Mike was starting to realize that he didn't think his plan out enough. The night was coming to an end and his arms were numb from carrying Alice down the road. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen when she woke up but he knew she would never let him hear the end of it. He did technically kidnap her- even if he had good intentions. Just as Mike was ready to collapse right there on the gravel, he spotted what looked like a bed and breakfast.
Too tired to worry about whether or not the bed and breakfast was a trap, Mike walked over and checked himself in. When Alice was put in her room and Mike had found his, he decided he could finally go sleep. He slept the whole day, and when he woke up at night, he could smell freshly baked pies.
Just then Mike's stomach rumbled. Pies sounded great right about now. But he needed to check on Alice first. So he went across the hall and knocked on her door. When there was no answer he pushed the door open and went inside. There was no one there. The covers on the bed were neatly folded and her backpack was nowhere in sight. It was as if she had just vanished. Mike knew that wasn't true, but he hoped she wasn't back at that castle with those creeps. He did feel a little relieved that she wasn't here to yell at him for taking her out of there.
Mike didn't expect to find Alice down in the cafe, but he did hope she was there so he could give a better explanation. Instead, he found a table with two pies on it. There was only one chair. For a brief moment he wondered why he was the only one in the cafe. Then he saw the old woman that he swore he had seen before.
"Welcome welcome. Want some pie?" she rasped.
Mike didn't want to say no, but he also didn't want to say yes either. To prevent upsetting the old lady, he said yes.
"Great! We have two pies- Pie 'Till You Die," she gestured to the pie on the right, "or the Shepard's Eye."
To Mike both pies sounded awful but he went with one anyway. "I'll try the Pie 'Till You Die," he said, taking a seat at the table. It was when she left the cafe, that he realized why she looked so familiar. She was the lady in that red contraption! Mike realized he needed to leave at once, but just then, she came back with the pie.
"Enjoy," she said, setting it down in front of him.
Mike stared at the pie for a minute. Should he eat it? What if it was a trap? What if there was poison in it? Or it could just be a normal pie and he was imagining things. The idea that he could die wasn't too comforting. Especially since he hadn't apologized to Alice yet. Or to Ben for stealing his toothbrush that one time. In the end, Mike decided to take a bite and find out. He scooped up a piece of the pie with his fork, and dug in.
