A group of five entered the forest with Mercer Park as the entry point. Looking at the trees brought the events of the past week into focus for Marcus. He glanced at Diane and she was gazing up while biting her lower lip. He could only imagine the thoughts going through her head. Being here had to be painful. Claudia, Janet, Xavier…..they were all in the clutches of some warped bear and everyone knew it.

  It occurred to Marcus that they had no solid proof David’s information was accurate. They only had his word and he was going off the presence of familiar flowers. Flowers the police already dismissed as irrelevant.

  Unfortunately, the police being useless, this was their only recourse. Marcus felt the weight of Ronald and Cecilia on his back. He felt Diane’s trepidation. He felt his own uneasy mind turning everything over in his head. Hope made you do things that normally seemed irrational. This had to be the right thing to do. There was no other option. As David looked into the forest and the sound of him sniffing hit Marcus’ ears, he closed his eyes and prayed.

  “Father in Heaven, I pray that my children are safe. I thank You for sending a man who can help us, but I know we can do nothing without You. Please help us. Help us remain safe throughout this ordeal. Guide us and keep us, and help us bring those responsible to justice. In Jesus’ holy and precious name, Amen.”

  When Marcus opened his eyes, David was looking at him. Waiting for the wolf to finish, he remained stationary. Some might have been embarrassed to be caught praying, but not Marcus.

  “Done?” He asked. Marcus nodded. “Stay close.” Not asked, but commanded. He walked into the forest. The family followed.

  Greenery flanked them on every side as they left the common walking trail. Before long, it faded behind them. The undergrowth was denser than Marcus remembered. It was getting late in the year for it to be this thick. He tried to sniff the air and got a face full of leaves for the effort. A sharp exhale cleared the forest dust from his nose to prevent a sneeze. Still, they kept walking.

  Marcus glanced back to see the park vanish behind them. Trees in all directions now. Every search he went on since the triplets went missing led up to this point. Normally, he had a good sense of direction. Inevitably, the forest seemed to spit him out from another entry point an hour later. Even when he was on the trails, the forest frustrated him by turning him out contrary to his wishes. Strange, as he lived in Pleasant Valley for years and thought he knew the forests well. Now, they were alien to him.

  Unfamiliar trees and branches all around. Marcus swore he saw David walk toward a solid tree. The wolf was about to warn him, but it faded away as he passed through it. Then, it was gone. The wolf blinked a few times, questioning his ability to perceive the world around him. A trick of the light? The tree looked like it was right there. Trees were hard to miss and harder to mistake for something else. Passing through the space the phantom tree formerly occupied, it finally occurred to him.

  Magic. David said Kiam had powers. If he truly was a sorcerer or wizard or any other number of names for a creature that practiced the dark arts, he held sway over the forest. That was why he could only advance so far. The bear had enough control over the woods to styme the efforts of anyone attempting to get close to him.

  The implications made him feel a chill deep in his core. A horrible, powerful man controlled an area directly next to his home. It was like having a hostile army encampment as a neighbor. Worse yet, a hostile army that stole children. Kiam was powerful enough to control a forest. Marcus glanced up at the trees. Were they watching him? Did the bear know when someone was in ‘his’ forest? Did he know WHERE they were right now? He felt eyes on him from every direction and could not tell who or what the eyes belonged to.

  A momentary bout of fear gripped him. He wanted to run. David could handle this, right? He was the expert. He crossed who knows how many miles tracking Kiam and knew how to deal with him. He did not need a family of noncombatants getting in his way.

  Momentary fear. It did not last before Psalm 23 popped into his head. Deep breath in, breathe out. “I will fear no evil….” Marcus said under his breath. Softly; he did not want his children or his wife to hear he was afraid. A father had to be strong, even when he felt weak. A father was never weak when he walked with God and trusted in His salvation. Claudia. Janet. Xavier. They needed their father to be there for them. Right there to take them into his arms and let them know that they were safe. David may have been some kind of warrior or bounty hunter or bringer of justice or whatever he thought himself to be, but he could not offer his children any comfort; just the removal of whatever brought them pain.

  He kept following David as they went deeper into the forest. As they crossed another barrier of thorny bushes that were not actually there, he caught a scent.

  Three wolf pups. Two girls, one boy, all about ten years old. He knew it well, a sign they were going the right direction.

