Shkrip shkrip, shkrip

Chris was walking down the hall, his metal claw-toes digging into the carpet and tearing threads loose with every step. 

Strangely, the hall seemed smaller, somehow. Or maybe he was bigger.

He knew he was going to Cay’s room, but he wasn’t sure why.

He reached up to knock at her door, but he didn’t knock. He raked his razor sharp metal fingers down the wood, carving deep gouges into it. 

“What the hell?” Cailyn said from beyond the door.

He heard her bed creek and then the sound of her approaching.

She opened the door, looking upset. “What the hell?” 

Chris smiled, feeling the seams of his face stretching and splitting.

Cay took a step back, terrified. “C-Chris?”

Chris began laughing, a deepening, merciless cackle that rumbled like a diesel engine, sinking lower with each exhalation.

“Chris, you’re freaking me out, stop it!” Cay took another step back.

Chris stepped forward, feeling his claws pushing further out of his sackcloth hands. He just had to hug her, wrap his arms around her, dig his claws into her. Feel her blood soak into his fabric. 

Tear.

Shred.

Devour.

He stalked towards her, raising his clawed limbs, her shrill shriek filling the air as he cackled at her.

Chris jolted awake, smacking his plush forehead against the underside of his cupboard.

“No!” he screamed, his voice like the harsh scraping of metal on metal.

He didn’t need to breathe, or he was sure he’d be gasping for air.

‘’What the hell was that?’ he wondered, looking at the rice cooker as if it had some answer to the mystery.

Unfortunately, the kitchen appliance kept its counsel, so Chris decided to exit his ersatz bedroom, which, he noted, seemed oddly cramped all of the sudden. He’d never hit his head before. 

“Morning,” Aiden said with a smile. “I was just about to start making breakfast.”

Chris climbed fully out of the cupboard and stretched, more out of habit than a need to do so. It was then that both he and Aiden realized something was different.

Previously, Chris had been the size of a relatively standard teddy bear - maybe sixteen inches tall. Now he was at least three feet tall. That certainly explained why he felt more cramped in his cupboard.

“Looks like your knot is doing its thing,” Aiden joked lamely.

Chris couldn’t help but laugh at the incredibly crappy joke. The laugh came out as more of a gravely chortle, and it reminded him of his nightmare. A wave of despair swept over him, cutting short his laughter.

“Yeah,” Chris mumbled. “Guess it is.”

“Hey, what’s the matter? You look like someone pissed in your cheerios.” Aiden said, kneeling to be closer to eye level.

‘Wow,’ Chris thought, ‘he has really pretty eyes.’

“I’m fine,” Chris said, shrugging off that weird thought.

“Uh-huh… well, do you want me to make you some breakfast? I’ve got eggs, ham, and some homefries ready to go.”

“Yes, please,” Chris nodded, his stomach fluff growling.

Aiden nodded, standing back up and turning his attention to making breakfast. “How’d you sleep?” he asked, by way of small talk.

It struck a chord with Chris. “Not well. Crazy nightmare.”

“Sucks,” Aiden said, shooting him a sympathetic look.

Chris hopped up onto one of the chairs at the dining room table, letting his feet dangle. He could see that his formerly featureless leg blobs now had more defined feet and ankles - and sharp metal claws for toes, similar to how his fingers looked and operated.

“You wanna talk about it?” Aiden asked over the sound of cracking eggs into a hot skillet.

“Not really,” Chris mumbled. “It was pretty gnarly. Just a nightmare though. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” Aiden shrugged, returning his focus to cooking.

His stomach fluff rumbled at the smell of cooking eggs and grilling meat, and Chris found himself drifting into his thoughts, carried away by their soothing aroma. 

‘Rip, tear, rip, tear,’ he thought.

‘Wait… no, what? Where did that come from?’ He shuddered and tried to push it out of his mind, along with any other lingering dregs of his nightmare. 

