Two days to go and I have an unusual excerpt from Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller for you. Now, instead of you reading it, I'm going to recommend you listen to it on the video, with background footage I took up at Vlamingh Head in Western Australia.

Of course, I'll give you an excerpt of this drifting chapter, too, in case you're on a crowded train without headphones, reading this on your phone, and you don't want my Aussie accent heard by a hundred other commuters…

Chapter 3

The sibilance of sound as his voice spoke in endless waves. Sentences ebbed and flowed in the dark – always the same ones with slight variations.

Sssssorry…

“Caitlin, I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner.”

“Stole a shirt from a corpse. Stuck it on you. Sorry…”

“So sorry…”

“Sorry I didn't…”

Sssssafe…

“It's okay, angel, you're safe.”

“Safe in hospital, where you belong.”

“You're safe now. They can't hurt you.”

“I'll keep you safe, Caitlin. I swear…”

“Shh, it's okay, you're safe now.”

Sssssshe…

“She's the same age as you. I couldn't let them…”

“She said she knew who'd killed her.”

“She's all I have left. Please…”

“After a few drinks, she wanted to leave, so we made it to the back seat of my car before she…”

“She was my twin…”

“She must've spiked my drink…”

Sssssssister…

“My twin sister…”

“The only sister I have left…”

“Said, ‘Are you sure you didn't get the sister instead? We'll call him Chris, just in case… ‘”

“Please, wake up and help me save my sister.”

“Said it'd remind me of the sister I didn't want them to take. You or her, he said…”

“Do you know what it's like to lose a sister?”

Sssssshhhhhould've…

“I should've tried to help you sooner…”

“Should've known she seemed strange…”

“Should've grabbed you before she did and run…”

“Should've known…”

Ssssorry…

“Sorry. Caitlin, I'm so sorry.”

Surfacing to sound, before submerging in darkness once more. Sorry. Slipping… sinking… from safety to screaming nightmares.

Shit.