[For a minute, Alex just stared at him, the disbelief on her face evident. The fact that Strand had finally shown up after nearly seven months but this was Simon. Simon who'd she'd not seen face to face in over two years, and she could see how it changed him, making him look older and less emicated than the boy she'd seen at Three Rivers. Silently, and carefully, Alex leaned over and grabbed the butter, biting back the protest that her ribs were making at the way that they were being used.

It was entirely a tactic to decide what she was going to say, and her first instinct was to be like 'don't you know' but she fought that. After all, and after all those calls, Simon Reese was here in the flesh and it wasn't just to knock on her pipes. Keeping her voice low she explained honestly:]

There was a cult here. Yeah, I know, I mean, of course there was. But they kidnapped about half of the population in order to use them as hosts for these ghosts things. We were held for days, and you know me... [There was a tiny twist of a grin.] I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut at times. [Like when other people were being abused and Alex had taken those hits, and she'd do it again.]