To Cut Blood Ties

Chapter 29: Healing and Waiting

October 27, 2016

Tucson, Arizona

5:14am

Alice wobbled a bit as she waited for the coffee maker to be ready for her. Her strength had not yet had come back to her and she was still struggling with menial tasks such as standing. She had tried to stay silent over the past couple weeks since waking up, refusing to talk about what had happened that fateful night. Mostly because she didn't really understand what had happened. Every time she closed her eyes she was haunted by the shocked, bloodied expression on George's face. And whenever she was awake, she was constantly reminded how weak she was and the faces of Marjorie and Tom were nightmares themselves, as it was indirectly her fault that they had been cursed.

The machine beeped several times and she set up her cup before pouring coffee, letting a small smile grace her lips at the smell. It was one of her few joys left, it reminded her of summers and training without any of the drama that swirled around her now. She hobbled over to the living room, settling down on the couch and pulling out her notebook. With various contacts and research she had been keeping a tab on the Oswald soldiers, they were scouring Phoenix and Paradise Valley, trying to find where she had gone. They assumed due to her injuries that she would have been able to travel far on her own. They had checked with some of those that she had been personally close to, to see if she would have taken refuge with them. But of course they had fallen short and Marjorie and Tom had fallen off the map since becoming cursed and therefore they couldn't be checked, but Alice suspected that Marie was already leading a charge to try and find them.

Alice scribbled notes on a piece of paper as she looked over information, she was so focused that she didn't notice that Tom had walked into the room and settled across from her. He waited for a few minutes to see if she would respond, when she didn't he cleared his throat. Alice hid her shock well, simply looking up with her eyebrows raised. The action was more out of muscle memory than anything now, since waking up she had discovered that she could no longer see anything out of her left eye and her right was so blurry that she could barely make out shapes but no details. She was still hiding this fact, hoping that as soon as she painted the setogram back on that her vision would go back to normal.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Alice asked, going back to scrolling through the papers.

"Not long. Are you still trying to track the soldiers' movements?" he asked.

"Yes, once I am able to get my strength back, I need to know where they are," Alice pointed out. "I am also trying to keep an eye out for any thing about rogue animals. My brother's familiar is still out there and once I step outside, she will track me. I'm just trying to avoid that for as long as possible."

"What about your father's familiar?" Tom asked.

Alice raised her head again, seeing the blurred outline of his ginormous shape. "I didn't kill my father, and whoever did probably took care of Count so that they wouldn't have to worry about him hunting them down. In all honesty, I would rather deal with a lynx over a chimpanzee. Katie isn't going to be easy to avoid or fend off."

"Your strength will be back fully in a few weeks," a raspy voice said behind Alice, "Sooner if you want to be helpful."

"Marj," Tom snapped. This was a roundabout argument that had been happening almost everyday since she had woken up. Quiet a first due to the fact that she was so injured she couldn't exactly leave. But as the days had blended into weeks and she was able to support herself better, Marjorie had made it clear that she didn't like the houseguest.