S.H.H.A.

A Demon, A Bear, and Yet Another Family Reunion

The bat hadn't snapped on contact. He had crunched it in the palm of his paw.

Cuddles ducked to the ground as the other grizzly paw swung at her head. Rain weighed down her thick black hair, sticking it to her head. If not for the rain, Jack's paw would've snagged it out of the air.

Red liquid trickled through the brown, wiry fur around his neck from his split lips. Sharp canines snarled at Cuddles, and a map made of tiny red lines patterned Jack's dark eyes. His teeth were nothing compared to the curved hooks at the end of his paws. There wasn't enough light to clearly see them, but Cuddles could already feel the sharp needles slicing through the thin skin on her arms, chest, and face.

Cuddles preferred him in his bear form over his power's halfway shift. If it were just fur and paws, then she could pretend it was facial hair and gloves. But the way his shoulders widened from his growing muscles and jaw grew to fit his massive teeth sent chills down her spine. It was unnatural.

Mud splattered up Cuddles' legs when she hopped backward, falling a few feet to the train tracks. She didn't notice, her entire attention captured by Ruby's sing-song chanting in Belle's voice.

"Scaredy cat. Scaredy cat. Scaredy cat."

"Shut up!" hollered Cuddles over the pouring rain. If looks could kill, Ruby and Jack would've dropped dead, but neither stopped their advance.

Sadistic enjoyment radiated from Ruby's demonic eyes, and a similar, animalistic emotion grew in Jack's. They stepped closer, and Cuddles stepped back. The pounding sound became louder as the rain softened, and Cuddles realized it was the sound of her heart pulsing in her chest. She took another step back. And another. A few more and her foot knocked the concrete wall behind her. Her heartbeat fell silent.

Cuddles didn't dare turn her back to climb the wall. Jack would slice her to shreds before she even reached her second hand up. Or Ruby would let her climb up, let her see the other side, only to release Jack who would pull her back to the ground.

Jack's tall figure stalked toward her, and Cuddles knew her only chance was running. She spun on her toes and kicked off the ground. While he normally ran faster than Cuddles, Jack's power didn't extend to his lower half, causing his gained upper weight to slow him down just enough for Cuddles to stay ahead. That is, if Cuddles had made it more than a few steps before a flash of red sent her to a sliding stop across the wet rubble ground. Her fingers rubbed raw along the rough stone wall for support. Ruby grinned, her maniacal eyes piercing through the hazy rainfall.

Only then did Cuddles notice her lips were no longer moving despite Belle's voice still echoing in her head. Curse her mind tricks, Cuddles thought, but when Ruby's grin widened, she realized she had spoken out loud.

"Don't blame me," she said loud and clear over the thundering rain as if she were speaking inside Cuddles' mind. "You've always been the easiest to mess with."

Cuddles wanted to deny it with a witty retort as she could in front of her siblings, but without them there, she couldn't bring herself to strike back. They were probably gone already. Marshmallow and Ninja, the two cats Cuddles never wanted to meet, were there to help them.

They're safe, Cuddles reassured herself. She wouldn't get back to them. Not with the lightning flashing in the distance, illuminating Ruby's bright red eyes and Jack's inhuman figure on either side of her. But that didn't matter as long as they were safe.

Jack's paw rose in the air, and Cuddles' eyes widened. Ruby's taunt played in her head again.

"Scaredy cat. Scaredy cat. Scaredy cat."