Distant Lands
Trouble

I’m running as fast as possible, but I feel like I’m running in slow motion. I keep running without looking back. I run up the road and arrive at the Ranch. Ivan comes out of the building and looks at me, confused. I stop in front of him, gasping for air. I try to calm down, to control my breathing.

“Are you okay, Elizabeth?” he asks.

Finally, I calm down my breathing. I look back to the road and turn around to look at Ivan.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

Hiding my bleeding hand, I say, “Oh nothing,” and I start walking inside.

“Wait,” he says. I stop and turn around. I see Ivan look out into the distance. I can barely see a person jogging up the road.

“Who is that?” he asks.

“It’s Damon,” I say quietly. He looks at him, then at me, and his lips tighten, “Go to my office right now,” he says. Oh shit, he’s angry. I quickly walk inside. On the way to his office, I stop by the kitchen and grab a rag, and I hold it in my hand to stop the bleeding. I go into Ivan’s office and sit down on the couch. I anxiously wait for him.

Ivan walks into the room angrily, Damon walking in behind him. Damon takes a seat next to me. He’s bleeding from his arm and has minor cuts on his face. Ivan stands in front of us, crosses his arms, and looks at us expectantly.

“Well, can somebody explain what the hell is going on?” Ivan asks, looking at me.

I look at Damon, who looks at me and sighs, “I found the little human out in the woods all by herself, and then she got attacked by a Lamia,” he says.

Ivan walks over to the window and looks out. “So they know about Elizabeth?” he asks.

“The Lamia was very thirsty for blood, so I tried to convince him that he had imagined that it was a human,” Damon says. Ivan turns back and looks at him.

“Do you think that’s going to work?” he asks. Damon sighs, leaning back on the couch.

“I hope so,” Damon says.

Ivan comes back and looks suspiciously at Damon. “You look like shit, Damon. What the hell is wrong with you?” Ivan asks.

“I’ll tell you later,” Damon says, sitting up, looking down at my left hand with desire. I realize that I’m starting to bleed through the rag. Ivan looks at my hand.

“Elizabeth, are you hurt?” he asks, and I stand up.

“Yeah, but don’t worry, the vampire didn’t bite me,” I say. Ivan shakes his head in frustration, grabs my right wrist, and starts leading me out of the room. Damon grabs my left wrist and removes the rag from my hand, and he licks the blood that’s on my hand.

“Ew! Stop!” I yell, disgusted. Ivan looks back.

“Damon!” Ivan yells, trying to pull me away, and Damon pulls me back like a game of tug of war.

“Ow! Let go!” I yell, feeling a sharp pain in my shoulders. Ivan goes over to Damon and slaps him hard on the head, and Damon lets go of my hand. He lays back on the couch, looking like he satisfied his thirst. Feeling violated, I narrow my eyes at him, “You’re disgusting; you should be ashamed of yourself,” I say angrily, and Damon laughs.

Ethan comes into the room, “What’s happening?” he asks.

“Ethan, take Elizabeth, get her hand fixed. I need to talk to Damon,” he says. Ethan leads me away and walks me to the infirmary. I wash my hands, and the nurse sprays disinfectant on my hand. She gets out a small machine; I put my hand inside and hold it in place for a few minutes. I take my hand out, and the nurse cleans the blood off of it. Like magic, my cut healed and is now a scar.

“Don’t worry, that scar will fade,” the nurse says. I smile at her.

“Thank you,” I say, getting up to leave.

“Oh wait, before you leave, I need to talk to you about something,” she says. I stop and look at her.

“Ivan came to speak with the doctor and me. We know about your situation, don’t worry; everything is confidential. Well, he said it might take some time to help you go back home. Lamia have a keen sense of smell. I have a question for you; when was your last menstrual cycle?” she asks.

My eyes go wide, “Oh my god, I hadn’t thought of that. Will Lamia know? That’s disgusting. It’s coming up. Should I hide somewhere for that time? I ask.

“There’s no need to hide. We have an injection that suppresses your hormones, stopping your cycle completely. Once you are ready to go home, we can give you an injection to restart it. But it’s your choice if you want it,” she says, then she goes on to list the long list of side effects. When she finishes, she stares at me, waiting for my decision.

“Well, what choice do I have? I can’t risk having Lamia sniffing me out; they will murder me. Just give it to me,” I say reluctantly. She nods, goes to a glass refrigerator, and brings out an injection. She preps the area on my arm and injects it. “There you go; let me know if you get any side effects,” she says with a warm smile.

“Sure. Thank you,” I say and get up to leave.

I go back to Ivan’s office and stand outside his door to listen in on their conversation.

“I can’t believe you would do something like this,” Ivan tells Damon.

“I’m telling you because I trust you. Also, because it’s not safe for the little human to remain here any longer,” Damon says.

“So, what do you suggest we do?” Ivan asks.

“I don’t know, Ivan. Maybe she’ll be safer at my place. No one is allowed there,” Damon says.

Ivan laughs. “You just tried to eat her hand. How can I trust you to keep her safe? She’s my responsibility,” Ivan says.

“Well, you failed to keep her safe. If I hadn’t been there, she would have been killed,” Damon says.

They remain silent for a minute. I place my ear against the door. The door suddenly opens, and I look up at Ivan. “Come in, Elizabeth,” he says. I walk in and sit at the edge of the sofa, as far away from Damon as possible. Ivan grabs a chair and sits right in front of me, and we almost touch our knees.

“Elizabeth, Damon, and I were trying to come up with a plan that can help keep you safe. We don’t know if the Lamia, the vampire, will keep his mouth shut. He might talk and reveal your existence. We can’t take that chance,” Ivan says.

“The authorities might come to the ranch to investigate; they will replace you,” Damon says.

I glance at Damon, then at Ivan. There is no way in hell I’m going to stay at Damon’s place. He’s a predator. Ivan is crazy if he thinks we can trust Damon.

“I don’t want to leave the Ranch,” I say, crossing my arms.

“I know you don’t want to leave, but it’s for the best,” Ivan says softly.

“And where do you want me to go?” I ask.

Ivan looks at Damon, “Damon’s penthouse is probably the safest place,” Ivan says.

I shake my head. “You honestly think that I’m safer in a city full of vampires? And with Him?” I ask, pointing at Damon. Damon narrows his eyes at me but remains quiet.

“It’s probably the last place they will check. And you will only be there until we make sure we are in the clear,” Ivan says.

“And what’s stopping him from killing me?” I ask.

“He just confessed something to me, something that is highly illegal, something that can ruin his life. Damon promised not to hurt you. If he does hurt you, I will report him,” Ivan says.

“Do you trust him? Do you trust that he will keep his word?” I ask Ivan.

“Yes, I trust Damon will keep his word,” Ivan says.

I don’t know what else to say, and it seems like I don’t have a choice. How is everything getting more complicated? Ivan is supposed to be trying to send me home. This problem will only keep me in this world longer. And the worst part is that once again, it’s my fault. Now I have to worry about the alien police? I sigh.

“But-” I start to say. Damon stands up, angry.

“But nothing! You’re coming with me whether you want to or not!” Damon yells at me, and Ivan covers his face with his hands. Damon looks at Ivan.

“Ivan, I don’t know how you have so much patience with this little human,” Damon says.

“Okay, firstly, don’t yell at me like that, and secondly, how are you going to get me there?” I ask.

Sighing, Damon sits back down on the sofa.

“Oh, I’ll think of something. Don’t you worry, little human,” he says.