TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: WIPED OUT
Chapter 2: FRESH AIR
Chapter 3: THE ANIMAL IN ME
Chapter 4: LUNA
Chapter 5: THE RIDE
Chapter 6: INSIDE THE TRAP
Chapter 7: FAMILY
Chapter 8: THE PLAN
Chapter 9: RUNNING IN THE RAIN
Chapter 10: FEVER
The Forgotten Kid Case
Glossary
Discussion Questions
Writing Prompts
Copyright
Back Cover
Chapter 1
Wiped Out
Jack Kipping was exhausted. He slouched in the passenger seat of his brother’s car as it zipped down the highway toward home.
“I shouldn’t have taken that swim this morning,” Jack said. “I’m wiped out.”
His older brother Paul smiled. “I told you,” he said. “You must have swum ten miles in the lake this weekend.”
Jack nodded and rubbed his sore shoulders.
Jack’s friends Nelson and Zeek lounged in the backseat. “Yeah, Jack,” Zeek said. “You better not have worn yourself out too much.”
“That’s right,” Nelson said. “We’ve got track tryouts this week.”
“I’ll be fine,” Jack said. “Don’t worry about me.”
They passed a sign that said “Now Leaving Ravens Pass.” The car jerked forward suddenly. Then it turned off and rolled to a stop.
“What was that?” Nelson asked. He leaned forward between the two front seats.
“I have no idea,” Paul said. He turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened.
Jack pointed at the dashboard. “Um, you’re out of gas, you ninny,” he told Paul. “Don’t you know what ‘E’ means?”
“Oh, no. I thought we had plenty,” Paul said. He dropped his head back on the seat. “I can’t believe I did that!”
“I can,” Nelson said under his breath.
“Ha-ha,” Paul said. He took the keys out of the car. “I’ll walk back to that gas station we passed about a mile back.”
“Yeah, we’ll wait here,” Jack said. “I think I’ve had more than enough exercise for one weekend.”
“Agreed,” Zeek said.
“I’m taking my keys,” Paul said. “That means no radio, no lights. It’s going to be dark soon.”
“So walk fast,” Jack said. “We’ll be fine, anyway. It’s a full moon tonight. Should be nice and bright.”
Paul shook his head and got out of the car. Then he opened the trunk and got the gas can. Soon he was headed down the road toward the gas station.
After a minute, Nelson flicked Jack in the ear. “Hey, what was that for?” Jack asked.
Nelson shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I’m bored.”
Chapter 2
Fresh Air
After twenty minutes, Paul wasn’t back yet. “It’s getting hot in here,” Zeek said. He kicked the back of Jack’s seat. “Open the window.”
“I can’t!” Jack said. He turned in his seat to face Zeek and Nelson and added, “Paul took the keys, remember? The windows won’t open without keys.”
“Well, I need some air,” Zeek said. He opened his door and got out.
“Me too,” Nelson said. He stepped out to and stretched his arms.
Jack sighed. “Fine,” he said. Then he got out too and closed his door. “One of you leave your door open, though,” he said . . . just as both the back doors closed.
“Oops,” Zeek said.
“Why?” Nelson said. “They’re not locked.”
As he said it, the locks clicked.
“They lock on their own,” Jack said. He leaned against the car. “Great, now we’re locked out of the car.”
Zeek patted him on the shoulder. “Big deal,” Zeek said. “Your bro will be back in a few minutes. Then he’ll open the doors.”
Jack nodded. “I guess,” he said. “It’s not like it’s raining.”
Just then, a big drop splattered against the car hood with a loud ping.
“This is your fault, Jack,” Nelson said. “You had to say it’s wasn’t raining.”
The skies opened up. It began to pour. Thunder cracked and lightning burned across the sky. The torrent of rain was deafening.
“We have to find shelter!” Zeek shouted.
The other boys nodded. “I’m pretty sure there was an overpass, not far back,” Jack said. “We can run for it.”
The three boys sprinted along the shoulder of the highway. “There,” Jack called out. They reached the overpass and stopped. As soon as he was out of the rain, Jack bent, with his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. “I hurt all over,” he said.
The other boys laughed, but they were out of breath too.
“It can’t rain like this for too long,” Nelson said. He sat down on the curb, just under cover, and watched the pouring rain fall.
Zeek and Jack sat next to him. Jack grabbed his shirt and rung out some of the water.
“I’m soaked to the skin,” he said. “I might as well have gone swimming in my clothes.”
The other boys laughed. Then Nelson spotted someone walking down the road. “Hey, is that Paul?” he asked. From where they sat, and with the sun nearly all the way down, it was hard to be sure.
“I hope so,” Zeek said. He stood up and waved his arms. “Hey, Paul!” he called out.
Jack grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. “He doesn’t have a gas can, whoever that is,” Jack said. “That’s not Paul.”
“Oh, whoops,” Zeek said.
The figure stopped a moment. Then the person seemed to realize where the boys were sitting. He started jogging quickly toward them.
“Well, here he comes,” Jack said. “I hope he’s not a crazy murderer or something.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nelson said. The figure got closer. “See?” Nelson went on. “He’s our age.”
