, why the light was dancing on the ceiling. And his arms - he couldn’t move them. His head was hurting. In a flash, it all came back to him. He realised he was inside the house now. He looked about, and saw the cloaked figures standing around him. They were chanting rhythmically like before. He was manacled to the table. &#x200B; “What are you doing - let me go!!”, Max screamed at them. &#x200B; A man stepped forward and stuffed a gag in his mouth, tying it around his head. &#x200B; “You do it,” the man said, pointing to the shorter figure at his side. A girl’s hands emerged from the long sleeves and reached for the dagger that was sitting on the table. Max knew who it was. He screamed at her to stop, but only muffled sounds came. &#x200B; “Let him see your face.” the man said. &#x200B; Valerie pushed back the hood of her robe and beamed, raising the dagger with both hands. The man was also raising his hands, and as he did so, the chanting got louder and faster. By the time his hands were right above his head, the chanting had become frenetic. &#x200B; Valerie looked into Max’s terrified eyes and sang, smiling, “Enjoy your riiiiide!!”. &#x200B; She swung the dagger down hard. &#x200B; Outside in the darkness, a cat’s scream echoed loud in the distance, then there was silence.