Shadow Cave (17 page)

“
Sure, ok
ay
.
”
Faith gave me one last searching look before she turned away and started down the ridge toward the cabin.
I was about to follow her when a faint shimmer down below caught my eye.

“
Faith, wait.
”

“
Yes?
”

“
What
’
s that?
”
I inquired, peering hard into the town below for a better look.

“
What?
”

“
That shimmer…
it
’
s
almost glowing.
Look
—
it wraps around the town, and goes out to the west there.
”

Faith turned to me with a look of total confusion and apprehension.

“
You mean you don
’
t know what that is?
”

“
No.
”
I glanced from
the illumination below
and back to Faiths astonished face, wondering what I had gotten myself into now.

Faith was silent for nearly a full minute before she slapped me lightly on the shoulder and laughed.
“
Oh, you almost had me going, Claire.
”
She pressed a hand to her flat stomach and tried to catch her breath.
“
Everyone knows what those are.
”

Yeah, everyone but me
, I thought.
But I immediately decided that the best course of action for the moment was to play along.
I laughed with her, although the sound was a bit awkward even to my own ears.

“
That
’
s right.
I was just playing with you.
Of course I know what those are.
Well
....
”
I thrust my hands deep into my pockets.
“
We had better be getting back now.
I
’
m ready to go if you are.
”
I congratulated myself on my quick thinking
...e
xcept Faith was no longer laughing
.

“
You really don
’
t know, do you?
”

“
No
,
”
I admitted.

“
But how is that possible?
”

I sighed.
“
You would never believe it.
”
I threw my hands up in a helpless gesture.
“
Hell, I
’
m living it and I am not even sure if I believe it sometimes.
”

Faith shook her head, and I could tell that she was trying to work through the possible explanations in her mind.

“
It
’
s a long story.
”

“
I would like to hear it.
”

I nodded.
“
That
’
s fair enough.
”

“
Come on, let
’
s get you cleaned up.
I
’
ll make a pot of coffee while you bathe and get changed
,
and then we can talk.
”

“
You have coffee?
”

“
Yes?
”

I grinned.
“
Maybe this place isn
’
t so bad after all.
”

“
What?
”
Faith smiled hesitantly.

“
Like I said
—
it
’
s a long story.
”

“
Right…
.
”

***

An hour later, I was sitting
cross-legged
on what was, hands down, the most comfortable bed I had ever known.
I set my borrowed hairbrush aside when Faith walked in carrying what appeared to be an armload of girl supplies
and
set the oversized serving caddy on the bedside table.
I nearly cried tears of joy when I saw the pot of fresh coffee, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, and dishes of sugar and cream.

“
Where
’
s Bill?
”

“
He went to bed
,
”
she
explained while she poured the steaming coffee into white porcelain mugs.

“
I guess Wilson went to bed too?
”

“
Wilson?
”

“
Your dog.
I didn
’
t know what else to call him.
”

“
Oh.
His name is Bear.
He
’
s a friendly thing
,
isn
’
t he?
He just wandered out of the woods one day and found us a couple of years ago.
He
’
s been here ever since.
”

“
Well, I sure am glad he found me today.
”

Faith nodded.
“
So, do the clothes fit?
”

I picked at the purple knit top and matching pajama bottoms.

“
They fit pretty well. Thanks.
It
’
s good to be clean again.
You have no idea!
”
I quickly shut my mouth and Faith looked away.
I
’
m pretty sure she didn
’
t realize the graphic truth of that statement
,
unless Faith had ever been covered in a stranger
’
s blood, which I seriously doubted.
Either way, the enormity of the situation was suddenly too hard to ignore.

“
I didn
’
t know what to do with the clothes
.
”

“
The clothes
...
.
”
Faith stopped in
mid-sentence
.
“
Oh.
”

“
I turned then inside out and set them in the sink.
”

“
Right.
”
She swallowed and then gave me a look that was part reassurance and part sympathy.
“
I can wash them for you
, or
I could take you shopping.
You could even take something of mine.
”

“
Well, I don
’
t want to be an inconvenience, Faith.
”
How I managed to say that with a straight face, I will never know.

“
It
’
s fine Claire, really.
I mean, I don
’
t think I can get all the stains out of your clothes.
”

As arguments went, that one was pretty convincing.
She had a point.
Even if the outfit was clean, it would still be horribly stained.
I would attract attention anywhere I went.
And asking Faith to wash my bloody jeans and t-shirt was no way to thank her for the hospitality she and Bill had shown me.
Washing them in her machine or sink was not much better.
I hopped up
,
walked into the small bathroom off the guest room
,
and dumped the wadded up clothing into the
wastebasket
.
“
You
’
re right.
Problem solved.
”

“
We can get you something new tomorrow if you feel up to a little shopping.
”

I hesitated.
“
I don
’
t think I have any money
,
”
I warned her.
I also needed to be on my way as soon as possible.
Yet it would undoubtedly be helpful to get a guided tour of the town before striking out on my own.

“
What do you mean
,
you don
’
t think you have money?
”

“
I think it might be better just to show you
,
”
I admitted with a sigh. I pulled my bag onto the bed and unzipped the top.
Then I spilled the contents in front of me on the bed.
Faith sat down and stared at the small pile before raising baffled eyes to me.

“
What is all this?
”

She gingerly picked up the dollar bills and coins for closer inspection.
She picked up the gun next, with the barrel pointing towards her chest.
I reached out and swiftly but carefully removed the loaded gun from her hand.

“
Be careful with that.
It
’
s loaded.
”

Her brow furrowed.
“
What is it?
”

“
It
’
s a gun.
”
I was thoroughly shocked that she had never seen one before.
Everyone knew what a gun was.
Didn
’
t they?
Faiths blank expression quickly dispelled that notion.

“
It
’
s a weapon
,
”
I explained.
“
Like a knife or a sword.
You know what those are, right?
”

“
Yes, I know what knives are.
I
’
ve seen swords, too.
”

“
Ok
ay
, well, this is sort of like that.
You put the bullets in
,
”
I flipped the chamber open,
“
like this.
And then,
”
I snapped it closed,
“
You aim at your target and pull the trigger.
The trigger is this thing right here.
”

She nodded, focused on the impromptu lesson.

“
That causes the bullet to shoot out through the opening right here.
”
I pointed to the tip of the weapon.
“
It hits the target.
Sometimes the bullet shoots completely through the target.
Other times it stays in and bounces around or lodges somewhere.
”

“
Oh.
”

“
Think of it as a…
.
”
I struggled for an adequate comparison.
“
Think of it as a really dangerous metal slingshot.
”

“
That makes sense, I guess
,
”
she
agreed.
“
Can you kill someone with it?
”

“
You can, yes.
”

“
Where did you find it?
And what
’
s that?
”

She was pointing at the money again.

“
Money,
”
I explained simply.
“
Where I come from, this is money.
”

Faith held a bill up and examined it before gently setting it back down.

“
I don
’
t know what to say, Claire.
There are so many questions.
Where are you from?
I have never seen most of this stuff before in my life.
”
She gestured to the pile.

“
Seattle.
It
’
s a city in the state of Washington.
”

“
I don
’
t know where that is.
It must be pretty far.
”