Zeek nodded. “Nothing to be afraid of,” he said. Then, facing the stranger, he said, “Over here. Looking for shelter from the rain?”
The guy stepped under the overpass. He looked about their age — maybe a year or so older — and his clothes were soaking wet. His pant legs were both torn at the ankles.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jack asked. “You look like you’ve been walking for a long time.”
The boy smiled at Jack and his friends. “Not that long,” he said. “I’m sure glad I found this overpass before it got much darker. I’d hate to get lost in those woods.”
He nodded toward the forest just off the highway. Jack, Nelson, and Zeek glanced at the woods. They were creepy looking, dark and deep.
“Can I join you?” the boy asked.
Jack and his friends looked at each other. Then Jack answered, “Sure.”
The boy sat down and took a deep breath. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m exhausted. My name is Caleb, by the way.”
Jack introduced himself and his friends. “I’m Jack,” he said. “Those two yahoos are Zeek and Nelson.”
Caleb smiled. “You guys don’t have any food, do you?” he asked. “I feel like I could eat a horse.”
“Sorry,” Jack said. “All our snacks are in the car.”
“You have a car?” Caleb asked. “Why are you sitting here, then?”
“We ran out of gas,” Zeek explained. “Jack’s brother went to get gas back down the road.”
“And we got locked out of the car,” Nelson added.
Caleb nodded. “Well, no big deal,” he said. “Soon the big full moon will be out. Then everything will seem a little brighter.”
“What’s that mean?” Jack asked. But Caleb didn’t answer. He just looked at his hand and picked his dirty fingernails.
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nbsp; Chapter 3
The Animal In Me
“This is ridiculous,” Zeek said. “Your brother has been gone for, like, an hour.” He stood up and walked to the other side of the overpass.
“Yeah, what’s taking so long, anyway?” Nelson asked.
Jack didn’t answer. He just shrugged. The new boy, Caleb, still sat next to him on the curb. He bit his fingernails and bounced his knee up and down.
“Are you nervous about something?” Jack asked him.
Caleb shook his head and smiled. “Nah,” he said. “Just hungry. And I’m excited. I love full moons, don’t you?”
Jack watched his friends a few yards away. He wished they hadn’t left him sitting there with this weirdo. “Um, I guess,” he said. “I never thought about it before. Are you superstitious or something?”
“Nah, nothing like that,” Caleb said. “They just really bring out the animal in me.” Then he smiled and went back to biting his nails.
“I’m going to see what my friends are doing,” Jack said. He got up and walked over to Zeek and Nelson. “Zeek,” Jack said, “is your cell phone getting any service?”
Zeek shook his head. “I just tried,” he said. “Nothing. What is taking your stupid brother so long?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I wish he’d hurry. This guy Caleb is giving me the creeps.”
The three boys looked over their shoulders at Caleb. He stood up and waved, then started to pull off his shirt.
“What is he doing now?” Nelson whispered to his friends.
Zeek pointed at the horizon. “The moon is just about up,” he said.
Jack whistled. “Wow, it’s huge,” he said. The full moon came up from the earth like a giant dinner plate, glowing big and bright.
“Hey,” Jack called to Caleb, “the moon’s out now.”
There was no reply. Caleb was nowhere to be seen. The three boys turned around, looking for the new boy. As they did, a huge figure leaped across the overpass.
The figure landed in front of them, its big hairy feet slapping the pavement. It opened its long snout, showing long, sharp teeth and fangs.
Then it roared.
Chapter 4
Luna
“Keep running!” Jack shouted. He, Nelson, and Zeek ran down the highway toward the gas station.
“He got me,” Zeek said as he ran. Jack noticed he was limping a bit, but he still managed to keep up.
“Where?” Jack asked.
Zeek held his stomach. “Here,” he said. In the dark, Jack could only tell the front of his friend’s shirt was torn.
“He’s catching up,” Nelson said, looking back over his shoulder as he ran.
Jack looked back. The werewolf — what else could it be? — ran on all fours. It loped quickly toward them.
“We need to hide,” Jack said. He looked to his left, into the dark woods. “We have to go into the woods.”
“In there?” Zeek asked, gasping for breath. “No way.”
“If we don’t hide, he’ll catch us in no time,” Jack said. He grabbed Zeek’s elbow. “Trust me,” Jack added.
Nelson took Zeek’s other elbow. They guided their wounded friend into the trees.
“This is hopeless,” Zeek said. “I can’t run anymore.”
Jack looked ahead, hoping for any sign of someplace to hide. “There!” he said, pointing ahead with his free arm. “I see a light. It must be a house.”
With Nelson and Jack’s help, Zeek managed to make it to the light. It was a house after all.
The boys stood in front of the house and looked up at it.
The farmhouse was big and white, but the paint was dirty from years of dust. On the porch was a broken swing, and the screen door opened and slapped closed in the rain and the wind.
“This place is almost as creepy as that monster,” Nelson said.
“We can try to find another house,” Jack said.
A howl pierced the night. It was followed by a long and low growl.
“This will be fine,” Zeek said. He limped onto the porch and banged on the heavy door behind the screen door.