  “I’m so hungry….” Janet stated, trying not to make it sound like a whine.

  After Kiam’s outburst, they watched him eat his fill of the deer carcass. He took great bites out of it, not bothering to cook the meat after tearing it from the bones; sometimes with his teeth and sometimes with his fingers. Chewing wetly, he let the blood run down his chin and stain his cloak. No table or silverware and no manners. All the talk about rejecting civilization, it was clearly not just talk.

  The whole spectacle was so disgusting it put them off food. Intestines and spilled blood and exposed muscle turned their stomachs. Kiam’s strategy may have been to make them so hungry that their wilder instincts would kick in and make them dive into a fresh kill with reckless abandon. Shedding everything that molded them up to that point, they would embrace being carnivorous wolves. He was incorrect. The thought of eating a sentient animal was so abhorrent it took a considerable effort not to throw up what little bile they had in their stomachs. A quarter minute was enough and they turned away so as not to watch. The shame was they could still hear him. At least he did not force them to watch him gorge himself.

  Afterwards, he rushed them back home and shut them in their room. It had been five hours since they saw him last. Hunger was getting to them. The uncomfortable gnawing that went with a prolonged fast settled deep in their bellies. Being ten and amidst a growth spurt, it was especially hard to ignore their appetite’s constant complaints. The three of them were exhausted, both physically and mentally, from what they witnessed with their insane captor.

  “We’re all hungry.” Claudia replied. She lay partially curled up on the bed. This position was comfortable enough she could ignore her stomach’s protestations. “We should’ve taken some fruit and hid it. Then we wouldn’t have to be hungry right now.”

  Xavier was more active. He slowly paced back and forth in front of the bed. He stopped when Claudia spoke. Tilting his muzzle up, he responded. “He would’ve seen it. That stupid bear sees everything.” The wolf huffed. “But, he’s really stupid if he thinks we’re going to be cannibals.”

  “Yeah!” His siblings said nearly in unison. A moment of solidarity with all three of them. They knew cannibalism was wrong. It was spelled out in the Bible. Kiam seemed to know it too or he would not have to resort to starvation to get them desperate enough to try it. Even ten-year-olds could see through that ruse. Just because they recognized it did not make their hunger any less real, nor did it diminish the unknown factor of whether or not they would be made to eat it.

  “You don’t think……..he’ll really starve us, do you?” Janet asked. “He has to let us eat sometime, even if we won’t eat a person.”

  Several seconds of silence followed. They wanted to think they knew the answer to Janet’s question, but their present reality was a big unknown. Kiam may have said they were suitable to be his children, but they just saw him kill and eat a sentient creature right in front of them and encourage them to do the same. Even as children, they could tell he was dangerous. He was not above killing. What were three kids to an evil, hungry bear? Up until now, evil was a concept in the Bible. They had no firsthand experience with it. Now, with the sacrifices, kidnapping, and supplication to what was clearly demonic, evil was the only way they could describe it.

  Xavier looked at the window. Hunger and uncertainty made him reckless and he had the best plan a ten-year-old could think up on short notice. Planting his forepaws on the wall, he tilted his head toward his nearest sister; Claudia at the moment.

  “Guys, boost me up.” He less asked and more commanded.

  “Why?” Claudia’s ears pitched forward, curious ears.

  “I’m gonna get us something to eat.” Xavier answered.

  “How?”

  “I can get out the window. I don’t think it’s locked.” Windows were not insurmountable objects and this one was not too far away. Confidence soared as he imagined himself slipping through. He pawed toward the glass. Leaping through it was out of the question, but he could unlatch it and slide out if one of his sisters helped him.

  “I don’t know…..” Janet’s tail flicked nervously. “What if he catches you?”

  “He won’t.” Xavier replied. “I’ll be in and out fast. I only need enough fruit for all of us and the garden’s right there.” He tilted one of his ears. “And he’s got to be sleeping after eating so much. I think I heard him snoring.” Xavier was not certain he actually heard Kiam snoring, but he believed it.

  “And what if you can’t get back in?” Claudia asked.

  What if he could not get back in? The possibility did not enter his mind. He was not about to let it. Come what may, they would not go to bed hungry. “I’ll get back in.” Xavier’s simple answer.

