Bree's scream could be heard all the way to Brazil.

The monster was five times faster than a normal animal despite its size and would often leap over her head, landing a few feet in front of her. It would smash its large paws against the ground in such a way that cracks formed on the earth from the impact.

It took all of Bree's willpower to keep from passing out. Her legs were wobbly as she ran helter skelter, avoiding the monster's huge form only by a small chance. It roared angrily and bared its teeth, large drool spit spilling out of its mouth. The contents of her bag went everywhere as she ran so there was no way she could reach her phone and dial for help.

The police could not really do much about a goat-grizzly-monster-tiger, could they?

"Ahh!" Her high-pitched scream came again as the monster tried to follow her all the way up onto the catwalk.

It smashed one and sent the others above into a massive quake making Bree drop to her face. She sat up and scuffled backwards as the monster's arm advanced dangerously close to her legs. She stood up and climbed up into the next catwalk but the monster's arm came again and smashed right into it, breaking it in two. The walks were thankfully higher than its face but its arms could reach them. Bree desperately tiptoed about on the half broken catwalk to avoid physical contact with the monster. Her breath hitched and her heart pounded in her ears as she watched it earnestly pat across the plank trying to feel for any part of her. She clutched her keys tighter to avoid making any noises whilst the monstrous creature growled and continued to search for her with its arm.

Angered by not being able to reach the tiny figurine it smashed the catwalk again and this time, Bree came crashing down with the rubble in a loud bloodcurdling scream. Heavy dust rose from the wreckage and Bree took that as a chance to slip away unseen. The monster fiercely waved its arm about in an attempt to dissipate the dusty mist. When the dust settled, Bree was no longer in sight. It roared and went berserk, smashing and ripping everything in sight.

Meanwhile, Bree had found a small drawer underneath one of the stairs and had smushed herself into it. It was incredibly tight but she fit perfectly, save for her legs cramping against the wall. She shook tremendously yet tried to remain as calm as possible.

"It's going to go away." She tried to convince herself.

A giant sniffling sound made her recoil even more - the monster was following her scent. Bree felt tears sting the corner of her eyes and waited for the worst.

SMASH!

The stairs came crashing down but it was not the one she hid under. The monster roared loudly and smashed down another stairs. It seemed to grow angrier whenever it did not spot its human target. Soon, it huffed loudly and gave up, heading toward the main entrance.

Bree waited a long while before finally squeezing out of her hiding place. Her clothes were dirty and a large patch of material was gone from her jeans. She looked around frantically for a way out but there was none. The only possible way out of the building was through the entrance which meant encountering the monster and it definitely was not in the mood to let her leave. Her gaze landed on an object a few feet away buried halfway in sand.

She went over and picked it up.

It was her Beauty and The Beast storybook.

She closed the pages and began to search around for any item that might have also fallen out of her bag. The search made her feel sane. She felt that she was losing her mind; muttering incoherent phrases and jumping at the slightest movement.

She could still hear the angry growls that came from the entrance and the sound of crashing and wood snapping in two. Her trembled shook even as she walked and her hair went over her body like a cave woman. As she emerged from the room, she spotted another item; hanging from the edge of a broken plank was her other book. She hurriedly picked it up. Subsequently, she spotted her empty bag and Lego bean bag as well. A few moments later she found her smartphone - smashed to pieces. She covered her mouth to prevent a fearful gasp and peered about. It was already past midnight and staying out any longer would mean that even if she did escape the monster, there would be no more cabs available to take her home.

She clung to the books - still trembling - and slung her bag over one arm then noiselessly climbed over a pile of rubble. The building appeared different now as most of it had come crashing down - all bricks, metal and wood. Herb would either blame her or make her pay for the ruins and she could not handle both being tagged a thief and guilty of bulldozing a half completed circus.

Bree suddenly spotted a small hallway lined with dark bricks one one side and cement on the other. It was a very narrow passage but on the other side she could see the trees. It was a way out.

A sense of relief suddenly washed over her that she broke into a quiet laugh. She walked to the passage and tried to squeeze into it but only her lower body would go in. She impatiently began to squeeze in using different positions but all seemed fruitless. If only she could come out the other side and whistle to Jonas.

GRRRRRRFFFFF!

Bree's blood ran cold and she stiffened.

The air suddenly became hot when a large shadow loomed above her. She turned slowly and came face to face with the crouching monster. Its eyes were completely hidden by bushy eyebrows but Bree could have sworn she caught a flash of blue.

