Michael Afton Bear Mask Novels & Stories

Waiting for me to take my place. I locked eyes with Bear. He lifted the cup in his hand as a silent signal that he hadn’t done anything to cause problems. I don’t think he would lash out. Or do something deliberately. But since he knows nothing about the story. He could still do something by accident. As I took my place at the front with Fox and Bear at my sides. I took a glance at the men and women in front of me. Each wore a black mask carved into a different animal. Despite their masked faces.

“Where’s the mask?” Beckett looks around in the dark before reaching for a black mask lying in the dust. He beats it against his thigh before handing it to me. I slip it on, sighing as my eyesight adjusts. It’s simple–black silken fabric with eyeholes. It covers about a third of my face, but that’s all. I pull my black gloves out of the pocket of my leather jacket before hanging it on a rake, which promptly falls to the ground with a clang under the rain-soaked weight of it. “Get going,” Beckett rushes out.

It was time for part B of the plan. I would soon put an end to all of this. There was no way I would let them hurt Aurora or my little angel. I would keep her safe and protected no matter what I had to do. I picked up the skin-colored mask and wore it on my face. Soon, the person staring at me had a wheatish complexion, no scar, and a huge mole top of the lips. I put on blue contacts to complete the look. Pleased with my disguise, I prepared to leave…

Nagtaas-baba pa ang kilay nito. Sumunod ang tingin ko sa tinutukoy ni Athelia. Naroon si Adamson. He was wearing a black button down shirt. Nakabukas pa ang tatlong butones. He was a bit sweaty and under the lights, his sweat shimmers like they were diamonds. May suot din itong kwintas na may dog tag na pendant. Mukhang may magpipigil ng ngiti ngayong gabi ah. Natawa ako nang umirap si Ena at sumiksik sa akin.

Not a sign of life anywhere. They landed in the second ring, the inner zone. "We're here," Nathaniel said as Ark Two came into view. He handed Hayley two masks. "This is Ark One's insignia. Everyone attending the auction has to wear a mask representing their base." The masks he gave her were green. Hayley nodded and passed one to Griffin. They all put on the green masks. The helicopter touched down. Nathaniel stepped out first. Then Hayley followed, holding the dogs' leashes. Griffin and the rest of the group poured out behind her in one noisy wave.

Vastria grabbed the poster, “It’s coming here tonight? The carnival of ‘Fright Night’?” The carnival of 'Fright Night' the two girls was excited over was a well-known carnival in the goth community. It was of course a vampire themed carnival. The image or mascot of this carnival was a bear. This bear was an angry/grumpy looking bear giving off an evil grin of two-toned various colors. The difference with this bear was that it had fangs and claws to match the theme of the carnival. The two girls had waited a long time for the carnival hoping it would come to town. The carnival would visit various places once, then go on to the next. It was a one-night carnival. They could not pass it up.

But I don't know what she wanted, so I brought one. Now I know why she wanted to lose her precious virginity. And that was the main purpose of the mask. No strings attached. Just sex. Just a fucking sex. Five hours later, she eased off. She stopped talking. She stopped dancing. And good thing she stopped sobbing like a three-year-old kid. My job was supposed to have sex with her. But it so happened that I was babysitting someone who just turned eighteen. When she leaned her exhausted back against my shoulder, that was the time for me to go. So, I gently lifted her from the floor and put her profound sleepiness on the bed.

I wanted to rip the mask off, to let him see the monster and the woman, and to lose myself in the heat of his embrace. But as his fingers moved toward the silk ribbons at the back of my head, a cold splash of reality hit me. I am a murderer, I reminded myself. I am an impostor in a dead girl's palace. He is a man of the South, a man of secrets. If I let him see me—truly see me—I would lose the only armor I had left. The power of my eyes was my greatest weapon, but my mask was my greatest shield. Just as his fingers brushed the knot of the ribbon, I grabbed his wrist. My grip was unnaturally strong, fueled by the desperation of a cornered animal.

And her grey eyes were affixed back on the dancers. Whatever desire Mykhol could have seen earlier was squashed away now. The bear had turned away from his stick. But Mykhol didn’t mind. The joy was in seeing that crack in her mask widen. She was showing just the barest of the feelings that she worked so diligently to keep under key. A key which she was going to lose one day and never find again. But, for now, Mykhol felt a real source of accomplishment. His mood lightened, and he was glad for it.