Night Creature

by Rodman Philbrick

  As I loped along, heading back to the den, I tried making some of the sounds the Legwalkers had used. But even though I could hear their strange words plainly in my head, I couldn’t quite get my mouth around the sounds. They were too complicated, not at all like growling, barking, and howling.

  Excited by my thoughts and at how far and fast the arrows would go, I lost track of time. It was nearly dark by the time I reached the den.

  I stashed the bow and arrows with my throwing stick in some bushes. It was silly, of course, but I didn’t want my wolf family to see my new weapons. I felt embarrassed about them. The wolves didn’t need that kind of help when they hunted. And on that great day when I returned from the woods with game for the whole family, I wanted them to marvel and wonder how I’d done it. They would praise me and share the food I’d caught—I’d be as proud as Sharpfang, the best hunter in the pack.

  My wolf family were all gathered together in the clearing. The cubs were scrapping over a piece of meat. When Wolfmother saw me she raised her head and growled in annoyance, so I knew she’d been worried.

  “Grrruffff!”

  I growled to reassure her that I was all right and the danger was gone.

  I wished I could let Wolfmother know about the Legwalkers, but probably she already knew. The wolves knew lots of things that I didn’t. I had to see things with my own eyes, but they used their ears and noses to keep track of just about everything that happened in our swamp.

  My brother Sharpfang growled impatiently, and only then did I notice he was guarding a kill. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I hadn’t noticed it sooner. Any self-respecting wolf would have smelled the fresh meat long before he arrived at the clearing.

  I barked enthusiastically and ran around him in fast circles, trying to make up for my mistake.

  Big and silvery gray, Sharpfang walked around his prize, strutting and preening a bit before dragging a haunch to Wolfmother and then bringing a second haunch to me. It was a deer—fresh venison. He and Thornclaw had obviously fed deeply before bringing back what they could.

  The two proud hunters watched contentedly as the rest of us ate.

  As darkness fell, the wolves stretched out on the ground, too full to move. Even the cubs, Leaper and Snapjaw, were quiet for once. I lay down, resting my head on Sharpfang’s flank.

  A rush of love swept over me for my wolf family. Why couldn’t I always feel this content? They accepted me with all my shortcomings, why couldn’t I accept myself?

  And then it began. The horror that would change me forever.

  Drowsy, I snuggled against my wolfbrother and was beginning to slip into a light sleep when I felt a strange tingling in my hands. At the same moment, Sharpfang stiffened. He stood up so suddenly my head bounced against the ground.

  I sat up, rubbing my head, growling questioningly.

  The moon was rising over the tops of the trees. It was a full moon, big and yellow, and as the light fell on my face, I felt dazzled. The silvery light was so beautiful. For a second everything between me and the moon seemed to vanish.

  A rustling, scampering nose brought me back to myself.

  The wolves were all on their feet. Wolf-mother’s eyes were like hot yellow stones. Thornclaw’s eyes were shadowed, but I could see a hard gleam. Sharpfang’s eyes were wide and blazing.

  They were all staring. Even the cubs were staring at me. And they were afraid.…

  Of me.

  Chapter 7

  Leaper and Snapjaw suddenly backed away from me, yipping in fear.

  Wolfmother chased them into the den and stood in the entrance, solid against the night. She made a strange whimpering noise.

  I whined loudly, asking Wolfmother what was wrong.

  Starting toward her, I signaled that I wanted to play with the cubs. I rolled on my back to show how unthreatening I was.

  But Thornclaw darted at me, snapping. I scuttled backward, away from the den.

  What was going on? What had I done?

  Behind me I heard a deep growl. I whipped around. Sharpfang was standing there facing me. His hair bristled along his back, stiff and coldly silver in the moonlight.

  I barked at him, thrusting my face at him in a way that demanded he look at me, Gruff, his own wolfbrother.

  He snarled viciously, the sound building from deep in his broad muscled chest. Sharp-fang dropped back onto his powerful haunches, ready to attack.

