“And the dog . . . I think he’s a very dangerous dog. If you decided to venture out there without me, you could be in a spot of bother.”

He seemed to have switched back to the other person. Mackenzie nodded her head in agreement. She had a quick thought of Jethro and wished she was back at her old home. She decided the next time that other person visited, she was going to rebuke the spirit in the name of Jesus.

<°)))><

The police tracked the Ford Taurus to a 24-hour car park. It was a hire vehicle. The police dusted the vehicle for fingerprints.

A man with what looked like a shiny briefcase stepped into the train carriage on Platform six at Central Station. This was Lucas’s idea. He reckoned they would be on the lookout for the car so he told Tag to catch a train back.

Tag sat down and made himself comfortable for the two-hour trip. He would call Lucas near the end of the trip to come and collect him. He assumed the transfer went well. It was a favour for Lucas, because he desperately wanted that girl. The technology would be out of their hands in a few days so Lucas had wanted to do the last transfer on the girl.

Tag hoped Lucas’s spaced-out behaviour was wearing off.

<°)))><

The kitchen had a small wooden table painted green, and four heavy wooden chairs sat tucked in under the table. Lucas dragged out one of the chairs and told Mackenzie to take a seat.

“Cup of tea or coffee?” A picture of a cow’s face on a tea coaster smiled up at her.

Mackenzie looked around the kitchen. She noticed a knife block near the fridge. Could she do that? No, too dangerous.

“My name’s Lucas and yours, I know, is Mackenzie. I would really like you to get to know me Mackenzie. I know these circumstances aren’t the best for starting a relationship, but I do believe that we’re meant to be together. This may sound crazy to you, but I hear voices in my head. They told me that we’re going to be together and I believe them.”

Mackenzie listened and spoke silently to her Lord.

“I’m going to go into town and get some stuff for tonight. Now, I trust you, Mackenzie. There’s no phone in the house, and don’t try and befriend the dog because he will attack and probably kill you, so please don’t do anything stupid.”

Lucas started walking out of the kitchen and turned back to Mackenzie. “One other thing. You won’t be able to transfer yourself back—the device is now password protected.” He learned that lesson after the Rev transferred himself. “So we can receive but can’t send unless you know the password, and I’m not going to tell you that unless you are nice to me.’’

He walked off, chuckling.

<°)))><

She watched the crazy man drive off.

Mackenzie walked to the back door and stood there. She started to open the door and heard the dog barking. She closed the door. The dog stood there, looking up at Mackenzie, eyes shining, teeth glowing and mouth frothing.

Mackenzie searched the house for something to feed the dog with, but couldn’t find anything. Okay, dog, you win. This time I won’t come out. She walked back down to the bedroom and started picking up her handbag items from the floor. The photo of Aaron and Paul had her crying. She got up, sat on the bed and wiped her tears. “Please Lord, help me.”

She looked at the transfer device. There were lights flickering. She opened the case and saw the password prompt. Should she turn the device off? Best leave it for now.

Mackenzie walked out of the bedroom and closed the door, headed back to the kitchen, found herself a glass and poured some water. She looked out the window and saw a tractor in the distance, ploughing the land, dust rising. Was there any way she could get the driver’s attention? Maybe set fire to the house?

She sat down. It was deathly quiet. She got up, opened a window and was greeted by a bark and growl. How quick is this dog? She sat down again. Lord, please help, I’m frightened. What was that noise? She looked around and saw a bird sitting on the window ledge. It was calling out to someone. She gave a nervous smile. Silence returned.

Thump. What was that? It was loud and came from down the passageway. A dull sound, like something had fallen onto the carpet. In the silence, she was sure she heard a creak. And then another. A door was being opened.

She got up silently, walked over to the knife rack, found the largest knife, and concealed herself behind the kitchen door. She stood there, shaking. The mirror under the clock reflected the passageway.

Someone was moving in the passageway, coming towards the kitchen. They stopped and pushed open a door, Mackenzie thought maybe that was the bathroom door. They were looking for something. Back in the passageway again, the mirror picked them up.

Mackenzie was shaking uncontrollably now. She screamed. “Who’s there?”

A voice came back. “Mackenzie . . . is that you?”

Aaron?

Chapter 34

AARON CAUTIOUSLY ENTERED THE room. Mackenzie burst into his arms.

Aaron looked around. “Are you by yourself?”

“Yes . . . the crazy man has gone to buy some things from the local shops.”

“He went shopping and left you here?”

Mackenzie hugged Aaron even tighter. “He’s crazy, Aaron . . . I think he’s in some kind of psychotic state. He’s living in another world.” She pushed back and looked up at Aaron. “How did you get here?”

“I have access to the technology, Kenz. I have one of their devices.”

“But how?”

“The Rev gave me a security card that gave me access to where one of the devices was stored. I think he got the keycard off the minister when they spent their confinement time back at the property. But we can talk more on this later. I need to get us out of here.”

“We can’t use the technology. You need a password for the device. There is a mighty mean dog out there. I searched for food to pacify him but the place is bare.”

“Pity about the technology. That’s what I was planning to do. Mean dog . . . no food?” Aaron walked over to the kitchen window. The dog soon made its presence known. A nice pat wasn’t going to work here. “Do you know if the man has a rifle or something in the house?

“I haven’t seen anything . . . besides, I wouldn’t let you shoot a dog.”

Aaron looked at her, still a loving spirit no matter what the circumstances. He thought of something he saw in the bathroom. “Kenz, I have an idea.” She followed him back to the bathroom. He pointed to the net hanging from the ceiling. “This caught my attention when I looked in here before. I think we could throw it over the dog. It may not hold him, but should give us enough time to get out.”

Aaron pulled the net down. Bits of plaster floated down from the holes left in the ceiling. It was a good-sized net and more than enough to entangle the dog. He placed the net on the kitchen table.

“Let’s go to the front door and see how far we’re going to have to sprint.”

They came back to the kitchen with a clear view of what they had to do. “Okay, Kenz. I’m going to distract the dog around the back and when I yell, you run to that gate. You’ll have plenty of time because I’ll throw the net over it, then come and join you.”

“You sure this will work, Aaron?”

“It will, Kenz. Either way, you’ll get free and I’ll be okay. I can look after myself.” Aaron walked over and gave her a hug.

“Okay, go to the front door. Make sure you can open it. Give me a yell when you’re ready.”

Aaron watched her walk off. She looked back, giving him a nervous smile. He got the net off the table and gave it a good look over—the rope was thick and heavy, and he was surprised it stayed hanging from the ceiling. There were no tangles. He felt confident that it would do the trick.

“I’m ready, Aaron.”