Children of the Wolf

by Rodman Philbrick

  I growled in frustration. I couldn’t leave Rick here—I’d have to carry him.

  At that moment, Big Rick stirred and groaned. He opened his eyes. Seeing me inches from his face, he came instantly to life, sparked by pure terror. He let out a shriek that hurt my ears and scrambled to his feet.

  Mud flew in every direction as he ran. Luckily he was heading back toward the trail so I didn’t have to do anything but growl once or twice to keep him running fast.

  Back on the trail I could hear the kids arguing. They were still heading toward the bus but their progress had slowed dangerously.

  “We’d already be back at the bus by now if this was the right direction,” said one girl.

  “I say we find Mr. Clawson and Mr. Grunter,” a boy suggested.

  “Let’s face it,” said a tall kid. “We spooked ourselves in the dark woods and got panicked into seeing things. Now we’re lost. I say we stay right here and keep shouting for Mr. Clawson to come get us.”

  “We’re not lost,” Paul pleaded. “It’s just a little further.”

  Just then Big Rick burst on the scene, coated with mud and spouting gibberish. “A monster—fangs—kill us!” He kept running, his hair standing in stiff spikes, and set off a ripple of panic among the kids.

  “Stay together!” yelled Kim.

  “Run!” shouted Paul. “Let’s get to the bus!”

  I loped along after them, close behind but keeping out of sight along the edge of the trail. They could make it to the bus. Once the door was shut, they should be safe. Now if only they would keep running so I wouldn’t have to howl and scare them all again—I hated that.

  I had my eyes trained on the kids and forgot to watch the woods around me. That was a mistake.

  I was just thinking they were all going to make it out safely when a shadow moved.

  Suddenly a huge fanged shape leaped out of the woods.

  I tried to twist away but the thing was too quick, too big.

  “OOOOMPH!”

  The full weight of the beast smashed into me and knocked me across the trail.

  Then it had me pinned flat to the ground.

  Chapter 40

  The werewolf’s foul breath stung my eyes and burned the inside of my nose. My throat closed up as I struggled to heave it off me.

  But strong claws pinned me to the ground. It hissed and I heard its voice inside my head. “You can’t move, little Gruff. There is no escape.”

  Ripper!

  I stopped struggling and the werewolf leaned back a few inches so the moonlight fell on its hideous face. Red eyes glowed with fury. Its lips parted in a snarl. I couldn’t help myself cringing at the sight of its needle-sharp fangs.

  Ripper growled ferociously. The torn remnants of Mr. Clawson’s suit clung to his arms and legs in shreds. He leaned into my face again and his claws dug deeper into my shoulders. It stung like fire where his claws pricked and I felt my blood bubble and hiss from the wounds.

  “The children belong to us!” Ripper’s voice scraped the inside of my head. “Join us! Taste blood tonight or die!”

  “NO!” I screamed with all my force, bucking my back up off the ground. I twisted and heaved the monster off my chest. His claws raked my shoulder and at the fiery pain I brought my hands up and threw him off me.

  That took Ripper by surprise. I could see in his maddened eyes that he wasn’t used to anyone fighting back. Before he could stagger up I leaped into a tree.

  Ripper swung around, snarling. His spit flew, burning everything it touched, like acid. “I’ll get you,” he thundered inside my head.

  Terror made me super fast. I swung from one tree to the next, racing through the leafy branches after my friends. I could hear them shouting and crying in panic as they stumbled along the trail. They were almost at the clearing.

  I felt the werewolves gathering below, looking for me. They sniffed the air and lunged at shadows.

  All around me I could feel the heat of their glowing red eyes. They gnashed their teeth and struck out at one another in frustration. Howls of pain and fury filled the night.

  But there was something else, something worse. It was like an evil shimmer in the air or a bad, sickly smell that came from all directions at once. It needled at the back of my mind like a thorn I couldn’t reach.

  What was it? Was I forgetting something?

  And then suddenly I knew what it was I was sensing. It hit me like a kick in the stomach.

  It was the werewolves’ hunger. More than anything they wanted to feed.

