“That’s not true. He is a friend.”

“Wake up, Windsor . . . prestige was what he was seeking.”

“And you, Lucas, where do you stand?”

“I bumble along in life, Windsor. Circumstances come and go. I have the technology now and I’m sure it will prove useful. As for what, I don’t know yet.”

“My, you’re showing your true colours now, Lucas. What has brought this about?”

“You, Windsor, and this stupid world we live in.”

The Rev had decided to try and find an exit clause. “Hello, Lucas, could you let us out of here? It’s starting to get quite stuffy. Couldn’t we talk face to face?”

“Would love to, preacher man, but what would happen then? No, it’s best you remain there. We need to make a getaway. I’ll let someone know where you are. Anyway, I’m sure your God will look after you, maybe drop some manna from the sky.”

They heard laughter again, followed by a clicking sound. The microphone had been turned off. A few moments later they heard the door open and close and voices yell out goodbyes.

The Rev looked at Windsor.

“He’s snapped, or something like that. I think he’s a dope smoker; I was starting to pick up sniffs of something like burnt grass clippings."

“It does happen,” the Rev said as he went and sat down. “There have been many reports over the years of people losing the plot and going a bit weird after prolonged use of marijuana. It’s most probably caught up with him. Needs some rewiring to be done in his head. Sad, and to think there are people out there who want to legalise the stuff. Crazy world, hey? Got to have our drugs.”

“Well, it sounds like it’s caught up with Lucas. There were many days, more recently, where I noticed a glazed look in his eyes, not that he took his sunglasses off too regularly. He must be taking other stuff now because the episode I had with him in the cryonics facility was not pleasant. It was like I was dealing with a different person.”

“You could have been. Drugs can function much like an ouija board in terms of being a gateway to the demonic world. You could have been dealing with a possessed man.”

Windsor shuddered.

“It’s all about mind control. I believe drugs, alcohol, and even meditation techniques give demons access to the mind. They control the individual and make them do things. And the longer they’ve been on the stuff, the more depressed and unpredictable they become.”

“That’s a worry, Rev. I don’t think the technology and unpredictability are going to be a good match.”

“Well, let’s hope he has a moment of sanity and does let someone know we’re here.”

<°)))><

Lucas turned left on to West Mount Cotton road and started heading towards Cornubia. The transporter device was safely tucked away in the boot of the car. He had two devices now. He would have to work out how to retrieve the other one at some point, although he wasn’t overly keen on being in that room with the oversized coffee flask.

A plan started to form in Lucas’s mind. He didn’t understand why, but he just couldn’t get that girl out of his head. He thought of that obsessive melody put out by Kylie Minogue and tried to recall the beat.

“Hey, Tag, how did that Kylie Minogue song go? You know the one: Can’t get you out of my mind.”

“I’m not sure, Lucas. Think it was ‘head’ not ‘mind’. Is it something like: la, la, la, . . . la, la, la?

“That’s good, Tag.” Lucas hummed the tune.

Lucas was obsessed. Was she close by or something? Maybe he was picking up her vibes. Best if he put his thoughts elsewhere.

“Hey, Tag, you okay about things?”

“Yeah, no worries. All an adventure. Besides, we’ve been behaving ourselves too much of late. What are your plans with the technology?”

“Nothing yet, mate, but we may need to vanish for a while.”

“I hope you don’t mean using the technology.”

“Nope.” Lucas laughed. “The technology is a transporter, point A to point B. It won’t turn us into invisible men. We just need to go away for a while until the dust settles, until something else catches the attention of the media. Does your sister still have that place up in the hinterland?”

“Yep.”

“We should give her a call.”

Lucas sang the song to himself. He just couldn’t get her out of his head. Lucas was entering a strange world. And the voices joined in with his singing.

<°)))><

Aaron saw a car appear from the shrubbery just up ahead of them and turn on to the road in the opposite direction. Dust, lifted by the car, momentarily hid the departing vehicle as it drove off.

Mackenzie sat forward in the car, looking for the entrance. “We may need to slow down here, Aaron. The painter guy said the driveway was easy to miss.”

Aaron slowed down. They passed a rusted-out car sitting in a well-grassed paddock. The dust raised by the other car was settling, so he could just make out the driveway the car came from. There was a small break in the greenery, which he pointed out to Mackenzie.

“That could be where that car came out from. Maybe the road leads to a couple of properties,” Aaron said.

“Maybe. It’s close to the painters map. Okay . . . let’s turn up it.”

They passed an old sign lying in the bush and turned into a dirt road. After a short drive an old Federation home came into view.

“Isn’t that place cute, Aaron? “

Aaron wasn’t into cute houses yet. “It has character, Mackenzie.”

She laughed.

Churchie moved in his seat. “This is the place, Aaron.”

Aaron got out of the car and looked around, telling the others to stay put.

The place looked deserted. He sniffed and saw smoke from something smouldering down near a row of trees. Someone had been here recently. Aaron walked up the steps on to the veranda and headed towards the entrance, to be greeted by a large lion’s head holding a brass ring. It seemed out of place for a farmhouse. He lifted the ring and rapped it a few times—the raps returned a booming echo. He didn’t expect anyone to answer; the place had that deserted feel.

Aaron walked to the end of the veranda and stared out towards a shed. He turned towards the others. Churchie was out of the Prado and pointing towards the shed. Aaron came back down the stairs and headed in that direction.

He heard footsteps on the gravel as Mackenzie came up behind him. He would have preferred her to stay back, but maybe she wanted to exorcise some past demons. He told her to stand back while he opened the shed door. He looked in: benches, monitors on the wall, filing cabinets with drawers open. He walked in. He looked inside one of the drawers—empty.

Mackenzie came in behind him. “They’re in that room there, Aaron.”

Aaron looked at the handle. It had a combination and sensor light. “Must be a remote somewhere.”