“Hello?!” he called out.
A moment later, the old door swung open. Standing there was an old woman and a girl about the boys’ age.
“Hello,” the old woman said. “Are you friends of my granddaughter’s?”
The girl shook her head. “I don’t know these boys, Grandma,” she said. “I think they’re in trouble.”
“We are,” Jack said. “Our friend is hurt. Can we please come in and, um, use the phone?”
“Of course, boys,” the old woman said.
The old woman stepped to the side. Her granddaughter took Zeek by one arm and helped him in.
“You look terrible,” the girl said.
In the light of the entryway, Jack could now see his friend’s wound better. His shirt was torn clean through in a ten-inch-long gash. But what was worse, it was soaked with blood.
Jack could see the gash across his friend’s stomach. It didn’t look deep, but it was bleeding a lot.
“We have to get him cleaned up,” the girl said. “Grandma, can you help?”
“Of course,” Grandma said. “I haven’t forgotten much about my nursing days.” The old lady led Zeek away.
“Thank you,” Jack said to the girl. “I’m Jack. This is Nelson. The other guy is Zeek.”
“Nice to meet you,” the girl said. “My name is Luna. Come and sit down. Do you want a soda? Anything?” She pointed at an old-fashioned couch in the front room.
Jack and Nelson shook their heads and sat down. Luna sat across from them in a plain wooden chair. “So what happened?” she asked. “He looked really hurt.”
“A wild dog bit him,” Nelson said quickly.
Luna looked shocked. “It might have been a bear,” Jack said. “It was so dark.”
Luna pulled her necklace out of her shirt and fiddled with the charm. Shaking her head slowly, she said, “I’ve heard about a pack of wild dogs that hangs out near the highway.”
“That’s where it happened,” Jack said. “We ran out of gas. My brother went to get more, but . . . I don’t know what’s taking him so long.”
“Down at Gary’s Gas?” the girl asked.
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “Some place we passed about a mile back.”
Luna nodded. “That’s Gary’s place,” she said. “It’s the only place to get gas for miles. I’ll give him a call.” She got up and headed into the other room. Soon the boys heard her talking into the phone.
“Do you think she suspects anything?” Nelson said quietly to Jack.
“You mean, does she know that a werewolf attacked Zeek?” Jack asked.
“So you do think it was a werewolf,” Nelson said. “Me too.”
Jack nodded. “I knew there was something odd about that guy,” he said. “He kept talking about the moon, and his fingernails were super long.”
“It’s lucky we escaped with our lives,” Nelson said.
“I hope Zeek is okay,” Jack said.
Luna hung up and came back into the room. “Well, they haven’t seen your brother,” she said. “Gary said he’ll call here if he shows up.”
“He never made it?” Jack said. “How can that be? He’s been gone for over an hour.”
Nelson’s face went white and he turned to Jack. “What if the werewolf —,” he said, but he cut himself off.
“What?” Luna said. “The werewolf?” She fidgeted with her necklace again.
Jack glared at Nelson. “We might as well tell her now,” Jack said.
“Sorry,” Nelson said. He looked at his feet.
Jack faced Luna. “We think Zeek was attacked by a werewolf,” he said.
Luna glanced at the doorway, then nodded. “Don’t mention this in front of Grandma,” she said. “She’s very superstitious, and she might get upset. But I’ll get her to drive us to Gary’s. We can look for your brother on the road.”
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sp; Chapter 5
The Ride
Grandma’s car was a big old station wagon. The boys and Luna piled in. Luna got in front, and the boys sat together in the backseat. Grandma took off down the road.
The road to the highway was long and windy. It was surrounded by deep woods.
“How’s your injury?” Jack asked Zeek.
“Better,” Zeek said. “I mean, not great. But Grandma stopped the bleeding.”
Luna looked back at Zeek and smiled. “You’ll be okay,” she said.
A howl filled the night air. It sounded close. Luna went back to fiddling with her necklace and faced forward.
“We’re nearly there,” Grandma said. “I hope your brother will be there too.”
Grandma parked the big station wagon at the pumps and turned off the car.
Jack opened the door and jumped out. He ran for the shop, hoping to see Paul standing there with his gas can.
The only person inside was a teenage employee. He was behind the counter, flipping through a comic book. He didn’t even look up until Luna came in.
“Hi, Kenny,” she said. “Is Gary around?”
.
Kenny looked confused. “Gary?” he said. “He has tonight off. You know that.”
Luna’s eyes went wide, but it was too late. Kenny had exposed her lie.
“The night off?” Jack repeated. He backed away from the girl. “Hey, what is this?”
Zeek and Nelson came inside and joined Jack. Luna smiled at them and put out her hand, inviting Jack to take it. “Don’t run away, guys,” she said. “It’s easier if you just come along with me right now.”
Jack shoved his friends toward the door. The three went for the exit just as Grandma came in and blocked it.
“Please,” Jack said. “Let us go.”
Grandma took a rope from behind her back. “Oh, I’m sorry, dears,” she said. “You’re never leaving here.”
Chapter 6
Inside the Trap
Full Moon Horror Page 1
