The Calling of the Wild
Elena sighed as she put down her pencil and rubbed her temples. The endless paperwork for Mr. Conover's company was giving her a headache. She loved her job in marketing, but her boss could be so demanding.
As if on cue, she heard his voice yelling from down the hall. "Elena! Where is that Donahue report? I needed it an hour ago!"
She grimaced. Justin always seemed to sense when she took even a moment for herself. Grabbing the folder, she headed towards his office, bracing herself for another tirade of his.
"I'm sorry, Justin, it's right here,"
she said, keeping her voice calm. "I wanted to double check the numbers before presenting it to you."
He snatched the folder from her hands. "This better be perfect. I don't pay you to take breaks, you know."
Elena bit her tongue to stop a retort. Justin paid her well, but she often felt more like his servant than his employee. She didn't bother correcting him that their dating didn't factor into her paycheck at all.
As he began reviewing the report impatiently, she couldn't help sighing again. Lately her dreams of escape had grown stronger. But where could she go? This was the life she knew, for now.
Elena watched Justin anxiously as he shuffled through the report, lips pursed in disapproval.
"These numbers don't add up," he sneered. "How sloppy can you get?" She opened her mouth to explain but he cut her off. "You know better than to question me, girl."
She flushed indignantly.
"I'm not a child, Justin. If you'd just let me-"
He rounded on her furiously.
"I said be quiet! God, no wonder you couldn't keep a man, you're so damn mouthy."
His words stung like a slap. Elena dropped her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Justin had been growing more volatile lately, and her patience wore thin. But she needed this job, and ending things could ruin her career.
Stepping closer, he gripped her chin roughly to face him.
"Maybe you need a reminder of who's in charge here." He covered her lips in a bruising kiss.
Revulsion curled in Elena's stomach. This controlling, abusive relationship had to end, but how? As Justin's hands wandered lower, an idea began taking shape... One that just might allow her escape from this gilded cage for good.
Elena shuddered as Justin's hands groped at her unwantedly.
"Please, stop," she pleaded, but he only squeezed harder in response.
She steeled her nerves, drew back her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
"I said no! Do not touch me again."
Justin growled and raised his hand to strike back, but Elena was already fleeing the room. She grabbed her purse and raced outside, not even stopping to get her coat.
The late fall air was icy on her skin but Elena kept running, letting her feet carry her far from Justin and the office. Before long, the sounds of traffic faded and she found herself at the edge of a deep forest.
Breathless, Elena paused to catch her bearings. Dark trees loomed all around, yet their solitude was strangely comforting after what she fled. A light sheen of sweat had dampened her blouse, yet she felt calm within these quiet woods.
Perhaps out here, she could find the answers she sought. A few hours respite from the outside world couldn't hurt. Elena steeled her nerves and stepped into the inviting shadows of the forest path.
Elena gasped as an eerie howl echoed through the trees. Her heart raced - was it a wolf? She began walking faster, then broke into a run as more haunting cries rose up all around her.
Bursting back into the office courtyard, Elena leaned against the wall, struggling to catch her breath. Justin saw her from the window and came outside, sneering.
"Afraid of the big bad woods?" he taunted. "And they say you're not a scared little girl."
Elena swallowed back tears of humiliation and anger. "What do you want from me, Justin?"
He chuckled mirthlessly.
"Luckily for you, I'm heading out on a business trip this weekend. Camping, bonding with clients, you know how it is. Maybe the woods won't seem so scary with some manly protection around."
Elena shuddered at the idea of being trapped with him for a weekend in the forest. But something in her was also curious about what mysteries lay beyond the forbidding trees. And perhaps, this trip could give her a chance to finally break free...
The howls rose once more in the dusk. Come what may, her destiny would not be controlled by this man any longer.
Elena hurried home after her harrowing encounter with Justin, packing methodically for the trip though her mind raced. She knew not what awaited in those dark woods, but staying under Justin's thumb was no longer an option.
As the hour grew late, she heard his car pull up outside and steeled her nerves. A few more hours and she would fade into the anonymous bus ride to the campsite, placing distance between herself and her old life.
"Are you ready for our romantic getaway, darling?"
Justin crowed as she descended with bag in hand. She forced a wan smile and nodded, though campfires and tents held little romance for her now.
The drive passed in tense silence. Elena watched the city lights fade behind them, both eager and fearful of the unknown forest path ahead. What uncivilized forces lurked in that primeval darkness?