"Oh my—" She breathed, watching the monster fume and rise to its full height. She backed up one step at a time, her mind going blank until she was plastered to the wall.

She could see its muscles contracting like it was about to charge, its rear end dangerously lowering behind.

BAM!

It came colliding with the wall.

Bree luckily rolled out of the way just in time. Her arm suddenly went limp and pained seared through her shoulder. She realized that a side of the monster animal had slammed into her. A huge part of the narrow hallway collapsed creating an opening for Bree to escape while the animal still seemed fazed by the collision. The only challenge was she had to crawl through. Her arm had been rendered immobile and there right in front of her was an escape from death. She went on her knees, wincing in pain as she attempted to crawl toward the opening with both hands but the weakened arm gave way and she fell.

ROAR!

The monster was back for round two.

Bree laid down on her back and began to push herself forward with her legs - an activity she used to do for fun as a kid.

Who said games could not come in handy?

The monster obstructed Bree with its arm and lifted the other to hit. She raised her good hand to shield her face, letting out a scream of terror but the deathly hit never came. Instead, the monster gruffed and backed away slowly before running out of the room. Bree sat up and suddenly crawled onto her belly into the opening. On and on she went until she was finally outside.

She clutched her bad arm and ran for the farmhouse, continuously whistling as she approached the pen. Jonas came trotting toward her. She mounted the horse and it galloped away with her into town.

Jonas arrived Oakwood and Bree slumped on the walkway, lying face flat on the bare floor. She was tired, hungry and frightened to the bone - the perfect combo for a normal evening adventure. She finally managed to stand up, still breathing and shaking heavily and gratefully patted Jonas.

"You can find your way back, right?" She asked and then a horrifying thought crossed her mind.

What if Jonas went back and became monster chow?

She brushed off the thought.

If anything, the monster could have eaten the horse a long time ago since it paid frequent visits to the pen but it did not. It seemed that it preferred pig meat to horse. Jonas turned and headed back the way he had come. He was a smart horse and Bree was sure she would find him at the farmhouse the next day.

The next day? Hell no. She thought. I am not going back there.

She rode the elevator, thankful that the building was dead silent and Norman was unlikely to ambush her. She opened her room door, dumped the books and keys on the table before going to the bathroom.

Whilst in the shower, she gently massaged her arm but the pain only intensified. It did feel ordinary and instead of hurting - it burned.

She cried under the shower awestruck and terrified by how close she had come to almost losing her life and an arm because of a bunch of missing pigs. She felt haunted in the comfort of her own house and the feeling of anxiety washed over her. She truly could not turn in the following day.

Bruno had paid her only once even though he initially mentioned that she would get a paycheck everyday. But it was not worth it anymore. If she had lost her life today, what would have become of her sick mother?

She bent over and sobbed for a long time before dragging her tired bones to bed. As she laid down to sleep, she suddenly felt all the hair on her neck stand on edge and shot up in a sitting position but she was alone in the room.

Now they've done it.

She cursed under her breath.

All night she laid still unable to close her eyes. She would always feel as if a presence were sneaking up from the corner but it was just her mind going haywire. She drew the sheets all the way to her chin, her left arm threatening to break with pain.

The full light of day finally illuminated her curtains but Bree barely moved, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Gaius!" Kate suddenly yelled making Bree jump in surprise.

She let out a sigh realizing it was only her noisy neighbor although she sorely wished the lady would quit yelling sometimes.

Maybe she had been married to Ed once. Who knew? Or they were siblings! Would make one hell of a conspiracy theory.

She laid back down and buried her face in the pillows. Somehow, seeing daybreak brought her a bit of relief and eased the anxiousness she felt. Soon enough, she fell fast asleep and began to dream.

In her dreams she stood in a room of beautiful colors and was looking up at a graffiti painting that used to be on the library wall but here, the painting seemed to have changed. The large lollipop was now a door shaped like a hatch which was left slightly jar. Dangling between it was what seemed like the pointy end of a blade.

Bree tried to reach for it and found that she could not. From the distance, it looked a fencing sword. She looked around for an object  to stand on so she could pull the blade out although she had no idea why she suddenly desired to pull a blade out of a hatch.

Colors began to float about the room, changing shapes as they did. She turned and an orange hexagon bumped into her stomach just then.

"Ow!" She yelped then her eyebrows creased in confusion. The color was solid like frozen yogurt and yet it looked simply like swirls of smoke. She walked toward a blue circle and placed a hand on it.

