Chapter 5: I must Escape
1046 Words
"Are you sure you can work here as a sales girl? I haven't seen you around before. And it is a small town, I know everybody." Natasha, the owner of a small diner along the bustling street in the small town, said to the young lady standing before her.
It was early afternoon and Natasha who had just opened the diner due to the poor sales recently, wasn't really in a good mood to hire any salesgirl.
Especially one who wasn't even wearing any footwear and seemed to have lost her mind, looking all dirty and tattered.
"I just got to this town and I really need this job. Please give me a chance to prove that I can work to your satisfaction. My name is Elena." The young lady introduced herself to Natasha, with a small smile plastered on her dirty face.
It was two days after Elena's miraculous escape from the woods.
"Okay, Elena, where are you from?" Natasha asked her, narrowing her eyes at her uninterestedly.
"What if she is mentally unstable? And she looks young... She is definitely like that because of drugs." Natasha wondered inwardly, her eyebrows furrowing.
Elena swallowed hard as she thought of a convincing lie to tell the woman.
"Actually I am an orphan who has been abused my whole life. I am just trying to make a living. I don't have anybody and I am starving. I am going to work hard if you hire me. I don't even need to be paid much as long as I can be feeding well." Elena rushed out, lying through her teeth. She sniffled a little to make the story real.
"I don't think there is any werewolf in this town. I think I am safe here. No one would be able to perceive my scent and detect what I am." Elena had realized after spending a day in the town. The few people she had met were all humans. The town was a bit far from the pack she escaped from and she knew she needed to live there quietly.
"Okay, you are hired, Elena. Let's see how hard you can work." Natasha said to her, buying her story of being an orphan. The look of disinterest on Natasha's face had immediately been replaced with a pitiful one at the sob story.
"Thank you, ma'am." Elena appreciated.
"Go and clean up first. Afterwards, take the apron there and get to work. You are going to start by cleaning the surrounding." Natasha instructed her.
"Yes, my lad..." Elena had forgotten the place she was and wanted to reply as she used to address Luna back at the pack, but stopped abruptly as she caught herself.
"Yes ma'am." She quickly changed her wording.
"I bet you have no place to stay. You can stay here for the meantime, till you get a place of your own. I have a small store you can use." Natasha offered Elena.
"Thank you so much. I appreciate it greatly." Elena replied with a grateful smile as the weight of finding where to live was finally lifted from her chest.
She had been sleeping outside, wherever the night met her, like a homeless fellow since she got into the town.
"For now, I should just focus on surviving." Elena thought as she picked the uniform, steeling herself for the task ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ensure everywhere is locked after me. It is a small town but there are dangers lurking around everywhere." Natasha said to Elena after the day's work.
"If anything happens, don't hesitate to call me. You can use the office telephone. I live nearby." Natasha added.
"Alright ma'am. Good night." Elena replied obediently.
"Good night. See you tomorrow." Natasha said, patting her on the shoulder before leaving the diner.
"No, nobody would trace to this place. They won't know I even survived the dangers of the woods." Elena stated to herself after Natasha's departure.
As she made that statement, memories of what she had faced in the woods flooded back.
*FLASHBACK*
"I can smell her. Search everywhere for her." The voice of a guard echoed through the silent forest.
"Will I survive this or this will be the end of my pathetic life?" Elena had wondered weakly before succumbing to her pain.
She collapsed to the ground and embraced darkness. She had believed the guards would catch up to her and drag her back to where she was running from.
But miraculously and to Elena's surprise, she woke up only to find herself at exactly where she had collapsed.
"They didn't take me?" Elena wondered aloud as her eyes darted around her surroundings.
"They are no longer around... Could it be that they couldn't find me because of this big tree? Did the scent of the tree overshadowed mine?" She pondered, her eyes glued at the tree that had big, overshadowing branches, that towered above her.
"So, you are my savior?" Elena said, directing the question at the tree.
"Thank you moon goddess for saving me with this tree." She mumbled under her breath and got up.
"Oh my!" She yelled in pain as she fell back to the ground. Her feet were sore and had blisters. Her whole body ached terribly.
"I need to get out of it before dusk." Elena thought and started pushing herself up forcefully.
Afterwards, she had seen a small river when she cleaned the blood off her body and then proceeded to enter the town.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"I don't..." Elena was still lost in the memories of what she had faced when a loud knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts.
"That is definitely not Natasha. Who could that be?" Elena mumbled, jumping up in fear.
The knock was relentless, it was as if the person at the door wanted to enter the place in a hurry. As if the person was being chased.
Then, Elena heard growl, followed by a grunt and then a pant.
"Werewolf?" Her eyes widened in realization and she took a step backwards.
"I thought I have covered my tracks. I need to..." Elena was mumbling to herself but another knock on the door cut her short.
"I know someone is in there. Help me, please." A deep voice said from outside.
- Writer