  His sisters looked at each other. Hungry kids are not the best planners. They could see nothing wrong with letting him try. Janet was the first to get up and hop off the bed. She stood next to her brother to form a living stepstool.

  “Don’t step on my head.” Janet requested.

  Xavier nodded and planted his forepaws on her back. “Hold still so I don’t fall.”

  Claudia was at his side and helped steady him without being asked. “I’ll help too.”

  No arguments from Xavier. The window was within reach once he stood on Janet’s back. Latched tightly in place, but not so tightly that he could not maneuver one of his paws under it. It clicked open.

  “Almost…..” Xavier said.

  “Hurry up.” Janet commented and shifted her legs. “You’re standing on my back!”

  Yes, hurry. Xavier was light, but heavy for putting all his weight on his sibling’s back. Thoughts of fresh fruit made his mouth water. A little push and the windows swung open on their hinges. Chilly night air flowed into the room. It was cold, but was not unwelcome because it was fresh air. It was getting a little stuffy for three kids cooped up in the room all evening. With little effort, he slid through the window.

  A sliver of light worked its way through the canopy. Dark, but not completely dark, it was enough for a wolf’s night eyes. But, was it safe? Xavier froze underneath the window. Eyes darted everywhere to see if Kiam was lurking. Last time the triplets tried to run, the forest looped them right back to him. He could be hiding behind any patch of plant life. No sign of him around the house. He really must have been sleeping. Xavier exhaled some of the tension he held in. Hurry up and get the food. It was not the time for admiring nature.

  The garden was right around the corner from the window. A few bounding steps forward and Xavier stopped. Nothing to carry fruit in meant he could not carry much. He wanted to hurry, not make multiple trips. He ran back to the bottom of the window and called up as loud as he dared.

  “Hey! Throw me something to carry fruit with!” He whisper yelled in that way kids did when they were trying to shout their secrets to a sibling so their parents did not hear.

  A few moments of silence. A shape flopped out of the window. Floating gently to the ground, Xavier nabbed it out of the air. It was a pillowcase. Perfect. A wide, lupine grin and he ran to the garden.

  What to take? Whatever he could. Well, whatever he could that he recognized. Some of those alien looking fruits and roots he stayed well away from. A few bunches of green beans, clusters of grapes from a nearby vine, a few apples that fell off a tree. Carrots were out, even though he wanted some. They had nothing to wash the dirt off. He did not want to spend a lot of time picking berries either. Tempting as it was, he did not take very much. Just enough for a good meal for himself and his siblings. Nothing to hide away, for now. If all went well, he could keep sneaking off and they could hold out longer against Kiam trying to force feed them his meat sacrificed to idols.

  How to get back in? Easy enough. Both sides of the window were wide open. Getting up was not insurmountable. Crisscrossing, decorative ivy grew on a trellis underneath of the window. The ivy was not strong enough to climb, but the trellis was. Xavier gripped the bag of fruit in his mouth and climbed. He was through the window in no time at all.

  He landed lightly on his feet and dropped the bag. Fruit and green beans spilled out. Standing tall and proud, his tail wagging, his smile broad. It felt good to help his sisters. That he would get to eat too was a bonus.

  “You did it!” Claudia started to laugh, but cut it off. She was happy, but she had to remember not to be loud.

  “Was there ever any doubt?” Xavier puffed up his chest.

  “Nope!” Janet was all smiles as she approached the food pile.

  That was enough talking. Xavier’s mouth watered with the prospect of fresh food. Kiam may have been a horrible person, but his produce was delicious. Even evil people had skills. He could not wait to tuck in.

  “Let’s eat!” He exclaimed.

  “Wait!” Claudia interrupted and Xavier froze mid lunge at an apple. “We have to say the blessing first, right?”

  “Oh yeah….” Xavier moved back. He almost forgot. It was easy to do. They tried to say grace a few times when Kiam fed them. He always shushed them and told them not to praise ‘a fake God who did not grow the food anyway’. Defying him, they prayed silently to themselves. They did not have to ask each other to, they simply knew to do it. No matter how much magic the bear had, he could not stop them from praying. Now was their chance to say it as a family, out loud.

  “I’ll lead us.” Xavier offered. His sisters nodded. Before they bowed their heads and took each other’s paws, they noticed something happening to the fruit. All eyes went wide when they saw it.

