Just as she was about to enter dreamland, clattering noise from one of the windows woke her up. She stood up without delay and saw a man who was about to go inside her room. Rage and fear both filled her nerve clas.h.i.+ngly but the former won. Survival dictated her to fight.

She hurriedly put on the light and loudly shouted, "HELP!, HELP!, HEEELP!" That was the only word that came out of her mouth. Nevertheless, that was her lifesaver. The intruder was stunned and frozen in a bad position to move. Half of his body was inside while the other half was outside. More or less, one leg was in and the other was still hanging outside.

Seeing the high heeled boots near her, she picked one up and hit the man with all her strength using the boot's thick heel.

"Aaahh! Aaahhhh! Stop it! Stop it. Stooop!" The frantic man yelled loudly. Every part of his body being hit felt excruciating pain. His arms that he used to protect his head and face hurt the most. He greatly panicked while the lady in combat mode was pouring all her fears and anger to her every strike.

Suddenly a whistle and running steps were heard. The panic-stricken man forcibly hurled his upper body out from the small window, making him tumble heavily backward on the ground outside. Without delay, he stood, though limping, sprinted with all the strength he got disregarding the pain in his body.

All of these happened in a short period of time. Their rooms were supposedly adjacent to each other but the man was almost inside Beauty's bedroom when it happened. Thus, Clarence and others reached her quite late to be in action to help.

The security guard rushed and pursuit the intruder. Clarence was the first who reached her door. He tried to open it but still locked.

"Beauty, open the door," he shouted.

Worn out and paled face Beauty opened the door with a shaking hand. When Clarence came to view, she ran and hugged him tightly as she cried on his shoulder. He patted her back and caressed her head trying to console her as much as he can.

"Hush, I'm here now. No need to be afraid anymore."

After her sobbing subsided a little, he brought her into the room and let her sit on the bed. He gave her a gla.s.s of water and sat beside her. After drinking, she hugged him again while her body still trembling. He understood she was still shaken. Clyde and company arrived but didn't bother the two seeing that Beauty was not ready to talk.

"Paul," called Clyde.

"Yes, Sir."

"Go to the front desk and ask for a copy of the recordings from the CCTV in this area. Just tell them it was I who's asking for it."

"Yes, Sir." Paul left right away.

Clarence remained in Beauty's bedroom the rest of the night. After seeing that she was sleeping soundly, he laid his tired body on the couch and slept as well.

When the sun shone up, policemen arrived and asked her about the details of what transpired that night. She told them everything she could remember. The CCTV recordings were checked but the face couldn't be seen clearly because the intruder was wearing a black hood with a tight black mask on his face. They could only see he was wearing a pair of snickers and jeans.

Later, with computer technology, they recognized the culprit but was nowhere to be found. He fled without checking out properly from the resort.

. . . . .

Beauty woke up tired but now composed. Clarence informed her that his father was taking care of the aftermath. She was relieved to know.

"Clarence, we need to go to the restaurant now. The wedding will be tomorrow afternoon. We need to be there to help. I haven't taught them all of the procedures of the recipes."

"Are you fine now?" asked Clarence.

"Uhum, I'm totally fine now. Thanks for being with me. I'm totally refreshed now." Her smile was so brilliant that he couldn't hold himself but hugged her and kissed her cheek. In fact, his aim was her lips but controlled himself as he recalled Beauty's so-called 'boundary'. It was not the right time yet, he thought.

Therefore, the action drama that night came to pa.s.s silently. Their focus was the wedding that would happen tomorrow. All preparations were done. They were totally ready to exhibit what they promised.

. . . . .

Three Kilometers from the resort, the man with hood was limping as he walked. He hid at a nearby bush and laid his battered body. His face and arms were swollen red. He sent a text message to one of his men.

(Pick me up at Bogo elementary school.)

"Kurt, Luis asked us to pick him up at Bogo elementary school." said an old man.

"Are we going now?"

"Yeah."

As the two guys reached the school, they tried to call him but no answer. So, they decided to start checking every room. Fortunately, it was a holiday, no cla.s.ses. Somehow, there were a lot of rooms. They searched high and low and back again to make sure they didn't miss until the sun went west. They were tired of going up and down the five four-story buildings.

"I'm tired, my feet can't take it anymore. Where is he? We've gone through every room and he's still nowhere to be found. What we're gonna do next?" said the old man.

"I'll try calling him." The ringing tone was heard, then instantly cut off. He sent a text message.

Kurt: Where are you? We're in the school now.

Three minutes after he received a message.

Luis: I'm here. I'm in a small workshop at the back. Hurry, I think I have a fever.

So they ran to the back as fast as they can. As they went in they saw him lying on a pile of wood chips, with swollen arms and a little cut on his forehead. His face and eyes were red telling them his temperature was high.

"What happened to you? Why are you in this sorry state." asked the old man.

"I'll tell you later. Please, I need help to get up."

Luis promised to himself that he will stop getting involved with Cathy.