Corner of the Hill

Chapter 48 - Under the Fir Tree

"That was absolute bullshit!" Henry kicked his suitcase down the steps of the chapel, outside of the building.

Ala said nothing. She only stood there with her hands balled up in fists in her pockets and her own suitcase at her side. None of it made any sense. That holy woman insisting she knew nothing and refusing to answer simple questions, it didn't add up, not with whatever the truth was.

"What kind of church is this?! They just kick people out because what? They start asking questions?!" Henry yelled at the two men that escorted them out before they slammed the doors in his face.

He growled in frustration before turning around and heading back to the steps. He squatted down and took a seat on the steps before running his hands through his hair. He looked up at Ala who was using her cap to hide the top half of her face. Her demeanor was still and silent as the sky before a storm.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this. I can promise you that, nothing is over yet-"

"We have to go back," Ala finally spoke. Her voice was calm.

"I'm not sure if fighting our way through that door is the best way to keep a low profile," he sighed before standing back up. "But if that's what you want to do I won't object."

He took a step toward the doors and stretched his shoulder. Before he could take another, Ala gripped his wrist and stopped his movement.

"Huh?" he looked down before looking at her face.

"We h-have to return to Edward's," tears were streaming down her face and her lips quivered.

"Hey...hey," Henry held onto the hand she grabbed him with. "Come here."

Ala drifted into his comforting embrace and let all of the disappointment, anger, and anguish fall from her eyes and erupt from her throat. Henry held tightly, trying to muffle the sound of her cries so they didn't draw more attention to themselves. He kept the cap on his head, made sure her face was hidden, and whispered "We'll find her," as many times as he could.

After Ala quieted down she rubbed her eyes and backed away from Henry. "Sorry," she sniffed.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he shook his head. "Plus the hug...wasn't terrible," he smiled.

Ala chuckled and wiped her nose. "Along with the snot?" Ala pointed at his jacket.

"Eh, fair trade," he shrugged before placing a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, get your bag, let's get a taxi car."

***

The two of them started their journey back to the Orange Snake Port and hoped to catch a ride before the ferry got too busy. They didn't speak much during the drive. Not only were they cautionary about speaking about the chapel in a town overly religious but they were both sure they agreed on what had happened. Either someone had come looking for Melanie before them and for some reason told the hospital staff to not say a thing about her.

Or Melanie had been treated in that hospital and someone was trying to keep that a secret. Ala had her suspicions about who and so did Henry. Vincent could have done this, it might even be the bloodfinder, both of them could be trying to set some sort of trap. For that reason, Ala thought the safest next move was to return to the place she knew neither of them would still be looking for her.

Once Henry and Ala made it to the Orange Snake Port, each of them did their best to keep their heads down. The port was a bit more crowded than it was the last time they were there. Ala went back to darting her eyes around each and every face that passed her.

"We're going to have to be more careful this time, stay closer to me," Henry whispered.

Ala nodded and both of them move forward to board the ferry. Henry tried to find them a discreet area they could stay near the deck's railings like before. Once he did, each of them faced the waters.