"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.
"I..." Alice smoothed a short piece of hair out of her face. A vein stood out on one of her temples. "I don't know. Nothing."
"It's not nothing. Tell me."
She looked off into the distance for a second. "It's this whole Fist of the village thing. Everyone coming to me for help. Asking questions. Getting close. Reminding me that they're all my responsibility. I mean, what if something goes wrong again? What if someone else dies?"
"Then we'll all know that nobody could have done any better."
"I don't think I'll be any good at this."
"You are good at it. And you don't have to do it alone."
Alice's gaze bored into mine, yellow eyes meeting green.
At the village's north entrance we could hear Cooper yelling something at Christopher. The two of them walked quickly toward the cabins. I couldn't make out much of their argument, but as I started to get the gist of it my interest shot up. It sounded like Christopher had run off into the jungle by himself when he was supposed to be guarding the fishermen.
"Hey," Alice said quietly. "I do still want to talk about that other thing. After the waterfall."
"Good," I said. "Me too."
"Soon then. Whenever this is all over, one way or another, we'll find the time."
"It's a promise."
Alice reached out impulsively and touched the back of my hand with the tips of her fingers, just a swipe from the end of a paintbrush, but I felt the contact linger as if she were an artist who had irreversibly marked her canvas with raspberry red pigment. Cooper's shouts continued to punch holes in the afternoon air.
"Listen," I said in a low voice. The urgency in my tone made Alice step closer. "We don't have much time. If the killer came after you once, they'll come after you again soon. And if they can't get to you they'll go after an easier target."
This thought made my stomach lurch sideways. I gritted my teeth uncomfortably.
"And?" Alice prompted. "I'm assuming this is leading somewhere."
"I know who it is."
"You— what?"
I let my words sink in for a few seconds.
"I need your help with a couple things. It's time to end this."
YOU ARE READING
Vicious Memories
Mystery / ThrillerTHE MAZE RUNNER for ADULTS --- Things Oliver doesn't know: How he washed up on this island. What the blank keycard in his pocket opens. Who he murdered. When Oliver wakes up he's drowning in the surf, with no memory of who or where he is. Before he...
