Werewolf Skin

14

When I came into the kitchen for breakfast the next morning, Aunt Marta was on the phone. She stood at the counter with her back to me. But she turned as I said good morning to my uncle, and flashed me an angry look.

“Yes, I understand,” she said into the phone. “Well, it won’t happen again.”

I took my place at the table beside Uncle Colin. He sipped from a white coffee mug, his eyes on Aunt Marta.

“It won’t happen again,” my aunt repeated into the phone. She frowned. “I’ll make sure he stays away. No. He wasn’t spying on you, Mr. Marling.”

So that’s who she was talking to.

Uncle Colin shook his head unhappily. “I warned you not to go near that place, Alex,” he said. “We don’t need those people calling over here.”

“Sorry,” I murmured. “But-”

I wanted to tell him about last night, about everything that had happened to me and everything I’d seen.

But he raised a finger to his lips, motioning for me to be silent while my aunt was on the phone.

“No. My nephew wasn’t taking pictures of your house, Mr. Marling,” Aunt Marta continued. She rolled her eyes. “I promise. He won’t bother you again. I’ll talk to him right now. Yes. Okay. Good-bye.”

She set down the receiver and turned to Uncle Colin with a sigh. “Those people,” she murmured.

“We have to be careful,” Uncle Colin replied, narrowing his eyes at me. “We don’t want to get them worked up.”

“But-but-” I sputtered. “I saw things-”

“They saw you, Alex,” my aunt interrupted. “They saw you prowling around their house late last night. They are very angry about it.”

She poured herself a mug of coffee and came over to the table. She sat down and swept a strand of gray hair off her forehead.

“What were you doing outside last night?” my uncle asked.

“I’m really sorry. But I had no choice. I left my camera out in the woods,” I explained. “I had to run out and get it. I couldn’t leave it out all night-especially with the rain.”

“But you didn’t have to go near the Marlings’ house-did you?” Aunt Marta demanded.

“I–I heard animal howls from inside their house!” I blurted out. “And I saw strange footprints going up to the bedroom window at the side.”

Uncle Colin nodded calmly. He took a long sip of coffee. “The footprints were probably from their dogs,” he said, glancing at Aunt Marta.

“Dogs?” I cried.

They both nodded. “They have two huge German shepherds,” my aunt explained. “Mean as they come.”

“And as big as wolves,” Uncle Colin added, shaking his head. He reached for a slice of toast and began to butter it.

I sighed. I felt a little better.

Two German shepherds. That explained the howls and the footprints in the wet grass.

“Are you ready for school?” Aunt Marta asked. “Hannah will be here any minute.”

“I’m almost ready,” I replied. I gulped down a glass of orange juice. “When I was in the woods last night…” I started.

They both stared at me.

“I saw some animals that got ripped up. I mean, killed.”

Uncle Colin nodded. “The woods are dangerous at night,” he said softly.

“We really don’t want you out there at night, Alex,” Aunt Marta said. She pulled a piece of lint off the shoulder of my T-shirt. Then she tenderly brushed my hair back with her hand. “Promise us you won’t go again.”

“Promise,” I murmured.

“And promise that you’ll stay away from the Marlings,” my uncle added.

Before I could reply, the doorbell rang. Hannah came into the kitchen, weighted down under a bulging backpack. “Ready?” she asked.

I nodded and shoved my chair back from the table. “Yeah. I guess I’m ready,” I told her. “This is so weird. Going to someone else’s school.”

“You’ll like my teacher, Mr. Shein,” Hannah replied. “He’s very interesting. And he’s really nice.”

I grabbed my backpack and my jacket. We said good-bye to my aunt and uncle and headed out the front door.

I glanced at the Marlings’ house as we made our way to the street. The bedroom window at the side had been closed, I saw. The house was dark as always.

“Did you find your camera?” Hannah asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. But it wasn’t easy.” I told her about my scary adventures.

She tsk-tsked. “I warned you, Alex,” she said. “You wouldn’t catch me in the woods after dark.”

A yellow school bus rumbled past. Some kids in the bus called out the window to Hannah. She waved back to them.

The morning sun still floated low in the sky. A silvery frost clung to the lawns. The air felt crisp and cold.

“One more block to school,” Hannah said. “Are you nervous?”

I didn’t answer. I was thinking about the Marlings. I told Hannah about the howls I’d heard inside their house. “Uncle Colin says they have two German shepherds. Really big and really mean,” I told her.

“No, they don’t,” Hannah replied sharply.

I stopped walking. “Excuse me?” I cried.

“The Marlings don’t have any dogs,” she repeated. “I’ve lived here as long as they have, and I’ve never seen them.”

“Then why did my uncle tell me that?” I demanded.

“So you won’t be scared,” Hannah replied.

“I–I don’t understand,” I stammered. “If the Marlings don’t have dogs, what made those weird footprints outside their window?”

Hannah shook her head. Her olive-green eyes locked onto mine. “Alex, don’t you get it?” she cried. “Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

“Figured what out?” I asked.

“The Marlings are werewolves!” Hannah declared.