Ghostwriter: Part 4

Orson and Vivian rode on two chestnut mustangs, exiting the forest that hid Merlin’s forgery and onto a dirt trail beside a cool freshwater lake, extending beyond their sight. The scenery was lush and clean, with scents of pine and salt in the air. Orson was reading the book in his hands while the mustang bobbed him up and down. Vivian didn’t partake in admiring the view; she kept to herself and focused on holding the reins.

Orson looked up from the book and took in the refreshing biome. “Ethan has some imagination, doesn’t he? This place is gorgeous.” Vivian didn’t acknowledge the remark. Orson waited for her response but then felt he made a mistake. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to compliment him in front of you.” She kept riding. “Question,” he asked playfully, hoping to change the mood. She didn’t answer, but he assumed she was listening. “How come the book is called The Great Case of Vivian Myers? Why would Ethan title it that?”

“He didn’t,” Vivian refuted. “Because of the enchantment, this book is alive. The title and description changes with the story. Because of what’s been going on, after Merlin came, I suppose the book has decided that this is the title.”

“Huh,” Orson licked his thumb and flipped the page he was reading. He scanned a few lines. “It looks like that this world you live in takes place around the 1800s.”

“What are the 1800s?” Vivian asked.

“Like… the year,” Orson answered awkwardly. Vivian didn’t understand. “The century 1800…” He turned his head and looked at her. “Vivian, what year do you think it is?”

Vivian was slow to answer. “I’m not sure.”

Orson nodded slowly to himself, astonished that not only her but everyone existing in Ethan’s book was completely unaware of the decade they were in. “Well,” he started, “you’re living sometime during the 1800s.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, it means that you’re sometime near in the industrial revolution.”

“Okay,” Vivian had no idea what that meant.

“In the real world,” Orson explained, “in this particular century, there was a big boom in manufacturing. Everything was being built by machines.” Orson suddenly thought of something. “Has there been a war or talks of a war?”

“Not that I know of,” Vivian replied.

“Huh. So, you’re probably before the Civil War. That, is if this is even in America.”

“The Civil War?”

“And, also, who even knows if this world is based on anywhere real. You know, there’s a lot more to explain than I realized. How about once we get you to that well I’ll catch you up to speed on… I guess, everything.”

Vivian looked over her shoulder at Orson. “You know about a lot, don’t you?”

“I know a little about a lot. I like to read.”

“Have you ever written anything?” she asked.

“No. I haven’t.” Orson confessed.

“How come?”

“Just seems too hard, having to figure all this out. I mean, look at this place.” Orson once more admired the incredible landscape they traveled through. The tall evergreen pillars that made up the forest to their left and the deep blue lake that washed over the whole earth sparkling to their right. He saw a small silhouette of an eagle flying over the lake and perch itself on a stony cliff side. “I just don’t think I could do it.”

“Well, from what I can tell, you’re not too bad,” Vivian encouraged. “You trapped Ethan with the sheep at Connor’s farm, you hid a map under that mess of papers on Merlin’s table, and you gave us these horses. Sounds like you’re better than you think.”

Orson smiled. “Thanks.” She looked over her shoulder as if to say you’re welcome. Orson’s smile disappeared. “Hey, Vivian.”

“Yes?” she answered cheerfully.

“When Ethan changed the story, when he made himself you’re husband, do you remember anything before that? What you were like?”

Vivian was quiet. Orson watched the back of her for what felt like an hour. All he saw was her long black hair, denying them of eye contact. Suddenly, her horse slowed down. She came to trot beside Orson, where he saw her green eyes for the first time in a while.

“I remember only a small amount,” she began in a soft voice. “There was this man. Joseph. I remember loving him and he loved me. And I was happy. But that’s it. That’s all I can remember.”

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“No. Only that Joseph is gone.”

“Did… did Ethan kill him, too?” Orson asked cautiously.

“Ethan became Joseph,” Vivian said in a low tone. “That’s, I guess, who the main character was when Ethan first started this story. But, eventually, he…” Vivian tried refraining herself from wincing but she couldn’t withstand it. She looked directly at Orson. “I hate that he loves me. I feel sick every time I think of it. I don’t feel human knowing he made me just to…” She closed her eyes. “After he killed Merlin, he threatened to rewrite me. He said he would make me love him back and he could write my emotions how he wanted. That’s when I burned the book in the forge.” She combed her hair with her fingers and tried breathing slowly to calm her anger. Vivian looked down at the horse’s mane and spoke timidly. “Have you ever been forced to love someone, Orson?”

