Conflict of Interest ch 4.

The sun was beginning to hide away as they walked through the snow. The air was getting colder and the breeze was picking up. The snow was dry and blew around them like dust.

Breaking the silence Alice said, “We need to make camp soon”.

Luca nodded in agreement.

Up ahead of them was a brick house that looks mostly unbothered. Trees were laying on the top of the house but that didn’t really matter. They walked up the driveway.

“Do you think there could be people in here?” asked Lucas

“Yeah. That’s why I have the gun,” Alice replied as she pulled it from her pocket.

She looked down at Carrot in her coat. She needed to walk through the house and caring for a pug in her jacket she couldn’t do it swiftly. She looked at Lucas carefully.

“Would you mind holding Carrot in your coat while I walk through this house?” She asked

Lucas unzipped the top of his coat to make a place for her. “It would be my honor,” He said jokingly and held out his hands.

Alice carefully pulled out Carrot and handed her to Lucas. She snuggled right into his coat with him like she had done it a million times. Alice’s heart raced she didn’t like Carrot to be out of her sight but, she didn’t want to risk Carrot’s life in the house if things went south.

She walked to the door and knocked. There was no response. She opened the door it was unlocked. The house was in great condition. It was filled with angel figurines and nicknacks on every surface she could see. Pictures covered the walls of children in the 90s and high school graduation photos. A fireplace was in the living with a mantel of a deer mount that stared back at her.

“Hello!” Alice yelled out. She was met with silence.

The house was small. She carefully with her gun drawn went through the rooms one by one. She was careful not to miss a single corner or closet. There was no sign of people living there in the last month. The last room she entered was the bedroom. Wedding pictures from the 50s were proudly displayed next to the bed. A young couple smiled at the camera. They looked like they couldn’t have been older than 20. A picture of a young man in a uniform sat next to wedding photos. He was quite striking. He had a similar look to Elvis Presley. Alice lowered her gun and picked up the pictures and looked at the lives of these strangers. She then remembered Carrot and Lucas and hurried outside. They were gone. Her heart sank.

She screamed. “Lucas!” She didn’t know whether to feel scared, angry, betrayed, or all 3.

But just as her thoughts run beginning to run she heard Lucas say “Over here!”

She ran behind the house to see a small barn in shambles. Alice signed a breath of relief to see them both intact and Carrot looking out the top of Lucas’s coat.

Lucas looked somber and pointed under a pile of boards. Under the boards, there were the bodies of 2 people. They looked like the older couple from the pictures in the house and a carcass of a horse that the man was still holding its reins.

“Well I guess the house is empty,” Lucas asked.

“Yeah,” Alice said. “They are the owners. It looks as if when the earthquake started they ran out here to get their horse out of the barn.”

“Well, at least they were old you know?” Lucas added

“It’s still sad,” Alice said

“I dunno, they died together, They didn’t have to live without each other or their beloved horses. That’s not too sad. Most older people live in depression after their spouse dies.” Lucas said

There were saddle blankets that lay under a board in front of them. Lucas shook them off and laid them over the bodies. “Rest in peace guys”

“Their names were Robert and Linda. I saw their names on the mail in the house” Alice said.

“Rest in peace Robert and Linda,” He said

They stood there for a moment in somber silence.

Lucas turned and looked up at the house. “How does the house look?”

“Perfect condition. Let’s get inside before it gets too cold.”

“What about Steve?” Asked Lucas.

Alice grabbed his reins. “Let’s take him in there too”

After they had gotten the donkey into the house and Alice began building a fire in the fireplace. Robert and Linda had left large logs and fire twigs by the fireplace.

"This place is quite something isn't it" Lucas said as he picked up a glass angel from the hearth and turned it over and looked at it..

"They liked their nicknacks for sure" Alice cracked some twigs over her knee and placed them on the fire. It was warming up quite nicely in the living room. "You could let Carrot out of your jacket. She probably wants to stretch her legs."

Lucas took her out of his jacket and placed her on the ground. "I'm gonna see what's in the kitchen," he said as he took off his large coat.

Alice continued to add small sticks until she could see nice flames going enough to add the logs.

"Hey, there's food in here," Lucas exclaimed

There was a ton of canned food along with ale8s (the soft drink) in a bottle. Here he handed one to "Alice you should drink one since I don't have enough insulin to drink anything extra."

"Well, I wouldn't want to drink it in front of you that would be mean" he handed it back to him.

He looked confused. "Come on don't be rediculous. These shouldn't go to waste."

"I just don't want a pop right now okay." She exclaimed

"Fine," Lucas said and put it back down.

"Looks like they canned a lot". He pointed at the shelves of canned food. This would be enough for us the entire winter She thought.

"I wish we could stay here. Well you could stay here," Luca said

"I want to get to my family," Alice said. Which was true, but she has her other motivations.

"Yeah but if you stayed here I'm not the national guard would make their way here in the next 6 months. Lucas pointed out.

"Well, you don't want to travel alone do you?". She raised her eyebrows questioning him.

Lucas turned his head like a confused dog and then went back to going through the cans of food. "Well if we are only going to stay the night we should eat like kings tonight,"

“If kings eat pickled meat and beets” She laughed.

Alice thought about what she had said. Even if she didn’t need insulin she wouldn’t want him to travel alone. So, she wasn’t lying. She just didn’t know to the extent he could be trusted with her insulin.