  It started as a darkening of the skin. Each fruit looked like it hit the peak of ripeness. Then the skin turned black. The sickly smell of rotting produce filled the air as the fruits collapsed inward. Shrinking and withering, they acted as though they aged months in a matter of seconds. In those seconds, they went from edible to a pile of foul-smelling mush. It was only fit for compost and insect food.

  Xavier’s empty stomach turned. All three triplets stepped away from the fruit, bewildered by what happened. A door opened and closed behind them and their focus was not so complete that it escaped their notice. Three heads turned and saw Kiam wearing a look of smug satisfaction.

  “Did you really think I would not notice you stealing, little kinder? Naughty naughty.” He shook a finger at them. “And now I’ve had to waste perfectly good food because of you.”

  The three wolves shrank away from him, ears lowered. His tone was calm enough, but that did not mean they were safe from an outburst. “We were hungry….” Claudia spoke up, as if trying to garner sympathy.

  “I have perfectly good venison for you. Delicious, perfect for growing wolves. Food you were meant to eat, which you can have any time you like. All you need do is ask.” Kiam smiled. It seemed genuine.

  “We’re not eating another person. It’s evil.” Xavier straightened up to take a stand.

  Kiam let out a short laugh. “A deer is not a person. I keep telling you, you are above him. He is prey, you are predators. I repeat this so often, I cannot believe you do not understand.” Kiam threw up his paws. “I would have thought I raised you better than that. How disappointing.”

  Xavier felt a flash of anger shoot from his chest into his head. It bounced between his ears, making them hot. The anger seemed to come from nowhere, but that did not make it less real. The bear kept trying to erase their parents. After starving them and the constant tiptoeing around his labile moods, he had enough. He did not realize it, but it had been simmering in him for a while. Anger could build up for a long time. If not addressed, it would inevitably boil over.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “You didn’t raise us at all you big, dumb, stupid idiot!” He yelled, ears pitched forward. Both Claudia and Janet’s jaws about hit the floor. They stared at their brother in shock, but he was not done yet.

  “We’re not your kids! We’ll never be your kids! You’re a dumb, evil jerkface and we want to go home right now! I want my mom! I want my dad! I want my brother and sister back! I’m not listening to you anymore!” Xavier bared his teeth, unaware he was doing it. He could not remember the last time he was this mad about anything, but that was not on his mind at the moment.

  Kiam, instead of looking angry, was smiling. Probably. His mouth was a thin line curled up at the edges. “Is that how you feel?” He asked.

  “Yes! You’ll never be our dad! Ever! We don’t have to do what you say!”

  Kiam nodded calmly. Then, in a move so quick Xavier had no time to move even one inch, he swiped a paw down at him and caught him in the side. It was an open palmed swat, but he was a bear. A bear with heavy paws and muscle. The blow was hard enough to rattle the young wolf’s ribs and send him tumbling across the room. He landed against the wall in a heap and did not stir.

  “Xavier!” Claudia yelled. She and Janet ran to his side. They stood over him as he lay on his side, eyes rolling in his head. The impact from being tossed across the room dizzied him. He let out a groan, cut short with a wince as he curled up.

  “Are…are you okay?” Janet asked, giving him a nudge with her nose.

  “Owww……” He whimpered. Xavier’s ribs hurt. He tried to straighten up, but he was so dizzy he flopped back on his side. When he did, he felt the pain. Something on the inside was bruised.

  “It was only a little swat.” Kiam commented. “Not to hurt, but to…..strafen.” He smiled. “Even in your book of lies, there is some good to it. He who spares the rod spoils the child, yes? And I’ve spared it too long with all of you.” He stepped toward the gathered pups. They looked up at him. Even Xavier found the strength to lift his head and see. Ears folded back, now they were genuinely afraid. Not just a nervous, but genuine fear.

  “Eventually, each of you will learn to love me. I tried through care, but it seems you are too hard for that. If you will love me through fear, so be it.” Kiam’s smile was wide enough to show his teeth.

  The triplets prayed silently for safety, hoping for anything to deliver them from this. Kiam seemed to pause. His smile vanished.

  “They are…..hm……hahahaha.” He shook his head. “They’re here…..in my forest. And getting closer, no matter how I try to turn them away.”

