The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

16

Was it a burglar?

I climbed out of bed, my heart pounding, and crept to the door.

Another crash. A loud thump.

Footsteps.

"Who — who is it?" I cried. My voice came out in a choked whisper.

Keeping against the wall, I made my way slowly toward the living room. "Who's there?" I shouted.

Mom and Dad and Emily met me in the dark hallway. Even in the darkness I could see the fear and confusion on their faces.

I was the first to the living room. Pale yellow light from the full moon washed across the room. "Hey!" I called out.

Wolf leaped against the big front window. His shoulders made a loud thud against the glass.

"Wolf — stop!" I cried.

In the pale light, I saw what had caused the loud crash. Wolf had knocked over the table and a lamp that had stood in front of the window.

"He — he's trying to get outside," I stammered.

I felt Dad's hand on the shoulder of my pajama shirt. "What a mess he's made," he murmured.

"Wolf — stop!" I called again.

The big dog turned, breathing hard. His eyes glowed red in the moonlight through the window.

"Why is he so desperate to get out?" Emily demanded.

"We can't have him in the house if he does this every night," Mom said, her voice hoarse from sleep.

The big dog lowered his head and let out an excited growl. His tail stood straight up behind him.

"Open the front door. Let him out," Mom said. "Before he wrecks the whole house."

Dad hurried across the room and pulled open the door. Wolf didn't hesitate for a second. He bounded to the door and burst out.

I ran to the window to watch him. But the big dog disappeared around the side of the house, running toward the back yard.

"He's heading to the swamp," I guessed.

"He tried to break right through the window," Mom said.

Emily clicked on a lamp. "He's so strong, he probably could have broken the window," she said quietly.

Dad closed the front door. He yawned. Then he turned his gaze on me. "You know what this means, don't you, Grady?"

I was still staring out at the full moon. "No. What?"

"Wolf will have to stay outdoors from now on," Dad said. He stooped and began picking up pieces of the broken lamp.

"But, Dad — " I started to protest.

"He's too big and too restless to stay in the house," Dad continued. He handed the lamp pieces to Emily. Then he pulled the table rightside up and returned it to its place in front of the window.

"Wolf didn't mean to break the lamp," I argued weakly.

"He'll break everything we have," Mom said quietly.

"He's just too big," Dad added. "He'll have to stay outside, Grady."

"Why did he want out so desperately?" Emily demanded.

"He's probably used to being outside," Dad told her. "He'll be happier out there," he said, turning to me.

"Yeah. Maybe," I replied glumly. I liked having Wolf sleep beside me in my bedroom. But I knew there was no way I could convince my parents to give the dog a second chance. Their minds were made up.

And at least they were letting me keep Wolf.

I pulled the vacuum cleaner out of the closet and plugged it in. Dad took the nozzle and began vacuuming up the tiny pieces of glass from the carpet.

That crazy dog, I thought, shaking my head unhappily. What is his problem, anyway?

When Dad finished, I carried the vacuum cleaner back to the closet.

"Now maybe we can all sleep in peace," Mom said, yawning.

She was wrong.