Lisa Marie and Vernon both raised their hands and stepped back as the alien bear drifted closer to the living-room window. Its spacesuit emitted a faint green glow, making the bear’s furry face look extra spooky.
Two little antennae on its head twitched as its jetpack brought it closer to the glass. Its little ray gun was pointed straight at the children, and while the gun looked like a toy, Lisa Marie was prepared to bet it was more lethal than it appeared.
“What do we do?” Vernon whispered.
Lisa Marie swallowed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Bearvis?”
Silence.
“Bearvis? What do we do?” Lisa Marie asked.
When she got no reply, she risked a glance back at the couch. The King was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s gone!” she gasped.
Vernon followed her gaze, keeping his hands raised. “Oh, great. So much for him being on our side,” he hissed.
Outside, a blur of sequins and fur suddenly slammed into the hovering bear. Taken by surprise, the alien let out a sharp, inhuman squeal. The sound pierced the night like a car alarm.
“Don’t you worry none about this guy, honey,” shouted the King as he tried to wrestle the alien bear’s gun from its grip. “I got this under control.”
Suddenly, the alien bear’s jetpack began to spit bright streams of orange flame from its exhausts. Both bears screamed as they were launched straight through the garden hedge, leaving a perfectly round hole in their wake.
Lisa Marie and Vernon rushed closer to the window. The army of bears out in the street had all stopped what they were doing, and were now watching the flailing paws of the battling bears.
The out-of-control jetpack dragged both teddies on a wild zigzag route along the road. One moment they were up above the street lights, the next they were bouncing off the tarmac.
The children watched transfixed until the fiery blast of the jetpack was just a faint glow in the distance. “Well, then,” said Vernon, puffing out his cheeks. “That’s him dead.”
Lisa Marie slapped him on the arm. “No, it isn’t! Don’t say that.”
Spinning on her heels, she ran out of the living room and raced for the open front door. She wriggled her bare feet into her shoes and grabbed her coat from its hanger on the way. It wasn’t very sensible to confront an army of evil bears while wearing only her pyjamas, after all.
Taking the wand from her waistband and raising it in front of her, she hurried out into the garden with Vernon stumbling along behind her.
“Lisa Marie, come back. What are you—? Ooh, it’s f-f-freezing out here,” he said, shivering in his thin PJs. He backtracked up the path. “Wait there, I’m going to g-get some c-clothes on.”
Lisa Marie ignored him. Instead, she peered through the hole in the hedge, searching for some sign of Bearvis. Just a few metres away, a glow-in-the-dark ghost bear floated past, its arms full of leather wallets and purses. It joined up with a growing crowd of bears who all seemed to be moving in the same direction.
She was so busy wondering where the bears could be going that she almost didn’t notice a high-pitched sound screaming along the street. It was only when a bundle of fur and flame came roaring towards her that she realized the King and the alien were still locked in battle, hitting and kicking one another as they wrestled for control of the Zap-o-Matic Death Ray.
Lisa Marie squealed and threw herself sideways as the zooming bears ripped another hole through the hedge. Henrietta’s wand fell from her grip and bounced on the grass. As she grabbed it, she felt it tingle against her fingertips.
“Bearvis, are you OK?” asked Lisa Marie, her voice quiet but filled with urgency.
“Just fine,” drawled the Elvis bear, holding on to the alien bear with one furry fist and flailing wildly with the other. “Have this taken care of in no time.”
Before the words were fully out of his mouth, a furry knee slammed into the King’s stomach, forcing him to release his grip. He hit the ground, a jumble of fur and rhinestones.
No longer under attack, the alien was able to quickly bring its jetpack under control. Lisa Marie watched on in horror as it turned its Zap-o-Matic in the direction of the fallen King. The end of the gun began to glow white-hot. Lisa Marie had to do something quickly. But what?
She felt her arm raise all by itself.
“Drop that thing or I’ll… I’ll zap you!”
The alien bear shifted its gaze to look at her. Its eyes narrowed when it spotted the outstretched wand in her hand. “I know how to use this,” Lisa Marie bluffed. “So put it down. Now.”
On the word ‘now’, three things happened, almost all at once: the alien pointed its Death Ray at Lisa Marie; the King leaped up and threw himself between the hovering teddy and the girl; and a blast of powerful energy scorched through the air between them.
At first, Lisa Marie thought the alien must have fired. But then, as the glow faded, she saw a small silver spacesuit and jetpack land in the garden with a faint thud.
A moment later, a family of ducks emerged from inside the suit, quacked in annoyance, then flew off. Lisa Marie stared open-mouthed at them, then down at the wand in her hand. A single curl of smoke drifted up from its wooden tip.
“Uh, did I do that?” she whispered.
“My hair,” groaned the King, patting his thick black locks with his paws. A round hole, just like the two in the hedge, had been burned right through his trademark black quiff. “You shot my beautiful hair!”
“I think we’ve got bigger problems,” Lisa Marie warned.
“Speak for yourself,” the teddy sighed. “This is just about the worst thing that could happen.”
“N-no,” Lisa Marie stammered. She nodded in the direction of the hedge. A dozen or more teddies had begun to clamber over, under and through the foliage. “That is the worst thing that could happen!”
Lisa Marie stepped back a few paces. She held the wand out in front of her for protection, hoping she looked like she knew how to use it, even though she didn’t really have a clue.
“You ask me, the hair’s still worse,” mumbled the King. He tugged on Lisa Marie’s pyjama leg, making her look down. “Pick me up,” he commanded.
Not asking why, Lisa Marie bent down and scooped up the bear. He gave her a friendly wink. “Now hug me, tight as you can.”
“What? There’s no time for this!”
“Come on, didn’t no one ever tell you? There’s always time for hugs.”
Still keeping an eye on the Halloween teddies, which were now flooding the garden in their hundreds, Lisa Marie tucked the wand into her inside coat pocket, then pulled the King in tight against her. His fur felt soft and warm, and for a moment she almost believed this whole nightmare was exactly that – a bad dream she’d wake up from at any moment.
Around them, the vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts and who-knew-what-else formed an ugly circle. As one, the bears began to advance.
Lisa Marie glanced at the door to her house. Vernon was still inside, hopefully safe.
“Whatever your plan is, Bearvis, do it quick,” she whispered.
The King’s top lip curled into a playful sneer. He thumped a paw against a button on the alien’s jetpack, which he now wore over the top of his rhinestone-studded suit. “Yes, ma’am,” he said.
With a screech and a blinding flash of flame, the girl and the teddy rocketed out of the garden and high into the dark night sky.
