Miles to Go

CHAPTER SEVEN - THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

It was dark and cold when Alice woke up. She struggled to open her eyes, embracing the darkness around her. She felt claustrophobic in the small space. She wanted to scream out for help, or something....Was she dead? Did the Black Hood kidnap her? Where was she? The latch behind her opened and a bright light poured in. She winced at the light and felt herself being pulled out of darkness, the metal tray she laid on moving rapidly. The light was so bright that it took her a moment to process what was happening to her. A cold hand caressed her face and tilted it to the side. She looked up at him, the smell of his rotting flesh wafting in the air. Yet somehow she wasn't affected by it. His eyes were greyer now, the blood oozing out of his neck still fresh.

"Hi baby." the corpse spoke to her.

"Hal?" her voice was dry. He slid a hand under her back and he lifted her up to a sitting position. Was this....was she in a morgue?

"Am I..." she began, looking around her, "Am I dead?"

"No, you're just passed out." She slid her legs off the tray and felt her feet touch the ground. He helped her off the tray, holding onto her forearms. "Come on, I want to show you something." She saw a door opening behind them, leading into somewhere in the dark. He took her hand and led her out of the metal room, out into the darkness.

Although the hallway was mostly in the dark, Alice could make out that she was at the station, going down the hall past Keller's office. Why would Hal take her this way? Were they going back out to her desk? Was he taking her back to FP? They stopped in front of a door and he opened it. He looked back to her and bent his head in an odd way. He turned back and led her through.

They were in his Sharebnb. The living room area looked clean....except for the walls. The walls on her left were streaked in blood, and on her right.....the walls were filled were newspaper clippings, and photos, all connected through pinned strings....items that looked oddly familiar to her. He stopped and allowed her to go towards his collage.

"You recognize these?" his voice was deeper than before, than she remembered. Alice had to take time to examine these items.....why did they look so familiar? Then it hit her.

"It's my evidence from the Jason Blossom case." she said, reaching out for one of the strings. Why was all of this here? What was he trying to show her? She remembered the Black Hood sending these items back to her, but it never occurred to her why. Then she remembered - the Isaac Watts poem.

"You stole this, didn't you?" Alice turned back to him. He made no response, his face never changed. He continued to stare at her with those dead eyes. She wanted to march over to him and slap him. She wanted to kick, scream, yell....yet she stay composed, unable to move.

"Why did you do that?" she asked calmly. Again, he said nothing. Finally having the strength to move, Alice walked over to him and cupped his face.

"What happened to you, Hal? You stole my evidence....you slept with Penelope Blossom.....what are you hiding from me?" He looked at her, and she could see the remorse in his eyes. Then, he reached his hands up and touched her face, and he violently pulled her closer to him. She yelped as he leaned in towards her ear.

"These woods are lovely and dark and deep," he whispered to her in a harsh voice, "but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep....And miles to go before I sleep."

She blinked. Why was he quoting Robert Frost? What was he trying to tell her? He pulled back slightly to brush her hair away from her eyes.

"You can figure this out, Alice. I know you can." his voice encouraged her. She tried to speak, to ask what it meant, but before she could, he kissed her. He tasted of stale blood and dying flowers, but his lips were soft and warm. She found herself responding to the kiss and tugged him closer by his shirt. She missed him. She kept her eyes closed as their lips parted.