  “….what are you talking about?” Claudia’s voice was shaky. It pained Xavier to see her so scared. With considerable effort, he stood up. Every motion made his right side ache. It was the hardest he had ever been hit. He shakily stepped in front of her to get between her and Kiam. Not too hurt to protect his sisters.

  “Your parents are coming….” Xavier felt a thrill when Kiam said that. He tried to hide his elation, but he smiled and that gave it away. “Do not look so excited….the dummk?pfes came alone….only with two tender little squirrels fit for the stew pot. I am not sure how they saw through the glamors, but that is of no consequence. They stand little chance against me.”

  He walked towards the door. As he did, the children noticed the windows. Vines grew over them, covering the windows in thick tangles so they had no hope of egress through them.

  “I will kill them in front of you….that will put thoughts of returning to them to rest.” He said before he shut the door.

  “No…..no!” Claudia screamed and ran forward as vines grew up over the door as well. No getting out. They wanted to warn their parents. They had to!

  But, they could not.

  Without another word, the children gathered together and prayed.

  An hour into their trek and the triplets’ scent was much stronger. Marcus suppressed the urge to run off on his own to get ahead of David. He followed him diligently, not turning to the right or the left. With all the weird, vanishing plants he walked through earlier, it was safest. Deviating from his path meant the possibility of getting lost and not being there when they found his children.

  Without any warning, David stopped. Marcus nearly ran into the back of his legs. After stopping suddenly enough that Ronald and Cecilia had to grip his fur to avoid tumbling off, he looked up at David. The gray man had his head tilted up, panning it from left to right. An occasional sniff of the air was all he heard from him.

  “Something wrong?” Marcus asked.

  “Scent spread out….trying to track it….” He walked a few steps to the side and sniffed again.

  Curious, Marcus put his nose in the air to see if he could help. David was not wrong. Broad scents intermingled in his nose. Everything was layered with everything else. He could pick up their scent, but only if he concentrated on it. The direction was a mystery.

  Nervous pins and needles danced up and down his chest. Time was running out. Marcus was not sure how he knew this, but he felt like they needed to hurry. Inertia gathered here was time they could not get back. Time where something terrible might happen to his children. He was so close now. Any extra waiting was intolerable.

  “Can you still follow it?” He asked.

  “Please hurry.” Diane’s tail flicked nervously. “I feel like they’re in terrible danger. That monster has them.”

  “….take time. Will find scent. Will try many paths to see where strongest.” David turned his head to look in a random direction and panned it to the left after he spoke, clearly trying to find his bearings.

  “How long will that take?” Marcus asked.

  “Do not know.” David replied.

  Unacceptable, but what choice did they have? Finding the bear was the first step and there was nothing to be done until then. It made Marcus feel useless. He wanted to run after them right now. To feel them safe in his arms. He watched David walk a few steps to the left. Might as well look to the right to see what was there.

  Hanging a few yards away from his head was a pinecone. A strange thing, as normally they did not hang from the trunk of trees, especially not oak trees. Further investigation required. Getting a closer look, he saw it had been altered. Sporting a pair of twigs to look like antlers and something to tie it to a hanging branch, it looked like someone made it look like a deer’s head and placed it there on purpose.

  Marcus recognized it. Several years ago, on a walk, he taught the triplets how to make these. They made tons of them until they lost interest, but even after that still made them off and on. His heart leapt.

  “Diane, look!” He called and gestured at the hanging head.

  “Just a second! I found something over here!” She called back. A tree next to her sported another pinecone deer’s head. She found one too.

  Marcus ran to her side. He looked at it, then at her. “There was one over by me too!” He said, a wide grin on his lupine muzzle.

  At this point, all the commotion got David’s attention. He stood towering above them, curious as to what they were talking about. “Making too much noise.” He said. Maybe not quite so curious as annoyed.

  “Our kids left us a trail!” Marcus pointed at the pinecone.

  David raised an eyebrow. “From them….” He raised an arm and pointed the opposite direction. “More that way….”

  Marcus looked in the indicated direction. Squinting, he saw another one off to the left. Looking to the right, he saw another one far from Diane. His heart sank. The trail went two directions. Somehow, they came to the middle of it.

  “Well, which way do we go?” Ronald piped up. “Maybe we should split up?”

  Marcus was about to say no, but paused. It might be a good idea to stick with David. It was…..probably safer? He was still not entirely sure how much he trusted the man not to hurt his children. Big and dangerous, he might accidentally step on one or something. Too many unknowns. However, they did not have time to spare. Marcus was in a hurry and let that override anything else.

