I recall Elicia's first field trip. She was in the first grade. The trip was at a zoo owned by the Ouroboros family. I volunteered to be a chaperon. It was my day off and a good chance for some photos. I'm one of those photo-crazed men when it came to his wife and child.
The day started off normally, we arrived at the school an hour before departure. I met her teacher, classmates, and the other chaperon.
It took a couple of hours for us to get to the zoo. After the bus parked in the parking lot the class was greeted by one of the employees. The employee led us into the zoo.
The employee stayed with us until the lunch break. Everyone went to the sitting area. The only ones who didn't go were Elicia and myself. Something or someone caught her eye and she wondered off.
"Elicia!" I called her name but she wouldn't respond she just kept going. Something didn't feel right. It's not like her to ignore me when I called her. I followed her all the way to the only place where no one who wasn't an employee went. It was an empty building.
We inside into a room that looked like it were abandoned for over ten years. The furniture was destroyed; the walls and floors were scratched up with large claw marks.
"Daddy where are we?" It was as if she didn't remember what she was doing.
"You came here on your own. Don't you remember?"
"No."
"Don't run off on your own okay?"
"Okay." She grabbed my and swung my arm happily.
"Leaving so soon." A deep voice stated. My dad senses were telling to get Elicia and myself out. I grabbed her and run out of the building.
We got back to the group. I apologized to the teacher and the other chaperon and made up the excuse of why we got separated.
That night I told my wife what happened after Elicia went to bed. "Do you know what made Elicia run off?"
"I'm not sure." I'm glad I was able to get Elicia out of whatever danger she was getting into. I never went back to the zoo with anyone I knew