"Heress!!!" Alice screamed, as she awoke from her nightmare. That's right, it was all a nightmare. It had to be. Alice wasn't really gone. She couldn't be? "I remember everything now. Heress, I finally remember. So please, say something. Anything." Tears started to trickle as she spoke.
The nurse rushed in, fearing Alice was in danger. Relieved to see it was nothing, she said, with a relaxing smile, "You're awake."
Alice completely ignored her presence. "She's really gone," Alice whimpered. She turned to the nurse, "I'm alone again. I've lost it," she wept.
The nurse was perplexed at the current scenario. "You're not alone, Alice. Your parents are still here. And some of your friends dropped by earlier this morning, on their way to school," Alice was surprised to hear that. "You see, you're not alone," the nurse said warmly.
But Alice wasn't surprised that they came, she was surprised that they knew. It happened the night before and they came the morning that followed. How did they know? Unless they were watching her? And if they were, why didn't they help her? Why didn't they save Heress? So many questions ran through Alice's head and she finally resigned to her bed. "Thank you," Alice said and the nurse replied with a gentle smile. Her parents walked into the ward. Alice was relieved to see that they were okay. "Dad, mum, I'm so sorry," Alice whimpered. They were more than delighted to see her. And for the first time, she called Miriam, mum.
***
After school, Kiro and Lucas headed to the hospital, but were told that Alice and her family had already left. Auron was still yet to return. She had informed them that she'd be back that day or the day after, so they had to carry on without her. "Alice did say I should give this to you, if you were to come back." The nurse said, as she handed them a folded piece of paper. The paper contained information of where they were headed. They had lodged into a hotel and would be there for a week, while their house was under repair. The hotel wasn't too far, so it didn't take long to get there, especially since Lucas brought his car. Auron called it a war machine. It was a hummer and she found it ugly, so did everyone else however. As they got to the hotel, the receptionist directed them to Alice's room. It was right beside her parents'. Hardly had they knocked on the door than she had jumped on them. They didn't even have time to react after she hurriedly opened the door. It came as a surprise. Alice jumped to hug them. She must have been really down.
"I'm so glad to see you. Let's go somewhere, I'm tired of this environment," Alice said.
"Even though you just got here? That's interesting," Kiro teased. "Where's your matchbox then?"
"Nah, let's drive there. You brought your truck, right?" Alice asked. She still wasn't sure she wanted them to know yet, that Heress had disappeared.
"Yep, my sweet ride," Lucas gloated. Sadly, he seemed to be the only one that thought so. It wasn't old, it was just far from fancy. Very far in fact.
"That ugly hunk of metal?" Alice laughed. No one saw it as anything more than that really. But to be fair, it was a hummer and they weren't the prettiest. But they sure had their uses.
"See, even Alice thinks it's ugly," Kiro goads.
"You two don't have a car, so you have no right to complain," Lucas pouted. "So, where are we going?"
"The lake side," Alice replied, emphatically.
"Oh, is this a date?" Lucas teased.
"Sure. And you're our chauffeur," Alice replied, locking her arms around Kiro's. Kiro blushed for a moment.
"I just had to open my big mouth," Lucas groaned. Not that his complaints meant much. "The boss was back," he thought. He drove them to bank of the town river, 'the lake side'. Alice had hogged the back seat for herself and Kiro. She really wasn't joking about the chauffeur thing apparently. After a few minutes, he finally gave them some alone time. "You guys can find your way back, I guess. You've got wings and a teleporting machine," Lucas teased.
"Teleporter," Kiro corrected. "Are you okay? You seem different," Kiro asked after Lucas had left.
"I remember everything. I remember us. Them. Heron and Heress," Alice blushed. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because, I didn't want you thinking you owed me something."
"But you knew I'd find out."
"Better than telling you. So, what do you remember, that you think we should know? Like what happened last night."
"I'll let you all know when we're all present. Right now, I just want to spend time with you," Alice said, as she held on to his arm. They sat in front of the river, staring at the ripples on the surface, Alice's head on Kiro's shoulder. And that scenery triggered one of Heress's memories. A memory of herself and Heron, in the same position, sitting on a mountain cliff staring far into the horizon. Not thinking of anything. Basking in the light of each other's company. And she said, as tears trickled down her cheeks, "I love you, Heron. I always will. Kiro looked at her, surprised. But not because of what she had said, but because of what he saw in her eyes. He knew for sure, that the person who uttered those words were none other than Heress!
***
Auron arrived at the airport, with the crew that were with her in the tomb. No sooner than they about parting ways, did Kai grab a hold of Auron's hand. "Our deal is settled. Alice no longer has her powers. She's unhurt but I can't say the same for Heress. We had to take her out. We're even now," he said.
"Fine. As long as Alice is unhurt, I'm okay. But there will be no more deals between us after this. Remember that," Auron replied.
"Fine, my beautiful Liana. Stay safe. For the hunter will return, no matter what you do to try to stop it."