The Path

She seemed to hesitate

She seemed to hesitate, as though she was pondering what to say.

Finally she smiled and said, "Have a good day, Nicole."

She went back in the house.

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"Walk," I said.

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"Nicole?" Jenny stopped me. "What's with Nicole?" she laughed.

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I grabbed her by the arm.

"Walk."

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"What is up, sis?"

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"I couldn't read her thoughts," I explained.

I kept walking.

"Come on, walk with me," I basically ordered them.

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We walked quickly through the village, until we were near the center of town. Not much had changed.

And that was bothering me more than anything.

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"Zeke, you and Ilene check out the motel. Just nose around. Jenny go see if you can find any Spirits. I haven't felt a single one since we have been here. Robbie and I will check the General Store."

As soon as I finished the others left.

I watched Jenny as she walked into the cemetery. She knelt by a headstone and disappeared.

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There were several people in the General Store, when Robbie and I entered. I searched for thoughts, but could hear none.

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"Well greetings, young people and welcome to Maynard's Rock," the man behind the counter exclaimed, as he walked around the end of the counter and shook our hands. "What brings you to our fair community?"

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"We used to visit here as children. We were friends of the Warrens," I explained to him.

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"Oh, you mean old Doc Warren?" he wondered.

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I nodded and said, "He was a family friend. I am so sad to hear that he passed away."

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"Yea, the Doc was a wonderful man. He was surely missed when he passed," the man stated.

"Everyone loved him here."

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I nodded and looked around and said, "This place looks the same, at least from what I can remember."

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"Well, we decided to keep things the same. Most of us are new to the community and we felt it was important to continue with the traditions that those before had started."

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"What about the houses at the end of the community? They look deserted. Didn't people live there at one time?" I asked.

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The man nodded and said, "The Templetons and the Traverses. They left many years ago. They were supposed to return, but no one has heard from them since they left."

He stopped and looked at us.

"I don't believe I got your names."

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