Werewolf Skin

28

He kept his hand clamped tightly on my shoulder as he led me to the back of the garage. He walked quickly and didn’t say a word.

I wondered if I could break out of his grip and make a run for it. How far would I get?

He let go of my shoulder. What did he plan to do?

“I’m sorry I followed you,” I said in a choked whisper. “I–I won’t tell anyone what I saw.”

He hadn’t heard me. He had moved to the corner of the garage and picked up a long-handled tool.

He shoved it toward me. “I need your help this morning,” he said. “There’s a lot of yard work to be done.”

I swallowed. “Yard work?”

Uncle Colin nodded. “That’s a weed whacker. Have you ever used one before?”

“No. Not really,” I confessed. The handle shook in my hand.

“It’s pretty easy,” he said. “I need you to cut down all these weeds behind the garage.”

“Yeah. Okay,” I replied, feeling dazed.

“And be careful not to toss any weeds in the Marlings’ yard,” he warned. “I’m sure they’ll be watching your every move. Waiting to complain to us about you.”

“No problem,” I replied.

There are no Marlings! I wanted to scream.

“I’ll work with you,” Uncle Colin said, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “Together we can teach these weeds a lesson they’ll never forget.” He grinned for the first time that morning.

Does he know that I know? I wondered. Is that why he’s keeping me here this morning?

My uncle and I worked in the yard all day. Whenever I would take a short break, I’d catch him watching me coldly, studying me.

I was so frightened. I wanted to drop my tools and run.

But I couldn’t leave without warning Hannah and her family. They had to know that they were in danger too.

I didn’t see Hannah until after dinner. She burst in just as we were finishing.

“Well? How do I look?” she demanded. She did a fast twirl in her rag-doll costume.

“You look wonderful!” Aunt Marta gushed.

Hannah frowned at me. “Alex, where’s your costume? Come on. You’re not ready to trick-or-treat?”

“Uh… it’s upstairs,” I told her. “It won’t take me long to get it together. Uh… come help me-okay?”

I practically pulled her all the way to my room.

“It’s a great night out,” she said. “Perfect for trick-or-treating. The night of the full moon.”

I tugged her into the room and shut the door behind us. “We’ve got a problem,” I told her.

She fiddled with the rag hat that flopped down over her forehead. “Problem?”

“Yeah. Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta are werewolves.”

“Huh?” Her eyes bulged. “What did you say?”

I explained everything. Speaking rapidly in a low whisper, I told her all that I’d seen last night. “They hide their wolfskins in the Marlings’ house,” I finished.

“But the Marlings-?” Hannah started.

“There are no Marlings!” I cried. “The house is empty. My aunt and uncle use it as a hiding place for their wolf skins.”

Hannah stared at me openmouthed for a long time. Her chin trembled. “But… what are we going to do?” she cried breathlessly. “Your aunt and uncle-they seem like such nice people. They’ve always been so nice to me.”

“They’re werewolves!” I cried. “We have to tell your family. We have to hurry away from here. We have to get help. Tell the police or something.”

“But-but-” Hannah sputtered, her face twisted in panic.

And suddenly I had another idea. “Wait!” I cried. “Hannah, what did Mr. Shein say about werewolves shedding their skin? Didn’t he say that if someone finds their skins and burns them, the werewolves will be destroyed?”

Hannah nodded. “Yes. That’s what he said. But-”

“So that’s what we’ll do!” I cried excitedly. “We’ll go next door, and-”

“But you don’t want to kill your aunt and uncle-do you?” Hannah replied.

“Oh. No. Of course not,” I told her. “I’m so frightened, I’m not thinking clearly. I just thought-”

“Whoa. Wait a minute, Alex!” Hannah cried, grabbing my arm. “I know what we can do. I have a plan that might work!”