Alfie the Werewolf 6: Werewolf Secrets

by Paul van Loon

  ‘His sorrow was so great that he gradually turned to stone. His vampire heart became a lump of stone and so did he. In the end, Armando was gone. All that was left was a big black rock next to the river. And if you go near that rock, you feel Armando’s sorrow.’ Grandpa Werewolf sniffed and looked seriously at the three children. ‘That is the story of Armando the Grey.’

  ‘We saw a big black rock,’ Alfie cried. ‘At first we thought it was a person.’

  ‘And we felt the sadness too,’ Noura said. ‘Great sadness.’

  Grandpa Werewolf nodded slowly, almost approvingly, as if it was something he’d expected. ‘Maybe you found Armando’s rock.’

  ‘And now Dad’s hacking into it,’ Tim blurted. ‘Is that all right?’

  Grandpa Werewolf gazed pensively at his walking stick. ‘Maybe it will release the sorrow. That would be good. Then Armando would have peace at last.’

  Mum had been listening silently the whole time. ‘Goodness, what a story, Grandpa. But what happened to the werewolf he was in love with? She must have been very sad too.’

  Grandpa Werewolf nodded. His eyes seemed to glaze over. ‘I’ll tell you about that another time. That’s enough for now. I’m going to go out for a little walk to stretch my old legs. Bye!’ Quickly he strode out of the cottage and down the path. Alfie ran along behind him.

  ‘Wait, Grandpa. There’s something else I’d like to ask you. Do you know anything about the Org—’

  Grandpa Werewolf stopped suddenly next to the Dentmobile. He looked back and shook his head. ‘Shhhh! D’you hear that, Alfie?’

  Alfie listened. Now he could hear it too. Loud and clear: Ghrrrr. Ghrrrr.

  Alfie and Grandpa Werewolf looked at the Dentmobile. The sound was coming from the boot …

  19

  An Unexpected Guest

  Ghrrrr. Ghrrrr!

  ‘Well, I’ll be …’ said Grandpa Werewolf. ‘I was right all along!’ He hit the boot with his stick, leaving one, two, three little round dents. ‘Wake up, lazybones. And show yourself.’

  Alfie was totally baffled. Tim and Noura had come to join him.

  ‘Why is Grandpa Werewolf hitting the Dentmobile?’ Noura asked. ‘Is he angry about something?’

  Tim shrugged.

  ‘What do you mean, Grandpa?’ Alfie asked.

  Grandpa Werewolf smiled. ‘I told you someone was snoring in the car. First I thought it was your mother. And she thought it was me, remember?’

  Alfie nodded.

  ‘Well,’ he laughed, ‘it wasn’t either of us. It was an unexpected guest!’ In one movement, Grandpa Werewolf opened the boot. The lid shot up and Alfie gaped at the boy who was lying there asleep. He was tall and skinny, with a sharp face, spiky hair and bushy eyebrows. His arms and legs were folded up like a grasshopper’s and he was snoring loudly.

  GHRRR. GHRRR!

  ‘Leo!’ Alfie cried.

  ‘Exactly,’ Grandpa Werewolf grinned. ‘Now I know whose snoring was keeping me awake.’

  ‘And he’s still snoring,’ Alfie said.

  Grandpa Werewolf poked Leo in the ribs with his walking stick. ‘Hey, steam engine. It’s time to get up!’

  The boy opened his eyes, saw Alfie and Grandpa Werewolf and gave a big grin.

  ‘Cuz wolf!’ he called out happily. ‘It be youse! And it be Grandpa Werewolfy too. And Nourala and Timmio. Oh, happy daze!’ He unfolded his arms and legs and crawled out of the boot. Standing up straight, he was almost two metres tall. Leo was Alfie’s cousin. At full moon he turned into an enormous werewolf. He spread his arms. ‘Hello, everyone-two-threes. Super-prize! Leo be here!’ He wrapped his arms around Alfie.

  ‘Whoa, Leo, wait!’ Alfie shouted, but Leo was already throwing him up in the air. Leo was crazy about his cousin. Fortunately he caught him again.

  ‘Put me down. Put me down,’ Alfie shouted and Leo obeyed.

  ‘Who now?’ he grinned. ‘Timmio? You wants to go flysing with Leo?’

  Tim took a quick step back. ‘No, thanks, Leo. Preferably not.’

  Grandpa Werewolf smiled. ‘Leo, you sneaky stowaway.’

