7.c.xii.
They raced
through the corridors, Bear Market snarling and gnashing at their backs. Business Woman was in the rear. She could feel the damp heat of sure death on
her ankles as she ran.
“Which way?”
Supply shouted as they approached a divergence in the trench labyrinth.
“I don’t
know,” said Business Woman. “Just
go. Go!
GO!”
They turned
right and kept running. Bear Market
slammed into the corridor wall as his intended prey swept around the corner,
but he was at Business Woman’s back again within a couple of strides.
“If we turn
into a dead end we’ll encounter the literal meaning of that term,” said Demand.
Jaws snapped
and snagged the back of Business Woman’s suit jacket. Bear Market jerked his head, tearing the dark
blue fabric and disrupting her stride.
She stumbled, then slammed into the floor and slid. Her speed carried her into an intersection of
corridors. Supply and Demand turned
left. Business Woman scrambled,
redirected her momentum, and launched herself to the right. Bear Market’s teeth snapped on the empty air
she’d occupied only seconds before. She
yanked her jacket off, backed further into the corridor, and shook it like a
matador.
Bear Market
charged.
He was almost
upon her when Business Woman jerked the jacket to the left and pivoted to allow
the beast passage. Bear Market, anticipating
the feint, bit toward the right. His
jaws clamped down on empty air again as Business Woman leapt upward, slammed
her palms onto Bear Market’s head, used it as a spring board, and vaulted over
the charging ursine body. As soon as her
feet touched the ground she streaked down the passageway after Supply and
Demand.
She found her
companions less than one hundred yards later.
At a dead end.
“We’re dead,”
said Demand.
“No,” Business
Woman said.
“We. Are.
Dead,” said Demand, turning toward her.
“We can beat
this thing,” said Business Woman.
“How?” asked
Supply.
A roar echoed
off the walls. Bear Market slowly crept
around the corner and into view.
“Increase
Supply on all necessary commodities,” said Business Woman.
“That won’t
deter Bear Market,” Supply said.
“Just do it!”
Business Woman shouted. Immediately,
Supply started growing. “When prices
plummet we’ll buy up everything, reverse it, and increase demand. I can then–”
She froze.
“My PDA’s
gone,” Business Woman said, rifling through her jacket. “It must have dropped–”
Bear Market
slammed into them. A clawed, paw-shaped
hand knocked Demand against the side wall.
Blood flowed into the fabric of his purple jacket along four slashing
lines. Bear Market’s other arm pinned
Supply against the wall as he snapped his jagged mouth at Business Woman. She dodged the gnashing teeth, but, without
hesitation, Bear Market jerked toward Supply and clamped down on her neck.
There was a
sound that occurred during this moment.
It wasn’t a terrified scream, like that of trapped prey or horror movie
unfortunates. It was muffled, slightly
gurgled, and similar to the noise a person makes after eating something
distasteful or hot but finds they are unable to spit it out.
This sound
came from Bear Market.
Supply was swelling.
Terrified and
panicking, she was unable to think of anything other than
my-god-a-huge-man-bear-is-killing-me. As
her mass increased, so did the amount of blood in her system. Blood that Bear Market was feasting on. Blood
that was gushing down his throat.
And he
couldn’t let go.
His teeth were
buried in her neck flesh, which was expanding and bloating. Bear Market’s back hunched. He thrashed, struggling to get free. His violent movements furthered Supply’s
panic and her size doubled in seconds.
Bear Market puffed up like a mosquito trapped in a camper’s arm.
“Supply! Calm down!” Demand shouted, his hand
clutching the bleeding gashes on his side.
But his shouts grew softer as his body shriveled and diminished. A moment later Supply’s body filled the
trench. Demand was the size of rat.
Business Woman
leapt onto Supply’s knee and climbed up to her shoulder. She grabbed Bear Market’s jaw and wrenched
it, but nothing happened. Panic flashed
in Bear Market’s eyes and she redoubled her efforts, tugging and prying and
pounding on his snout.