  My head buzzed so I could hardly think. Then I realized there must be something awful behind me. Some threat so big it could scare all the wolves at once.

  I looked over my shoulder, but there was nothing there. Nothing that I could see.

  I looked back at Sharpfang. His jaws were open and his teeth shone wetly in the moonlight. Still snarling, he was crouched to spring. His tongue flicked over his teeth. His jaws dripped with rage.

  My own jaw dropped in horror.

  It was me he was going to attack. Me, his own brother.

  Sharpfang was about to tear me limb from limb.

  Chapter 8

  I barked at him frantically, holding my puny hands out as if that would stop him.

  As panic shot through me I stumbled to my feet. My only hope was to surprise him, duck under his attack and run.

  As if I could ever outrun any wolf, much less Sharpfang.

  But as I rose up, Sharpfang yelped. He dropped out of his crouch and ran, his tail hanging low, weird frightened sounds coming from his throat.

  “RRrrufff!” I barked as he fled the clearing, trying to call him back.

  My mind was spinning in confusion. The tingling in my arms and legs was growing stronger, making me want to run and howl. I didn’t know if I felt good or rotten.

  But a secret part of me was pleased to see Sharpfang run from me with his tail between his legs.

  I looked toward the den. Thornclaw huddled beside Wolfmother, his muzzle to the ground. I growled at him. “Grrrrrrrr!” as if I would do the attacking from now on.

  What was happening to me?

  I had to get out of there before I did something I’d really be sorry for.

  I barked loudly and ran off into the swamp after Sharpfang. He was long gone, but I kept running anyway, full of churned-up feelings and strange, scary questions.

  How could my family turn against me like that?

  And where did that hard, mean feeling swelling up inside me come from?

  I chased after my wolfbrother but couldn’t find him. After a few minutes I realized I was totally alone in the swamp. The woods were silent. There wasn’t so much as a frog croaking.

  But something weird was going on—I’d come a long way and never even stumbled in the dark or put my foot into a mud hole. And I wasn’t even slightly winded.

  The tingling was stronger in my arms and legs. The strange thing was, it no longer felt unpleasant. It was like an electrical current flowing through me, lighting me up from inside.

  I threw back my head, feeling the moonlight on my face. I’d never noticed before how cool and smooth moonlight felt on my skin. As I stood there drinking it in, the moon grew brighter, bathing me with energy.

  I felt so strong I wanted to roar. The buzzing in my head had stopped. My wolf family seemed far away, part of another life.

  I knew I could do anything.

  I breathed deep and the whole swamp entered my lungs.

  R-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-P!

  The sound startled me. I looked down to see my animal-skin coverings bursting open and falling away from me.

  My muscles bulged and rippled, writhing under my skin. I was turning into a monster.

  Chapter 9

  Part of me knew I should be terrified. There were pains like sharp stones stuck between the bones of my joints, but I brushed off the pain like I would a fly.

  I dropped to all fours suddenly, as if I’d been grabbed. The bones in my arms cracked and shifted, then a louder CRACK! and my legs bent in a new way.

  Power surged through me like a tumbling flood
. The power was greater than any pain. I watched new muscles ripple down my arms and thicken my fingers. Lean muscles stretched along my legs and I felt the urge to run—for joy.

  But the Change wasn’t over yet. My face twisted like rubber, my teeth grew long and pointed, and my tongue stretched to fill my new jaw. I ran my tongue along the rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  My skin thickened and hair sprouted, becoming a kind of fur although not thick and pearly like my wolf family’s coats.

  My ears grew longer and more pointed and filled with the sounds of the night. Suddenly I could hear the heartbeat of a rabbit frozen with terror in its hole. And I could see an owl at the top of a tree, crouched motionless behind the leaves.

  And my nose! I could smell Sharpfang’s fear, far away to the west. I could smell the leaves and the water and all the animals in the forest swamp.

  My nose was a miracle. Just by scent I could follow the trail of every creature, tell where it had been and even where it was going. Nothing could escape me.