Orson hesitated to speak. He felt a wave of sympathy and sorrow after hearing Vivian’s confession. The pain she suffered was real and she was in agony, even while she was running from him. “No,” Orson admitted, though he wished he could relate for her sake.

“Have you ever been told you existed just to satisfy someone else?” she asked; brokenness crept through her voice.

“No,” Orson answered gingerly.

Vivian’s eyes glistened as tears rolled under her eyelids. “It’s hard enough living like this in itself, but to find out you don’t even exist, you’re just a character in some book…” A tear formed in the in middle of her green eye and fell down her face. “I can feel just as much as you do, Orson.”

Orson’s heart was heavy. How deeply Vivian felt the anguish of her life moved him, now determined more than ever to rescue her and bring her to the well and save her from Ethan. “We’re going to get you to that well, Vivian,” Orson encouraged her. “I’m going to get you out of here and Ethan will stay behind. You won’t be stuck here any longer.”

She tried to look back at him as a thank you, but she was still wrestling with her emotions.

Orson and Vivian trotted on their mustangs to a small clay mountain at the end of the dirt road. The side was too steep; they knew they couldn’t bring the horses with them. They each hopped off and walked to the bottom of the mountain to begin their climb when suddenly both horses started neighing and standing on their hind legs.

Orson faced Vivian. “What is it?”

Vivian looked around. She could feel the presence of danger closing in. “Wait,” she whispered. “I know where we are.”

They heard a low growl from the forest beside them. The horses took off and galloped away when a pack of four wolves sprung out from the forest. Orson’s breath was taken when he saw the size of the wolves. They were as large as the horses, and stronger, too. The giant wolves eviscerated the horses in seconds, sharp screams quickly cut off as they ate away the mustangs. Orson and Vivian whipped their heads to the right and saw a giant wolf closing in, standing taller than them both. Orson and Vivian backed away slowly. Vivian maintained eye contact with the wolf in front of her. “These are the wolves that killed Merlin.”

Orson heard another growling sound behind them, where a second giant wolf trapped them from the other side. The two wolves closed in. Orson slowly knelt to the ground and opened the book and clicked the pen. “There’s nothing you’ll be able to write to save us, Orson,” Vivian whispered hopelessly.

“Let me think,” he whispered back. Orson looked around his environment while the giant wolf in front of him hunched over and readied to pounce. Orson scribbled in the book. He looked up. Nothing changed. He tried quickly writing a new sentence. The wolves were about to attack. He closed his eyes and thought hard. He wrote in the book, praying it would work.

He looked up. The wolf leapt towards him. Orson jumped back and wrapped his arms around Vivian to shield her. They shut their eyes in fear. The wolf jumped over them. Orson opened one eye and saw his writing worked.

The wolf leapt over Orson and Vivian and lunged towards three vicious grizzly bears roaring with defiance. Two of the bears had grabbed hold of the second wolf on either side and ripped its tail off; the wolf yelped horribly. As the wolf lunged at the bears, the third bear stood on its hind legs and met the giant wolf in the air. They tumbled together and bit into each other wildly. The pack of giant wolves still devouring the horses ran to the bears to fight.

Orson picked Vivian up and quickly climbed up the clay mountain. They scaled as fast as they possibly could, having to only go a short distance. Vivian made it to the top and she bent down to lift Orson up. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled himself up with the book shoved in the waist of his pants. Once he stood up they looked down and saw the wolves jumping up and clawing at the mountain. The claws were catching the clay long enough for them to leap up a second time and begin hunting them.

“Orson, write something quick!” Vivian shouted.

Orson bent down and pulled out the book. He wrote quickly. The sky suddenly turned grey and a loud thunder boomed in the sky. Rain poured down on them as the clay moistened until it slid down the side of the small mountain. The wolves slipped off from the wet clay and crashed back to the bottom. Orson quickly shut the book to save it from the rain.

They turned around and saw they were at the edge of a canyon; the sands were turning brown from the rain. And in the middle was a small stone well.

“That must be it,” Orson declared. They slid down the mountain, pressing their heel in the clay to slow their speed. They reached the bottom and sprinted towards the well far in the distance.

“Vivian!!” They heard a shout echoing within the canyon. Vivian turned and and saw upon another clay cliff was Ethan sitting regally on an onyx shire horse as the rain fell over him. Lighting struck in the sky as he yelled and cracked the reins. The shire horse ran down a path that led itself into the canyon to chase after her.

Orson and Vivian sprinted towards the well as fast as they could run as Ethan galloped with closing speed.