Shadow Rift (A Hat in Time)

Cold Pursuit

I've always wanted the chance to fully include Vanessa's Curse in a story! Lucky me that I had a perfect target blorbo!

He's still cute when he's cursed, in my opinion. His real curse is of being adorable all the time.

FINALLY I'M REMEMBERING TO THANK MY BETA READER UPON INITIALLY POSTING. YIPPEE THANKS FOR THE HELP WE SLAY!!

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Hat Kid wasted no time bolting back through the door and slamming her back against it. Her fingers fumbled with the knob, searching for a way to lock it. She found nothing.

Footsteps were approaching outside in the hall. Her heart leaped to her throat. Hide. Hide! With a great wrenching movement, she threw herself away from the door. Hattie leaped over the broken piano, darted into the kitchen, and rolled under a table.

Fingers clasped over her mouth, she struggled to control her pounding heart. Her breath was shaky, shallow, and hot against her palms.

This was wrong. This wasn't how things were supposed to go!

What did Vanessa do to Elliot? Possess him? Mind control him? She did something to him, and now he...

An involuntary shudder ran through her as she remembered Elliot's burning scarlet eyes. She squeezed her own lids shut. She had to calm down. Figure out an escape plan. Figure out how to fix things. Don't die.

Click. The unmistakable sound of the door in the other room opening. Her eyes fluttered open again. Hattie scooched farther back under the table, pressing her back against the wall. Curled up uncomfortably, her mind raced. Did the door open by itself? Or was someone coming in?

Her ears strained to hear over the pulse of her heart and the ticking in her pocket, and caught the sound of padding footsteps over the carpet.

They're coming for me. Frightened tears pricked Hat Kid's eyes. She rubbed them away, holding her breath every second her hands weren't covering her mouth. Was Elliot looking for her, or was it Vanessa?

She didn't know which she would prefer. Vanessa finding her meant certain death, but Elliot...

What happened to him remained a big question mark. Was he evil like Vanessa now? He certainly looked scary enough now. But would he kill her? What would he do?

"Hello?" Elliot's voice floated through the rooms. Hat Kid's lungs seized. He didn't sound evil. He sounded like his normal, friendly self.

"You can come out! There's no need to be afraid..."

Nope. That was definitely evil and suspicious. Hat Kid narrowed her eyes.

She could see him enter the kitchen, even though she only caught glimpses of his boots past the legs of tables. He paced slowly, cautiously.

"I'm sorry if... that scared you. I-I really didn't mean to, but I'm okay! Really!" he pleaded. "Everything's okay."

There's a chance, a stray thought began, that Elliot's still his normal self. If Snatcher still begrudgingly loves Vanessa, then why wouldn't Elliot? There's a chance he's still nice, and he won't hurt me. I don't know for sure what's happened to him, so there's a chance.

Was the risk of showing herself worth taking? What would happen next? What would he do?

To calm herself, she focused instead on the rhythm of his footsteps. Several steps at a time, then a pause. Repeat. Always the pause. What was with his hesitations?