In all of their conversation, Marie had forgotten about her husband. He was easily enough forgotten, but if she were to get out of this house, she would need him to do it; he had grown up in this area after all. It was important they get back to their car and get those cellulars.
She walked down the small corridor on the other side of the kitchen. There were two doors to the left and one to the right. Evan had pointed to the one on the right. She thought that perhaps if she opened one of the other doors, she might find some sort of woods creature there to devour her. It wasn’t unreasonable considering where she was and the charms of their gracious host. He is an odd one.
The door opened with a creak, and she found David sprawled on a small mattress. He was asleep, but he would not stay that way for long. Marie shook and rolled her husband but it did no good. The man wouldn’t wake.
Bruises littered his body, and she saw he was missing a few of his teeth. She cupped his face with her hand and sighed. The sheets were blood-soaked, ruined for all good purpose. Marie thought to compensate Evan for them, but the hermit didn’t likely have a need for money.
David moaned, his eyes two slits. Here was her chance.
“David. David, honey. We need to get out of here. Can you walk?”
“There’s the ice cream stand. Where’s my dollar? I can’t find my dollar!”
“David, what? What ice cream stand?”
“The ice cream stand. Where’s my dollar?”
Wonderful. The two of them would obviously be here for a while. Marie cursed her luck. Why did life have to be so complicated? Couldn’t she just go to dinner and then get back home without all of this?
The eerie creaking of a door in the corridor made her turn. A blonde girl of no more than ten stood in the doorway looking at her inquisitively. Marie was taken aback.
“Oh, well hello there. What’s your name, sweetie?”
The girl off and ran down the hall. Marie stumbled off the bed to follow her, her hip burning each time her leg pounded into the ground. The tiny blonde head scurried out the door into the darkness.
Marie waddled to the aged door, the chilling wind biting as it came pouring into the house. She could feel the cold eating at her skin, pressing in on her ravenous. It was not the first time she had felt such cold that night, and neither did she believe it to be the last time. The chill fought with the warmth of the fire creating a torrent that took her breath from her.
She took a step into the wet snow, her feet sinking up to the ankle. It was the first time she had stepped in such a deepness, and it held her hostage until she found the strength to move forward.
The girl’s small footsteps were easily enough traceable; the snow was not filling in that quickly. Marie looked down carefully at the tiny impressions. She could see toes. My god, she thought, the girl isn’t wearing any shoes.
The trail led her to Evan’s workshop. A rather fragile-looking thing it appeared, not something one would normally call a workshop, although how many of those had she actually seen in her lifetime?
Marie trudged forward to the workshop’s peeling door , determined to see the child was all right. When she opened the creaking mass, Evan appeared with the girl, holding her in his arms. The girl’s tears were frozen on her cheeks.
“You poor thing!” Marie said as she came to the girl’s side. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She was just frightened.” Evan swept the hair back from his daughter’s face and wiped a tear away with his large dirty thumb. “Maya’s the only thing I have left here besides my work.”
“Oh.” Marie tried to sympathize with the stranger, but it was an unusual feeling. “I’m sorry. Is her mother… dead?”
“Might as well be for all the good she is.”
“May I ask what happened-- never mind, it is unimportant.” She hesitated as if in thought. “David will be out of it for a while. I need those cellulars. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of where you found our car. We really should get to a hospital.”
“If you plan to go back, I should go with you. Winter nights such as these are made to kill pretty ladies like yourself.”
“No, it’s not necessary. You carried us all the way back here--”
“Which is why I should go. I know the way well after two trips.”
Evan grabbed two large wool coats from the main house and gave one to Marie. Maya had gone back to her room to wait until they returned. Marie followed Evan into the trees, sure the snow would devour her whole.
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