Max had stopped listening to Juan and was standing at the door, sniffing. A low growl gurgled in his chest. Juan opened the door and stepped inside the little cabin he shared with his dad. Max followed and, upon entering, stopped and growled again. His ears were up, and he was looking at the couch. A small person sat there, wrapped head-to-toe in a blanket, with only an opening for their face. The figure began to stand.
“Who are you, and why are you in my house?” demanded Juan, hoping his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he felt.
The person stood and let the blanket fall, revealing a thin, diminutive woman. She wore a tight outfit, probably white originally, but very dirty now. It was a uniform of some kind, and the close fit made her arms and legs appear elongated. Her complexion was grayish pale, and she had no hair to be seen.
The woman shivered before speaking, then in a hoarse whisper pleaded, “I need help. Please…help me to hide. I don’t want them to kill me.” Another shiver convulsed through her. She quickly sat again, almost falling onto the couch.
Suddenly, the cabin phone rang. Neither moved; they just continued staring at each other. The phone rang again.
“Don’t you move!” said Juan sternly.
The phone rang a third time. Juan stepped to the phone, which sat on an end table, between the couch and a recliner, and picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Juan? Glad you’re back. Listen, the doctor is here,” said a voice.
“I know, I saw her jet in the airfield,” replied Juan.
“I’m sure you had a long day, Juan, but hurry over to the lodge. The doctor wants us to join her for dinner, an early dinner. She says it’s important, and she’s waiting.”
“Dad, wait-” said Juan.
“Just hurry over. Lily is about to serve the food. Hurry!” interrupted Dad before hanging up the phone.
Juan put the phone down and stared at it, then he made two fists, swung them around in the air, and defiantly stomped his bare feet. He was diverted from his tantrum by the woman wrapping herself again in the blanket she had dropped. He fixed his eyes back to the her. She showed no concern that he had just survived three near-death experiences today and now had to have dinner with the doctor.
“What do you mean `hide you`? From who? And why?” he demanded.
“They’re after me. They want me dead,” she answered weakly.
“They? Who are they?” Juan demanded again.
The woman seemed to be forcing herself to speak.
“I, I don’t know. They work,” she paused as if collecting her last bit of strength. “for Dr. Zell. They work for her.”
“What?!” exclaimed Juan. “My dad and I work for the doctor. She owns this ranch. She owns this house. Tell me who you are.”
A sad look passed over the strange woman’s face. Her big eyes lost focus.
“Yes, of course. I guess everyone on this planet is the doctor’s. I should have known. We will never be free.”
The phone began ringing again.
“Look, you, I, I have to go…to dinner…with her, Dr. Zell. You stay here. I, I won’t say anything about you. Not yet-not until you tell me more. There’s food and water in the kitchen, help yourself…just don’t turn on any lights and don’t go outside. I’ll be back soon.”
The woman made no response as Juan ran out, grabbed his boots, and headed to the lodge house. He entered through the kitchen door to wash up. His long day on mountain trails being chased by bears and wolves had coated him with dust and dried sweat, but this strange woman had his heart pounding harder than ever. He quickly scrubbed his neck and hands.
His face was buried in a dish towel when the ranch cook entered the kitchen. She was shorter than Juan and unusually petite for a cook. Her long brown hair, with just a light dusting of silver, was held in a braid that reached halfway down her back.
“Juan, hi!”, she exclaimed in surprise. “I’m glad you’re here. Hurry, you must hurry!”
“Okay, Lily, I am. Does she have guests or something?” asked Juan.
“She does. Her pilots, as usual, and a couple of others. Your dad is in there, too.”
Lily stepped back to look at him. “Oh Juan, what happened? You’re a mess! Yuck! You smell like campfire. Did you fall into the lake or something?”
“Something like that,” mumbled Juan.
“We’ll talk about it later; now you just need to hurry. Let’s go!”
The lodge dining hall was long and narrow. Along one side of the room were windows revealing a view into the majestic valley below the house. Opposite the windows was a long wall upon which hung several paintings and photographs of the ruggedly beautiful ranch property. Above the heavy wooden-framed dining table hung a massive chandelier decorated with deer antlers.
Juan stepped into the room and noticed the people seated around the table. Dr. Zell sat at one end with her long, graying hair piled on her head in a messy bun. She wore a faded, rock band t-shirt. On the doctor’s left sat two men Juan didn’t recognize. To her right sat a woman, whom Juan knew as the pilot. To her right sat the co-pilot. Juan sat down next to him, with his back to the windows.
“Hola, Juan,” said the co-pilot. “Como esta usted? Mi llamo es Kyle, er, if you remember.”
“Hola,” said Juan. “Bien.” He did remember Kyle as the guy who always wanted to practice his clumsy Spanish. Tonight, Juan wasn’t in any mood for that, though.
Lily sat across the table from Juan, next to one of the guests - a short but substantial man with an unruly mop of light gray hair, and glasses perched on a bulbous, red nose. Between him and the doctor sat a massive, muscular man, and except for bushy eyebrows, he had no other hair on his head.
Opposite the doctor, at the far end of the table, sat Hank, the ranch foreman and Juan’s father. Hank stood about six feet tall, with a thick head of gray hair which he usually kept under a baseball cap, but not at the dinner table, of course. He had large, calloused hands, bright green eyes, an easy smile, and the weathered, leathery skin of a man who spends most of his time outdoors.
“Hey, son. Everything okay?” asked a concerned-looking Hank.
“Hi Dad, yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Dr. Zell spoke, “Welcome, Juan, I’m glad you made it. Hank, Lily, and Juan, thank you for joining us for an early supper. We need Juan’s help with something. But let’s discuss while we eat. We haven’t much time.”