The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

21

"No!" I started to protest.

But then I saw that I had misunderstood. Cassie wasn't pointing at Wolf. She was pointing to the figure moving through the tall weeds behind the dog.

The swamp hermit!

I saw him walking quickly behind the weeds, his shoulders bent, his mangy head bobbing with each step.

As he moved into a small break in the weeds, I could see why he was leaning forward. He carried something over one shoulder. A bag of some sort.

Wolf started to growl.

The hermit stopped walking.

It wasn't a bag slung over his shoulder, I saw. It was a turkey. A wild turkey.

A chilling thought burst into my mind: Had he taken it from Mr. Warner?

Was Cassie right about the swamp hermit? Was he a werewolf? Had he done something horrible to Mr. Warner and claimed the wild turkey as his prize?

I tried to dismiss these horrible thoughts. They were crazy. Impossible.

But Cassie looked so frightened, staring across the gurgling green bog at the wild-eyed hermit. And the howls at night, the howls had been so frightening, so human.

And the dead animals I'd seen, torn so brutally apart, as if… as if by a werewolf!

Wolf uttered another warning growl. He stared at the hermit, his tail standing stiffly behind him, his fur rising up on his back.

The hermit moved quickly. I saw his dark eyes flash just before he disappeared behind the weeds.

"It's him!" Cassie cried, still pointing. "It's the werewolf!"

"Cassie — shut up!" Will warned. "He'll hear you!"

I swallowed hard, frozen in place by my fear. I saw the weeds tremble across the bog. I heard rustling sounds growing closer.

"Run!" Will cried, his hoarse voice shrill and frightened. "Come on — run!"

Too late.

The swamp hermit burst out of the weeds right behind us. "I'm the werewolf!" he shrieked. His eyes were wild, excited. His face, surrounded by his long, tangled hair, was bright red. "I'm the werewolf!"

He had heard Cassie!

Laughing at the top of his lungs, he tossed up both hands, then began to swing the turkey in a wide circle over his head. "I'm the werewolf!" he cried.

Cassie, Will, and I all cried out at the same time.

Then we started to run.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wolf. He hadn't moved from his spot across the bog. But now, as I started to run, he came bounding toward us, barking excitedly.

"I'm the werewolf!" the hermit shrieked. He howled with laughter, still swinging the turkey as he chased after us.

"Leave us alone!" Cassie cried, running beside Will a few steps ahead of me. "Do you hear me? Leave us alone!"

Her pleas made the hermit howl again.

My shoes slipped in the muddy ground.

I turned back. He was gaining on me. Right behind me.

Gasping for breath, I struggled to run faster. Sharp vines and heavy leaves slapped at my face and arms as I plunged forward.

It was all a blur now. A blur of light and shade, trees and vines, tall weeds and sharp brambles.

"I'm the werewolf! I'm the werewolf!"

The crazed hermit's high-pitched wails of laughter echoed through the swamp.

Keep going, Grady, I urged myself. Keep going.

Then, with a terrified cry, I felt my feet slide out from under me.

I fell face forward into the mud, landing hard on my hands and knees.

He's got me, I realized.

The werewolf has got me.