“Joe fell flat on his face every three minutes the first time he tried snowshoes. By the second day, he was running,” Alan said. “You’ll get it.”
“No thanks,” Amber said. “Where I’m from, we don’t have much need for this skill.”
“Just wait,” he said.
It was easier to walk when she proceeded right behind him, letting her snowshoes fall right into the prints that Alan left behind. The trail was somewhat packed, but the snow under them felt untrustworthy. It was too warm out. The integrity was gone. She lost track of how long they walked. When Alan stopped, she stopped right behind him, looking down at his heels and breathing hard.
“Here,” he said, stepping to the side.
Amber saw the lake. She had already seen it from a different angle when she was at the Grill, but this was totally different. This portion of the body of water was like a gem set in the middle of snow and barren trees. It was beautiful and full of serene power.
“Maine has a number of places like this,” Alan said. His voice was just above a whisper. The reverent tone felt right for the setting. “I don’t think Ricky really sees it since he grew up here. Do you sense it?”
Amber nodded. She assumed he meant the natural power. It was like a poorly hidden secret, just under the surface of the water.
“The area where the hermit lives is like that, and I definitely understand why those Orgone people think they’ve found the organizing force of the universe. It’s like the landscape has an intention of some kind. The woods are guarding a secret.”
Amber nodded again. He was expressing what she was feeling.
“My wife wondered aloud how those vampires could be so contagious and yet they haven’t taken over the world yet. I would bet that they need this power. They can only operate in this region.”
“No,” Amber said. “That might be why they’re from here, but one of them hitchhiked down to Virginia in my trunk.”
“Huh,” Alan said. His eyes narrowed as he considered this new information. “So I guess I don’t have all the answers, but I have a strong suspicion.”
“What’s that?”
“I think I know where the center of their power is, and I think we still have a couple of weeks to find it. Ricky’s methodical investigation might get us there eventually, but I think we need to take a leap if we want to get to them before they wake up. They won’t hibernate forever.”
Amber thought about that for a minute. She trusted Ricky more than Alan. Maybe it was because he was so methodical. Ricky represented safety.
“I’m not saying we do this behind his back. I haven’t brought it up with him yet, because I’m pretty sure that he would be against it, so I didn’t see the point. It’s not something that I can do alone. I’m thinking that we…”
“Okay,” Amber said.
Alan didn’t respond.
“I said okay.”
“Yeah. Okay,” he said.
“When do we start?”
Alan stammered at first. “In the morning, I guess? After Joe leaves for school.”
Fifteen: Alan
“Research, Alan,” Liz said. “We agreed on research—libraries, maybe an interview or two.”
“This is research,” he said. “And we agreed that we’re going to disagree on the safety of this endeavor, but you relented. Technically, I only have to inform you after the fact.”
They were in the kitchen. They liked to have all their discussions in the kitchen because it was farthest away from Joe’s room. Liz was practiced at keeping a measured tone even when she was in a full-blown argument. Alan wasn’t as trained in maintaining a low volume.
“But you didn’t,” Liz said. “You brought this up purposely before you were planning on going because you wanted to, what? You wanted me to talk you out of it? You wanted to absolve yourself of the inevitable chaos you’re going to bring into the house?”
She didn’t say “again.” That word was implicit in a lot of her sentences, but she was careful to never say it aloud. Behind her every point was the implicit accusation that he had been to blame for their earlier troubles, regardless of how absurd that notion was. It wasn’t his fault that they had moved into her family house. Alan didn’t want to get into that argument again. Liz sometimes used those side arguments as a way to completely bypass what Alan wanted to talk about.
“None of the above,” Alan said. “I brought this up because you’re smart and insightful. Granted, my confidence is not at one-hundred percent. How could it be? I’ve told you about the interviews and you know as much as I do. If you have a solid reason why this is a bad idea, then I want to hear it. I want you to help me not make a mistake.”
Liz sighed and looked at the floor.
“You’ll leave at least a two-hour margin after sunrise and before sunset?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“You’ll have a backup plan for getting out of there?”
“Cross-country skis and snowshoes. Never venturing more than two miles from the car.”
“Backup for the car?”
“I guess I could ask Amber to follow me so we have two vehicles.”
“Do it. Make sure you both have your phones fully charged and backup batteries for them.”
“I’m not certain cellphones will be in range there.”
Liz looked up at the clock. “Then you have forty-five minutes to get over to Walmart. They have those satellite messaging GPSs. Get two.”
Alan looked up at the clock and frowned. She was right—the Walmart was open until eleven, but he would get there with only a few minutes to spare and it would be embarrassing to race through the store to try to find someone to show him where the fancy GPSs were stored.
“Alan?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t pretend to ask for my advice
