Framing Felipe (31 page)

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Authors: Holley Trent

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they
did.
It
was
the
same
reason
he
and
Fabian
were
successful
and
why
they
were
able
to

carry
out
increasingly
complicated,
death
defying
stunts
that
took
peoples’
breath
away.

Trust.

FRAMING FELIPE

121

Holley Trent

Not
one
to
be
left
out,
Felipe
phased
to
invisible
and
descended
the
ladder.
As
the
half-‐

shifted
were-‐bear
pulled
himself
from
beneath
the
truck,
Felipe
carefully
ascended
onto
the

hood.
He
perched
next
on
the
roof,
watching
the
young
beast
scramble
to
his
feet,
snarling

at
Dana’s
open
door
with
a
roar
and
turning
to
run.

Unfortunately
for
the
bear,
Sarah
was
already
there.

“I’ve
got
silver
in
this
gun,”
she
said.

Felipe
didn’t
know
if
that
was
truth
or
lie,
but
her
expression
was
saying
Try
me,

motherfucker.
If
Felipe
had
been
that
young
bear,
he
wouldn’t
try.
He
wouldn’t
try
any
of

the
Shrews.

He
tried
to
rub
his
jaw
in
memory
of
what
his
Shrew
had
just
done
to
it,
but
his
jaw

wasn’t
there.
Neither
was
his
hand,
for
that
matter.
His
brain
couldn’t
help
but
to
register

appendages
that
technically
didn’t
exist
at
the
moment.

The
were-‐bear
roared
again,
now
forcing
himself
to
his
full
beast
form,
which

evidently
wasn’t
much
bigger
his
man
form.
In
fact,
he
wasn’t
much
bigger
than
a
Great

Dane
standing
on
two
legs.
Still,
the
Shrews
exercised
caution.

“No
one’s
going
to
hurt
you,
stupid,”
Dana
said,
walking
closer
with
her
Glock
poised

and
ready.
“We
don’t
hurt
people
unless
we
have
to.”

Felipe
didn’t
exactly
agree
with
that
sentiment
at
the
moment,
but
that
was
personal

between
him
and
Sarah.
He
looked
at
Sarah,
and
as
if
she
knew
he
was
thinking
of
her,
she

looked
toward
the
treehouse,
obviously
not
seeing
him.
Her
forehead
furrowed,
marking

her
confusion,
but
there
was
nothing
to
do
for
it.
In
a
way,
he
was
compromising
her

concentration,
but
it
was
too
late
to
fill
her
in
on
the
game
plan.
If
they
ever
worked

together
again
in
the
future,
they’d
have
to
devise
some
sort
of
signal…just
like
him
and

Fabian.

“Calm
down,
fluffy,”
Dana
said,
now
close
enough
for
the
bear
to
take
a
swipe
at
her
if

he
so
desired.

He
didn’t.
He
just
growled
some
more,
cowering.

“What
do
you
want?”
Sarah
asked,
now
moving
in
close,
and
Felipe
didn’t
like
it.

He
yelled,
“Get
back!”
but
had
no
voice
box
at
the
moment.
He
was
just
air.
Fuck,

woman,
be
careful
.

FRAMING FELIPE

122

Holley Trent

And
who
was
he
to
decide
how
she
should
do
her
job?
She’d
been
doing
it
competently

for
a
long
time
before
he
came
along.
He
just
had
to
trust
she,
Dana,
and
now
Astrid
who

created
the
third
point
of
a
triangle
around
the
bear,
knew
what
they
were
doing.

He
honed
in
on
a
track
of
red
on
the
were-‐bear’s
back,
mottled
with
matted
hair
and

gravel.
He’d
probably
grown
tired
of
hanging
onto
the
axle
and
dipped
against
the
road
for

part
of
the
ride,
scraping
his
back.
If
his
flesh
looked
that
gnarly
in
his
bear
form,
it
had
to

look
like
hamburger
in
his
man
form.

Slowly,
the
bear
shifted
into
his
human
shape,
shaking,
and
his
shoulders
drooping
as

he
breathed
through
his
mouth.
His
pain
was
obvious,
and
Felipe
almost
felt
sorry
for
him.

“No
one’s
going
to
hurt
you,
fluffy,”
Dana
said,
taking
another
step
closer.
“But
this
is

private
property.
You
shouldn’t
be
here.”

Sarah
lowered
her
gun
slightly
and
eased
in
close,
as
did
Astrid.

“What’s
your
name,
kid?”
Sarah
asked.

And
Felipe
saw
then
that’s
all
he
was.
The
were-‐bear
couldn’t
have
been
much
more

than
fifteen,
sixteen
at
the
oldest,
and
standing
there
nude
in
front
of
three
bad-‐ass
vixens

with
guns,
he’d
likely
be
scarred
for
life.

Felipe
phased
back
into
his
solid
form,
and
sighed.

Sarah
rolled
her
eyes
upon
spotting
him,
but
didn’t
give
him
away.

“Chauncey,”
the
kid
said,
now
covering
his
manhood,
such
that
it
was,
with
his
hands.

Astrid
backed
off
and
turned
to
the
vehicle,
yipping
when
she
saw
Felipe
perched
on

the
top
like
a
gargoyle.
“Fucker,”
she
mumbled
loud
enough
for
him
to
hear
before
pulling

open
the
back
door.
After
a
moment,
she
reappeared
with
her
gun
now
holstered,
and

carrying
a
woven
blanket.
She
tossed
it
at
the
kid,
but
he
let
it
fall
to
his
feet.

Dana
laughed.
“You’ll
have
to
excuse
us
if
we
choose
not
to
turn
our
backs,”
she
said.

