Zane's Arc

Chapter 2 of 8

Morning came gray and cold. Zane crawled from the hollow oak and stood among the wet trees. The wolf followed, its black coat shining in the weak light. Zane wanted to bring the wolf home, but he could not. He was still lost. Every direction looked the same. Tall trunks, gray sky, no path. If he could not find his way out, there was no cottage to bring the wolf to at all. "I don't know where we are," he told the wolf. His voice cracked. He turned in a slow circle. Nothing looked familiar. He remembered crossing a stream the day before. Water always ran downhill. If he found the stream and followed it, it might lead him out. Zane picked a slope and walked down it. The wolf trotted beside him. Roots grabbed at his soaked moccasins. He slipped twice on wet leaves. But he kept his eyes down, searching for the shine of water. After a long time, he heard it. A soft rush ahead. He pushed through a patch of thorns and found the stream. He followed the bank. The wolf splashed along the shallow edge. The water widened. The trees began to thin. Then Zane saw smoke rising past the branches, thin and white. He ran. The stream led him out of the forest and into open ground. There, by the water, stood his stone cottage. Its steep roof, its wooden shutters, its heavy door. Smoke curled from the chimney. Smoke. He had left no fire burning. The door swung open. A girl ran out. Dark skin, curly black hair, a bright shirt under a denim jacket. She was small, and she moved fast, straight for him. "Zane!" Maya threw her arms around his waist. His little sister. She squeezed until he could barely breathe. "You didn't come home. I waited all night. I thought something ate you." "I got lost," he said. He held her tight. He had not known she was coming. He had told no one where he went, because no one ever came. "How did you get in?" "The spare key. Under the rock. You always leave it there." She pulled back and looked up at him. Then her eyes went wide. She had seen the wolf. The black wolf stood behind Zane, water dripping from its legs, yellow eyes fixed on the girl. Maya went stiff. Her hand found Zane's sleeve. "It's alright," Zane said. "He stayed with me in the cold. He's my friend." He was not sure the wolf would agree. He was not sure it would even come closer. Maya did not move. The wolf did not move. Zane stood between them, home at last, holding his breath. He had found his way back. Now he had to make a wild animal and his frightened sister trust each other under one roof.