赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Together, they had put down the rest of the security around the house. Once they had cleared the yard, Wyatt and Alice decided to get the children moving before more backup arrived.

Alice had kept her eye on the main road, expecting the rev of motorcycles coming from the main house at any moment. But luckily, they never came.

As she and Stefan had done before, Wyatt and the other children stuck to the shadows. It was slower getting around, but they stayed close and had only run into a few people as they made their way across the slums.

The eastern border of Autumn was about a mile past the abandoned clinics of the slums.

These were the only buildings within the slums that were well and truly abandoned. Any doctors of worth had been moved closer to the central city. Those that had tried to help the residents of the slums often found the residents were more desperate for drugs and warm bodies than the aid they offered.

“So,” Wyatt said quietly as they moved slowly between the buildings. “Tomas is gone?”

Alice nodded.

“He lost his ability to control Autumn a while ago, but Roman only discovered it today.”

“That explains the chaos,” he sighed. “Tomas wasn't a great leader. I never agreed with his decisions or the ways of Autumn. But he always kept a firm hold on his wolves.

“Crime and sin may have been commonplace, but it wasn't chaotic. And it didn't leave the borders of Autumn without his say so.”

Alice looked away.

“He saved me,” she said quietly.

Wyatt looked at her.

“He woke me and led me out,” she continued. “But he stayed behind. They were coming for us. He said he would keep them busy as long as he could.”

“Sometimes a good death is all we deserve,” Wyatt said, touching her shoulder.

Alice should have pulled away. She was meant to keep a distance from others. Draw their attention, and gain their affection, but keep a wall between them.

But she didn't. That little whisper in her mind told her that this was alright and welcome.

“I asked him to come with me,” she said. “He told me to let him do one good thing with his life.”

Wyatt nodded.

“I'm glad that in the end, at least, he realized the choices he had made.”

For a while after discussing Tomas, they were quiet. Silently moving between buildings, crossing streets, hiding from the drunks and the motorcycles that revved in the distance.

It wasn't far now; they had reached the clinics. Alice decided they should look inside; it was possible that there were some leftover supplies. Bandages, alcohol, or something to clean the wounds that Wyatt was pretending weren't bothering him.

The red stains on his shirt told a different story.

“Stay put, we'll be right back,” she told the children as she shut the door to one of the cleaner exam rooms they had found.

It was easier for Wyatt and Alice to do a quick search of the building.

Alice had been chewing her bottom lip for a few minutes now, Wyatt had noticed.

“Is there something on your mind?” Wyatt asked.

Alice looked up at him, she swallowed her nerves.

“How do we know each other?” she asked. “Who are you?”

“Do you not know me at all?” Wyatt asked, his brows knitted with concern.

Alice looked at him carefully. An image came to mind, his plaited hair tied up like a crown on his head in a flash of snow. But no words, no thoughts, no memories of who this man was. Only a feeling, a whisper from the soft voice in her mind. A promise that he was someone important to her.

“No,” she said.

Wyatt sighed.

“I'm not sure how much I should say,” he replied. “From what I understand, it is dangerous to share with you the memories you can't access yourself.”

‘Fuck… you're fracturing….' Tomas's words came to her mind.

“I'm fracturing…” she whispered more to herself than to him.

It explained the pain in her head, the strange and random images or memories she had been experiencing.

This was bad.

“Alice,” Wyatt whispered, touching her shoulder. “I can't explain how we know each other. All I can say is that we do. You are someone significant to me. You are a member of my family.”

Alice furrowed her brows and swallowed down a lump in her throat.

Family.

That word caused a mixed reaction in her heart. Panic, fear, and profound anxiety. At the same time, warmth and longing.

“Since you are leaving Autumn, I think it is time you go where you belong,” he continued.

“Where I belong?” she asked.

Wyatt smiled.

“Winter,” he said. “That is the home that waits for you.”

Alice swallowed, her heart beat harder, and she felt something strange. Was this hope?

They continued searching the building. In the end they did find several unused and clean bandages, as well as an unopened bottle of alcohol and a few bottles of water.

Alice forced Wyatt to sit down and let her dress his wounds. He had two deep cuts, one along his ribs and one on his back. He needed a hospital, but for now, this would hold until they reached Winter.

Alice smiled as she packed the rest of the bandages and supplies in a small bag. Finally, she had somewhere to go.

Wyatt gathered the children, and they all left the clinic together. The last mile of their escape was almost done, and the watershed was in sight.

Alice laughed as the children hurried along ahead of them. She gave the bag of supplies to Stefan, reminding him where the keys were hidden. He hurried after the others.

Wyatt held the rear, she turned to him, the smile still on her face.

“We're almost there,” she said.

Wyatt nodded.

“We'll be home soon, Alice.”

Wyatt smiled brightly, and then, a second too late, he heard it. The whistle on the wind. His eyes widened, and then fell to his stomach.

Alice screamed when she saw the arrow that had exploded from his abdomen. She ran to him, catching him as he began to stumble. She managed to keep him on his feet.

Wyatt put his arm around her shoulder. They moved as quickly as they could, but he felt the weakness spreading in his body.

The watershed wasn't far.

“Not much further, come on, you can do it,” she whispered as she felt his body starting to grow heavier.

“Please….” He whispered. “Please, take me home…”

“Yep, that's the plan. You and me getting home to Winter. So, stick to the plan!” she replied, pushing him against the side of the watershed for support.

“Home?” a familiar voice called out.

A voice that froze Alice in place. That chilled her spine and dropped a weighted ball into her stomach.

“The only home for you, Alice, is with me.”