  Leo roared with laughter. ‘Yes, Leo be a smartsy stopaway. He sneaked into the boots, then snored away lots of loverly hours. ‘Cause Leo wants to go on holly days too with all the other holly day-makers.’

  Grandpa Werewolf looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Hmm, it’s actually a good thing you’re here. I think I might need a pair of strong hands later.’

  Alfie looked at Grandpa Werewolf questioningly.

  What does Grandpa mean by that? he wondered. What’s going to happen later?’

  ‘Hey, Grandpa, did you know there’s an orph—’

  Suddenly Leo nudged him.

  ‘Hey-ho, Alfie wolf. Look there! Who be that appearifying out of nowheres? Who be that?’

  Everyone looked around.

  A pitch-black figure was coming up the garden path, shiny and gleaming like a piece of coal.

  20

  Father Christmas

  Alfie, Noura and Tim stepped back.

  ‘The weeping rock,’ Alfie whispered. ‘See. It’s alive!’

  The gleaming black man came closer. He clapped his hands and a cloud of black grit billowed up. A crescent of white teeth appeared in his black face.

  ‘So, time for a sarnie.’

  ‘Dad?’ Tim and Alfie said in one voice.

  ‘Yes, of course. Who did you think it was? Father Christmas?’

  Leo laughed out loud. ‘That’s right, Dadsy. You be Father Christmas and you be sitting in the chiminny too long.’

  Grandpa Werewolf sniggered. ‘You do look a bit like a coal miner. Have you been digging up some coal?’ He rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully. ‘Or, um, have you perhaps been working on a specially beautiful black rock?’

  ‘Yes, why are you all black?’ Noura asked.

  Dad looked at his hands with surprise, as if he he’d only just noticed.

  ‘Oh, that … that’s from chiselling, I guess. I’m making a wonderful sculpture. And you’re right, Grandpa, it is from a beautiful black rock. Art takes grit, sweat and tears. But now I have to eat something. I’m a little faint from hunger.’

  Just then Mum came out of the house. She recognized Dad immediately.

  ‘Ah, sweetheart, nice and black, I see. You must have been hard at work. Run along and have a shower.’

  Dad shook his head. ‘No time, no time,’ he mumbled. ‘A quick sandwich and then back to work. I promised I wouldn’t be long.’

  Mum looked at him with surprise. ‘Who did you promise?’

  Dad pulled a hankie out of his pocket and wiped his face, leaving a white stripe over his eyes and nose.

  ‘The rock. The black rock. It’s waiting for me. I said I’d be back soon.’

  Grandpa Werewolf screwed up his eyes. ‘Hmm … And did the rock say anything to you?’

  Dad hesitated. ‘Um, not in so many words … But I sense what it means. So I have to get back there fast to get back to work.’

  Alfie cast a searching glance at Grandpa Werewolf, who was now leaning on his walking stick with his eyes closed. Mum moved in front of Dad and planted her hands on her hips.

  ‘I don’t think so, William Friend. I don’t mind you hacking away at rocks. You can do that as much as you like. And you can have nice conversations with them too. That’s fine by me. But I’m not having any rocks deciding when it’s time for you to have a shower. That’s my job. And I’m telling you now that you’re going to have a shower first. And after that, you get a great big sandwich. Understood?’ Mum stared Dad in the eye, unyielding, as if she was a rock too.

  ‘OK,’ Dad mumbled. ‘A quick shower won’t hurt. But then I’m off again, all right. I have to finish my statue today, before the full moon. I promised.’

  Alfie suddenly noticed that Grandpa Werewolf was nodding, almost imperceptibly, as if he believed what Dad was saying. Or maybe it just looked like it, thought Alfie. He walked up to Dad.

  ‘Can we have
a quick look in the tent when you go back?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Tim, ‘we’re very curious about your work of art.’

  Dad stared at Tim and Alfie with strange, fierce eyes that grew big and white in his black face.

  ‘No! Nobody gets to see my sculpture until it’s finished. That’s bad luck! And it’s not finished yet, so that tent is off limits!’ He wagged his finger at them, then turned and shuffled into the cottage, mumbling to himself.

  Alfie looked at Noura and Noura looked at Tim. Tim winked.

  21

  ‘Ahem!’

  ‘So, here we are,’ Alfie whispered.

  ‘I can see that,’ Tim whispered back.

  ‘What are we whispering for?’ Noura whispered. ‘There’s no one here who can hear us. Your dad’s miles away having a shower.’

