Chapter 2. An Attack

Confused, Selena, a bookworm with no concept of animals being dangerous, asked, “What?”

“Hold on tight!” Jordan shouted. He did his best to bring the car to a stop, but when he finally succeeded, the car collided with a tree. Selena’s head hit the glove compartment since her seat-belt wasn’t properly fastened and had come loose.

As the car came to a halt, Jordan called out, “Selena?” and turned to check on her. She was crying, and her head was bleeding. “Are you okay?”

“It aches,” Selena replied.

“Don’t worry, hon, you’ll be fine,” he reassured her as he examined her head.

“D...Dad,” Selena stuttered, trembling. “What’s that?” She gestured towards her father’s window, her vision already becoming blurry.

Jordan turned to see what Selena was referring to, and his eyes widened in shock. It wasn’t his daughter who was in danger; it was him.

“Dad...” Selena’s voice faded weakly. She reached out her hand, struggling to stay awake as her eyes fought to close. She tried to touch her father but couldn’t.

Then she heard the sound of glass shattering, saw her father being pulled out of the window, and heard his scream before she lost consciousness. 

The noise of a crane clanging metal filled Selena’s ears as she tried to wake up. She could barely see anything, and there was a constant metallic sound in the background. As her hearing gradually improved, Selena could distinguish voices, including her father’s laughter, as they were on their way to the NBA game.

She recollected shouting those words, “A HUGE BEAR IS BLOCKING THE ROAD!” Then, everything faded to black after she heard her father’s scream.

In the dimly lit room, Selena woke up, breathing heavily. She was covered in sweat. The only sound in the house was the ticking of the alarm clock. She reached out and turned it off. Selena was hesitant to go back to sleep after her nightmare, so she stayed under the covers, afraid that another bad dream would follow.

She got out of bed, and as she sat back down, she noticed her weakness. Her head was throbbing, and she could feel the bandages wrapped around it as she touched the sore spot. She was confused about how she got injured. She wasn’t one to engage in rough play, so the head injury puzzled her.

Selena managed to stand up and left her room. She needed to find her father to tell him about the nightmare she had just experienced. 

Her father always knew how to make her feel better when she had an issue. She can’t live without her father, and if something were to happen to him, she wouldn’t be able to bear life on her own. 

She walked down the stairs, but strangely she couldn’t see anyone. There was nobody there when Jordan would have been reading the morning paper and sipping his morning coffee. “Daddy.” She murmured her call so the rest of the family wouldn’t hear it. 

After finally descending the stairs, Selena looked around the hallway, puzzled. “Where could Daddy have gone?” When she couldn’t find him anywhere, she ended up in front of her parents’ door.

She gently pushed it open and peered inside, discovering her mother silently sobbing. Her mother was clutching a photograph and, while lying on her pillow, she muttered, “Why did you take Selena to the game? Jordan, where are you? Please come back to me.”

Upon hearing Isabel’s words, Selena shook her head, her hand over her mouth as she tried to conceal her eavesdropping. She shook her head in disbelief, muttering, “No. No, Daddy.” It dawned on her that her recent birthday had been the cause of a heated argument between her parents. 

She gently closed the door and retreated a few steps before rushing back to her room. Once her door was securely shut behind her, Selena began to sob. Her tears weren’t a result of overhearing her mother’s words but stemmed from her inability to recall anything after witnessing the bear on the road.

The bear!

This time, it wasn’t all a nightmare. She heard her father screaming because he was with her at the time. She took a deep breath and gasped. Her father didn’t come home because of her!

Selena slammed her fist violently against her head. ‘Selena, it’s all your fault! You’re all to be blamed!’ She shouted while banging her head with her hands. Her heart was aching more than her head, no matter how much it hurt. She bit her fingernails as she started to shake and feel irrational. Suddenly, her door was knocked.

Startled, Selena’s heart began to race as she turned her head in the direction of the knock. “Daddy, is that you?” she inquired quietly.

Selena jumped in fear when she heard another knock on the other side of the door. She rushed to her bed as soon as her body started to move and gripped to the blanket tightly, not allowing to let go. 

She could see Hania standing in front of the door as it was about to open. Selena hastily wrapped the blanket around her head so Hania wouldn’t see her horrible, deformed face. She doesn’t like it when people see her sobbing. Selena wanted them to see how strong she could be without her father since they would assume she is fragile. 

