The Great Alone

Leni had never seen anyone treat her father that way and she knew there would be hell to pay for it.

The bus jerked to a stop in front of the cabin, skidded sideways slightly in the snow.

Mama turned off the ignition, and the silence expanded, grew heavier without the rattle and rumble of the engine to hide even a layer of its depth.

Leni and Mama got out of the bus fast, left Dad sitting there, alone.

As they neared the cabin, they saw again the destruction the wolves had caused. Snow lay over it all, in heaping handfuls on posts and planks. Chicken wire stuck up in tangled heaps. A door lay half exposed. Here and there, in tree wells mostly, but on wood pieces, too, there was blood turned to pink ice and frozen clumps of gore. A few colorful feathers could be seen.

Mama took Leni by the hand and led her across the yard and into the cabin. She shut the door hard behind them.

“He’s going to hurt you,” Leni said.

“Your dad is a proud man. To be humiliated in that way…”

Seconds later, the door banged open. Dad stood there, his eyes bright with alcohol and rage.

He was across the room in less time than it took Leni to draw a breath. He grabbed Mama by the hair and punched her in the jaw so hard she slammed into the wall and collapsed to the floor.

Leni screamed and flew at him, her hands curling into claws.

“No, Leni!” Mama cried.

Dad grabbed Leni by the shoulders, shook her hard. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he yanked her across the floor, her feet tripping up on the rug, and shoved her outside into the cold.

He slammed the door shut.

Leni threw herself at the door, battering it with her body until there was no strength left in her. She slumped to her knees beneath the small overhang of the roof.

Inside, she heard a crash, something breaking, and a scream. She wanted to run away, get help, but that would only make everything worse. There was no help for them.

Leni closed her eyes and prayed to the God she had never been taught about.

She heard the door unlock. How long had it been?

Leni didn’t know.

Leni stumbled to her feet, frozen, and went into the cabin.

It looked like a war zone. A broken chair, shattered glass across the floor, blood splattered on the sofa.

Mama looked even worse.

For the first time, Leni thought: He could kill her.

Kill her.

They had to get away. Now.

* * *

LENI APPROACHED HER MOTHER cautiously, afraid Mama was on the verge of collapse. “Where’s Dad?”

“Passed out. In bed. He wanted … to punish me…” She turned away, ashamed. “You should go to bed.”

Leni went to the hooks by the door, got Mama’s parka and boots. “Here, dress warmly.”

“Why?”