‘Rip, tear, rip, tear, rip tear rip tear rip tear’

The thought was becoming more insistent, and he could feel his claws starting to slowly slide further out of his hands.

‘Rip tear rip tear rip tear RIP TEAR RIP TEAR RIP TEAR’

The voice in his head was snarling, slavering, hungry. His claws were nearly twice their length now, and he swore he could feel his mouth watering.

A plate was placed down on the table in front of him, bearing a load of eggs, ham, and chopped, fried potato. 

Aiden’s presence leaning over him with a plate was enough to shock Chris back out of his head, and away from the terrifying voice.

“Woah, jumpy much?”

“N-no,” Chris squeaked, feeling his claws retract quickly. “Just… not used to people leaning over me like that. It’s kind of intimidating.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you were about my height, so you’re not used to looking up at people, huh?” Aiden chuckled.

“Ah… no, not really,” Chris looked away. Staring up at Aiden was making his chest fluff feel weird, and he wanted it to stop.

“You gonna be OK, Chris? Sorry if I freaked you out.” Aiden pulled back, getting his own plate from the kitchen and taking it to the other side of the table.

Chris sat and stared at the plate in front of him for a moment, his stomach growling loudly. He tentatively started scooping up eggs and potatoes, gnashing them down.

It tasted mealy and unpleasant.

“Something wrong? Not enough salt? Too much pepper?”

“Don’t know… it just tastes funny.” Chris shrugged.

He grabbed a piece of the ham and bit into it, hoping it would be nicer than the eggs and potatoes. Flavor erupted in his mouth, and he found himself hungrily chowing down. 

“Well at least you like the meat,” Aiden laughed. “You little carnivore, you.”

The image of his claws covered in Cailyn’s blood, digging for her heart popped into his head.

He screamed high and shrill, dropping his meat onto the plate.

“Jesus Christ, Chris! What the hell?!” Aiden asked, coughing up his own eggs that he’d just taken a mouthful of.

“The meat- it was… it was Cailyn’s…” His voice came in short bursts, as if he was gasping for breath.

“What? What are you talking about?” Aiden wiped his face with his napkin, recovering from his recent bout with choking on eggs. 

“I-I… You’ll think I’m crazy. You’ll think I’m a monster,” Chris said, his voice quavering.

“I won’t, I promise. Look, I can see you’re freaking out. Let me see if I can help, at least.” Aiden smiled, doing his best to reassure Chris.

Something about that smile. Chris felt warm somewhere in his fluff.

“O-okay.” Chris took a deep breath - or at least, simulated doing so. “I’ve been having weird nightmares since this all started, and last night they got worse. Way worse. Like, I wasn’t just running from monsters, or dying, or anything like that. I was going after Cay. I was going to… I was attacking her. Plus, there’s a voice I’ve started hearing in my head. I’m scared, Aiden. Really scared.”

Aiden sat calmly, listening while Chris spoke. When he had finished, he folded his hands, resting his elbows on the table. He was quiet for a few minutes - long enough to worry Chris.

“Aiden, are you–” Chris began.

“We should take you back to the Underground. If anyone will know what to do, it’s Nathaniel.”

“Yeah,” Chris nodded. “You’re right, but how am I going to get to the Underground? I don’t have my watch, and I can’t just walk around out there like this.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll run out to the Underground, and bring you a glamour pendant so you can get there.”

“Thanks, Aiden. I appreciate it.” Chris said, flashing a sharp metallic smile.

“No problem, Chris.” Aidan stood and headed for the door. He shoved his feet into his sneakers and grabbed his coat, pausing to look back at me. “Be back soon. Need anything else while I’m out?”

Chris laughed at the absurdity of the question, but there was something he was craving. “Cream soda.”

“I’ll grab a case on the way home. See you later, Muppet.” He winked.

That wink. Chris felt the warmth stir inside him again as he smiled back. “See you, Aiden.”