Occams Razor

Alice had found a place down by the lake. She was bundled up in her tattered trench coat and hufflepuff scarf, fingerless gloves. In her lap she held a notebook stained with all manner of questionable notebooks, corners bent and creased. Her breath escaped in a series of pale plumes of frost. One hand held a pen. One hand was resting on her knee.

There was a time, I met a girl of a different kind
We ruled the world,
Thought I'll never lose her out of sight,
We were so young
I think of her now and then
I still hear the songs, reminding me of a friend

One earbud was shoved in her ear and the other trailed down onto her chest. Her eyes were lost somewhere in the middle distance, and the notebook page in her lap showed a half finished drawing of the landscape, shaded in places. The opposite page saw what seemed to be a half-written letter of some kind. Her free hand travelled up to the cross she wore and twisted around it.

Up on the hill across the blue lake,
That's where I had my first heart break
I still remember how it all changed
My father said
Don't you worry, don't you worry child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah!

A shudder went through her and she quickly reached into her pocket to pull out the portable radio, shuddering and flicking it off. She shook her head and gave a slow, controlled exhale.

As Lou's day of ice fishing came to an end, he made his way out of his hut and out to the shore of the lake. Being out in the lake gave you a different prospective on the town. When he exited the hut he looked up at the sky and noticed the time. He had been out on the ice longer than he thought he had.

Time got away from Lou when he was alone, especially in the winter. Short days, long nights, snow storm after snow storm. Some times he forgot the date. Winter seemingly lingering on forever. November, became December. December became, January. Then February and March happened at some point... Heck, the only real reason to keep track of the dates for him now was to know when the Bruins were playing.

"Bruins, Flames... 7 o'clock. I think."

He mused to himself as he walked across the ice dragging some fish on a small sled. When he got to the shore he saw Alice and slid his sled onto the snow covered land. He gave her a friendly smile and let out a breath that froze in the air and differed around.

"I just keep running into Lady's looking to be alone on the lake. One of these days I'm going to run into a mermaid I think."

He said to her and then noticed the ear bud.

"I don't mean to intrude if you were looking to be solo this evening."

The friendly expression was met with a small smile and a wave from the hand with the pen. She didn't reach for a weapon. She didn't even move from where she'd nestled herself into the snow.

"I don't want to be alone. That's kind of the point," she said in his direction, although the last part seemed to be to no one in particular. She smoothed a hand over the page of the notebook and then closed it. "The lake has a sense of solitude. Reflection. I think everyone's been looking for that, since..."

... Gus died. were words she could not say. Mason's face, drawn and haunted. Doc Rue crying in the grass. She shuddered violently and shook her head to clear it. Not here. Not now. Here. Now. Have to focus.

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "How have you been? I have not seen anyone much since the snow set in. I think we have all been... recovering."

Lou was glad to hear that he wasn't bothering her but then frowned at the mention of Gus's death. He remembered being hard on a lot of folks that evening, Alice one of them. He hadn't gotten around to saying sorry for that yet.

It was an odd feeling he got that night. He wasn't as torn up about it as everyone else was. Half the town was losing their mind while the other half found comfort in each other. Lou however, found himself hollow and numb to it all. Seeing doctors and para military folks balling their eyes out was a strange sight to see. Demons and wizards crying was also a strange notion. And when lou though about it, a lowly janitor like himself being so cold about it was rather odd.

"Yeah, a lot of folks are still torn up about it. They say time heals all but I don't know about that."

Lou said, turning to look out to the lake and cringing to himself. Even now he couldn't find the effort to be devistated like the rest of the townfolk. Did that make him a bad person? Was there something wrong with him were he couldn't feel the level of loss they all did?

"I sorry we missed you at the Christmas.... Er... Non-dimonial holiday... Er... Gathering...?"

Lou says, clearly not one for modern political correctness.

"Did you have a good christmas? Did you get in a midnight mass?"

Lou asked, know Alice to be one to keep the faith somewhat. He knew her to be friend with his old pal father Ashmore.

"I don't know if we have the time to spare," she said, sounding tired. "The winter has done little but insulate us with our grief and anger. Stuck in stasis, wanting to move forward. Whether they're looking for vengeance or meaning or to honor his memory..."

Well aren't I a ray of sunshine, she thought with a headshake.

