A LOUD BOOM EXPLODED ACROSS THE LIVING ROOM. Diwa covered her ears. A mutated yell tore through the house, shaking the walls and rattling the floor beneath her. For once, Diwa was glad Papa had an obsession for watching apocalyptic movies at the highest volume. It made for a great coverup for spying.

Diwa crouched by the wall, the perfect excuse ready. She wore her most boring beige clothes to camouflage into the boring beige walls. It was the perfect get-up.

She peered closer and spied her father sitting on the couch, Layla right beside him and Rose on the couch across from them, on her phone. They shouldn't be coming to her room for another hour or so. Papa had already checked on her.

She slinked past the living room, into the hallway, the explosions growing quieter behind her. She pictured the crinkled page of her notebook, with instructions and words scrawled across every line.

Step one: gather material.

Diwa pushed her father's door open, hoping they wouldn't hear the creak of the door. She stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

The cold, evening breeze coming in from the open window settled on her arms. She shivered.

Diwa scanned the ontops of the dressers and nightstands and looked for something, anything, that would help her defeat a monster. And then, her gaze landed on a piece of glinting metal on the nightstand.

Papa's phone.

Aha! Diwa ran towards it and opened the phone. There was no password. Her hands were ready to move, her knee bouncing with adrenaline.

Diwa paused. Her hands were sweaty with doubt and worry. What if she got caught and what if-

She breathed in loudly and rubbed her hands together. She could do this, she could at least pretend she knew what to do and that a phone with no password would hold value to her. Diwa opened the phone and tapped every important-looking app she could find. After minutes of fruitless searching, Diwa managed to find a list of contacts on the phone. She tapped a random one. The name read Mateo. The last message was a few months ago, from Mateo: No problem, man and then, I'll let you know if there's another opportunity out--there might be one out in a month of two. A winky face.

Business opportunity. In a few months. The message was written a few months ago! Diwa gripped the phone, an idea brewing. She could use this, as an excuse to get her and Papa away. She remembered Papa went on a business trip when she was younger. He had to leave. If this time would be anything like that then...they could leave! Diwa resisted the urge to throw the phone in excitement.

Diwa swiped back from Mateo's contact page and looked for more. Anything else she could find, in case this didn't work. She scrolled to the most recent contacts. There, right in the middle of the contacts, was her mother's name.

Sarah.

Her mother.

That was her mother!

Diwa hadn't talked to her mother in so long. They used to visit every Christmas, every birthday, but this year that has all stopped. The year Papa met Layla. Diwa felt a rush of excitement, she could talk to Mama! Diwa reached out to tap the contact and then all of a sudden the door creaked.

"Diwa?"

She whipped around and saw Rose, by the door frame. Her heart thudded in her chest.

"I, uhm, I was just," she swallowed, "...Er, what are you doing here?"

"Mum asked to call you--dinner's ready," Rose said, all calmly. "So, what were you doing?"

Diwa's throat felt dry. "I, er, left something in Papa's suitcase and then his phone started ringing."

Rose shrugged. Either Diwa was a great liar or Rose just didn't care. "Right, you coming?"

"Yeah."

They made their way into the hallway. Diwa was sweating nervously in her way-to-warm beige clothes while Rose looked as cool as the evening breeze Diwa had left behind her.

They approached the kitchen. Diwa smelled pizza--

Her stomach growled--

No.

She couldn't eat now, she had a mission to accomplish.

Diwa breathed in.

She could do this.

She would do this.

Soon, she and Papa would be gone from this monster cave. Something gurgled in her stomach. Mama's contact, it had been right there. Mama had been right there. She could have called her, heard her, talked to her mother if it had not been for the stupid, interfering, interupting mons--

"Pizza's ready!" Layla called.

Interrupted.

Again.

Diwa took in a sharp breath. "Papa," she said, "Your phone was ringing."

Papa stood by the table, laying out the plates. "Who was it?"

"Uhm," her hands sweated. "Some guy named Mateo, said something about a business opportunity."

Her father's eyes sparked with recognition. "Thanks for letting me know, Di. I'll call him back after dinner."

"Alright." Diwa breathed out. Everything was fine. She had succeeded.

They sat down at the table, pizza layed out in front of them. Everyone chatted with ease, talking about the movie Diwa had missed out on and sharing funny stories about their jobs. Even Nero seemed more relaxed.

But Diwa couldn't stop her hands from sweating and her heart beating crazily in her chest. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had done--

She had lied--

To her own father--

Did that make her a--

No.

She wasn't like them.

She wasn't a monster.

She wasn't.

Diwa swallowed and stared at Papa's phone and hoped, and hoped that her plan would work, and soon they'd leave this monster's cave behind.