Yep! Solid as cement.

At her ankle level, many other colors floated about but they moved around in an unstable manner as if they were about to break in half. She waited a few seconds then jumped onto a passing violet shaped like an oval. It moved and Bree yelped, struggling to balance then jumped on a large black rectangle.

She continued her upward ascent until she got to the very last color - a yellow rhombus that was not moving at all. It was simply positioned right underneath the hatch. Bree climbed on it and stood on her tippy toes to reach for the blade. Up close, she could see it was not a fencing sword at all. It was a real battle blade - dangerously sharp and glowing silver with foreign markings on the guard.

Without thinking first, she grabbed the blade and it sliced right through her palm.

"Ow!" She winced and withdrew her hand.

Her palm was covered in blood and the cut itched pretty bad. She reached for the hatch lock which was just a rectangular piece of metal resting against another upturned piece of metal. She pulled it up and pushed the door back only a tad, the sword tumbled out immediately but she caught it by the hilt.

A streak of light shone into the room followed by a cold wind. As Bree looked down, she realized that she could see the roof of her apartment building below through the colors that were now transparent.

"What in the world?" She muttered in bewilderment.

She opened the hatch entirely and the lights almost blinded her. She shielded her eyes and moved.

"Whoa!"

She missed her footing, let go of the sword and fell back down, landing on something soft with a bump.

Her eyes shot open immediately.

The sun sent immense rays through the curtains and from the different sounds she heard, she could tell that it was late. The building was already buzzing with activity as usual.

She inspected her palm but it was cut-free. The pain had been so real. She rolled out of bed and showered, ate then sluggishly headed for the door leaving her handbag behind.

"You have never won any national spelling bee, you gonch." Kate said as Bree walked past their door.

She slowly took the stairs, her eyes fixed on the floor. She was beginning to get the feeling that the events of last night had also been a dream.

"Good morning, my princess. You look awfully dashing as usual." Norman greeted.

Bree did not look up nor hear him. She mumbled a few words and walked out of the lobby.

At the diner, Amy stared in confusion as Bree placed saucers over steaming cups of coffee in the tray she held.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asked, her tone laced with concern as if Bree was an immature egg that would soon crack.

"No, thanks. We're out of tissue." She muttered absentmindedly and carried the tray away.

"Goodness me, this is not good." Amy lamented and followed Bree.

Before she caught up with her, Bree had dropped the tray on the floor sending hot coffee, pieces of ceramic and wet toast everywhere. Some of the customers who were victims of the spillage stood up and began to rain complaints.

"Oh gosh."

"Watch it lady!"

"My dress."

"Are you blind, girly?"

"Amy, what exactly is the meaning of this?"

Amy rushed forward and grabbed Bree who looked like she had been sleepwalking.

"I'm so sorry, my employee is not feeling so well."

"Well, doesn't she need a doctor or something because look what she's just done to my brand new jacket." A man complained.

"Please, I'm truly sorry about all this. I'll have it cleaned up and your orders brought to you in ten minutes." Amy said and pulled Bree with her.

"Delilah, some help here."

A young girl of about Bree's age with dark skin and frizzy curls came running to her. She was Amy's newest employee. She was told to clean up the mess Bree had caused while Amy took Bree into the store room.

"Are you okay? What is going on with you today?" Amy asked when she got Bree to sit.

"I'm fine, Amy." Bree sighed but her gaze appeared distant.

Amy could tell something was wrong but she did not push it.

"You know what? Why don't you take the whole week off. You're obviously worn out and its causing you to get seriously delusional."

Bree nodded in agreement. She really did not feel like working anymore. Amy helped her get a cab but instead of going home, she stopped by the pet store to see Bruno and Lizzy.

"What?" Was all Lizzy managed to say when Bree was done explaining the events of the previous day.

The pair suddenly burst out laughing like they had just been told the funniest joke in the world. Bree watched and waited in silence until Bruno read her expression and stopped laughing.

"You cannot be serious." He commented in between short chuckles.

"I am serious." Bree said. Her face as stern as Ed's in the morning.

Lizzy placated with a raised arm. "Hold on, hold on. You mean to tell us that the reason why the pigs have been going missing is because a beastly creature steals them every night and chased you about in the Pendulum yesterday?"

"Is that what the building is called?" Bree asked with a frown.

A circus named Pendulum? Seriously?

