Distant Lands

I run to open the front door and see Ivan pointing a gun at Orion.

I run out and step in front of Orion. “Don’t!”

Ivan looks at me, confused but doesn’t lower the weapon.

“Elizabeth? Step away from it!” he walks forward. Orion steps in front of me again, bearing his teeth.

I get in front of Orion and look down at him. With a commanding voice, I tell him to stop.

“No. Leave him,” I point down at him. He looks at me.

“Go,” I say, pointing out into the forest. Orion hesitates but then runs away, disappearing in the tall grass.

Ivan lowers his weapon. He walks past me, not saying a word, and enters the safe house. I follow behind him, getting the feeling that he is angry. I enter and close the door behind me.

He stands near the couch with his arms crossed. He is still not saying anything; he just stares at me as if expecting me to explain myself. I sit down on the couch and look up at him, waiting for him to speak.

He looks down at me, still waiting for me to say something.

“What took-” I start to say, but he interrupts.

“What the hell do you think you are doing raising a wolf as a pet!" He glares at me.

I feel like I just got caught doing something wrong.

“I-I know he’s a wild animal, but his mother abandoned him. He needed my help,” I try to explain myself.

“That is an extremely dangerous animal. A wild wolf is not like the dogs you humans created as pets.”

That sounded like an insult. I don’t regret what I did. Wait a minute; why is he upset at me? I’m the one who should be upset.

“You are the one who abandoned me here! I was all alone! Orion was the only one keeping me sane!”

“Who is Orion?” he asks, confused.

“My dog... I mean the wolf I saved.”

Ivan shakes his head, looking down to the floor. He wants to say more, but he is holding back. I can already guess what he’s thinking. How could I be so irresponsible, disrupting nature’s way of life? But I had to save Orion. I couldn’t let him die out there.

“Orion knows how to hunt, and he’s been interacting with other wolves. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I say confidently.

Ivan looks at my packed backpack on the couch. “Were you going somewhere?”

“I’m leaving in the morning. I’m going my own way.” I cross my arms, still angry at him.

He sits down on the couch, his face softening a bit.

“I didn’t forget about you, Elizabeth. I was out in an emergency, and at the same time, I’ve been trying to create a new identity for you.”

A new identity for me? Why does that sound like he’s looking for a way for me to settle down in this world?

“What do you mean by a new identity for me? I thought you were working on sending me home?”

“Yes, I’m working on that. But if you want to leave the safehouse, you need to have some sort of identity. Students back at the Ranch will be curious about the new student.”

“New student? You mean me?”

He nods but doesn’t say anything else. I don’t know if this is such a good idea. I wasn’t terrible at school, but I also wasn’t a straight-A student. I was more like a B, well, okay, honestly, I was a C student. But that’s because I never tried to be an overachiever.

My motto at school was-Don’t do more than you have to. I always tried to do just enough school work to pass a class. Some people might call that lazy, but I call it being a genius.

He’s talking about attending an Academy. Which I’m sure will be full of intelligent people. Just doing enough work, I’m afraid, won’t work here.

“And you expect me to attend classes with the rest of the students?”

“Well, yes. You have to attend.” He grabs my backpack and puts it on.

“Are you ready? Let’s go.” he walks towards the door. I hesitate to follow him. There is no way in hell I’m walking through the forests right now.

“I’m not going out there. It’s dark. That’s when the giant spiders come out.” I hug myself.

Ivan turns around. His face tells me he is annoyed or trying to be patient with me.

“I need to be back at the Ranch in the morning. We can stay here for now, but we need to leave before the sun rises.”

I sit down on the couch, relief washing over me. Ivan comes over and sits next to me.

“I heard you were sick with a nasty virus. How are you feeling?” he asks.

“I’m much better. I still feel weak, but I’m getting stronger every day,” I say, trying not to sound nervous.

I hate lying. My brothers always made fun of me for not knowing how to lie. They found it funny how my face betrayed me.

“That’s good to hear. Well, get some rest. We’re leaving early in the morning.”

I walk to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. The moonlight glows through the skylight.

When I saw Ivan, I was so happy. I wanted to run into his arms and hug him. I missed seeing another person.

Now that he is here, I feel more at ease and protected. Now I can relax. I close my eyes and quickly drift asleep…