  “That might be best, Ronald.” Marcus nodded to his little passenger. “We’ll take one direction. David, you can take the other.”

  David exhaled slowly, processing the command, then spoke. “Bad idea. Should stay together.”

  Marcus already made up his mind. “He’s going to do something terrible to my children. We need to find them and fast. If we find him first, we’ll find you, so don’t worry, okay?” If Kiam really was dangerous, they could run. How much trouble could one bear be? He faced them down in the past.

  David was silent for several seconds. Marcus did not budge. He did not wither or flinch under the gray man’s stare. That alone did not unnerve him. When David once again knelt down before Marcus and locked eyes with him, that was when he took a step back and felt his pulse quicken.

  “If you see him, do not fight him. Run. Get me.” David said. Marcus was just thankful he did not touch him.

  “I understand.” Marcus replied. “What about if you find him first?”

  “After he dies, you will know.” David stood up. No more interest in spending his limited words, he walked in the opposite direction Marcus indicated he was going.

  Marcus was in over his head, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. “Stay close, Diane.” He said. His wife nodded and they followed the trail of faux deer heads.

  They walked for about ten minutes with Marcus a few steps ahead of Diane. If there was any danger to be encountered, he wanted it to find him first. He was not afraid, per say, even though his heartbeat showed the rapid rate of increased stress. Wary was a better word for it. All of his senses were tuned to the forest around him. Every cricket chirping or leaf rustling was met with a turn of an ear or tilt of his head.

  A cabin entered their view in the distance. Another five minutes of walking brought them in front of it. He stopped to take a look before approaching. A quaint little thing with a tidy garden, complete with fruit trees.

  “It’s like something out of a fairy tale….” Cecilia mused.

  “…complete with child snatching witch.” Ronald added.

  Ronald’s comment reminded Marcus that this was not a mundane cabin. It may have looked nice, even homey, but it was always what was inside that mattered. Hesitation came when he approached the door. What if his kids were not there? What if this belonged to someone completely unrelated to the event? Maybe they were wrong? It was entirely possible the stranger led them on a wild chase to nowhere.

  Marcus shook his head. No, they found all the signs. They were here. Then a worse thought came. What if they were already dead? A shudder rippled through his body. No, no more hesitation. He needed to go in.

  “Everyone stay out here. I’m going in.” Marcus shifted his body down to let Ronald and Cecilia off his back. Cecilia hopped off immediately.

  “I’m going too.” Ronald did not.

  “This isn’t a debate.” Marcus pondered how to best salve Ronald’s ego. It was clear he thought he could help, but this was a bear. A bear was way bigger than a squirrel. No good outcomes in a match up between the two. “You stay out here and protect your mother and sister. Just don’t do anything reckless. If you see him, go get help.”

  “……fine.” Ronald hopped off Marcus’ back.

  “Stay safe, everyone….” One last look at his family. One last look before going in. They looked as nervous as he felt.

  Thankfully, the door was unlocked. He slipped inside and sniffed the air. The smell of bear was overpowering. Clearly, someone of the ursine persuasion lived here. He also needed to bathe more often. Marcus exhaled the ‘all natural’ smells one usually associated with outdoor music festivals. Looking around the room, he was alone. No sign of the bear or his kids. He must have been out or in another room.

  He was here. Now what? Look around and take it all in. Find out what you can and go from there. Some clue, some hint, something to tell him what to do next. Something strange, like a bunch of vines suddenly retreating from a door. Marcus tilted his head. That was a new one. It was like watching a time lapse video running backwards. They retracted into the dirt floor and the dirt filled in, as if they were never there in the first place. Normally, this would have Marcus questioning whether his eyes were functioning properly. After what he saw earlier, this almost could have been expected.

  He approached the door and put an ear to it. He heard little from inside. Little, but not nothing. Little foot paws moving against a hardwood floor.

  They were here! Unable to contain himself, he leaned against the door. “Kids?” He tried to speak loud enough that they could hear him, but not loud enough that it would draw attention.

  No answer.