  After Mum and Dad had gone inside, they’d sneaked off. Leo and Grandpa Werewolf were hungry and had gone in too. Not having a chance to ask Grandpa any more questions, Alfie had slipped off quickly with Tim and Noura. And now they were standing in front of the tent.

  It had grown overcast. Dark clouds drifted overhead and the wind was growing stronger, but Alfie didn’t pay any attention. He was too busy gazing at Dad’s tent. There were still signs everywhere.

  ‘The unauthorized again,’ said Alfie. ‘They’re not allowed anywhere.’

  There were even more signs than before.

  Alfie sniggered.

  ‘Dad really wants to keep it top secret!’

  Tim walked between the signs and knelt down next to the tent. ‘He won’t succeed though. We’re going to be the first ones to secretly admire his work of art.’

  ‘I’m really curious,’ said Alfie as Tim reached for the zip.

  ‘Wait!’ Noura cried, looking thoughtful. ‘It’s not really fair, Tim. Your dad doesn’t want anyone to see the statue before it’s finished. That’s very important to him. If we look anyway, we’ll be cheating him.’

  Tim and Alfie shrugged.

  ‘I don’t want to cheat anyone,’ Alfie said, ‘but what if we just have a very quick look? With one eye shut or something? Would that be OK?’

  Noura shook her head. ‘It’s still cheating.’

  Alfie thought for a moment, then nodded. ‘Noura’s right, Tim. Dad would never cheat us, so …’

  Tim sighed and stood up. ‘OK! Fine. Let’s go home.’ He looked up at the sky, which was growing darker by the minute. ‘If you ask me, there’s a storm coming.’

  Suddenly a big smile appeared on his face.

  ‘I almost forgot! We’ve arranged to meet Olga later.’

  As he spoke, a blush appeared on his cheeks.

  ‘Yeah, fun!’ Alfie said. ‘Come on, let’s hurry back.’

  Tim was already walking away.

  ‘Pfff, what’s the rush?’ said Noura. Alfie sniggered and was about to follow Tim, when a cough came from the tent. ‘Ahem!’

  Alfie was sure he’d heard it. He froze.

  ‘Did you hear that, Noura? Someone coughed in the tent.’

  ‘Really?’ Noura said. ‘How could your dad be back already? He would have had to have run all the way.’

  ‘But who else could it be?’ Alfie said. ‘Unless … Maybe he climbed out the bathroom window without Mum knowing. He wanted to get back to his rock as fast as he could, remember?’

  Noura looked at the tent.

  ‘Maybe. Are you sure you heard something?’

  ‘Yes, I really heard it.’

  Tim was waiting.

  ‘What are you doing there?’ he called. ‘We have to go.’

  Again coughing came from inside the tent. Harder this time. ‘Agh-ghemm!’

  It was a rough grinding sound. Even Tim heard it and hurried back. He studied the tent.

  ‘Is Dad back already?’

  ‘It seems like it,’ Alfie said.

  ‘Shall we have a look after all? Just to be sure.’

  A bright bolt of lightning cast a white glow over everything, as if someone was taking a photo. The light flashed right through the tent and was immediately followed by a thunderclap. For just a second a big shadow was visible on the material of the tent. It was like a bending figure with a pointy nose and a sharp chin. Alfie felt his heart miss a beat.

  I know that shadow, he thought. At least …

  ‘Who’s that?’ he whispered.

  Tim shrugged.

  ‘Maybe it was just the shadow of some thing … the stump of a tree?’ Noura whispered.

  ‘I don’t see any stumps anywhere,’ said Alfie.

  The next bolt of lightning and roar of thunder made them jump. The shadow on the tent was gone and the first drops of rain started to fall. Just then two figures appeared on the path, coming towards them. Growling and puffing.

  22

  No Body …

  Alfie gaped at the approaching figures. A dark thundercloud was hanging over them. Grandpa Werewolf was holding up an umbrella and Leo was bounding around him like an enormous puppy.

  Alfie burst out laughing. Leo hadn’t changed into a werewolf yet because the full moon still hadn’t risen – that would take a couple of hours – but he was already walking on all fours. He sniffed the trees and bushes and even stuck his nose into a molehill. The rain didn’t seem to bother him at all.

  ‘Hey, cuz wolf Alfie,’ he yelled cheerfully. ‘There youse be.’

  ‘Hello, children,’ Grandpa Werewolf panted, holding his hat and umbrella tight in the strong wind. They could hear rumbling in the distance, but the lightning had stopped.

