Chapter Five

The Moon Bear

There is a Moon Bear under the bed.

A Moon Bear the colour of ash with honey eyes and silver claws. The Moon Bear is watching me; I can feel it burning my skin like acid. If I draw back I know it will leap.

I purse my lips and let out a small sound, a little sigh or maybe even a cry. The Moon Bear stands up and the bed folds away like paper. It wrinkles around the edges and crumples to the floor. The Moon Bear watches silently. And it steps forward on great paws the size of which I have never seen.

Its eyes are the size of saucers.

It's still watching me.

I can't help but stumble back; fear is getting the best of me. It usually does. And now I can't take it anymore, the fear pounds through my veins and my heart beats too fast. I turn and look to the door. A large door, with golden handles and an intricate design of leaves scrawled along it surface. But there is also the deep furrows where claws have gauged the surface. They span from one door to the next, long and wide. Powerful.

I run to the double doors without a thought, careless to the massive Moon Bear behind me. I run to the door and slam into its marred surface. My hands find the handles and I …PULL.

As I pull there is a ripping sound and I realize the door is made of paper, just like the bed. I look up and the edges are torn and crumbling. My eyes widen for a split second. My mind is spinning. I want to throw myself passed the doors and out where it is safe from the Moon Bear.

But it isn't safe outside, I realize now. The wind is tugging at me, trying to pull me out into the void of darkness and wind. Thin claw like hands tear at my clothes until they are ripped away, and then the hands try to take my hair and my fingers. I scream in pain.

Blood pours from the long cuts that now mar my hand and arms, my face and my neck. Even the soles of my feet are bleeding now. I try to rip myself away from the wind but it's too strong, and its dragging me closer and closer, my toes are curling over the edge, and below there is nothing but a darkness as cold as ice.

The door slams shut and I slump back, my head hitting the floor, it crinkles like paper beneath my cheek when I turn. It is paper. Confusion and fear and pain cloud my mind.

A sob escapes my throat and then a whimper when a set of Moon Bear paws come into view. Silver claws tap on the paper ground, tearing small holes.

I look up slowly, the Moon Bear is staring at me but it does not seem angry. I see pity in its gaze.

I let another sob out.

The Moon Bear sniffs sadly and leans its great head down. I let out a little whimper as it licks the blood from my wounds and then my face. I'm still scared, how can I not be?

I'm now curled into a ball, something clutched tightly in one hand as I watch sightlessly the world around me. It's flimsy, not real. A tear leaks from the corner of my eye.

I open my hand. The glass heart, broken down the center, crusted with blood. I sniffle and blink. The heart is not glass. Its paper. My hand curls into a fist, scrunching the heart into a little ball, and then I let it fall to the ground by my cheek.

The floor shudders and the Moon Bear comes and sits by me. It reaches down and I wince. But it is only touching the little ball of crushed paper. It extends two claws and picks it up and then unfurls it. The Moon Bear sniffs again. It looks at me and then at the heart. I close my eyes tightly, I do not want to see the rest of this dream.

This nightmare.

I feel my shoulder shake and I am reluctant to open my eyes. The Moon Bear sniffs. I do part my lashes, and I peer at the large paw with a little glass heart sitting in the middle. But the heart is no longer fractured and stained. It whole and smooth, tinted a pale, honey gold. It's beautiful.

And the Moon Bear is holding it out to me.

I slowly stretch out my arm. I feel something stutter inside, my heart does a flip flop and then curls protectively, as if I should be careful. I am careful.

The heart is cold and I grab it more solidly, my fingertips sliding against the Moon Bears silken paw. I gasp and I look up.

It does not look angry.

I am holding the heart, gazing at it in confusion. And now the Moon Bear leans down and gives me a chain to wrap around the heart and tie around my neck. I do it. It is heavy on my breast bone.

Cold and heavy. Like my heart I suppose.

I am working up my courage, and now I ask "Why do you give me a heart?"

The Moon Bear leans a hairs breadth from my nose and I am smothered by its smell, honey. Bears like to eat honey.

"You needed a new one. Your old one was broken."

I could not tell whether the Moon Bear was talking about the glass heart of my heart. I doesn't matter.

My voice cracks as I say, "Thank you. But I fear a heart given to me is pointless, for it will only break as soon as I wake."

The Moon Bear shakes it head.

"Guard it carefully, you will need it soon enough." The Moon Bear says.

And then it turns away from me. Padding on its large feet across the room. It raises one powerful paw and slashes at the wall. It rips like the paper it is and the room fills with the shrieking waves of wind.

They tug and pull at the necklace but I clutch it tightly in my hand. My eyes water as I watch the bear tear down the walls.

It turns and looks at me now.

"Wake up and scream, now."

My eyes close as the wind becomes unbearable.

I open them and see only red. Crimson. Ruby.

It's not wind that buffets my face and lifts my air.

I'm drowning in something red and thick.

I scream and it fills my mouth.

I scream and taste something bitter and sweet.

I scream.

Thank you for reading! This is undoubtably my favorite chapter.

Moon Bear is actually based on my cat, Her name is Bella but, well, since I hate for her to be compared to Twilight I call her Moon bear.

My sister cat, Duski, will no doubt come into the story at some stage. And maybe even my dog Lilly. :)

Oh and I would love for someone to come up with a name for the girl in the previous chapter. Or, if you like, you could make up a complete character for me, and put your name to it. Like, in a reveiw tell me what the character ( or you) look like and your personality?

So like: Sin. Blonde hair. Green eyes. Mean and quick to punish. (but yours would be better)

This would REALLY help me. I'm weighed down at the moment because I'm writing a novel but still trying to update my FF.

Thank you so much to :

Mandydoll

vamp-temptation

GoldenJaden

luna345

Laheba Alam

Charlee Rayne

Randa-san