Chapter 1
The morning air still carried a trace of cold when Alice turned Joker toward home.
The horse moved at an easy pace beneath her, his dark coat damp along the neck from the ride. She held the reins loosely in one hand and let him choose his way through the narrow trail.
They had taken the long route today.
No particular reason.
Sometimes she simply didn't feel like going back.
Joker's ears flicked forward as the cabin came into view between the trees.
It was large for one person, but there was nothing impressive about it. Rough timber. A wide porch. A stone chimney. No decoration beyond what served a purpose.
A place built to be lived in, not looked at.
Soldier was waiting near the fence.
The dog spotted them and immediately rose, tail moving once before he trotted toward the gate.
"Hey, boy."
Soldier ignored her greeting and went straight to Joker, sniffing around the horse's legs as though conducting an inspection.
Joker snorted.
"Yeah, I know. He's annoying."
She swung down from the saddle.
The routine took only a few minutes.
Saddle off.
Bridle off.
A quick check of Joker's legs and hooves.
She ran a hand down his neck before opening the gate to the round pen.
"Go."
Joker didn't need to be told twice.
He walked through, paused for a second, then broke into a lazy trot around the circular enclosure.
Alice rested her arms on the wooden rail and watched him.
One lap.
Two.
By the third, Joker slowed and lowered his head toward the dirt.
"Lazy bastard."
His tail flicked in response.
She smiled faintly and turned toward the cabin.
Soldier followed.
He always did.
Inside, the house was exactly as she'd left it.
Quiet.
Clean.
Useful.
A worn couch faced the fireplace. A heavy wooden table occupied part of the main room. Shelves held canned food, books, ammunition, tools and whatever else she might need without having to drive into town.
Nothing fragile.
Nothing unnecessary.
Alice tossed her gloves onto the table and reached for the television remote.
The screen came alive.
She didn't look at it.
She rarely did.
The television wasn't there for entertainment. It was noise. Information. A voice from the outside world reminding her that somewhere beyond the trees, people were still killing each other, electing idiots, losing money and predicting rain.
Same as every day.
Soldier sat beside his bowl.
Waiting.
Alice glanced at him.
"You ate this morning."
His stare didn't change.
"You know that, right?"
Nothing.
She opened the container anyway.
"Con artist."
His tail struck the floor.
She poured the food into his bowl, and Soldier immediately buried his face in it.
From the television, a woman's voice moved through the morning headlines.
Something about the markets.
A fire somewhere.
A missing girl.
Alice filled the kettle and set it on the stove.
Behind her, Soldier's tags clicked softly against the metal bowl.
The news continued.
She took a mug from the shelf.
Coffee.
Two spoonfuls.
The kettle began to hiss.
"...authorities confirmed earlier today..."
She poured the water.
Steam curled around her fingers.
"...following an investigation spanning several months..."
She stirred the coffee once.
Twice.
Then the reporter said a name.
Daniel Mercer.
Her hand stopped.
The spoon remained inside the cup.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Soldier kept eating.
Outside, Joker's hooves struck the dirt in a slow, distant rhythm.
The reporter continued speaking.
Alice heard none of it.
Only the name.
That name.
She turned her head toward the television.
Slowly.
The spoon slipped from her fingers and struck the counter.
For the first time that morning, she looked at the screen.
A photograph filled the space beside the reporter.
Daniel Mercer.
Older.
He was older.
The hair was thinner, gray around the temples. His face had filled out. There were lines around his mouth that hadn't been there before.
But it was him.
She knew it before she even read the name beneath the photograph.
Her thumb pressed the power button on the remote.
The television went black.
She was moving before the screen had fully died.
Across the room.
Past the table.
To the small desk near the window.
The laptop sat where she'd left it weeks ago.
She pulled out the chair, opened it and pressed the power button.
Waited.
Too slow.
Her fingers tapped once against the desk.
"Come on."
The screen came alive.
She opened a browser and typed his name.
Daniel Mercer.
Enter.
Results appeared.
She clicked the first one.
Read.
Back.
The second.
Read.
Back.
The third.
Her coffee remained on the counter.
Forgotten.
Daniel Mercer.
She added the city.
More results.
An old newspaper article.
A court report.
She opened a new tab.
Then another.
At some point, Soldier stopped eating.
He came to her quietly and stood beside the chair, watching her.
She didn't notice him.
Her eyes moved rapidly across the screen.
Article after article.
Dates.
Charges.
Trial.
Sentence.
Appeals.
Release.
Her hand tightened around the mouse.
She went back to the first article.
Read it again.
Then followed another link.