  He frowned. Heart thudding in his chest, he tapped on the door. Elation at the prospect of seeing his children again and fear at being caught, he tried to be cautious. It took every ounce of effort he could muster not to slam the door open and collect them. Several clicks and taps of tiny paws scrambling on a wooden floor. That got their attention, but the sound was getting farther away.

  Marcus’ ears folded back. They were running from the sound. What did that bear do to them?

  Another tap. He leaned in and whispered. “Xavier! Janet! Claudia!”

  A pause. Marcus was about to call them again when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He smiled.

  “Who’s there?” A familiar voice from the other side of the door. They may have been triplets, but Marcus was their dad. He knew each of their voices by heart.

  “Claudia, it’s dad. Are you okay?”

  “Dad!” Three children screamed. Scrambling paws scratching at the door, eager to get out. Their dad was here to pick them up and they were ready a week ago.

  Marcus tried to stay calm. Happy events like this, the relief of finding them, it was easy to become emotionally incontinent. He had to keep it in. They were not safe yet.

  “Shhh….wait till we get home. He might hear you.” Marcus answered to calm his children.

  “They can make all the noise they want. I already knew you were here.” A deep, guttural voice sounded behind Marcus and he felt his heart seize up. He knew his approach was about as stealthy as a box of bicycle horns in a clothes drier, but he was sure the bear was not there. He could not have been, he checked when he came in the room.

  Fight or flight time. Marcus turned as fast as he could to lunge at the bear’s throat. He did not know where he was, but he would summon every ounce of lupine speed he could muster to bring an entire universe of pain down on the wretched pile of filth that hurt his kids! Time to teach the bear not to mess with a wolf’s pups!

  Marcus got half way into turning around before the ground beneath him erupted. Thick roots burst from the ground and coiled around his limbs, effectively rooting them in place. He struggled to pull himself up, to break them, but they refused to budge. They were more like tree roots than anything, extremely tough. Their wooden composition did not stop him from struggling. He tugged and pulled and may have slipped some until they tightened. They dug painfully into his flesh, making him yelp in pain before another root wrapped around his waist. It tugged him roughly into the floor, the impact forcing the air from his lungs. Before he could call for help, another wrapped around his muzzle. He was pinned.

  “Dummk?pfe.” The bear walked to Marcus’ side and regarded him like one would a trapped bird. Marcus turned his eyes upward to see the bear man. He looked like the image David showed him earlier, proving he was not wrong about being dangerous. Through the bonds around his muzzle, Marcus peeled back his lips and growled. It was more of a warning. Angry, yes, but he had to keep his head. Lashing out in rage did not serve his purposes and did not serve God.

  “Hm, growling at me?” The bear raised an eyebrow. A throaty chuckle rumbled from his chest. “All noise. You are too civilized to behave like a proper cornered wolf. A proper papa wolf protecting his pups.” He leaned in. “I do not know how you found me, but it does not matter. It was foolish of you to come here. You cannot stand against me. I serve a goddess more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”

  It was worse than Marcus thought. His children were kidnapped by an idolatrous monster. The smell of fresh blood tainted his breath and stained his clothes. What had he done to his children?

  “Your kinder belong to me. They have accepted me as their new father….though they have been insolent lately. Insolence that requires a firm, guiding hand.” Marcus’ eyes widened as he saw the bear smile with his fangs bared. “And I believe killing you, their mother, and your two little pet squirrels before their eyes would erase any lingering notions of being part of your family.”

  Marcus’ eyes blazed. He thrashed in his bonds, trying his best to snarl and tear from the roots holding him down. It was useless. If anything, they tightened. They yanked him to the floor.

  “Struggle if you like….you will be here when I return. After I go collect the others.” Kiam turned and walked out of Marcus’ sight.

  He closed his eyes. It was not supposed to go like this. As a child, he had nightmares that were not nearly as bad as this. His children, his whole family. Why was this happening?

  God allows the rain to fall on the just and unjust alike. No matter what happened, he would remain faithful. He closed his eyes and prayed.

  “It’s quiet in there….” Cecilia stated as she looked up at the door.

  “I can hear shuffling…” Diane whispered back. “Stay quiet and listen….if something happens, we don’t want to miss it.”

  Diane watched the doorway from a safe distance, ears perked and alert. She hated having to wait outside. Her children were in there somewhere and she wanted to know they were safe. Wanted to gather them in her arms and tell them their mother was here and would take them away from this horrible place. Back home where they belonged with no horrible wizards or maze-like enchanted forests. She too saw the trees and thorns vanish as David walked through them. A startling sight, but no stranger than flowers that put someone to sleep.

