Distant Lands

I walk through the orchard angrily, muttering, “There has to be a way back home. Screw Ivan and the council.” I stop walking.

“Wait a minute. What the hell am I talking about? Am I going to believe all of this bullshit? These people are probably a cult of some kind. I need to get the hell out of here.” I walk in the direction of the shed.

“If there is a way in, there has to be a way out,” I say out loud. It’s getting late, and the sun is starting to set. I walk through the rows of trees and reach the dirt road that leads to the shed. I hear twigs breaking from behind me. I turn around to see if someone is there and don’t see anyone, so I continue on my way.

Arriving at the shed’s location, I hear a noise coming from the forest behind it. I stay quiet and listen. After making sure nobody is around, I go up to the concrete wall of the shed, and I touch the wall. It feels solid. I then walk around the shed’s perimeter, feeling the walls; all four walls are concrete.

Ivan had said that I needed to force myself through the wall. I sigh. I back up like a ram, ready to bump heads, and I sprint forward fast; I run and crash against the wall. I bounce off the wall and fall to the ground, moaning in pain, radiating through my body. It takes me a minute to recover.

I’m positive I came out of that wall. I should be able to go back in. I get on my knees and stand up. Maybe I did it wrong? or maybe I wasn’t fast enough? I back away this time, and I run forward as fast as possible. I crash so hard I get the wind completely knocked out of me.

I fall to the ground, unable to breathe or cry out. I just twist in pain. It hurt like hell; it almost knocked me out. My nose and lip are now bleeding. Finally, I gasp for air, and I moan in pain. But the pain only made me angry. I get up again to try one more time. I back away and get myself ready to start running.

“That’s enough, Elizabeth! Stop!” I hear Ivan yell angrily from behind me. I ignore him, and I start sprinting forward. Suddenly I crash hard into someone, a man!? He catches me before I hit the wall...But how? I didn’t see him get in front of me.

I lean back away from him, but he holds on to me. I gaze up at him; some strands of his jet black hair fall forward, covering half of his ivory face. He moves his hair out of his face with one hand, and I see my blood smeared on his chin. Then I see his eyes; his eyes are an ocean blue; they are mesmerizing.

He looks down at me with an astonished look on his face, like he can’t believe what he is seeing. He wipes the blood off his chin with a finger, looks at it, and licks it. He grins, revealing two pointy fangs. I look into his eyes, and I see his pupils dilate. His grip tightens on me. What the hell? Could this be!? “Let go! You’re crushing me,” I say. I try to push him away, but my effort does nothing to his grip.

“Let go of her, Damon,” Ivan says in a serious tone.

“Relax, Ivan. I was only trying to help,” he says, still holding on to me.

“What are you doing here?” Ivan asks.

“I was feeding in the forest when I heard a commotion,” he says, “Then I got a whiff of something exquisite,” he says, looking down at me.

“Let go of me! You freak!” I yell, trying to break free.

He grins and licks the blood off of my face. He laughs at the shocked expression on my face. And suddenly, let’s go, I fall hard on the ground. “That’s disgusting,” I say, grossed out at what he had just done. I feel violated. I kneel on the ground and wipe my face with my shirt.

“Ivan, Ivan, where did you find this creature?” he asks.

“Damon...” Ivan starts to say.

“It’s a human, Isn’t it?” Damon asks.

I stay silent, looking at both of them as they speak to each other.

“Damon, nobody can know about her,” Ivan says.

“What happened? Did you accidentally bring her here? Or did you purposely bring a human into our world?” Damon asks.

“Damon, let’s go to my office, and we can discuss this,” Ivan says. Damon gives Ivan a serious stare and doesn’t say anything. I need to get out of here; if I cross the forest, I might find a road that leads to a nearby city. I stand and start to walk towards the forest.

“Very well, let’s go to your office,” I hear Damon say, and I feel a hold on my wrist. I turn and see Damon stopping me. I pull away forcefully. “What are you doing? Let go,” I say angrily.

“Let her go, Damon,” Ivan says.

“It’s all right, I got it,” Damon says and starts walking forward. Who does this guy think he is!? I try to pull myself away. I hit his arm with my other hand, but he doesn’t seem bothered. I plant my feet on the ground, but it’s no use, he’s too strong, and my feet slide on the dirt.

I let my weight drop down to the ground, my knees touch the ground, then I fall entirely, and he doesn’t stop, just keeps dragging me on the dirt. It feels like a machine is dragging me.

“Alright! I’ll walk!” I yell. Damon stops and lets go of my wrist. I fall belly first on the ground, and I kneel, dusting off my hands. I look up angrily at Damon. He doesn’t say anything, just stares down at me, with no expression on his face.

Ivan helps me to my feet. I walk next to Ivan, rubbing my wrist. We keep walking straight down the road in silence. I start to walk a little slower and walk behind them. I look to the ground as I walk. I thought I would be able to go back home on my own.

I was skeptical. I didn’t believe that I was on a different planet, but when I saw Damon, I instantly knew it was true. When I was inches away from him, I felt like I was in danger, like I was facing a lion. My instinct told me to run.

Now I’m going to have to find a way to convince these people, no, these aliens, to take me home. I can’t stop thinking about my family, about Nate. I put my family in danger, and I can’t even be there to help them. A ball of sadness reaches my heart, and I start to cry silently. Damn, I can’t help it; the tears automatically start running down my face.

Instantly Damon is walking next to me.

“Don’t cry, little human, everything is going to be alright,” He says softly, putting his hand on my back. I look at him wide-eyed, quickly pick up the pace, and walk next to Ivan.