“We’ve
seen
it
all
before,
fluffy,
and
all
of
us
like
our
flesh
to
be
well
over
the
age
of
consent.

You
can
spare
one
hand
to
cover
your
junk
while
you
pick
up
the
blanket.”

Chauncey’s
eyes
darted
from
Dana
to
Sarah,
who
nodded
at
him.
He
bent
slowly,

keeping
his
head
up
and
watching
them
as
his
left
hand
blindly
patted
the
ground
beside

his
feet.
After
he’d
grabbed
the
blanket
and
wrapped
it
around
his
body,
he
looked
at
each

woman
in
turn
again
before
finally
settling
his
gaze
on
Sarah.

Felipe
hopped
down.

FRAMING FELIPE

123

Holley Trent

The
kid
startled
and
took
a
step
closer
to
Sarah.
“They
made
me
come.
I
didn’t
want
to

come.”

“Who
made
you
come?”
she
asked.

“Gene.
He’s…the
bear
leader.
Sent
me
as
a
punishment.”

“Punishment
for
what?”

“That…that
when
y’all
took
our
bears,
you
took
good
bears,
and
not
me
instead.
Ain’t

got
no
use
for
me.
They’re
just
keepin’
me
around
out
of
the
goodness
of
their
hearts,

anyway.”

“Goodness?”
Dana
asked,
incredulity
apparent
in
her
voice.

Chauncey
shrugged.
“Ain’t
good
for
nothing.
Can’t
work.
Can’t
contribute
no
way,
but

whenever
kids
like
me
end
up
in
the
foster
homes,
they
gotta
get
us
out
or
folks’ll
find
out.”

“Gotcha.”
Dana
bobbed
her
head
toward
the
SUV’s
back
passenger
door,
and
without

another
word,
Astrid
pulled
it
open.

“Where
are
you
from,
kid?”
Astrid
asked
as
Chauncey
walked
over,
dragging
the
tails
of

the
blanket
behind
him.

“’Round
Boone.”

“How’d
you
get
in
a
foster
home
all
the
way
down
here?”

“Ran
away.”

“Oh.”
She
closed
the
door
on
him
and
joined
the
other
Shrews,
and
Felipe,
in
the

cluster.

Dana
sighed
and
said
in
a
rushed
whisper,
“What
did
that
little
twerp
think
that
kid

would
be
able
to
do
for
him?
He
sure
as
shit
can’t
fight.
He’s
the
sorriest
bear
I’ve
ever
seen,

and
that’s
counting
Gene.
What’s
Gene,
Sarah?
Five-‐one?”

“If
that.”

“But
Gene
fights
dirty.
He
likes
his
knives
and
isn’t
afraid
to
get
bigger
bears
to
do
his

dirty
work.
This
kid
shouldn’t
even
be
with
this
group.
He
must
be
a
born
bear
and
not

turned,
else
they
wouldn’t
have
a
choice
but
to
protect
him.
No
one
would
intentionally

turn
a
child
like
that.”

“That’s
all
well
and
good,”
Astrid
said,
sounding
a
bit
annoyed,
“but
the
fact
of
the

matter
is
this
kid
managed
to
sneak
onto
the
property
unseen.
How
long
has
he
been

watching
us?
What
does
he
know?
And
what
did
he
come
here
to
do?”

FRAMING FELIPE

124

Holley Trent

“You’re
right,”
Dana
acquiesced.
“Thanks
for
getting
us
back
on
topic.”
Dana
turned
to

Sarah.
“He
seems
comfortable
with
you,
oh
silver-‐tongued
goddess.”

Sarah
raised
an
eyebrow.
“What
are
you
suggesting?”

“He’s
a
bear
and
sure
as
shit
smells
like
one.
Take
him
to
the
farm
and
let
him
run
off

some
energy
around
the
house—to
cover
up
our
scents
from
the
past
few
weeks’
coming

and
going.
Get
the
Visas
some
hot
food
for
a
change,
and
when
you’re
done
with
that,

maybe
find
out
what
the
fuck
the
kid
was
doing
out
here.”
Dana
slipped
her
cell
phone
out

of
her
pocket
and
dialed.
“Hey,
dirty
cat.
Change
of
plans.
Can
you
pick
me
and
Astrid
up
at

the
gate?
It’s
a
long
walk,
baby.
Bring
Tamara
down
with
you.
I
gotta
send
Sarah
out
and

need
to
put
a
body
in
the
treehouse.”

Sarah
was
already
striding
toward
the
open
driver’s-‐side
door
of
the
SUV.
Before
she

could
close
it,
Felipe
grabbed
the
handle
and
wedged
himself
into
the
gap.

She
rolled
her
eyes.
“What?”

“Are
you
seriously
going
to
drive
with
him
in
the
car
unaccompanied?
You’re
more

careful
than
that.”
Felipe
cut
a
hostile
gaze
through
the
crack
between
the
seat
and
door,

and
Chauncey
withered
beneath
it.

“He’s
not
going
to
bother
me,
are
you
Chauncey?”
Sarah
asked,
looking
at
the
spooked

kid
in
the
rear-‐view
mirror.

Chauncey
shook
his
head
hard
and
fast,
and
his
eyes
went
wide.

Sarah
pulled
her
seatbelt
across
her
body
and
raised
an
eyebrow
at
Felipe.
“I
think
he

knows
he’s
safer
with
us
than
with
the
bears.
Pretty
sure
Gene
did
him
a
favor.”

No
one
had
asked
Chauncey,
but
now
he
was
nodding,
just
as
rapidly.

“Going
to
get
him
some
lunch
and
tend
to
our
guests.
Please
move
away
from
the
door.

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