Chapter One

Wandering into the thick bushes, Beverly Miller was still dazed and couldn't get what she had just seen out of her head.

Dad! Daddy!! "she called out"

The cold street responded in silence 

"Where are you? Please don't leave me all alone," she whimpered as she darted past the thick bushes searching for her father

There was still no response and no so sight of her father. She kept searching in desperation and before she knew it, she was back at the initial spot where her father's car was parked.

This time, she sat on the floor wailing uncontrollably as she helplessly stared at the blood that splashed on the car that was parked before her and on the floor.

This blood was what she tried to trace in search of her father. She succeeded only a little until she got into the bushes and there was no trace of the blood that stained the floor anymore. 

But she inwardly knew that whoever or whatever took her father had passed through that route, her eyes could not deceive her with what she saw in what seemed to happen within a snap of the fingers.

Now, it dawned on her that she is all alone.

"This world has always been unjust to me," She said.

Still whimpering, she rose to her feet and took some steps forward, as slow as a baby that is just learning to walk.

She doesn't know the way back home as she had come a long way from home. Only her father would know and now he's nowhere to be found. 

Even if she did, she would still choose not to go back there for now as her father had told her that danger lies back there. Even though she does not know what exactly it is. 

The more she tried to figure out the danger that her father talked about – which got them running away from home unplanned – the more confounded she became.

She wiped her tears with the back of her palms, and suddenly a strange feeling engulfed her. It was the feeling of being prepared for anything. Whatever took her father away can come for her now at will. She became suicidally fearless. 

Since it was clear to her how unjust the world has been to her right from her birth, she needed no one to tell her that she just doesn't fit in in this world. "I should probably just die," She said to herself.

She didn't know where she was going specifically, but she kept on moving in any direction that her feet took her.

As she walked in that silent street, her mind revisited how her father had barged into her room that night which was strange to her

Although principled, her father was easygoing, handsome, very kind, and well-behaved–unlike his junior brother (Rico) – such that not only Beverly loved him but almost everyone around him.  

Since he was the only parent left for Beverly, he made sure to always make her happy.

Beverly knew her father had always given her her privacy by always knocking on her door, awaiting her consent before he entered. 

Beverly opened her mouth as if to say something, but before Beverly could mutter a word, 

"Beverly, we're leaving here this minute" came the voice of her father.

For a minute, she wanted to laugh and tell her dad that that joke was too expensive.

She arched a brow at her dad, expecting him to laugh too so they could both laugh the hell out as they often did, but she was disappointed. 

This time, she could tell by a simple look at her dad that he was not at ease and was looking way too serious. She became confounded.

"What? Why?"

"Dad, what's going on? " She asked splutteringly.

 "There's no time for explanation now honey, I'll fill you in on the way. Trust me," her father assured

Although reluctant, Beverly just did as she was told and in some minutes, she was out of her room with her dad. They both sneaked out surreptitiously through the back door without alarming people.

It was just 10:15 pm, and by this time, everywhere would still be buzzing around the royal house as usual, but it looks like Miller had luck on his side this night. People went to bed early tonight as many of them haven't even gotten enough rest after the burial ceremony of king George.

Beverly hopped into her father's car, staring curiously at him as he jerked the car to life and the car pulled away.

"You have not answered me, dad... Your coronation as king is just two days away and here we are, running from what I don't seem to understand….. what is going on?" Beverly demanded

"Calm down my dear, it's not safe here. When we arrive somewhere safer, I'll tell you everything, I promise," Miller reassured.

Beverly, unsatisfied with his response, scowled and decided to chip in a little bit of patience before she completely loses her mind.

Miller remembered the death threat that had him on the run. "Damn the coronation when my life or that of my daughter is not safe," he said inwardly. 

He sweated profusely as he dialed the number of a friend of his, but his friend’s number was unreachable. “Well, when I get to his place, I’ll explain what happened to him,” he concluded.

The cold night air whistled through the car, and after driving for about an hour and a half, the beads of perspiration that has spread all over his face and soaked part of his clothes had begun to dry off.

