SNOW AS ICE

" Luna, Luna. " David called in a soft tune,watching her sleeping soundly. Her eyes opened and flickered twice which made her smiled from her eyes to her mouth when she saw that it was him. He also smile in return.

"I miss you. We miss you. " Luna repiled softly, holding her stomach in the process to draw his attention. His eyes widened with surprise and gladness. David pulled her for a hug and whispered something to her ears.

"I am here now and I will always protect you. " His voice went dim, distorting slowly to a stop. Everywhere became dark and the images disappeared with the dark.

"Snow. " Someone called, the voice was wobbly and disoriented. Not focused. This time it came again but louder and firmer.

"Snow!" The voice called,igniting the tingling feeling in her ears. Snow opened her eyes abruptly to feel the pains in her ears. She tried to reach out for her ears but one of her hand got pulled back by the IV line.

Derrick acted quickly and held the stand, preventing it from falling on her face .

"Hey baby. " Derrick called out after balancing the stand very well . His face showed that he was sad and concerned. His eyes reflecting regret and hints of anger.

"Papa ." Snow winced and pulled out tears from her eyes. This made Derrick felt even worse. He was blaming himself for not paying much attention to her. He was bent on fulfilling his duties to be a good father and balancing the other aspects of his life .

"It's okay,I am sorry. I didn't know you were going through this. I feel useless. " Derrick lamented, his eyes were teary and his heart bitter and heavy. He held her hands and tried to comfort her.

"Papa. I was scared and I felt alone. I didn't know what happened. I saw…" Snow tried to explained when she remembered bits of the scenes. Derrick intervened quickly and calm her down,preventing her from talking further. She needed to rest.

He was able to put her back to sleep. Derrick was pissed but had to take caution after the police apprehended the girls and the principal. He was glad that he didn't get to the school first or else the principal might be at the morgue, Stiff and frozen . When he got the call from school, Derrick panicked but when he heard the caller, his wit broke instantly and he fled before the caller could tell him everything.

Still in thought, The doctor approached him when he notice that he was staring into space. Derrick got startled from his firm touch. He tiltled his head up to see the male doctor gazing at him with a concerned face.

"Are you okay, Mr Brooks?" The doctor asked with a cool smiled probably to encourage him from blaming himself much.

"Yeah but my baby isn't." Derrick repiled, looking at his daughter who was sleeping soundly. Her countenance showed that she was still exhausted.

"Well. Nothing much happened to her but all I can assure you is that she is recovering every fast. The only thing we might be worried about is that, she might developed a trauma from this incident. It is advised she have a good therapy for her mental health."The doctor explained in somewhat way to address the situation properly.

"Oh God. Is my baby going to be fine?" Derrick was terrified. He couldn't imagine his daughter having a bad trauma growing up .He had always wanted her to live a good and happy life and he was doing his best to provide one for her.

"She would be fine. Trust her. Let's still observe her and we will get back to you. " The doctor assured and patted his shoulder for support. He felt he needed one. Derrick buried his face into his palms, weeping silently in his heart. He promised to be strong for her and showing weakness might break her more than she was.

Derrick took a short sleep on his chair. His head tilted to the back,snoring soundly when a call woke him up. He opened his eyes to see that he was still in the hospital and Snow was still asleep. This time, she was sleeping calmly. No hint of distress or tiredness.

The call came again and he took his phone from his pocket to see an unknown caller calling. He hesitated for a second but the call tune never stopped. It was as if he was being compelled to pick the call.

Derrick swiped to answer and placed the phone to his right ear. He waited for any sound but got none which prompted him to speak .

"Hello. Who is it?" He asked nervously. The caller didn't reply, just a static sound that seemed to come up every millisecond.

Derrick spoke again this time with much authority. To show the unknown caller that he wasn't playing and might take action If he proved stubborn.

"You won't answer right?" Derrick asked, clenching his jaws in anger. He took the phone from his ear and decided to hang up when he heard a deep hoarse voice from the phone.

"Mr Derrick Brooks. " The caller called through the phone.

"Who is this? How do you know my name?" Derek asked instantly. He was quite agitated and wanted to figure out what he knew about him. His eyes darted to her bed, wondering if the stranger also knew about his daughter.

