The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

20

Startled, we both spun around to see a girl about our age. She had rust-colored red hair tied in a ponytail on one side. She had catlike green eyes, and a short stub of a nose, and freckles all over her face. She was wearing faded red denim jeans and a T-shirt with a grinning green alligator on the front.

"Cassie, what are you doing here?" Will demanded.

"Following you," she replied, making a face at him. She turned to me. "You're the new kid, Grady, right? Will told me about you."

"Hi," I said awkwardly. "He told me a girl lived in the neighborhood. But he didn't tell me much about you."

"What's to tell?" Will teased.

"I'm Cassie O'Rourke," she said. She shot up her hand and pulled the blade of grass from Will's mouth.

"Hey!" He playfully tried to slug her, but missed.

"What did you say about a werewolf?" I asked.

"Don't start with that stuff again," Will grumbled to Cassie. "It's so stupid."

"You're just afraid," Cassie accused.

"No, I'm not. It's too stupid," Will insisted.

We stepped into the shade of the trees at the swamp edge. A funnel cloud of white gnats whirred crazily in a shaft of light between the trees.

"There's a werewolf in the swamp," Cassie said, lowering her voice as we ducked past the gnats and moved deeper into the shade.

"And I'm going to flap my wings and fly to Mars," Will said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Will," Cassie snapped. "Grady doesn't think it's stupid — do you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "I don't think I believe in werewolves."

Will laughed. "Cassie believes in the Easter Bunny, too," he said.

Cassie socked him hard in the chest.

"Hey!" Will cried out angrily as he staggered back. "What's your problem?"

"Mosquito," she said, pointing. "A big one. I got him."

Scowling, Will glanced down. "I don't see any mosquito. Give me a break, Cassie."

We made our way along the winding path. It had rained the day before. The ground was marshier than usual. We kept slipping in the soft mud.

"Do you hear the howling sounds at night?" I asked Cassie.

"That's the werewolf," she replied softly. Her green cat-eyes burned into mine. "I'm not kidding around, Grady. I'm serious. Those howls aren't human. Those howls come from a werewolf who has just killed."

Will snickered. "You've got a good imagination, Cassie. I guess you watch a lot of scary movies on TV, huh?"

"Real life is scarier than the movies," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Ooh, stop. You're making me shake all over!" Will exclaimed sarcastically.

She didn't reply. She was still staring at me as we walked. "You believe me, don't you?"

"I don't know," I said.

The bog came into view. The air became heavier, wetter. The tall weeds on the other side stood straight up. The bog gurgled quietly. Two big flies danced over the dark green surface.

"There's no such thing as werewolves, Cassie," Will muttered, searching for something to throw into the bog. He grinned at her. "Unless maybe you're one!"

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny." She made biting motions with her teeth as if she were going to bite him.

I heard a rustling sound across the oval-shaped bog. The tall weeds suddenly parted, and Wolf appeared at the edge of the water.

"What does the werewolf look like?" Will asked sarcastically. "Does it have red hair and freckles?"

Cassie didn't reply.

I turned to see a look of terror freeze on her face. Her green eyes grew wide, and her freckles seemed to fade. "Th-there's the werewolf!" she stammered in a choked whisper. She pointed.

Feeling a chill of fear, I turned to see where she was pointing.

To my horror, she was pointing right at Wolf!