Prologue

A gentle breeze dances about the leaves, silently preparing every living creature for sunrise. At that moment, the trees whisper among themselves, spreading news of an imposter, a fraud, a nightmare.

As dawn comes slowly and gracefully, spreading its warm golden cloak from the far horizon, it is met by the imposter who taunts nature’s gentleness with its own hue of yellow and orange causing darkness to withdraw silently as though fearing for its very life.

In a distance, a single cry of a child could be heard before the sound of sirens break the silence in which the competition is held. Mimicking nature’s speed, the imposter claims an object as its own keeping those who oppose it at bay.

Little by little, it consumes the object and by the time the land is covered in nature’s gold the once proud mansion of the country’s high ranking officer has been reduced to nothing but its strong foundations charred beyond recognization and ashes.

Helplessly, the firefighters work their way among the debris with their hearts beating against their ribs afraid of what they might find and looking as if a corpse might jump out and welcome them in at any moment. The strong stench of burnt flesh hit them without warning causing two of the twelve to retreat.

Glancing about what used to be a luxurious dining room, they spot a child size platform right above their heads. Wondering what the late officer had had in mind, they called for a ladder in hushed tones while the forensic team announced the finding of two badly scorched adult bodies on the corridor upstairs.

Climbing the ladder carefully, Josh McDove, the leader of this early morning team nearly loosen his grip when he saw a young girl no older than ten clutching tightly to a brown teddy bear more than half her height.

“A…Ar…Are you alright?” He asked tentively, chiding himself the second the words left his lips. Of course she isn’t…is she even alive? How could anyone be? The fire destroyed everything! But why…

“Josh, the detectives wants to know if you’ve seen the young daughter. They can’t find her.” The call of his colleague interrupted his one-sided conversation.

“I…I… think I’ve found her…but…there is one problem…”