"I am not here to answer all your questions but I want to know if you got my message. " The caller said in a more humane voice which made him relax a bit. Maybe he did that to scare him,Derrick assumed.

"What message? Who are you?" Derrick snapped, almost stirring her up from her sleep. This made him take to his feet and walked out of the room,shutting the door behind him closely. He moved a bit further from the room with a pissed face.

"If you don't want me to find you and hunt you down. You better cut this trash up, you hear me?" Derrick snapped almost at the top of his voice . A Nurse passing by was stunned by the tone of his voice, he noticed and apologised with his head slightly bowed. He returned to the caller who was laughing hard at his threat.

"Mr Brooks. You seem to amaze me. I really want to see your expertise, perhaps find me and we can talk. " The caller responded with a scoff .

"Do not hang up, I need to know what you know about me!" Derrick replied to him, already losing his patience. He tried to hold himself lest to provoke the caller.

"See, you reached out to me. I left an envelope at your place of work and I haven't heard about you. " He replied with all seriousness. No laughing but concerned.

"You were the one? I haven't checked it but why did I drop that envelope ?" Derrick asked, sensing the urgency and fear crawling in his mind. He wondered if it was something really bad coming his way.

"That is because it is about your daughter, Snow. " The caller warned with a firm voice. Derrick froze immediately and couldn't speak. His heart raced faster and fear overwhelmed him.

Three days later, Snow was back at home. She was moody and spent most of her day in her room. Curled up in her bed. She wasn't ready to face the outside world. It was too much for her to handle. Her father had tried to help her but he understood that she needed time.

Derrick decided to use his old tricks to get her out of her room. He decided to do some barbecue to lure her out. He took himself outside the backyard to prepare the grill. The smoke from the charcoal went up to her room upstairs. He added more to aid its effectiveness. Derrick hoped she would give in because he missed his baby so much.

Snow laid her head on her table, sighing and brooding, thinking about the dreams she had been having after the incident . Her nostrils picked up a familiar scent. A scent that ignites a warmth within her. The scent came again stronger when the meat was placed on the grill,roasting evenly inside the grill.

She raised her head up,following the scent, sniffing her nose in the process to inhale everything and before she could get herself. Snow was in the backyard.

Derrick let out a big smile when he saw her in the backyard. He was happy that this could get her out of her room at least. Snow felt embarrassed and regretted falling for his trap. She turned and wanted to walk away when her father ran to her and stopped her.

"Please, don't leave. I made them for you. " He begged,holding her hands. Snow let out a fake frown. She knew that it would be a loss to her if she gave up this nice meal.

"Fine. I don't want it to waste and you will now have to sulk because you spent a lot to prepare this. I am being considerate. " Snow replied dryly and he nodded with a smile. Her eyes lit up in shock when the meat was burning.

"My Meat!" Snow exclaimed and they both ran to the grill stand to see that it was truly burning. Derrick was amazed by her sharp nose for detecting it sooner lest they will have to eat an entire meal of burnt offering.

"You have a sharp nose. I don't know what I would have done without you. You are a life saver. " Derrick commented on her and for once, he saw her smile genuinely. He was pleased that she was coming around. Her eyes glittered with excitement and anticipation by just looking at the meat.

"Stop drooling!" He ordered and she squealed sadly but later smiled and adjusted herself.

"papa. " Snow called while eating. Her mood became dull. He noticed and dropped his cutlery before he answered.

"Yes baby. What is it?" He asked.

"Who is Luna?" She asked immediately, throwing him off balance.

"Luna?" He asked to be sure.

"Yes. I think I have heard her name in my dreams. I don't know if you had seen her or knew her. "

"I don't know. I haven't heard that name before. But why did you ask? Did you see her in your dreams?" He asked and she nodded in approval.

"What did she say to you?" Derrick asked, looking curious.

"Not me. She was talking to someone. I couldn't see him properly but he calls him her lover. I don't know, it felt so real like I was really there. " Snow explained, still trying to fathom why she would have those dreams.

Derrick laughed and spoke immediately, after realising that it was nothing to worry about.

"It was just a dream. Maybe one of your movies or your books you have read. You know, creating new memories in your head. Don't worry. It's just a dream." Derrick replied to her. He was glad that this wasn't something to cause any alarm.

