Chapter 28 | JOHN'S CAMERA

Turning my attention back to Henry, I ask him what that was all about.

He leans against the bar, lowering his voice. "I have a friend who's gone for most of the year, and he's entrusted me with his cabin. Since my friend met Vaughn a couple of times, he's fine with him staying there whenever he needs to. Nina doesn't know about it, she thinks he stays at the motel."

Whispering back, I ask, "Why would it be a big deal if Nina were to know?"

"She wouldn't approve. Doesn't trust him."

"And you do?"

He nods, "Yes."

I nod also, looking at the camera in his hands. "What's that?"

He immediately hands the Canon camera over to me. "I found it while walking along the outskirts of town years ago. I forgot to give it to you the first time you were here. It was your uncle's camera."

Wait, what?

My mouth drops open a bit in surprise, and my heart starts beating faster as I process the information.

"W-what? On the outskirts of town? Where exactly? Do you think that's where the wolf pack took him?"

Well, the supposed wolf pack.

And, he said he found it on the outskirts of town? But, it looks to be in fine shape.

Either way, I didn't think I'd be able to find this, let alone have it handed to me.

"Over by the Chickaloon river, actually. And, well, that's what they say."

I mean, I'd made it my goal to find this...and now, I actually have it.

And whatever is on here...it will give a clue as to what happened. Am I even ready to look at it?

"The SD card is missing," Henry says then, and immediately my thoughts stop racing.

I frown, "Do you have any idea as to where it could be?"

Henry's brows furrow, "No, unfortunately. However, I have a feeling he hid it to hide whatever was on it."

I examine the camera, feeling a bit uncertain all of a sudden. "What makes you think that?"

"The last time I saw him, he was claiming he had something to show Nina. I don't know what, though."

"I...don't know what to think."

"Did he ever write to you in his letters, telling you about any specific things he was seeing around here?"

I shake my head, "No, all he basically said was that he had a friend I could stay with if I ever needed to, and gave me directions to do so."

"So, he never said he photographed anything...peculiar or anything?"

I furrow my eyebrows, getting uncomfortable with the questions. There's something about Henry's questioning behavior that's making me feel uncertain. However, I doubt he had anything to do with my uncle's disappearance. I mean, otherwise, would my uncle really write to me entrusting him to help me find Vaughn? It just seems really farfetched. Either way, though, I'm not sure if I want to trust him at the moment. So, I shake my head.

"Why? Do you think that's maybe what happened, instead? I thought wolves are what caused his disappearance?"

Henry nods, "That's what I thought, too. But, after hearing these new stories about him and a man named Richard Wilson, I'm starting to consider other possibilities."

"Other possibilities?" I ask, then lower my voice. "Henry...do you think my uncle was murdered?"

He holds up his hands, "I'm not saying anything as drastic as that. I'm just saying that you should be careful about who knows your relation to him."

I nod, trying to seem as clueless and grateful as possible. "Thank you for telling me, Henry. But, I'm wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"What did you mean by 'new stories'?"

"I mean, since his name has been brought up recently, people are talking again. This coming February it will have been eight years since he disappeared, and people are talking about who liked him, who didn't. One of the ones who didn't: Richard Wilson."

"And so you think that maybe John photographed something sketchy related to Richard, or...?" I ask.

Henry nods, "Richard came into some money around five or so years ago, too."

I pretend to be interested and nod, but I remember that Roan said his grandma died five or so years ago. It's probably just inheritance money.

Before I can reply, though, he comes and takes a seat beside me, changing the subject. "So, you run into any wolves, yourself?"

I nod, "One, actually. Had to cross a river to get away from it."

"Well, it's when they're all together that you really have to watch out for them. If you think that wolves are persistent alone...just wait until you're being hunted by a large pack. They feed off each other's energy and stamina until they're feeding on something else."

"Did that happen to you? I mean, were you hunted by a large pack?" I swallow, suddenly thinking about making the trip back to the cabin alone, a week from now.

There are many trees on the path we took here, but they're only packed tightly enough together for tree-travel in certain areas. If I get treed by some wolves, I could be stuck there all day and night until they lose interest in me.

Henry replies, "Happened multiple times, actually. Had to climb a tree each time. Thankfully, it always happened in the summertime, so I wasn't in danger of freezing to death. However, this time of year, they're even more determined."

"Well, thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure to keep my eyes open."

He nods, standing up as Nina walks back into the room.

Immediately, she drags out: "...So...?"

"Go ahead and ask anything."

I nod goodbye to Henry as he walks out of the tavern.

"How is staying with him going?" Nina asks.

"It's going good, maybe just a little boring."

"Did he shoot arrows at you at first?"

"He didn't shoot any arrows, but I got attacked by ravens at first."

"Did you have to do a lot of convincing to get him to let you stay with him? Is he nice or not? Does he treat you well? He hasn't hurt you, has he? And, don't lie to me, you don't have to be afraid-"

I hold up my hand, stopping her. "Didn't have to do as much convincing as I thought I would. He's not mean or anything, just quiet. And, he hasn't hurt me; I'm fine, really. You should trust him. I do."

Nina freezes, processing what I just said. Then, she nods. "Well, if you say so. But, you'll still come to visit at least once a month, right?"

I smile, "Once a month sounds very convenient, actually."

She nods, seeming happy, and asks: "Well, is there anything you need?"

