Chapter 29
T he diner isn’t busy, but I seem to hear every noise around me while I wait for Mitch to come back from the bathroom. I feel my heartbeat regulate when he returns and passes me a menu.
“The food here's great, Dolores makes a good meatloaf.” He leans forward on the table, while I study the menu trying to choose something from the long list of options. If I’d told the girl down in the bunker who lived on stale bread that one day she’d be spoilt for choice on what she ate, she would have laughed at me.
Hunter comes rushing in through the doors looking full of energy and when he slides into the booth beside Mitch, he slams a pile of posters on the table in front of him.
“I just sweet-talked the library chick into printing me off a bunch of these.” He sits back looking pleased with himself. “Dolores, can I get a?—”
“Black coffee with a shot of hazelnut,” she finishes for him before getting to work.
“And what, exactly, is this?” I pick one of his leaflets up and study it.
“That is a picture of my mom when she lived here. I just cut Mitch out. I’m figuring, in a town as small as this one, someone must have known where she went when her family left. She must have confided in a friend.” He sounds hopeful, and as I study the picture harder I realize that I’m looking at someone I know.
“This girl, how old would she be now?” I check, shaking my head and feeling my pulse start to throb in my temples.
“Her sister said she was seventeen the last time she saw her. I’m twenty-five so… early forties.” Hunter shrugs as he makes a guess.
“Oh, my god.” I feel myself go light-headed.
“Evy, what’s wrong?” Mitch looks worried and I have to swallow down the sick feeling that’s rising to my throat.
“I know this girl… Woman.” I shake my head.
“You know Naomi?” Mitch stares at me as if I’ve gone mad.
“That’s not her name. The people in the village called her Kayla, and she was married to an elder.”
“Hold on.” Mitch takes both my trembling hands in his. “Are you tellin’ me, that the woman in this picture was in your village?”
“Yes.” I suddenly feel as if the diner walls are closing in on me. I thought I was free of that place, but it turns out it keeps on finding me.
“My mom was part of the cult?” Hunter shakes his head in disbelief.
“She was married to Eric. He was a well-respected elder. I remember her because she was kind. Though my mother never liked her much. Come to think about it, not many women in the village did, I always figured it was because they were jealous. She’s maintained her looks despite aging. This is undoubtedly her.”
“Jesus.” Mitch massages the bridge of his nose like he’s developed a headache. While I let it sink in that there's been a connection between me and him all this time.
“We need to find her. Didn’t you say the Souls never hurt women?” Hunter looks to Mitch for reassurance.
“Never,” he confirms.
“Then all the women from that village must still be alive. We have to find some.” Hunter sounds full of hope and as happy as I am for him, I can’t allow myself to get dragged back there. I’m nowhere near recovered enough for that, and suddenly I feel the pressure of being the only one who can help him.
“Hunter, give us five.” Mitch nods his head toward the door when he sees that I’m starting to panic, and when Hunter follows his order he reaches over the table and grabs both my hands.
“Evy, breathe. It's okay,” he tells me confidently, though I can see from the look in his eyes that he’s just as thrown by this as I am.
“How is this okay? Hunter's mother was from the village. I can’t go back there.” I shake my head frantically.
“No one would ever expect that. We have resources. I’ll speak to Maddy again. Nothin’ has to change.” His strong hands stop mine from trembling and I allow myself to breathe long calming breaths.
“It’s all gonna be okay, you're never revisitin’ that place,” he assures me again.