I sucked in a deep breath, still rattled by seeing Thomas yesterday and now by Henry's somewhat unexpected question. I tried to be as clinical about it as possible. Bears weren't known for being emotional, except when we were angry, but that didn't mean that we didn't feel things just as deeply as anyone else. In fact, sometimes I wondered if we actually felt things deeper, we just kept it to ourselves. “I had a family, unfortunately they all died and then my wife was in the same accident as Thomas." I sighed, trying to alleviate some of the pain in my chest before I continued. "I’ve failed his son. The pack is aimless, wild. Nathan has lost his way, and I should’ve helped him.” It was hard to meet her gaze, or Henry’s quiet one. “I’ve failed Thomas.”
“Okay,” Alice said in a soft voice. “I’ll help you.”
She walked over to the rock and climbed carefully up. Her t-shirt was plastered with animal cartoons on the back and said something about a 5k run for a local shelter and it was tucked into her jeans which in turn were tucked into her hiking boots. At least she'd come prepared for the terrain.
Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, the auburn locks shining in the sun, looking more red than the normal brown. She had a natural, no-makeup-required beauty which matched her no nonsense attitude. Henry held out a hand to help her step over the rough surface. She went to the area where Thomas had appeared. I wondered if it was something she could instinctively feel? I didn’t know. Honestly, I had no idea how her gifts worked.
I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing, but she turned her head sharply to look at me squinting her dark eyes as she said, “Shh.”
Okay, then. I stepped back and clamped my lips shut, shoving my hands in my pockets so I didn’t fidget too much, and just watched.
Once Henry had Alice settled on the rock, he walked away and stood beside me. “Isn’t she amazing?” he asked quietly. He wasn't a particularly emotive person, but even I could see the love shining in his eyes. I wondered if they'd said the L-word yet? If not then they were fooling themselves that that wasn't what this was.
I wasn’t sure what to call Alice's skills since she just sat there, legs crossed, eyes closed… not really doing anything. But these things weren’t always visible, like Emma's powers, so for all I knew she was communing with all the dead spirits in the land.
That was probably a long list. This could take a while.
Henry and I backed away and found a moss covered log to sit on, not too far away. After a few minutes, Henry pulled a bag out of the small pouch around his waist. I’d been wondering what he had in there.
“Cucumber?” he asked, and held out the bag. It held slices of cucumber.
Well, I didn’t want to be rude. “Thanks.”
What an odd snack to have in his fanny pack. I wondered if it was just filled with snacks? That didn't seem quite like him though, I figured there'd be bandages and anti itch creams or something as well, just in case. I knew Henry liked to be prepared.
As if he’d seen me staring curiously at the cucumber slice between my fingers, he explained. “They’re full of water. As long as you keep them from getting crushed, they’re a nice snack on a hike.” He held the baggie out in my direction once more.
I grunted and took another. “Good idea.”
If they hadn’t been warm, they would’ve actually been refreshing.
By the time Alice opened her eyes, we’d gone through Henry’s cucumbers and a small bag of chocolate chips. Who just carried around chocolate chips? Also they were starting to melt.
“Are chocolate chips good for something on a hike?” I asked as I took a small handful. I had to lick my fingers after popping them in my mouth because of the sticky chocolate.
He shrugged. “I just like them.”
“Okay,” Alice said as she relaxed and shook out her hands. From the way she was moving it looked like she'd been tense the entire time she was doing...whatever it was she was doing.
Henry rushed forward when Alice lurched to the side. She was still sitting on the rock, but if she’d been standing she might’ve actually fallen over. My stomach turned at the thought. “Alice,” he cried as he reached her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat and fixed her gaze on me as I walked toward them. “There was a spirit here. An air of…” She sucked in a deep breath. “Worry.” But then she shook her head. “No. More than worry. The spirit was concerned enough to try to cross over. To warn someone. Whatever the warning is, you should take it seriously.” She focused on me, furrowing her brow. “Very seriously.” She reminded me of an angry school teacher.
I nodded. I'd suspected something like that. “Is there any way to know what he was trying to warn me about?”
She shook her head. “No. Unless he tries to cross over again, there’s no way.”
“Can I try to get to him?” I asked.
Again, she shook her head. “I tried. He’s gone, at peace. He only broke his rest to warn you.”
“Thank you.” I shook both of their hands and they smiled and nodded at me. I thanked them again just to be sure that they understood how appreciative I was, especially after Alice had nearly fallen. “Do you want me to walk you down the trail?”
Henry shook his head and showed me a second, bigger pack on his side I hadn’t noticed before. “We’re going to keep hiking a while. I’ve got more snacks.”
I chuckled. “Okay. If you ever need a favor in return, you know where to find me.”
After they headed higher up into the mountains, I made my way back down the trail to my truck and headed for town. I had a lot to think about, trying to figure out what Thomas had wanted me to know.
