Werewolf Skin (8 page)

Finally, a red crack of sunlight appeared along the ground. To my shock, it
was nearly daybreak.

The werewolves moved slowly now. Their loping trot had become a stiff-legged
walk.

As they stepped out of the trees into their backyard, they rose up onto their
hind legs. They staggered awkwardly to the back of their house.

I stayed by the trees, afraid to go too close. The sky was brightening as the
sun made its way higher. If the wolf creatures turned around, they could see me
easily.

I raised my camera. I had only a few shots left.

The two werewolves staggered on two legs to the side of their house. They
stretched their furry forearms and raised their faces to the brightening sun.

“Oh!” I couldn’t help it. I uttered a shocked cry as they began to shed their
skins.

The fur appeared to peel back.

The claws slid out of view. And the fur pulled back, revealing their human
hands.

As I gaped in amazement, the black wolf fur peeled off their arms and legs,
then slid off their bodies.

They had their backs to me.

The fur skins settled into capes again. The two humans reached up and pulled
off the heavy capes.

I’m going to see the Marlings for the first time! I realized.

They lowered the wolf skin capes to the ground.

They turned slowly.

And I saw their faces.

As the morning sunlight washed over their faces, I nearly cried out—in
horror and disbelief.

Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta stretched, brushed back their silvery hair, then
bent to pick up their wolf skins.

My aunt and uncle—
they were the werewolves!

Uncle Colin raised his eyes to the woods. I fell back behind a tree. Did he
see me?

No.

My whole body trembled. I wanted to cry out: “No! No! This can’t be
happening!”

But I pressed myself against the tree and kept my jaws clamped tight. I
couldn’t let them see me. I couldn’t let them know that I knew the truth.

The smooth tree trunk felt cool against my forehead. I had to think. I had to
make a plan.

What should I do? I knew I couldn’t stay with them any longer. I couldn’t
live in a house with two werewolves.

But where could I go? Who would help me?

Who would
believe
me?

I watched my aunt and uncle fold up their wolf skins. Then Uncle Colin helped
Aunt Marta climb into the Marlings’ bedroom window. Once she was inside, he
followed her in.

“The Marlings!” I murmured to myself. Were they okay in there? Or did my aunt
and uncle do something terrible to them?

A few minutes later, Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta climbed back out of the
window. Then they scurried across the driveway, into their own house.

I clung to the tree trunk for a while, watching the two houses. Thinking
hard.

Were the Marlings asleep in their house? Did they know that the two
werewolves were in there? Were the Marlings werewolves too?

I wanted to run away. To make my way to the street and just keep running
until I was miles and miles away.

But I had to find out about the Marlings. I couldn’t leave without finding
out the truth about them.

So I watched the two houses for a while longer. No sign of anyone moving
about.

I pushed myself away from the tree and quickly made my way through the
Marlings’ overgrown backyard.

I ducked behind bushes and kept my eyes on my aunt and uncle’s house. The blinds on their bedroom windows were shut.

Holding my breath, I darted to the Marlings’ bedroom window. I grabbed the
windowsill and peered inside. Dark. I couldn’t see anything.

“Here goes,” I murmured softly. “Good luck, Alex.”

I lifted myself up onto the sill, then lowered my legs into the room. It took
a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.

And then what I saw shocked me nearly as much as learning that my aunt and
uncle were werewolves.

I saw
nothing.

The bedroom was completely bare. Not a stick of furniture. No artwork or
mirrors on the wall. No carpet over the dust-covered floorboards.

Turning to the bedroom door, I spotted the two wolf skins. They were neatly
folded and piled side by side in front of the closet.

Taking a deep breath, I moved cautiously to the open doorway. I poked my head
out into the hall. Also unlit and bare.

“Anyone home?” I choked out in a tiny voice. “Hello? Anyone home?”

Silence.

I crept down the hall toward the front of the house. I peered into each room.

They were all bare and empty, covered with a thick layer of dust.

I stepped into the middle of the living room. No furniture. No lights. No
sign that anyone had lived here in years!

“Oh, wow!” I cried out as I realized the truth. My voice echoed off the bare
walls.

No one lives here, I told myself. There
are
no Marlings!