I think about it for a second. I mean, if Vaughn didn't live all the way out in the middle of nowhere and I had easy transport, I'd definitely buy a lot of things. However, he does, so I can't exactly get too much.

"I think I might run to the store later, but that's it."

"Okay, and you said you'll be staying a week?"

"Well," I say, calculating it. I already start to feel it coming, so I'll probably get it tomorrow.

It usually lasts five days, so I should definitely be fine to leave by Friday, exactly one week from today. If not Thursday, even.

"Yes, I'm planning on going back Friday."

"Well, sounds good. And, just to let you know: we started up Friday Night Fish Fry again, and it's starting here tonight. Place is going to be packed and loud, so I hope you're not too tired."

"I'm not. I actually think I'd like to hang out here tonight and meet some new people."

Perfect opportunity to begin my casual interrogation.

Nina smiles, and I stand up. "However, I do think I should run to the store now, just to get it over with."

At this, she straightens. "Well, you should know that Luna works at the store."

Oh.

Of course she does.

I never got to ask what their deal is, anyway.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be fine," I shrug. I mean, yeah, Luna's not my favorite human being, but it's not like her words affected me that much.

Nina seems hesitant but she nods anyway.

With a firm grip on my uncle's camera, I leave the open room, heading upstairs to get some money. I set the camera down on the bed, and I also plug in my tablet and take off most of my winter clothes, except for my coat and boots. Then, I take a quick look in the mirror to see that my skin does, in fact, not look bad at all. I hear Luna's previous words echo in my head and scoff before I'm heading back downstairs and out the door.

The air is cold, and I immediately shove my chopper-less hands in my coat pockets, to where I put the money.

It's the savings that I kept stored away in my room, seeing as how I didn't really have the time to run to the bank before running away. So, it's inevitable that I'll run out of money. What happens when I finally do, though?

I mean, it'll be a little while, but I'll still eventually have to get a job...but where?

Well, that is if I even last that long out here.

I walk down the street aimlessly, keeping my eyes open as I look for the store. When I find it, I start heading in that direction.

As I near it, I see Henry walk out of the store and in the opposite direction of the tavern. Although he keeps his back to me the entire time, so I doubt he saw me at any point.

My mind flashes back to his glances at Luna earlier, and my gut starts telling me that maybe everything isn't as it seems.

But then again, I really don't want to jump to conclusions. Especially with someone such as Henry.

My uncle trusted him enough to have him get me to Vaughn, so why shouldn't I trust him?

Walking inside, I immediately see Luna sitting behind a dark wooden counter, flipping through a magazine. She looks pissed off, but when she glances up, she somehow manages to look even more annoyed than before. "You."

"Thou."

"What?"

"Sorry, should I have said, 'thee'? Thou sounded right, though."

She continues to look at me oddly. "I don't like you."

"Thank you."

"What?"

"I'd be offended if you did," I nod, moving to look through the store.

She doesn't say anything in reply.

The store has a broader selection of items than I thought it would, and I immediately find myself going over to the SD card spot. Glancing over the options, however, I see that none look like the type my uncle had.

"Do you have any other SD cards?" I ask Luna.

"Nope, what you see is what we have."

My uncle's been gone for over 6 years, though...

Maybe they sold his type here, before.

"Did you have other types of SD cards years ago?"

"What's your deal with those things? Are you a photographer or something?"

I glance up at her. "Six to eight years ago. Same SD card selections, or were they different?"

"Well, let me think, I'd of been twenty-three..." she mumbles to herself, then looks up. "I can check the store records."

"But I thought you didn't like me?"

She nods, standing up. "I don't, but you're a customer, aren't you? It's my job to help customers."

Well, I've got to respect her for that.

She disappears into a back room, and I take the time to go around and get a few things.

Delicious snacks that probably won't last past the day? Yes.

Basically all the clothes in my size that I could find, which wasn't even that much? Yes.

Some books that actually seem interesting, unlike Vaughn's? Yes.

A portable charger for my phone and tablet so that I have more time on them? Yes.

A cheap-looking game of chess probably designed for no one older than thirteen? Yes.

A first-aid kit just in case? Yes.

A flashlight to help save my phone and tablet batteries? Yes.

A big hunting knife that looks like the cool big sister of my old pathetic pocket knife? Yes.

Some of those hand and feet warmers that will make the winter not so bad? Yes.

Midol? Yes. Period.

When Luna returns a few minutes later and sees all of the items on the counter, her eyes widen a bit. "Yep, definitely a customer..."

My eyes move to the paper she holds in her hand, and she says, "According to the records, we've had the same SD cards for the past ten years."

Huh...okay. Meaning, John's SD cards were previously bought from trips taking place before Alaska.

So, whatever happened to the SD card, if it was taken by someone, for instance, or hidden instead of being destroyed: it'll stand out like a sore thumb. I'll know for sure if it's John's or not.

I wonder if it actually was stolen, I think to myself. Henry thinks John hid it to hide whatever was on it, but what if that's not what happened? The camera was found...what if the SD card was in it, and Henry found it? What if he took it out? What are the events between my uncle disappearing and the card disappearing?

Did John take it out before he ran from whoever was after him, or did whoever was after him find it and then take it?

"Okay, well, thanks for looking."

She nods, coming to ring up everything.

After, I'm about to exit the store. However, I stop when someone familiar steps through.