"Hmmm… I don't think so .I can swear that it felt so real." She tried to justify but her father wasn't listening as he resumed eating. Snow shrugged it off and joined him eating. There was no better feeling that eating outside with your favourite person and looking at the night sky.

Derrick got a call and when he checked. His heart skipped a beat. The food suddenly tasted sour in his mouth. Snow raised her head to see him staring hard at his phone, ringing loudly.

"Papa, aren't you answering ?" Snow called out to him. He regained himself and stylishly left the table to take the call. Snow noticed that he was nervous and concluded that it might be his boss.

Derrick went into the house, leading to the kitchen. Before he took the call, he opened the curtains to check on her to see that she was okay. Then he took the call. The caller spoke immediately.

"I haven't heard from you. You aren't taking this seriously. " He told him over the phone.

"Taking this seriously? That my daughter is a threat!. You don't know what you are saying. I am a fool for taking your calls and listening to your bullshit!" Derrick flared up in anger.

"You won't understand unless you see for yourself. Your daughter isn't who you think she is. She is a monster. Check the envelope and you will see what I am talking about!" The man tried to explain. His voice showed all seriousness and a hint of desperation.

"You know what? Fuck you! " Derrick snapped and hung up. He inhaled sharply and exhaled deeply. He was so pissed that he was ready to unleash his rage. He didn't understand why a psycho would approach him and tell him that rubbish. His baby wasn't a monster. She couldn't hurt a fly and if she could, she wouldn't have been bullied all this while.

He looked through the window to see her eating happily, moving her hands in the air due to excitement. His baby was just a beautiful and calm girl. She wouldn't, he thought hard.

One look at the envelope made him think he was a fool for hoping to see its content. He tossed it into the trash bin and went upstairs. Derrick knew his daughter more than anybody even though he wasn't the biological father .

A few minutes later, he came down to the trash bin and took the envelope. He wanted to satisfy his curiosity and know if he was being played.

He walked to the table and opened the envelope, tossing the content on his palm. It was a USB device. He pondered deeply and decided to check its content.

His laptop was in the living room and he grabbed it. Derrick inserted the device and clicked on it to see a single video. He played it and the speaker similar to the caller came forward. Derrick watched intensely but he couldn't see the person in the background. Just some pictures.

"If you are watching this, it means you have decided to know the truth. I am about to tell you something that might show that I am bluffing… but I am not. There are things in this world that are meant to be in our children's story book. Creatures of old still exist and they live amongst us . And you are living with one …. " The man spoke in a deep voice that shook fear into his mind. When he heard this, Derrick paused the video, trying to take what he said in. He was troubled and confused. So many questions ran through his mind and a hint of doubt was sprouting slowly in his heart.

He continued the video and the man continued speaking " ….. I met a creature some years ago. I didn't know those creatures existed. An animal, beastly creature and what we all know as werewolves . My friend fell in love with a werewolf and that was when it happened. These are pictures of them. David and Luna. Luna was a goddess of the moon…" Derrick paused the video again when he remembered the name 'LUNA ' . He recalled that Snow mentioned the name to him earlier. Derrick panicked in fear and stood up pacing round the kitchen. The truth was too much to be handled, if it was the truth. He thought very hard and concluded that he was crazy.

Derrick, determined and stronghearted, sat down to watch the rest of the video.

"David was a human and when he knew that she was a werewolf. She was already with his child. I thought he was going to leave her and move on. Forgetting all that had happened between these two worlds. A world that wasn't supposed to exist. He went after her but unfortunately, her home was destroyed and taken by a ruthless Alpha king who took her as his wife and queen. My friend was stubborn and I couldn't stop him. He left to get them back and since then,he never returned and I presume that he died. " The man spoke with sadness. Then his voice became clearer with a hint of pain and anger.

"Then I vowed to hunt down every creature I could come across. I kill them and balance the world. They shouldn't exist. Our world cannot live in peace if they aren't hunted down like animals . "

Derrick was stunned and frozen to the spot. Goosebumps swelled up around him. He was utterly scared of this lunatic and what he would do to his daughter.

