The Orphan and the Beast

Eight-Years Prior

Laughing, Brittany turns to her mom, "stop tickling me!". Her protests and wriggling falls onto deaf ears as her mom pins her down on the plush couch and proceeds to attack any available part that's tickle-ish. Hearing all of the commotion Earl comes running into the living room, mock sympathy all over his face. "Hey, stop that" he shouts. Grabbing Brittany up off the couch to only throw himself down first and hold her to join in on the fun. Betty resumes her tickle attack as hysterical laughter fill the house. After another few minutes of attack Brittany wiggles herself out of her dad's arms and while still laughing crawls away from her parents who seem to be enjoying themselves.

Love has always filled this wooden log cabin home. Perched on a mountain side located on the outskirts of a quaint but lively town known as Blood Rock.

Blood Rock located in New York City, has a suburban feel and that's what drew Betty and Earl to choose this location to raise their daughter. Earl, a mechanic by day, logged the land and built this small but elegant home for his pregnant wife.

Betty, was a secretary at a law firm, that is until Brittany came into their lives. That's when she decided to become a stay at home mother, Betty was dubbed the nickname 'Betty Crocker' because there wasn't one meal the family ate that came from a box.

As Brittany grew up she and her mother were always in the kitchen together making some concoction they had seen in a cookbook. Their house, being located on a mountain side, had it's advantages and disadvantages. Power was never formally installed so everything was run on Solar Panels, internet was nonexistent, and worse yet during the winter when the sun refused to shine they lit their tiny home by candlelit and the wood burning fireplace.

Brittany never seemed to mind though, despite not having internet, because just out the back door laid a breathtaking view. Mountains and small rivers lined the property, perfect for adventures. Being so far out of town though Brittany never seemed to make friends, at least not ones willing to come for a sleepover.

Oliver was her only friend, one she could play for hours with while adventuring through the fields. Oliver was imaginary, but nevertheless he entertained her for hours.

Brittany's school was rated as one of the best in the area. Year after year pumping out kids destined for college, the sports department was not lacking in it's accolades either. Brittany was always an average student with above average grades.

From a young age she was always impressing teachers with her reading comprehension, at just 10 years old she was reading at a highschool level. Reading doesn't make you popular though, so slipping through the cracks of her peers seemed to be her fate.

Being Betty was a stay at home mom and Earl just a mechanic, there also wasn't a lot of money to buy `name brand clothes` so her classmates often giggled as the `poor girl` walked by.

Brittany was often never bothered by their remarks though because she figured she was destined for greatness, it helped that she had Oliver to confide in as well.

The end of the school year was fast approaching, moving up to a new school was daunting but she was excited for the graduation ceremony ahead. Betty was busy making a chocolate cake topped with whipped frosting for her daughter and Earl was preparing for a family gathering, after all, Brittany was the only child of the family. It was all set, in two days time the whole family would be there to see Brittany walk across the stage symbolizing her advancement to middle school. The next morning, also known as her last day of Elementary school, Brittany grabbed her backpack, made sure Oliver was ready to go, and bid her parents farewell. Betty ran after her daughter with the camera to make sure she had her `last day of school` photos. Click, click, click, click, Brittany thought her mom had to at least have a million photos of her by now and proceeded to walk to the bus stop throwing a wave as she hopped on the bus. She never knew that would be her last moment with her parents.

Throughout the school day Brittany kept having these strange feelings, as if something was wrong. Heading to the nurse to lay down she was overcome by sheer panic. Never having experienced this emotion before, she began to hurl her lunch back up all over the floor.

Rhonda the nurse came out ushering Brittany into her office, once situated, Rhonda began calling Betty to come pick her daughter up.

Having no luck reaching Betty, Rhonda then proceeded to call Earl, again, no answer. "That's odd" Rhonda mumbled to herself, "they always pick-up". Just when she was about to try Betty again, Brittany began puking which called Rhonda's attention away from the desk.

After getting Brittany calmed down again she went to reach for her phone when all of a sudden it began to ring.

"Hello" greeted Rhonda, it was the Head office calling. Rolling her eyes at the laziness, being the office was directly across the hall, she listened patiently as the clerk began to ask

"Is Brittany Sinclair there?".

"Uh, yes, she came down to my office about an hour ago, why is she in trouble?"

"No, but I need you to keep her there while the cops are on their way to collect her" came the reply.

"WHAT!" Rhonda shouted before composing herself as to not worry Brittany. It was too late, Brittany had snuck off the cot and was listening to the entire conversation.

"Why are the cops coming for me?" she inquired, beginning to cry thinking she had been caught stealing apples from the neighbors orchard and was on the naughty list.

Hearing Brittany's voice the office clerk swiftly hung up. "Thats odd" Rhonda mumbled as she tried to console a sobbing Brittany. "Honey they aren't coming to arrest you, didn't you hear the clerk Ms. Doud said you weren't in any trouble."

Those words were enough to calm Brittany despite the fact she, herself, was just as curious as to why the cops would be coming to pick her up.

She's a 10 year old little girl, what could they possibly need with her she silently mused. Not willing to wait any longer for an answer, Rhonda began calling both Betty and Earl to see if they had any idea why the police would want their daughter and to inform them to get here right away as something about this situation felt wrong.

Just as Rhonda hung up the phone after attempting to call both Betty and Earl again, in strolled two police men.