The Haunted Candy Shoppe

Chapter 19-Claws Out, Teeth Bared

Because I am stupid and I didn't think to do anything else, I screamed higher than a train whistle. The bear yowled in its throat and leapt at me. After all of this, I am going to thank my human instincts, because if not for them, I wouldn't be here to tell this story.

The sore muscles in my legs cried out in tormented agony as I scurried out of the way. I ran around the island counter and climbed in top. The bear roared angrily. He wouldn't be able to reach me.

Just then, I heard the pittering of tiny paws. I looked just in time to see the little bunny ram into the bear, knocking the knife out of its hand. The bear tumbled into the oven door and growled at the bunny. Then I saw something that I never thought I'd see. The bunny did this sort of growl. It sounded like a mix of a guinea pig bubbling and chattering teeth. Then it snapped the bear.

The two were far away enough for me to be able to grab the knife that the bear dropped. I took it and pulled myself back onto the counter. Both candy pieces didn't notice my movements. The were solely focused on each other. Then the strangest thing happened. The bear seemed to turn its growling into some sort of sneering language. I couldn't make out any of the noises it was making. Then the bunny returned the language, once again, with nothing I knew within it.

The two started circling each other, seemingly spitting twisted names and crooked insults at each other. Then the bear said something and then glanced at me. Now when I say this, it's going to sound weird, but I swear this is what happened. The bunny snarled at the bear and said a sentence, one of the words taking me aback.

He said "Alex".

I almost fell off of the counter.

The bunny recognized that was my name! My mouth fell open in awe. The bear made a noise that I assumed was laughter of some sort. The bunny hissed and made a feint at the bear, who leapt backwards. This time, it was the bunny's turn to laugh. The bear howled angrily and charged the bunny. He sidestepped and bit the bear on the back of the neck. The bear screamed in pain and tore away from him. In the process, it swatted at the bunny and scratched him across the face.

In all this action, I didn't think to help the bunny. I had a knife right next to me. After watching the two almost kill each other, with claws out and teeth bared, it finally occurred to me that I should help.

I took the knife in my hand and waited until the bear was close enough to stab at. I glanced at the bunny and caught his eyes. We passed an understanding and the bunny seemed to instantly know what I needed to happen. He instantly looked back at the bear, who was now seething. He hissed again and nipped at it. The bear jumped back into the cabinets and growled.

I took my chance to stab at it. I don't know what I hit but I hit something. The bear roared in pain. The bunny then clapped his jaws around the bear's throat and, as the bear struggled, the bunny dragged it to the back door. He pawed at it and I got off the counter to go open it. The bunny spit out the unconscious bear and I closed the door on it.

I limped back to the couch in the living room. All of the girls were awake and petrified. I sat down on the couch and put the knife under my pillow. I told all of the girls that everything was fine and that everyone should probably get a knife just in case. As everyone went to the kitchen to get one, I picked up the bunny.

"You saved me just now," I said, looking at him in the eyes. "Thank you."

I bet all of the girls walked back into the room, not noticing my deep sleep.

Or the bunny curled up under my arm.