Cliff, his left leg singing holy hell the entire time, and managed to sit up. Then he saw what was happening.
Colonel Cuddles was behind Cliff. Three of the creature’s four arms were holding tightly to Cliff’s leg, around his knee. Blood welled up where each claw dug in, and Cliff’s right foot, up to the ankle, had already disappeared inside the spinning, churning jaws of the beast.
As Jason watched, Cuddles continued to feed more of Cliff’s leg into his mouth. Cliff screamed and screamed, incoherent exclamations of sheer terror and pain. He thrashed about violently, but Cuddles did not release his leg, and Cliff, face down again, couldn’t get the proper leverage to strike out at him. Blood poured from the stump, but Cuddles seemed to have no problem devouring that as well. Bone dust floated into the air as it was ground up.
After only a moment, the other creature waddled up beside Cuddles, took hold of Cliff’s left leg, and began to rotate its teeth. Slowly at first, then picking up speed. Jason saw Cliff’s other foot disappear.
The two little monsters had worked their way up to Cliff’s knees by the time Jason picked up the saw.
He didn’t want to be theatrical about it. He was afraid, even with Cliff’s lower legs entirely gone, that the man might still somehow get the upper hand again if he was given half a chance. So Jason gripped the saw tightly in his right hand, placed it on the back of Cliffs neck, and pulled back in one smooth motion. Cliff screamed anew. Blood bubbled up. There were no major arteries in the back of the neck; Jason would have to cut further. He brought the saw forward, positioned it in the wound he’d just created, and pulled back again. And again. And again.
It took a few minutes for Cliff to stop moving. Even after that, he continued to whimper, and he wasn’t silent until Jason had used the saw enough that his head barely hung on. Jason was a portrait of gore. He was covered in blood, some of it his own, most of it Cliff’s.
When Cliff was undoubtedly dead, the two creatures paused in devouring him and their teeth slowly whirred to a stop. They both looked at Jason expectantly.
“Thank you,” Jason said. “Again. You saved my life.” His voice was a whisper through gritted teeth, as he continued to try to block out the immense pain in his leg and foot.
Cuddles cocked his head to the side. “Kiff?” he asked.
Jason shook his head. “Jason. I’m Jason.”
A long moment of silence passed.
From the other end of the barn, Valerie called his name again. He needed to see to her. He struggled to get to his feet, but his left leg was useless. He managed to crawl to the wall and use it for support, and he was able to stand up, balanced on his right foot. The pain in his left foot and calf was still excruciating, but it was slowly turning into a numbness that made the pain distant. Jason didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Cuddles finally said, “Jayss?”
“Jason. Jay-sun.”
“Jayss.”
“Close enough,” Jason said.
“Cuddas,” Cuddles said.
“I know.”
Then, to his surprise, Colonel Cuddles reached an arm out and pulled the other creature closer to him. With a second arm, he gestured toward it and said, “Snuggus.”
“Snuggus?” Jason asked.
Cuddles nodded his head emphatically. “Snuggus.”
“Is that, like, Snuggles? Cuddles and Snuggles?” Jason didn’t know if Cliff just had a strange sense of humor, or if he really was crazy enough to think these things deserved cutesy names. He suspected Cliff wouldn’t find them so cute anymore.
“Jason!” Valerie shouted again.
He looked at her, and even from across the barn he could see the terror on her face. She was crying, or she had been; her cheeks were glistening. He wondered if she was aware of what had happened in front of her, what happened to Frank and Lucy and Rodney and Cliff, or if her mind really had been shut off during that time. He didn’t look forward to explaining it to her, but he still hoped she hadn’t seen.
He began to hobble toward her, still using the wall to support himself. He’d only made four steps before Cuddles spoke again.
“Jayss?” It was just the one word, but it evoked so much more meaning than that. The creatures were standing side by side, one of Cuddles’ arms wrapped around the back of Snuggles’ short neck where his shoulders would have been if he’d had any. Those orbish black eyes that had seemed so evil now had a beseeching quality to them. Jason thought of the promise he’d made; he’d kept it, sort of, but it wouldn’t have been possible to do so without their help. He also thought of his previous conviction to take them with him when he escaped. He saw no reason not to stick with that plan. Sure, they didn’t have to worry about Cliff anymore, but without Cliff, they would probably starve to death. They were no hunters, Jason was pretty sure of that. He didn’t know what Valerie might think of the idea, but he knew he owed them a debt. Taking them with him, out of this horrible place, was the least he could do.
