Page 89 of Abdominal Snowman

An icy screech broke through their bubble, and Sage jerked her head around.

Screams and a storm of running people echoed through the town center. It was like a stampede.

A shiny black car took the corner out of the lot too quickly, losing control on the icy surface of the ground. Soren and Sage stood as the car careened off the pathway and headed straight for the ice rink across the square.

“No!” Sage gasped, frozen, unable to do anything but watch the car skid across the snow. The small group of children on the rink were oblivious, but their parents panicked, slipping all over the ice to get to their babies in time. Their shouts of warning made Sage’s heart ache.

If only there was—

Warmth caressed her side in a whoosh, and Soren transformed, white fur sprouting as he sprang toward the skating rink.

As he snarled, everyone parted for him like the Red Sea, and Sage would never forget the sight.

With a clear shot to the kids, Soren raced the speeding car, leaping to intercept it.

Stopped in their tracks, everyone had a perfect line of sight to the huge abominable until...

Sage lost sight of him over the gathering crowd, and she took off. Her feet slipped in the snow, and she wasn’t nearly as fast as Soren but—

The booming sound of a crash, a metallic screech, children’s screams, and—

Nothing.

It went silent.

Sage rounded the far right side of the crowd, trying to find a better vantage point, to find Soren. Where was he?

When she finally laid her eyes on him, relief hit her so hard she dropped to the snow.

Soren’s powerful form was braced in front of the car, arms straining as he groaned.

Behind him, in the middle of the rink with legs visibly shaking in the little ice skates, stood a young child who’d stopped to stare mere feet from the crumpled car.

It was quiet then, the ticking of the cooling engine and creaking metal of the damaged car fading to silence. People surrounded the square, frozen in their spots and watching as Soren rose to his full height, steam from the car enveloping his form.

“No, no, no, no, no, no...” Sage begged and crawled from the snow, running full tilt toward Soren. Scenarios rolled through her mind as to how they could explain this all away. A gas leak in the town caused widespread hallucinations? Yeah, that would work. Totally.

But their phones. This would be all over the internet within minutes, viral within hours, and Soren…

Soren shifted back as she rounded the fenced in ice rink. She handed him her jacket to cover his shredded pants. He stared at her, dread darkening his eyes as he realized what he’d done. He lowered his head, snowy white hair shining in place of the color she’d dyed it.

“Soren,” she murmured softly, heart aching. She moved in front of him to block the town’s gaze. Not that her short form would do much, but it made her feel better. Sage wanted to wrap him in a bubble, or better yet, find a time machine and make it so this had never, ever happene—

“Soren!” Jane said, out of breath as she stopped beside them. “Are you okay?” Her bright eyes scanned Soren before she tossed a soft smile toward Sage.

Confusion filled her as soft murmurs began to grow louder within the crowd.

“I’m sorry,” Soren whispered, and her attention jerked to him, to the turmoil written on his face. “I didn’t even think. That kid’s face was the only thing I saw and just, poof. Abominable.” Soren shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done.

“Honey,” Jane cooed, beginning to search through her pockets. “I’ve got just the thing.”

Sage and Soren blinked slowly at Jane. Why wasn’t she freaking out?

“Thanks for saving me, Mr. Soren!” a small voice chirped. The crowd of three turned to find the little boy, skates dangling from his father’s hands as both parents nodded in teary-eyed agreement.

“Thank you,” the mother whispered, pulling her baby boy close. “I just don’t know what I would have done…” She sniffled, wiping at her eyes as her gaze bounced between the small crowd.

“Can we have popcorn for dinner?” the child asked, and his innocent question was enough to pull a small smile from Soren.