"This is crazy. Are you sure you're okay, Bree?" Bruno asked with his arms folded. The smile was completely gone from his face and he looked like he was about to get a shot at the hospital or perhaps he feared Bree was going mental.

"You don't believe me? I'm telling the truth here." Bree argued calmly.

"Relax, no one said you were lying." Bruno said. "The mountain is only a mile away from the farmhouse so it's pretty possible that a mountain bear would show up but still, the chances are a two out of ten cause those animals prefer to remain hidden. Even if one had managed to steal a pig, it wouldn't necessarily make the trip everyday."

"It was not a mountain bear. It was a monster goat thingy with really big horns and it was really tall and it smashed the whole place and the walls. . ." Bree said.

"Whoa, whoa. Alright." Lizzy interrupted. "If this monster. . ."

She said the word like it was a joke.

". . . Ruined half the Pendulum then fine, let us go take a look at the ruins. A mountain bear could do only so much damage but if this thing managed to smash an entire wall down then we have got a big problem on our hands."

"Fine. I'll get the keys. You two just wait here." Bruno said and left the pair.

Bree ran her hands through her hair. She really was not eager to go back to the farmhouse but she had to clear her name once and for all. She turned and found Lizzy intently staring at her.

"What?" She inquired.

"Are you really feeling okay, Bree?" Lizzy asked.

"I don't know." Bree muttered.

"You were literally shaking." Lizzy said.

"Yeah well, I almost died last night. It's not exactly a happy memory." Bree said and Lizzy hummed in response.

Bruno came out with the keys and the trio headed for his van. The drive was not so bad until they began to go down the country roads. Bree felt uneasy as dust from the road rose behind them. Her palms felt sweaty and all the hair on her neck stood on end. Bruno pulled up next to the Pendulum and they got out. Bree squinted her eyes, trying to see into the dark interior.

"Shouldn't we like, be armed or something? It's pretty dangerous." She asked, feeling unsure.

What if Mr Anger Issues attacked them again?

"That's alright. I'll go in first." Bruno said but it seemed he was not in support of what he had just said. He took light steps into the doorless entrance, skillfully avoiding the nails that stuck out from the door frame waiting to poke anyone who walked near it.

It took two whole minutes of nervous lip biting on Bree's part before Bruno finally emerged from the door. He placed a hand on his waist and beckoned on Bree. Lizzy followed.

"So, where exactly did you say you were attacked?" Bruno asked as they got inside.

Bree's jaw fell. The place looked like nothing had happened; the catwalks were intact, there was no rubble or even footprints to prove she had been there. She ran into the room where she had been cornered with Bruno and Lizzy following behind. Right where the wall had been shattered, the whole area looked untouched. The wall was back to bricks and cement and metal. The stairs were intact and the drawer she had slid into was closed shut.

"But. . . but. . . right over there. . .the wall was. . ." Bree stuttered, unable to believe her own eyes.

Bruno walked up to her and placed one arm on her shoulder. "I think you've worked too hard these past few weeks and it's getting to you. Take the week off Bree, maybe you'll get yourself together then."

He patted her shoulder and exited with Lizzy.

"That's impossible." She breathed out, a tear trickling down her cheek.

She suddenly felt stupid as well as lost. She had been chased by a monster, she had crawled under a drawer and the wall crumbled to dust right before her eyes - she had a broken arm to prove it. Bree gasped and remembered her arm. She had spent half the morning carrying coffee trays at Amy's.

She lifted the bad arm and felt nothing. All that pain was gone.

How?

She sat down on one of the steps and bowed her head, recalling the events of the night.

Have i gone crazy? She thought.

Jonas had given her a ride home. That could not have been a dream neither fake. She looked around. It was staggering and unbelievable that everything had gone back to looking like a normal construction site. It was like someone rewinded time and paused on the morning of the previous day.

Bree let her head drop again and ran her hands through her hair. Bruno and Lizzy probably thought she had lost it and that they would tell her claims to Herb just to get a good laugh out of it.

Maybe she had lost it indeed. Maybe she experienced an abnormal burnout that had subsequently sent her mind into override mode. She felt she could really use an entire week off work and was thankful she had been given a break.

At last, she wiped her eyes, rose to her feet and headed outside where Bruno and Lizzy were waiting in the van. She felt uncomfortably like a clown - sitting in the back seat as they zoomed past the farmhouse. She kept her gaze floor ward but somehow could tell that they had driven close to the hospital.

"I would like to get off please." She muttered.