  Marcus told her to wait out here, so she would. She trusted her husband. If someone needed to run for help, it was best she be the one to do it. Cecilia and Ronald were fast, but she could run faster. She glanced back and saw Cecilia on her back. Something was missing.

  “Where’s your brother?” She asked.

  No time to answer. The front door swinging open caught her attention. She turned her head to look, a smile on her face.

  “Marcus, you….!” Her words caught in her throat. A bear with long, braided hair, wearing a bloodstained set of clothes stood before her. Muzzle tilted down and eyes sparkling with energized malice. He looked at her like she was his next meal. Diane took a step back and the bear lunged at her with frightening speed.

  In an instant, a hand around her throat. How could such a tall, oddly humanoid bear move so quickly!? She struggled, too afraid to even bite him. What did he do with her husband? Her kids? Ronald?

  “Got you, little hündin.” He said in a thick accent. “Now I will….”

  Diane regained her presence of mind. She lashed out with her teeth and sank them into his wrist. For being a naturalist, it was especially foolish of him to put his hand within biting distance of a wolf. He did not let go. Instead, he snarled and leaned in with bared fangs. He planned to bite her in return.

  He did not get the chance. Cecilia hunkered down behind her mother’s head. Kiam must have missed her, because he did not react as she leapt from her hiding place. She did the only thing she could think to do. Swinging one of her feet, she plowed a kick into the bridge of Kiam’s nose.

  A kick from a tiny squirrel was not liable to do much damage. Size differences being what they are. But it scratched the inside of his nose with one of the claws. Enough to trigger his nose to tell his brain he needed to sneeze. Kiam let go of Diane and turned his head. Deep breath, head tilted back, then a massive sneeze. By that time, Diane was not close enough to get sprayed. Off and running, she was already out of the clearing.

  Diane raced down the forest path, heading the opposite direction they came. She had to get to David. He told them to find him if they encountered Kiam.

  “I can’t believe that worked!” Cecilia sounded shocked as she clung to her mother’s neck.

  “That was very reckless of you.” Diane panted.

  “I never kicked anyone before, but he grabbed you.”

  Diane had to admit, she was grateful. It was still a bit foolish. “We’ll talk about this later.” After everyone was safe at home. Diane needed to conserve her air to keep running.

  Her feet thudded on the soft earth, drumming in the rhythmic steps of a running wolf. Perfectly coordinated with her eyes on the trail in front of her. As close of attention as she paid, she did not see the root that caught her leg. It wrapped around her ankle. The next step drew it taut and stopped all her forward momentum. She yelped and did a face plant into the dirt. Cecilia, not holding on quite as tightly to her mother as she should have, went flying off her back. Thankfully, she was a squirrel and landed on her feet.

  She turned and looked back at her mother, eyes wide. “Mom?! What happened? Are you okay?”

  The world felt like it was spinning. The impact of her head on the ground was not hard enough to knock her out, but it did make her see the world as if the people in charge kept leaning it from side to side.

  “I’m fine….” She shook her head to clear the stars out of it. Trying to stand up, she fell back down when she attempted to put her right leg under her. Ignore it. Check on your kid. “Are you okay?” She asked.

  Cecilia was not looking at her. Her ears folded back and eyes wide and staring at something above her. That could only mean…..

  Diane’s eyes widened. “Run!” She yelled as a hand wrapped around her neck and shoved her face into the ground. A loud yelp as the right side of her skull lit up with pain. That did not matter. Thankfully, she saw her daughter running off into the forest. Please, please let her get to David in time….

  “Got you.” Kiam’s breath was hot in Diane’s ear. “Not getting away this time….nor is your squirrel.”

  ‘Daughter, she’s my daughter, you horrible man.’ Diane thought. She felt the air around them change. A crackling of energy and a thickness to it. Emerging from the forest like shadows were a trio of wolves. Feral ones, judging by their faces. Their eyes glowed with an eerie yellow light.

  “Go get the little one while I deal with this…..alive if possible. In pieces, just as good.” Their command. She watched the wolves run off into the forest, hot on Cecilia’s trail.

  “No……” The last thing Diane said before another impact turned out the lights.