Fiend Zoned

Part 3

"Are you sure?"

Seth wasn't giving her a strange look; there was even any disbelief in his tone. But as soon as he said those three words, Becky regretted bringing up what she had seen. She had waited a few days after the locker room incident just to be sure, but she was convinced her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. Ramblin' Rabbit had been at the signing, snatched away before she could heed his warning. And then Abby the Witch had been in the locker room days later. Now she was being vigilant, checking corners and shadows any time she entered a room.

Her shoulders must have slumped, because Seth quickly pulled her against his chest. It made moving forward in the Catering queue difficult, but his touch had always helped her stay grounded. "Becks, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Seth pressed a kiss to her neck. "Why didn't you say anything when you called me to the locker room?"

"What could I say? Hey, babe, there's a demented murder puppet staring at me?" Becky huffed out a long breath. Sure, she had a vivid imagination, but it wasn't the kind that was prone to hallucinations. And even Seth had seen the daisies, so she clearly hadn't made those up. "Maybe someone's just messing with me because it's almost Halloween. . . ."

"Almost Halloween?" Seth echoed. "Becks, there's still a week of September left. . . ."

Becky shook her head. "Unless it's actually Halloween, it's almost Halloween. All the time. Trust me." Halloween had been one of her favourite things about moving to North America. As they shuffled forward in the line, she turned to look at him. "Or is Creative trying to bring in a real Sister Abigail and this is their way of hyping up a feud between her and me?"

"I've never heard of Creative doing something like that without warning, if only for safety reasons. Besides, it's not like any cameras were around, so they wouldn't have any footage to use." Seth reached around her to grab a bottle of water and froze. "Uh, Becks?"

"If you're just going to tease me again. . . ." Becky began, pulling Seth's arm off her shoulders. Then she paused too, staring at the snack table. There were plenty of Skittles, since they were a current sponsor, and lots of other candy too. And at the back of the table, wrappers strewn at his feet, was Huskus the Pig, munching away happily.

He seemed to brighten as they looked at him. "Oh, hallo!" He opened another candy and let its wrapper fall to his lap. "I would share with you, Seth, but they are mint chocolate." Then the pig held out the chocolate. "Would you like one, Becky? They are very good! Yum yum!"

Without thinking, Seth tossed his bottle of water at the pig, knocking over a bowl of candies in the process. A yelp came from beneath the table and a moment later, Drake Maverick emerged, plucking dropped candies out of his hair. "Can't I lurk under a table in peace anymore?" Then he glanced around, spotted R-Truth and the 24/7 Championship, and jumped over the table to chase him, creating an even bigger mess in the process.

Drake's mad pursuit of R-Truth distracted everyone else in Catering from Seth's seemingly random outburst, and he ducked quickly, peering under the table. "Nothing," he reported, grabbing another bottle of water before taking Becky's hand and leading her away.

"Not surprised." Once they were out of Catering, Becky glanced up at him. "Believe me now?"

"Yeah." Seth gazed down the empty hallway. It was clean, well-lit, quiet. It shouldn't have been threatening. But a stuffed pig shouldn't have been unnerving either. When the Fiend was involved, nothing was certain—or safe.