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distance to the southeast. It was too close to be the lights of Newcastle, and he guessed that it was the paper factory at Prudhoe burning. As he passed the Errington Arms, also boarded up and closed, he entered the dark void heading north, and he thought about the revolution that had swept the country. How unbelievable it would have been twenty years ago to suggest this would be happening now. Although, he conceded to himself, he had witnessed the meltdown over recent years.
    His attention was shocked back to the road by the steady stream of cars he came up behind. The silver fans of headlights and red dot eyes of the tail lights wound over the undulations of the straight road for miles, and Nat hoped that the border was still open for all these people trying to escape. As he followed the convoy, he could see Amber nodding off in the rear view mirror. It reminded him of her early years when he used to angle the mirror so that he could watch her playing or sleeping in the back of the car while he drove. Esme was heavy on his mind, the traffic was a pain, and he ground his teeth in frustration.
    The squeak and whoosh of the wipers was the soundtrack to the journey. The mesmerising view of the white lines flashing into sight through the rain and being devoured in the same instant by his jeep made him drift off, but the wrinkles of the road whipped his concentration back. 
    The straight ribbon of road and lights came to an abrupt end, temporarily, as he came upon the brow of the hill that looks down towards Otterburn. They would be turning left at the crossroads towards Bellingham and Kielder instead of right to Otterburn or straight ahead to the Carter Bar. It was this dark wilderness of the border country in which they would lose themselves. Now, off the main road, the night outside the car was black as death, but the rain had broken and he could see some stars penetrating the churning cloud cover. ‘Good news,’ he thought, drier and lighter for the walk ahead of them.
    They were alone on the road now, and Nat could feel the looming emptiness of Kielder reservoir on his right. He opened his window, and he could feel and smell that cold air, heavy with moisture that comes from a large body of water. He sucked up the fresh, invigorating ether; it normalised the situation.
    After a few short minutes, he saw the lights of a home on the left and the shadowy outline of the stone bridge on the right. He pulled into the side of the road well short of the house and turned the headlights off.
    He turned to Amber, “This is it, lass. C’mon.”
    She nodded and opened her door with a crunch and a creak. Nat jumped down from the driver’s seat. He moved around the front of the Jeep and went to step up on to the grass verge but his foot slipped on the sodden bank, and he tripped and tumbled into the ditch. Amber jumped from the truck and scrambled down to him. When she found him in the dark, he was chortling to himself and had his hand out.
    “Well, help me up then, girl. I’m in this mud like a plug in the bath!”
    She shook her head and laughed. Clapping her hand tight to his, she said,
    “You auld codger - what’ll you do without me around?”
    “We’ll be with you by the time you’re awake in the morning.” 
    Nat wiped himself down, took the pack from his daughter, and they set out in the cold night air, at home and in control. Their eyes were now making use of what light there was and the world of shadows unravelled in front of them step by step.
    The road continued straight for about two hundred yards then veered sharp right over the old stone bridge. Straight ahead at this point was a rough track which led straight past the house that they could see, lights on and occupied.
    Nat whispered to Amber, “Head up the track, but stay in the shadows; we don’t know who’s home, and if they’re nervous, we could end up shot.”
    As they walked along the track, Nat nudged Amber and pointed to the fence on the right. The