Fiend Zoned

Part 1

Becky knew some WWE superstars found kids tiresome at signings, but she was the opposite: their endless energy and love for wrestling made the time seem to fly by. The signing was only three hours long, but she had lost track of how many babies she had held and how many kids she had hugged. Her bracelet collection was threatening to eclipse her entire left forearm, and she had seen fanworks ranging from embroidered art to tattoos. How could she not love it?

With so many faces, though, it was easy to lose track of things. She had almost decided against wearing her engagement ring, but since she couldn't wear it at events, Becky had to take every opportunity she could; besides, most fans had loved it, congratulating her and wishing her and Seth well. The ring had survived just fine, but as the line was finally dwindling down, it was something decidedly less shiny that caught her eye: a bit of grey fluff by the signing table. "Hang on," she told the assistant, who had been ready to call the next fan forward.

Becky knelt and reached for the fuzzy item. Some kid had probably dropped their toy while posing for their picture; she only hoped they were still on site so they could be reunited. . . .

Run! The word was so squeaky that Becky thought the item was a dog toy and she had stepped on it, but she couldn't remember anyone at the signing with a dog. When she raised her head, thinking the assistant had spoken to her, Becky noticed a swath of white around the grey fluff. It almost looked like a bandage, and it caved in when she poked it.

Run, Becky! Run now! Well, that wasn't your normal squeaky-toy fare. Becky sat back and reached for the fuzzy item again, but it disappeared beneath the long table covering.

Almost like it had been yanked away.

As she rose, Becky lifted the edge of the table covering and looked beneath it, but saw nothing aside from a few wayward markers. "Is everything okay, Ms. Lynch?" the assistant asked. "If you dropped your water bottle, I can get you another one."

"No. No, I'm fine. Thanks." Becky straightened up and got ready to start signing again, putting the odd toy out of her mind—but she did move to the other side of the table.