The way back was much easier than the way there.
Lady Hyde walked alongside Brandan, frequently glancing at the figure of Iris Harris, then at the bloodstains on her skirt, seeming deeply pensive.
Brandan remained silent throughout, lost in his thoughts, his gaze fixed heavily on the backs of Iris and William Moore.
By the time they made it back, it was already around seven or eight in the evening. An ambulance was already parked at the mountain's exit. Iris watched the nurses approach and smiled, declining, "I'm fine. Xavier, I want to sleep."
William looked at her. She appeared calm, not at all like someone who had just narrowly escaped kidnappers. He wanted nothing more than to ask what had really happened, why she was there, and how she had managed to escape.
But he knew now wasn't the right time and had to hold himself back.
William sighed, "Iris, are you really not hurt?"
Iris shook her head, "They didn't hurt me."
William nodded, waving the nurses away.