  Chapter 41

  I reached the clearing giddy with panic. But Kim and Paul were there, herding the other kids onto the bus as fast as they could.

  “Hurry,” said Paul. “Move it. We’ll be safe on the bus.”

  Kim comforted a girl who was crying. “We made it,” said Kim. “We’re back at the bus and we’re all here. There’s nothing to be scared of now. Nothing can get us inside the bus,” she repeated, helping the girl up the stairs.

  In a rear window I could see Big Rick’s white face pressed up against the glass, huge eyes swiveling back and forth through the trees, looking for monsters.

  “But who’s going to drive us out of here?” wailed a boy, shivering violently while he waited his turn to board the bus. “We lost Mr. Grunter and Mr. Clawson!”

  Kim and Paul looked at each other and looked away quickly. They didn’t want to think about what had happened to their teacher and their principal. “Let’s just get on the bus first,” said Paul gruffly. “We’ll think about what to do once we’re all safe inside.”

  “They’ll be along soon,” Kim said in a quavery voice. “Mr. Clawson and Mr. Grunter are probably right behind us, trying to figure out what kind of animal was chasing us. They’ll be here in five minutes and probably make us feel silly for running away.”

  Kim looked like she was trying really hard to believe this. I made sure I stayed out of sight in the trees, my eyes roving the dark edges of the clearing for signs of werewolves.

  My ears pricked up at a stealthy movement in the woods behind me. Careful to make no sound, I turned on my branch and peered down through the leaves. Nothing. I moved along the branch, searching the ground where the noise had come from. But all I could see were tree trunks and bushes.

  Then I heard a disgusting drooling and slurping. My flesh crawled. My eyes darted to the spot and found a shadow that was not the shape of the tree beside it. I tensed, every muscle ready. Out of the dark, red eyes flashed for just an instant.

  But it was long enough. Opening my powerful jaws, I growled viciously and sprang from the tree. The startled werewolf hissed in fear and leaped into the air, spinning away from me.

  “GRRReeeeeeeee!”

  My claws raked its leg and it howled in pain as it fled deeper into the swamp, away from the clearing and the children.

  Anger pumped through my body as I looked around for more of the werewolves lurking in the shadows. I began to circle the clearing, keeping hidden in the trees, a low growl rumbling in my chest. But I saw no more flashes of hot red eyes in the dark.

  Then, as I finished circling, I heard a clumsy noise deeper in the woods. I stopped, fur bristling. Something grunted and stumbled. It was coming this way.

  I threw a glance over my shoulder. All the kids were now on the bus. Paul was struggling to get the door closed. I was torn. It seemed important to find out what was crashing around in the woods but I didn’t want to let my friends out of my sight. What if it was a trick?

  CRASH!

  “Ugggh!”

  Every muscle ready for battle, I sniffed the air. The scent of the thing was familiar. I sniffed again, puzzled. A human! Mr. Grunter!

  Instantly I set off running through the trees. Our gym teacher must be hurt. I had to help him!

  Soon the clearing vanished in the dark behind me. My heart soared. Mr. Grunter could drive the bus! He could save the kids from the werewolves.

  I raced, the cool night breeze stirring my
fur. Ahead of me came another groan and I slowed. I didn’t want to scare Mr. Grunter to death at the sight of me. But how should I approach him? I couldn’t talk, to tell him not to be frightened.

  I reached up, pushed aside a branch and there he was. Mr. Grunter was staggering as if there was something wrong with his leg. And he seemed confused, as if he didn’t know where he was.

  I started creeping slowly toward him, a plan forming in my head. I could grab him from behind and cover his eyes with my hand so he wouldn’t see me. Then I’d carry him to the clearing and let him go. From there he could make it onto the bus and he’d never know the horrible sort of creature that saved him.

  But just as I was reaching out for him, Mr. Grunter turned and the moonlight fell on his face.

  I gasped in horror. Half his face was human but stretching and swelling, bones pushing out under the skin! The other half was covered with patchy grayish fur. One eye was blazing red.