"I expect the Spring will bring a sense of catharsis regardless of intention. The ability to actually move forward will present itself. Action is always more relief than inaction."

She reached up to pull the cord of the headphones, tugging it off to shove it in her pocket. Her fingers flexed some to get the feeling to return. She looked out over the frozen lake.

Up on the hill across the blue lake

"I was, uh, out of town. Meeting with some old friends who were all going to be back in town. Sadly, Christmas was the only time they were going to be together-"

Gunfire in the dark. Gabriel screaming her name. Her bat connecting with a demon's skull. A cross flashing in the light. A warmth spreading through her back as the darkness receded.

her hands spasmed into fists before it passed and she exhaled. Here. Now.

"Sorry, yeah. Only time they were going to be together. I missed Ashmore's sermon, but I bet it was beautiful."

Honestly, too. Ashmore had a way with words with Alice envied. And an ease with people too. But she'd alwasy envied that.

"Was the Holiday party enjoyable? I admit, I have not talked to anyone much since getting back to town. I don't know of what happened there."

Lou shrugged some.

"It was a good time. The food was good, the drinks were alright. There was a creep, claiming to be a local fiction writer that was coaxing us into writing terrible horror stories... You know, prefect whisper hill evening."

He said and gave Alice a smirk. It had taken some time, but Lou was finally growing some kind of resilience to the weirdness of this town.

"Only another month and a half a winter, got any plans for the spring?"

"He was back? Interesting. Claimed to find a typewriter by the side of the road? He was at the picnic thing that Marner threw in the Summer," it almost certainly wasn't just Marner, but Alice was a fairly focused person and she had Marner on the brain a lot recently.

Marner on the brain. Heh. If she was right that was funny. She smirked to herself and then shook her head.

"In the Spring... I hope to not let any of my friends become corrupted by darkness or allow themselves to be sacrificed for the greater good of humanity. Also find out more about Penance. And keep a battalion of militant demon hunters from lighting the whole town up in purifying flame. And maybe rescue Pandora. Also keep my Dog out of trouble. And Victor, who is not my dog but frequently gets into trouble. And Sally, who gets into more trouble than my Dog and Victor combined." These were ticked off absently on her fingers, not even really bothering to ponder exactly how insane she sounded.

"What about you?" her bright blue eyes turned to him and focused on his face curiously. "Do you have any plans?"

Lou grows noticeably uncomfortable at the mention of Penance. There was a lot of weird stuff that Lou had made peace with, but penance was not one of them. He remembered every time he had interacted with him. From the first gas run, to his one on one duel with the spirit in an effort to save Sally. Lou shifts some in place but lets Alice's question draw off his attention.

"What am I gonna go in the spring? I suppose that depends if the Bruins get their shit together and make the playoffs."

Lou says with a chuckle.

"Seriously though, I'm just here to help out where I can. I feel like a lot of folks are worried about bringing me along on the stranger stuff. But I think that they're missing out. I can be really handy in some situations."

He explains and shrugs some. He understands why when townsfolk can pick between special forces agents, doctors and wizards that the Janitor is not first picked, but, at the same time, having a local is kinda handy.

"Who knows what trouble we'll find ourselves in huh?"

She visibly noted his discomfort, quirking her head. It was so hard to gain Alice's full attention, she was always lost drifting in another world or memory or place. But the mention of Penance was all it took to draw her into the moment completely. And her eyes fixed on Lou and she looked him straight in the eyes, noting every twitch and frown.

"I was not aware you were interested in the more, uh, strange aspects of some of the work that is done here. Many enjoy their ignorance, although I suppose you do not really have a choice to hold onto it, do you? I cannot help but wonder if all of Whisper Hill's inhabitants are not as... doomed to lose their lack of awareness..."

Her attention drifted back into the middle distance.

"I owe you my life at least once over, so I will certainly vouch for your... helpfulness. I cannot speak to many of the activities held by others in this place, but I spend much of my time hunting and slaying demons. I do not know if you have any interest in this activity. It is... difficult for those untrained in it, but if you are interested in assisting, I could certainly keep that in mind."

A beat pause.

"May I ask you a question?"

Lou waited for Alice to finish. He was about to speak to her statement about "Having an interest in the stranger work that needed to be done" then she moved forward and was about to ask a question.

"Shoot."

He said and adjusted his hat, trying to get more of his ears under it while waiting for her question.