“Dada, can I come out now?”

“No, you have to admit what you did.”

The child banged on the door and cried, “But, I didn’t do anything!”

“Yes, you did. What did you do to the little girl, Andri?”

“Nothing!”

“Then where did she go?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t do anything!”

The door of Andri’s room creaked open, revealing his father enshrouded by a dark shadow. For some reason, Andri could never look his father in the eyes. Perhaps it was the way he stared at him with disgust, or maybe it was because their gazes looked too similar.

“Tell me, Andri. What did you do to the little girl?”

Andri screamed, “I didn’t do anything!”

“Then explain this!”

His father grabbed his arms and revealed large, deep scratches, clearly a sign of struggle. Andri looked at his own arms like they weren’t his own and then a slap came crashing against his small cheek, knocking him to the ground. His father picked him up by the arm and dragged him out of the house. His mother stared at him from the couch and he cried for her, but she only looked away. His father’s grip was like an alligator’s jaw, it was impossible to free himself. His father threw him in the truck and once he got in Andri said, “I really didn’t do anything!”

His father screamed, “Shut up!”

Andri was left breathless as his heart tried to rip itself from his chest.

“Dada, I swear, I didn’t do anything!”

His father didn’t answer him, but once the truck parked outside of a forest surrounded by a dog park Andri’s already anxious expression turned horrified and his father demanded, “Get out and show me where she is.”

“What do you mean? What are we doing here?”

“I saw you playing here with her earlier, before her parents reported her as missing.”

Something changed in Andri’s gaze, and his eyes darkened.

“You saw me?”

His father’s heart sank and he swung open his door and then his son’s. He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him through the field. Andri tried to dig his heels into the dirt, but that only made him trip and fall. He swiftly came back to his feet, but his father’s steps were too fast to keep up with and he tripped again. His knees scraped in the dirt, ripping holes in his pants. His father pulled him back up and then they reached the forest.

“Now, show me.”

“But, I didn’t do anything!”

His father yelled, “Stop with the bullshit!”

Andri looked at the forest and felt his heart nearly collapse. He hesitantly moved forward, and each step he took he swore he could hear the sounds of drums banging. Leaves fell from the trees with a blast of wind, nearly taking Andri off of his feet. His skin turned ice cold and his feet planted in place. His father slapped his back and demanded, “Keep going.”

Andri peeked back at his father, finally looking into his rage-filled eyes. He turned back with much haste, but his father caught him by the shoulder and knelt down so their eyes could meet. Tears welled in Andri’s eyes and spilled down his cheeks. His frown turned down endlessly and his brows furrowed.

“I’m sorry,” Andri choked.

“You know apologies mean nothing to me.”

His father stood up and stepped forward, pushing Andri out of the way.

Andri yelled, “Dada!”

But, it was too late. His father brushed leaves off of the barely covered body, revealing a little girl. She was beyond dead, her skin cold and her eyes empty. Red, purple, and blue marks encircled her small neck. His father finally turned to look back at him, but for some reason, Andri couldn’t see his expression.

Lumi slowly opened her eyes and looked around. It was incredibly dark and cold where they were. The only source of light came from outside the metal bars. Sitting beside her, leaning on her shoulder, was Alba. He looked ill. Lumi shook Alba to wake him up and whispered, “Wake up, Alba. Wake up!”

He fought to open his eyes and then immediately looked at Lumi with the same concerned yet irritated gaze he usually had when he woke up.

“Where are we?”

Lumi answered, “I don’t know, but if I had to guess I’d say we’ve been arrested.”

“Wow, what great observation,” Alba said as he rolled his eyes.

Lumi turned her attention not to Alba’s sarcasm, but the fact that there were two people missing who were supposed to be there.

“Where’s Andri and Eryi? And why aren’t we cuffed or something, let alone allowed to be next to each other?”

Alba only answered, “I don’t know.”

That’s all he could answer, because he really had no idea. The last thing he remembered was Andri leaving to go find Eryi, and then Lumi told him it was okay to get up. He told her he would rather sleep, and he found it incredibly easy to do since Andri left. Lumi also went back to bed, and then here they were, stuck in a cold and dark cell. This cell they were in was not only really long, but super tall. It was as though it wasn’t made for humans at all. The bars on the cage were thick, thicker than Lumi’s body. If it wasn’t for the slight holes in the bars, they would be completely encased in darkness. Then, suddenly the bars of the cell descended into the ground with no warning in the slightest.

Alba asked, “Huh?”

Lumi stepped forward and peered out of their cell and Alba hesitantly walked to her side.

Alba asked, “Is it a trap?”

“Probably.”