The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

27

"Hey!"

I let out a choked cry and spun around.

At first, all I could see was blackness. "Hey — who's there?" My voice came out in a hushed whisper.

Will stepped out from the darkness. "Grady — it's you!" he cried. He came closer. He was wearing a dark sweatshirt over black jeans.

"Will — what are you doing out here?" I asked breathlessly.

"I heard the howls," he replied. "I decided to investigate."

"Me, too. I'm so glad to see you!" I exclaimed. "We can explore together."

"I'm glad to see you, too," he said. "It was so dark, I–I didn't know it was you. I thought — "

"I'm following Wolf," I told him. I led the way into the swamp. It grew even darker as we made our way under the low trees.

As we walked, I told Will about the night before, about the murdered deer, the paw prints around the deer pen. I told him about how people in town were talking. And about how my dad planned to take Wolf away to the pound.

"I know Wolf isn't the killer," I told him. "I just know it. But Cassie got me so scared with all her werewolf stories, and — "

"Cassie is a jerk," Will muttered. He pointed into the weeds. "Look — there's Wolf!"

I could see his black outline moving steadily through the heavy darkness. "I was so stupid. I should have brought a flashlight," I murmured.

Wolf disappeared behind the weeds. Will and I followed the sound of his footsteps. We walked for several minutes. Suddenly, I realized I could no longer hear the dog.

"Where's Wolf?" I whispered, my eyes searching the dark bushes and low trees. "I don't want to lose him."

"He went this way," Will called back to me. "Follow me."

Our sneakers slid over the damp, marshy ground. I slapped at a mosquito on the back of my neck. Too late. I could feel warm blood.

Deeper into the swamp. Past the bog, eerily silent now.

"Hey, Will?"

I stopped — and searched. "Oh." A soft cry escaped my lips as I realized I had lost him.

Somehow we had gotten separated.

I heard rustling up ahead. The crack of twigs. The whispering brush of weeds being stepped on and pushed out of the way.

"Will? Is that you?"

Or was it Wolf?

"Will?"

"Where are you?"

Pale light suddenly washed over me, washed slowly over the ground. Glancing up, I saw the heavy clouds pull away. The yellow full moon hovered high in the sky.

As the light slowly swept over the swamp, a low structure came into view straight ahead of me.

At first, I couldn't figure out what it was. Some kind of gigantic plant?

No.

As the moonlight shone down, I realized I was staring at the swamp hermit's shack.

I stopped, frozen in sudden fear.

And then the howls began.

The frightening sound tore through the heavy silence. A horrifying wail, so loud, so nearby, rose on the still air, rose and then fell.

The sound was so terrifying, I raised my hands to cover my ears.

The swamp hermit! I thought. He is a werewolf!

I knew he was the werewolf!

I've got to get away from here, I realized. I've got to get home.

I turned away from the small shack.

My legs were trembling so hard, I didn't know if I could walk.

Got to go! Got to go! Got to go! The words repeated in my mind.

But before I could move, the werewolf burst out from behind a tree — and, howling its hideous howl, leapt onto my shoulders and shoved me to the ground.