  ‘What are you doing here, Alfie? Not peeking into Tim’s father’s tent, I hope.’ Grandpa Werewolf trained his fierce yellow eyes on Alfie, Tim and Noura in turn.

  Alfie felt a blush appear on his face. ‘Um, no, nothing like that, Grandpa Werewolf. Of course we didn’t have a look. That’s not allowed. It says so on the signs.’

  Grandpa Werewolf nodded. ‘Then hurry back to the cottage.’

  The rain was getting heavier.

  ‘Er, but we thought there was someone in the tent, Grandpa. We heard someone coughing.’

  Grandpa Werewolf shook his head. A mysterious smile played over his lips.

  ‘Don’t worry, Alfie. Maybe someone coughed, but there’s nobody in the tent. I know that for certain. Hurry off now! Otherwise you’ll get drenched.’

  Leo was nodding his head furiously. Drops of rain flew off his hair in all directions.

  ‘Run like a greasy lightning rod, wolf cuz. Run faster than a gravy hound. Other ways youse be wetter than a washing-up-liquid-brush.’

  ‘Wow, Leo, you sound like a poet,’ Alfie chuckled.

  Leo nodded proudly. ‘That be right, cuz! Leo be a super poemizer!’

  Grandpa Werewolf raised an eyebrow at Alfie.

  ‘OK, we’re going, Grandpa.’

  Tim and Noura ran off, but Alfie looked back one last time.

  ‘Grandpa, shouldn’t you and Leo go home too? You’ll get sopping wet too, you know.’

  Grandpa Werewolf shook his head. ‘We’ll take cover … somewhere.’

  Alfie saw Grandpa Werewolf wink at Leo and Leo gave him a cross-eyed look in return.

  ‘OK,’ said Alfie, running after Tim and Noura. Grandpa Werewolf and Leo watched them go, Leo waving with his hands and his feet. They were standing under the umbrella and raindrops were bouncing off all around them. A strange idea popped into Alfie’s head.

  I think they’re just waiting until we’re gone, he thought. And then they’re going to sneak into the tent to get out of the rain. But who was that shadow in the tent? He looked so familiar. It must have been Dad. Who else could it be?

  He looked back one last time. Leo and Grandpa Werewolf had disappeared.

  ‘Come on, Alfie!’ Noura called.

  Still trying to work it out, he ran after her and Tim. Just when they reached the cottage, the front door opened and Dad stepped out, scrubbed and cleaned and with a brand-new kangaroo tea cosy on his head.

  ‘Hey,
’ Dad said with surprise. ‘Where have you been?’

  23

  A Trollipop?

  The full moon was high above the trees. Alfie and Noura had turned into werewolves and were running through the dark forest. Tim was trying to keep up with them.

  ‘Wrow, I still don’t understand,’ said Alfie. ‘Dad wasn’t in the tent, but what was that shadow? I really thought—’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Tim said in a cheerful voice. ‘We’re going to meet up with Olga.’

  ‘I hope she’s there,’ Alfie said. ‘It’ll be fun.’

  ‘Really? Why do you think it will be such good fun, Alfie?’ Noura gave him a pointed look.

  Alfie started to stutter. ‘N-no reason. I, I … um, I just want to find out more about the werewolf orphanage. Don’t you? You like O-olga too, don’t you?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Noura said, a red glow flickering in her eyes. ‘I don’t know her that well, do I? You two act as if she’s the nicest girl you know, but I want to find out what she’s like first. Can we trust her?’

  Alfie shook his head. ‘You’re the nicest girl I know, Noura. You know that.’

  ‘Of course,’ Tim said. ‘You’re the best, Noura … But I’d still like to get to know Olga a bit better. She’s sweet. Don’t you think, Alfie?’

  Alfie looked at Noura out of the corner of his eye and saw her quickly turn her head. ‘Wrow, um, well … I think so. But, um, not necessarily.’

  Noura didn’t say a word.

  They were getting close to the werewolf orphanage. Alfie heard rustling in the bushes and had a funny feeling that something wasn’t right.

  ‘This is it,’ Tim said. ‘Where we agreed to meet. We were standing right next to this tree. What’s the matter, Alfie?’

  Alfie looked over his shoulder. ‘I’m not sure. I think … I’ve got an idea we’re being followed. Wait a sec, I’ll just have a look.’ He turned around and walked away from Tim and Noura.