My aunt and uncle had made them up. They used this house to hide their wolf
skins. They’d made up the Marlings to keep people out of the house.

No Marlings. No Marlings. No Marlings.

It was all a lie!

I have to warn Hannah, I decided. No one is safe around here.

I pictured my aunt and uncle devouring that helpless little rabbit last
night. I pictured them wrestling with that baby deer.

I have to tell Hannah and her family, I decided. And then we have to run away
from here—as far as we can.

I turned and made my way quickly through the empty house. Then I lowered
myself out the bedroom window into the backyard.

The morning sun was still a red ball, low over the treetops. The early dew
glistened over the grass.

“Hannah, I hope you’re awake,” I murmured. “If not, I’ll have to wake you
up.”

I turned away from the Marlings’ window and began to run across the back
toward Hannah’s house.

I went about six or seven steps. Then I stopped with a gasp as Aunt Marta’s
voice rang out behind me. “
Alex—what on earth are you doing out
there?
”

I spun around. My knees nearly collapsed. The ground tilted up, then down.

Aunt Marta stood in the kitchen doorway. “Alex—why are you up so early?
It’s Saturday morning.” She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.

“I—well…” I was shaking so hard, I couldn’t speak!

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” my aunt demanded. I saw Uncle Colin
standing behind her in the kitchen.

“To… Hannah’s,” I managed to reply. “To talk about… uh… our costumes
for trick-or-treating tonight.”

I watched her face. Did she believe me?

I didn’t think so.

“It’s too early to be running over to Hannah’s,” she scolded. She motioned
for me to come inside. “Come in, Alex. Come get some breakfast first.”

I hesitated. My mind whirred.

Should I make a run for it? Run to the street and keep going?

How far would I get before they caught me? My aunt and uncle were both
werewolves. If they caught me—what would they do to me? Would I be their
breakfast?

No. I decided not to run. Not just yet, anyway. Not until I had a chance to
talk to Hannah.

I felt Aunt Marta’s eyes on me as I made my way slowly into the house. Uncle
Colin muttered good morning. He stared hard at me too. “Early start, huh?” he
asked softly.

I nodded and took my place at the breakfast table.

“Marta and I worked all night,” Uncle Colin reported. He yawned. “We took
some pretty good shots.”

That’s a lie!
I wanted to shout.
I followed you. I saw what you did. I
know what you are!

But I didn’t say anything. Just stared down at my cereal bowl.

I’m having breakfast with two werewolves! I thought, feeling my stomach
churn. My aunt and uncle run through the woods at night, murdering and ripping
animals apart.

I can’t sit here another minute! I told myself. I started to get up.

But I felt Uncle Colin’s hand on my shoulder. “Relax, Alex. Have a nice
breakfast,” he said softly.

“But, I—” I didn’t know what to say. I was too terrified to eat. I wanted
him to take his hand off me. It was making my whole body tremble.

“It’s Halloween,” Uncle Colin said. “You’ll be out late tonight.”

“Have a good breakfast,” Aunt Marta chimed in.

They watched me as I choked down my cornflakes. They didn’t smile. They were
studying me coldly.

They know that I followed them, I decided. They know that I know their
secret.

They’re not going to let me get away.

“Uh… I have to go to Hannah’s now,” I said, struggling to sound calm and
cheerful. I slid my chair back and started to stand up.

But I felt Uncle Colin’s hand grip my shoulder again. He grasped me tightly
and held on.

“Alex, come with me,” he ordered.

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!”

I heard my aunt and uncle moving around in the living room. Outside the
bedroom window, the white full moon was rising behind the trees. Wisps of black
cloud floated over it like wriggling snakes.

Hannah tugged me farther into the room. “What if we
hide
the wolf
skins?” she asked in an excited whisper.

“Hide them?” I whispered back. “What will that do?”

“Your aunt and uncle won’t be able to find them,” Hannah replied. “The night
will pass. They won’t be able to change into wolves.”

“So maybe if they go a whole night without the skins, it will
cure
them!” I cried.

Hannah nodded. “It’s worth a try, Alex. It might just work, and—” She
stopped. “No. Wait. I have an even better idea. We’ll
wear
the skins!”