  As his red eye fell on me, Mr. Grunter’s lips pulled back over his teeth. Long yellow fangs glistened in the silvery light.

  Mr. Grunter was turning into a werewolf!

  Chapter 42

  “Gruff, wait!” cried Mr. Grunter, the words mushy in his half-human mouth. One leg ended in a human foot, the other was sprouting horny claws.

  RIIIIP!

  Mr. Grunter’s human clothes popped at the seams and fell to the ground as the change became complete. Now both eyes blazed red and I heard his words only inside my head.

  “We won’t hurt the children,” he insisted, reaching toward me with his clawed hand. “We’re only going to help the children become like us, Gruff. Then the town will be ours! We’ll be free! You can’t stop us so you might as well help.”

  I stepped back from him. The kids! Mr. Grunter had lured me away from the bus! I spun in the air and set off running back to the clearing.

  Mr. Grunter sprang after me.

  “You know how good it feels to be one of us, Gruff,” his werewolf voice cried inside my head. “Humans are weak and puny. They can’t smell the creatures in the woods. They can’t hear the pulse of life in the wind. Let the children be bitten so they can feel our strength. Let them be like us,” Grunter pleaded, flaring his werewolf nostrils. “Think how wonderful it will be when we can all run together. All hunt together!”

  “All kill together,” I snarled, kicking him away from me. Finally the clearing was in sight. I could hear kids moaning in fear. Some were crying.

  All around me I began to hear the hissing and snapping of werewolves gathering.

  “Please Gruff,” whispered Grunter. “You can’t stop them. Don’t go against Ripper. Save yourself!”

  He reached for me and I spun away, sprinting across the clearing. Werewolves were beginning to howl with excitement.

  I bolted for the bus. Catching sight of me, the kids inside began to scream. I leaped on top of the bus and crouched, ready for battle.

  Hot red eyes advanced through the night toward the bus. They looked like bobbing coals, staining the night red. As the creatures emerged from the swamp into the clearing, moonlight fell on them.

  I sucked in my breath, frozen at the awful sight of so many of them. It was an army of monsters. Their yellow fangs dripped with anticipation as they advanced. Their glowing eyes were focused completely on the children in the bus.

  Leaping over their heads from out of the darkness, Ripper landed in front of his followers. He threw back his huge head and howled.

  “AAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

  It was the signal for the attack to begin!

  Chapter 43

  The werewolves charged. For an instant I was paralyzed by the sight. Their hot eyes blazed. Razor-sharp claws and long dripping fangs flashed in the moonlight. The earth shook under the thunder of their running feet.

  Shrieking and howling filled my ears as the monsters swarmed over the bus, their claws clicking and scraping along the windows. One of them leaped to the roof of the bus and grinned at me, fangs dripping.

  With a tremendous roar I threw myself at it and hurled it off the bus to the ground. Growling with triumph I watched it bounce, a look of horrible surprise on its ugly face.

  But I watched too long. A claw ripped into my shoulder from behind. As I howled in pain the werewolf leaped on my back. It aimed its claws at my face, trying to blind me. I bent over, like I’d learned in gym class, and flipped the thing off my back, sending it hurling off the roof.

  I spun around at a sound on the metal roof. Another werewolf, grinning. I knocked it off the roof before it could spring at me but when I turned, another was already in midair, aiming for my head. I somersaulted and kicked up with my legs, giving it a push that sailed the monster right over the other side of the bus.

  Under my feet I could feel the kids panicking and hear them screaming.

  “We’ve got to get out of here!” yelled Big Rick, starting a stampede for the door. “They’re going to get us!”

  “No!” shouted Paul at the front of the bus, blocking the door. “Remember what Gruff said. He said to stay on the bus and now we know we should have listened to him, right? So let’s stay together. We’ll be safe here. If we go running into the night these creatures will just pick us off one by one.” He turned to Kim as Rick backed away. “At least Gruff is safe locked in Mr. Clawson’s car. Nothing could get to him there.”

  Grunting, I tossed another werewolf over the side and then had to fight off two, coming at me from opposite directions. I got them to charge and then ducked so their extended claws sank into each others faces. But more creatures were coming at me.

