Randoll peered over the fence to the rest of the field. There were only two days left of their journey to the doctor. He looked down at his newfound companion who wagged his little tail. He had white spots scattered across his gray fur. Arthur was quite large and could be quite fierce. But really, he was harmless. Then, he looked over to his other friend, Lisa.
…
He had met them both a few days ago when he had been ambushed by Marcus and his men. They tried to get the satchel, attacking him, but then Lisa and Arthur came rushing through the forest and saved him. Lisa grabbed the satchel from one of the men, while Arthur fended off the others. Randoll was laying on the ground, barely conscious. After the men had retreated, he had blacked out.
He then woke up the next night and found himself in a small village hospital. In what little light the moon provided, Randoll could see there were small beds lined up in a row, but very few of them were occupied. But then Randoll felt chills run down his spine. He got the eerie feeling that he was being watched. He turned his head and saw two pairs of eyes peering at him from behind the bed.
“Ahhhhh!” Randoll screamed jumping from his bed, while his watchers jumped and screamed in response.
He had enjoyed living with the professor. But as it had just been those two his whole life, Randoll wasn’t good at making friends, no matter how hard he tried. He was just naturally suspicious of people. Randoll took a deep breath and saw now that they were no other than the girl and the dog that had saved him in the forest. “Who are you?” Randoll asked.
After a moment of hesitation, the girl responded, “I’m Lisa… and this is my dog, Arthur.” The dog walked over to Randoll and licked him.
“What are you guys doing here? I mean, why were you guys watching me… And it was you guys in the forest right?” Randoll asked Lisa.
“I was out with Arthur, in the forest going back home. When I heard screams, Arthur ran toward the sound, and I followed him,” Randoll listened to Lisa without interrupting, “Then I saw you and these men were attacking you. They were stealing some weird satchel. Arthur ran to protect you from the men, but one of them had the satchel. So I ran and stole it from him.” Lisa picked up the satchel which was lying on the ground next to his bed. “I figured if you had been fighting for it, and they wanted it so badly, it must be important. So what’s in here?”
Randoll quickly grabbed the satchel protectively and said, “That’s mine! It’s none of your business.” Just then a man came into the hospital. Lisa’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing here, Lisa! You know you’re not supposed to be here. How many times do I have to tell you?” The man looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He sat down on the bed next to him as Lisa and Arthur ran out of the hospital. The man explained that he was the village doctor.
“Hello, my name is Dr. Lucas Mority,” He explained how Randoll had been found outside the village and brought here. Randoll saw light outside the village hospital and realized it was morning. Dr. Mority offered to give Randoll a tour around the village.
…
Lisa was tired. Tired of the same thing everything every day, tired of the housework, tired of cleaning the dishes, tired of cleaning after her brothers and father, and tired of having her whole life planned out for her. She lived in a small house, with her 3 brothers and father. Her mother died 4 years ago when she was 8. Lisa didn’t think she looked anything like her mother, with her freckled face and hair that always seemed to be tangled. Her mother had been beautiful, with red hair and bright green eyes, until she got sick. And then one year later died. This left Lisa as the only woman in the house, leaving her with all the housework.
Their house was in a small village, where the rules were simple. Men get to be cobblers, blacksmiths, lumberjacks, and hunters. The whole world is open to them. While women work at home, doing all the housework, not saying anything because they had no say in anything. But Lisa was different. Sure she was bossy and had so much to say, but of course, no one listened.
Lisa wanted to be a doctor, help people, and heal them. But no, she was stuck at home with nothing to do except clean, and cook. This was her life, but anyone who suggests any change in their village will be shunned and sometimes punished. Lisa had lost hope until that boy had arrived.
Who was he? He was very strange, and what was in that satchel that he wanted to protect so badly? The satchel must be important if those men were after it. She had to find out more…
…
By Anika A
CCPL Writers' Block 