The Hitchhiker Contract

The teachers were clearly shaken by such a strange incident, and they discussed driving home, but they needed a holiday more than ever now. So, they headed to Devon. They put on their Britpop CD and tried to laugh off their near-death experience as they were singing along to the music. “Wow, what a mad day,” said Tim. 

They pulled into the drive of their Airbnb and emptied the car. They sat down in the living room and had a couple of beers and relaxed. 

The next day they stayed in the town and had a good look around; they ate down at the harbour and booked a boat trip the next day. They people watched and drank too many beers; it was a great day. 

The next morning, they drank some coffee to escape from their hangovers, but it didn’t work, however that didn’t stop them from heading to the beautiful harbour. The sun was out and there was a wonderful breeze coming off the sea. They found the boat; it was called Chimera and was a bit run down. But they didn’t care and thought it would be fine for the boat trip. There were several other people already queuing up waiting for permission to board. 

As they got on and looked around, they noticed a guitar case in the bridge, it looked suspiciously similar to the one they had encountered a few days earlier. They laughed to themselves and said that they were just being stupid and paranoid to think that it could be the same one, however, it did have a ‘Peace’ sticker on it. 

The boat set off and had a route down the coast and they were hoping to see some seals and dolphins. Everyone was having fun, and the waves were making people bounce a little on the deck. The teachers decided to head into the covered bar area to get a couple of non-alcoholic beverages to wet their whistles, as they were both dehydrated. 

When they got to the bar the young barmaid opened the cool box and pulled out two Frijj chocolate milkshakes. Without saying anything else, she handed the plastic bottles to the two men and began to serve the couple next to them. They grabbed their drinks with caution and moved back up to the top deck. In what felt surreal and frightening the men didn’t know what to say. That was far too deliberate to be a coincidence, but it didn’t stop them from guzzling their drinks. 

Tim thought he’d contact the police officer who was dealing with Sinbad to try and find out what had happened at court. He was told that the court released him on bail to return to court the following month. He said the prisons are overcrowded and it was a failed robbery with what turned out to be a plastic imitation shotgun, therefore not deemed too dangerous.

Tim told Laurie the news over a beer at The Crown and Anchor. They just stared at each other in disbelief. 

Laurie said, “Well, I didn’t get a good look at the shotgun, but it bloody looked real. What shall we do? What if he’s here, this is getting really weird.”

Tim was worried, but as the beer was going down, he became more and more blasé.

 He said, “Let’s not let it ruin our holiday, we’re here now. Let’s go for a nice long walk tomorrow and have some fun. Plus, I’ve brought my camera, I want to take some nice pictures.” 

They both agreed to stay and then tucked into the pubs famous fish and chips whilst watching the boats drifting into the harbour. Brixham is a beautiful place and after an eventful journey they wanted to make the most of it. 

After days of spectacular weather and days out at the beach, museums, art galleries and numerous pubs the teachers time was up. Their stay was complete, and they were leaving the following day. They packed up their belongings and went out for a final meal. Whilst waiting for their dinner a band was setting up on a small stage at the back of the pub. They noticed the barmaid from their boat trip with a guitar case adorned with a ‘peace’ symbol. They looked at each other and raised their eyebrows in surprise. 

Eventually the band started playing and began with the old classics like, Bowie and Rolling Stone covers. As the night wore on, they upped the tempo and as the teachers were leaving, they began to play Blur’s Country House. They looked back and the barmaid/guitarist was staring at them. They turned and quick stepped it back to their Airbnb. 

The next day they packed up the car and headed home. Whilst passing Exeter on the A30 they were stuck in some traffic. Tim looked up ahead and said, “I don’t believe it, it’s Sinbad. He’s in the layby hitchhiking with a cardboard sign, asking to go to West Sussex “. 

Laurie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was crazy. They locked their doors and closed their windows, just in case Sinbad fancied a return journey. As they passed him, he smiled at them and put his thumb up, in the way hitchhikers do. They continued on their way home in stunned disbelief. They asked themselves, “Why does he want to go to West Sussex?” 

Around an hour later they were travelling East on the A350, and the traffic was moving well. A silver VW Golf with a surfboard on the roof-rack overtook them. Laurie looked over to his right as it passed and there was a young couple in the front and then he noticed the backseat passenger. 

It was Sinbad!

Sinbad was staring at the teachers as the Golf passed them. Laurie shouted to his mate, “Tim, Tim look. Sinbad’s just passed us in that VW, I don’t believe it.”

Tim looked and said, “I can’t see him, they’re too far ahead, you need to catch up.”

With that, Laurie put his foot down on the accelerator to catch them. As he drew level with the silver Golf, they both looked across and Sinbad looked back at them. Just as he did, he pulled a twelve-inch knife from the inside of his jacket and smiled at the teachers. 

Laurie said, “Oh my god, he’s going to kill them. What the hell. We need to warn them “. Tim was freaking out. Laurie couldn’t move any closer as his lane was moving slower. He had to wait to make some dangerous manoeuvres to eventually move in position. Tim and Laurie got the attention of the driver and passenger, but their erratic behaviour freaked the driver of the Golf out. They must’ve looked crazy because he sped off, with Sinbad staring at them through the rear window with a menacing grin. 

Tim called the police from his mobile but they didn’t note down the Golf’s number plate so there wasn’t a great deal the police could do. Silver Golf’s are quite common, and the police didn’t have the resources to stop every one. 

The teachers eventually made it back to Tim’s home. They couldn’t believe what they had seen. They just hoped that the young couple in the VW Golf were fine. They scanned the news on the TV and internet to see if there were any reports, but there wasn’t. They were so relieved. 

Laurie left Tim’s house and drove the short distance to his. He noticed a silver VW Golf parked just down his road but ignored it. He got in and dumped his bags in his living room, walked to the kitchen and put the kettle on. He leaned on the side of his kitchen table reflecting on a crazy experience and chuckled. His phone beeped and he checked his message. It was Tim, it said, “Laurie, I’ve just looked through my camera and in several of the scenic pictures, Sinbad is in the background watching us”. 

The kettle had boiled so he opened the fridge to get some milk. The first thing he noticed was a Frijj chocolate milkshake sat on the middle shelf. He stood up and looked around. Something wasn’t right, he thought. Then a guitar sound came from the bedroom.

The End.