Dan didn’t know why he’d offered to help. Probably for the same reason he’d brought up Bill’s brother. The same reason he’d guided countless dying people through their last moments solely to give them peace. The same reason he hadn’t been able to turn his back on Abra even with the danger. The same reason he’d gone back to the Overlook in spite of everything. Because at the end of the day, Dan Torrance was possessed with a fatal need to help. No matter the cost. So of course when he felt something deep in his chest, something off and wrong, he had wanted to fix it.
There was something wrong in Richie too, but he could feel it was beyond his pay grade.
He and Alex had agreed to wait until after Thanksgiving. Not that she celebrated, not really. She was Canadian after all. But he had people now and, on the off chance this killed him, he wanted to get one gathering out of the way.
He made his way to her apartment, knocking but getting no response. She had told him that might happen, had told him where to find her hidden spare key to get in. She was too trusting, and if he’d had any ill intent she might have regretted that. But he didn’t have any, so he would simply point that out when he was done helping her.
He stepped into the apartment and could feel the wrongness of it from the moment he walked inside. Not like the overpowering evil of the Overlook, but something that went against nature. He felt it in his gut and in his bones. He wished she had told him that there was something like that inside of her, but maybe she just hadn’t known. Plenty of people didn’t know all the things the world held. He made his way over to the couch where she was dozing fitfully, but didn’t dare touch her. Not now. Not yet. Not when it was in control.