  How long could I keep this up? My muscles hummed and sizzled with the excitement of the fight but I could feel myself getting tired. I bared my teeth as I jumped into the air to hit a charging monster in the stomach with both feet. I’d just have to keep going—all night if that’s what it took.

  But suddenly I heard the sound of shattering glass. A triumphant howl went up from the crowd of werewolves.

  They had smashed the windshield of the bus!

  I ran across the roof to the front of the bus. Already werewolves were swarming over the hood toward the broken window. Their snaky tongues hung over glistening fangs and their red eyes blazed with glee, like neon blood.

  The bus wasn’t enough to keep the children safe. And I was only one, while they were many.

  I’d fight to the end but I knew the end was near.

  I threw back my head and let out a long, mournful, lonesome howl of defeat.

  “AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

  Chapter 44

  “AAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAA-AAAOOOOOOOO!”

  My ears pricked up at a howl in the distance. An answering howl. It was a beautiful, round, night-filling sound, nothing like the howls of werewolves.

  Could it be? I stood high on my hind legs, nose quivering.

  “AAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

  Yes! The wonderful howling came again, closer this time, and I knew. It was a wolf, a real wolf. And not just any wolf—it was Wolfmother!

  The werewolves on the hood of the bus slid off to the ground. The creatures banging at the windows of the bus let their hands fall to their sides. The monsters stood waiting, glowing eyes turned to the swamp.

  Again, Wolfmother howled that she was coming.

  Could the werewolves understand as I could? One or two looked around uncertainly. The rest stood without moving as if riveted in place, staring into the dark.

  Inside the bus, the kids stopped screaming. Their wondering faces appeared in the windows.

  Everyone was waiting. Waiting to see what would happen.

  Chapter 45

  The night grew very still. The werewolves stirred uneasily. A sound, like wind rushing through the trees, came toward the clearing.

  Blood dripped down my shoulder and I scarcely noticed. Bruises and wounds stung and ached but all I was aware of was the thrill of excitement that ran up and down my spine. Wolfmother was coming!

  A
nd suddenly she was there. Silently, without warning, the wolves burst into the clearing. Real wolves! Magnificent wolves!

  It was a huge pack, with Wolfmother in the lead. I had never seen so many wolves before. Every one of them was big, beautiful and silver in the moonlight.

  The werewolves shrieked and huddled together as the wolves overflowed the clearing. Still silent, the wolves ringed the clearing, eyeing the hideous monsters. Then Wolfmother tossed her head and the wolves attacked without warning.

  Werewolves shrieked and scattered. Jaws snapping, the wolves tore into the monsters, ducking under their claws. Fur flew. Howls filled the air. For a few seconds werewolves and real wolves were just a blur of motion.

  Anxiously I searched the tangle of ferocious animals for Wolfmother. Was she all right? Was she hurt?

  But I couldn’t find her. The wolves were strong and there were a lot of them but they didn’t have supernatural powers. I was afraid the werewolves would destroy them. I had to try to help Wolfmother.

  But I couldn’t see a good spot to jump in.

  Suddenly the tangle of bodies broke apart. I saw Wolfmother! She was snapping at the heels of a fleeing werewolf.

  I stared, amazed. All of the werewolves were fleeing! Running and leaping as fast as they could go, the werewolves were escaping into the swamp in all directions. They were shrieking in terror!

  The werewolves were afraid of the wolves!

  But as I stared, feeling joy swell in my chest, a voice ripped into my head. “Traitor!” it screamed.

  Ripper! His fury shook my mind like a handful of marbles. I moaned and fell to my knees.

  “We’ll get you for this!” hissed Ripper, venom dripping from every word. “I’ll get you!”

  Chapter 46

  The shrieks of the werewolves faded away into the swamp. Ripper’s voice vanished from my head but the pain and shock made me feel fuzzy. I got clumsily to my feet, shaking my head to clear it.

  Down below, the wolves were running around the edge of the clearing, tails high, nostrils flaring.