"Oh… you might be wondering why this is connected to your daughter right? You see, I have a detector that detects mystical anomalies in these creatures. I did that myself after much research and my hard work. I can tell you that these machines work. I was at her school to look for them in places they might be. And you know what? My machine detected the same anomalies from your daughter. I was stunned to see a young wolf and the energy coming from her was beyond what my device could carry. So I monitored you for some days and I saw that you are a human and then it makes sense that she wasn't your real daughter. " The man laughed manically, pissing Derrick so much, making him clenched his fist and thumping them on the table. If only he could punch his face so hard that he won't be able to breathe.

He continued " I know you might think that I am lying but sooner enough, she will show you her true form. They are predators made to hunt and you can't stop her. Blood is all they crave for and you might be her first prey. You better kill her off before she kills you. Or better still, let me do it!" Derrick couldn't take it and closed the laptop. His blood boils in anger. No one can threaten his daughter or better still, kill her. He wanted to involve the police but turned down the idea. He wanted to handle this himself and deal with this lunatic. Derrick would do anything to protect his daughter.

He brought out his phone and dialled his number and the man picked immediately as if he was expecting his call.

"Hello. "

"Let's meet. "Derrick said with a stern face and hung up before the man could speak further. He took the USB and left for his room.

Snow woke up from the same dream yet again. She yawned tiredly, feeling exhausted for no reason. She stood up and went to the bathroom to ease herself when her eyes stumbled on the mirror.

She gasped in shock when she saw her teeth protruding forward like fangs. Snow screamed out loud, trying to touch the teeth when she woke up screaming in fear. Her father heard her voice and quickly ran upstairs. He saw his daughter freaking out on her bed.

"Papa.!!" Snow cried out when she saw him in her room,looking so worried.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Derrick held her down,trying to calm her down.

"I had a dream. Then a nightmare . I am scared. " Snow weeps softly on his arms. Her body shook vigorously in his embrace . He wondered what could have scared her this much.

"It's okay, it's just a dream. I am here with you. I am gonna use my magic wand to wade bad dreams away. " He teased and she laughed.

"Stop it, I am not a baby anymore. That's childish. " Snow commented, still weeping.

"But you are my baby. Get ready. I will be taking you to school and that is if you want. You can still take your time, you know. I am not complaining. " Derrick told her, sulking in the process. He wasn't letting her go to school yet.

"Papa, I am fine. I need to go back to school. My grade won't move up if I don't take my studies seriously. " Snow pout, making his heart melt and he stood up .

"but I can do homeschooling. I don't mind teaching you. " He said, dragging his feet.

"Papa, leave. I need to get ready for school okay?" Snow scolded with a fake expression and he left sulking like a baby. This made her laugh.

"Like I said, if you aren't feeling it. Call me and I will come to pick you . " Derrick mentioned when she stepped out of his car. Snow nodded and went inside the school. Derrick drove off after he made sure that she was inside the school. His countenance changed to a serious one after placing the gun from his back into the front shed. He needed to be prepared for the impossible.

As soon as she entered the school hallway. Everyone went silent. No noise from any sorts. Even the flies around stopped buzzing. It was as if time froze for her. The intense looks she got made her nervous as she walked. There was something she observed after she entered her classroom. The tingling in her ears had stopped. It would have been better if everyone was minding their business as usual but this time, all the attention was on her.

Miss Rose walked in and made eye contact with her. She gasped in shock and almost lost her balance. That scene from that day flashed through her mind making her scared. She couldn't look at her properly and walked briskly to her seat.

Snow noticed the sudden awkwardness but chose to ignore it. Few of her classmates continued staring at her and murmuring amongst themselves but one of them was bold to ask.

"Brooks. " A boy of the same age as her, stood forward. He was also a mean boy but wasn't as bad as Stacy and her goons.

"what?" Snow replied, not putting much interest in what he wanted to say. She has been expecting someone to approach her.

"What did you do to Stacy and her goon that made the principal go to jail and then to the juvenile center?" He asked rudely, spilling saliva on her.

"would you watch it!" Snow snapped, making him shudder. The looks in his eyes made her wonder why he got so scared. He quickly ran to his seat and sat down ,looking so shaken. The rest of the students made gasps and adjusted themselves. Each of them avoided her gaze.

The silence went on till school was over. For a long time, she had craved for this silence but now, it was becoming more like torture to her. Everyone avoided her like a plague and Snow felt really alone.