They fight the bear like this, in rotations, for what feels like an eternity. In actuality, it’s probably only a few minutes. When Dink squeezes my hand, I know what he’s saying. The bear is winning.
Watching the fight, I know we don’t have much time to make a plan. We must escape while the Pandoras attack one another, but each time someone in our group moves, the bear charges toward us. We’re the ultimate target, I realize.
“What are we going to do?” Caroline asks through her tears.
Harper shakes her head, like she can’t believe our three Pandoras are being taken down by this one.
Next to my ankle, Madox barks. It’s just a small sound, but it pains me inside. If the bear gets to us, he may be the first to go. I have to do something.
Before I can make a decision, my Pandora rushes forward.
“Madox,” I scream. I go to chase after him, but Harper grabs both my arms.
“You can’t, Tella,” she says, struggling against me. “We have to get out of here.”
Madox races toward the bear and stops a few feet away. He barks again. The bear stops fighting the ram and looks at the small fox. My head pounds inside my skull as Madox’s eyes flick on, burning bright green.
“What’s he doing to it?” Ransom asks, astonished.
I shake my head and bite my lip. Get away from it, Madox. Just get away from it.
The bear moves toward my Pandora, transfixed by the glowing light.
And then Madox begins to change.
His head falls back and his spine ripples. Beneath him, his legs and arms stretch longer and wider, and his black coat begins to thicken. My Pandora grows massive muscles and new body parts — morphing into something I don’t immediately recognize. His ears pull in to form neat half-moons, and his muzzle lengthens. And then understanding shakes me to my core.
The baby fox has transformed into a carbon copy of the grizzly bear before him.
And my Pandora — my sweet Madox — rears up, opens his great jaws, and roars.
In that moment, my heart swells with so much pride, I fear it will burst.
Madox doesn’t wait for an invitation to fight; he just storms toward AK-7 and attacks. Rising up at the last minute, he bites down on the bear and takes it to the ground. They fight in the lashing rain for several seconds. It’s hard for me to tell at one point which is my Pandora. One bear gains the advantage and readies itself to go for the other’s throat. But before it can, the bear beneath it ripples and changes until all I see is a flutter of feathers and wings. The top bear fumbles backward when it realizes it’s no longer fighting a bear — but an eagle.
Madox has changed again, taking the form of RX-13.
As if the other Pandoras suddenly understand what is happening, they leap into action. RX-13 dives toward the bear beside Madox and together they sink their talons into its flesh. Before, when the three Pandoras fought, they had to take turns attacking and recovering. But with Madox’s help, they can now fight alongside one another.
The ram and raccoon rush forward to assist the two eagles’ assault. Somehow, though the eagles are quick, the bear manages to pin one to the ground. The eagle between its claws changes yet again to take DN-99’s form. The raccoon replica shoots his spikes out and the bear howls and drops him to the ground.
Amazingly, the bear still charges forward. It’s like it can’t stop until we’re dead. I almost break away from Harper when I see my Pandora, back in his fox shape, race toward the perimeter of the clearing.
“Let me go,” I scream. “I’ve got to see if he’s hurt.”
But Harper won’t release me, and now Ransom and Levi are helping her hold me in place.
When Madox reaches the perimeter, his eyes flick on. He’s staring at something in the bush, but I can’t tell what he’s copying now. Until he starts changing.
His body widens and grows taller, and his black fur pulls in and lightens in color. His tail lengthens, and a shock of hair fluffs out from around his head. Madox swishes his tail, turns back toward the bear, and locks his lion eyes on him.
As he prowls toward the bear, keeping close to the ground, I notice something appearing from behind him. A shiver works its way up my spine. It’s M-4, and from the look in his yellow eyes, he’s come to help.
The grizzly bear spins in a circle. It can’t win. There are too many surrounding it. But there’s determination in its rigid stature, and I know it won’t stop until it’s dead. As the Pandoras close in on it, Harper whispers, “Let’s go. There’s no use in watching.”
“What are you talking about?” I hiss, spinning to face her. “The bear can still hurt one of them. We can’t leave until we know they’re okay.”
“Damn it!” Levi yells.
I turn back around and hear the bear release a roar that confirms my earlier suspicions: It’ll fight to the death. It drops onto its paws and races toward the ram.
“Say it!” A new voice crashes through our clearing. “Stop him.”
When I see who’s appeared, I can’t help but smile.
He’s got psycho written all over him.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Green Beret is holding another guy in front of him. Or rather, he’s holding his head. And he’s holding it in a way that makes me think he could seriously hurt him with a simple movement.
The grizzly bear has stopped attacking and is staring at the guy in front of Green Beret.
“Say it,” Green Beret repeats, and his voice raises goose bumps on my arms. There’s no way in hell I’d think about going against that order.
The guy in the headlock apparently agrees, because he opens his mouth and says, “AK-7, stand down.”
The bear sits on its haunches as if that was exactly what it wanted to do this entire time. It begins licking its wounds as Green Beret shoves the guy in front of him. Scurrying over to the bear, the guy inspects it closely.
“I had no idea,” the guy says. “He got away from me somehow.”
The guy has blond, chin-length hair and sun-kissed skin. He looks older than me but younger than Green Beret. Like my own, his brown scrubs are battered and torn. But that’s not what has my attention — it’s the blue flag wrapped around his bicep. Even as Madox resumes his fox form and allows me to baby him, I can’t stop staring at it.
“He’s yours?” Harper asks the guy with the flag. She raises her chin, and I envy the way she can immediately regain control. I, on the other hand, feel like I’m going to pass out.
“Yeah, he is.” The guy straightens and moves toward Harper, his hand outstretched.
“Pass,” she says, eyeing his muddied palm. As he stands near Harper, I notice he’s almost as wide as he is tall. Built like a wrestler. “Did you sic your Pandora on us?”
“Why would I do that?” the Contender asks, a hint of a smile on his lips. He brushes off his hands and looks at each of us, waiting for someone to come to his defense. No one does.
“You’d do that so there’s less Contenders to compete against,” Green Beret growls. I glance at him and notice he’s staring at me, even though he’s speaking to the new guy.
“That’s insane,” the guy says, shaking his head like we’re idiots. “Who would do that?”
Harper grabs his beefed-up arm and eyes the flag. “Where did you get this?”
The guy beams at her, and the sight makes me squirm. There’s something not quite right about him. “My name’s Titus. Thanks for asking.”
“Duly noted. Flag?” Harper pushes.
Titus seems to calculate his options, as I try to fathom why Green Beret is staring at me. His dark hair is still spiked, and I wonder where he’s getting his gel. I try not to notice the way his cold blue eyes study my face, but it’s hard to ignore. Swallowing my fear, I turn and meet his eyes. I smile. He doesn’t.