 He took another stare at his daughter who was now looking out the window, her blue eyes so reminiscent of her ravishing mother, even when she was upset. 

“You see, Beverly,” he began.

Beverly felt the world tilt, turning her head to look at her dad. She was ready to know what had them on the run."

“I’ve always thought that there are exceptions when people say ‘don’t trust anybody a hundred percent’ but now I’ve realized that the saying is true.”

Beverly felt a pang of sympathy and nodded as if permitting him to say more.

“Can you imagine that…………”

Miller’s sentence was interrupted by an unpleasant sound at the rear of the car. Terrified, their eyes were instantly fixated on the rear of the car. 

There seemed to be nobody but a soft wind that lasted only a few seconds. Relief flooded through them in a huge rush when they discovered that they were just in a stony area. It is not new to them how stones that get stocked around the tire from mud are being hurled away at full speed. 

Although Miller’s worries had abated, he paused the discussion and focused on getting away from the stony area so he drove on. Beverly understood. 

He had only driven about 22 minutes more when the car came to an abrupt halt. It was a dead hour, and they were in the middle of nowhere for his car to break down like this. Miller shook his head in sheer bitterness at the jinx that had befallen him. 

“Just stay in the car, Beverly,” her father said with concern. “I’ll take care of this.

Beverly didn’t protest as was her wont whenever her father is being overprotective. She simply nodded, deceiving her father into thinking that she had accepted. 

Miller stepped out of the car to check out what went wrong. As he tried to hook the bonnet, he said: I hope I can get a big stone in this area. He thought he had only muttered to himself when he said that, but his words came loud enough for Beverly to hear. 

Suddenly, he sighted a stone at a distance. It appeared small but he deemed it manageable so he made a move as if trying to go get the stone, but Beverly who had also sighted the stone beat him to it. Miller shook his head in a slight dissatisfaction at her stubbornness but left her to get the stone. 

After walking a little distance on the straight road, Beverly finally reached where the stone lay. She crouched down to pick it up when she saw a bigger stone by her left which lay on a pathway between two bushes, not too far from where she was but slightly away from her father’s sight. 

She took a glance at her father, and when she saw that her father wasn’t looking, she started towards the direction of the bigger stone.

Meanwhile, her father had left the front of the car. He was inside the car this time in a bid to try the ignition again when he heard his car door slam shut. There seemed to be another short wind in the twinkle of an eye. 

His eyes dilated when he saw a mighty shadow appear before him. “Miller,” The shadow gained a voice. When the shadow gained a face, Miller opened his mouth aghast. He suddenly felt like his eyes and his mind were playing games on him. 

Miller was forcefully dragged out of the car, sustaining a cut on the neck and on his face, but not too deep. Thank heavens! Before he could fathom what was going on, he had earned two more blows that blacked him out and made his face bleed. All of this happened so fast. 

Beverly had carried the stone, and this time she was sure she heard something. She came running. The mighty werewolf that attacked miller noticed that she was fast approaching and in a twinkle of an eye, he vanished with Miller into the bushes. 

This was the moment when Beverly came into sight. She noticed something dart through the bushes upon her arrival but didn’t know what it was. She knew how much her father cherished her and was double sure he would never forsake her like this. After she had searched but to no avail, she finally deduced that a wild animal must have taken her father.

Lost in thoughts, yet still, on the walk, Beverly stumped her feet against a plank and penetrating right into the sole of her feet was a nail protruding from the plank. She cried out in agony. She wailed as she couldn’t hoist her feet away from the nail all by herself. 

An elderly woman at a distance, who was also lost in thought was jolted out of her reverie by Beverly’s incessant wails. She wondered who could be out there by this time of the night. 

She didn't know exactly where the voice came from but she was sure this is a young girl wailing. She ran down her stairs and traced the cries until she met Beverly. 

She was touched to see a poor young girl out here in the dark, helplessly lying injured on the ground. She jettisoned her worries and rushed towards her without further delay.

Beverly's cry spiraled up into a high-pitched one when the woman successfully pulled the plank away from her feet.