A Prey Among Predators

The front of a large cage is thrown open and Carter is tossed in there like a stuffed animal. As he crashes against the back of the metallic cage, the front barred door is slammed shut; the movement from the slamming locks the cage.

Carter, on his kneels, scrambles up to the bars and clutches onto them. “Hey!” He shakes them. “Let me outta here!”

Through the bars, Miro back aways with cold piercing eyes, revealing Nico and Jesperi to the left. All their eyes are on the cage.

Nico then peers at Jesperi, who is to his right. “His clothing-containment bracelet.”

With a mischievous giggle, Jesperi skitters up to Carter and shoots his arm through the bars. He pulls it out, now with Carter’s left wrist in its grasp.

“Hey—!” Carter cries out.

With his free hand, Jesperi presses the clip of the metallic bracelet around Carter’s wrist; the bracelet unclasps.

“No!” he shrieks, alarming eyes on his escaping bracelet. “Let! Go!” He jerks at his arm.

Jesperi squeezes his wrist just as his claws pop out and pierces through his skin.

“AH!”

Jesperi then whips the metallic bracelet from his wrist and holds it up in the air like hard-sought treasure. “Haha! I got it—” He turns back to the wrist he’s holding. “OOO!”

Adorning Carter’s wrist is his black rubber bracelet and yellow, green, and white marbled rubber bracelet.

Jesperi’s eyes sparkle at the sight of more goods as his free hand with the other bracelet reaches toward them. “These are nice—”

“Jesperi!” Nico barks from behind him; his fluffy tail whips behind him in irritation.

Jesperi snaps his head to look at him. His face goes red with a large, embarrassed smile as his large ears droop. “Oh, right, heh-heh.” He tosses the metallic bracelet to him, then turns back to Carter. He rolls off the two bracelets before rushing back to his spot.

Carter settles into a sitting position in the cage and holds his injured arm near him. He grimaces at the red liquid pooling out from the punctures. “Ack…!”

Nico holds up the glistening bracelet to his eye level and rotates it; the room’s light bounces off of it.

The light grabs Carter’s attention; he snaps his sharp eyes up at Nico. “Give that back…,” he forces out between his teeth. “I need that…!”

“Nah, you won’t—” Nico peers at him from the bracelet. “Besides, why would you need this if you’re never going to return to your balanced form?” He hands it to Miro, who places it on a table beside him.

Carter gawks in disbelief at him. “Uh, I am back in my balanced form and I would like to have my clothes back when I do return if I ever go into my animal form again, thank you very much.”

Nico mirthlessly chuckles. He closes his eyes and shakes his head before stepping up to him. “You don’t get it…” He grabs onto the top of the cage and sticks his head down to the front of the cage, gazing into his bright sea foam green eyes. “You just won’t be needing your clothing-containment bracelet anymore. Period.”

Nico then pulls away and backs up, revealing Carter in distress.

“Wait, what? Why won’t I need it? Why-why are you guys doing this to me—” He flicks his eyes at each of his opponents. “—putting me in some cage like an animal—?”

“You did turn into a bear not too long ago,” Nico states with crossed arms, now aligned with his friends.

Carter clutches onto his injured arm tighter, throwing a glare at him. “Okay, that was because I was accused of something I didn’t do and I was just straight-up mad!”

“Are you gonna be ‘straight-up’ mad again?”

Carter grabs onto the bar with his healthy hand and gives it a good shake. “Oh, the hell I’ll be!”

“Perfect.” Nico turns to his friend to his left. “Miro?”

Miro pushes a cart that is right next to the table; it holds a silver tray, which wobbles as it approaches the cage.

Carter directs his eyes to the nearing tray and instantly brightens up at its content: A small, silver-colored fish lays on the tray in all of its glory.

Jesperi hops and claps to his exclamation: “Mmmm! Yummy, yummy, yummy!”

Miro lets the edge of the tray hit the bottom of the cage’s door.
Through the bars, Carter straightens up to get a wide view of the plump fish. He then slips his healthy hand through the bars and reaches out to the fish. His outstretched fingers near its glistening scales before the whole tray rushes out of sight.

Carter snaps his head to his right in vain attempt to find the tray with the fish. His eyes are large with shock, his mouth hangs open, his ears are pushed back from the sides of his head. Then, munching sounds fill his ears as the sweet, thick, mouthwatering aroma of fish fills his nose.

He turns his head up only to find Miro consuming the fish bit by bit.

Carter gapes at the heartbreaking sight with watery eyes.

The caudal fin of the fish disappears into Miro’s mouth; he swallows and licks his lips in content. One of his pointy, tuft-tipped ears flick.

All Carter can do is stare up at him in sorrowful disappointment. The churning emotions of hurt then morph into a powerful force of rage: His face drops into a scowl as his back hunches; both of his hands plaster onto the metallic bottom of the cage as thick, sharp claws pop out from his fingertips and stab at the flooring.

Then with full, sharp inhales— “Hur-hur-hur” —he lets out a large roar and explodes into a massive grizzly bear; his clothes burst from his large form and drop around him in shreds.

The bear slams and swipes its paws at the chained cage in fits of anger. With expressionless eyes on the animal, Miro steps back to Nico.

Jesperi stares at the raging bear in wonder. “Oh, he’s so angry!”

Nico pumps his fist in the air. “YES!”

The grizzly bear is now rocking the cage with its heavy, strong movements in fits of huffs.

Nico laughs in amusement and clasped his hands in front of him. He rubs them together. “Just keep him in his animal form for a couple more hours and he’ll become a feral…” He darts his sly eyes at his teammates on each side. “...then we don’t have to worry about the star goalie stealing our championship after all...without anyone figuring out our trick.”

Notes