Chapter 7

"I don't know you," Brenda said. "Are you from outside?"

"Yes," Sierra told her. "Brenda, who put you in this cage?"

She was afraid to ask why she was in the cage.

"Mean people took me away from my mommy and daddy. They said they had candy. Then they locked me in here and they didn't give me any candy."

"Has anyone hurt you?" she asked.

"Not yet. But the said they would. Please help me, Sierra. You have to let me out."

Sierra examined the cage. The bars were inch thick steel. There was a massive lock on the front.

"Brenda, sweetie, do you know where the key is?"

"The mean people keep it on top of the refrigerator."

Sierra rushed over to the refrigerator. There was the key, just like she said. Sierra shoved it into the lock and pulled the door open. Brenda scrambled out of the cage and hugged her.

"Thank you, Sierra."

Startled, Sierra returned the hug.

"It's going to be okay, sweetie. I'm going to get you out of here."

She took Brenda by the hand and carefully opened the door of the house. No one was outside. It sounded like another fight had started. Hopefully that would keep everyone distracted. It wasn't far back to the woods to their right. If they ran for it, they could hide in the trees and make their way back to the truck. She would take Brenda straight to the police, and then she'd lead the police right back here along with every photographer on staff at The Post. She was going to nail that lying bastard Joe to the wall with this.

"Let's go this way!" Brenda said, and darted off towards the fight.

"Brenda!" Sierra called in the loudest voice she dared. "Come back! That's the wrong way."

Sierra chased after her and caught her by the hand.

"My car is this way. I'll get you out, I promise, but you have to listen to me."

Brenda froze in her tracks. She looked up at the full moon and her body shuddered.

"Uh-oh," Brenda said.

"What's the matter?" Sierra asked her, tugging on her hand. "Come on! We have to go!"

Brenda shuddered again. Tears sprung into her eyes.

"I thought I could do it, but I can't," she said.

"What are you talking about, sweetie?"

"You have to put me back!" Brenda said, pulling Sierra back towards the house. "You have to put me back in my cage right now! And then put the key back on top of the refrigerator so mommy and daddy won't know I got out!"

"Brenda, calm down! You're not going back in that cage. You're safe now. I'm taking you to the police."

"No!" Brenda protested, as she tried to tug free of Sierra's grasp. "No you're not safe! Let me go! I can't do it!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!"

"HELP!" Brenda screamed at the top of her lungs. "Mommy help!"

Frantic, Sierra tried to pull her away around the corner, praying everyone was too distracted by their blood sport to notice. Brenda dug her heels into the ground.

"I said let me go!" she shouted and raked her nails across Sierra's forearm.

The scratch cut straight through her leather jacket and deep into her arm. The pain seared and bright red rivulets of blood poured out of her. Sierra let go of Brenda's other hand in surprise. She clutched her arm to staunch the bleeding and stared in horror at the child in front of her.

Brenda was holding her hand, the one she had scratched Sierra with, out in front of her face. Where there should have been fingernails there were now deep, shiny black hooked claws. Chocolate brown fur had sprouted on the back of her hand. As Sierra watched, the fur began to sprout on her face as well and push its way out the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," Brenda said.

Her hands were rapidly changing shape, forming themselves into padded paws. Her arms and legs ballooned out and burst the seams of her froggie pajamas, leaving ribbons of fabric on the ground. The child dropped to all fours and opened her mouth to make room for the yellow fangs that were forming where her baby teeth used to be. Her face began to change, morphing into a long snout that better accommodated the teeth. Her ears became small and round and moved to the top of her head, settling in almost the exact place her pig tails had been before. Now completely covered in brown fur, the last thing to change was the eyes, which remained eerily human right until the end before shrinking and turning black.

Now standing where Brenda had been was a black bear cub.

The cub regarded her for a moment and cocked its head sideways. Sierra approached it cautiously.

"Brenda?"

The cub roared at her and charged. Sierra screamed and ran as fast as she could, not even looking where she was going. The cub chased her towards the crowd around the pit. The people backed away, clearing a path as she ran past them, steering clear of the angry cub. Panicking, Sierra kept running, knowing the cub was gaining on her. She tripped on a rock and fell face first on the ground. Quickly, she flipped on to her back and tried to scramble to her feet, shuffling backwards as the cub ran at her.

Then with an almighty roar the huge black colored bear leapt out of the pit and positioned itself between the cub and Sierra. It stood its ground and roared into the cub's face. The cub let out a meek squeaking noise and sat down, complacent.

The white bear, the one she had been sure had his throat ripped out, scrambled out of the pit. Using his teeth, he picked the cub up by the scruff of her neck and carried her away.

The crowd was pointing at her now, muttering. The black bear turned towards her. Sierra watched, fascinated and appalled as the change she had witness in Brenda happened in reverse. The bear shrank. Fur vanished in clumps as the paws stretched themselves into human fingers. He stood upright as his head took shape again, the ears moving back into place and the teeth shrinking into that familiar smile.

Sierra knew who it would be long before the shift finished. Joe was standing naked in front of her now as she pulled herself unsteadily to her feet.