  I had become a wolf!

  Only better.

  I threw back my head, feeling the moonlight flow over me. I stretched my jaws wide and let out a howl of joy that shook the leaves off the trees.

  I’d become a monster, and I loved it.

  Chapter 10

  I howled again, feeling myself at the center of the world. The sound could be heard for miles. I knew it would drive a chill into the bravest heart and I swelled with pride.

  But howling wasn’t enough, there was a hunger in me, too. I prowled through the woods, scaring even the ants out of my path. I wanted something. But what?

  Hunger gnawed at me. My nose quivered. Every creature in the bog shrank from me.

  The rabbit, cowering in its hole!

  Saliva dripping from my gaping jaws, I clawed frantically at the ground, desperate to reach the hiding rabbit and devour its tender flesh.

  The creature huddled into the earth and didn’t try to escape. It had already given up, resigned to its fate.

  But suddenly I stopped. I stood motionless, my mind in strange turmoil. Something was terribly wrong—I had already eaten! I had a full belly, and wolves don’t kill when they’re not hungry.

  Revolted, I looked down at my hairy limbs. No longer Legwalker, not quite wolf, what was I?

  The wonderful joy that coursed through my veins like liquid light turned sluggish. My muscles itched to be running, my teeth longed to sink into something warm and solid. But my stomach churned with disgust.

  Part of me wanted to race through the swamp, part of me wanted to hide somewhere safe, like that rabbit. As I twisted in confusion the moon caught my eye. I threw back my head and howled mournfully.

  “Arooooooooooooohh!”

  As the lonely sound died away, a snickering laugh came out of the darkness. Something was there. Something that wasn’t afraid of me.

  I whipped around. But although I could see the tiny birds huddled in their nests and sense the moles quivering in their burrows, I saw nothing that might have made that awful laugh.

  “Aaoooww,” howled a raspy, mocking voice out of the dark. “Aaeeeiiiihh!”

  But inside my head the horrible howls became words like the Legwalkers spoke, only whispery and irresistible.

  “Follow me, little one, and you shall learn who you are!”

  Chapter 11

  Leaves rustled. Something moved, and then the shadow of a shape bounded off into the swamp.

  I leaped after it, the moonlight flooding my body with energy. I ran like the wind, and all living creatures scuttled out of my path.

  The strange, shadowy creature drew me on, but I never caught more than glimpses of it. The beast loped on all fours and had a hunched, hulking appearance. Its head looked large and misshapen—like nothing I’d ever seen before.

  “Aeeiighh!” it howled. But inside my head it sounded like “Follow me! Follow me and find the truth!”

  Deep into the swamp we went, deeper than I had ever been. Wisps of steam rose from murky pools and dead trees made crippled shapes against the night sky.

  My hunger grew, clawing at my belly, but it never occurred to me to stop. I couldn’t stop. Running fed the hunger and the swifter I ran, the stronger I became.

  Heat rose off me in waves so hot I warmed the wind. And the wind itself began to speak to me, whispering its admiration. “Little one,” I heard. “Run little one, run to us. Come, little one!”

  Whatever was happening to me, it made me strong, stronger than I’d ever been. I cleared a pool of muddy water in a single bound. This was the way I was meant to be—swift as the wind, more powerful than the strongest wolf.

  Suddenly a tree in my path changed shape and I shied away, startled. Something flashed red eyes at me. I glimpsed a sharp-fanged grin, and then it was gone. That was no tree. Or was it? I swept the woods with my magical eyes but there was nothing there.

  “Little one,” sighed the wind. “Come to us!”

  My pace faltered again as I realized those voices were not the wind at all. From everywhere the whispering voices came at me, howling softly, menacingly, pulling me deeper into the wettest, most dangerous part of the swamp.

  “Follow,” the voices urged me. “Follow deep into the swamp. Follow and find the truth!”

  The air around me grew heavy with the smell of rotting things and stagnant water.