Another name.
One she remembered.
She searched it.
More articles.
Another trial.
Another sentence.
Another release.
Soldier nudged her leg with his nose.
Nothing.
He nudged her again.
She still didn't react.
Finally, he lowered himself at her feet and curled against her boots.
His head rested across one of them.
She kept searching.
The calm precision she'd started with was disappearing.
She no longer closed the tabs.
Five became ten.
Ten became fifteen.
Her fingers struck the keyboard harder.
She began writing things down on the first piece of paper she could reach.
Names.
Cities.
Prisons.
Release dates.
Addresses.
Daniel Mercer.
Released.
She circled it.
The second name.
Released.
Another circle.
Her breathing changed.
She leaned closer to the screen.
"No."
She searched again.
Different wording.
Different newspaper.
Court records.
Anything.
The answer didn't change.
Released.
Her pen moved faster.
There was one more.
She typed the third name.
Enter.
Nothing useful.
She changed the search.
Again.
Another variation.
Again.
A court record appeared.
She clicked it.
Her eyes raced down the page.
Then stopped.
She read the line again.
"No."
Another search.
Another article.
Another date.
The same answer.
Released.
The pen froze between her fingers.
For a moment she simply stared at the screen.
Then at the paper.
Three names.
Three convictions.
Three prison sentences.
And now...
three free men.
Her eyes moved back to Daniel Mercer's name.
There had to be a mistake.
Something outdated.
A technicality she wasn't understanding.
She searched again.
Then again.
The results didn't change.
Free.
All three of them.
Free.
Something cold settled beneath her ribs.
Then she heard it.
"Alice!"
She didn't move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"Alice!"
Closer this time.
Soldier was already on his feet.
His tail moved.
"Alice, for Christ's sake."
A hand landed on her shoulder.
She spun.
The chair slammed backward.
Her hand moved on instinct.
Fast.
Rob caught her wrist before she could finish the motion.
For one second, neither of them moved.
Then she blinked.
"Rob?"
He stared at her.
"I've been calling your name for five fucking minutes."
Alice looked toward the open door.
Then at Soldier, whose tail was now beating happily against the side of the desk.
She hadn't heard the door open.
Hadn't heard Soldier get up.
Hadn't heard Rob come inside.
Nothing.
Rob slowly released her wrist.
His eyes moved from her face to the laptop.
Then to the papers scattered across the desk.
Names.
Dates.
Places.
Circles drawn so hard the pen had nearly torn through the paper.
His expression changed.
"What are you doing?"
Alice said nothing.
She only looked at him.
Rob held her gaze for a moment, then glanced at the laptop.
Daniel Mercer's face was still on the screen.
Something in Rob's expression shifted.
Small.
Almost nothing.
But Alice saw it.
Her fingers slowly loosened around the paper.
She looked at the three names scattered across the desk.
Then back at him.
"Did you know?"
Rob didn't answer.
Alice waited.
"Rob."
Still nothing.
He didn't look confused.
He didn't ask what she meant.
He didn't look at the screen again.
He just stood there.
And that was enough.
Alice rose slowly from the chair.
"You knew."
It wasn't a question this time.
Rob's jaw tightened.
There were a dozen lies he could have told her.
He could have said he'd only found out recently.
That he hadn't been sure.
That he had meant to tell her.
But there was no point.
Not with her.
Alice looked down at the papers.
Every name.
Every release date.
Every man who had walked out of a prison and back into the world while she had known nothing.
When she looked at Rob again, something in her face had gone still.
"How long?"
Rob said nothing.
Her eyes hardened.
"How long have they been out?"
He finally answered.
"Some of them... years."
Silence.
Alice stared at him.
Years.
Not weeks.
Not months.
Years.
Rob had known.
He had known they were free.
And he had never told her.
Soldier moved between them and pressed himself against Alice's leg.
She barely seemed to notice.
Rob took a step toward her.
"Alice."
She stepped back.
Just once.
But it stopped him.
He knew that look.
He had seen anger in her before.
He had seen grief.
Fear.
Pain.
This wasn't any of them.
This was quieter.
And somehow that frightened him more.
Alice looked down at Daniel Mercer's name.
Then at the other two.
One by one.
When she finally raised her eyes to Rob, her voice was almost calm.
"All of them?"
Rob didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Alice already knew.
Every fucking one.
![[Moving to Galatea] What We Never Healed](https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/vertical_storycovers/ipad_b00b828931c645f2eccdf3396cb15498.jpg)
Ok, colour me intrigued. This was one heck of an opening chapter.
Aw that makes me happy 😊