“Good, you’re awake,” Hania said as she approached Selena and sat on her bed. Being the oldest of her siblings, Hania felt a responsibility to be strong for her sisters. She gently called Selena’s name and reached for the blanket, but Selena held onto it tightly.

Selena, still hiding under the blanket, needed to know what had happened. She asked, “What happened to Daddy, Hania?” Her voice trembled, and Hania could sense that Selena might have already guessed the reason for her visit.

Hania instructed, “First, uncover your face. We need to talk about something serious.”

Selena asked, “How did I get here?” She was reluctant to hear what Hania had to say; she just wanted to know if her father would return.

Hania sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. Selena was still a child even though she was 20 years old, and life would be difficult for her if she didn’t learn to care for herself without her father close. “The cops brought you home after finding you unconscious in the car.”

Selena immediately pulled the blanket away from her face and asked, “What about Daddy?” Her face was noticeably pale as she awaited Hania’s response.

“Sorry, Selena, the cops didn’t find him in the car. You weren’t badly hurt, but they said it was some sort of accident. Mom took care of you immediately they brought you home.”

Selena yelled at Hania, “Hania, I don’t want that kind of information. Where’s... my... Daddy?” She raised her voice, her breath quickening as she tried to stay calm.

Shaking her head, Hania turned her back on Selena. She bit her lips and closed her eyes. When she finally opened her eyes, she remarked, “they found a broken window and one leg of his shoes.”

Selena suddenly recalled the sound of shattered glass and screams before losing consciousness. “What?” she weakly responded, her hand now covering her face. She realized it was the sound of glass breaking, not metal. 

“They think he ran away, but they didn’t know why,” Hania explained.

Selena’s eyes widened. “No, daddy didn’t run away. Daddy will never run away.”

“I agree too, but the cops said...”

“Don’t listen to what the cop says. Daddy would never abandon me and leave, Hania.” Hania could feel Selena’s trembling as she reached for her hands. “I remember seeing a bear on the road yesterday.”

Hania became focused. “A bear?”

She gave a nod, Selena said. “Yes, the bear was large and black. Really large and...”

“And what else?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t recall.” She shook her head. 

“Selena. Try.”

“I can’t. It’s difficult.” She spoke quickly.

“Selena... you have to try.”

Selena immediately let go of Hania’s hands. “How is this relevant? Hania, it’s just a bear.”

“It is not...,” Before Hania could even continue speaking, the doorbell called the attention of Selena and Hania from what she intended to say. 

“Daddy.” Selena looked over at the door. She sprung from bed and dashed for the door. Hania followed behind her. 

After coming down the stairs, Selena and Hania ran to the front door, which Selena opened with a smile. But as soon as she saw two men standing in front of the door in place of her father, her smile disappeared. 

She was confused. 

“Good morning, we are looking for Mrs. O’Brien,” said a man in a brown suit, standing tall beside another man in an ash suit.

“Who are you please?” Hania asked. 

“Detective Saul.” The man in brown suit said. 

“Detective?” Selena was amused.

Hania noticed footsteps approaching and quickly turned her head. “Mom, they’re here for you. The detectives.”

“Detectives?” Isabel inquired as she neared the door and saw two men standing there.

“Mrs. O’Brien?” Detective Saul called out.

“Yes, that’s me. Why are you here?” Isabel asked, puzzled. “It’s still early.”

“It’s concerning your husband,” Detective Saul replied solemnly.

Hania and Isabel exchanged glances as Selena fixed her attention on detective Saul. “My father?” She queried.  

Saul the detective nodded. “Are we allowed to enter?” He questioned. 

Isabel pretended to smile. “Yes, please.” As she led them inside, more men were waiting outside, the cops wearing black overalls with white masks and gloves. Isabel questioned, “What’s going on here?” 

“I have something to show you.” Detective Saul who was holding onto a folder, opened it and handed few photos to Mrs O’Brien to identify the person in the photos.  

“This is my husband.” Mrs O’Brien couldn’t believe her eyes, in the photos was her husband lying on the floor, a hole was seen around his chest region, and part of his head butchered.  

“What happen?” Isabel inquired as she kept staring at the photos. 

“Mrs. O’Brien. In the course of our investigation, we came across your husband in the woods. Because part of his face wasn’t completely damaged, we could recognize him. He paused before continuing, “I’m sorry to tell you, but your husband has passed away.”