  I began to see flickering red eyes, glowing for an instant, then gone. Twisted shapes loomed up out of the muck and when I looked, they disappeared. There were strange night creatures all around me and I couldn’t see them!

  But they could see me.

  Ragged shreds of laughter caught at my ears.

  It was an evil, mocking sound.

  As it filled the night I realized I was running right into the thick of them.

  But I couldn’t stop.

  Chapter 12

  “Heeeeeeee-heeeee-heeee! Look at what happened to poor little Gruff! Haaaaaa-haaaaa!”

  The laughter came from all sides. I was surrounded.

  Strange, monstrous forms flickered around the edges of my vision. But when I tried to focus on them, they turned back into shadows. Baring my teeth, I snarled at them to keep away from me.

  I splashed into a mud pool, spattering myself with horrible-smelling muck. The mud sucked at my feet. I lifted one foot and felt the other sink deeper. I couldn’t get free!

  As I struggled, the mud pulled me in slowly. Suddenly I could smell all the other creatures of the swamp that had stumbled there and were imprisoned in the mud forever.

  I panicked, struggling wildly. All around me the laughter grew louder, mocking my terror.

  “What’s wrong, little Gruff?” said a cruel voice in my head. “What are you afraid of?”

  Red glowing eyes watched me from the darkness. The night creatures were creeping closer and closer as my useless struggles drove me deeper into the ooze.

  I growled threateningly, trying to force them back.

  But the red glowing eyes came closer.

  I felt a cold touch on the hairs of my belly. Mud! I was still sinking. I forced myself to be calm. I knew how to get out of this if I would just think. But the night rustled with hunched shapes and whispery shadows. Cruel red eyes stared at me, cackling with evil pleasure.

  I sank another inch. Think! I closed my eyes and pictured myself getting free. It was almost too late.

  I took a deep breath and heaved myself over onto my side. With a loud POP! an arm and a leg came free. I rolled over, pulling with all my might. The rest of me popped free! The mud pool sighed and subsided.

  As I lay there panting, the red-eyed night creatures crept closer, closer. They weren’t laughing now. They whispered to one another, making a sound like tree limbs grating together in a gusty wind.

  The moon slid behind a cloud and hid them. For a few moments they were just humped black shapes against the night. Except for those red eyes glowing like hot coals. Red eyes in the night, staring at me.
/>   The hairs stood up along my back. I jumped to my feet and tried to run away. But wherever I turned, the monstrous shapes were there.

  Closer they came, closer and closer.

  Their breath stank worse than the swamp mud that covered me. The strange, shadowy creatures smelled of death.

  A snarl started deep in my throat and I bared my sharp-fanged teeth.

  The moon sailed out from behind a cloud and suddenly I could see them! I sucked in my breath. They were werewolves!

  Horrible creatures with matted hair and snarling faces. Part wolf, part human, and one hundred percent monster. Monsters so ugly and terrible it made my belly churn with sickness. Their long, pointed fangs glistened in the moonlight. Between patches of straggly hair their skin was like half-rotted bark. Their gnarled feet and hands were tipped with long yellow claws.

  But their eyes were worse than anything. Those hot red eyes burning with a fever for blood!

  Their ugly-sounding whispers came into my head. “Come with us, little Gruff. Come with us and learn the truth.”

  I backed away, snarling louder. Inside I was quivering with fear. My mud-covered fur bristled threateningly.

  “GRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!” I snarled at them to get away.

  Instantly all of those eyes became narrowed slits, shooting bolts of red fire. The creatures raised their terrible claws and gave out an ear-splitting shriek that meant, “You belong to us!”

  Then they hurtled straight at me, fangs dripping. The forest shook with their stampeding feet. Hundreds of claws aimed directly for my eyes.

  The night creatures—the werewolves—were going to rip me apart!

  Chapter 13

  I crouched, cringing in terror.

  But I felt the power flowing into my haunches. I jumped, and the force of my muscles lifted me up, over the heads of the shrieking beasts. Their questing claws just missed me.