“You’re coming with us,” he said. “Both of you. We’ll all leave together.”
“Cuddas, Snuggus, Jayss,” the creature said.
“And Valerie. Don’t forget about Valerie.”
“Vary?”
“Close enough.” He paused. “Do you guys have…things? Belongings? If you do, you should get them now.”
Cuddles made some clicking and mewling sounds, then he and Snuggles headed toward the stall at the far end of the barn—their room. Jason continued painstakingly making his way back to Valerie’s pedestal. He had to follow the wall of the barn in order to stay on his feet. He kept the saw in his other hand so he could cut the cords around Valerie’s wrists.
He was essentially hopping on one foot, using the wall for balance, so there were a few dicey seconds when he reached the open door. But he made it across without falling and hopped up behind the pedestal where Valerie still stood prisoner.
“Jason? Jason?” Her voice trembled; she was still on the verge of tears. “What’s happening? Where are we? And what…what…oh my god!”
“It’s okay, Val,” Jason said. “I swear, things are okay now.”
“I thought I dreamt it,” she whispered, “but there it is again.”
Jason looked past her and saw the smaller of the two creatures—Snuggles—making his way toward them. He was a little surprised to realize that he could tell the difference between them now, even when they weren’t together. Clutched in the crook of one of Snuggles’ bony arms was what appeared to be a very dingy, very matted teddy bear. He held it close to his body, protecting it.
“What the fuck is that thing?” she cried, her voice getting louder with each word. “What the fuck is it?”
“Shh,” Jason said. He kept his voice calm, hoping it would transfer to her. “Shh, it’s okay. He’s on our side.”
Jason sawed through the cord that bound Valerie’s left wrist to the wall. She pulled her hand up in front of her face and looked at it as if she’d never seen it before. Then she brought it back down to her side.
“It’s a fucking monster,” she whispered. Her voice shook, and Jason didn’t know if she was whispering because she couldn’t muster the strength to speak louder, or if she was afraid Snuggles would hear her. “It’s looking at me,” she said.
“It’s a he, not an it,” Jason said. “And he might be a monster, sort of, but he helped us. He saved us.”
“Uh-huh”, Valerie said absently as Jason sawed through the cord holding her right wrist. She didn’t hold this hand up at all, just continued to let it hang limply from her shoulder.
“You have to reach up and undo the clasps,” Jason said. “I can’t climb up there right now, not with this.” He motioned to his leg. “They’re simple, just unhook ‘em.”
Valerie did as he told her, but very slowly, as if she was trying to be stealthy. Jason hoped she wasn’t reverting back to that trance-like state. It dawned on him that seeing Cuddles, back on the road when they’d first been abducted, was what caused her to shut down like
that in the first place.
“There you go, babe. Now just duck out from under it.”
Valerie did. She crouched down and stepped off the pedestal, one foot at a time, very softly. She took a couple of steps forward. Jason wanted to grab her, to hug her close to him, but he couldn’t reach her and he couldn’t leave the safety of the wall without falling over.
“Val, babe, what are you doing?”
She crouched down. When she rose again, Jason could see she held the axe in her hand. It had been lying on the ground, right where Cliff dropped it next to his discarded jeans. In that instant, Jason knew what she was doing, but it happened before he could say a word. He could only stand on his one good foot, propped against the wall. He was powerless to intervene.
Valerie raised the axe above her right shoulder. She screamed, a sound that was more war-cry than fear, and ran toward Snuggles. She reached him in less than five steps. She brought the axe down.
Jason saw it unfold in slow motion. He knew if he wasn’t injured, if he could move, he’d be able to prevent this from happening. But that was not the case.
Snuggles did not try to run. He cowered a little, pulling one arm up as if to cover his eyes. He squeezed the teddy bear tighter. His teeth began to churn, but there was nothing threatening about it.
The blade of the axe hit him squarely on top of his head, directly behind his eyes. A dark brown sludge poured from the wound as Valerie pulled the blade back out. Snuggles mewled, short but loud, and then Valerie