14. Zara
Zara
“Maybe this is a mistake,” I mutter to myself, looking back at the reindeer ranch in the distance. I didn’t realise how far Xin had carried me on that first day, but by God, I know now and it’s fucking long.
If I wanted to do massive walks I'd have stayed in Glasgow and taken part in another Kiltwalk. I grumble, finally heading into the treeline.
The sun is falling quicker than I thought. So I need to haul ass to get through this forest and hopefully back to the slopes. It can’t be that far from here surely.
I stare at the ground as I walk, careful not to reinjure my ankle that is already protesting my escape to freedom.
“I need to get out of here. I need to go home,” I remind myself when the throbbing in my ankle starts to overtake the throbbing in my heart.
He doesn’t really want me, he just thinks he does because I'm the first woman he saw. If he really did want me, he would have been completely feral with his need for me. But nope. A perfect gentleman, Rudy is probably right. I am not the one.
And I’m not going to stay around just to watch him find her, and move on like I don’t exist. I saw that scene in twilight with Sam and Leah and his true mate.
Aye, no thank you.
A crunching behind me makes me jump and spin around. I can’t help but picture a big cat or wolf, or a polar bear. This is the North Pole afterall. That’s where they come from, right? Oh crap. I’m about to be eaten by a polar bear.
As my heartrate spikes, I feel like I might piss myself from fear. This is a really really really stupid idea, Zara! Black people don’t wander into the woods alone. Have horror films taught us nothing? Fuck sake!
“Zara is that you?” A familiar voice shouts in the distance. I squint, trying to get a better look at the figure coming my way. I brace myself to make a run for it when the man adds.
“Oh thank heavens I've found you. I’ve been worried sick!”
“Erik?” Hope blooms at the sight of my ski instructor. Eager, I hobble in his direction, the pain in my foot flooding back with a vengeance.
“Oh my god! I thought I was going to be lost all night, and die out here.” I yank him in for a hug the moment he’s within reach. He chuckles at my ramblings, before pulling away to look me over.
“I have been looking for you for days. I just knew I had to find you, and I'm glad I have. Come on, let's get out of here and out of the cold,” he says, taking my hand and leading me back the way he came.
I follow him while rambling on, “You wouldn’t believe the mess I've been in for the past few days. Well, you were there when I fell. Got hurt, and then I was found by this Cult! A bunch of blokes in t-shirts took me to their home. Said it was to get me help for my ankle. Next thing I know, I’m being brainwashed.
I knew I had to leave and get home, but I started walking. And it was further than I thought and-”
I pause, wondering about the direction he is taking us. It isn’t toward the mountains like I’d been going. It isn’t back to the ranch. It’s a beeline to the west.
“Hey, how did you find me?” I ask more alert now. “I fell down and off the slope over there. Is there a route or road this way?”
When he doesn’t answer and just keeps walking, I pull back. His grip on my wrist tightens and I debate on pulling free.
“I asked you a question, Erik.” Again, he stays quiet.
So I yank my hand free and he finally sighs. As if irritated. That’s when the alarm bells begin ringing louder than they do for Sunday service. I look around and realise I can’t see any light through the trees. We are well and truly inside the forest. Fuck.
He turns to look at me, and the sweet trainer I had met is gone. Replaced with a scowling creep that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Why do they always ask stupid questions after the fact?” he mutters, tilting his head.
In the name of the wee man, you’ve done it now, Zara. Stay calm and think of an excuse to go back the way you came. Maybe you can outrun him back to the ranch? Oh God, I should never have left Xin.
Out of nowhere, something hits me in the head. Everything around me blurs, but I fight to keep my wits. I stumble, but find a tree to keep me standing. I raise an arm but it feels weak. Wet hot liquid drips down my face, and I reach up to touch it.
Before I can see what I assume is blood, Erik lunges at me and I scream. What’s left of my fight or flight kicks in and I swing my arms at him. I miss him, but he doesn’t miss me.
His fist connects with the side of my head and I collapse forward. As the snow covered ground threatens my face, he catches me and throws me over his shoulder like a sack of spuds.
The topsy-turvy world swims around me, and the throb it leaves makes me think I'm going to vomit as he begins walking along. Whistling as though it’s any other day.
I canne tell you how long he walks with me over his shoulder before we get to a little cabin. Where he opens the door to take me in. It’s dimly lit by a woodstove, and nowhere near as cozy as the Ranch.
Despite travelling upside down, the dizziness has calmed down, and the fight in me is back. I begin wailing on his back and kicking my feet out. He grunts when I make contact with his stomach, and drops me to the floor.
I scramble towards the still open door, adrenaline masking the pain in my leg. A cold wind hits my face on my way over the threshold, but just as I think I’m getting away, a hand grips my hair and yanks me back inside.
The air is knocked out of me when I land on my back, making me cough and choke. He slams the door closed and towers over me with bright red eyes,
What the fuck!
I look around for something to fight him off with, but the cabin is mostly bare besides the odd chair or a picture on the wall. A portrait of Erik and two other little people.
Wait a minute. Are those elves?
I look back when approaches me, and I try to drag myself away from him.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Zara,” He says. His voice is void of any emotion.
I spit a mouthful of blood on the flood and wipe it away while glaring up at him. If he thinks i’m going to be easy he’s lost his fucking mind.
“Don’t fucking touch me, you cocksucking mutant.” I hiss
His eyes flare as if my words pushed a button, but the look is gone as quickly as it appeared.
“Hard way it is.” Is all he says before his boot comes straight for my face.