100% Hero (14 page)

'Oh, great!' Freddy groaned. '"Sweet lassie"?' he
muttered as he walked away. The world seemed to
have gone mad.

Mushy peas and green salad for lunch. Need more
be said?

At afternoon break, Freddy was staring at the moors
with his chin in his hands. His lips had remained
totally off limits during the previous class.

'Chocolate-o'clock!' Ginger plonked down next
to him.

'You're my hero!' Freddy told her and scoffed the
treat down in one gulp.

'You eat just like my wee doggie,' Ginger laughed.

'I eat like a wolf,' Freddy corrected her. 'What's its
name?'

'Jo-Jo Labradog,' Ginger said. 'I really miss him.
Do you have a doggie?'

'Yes. Well, I don't
own
her – she's my friend.' He
thought of Batty and blushed, reminded again of the
way he had pushed her aside. 'That is, she
was
my
friend.'

'
Woof!
'

'That sounds exactly like her.' Freddy sighed and
stared into the distance.

'What does she look like?' Ginger asked.

'Oh, really pretty. Kind of a collie, but a mongrel
with long black-and-white hair.' Freddy said, looking
at his feet.

'Woof!
'

'You're so good at that!' Freddy smiled sadly. 'But it
only makes me miss her more. I don't know when I'll
see her again.'

'Try right now!' Ginger laughed.

'What?' Freddy turned and looked to where she
was pointing. 'Batty!' he cried and jumped up.

'
Woof!
' The mongrel jumped at him, knocked him
to the ground, and licked his face.

'How did you get here?' Freddy cried, hugging
her.

'
Woof!
'

Batty tried to explain, but Freddy understood three
signs only.

Home – danger – quick.

Freddy, Ginger and Batty were huddled in Dougal's
shed. Ginger's eyebrows kept flying high as she listened
to the unlikely story.

'My pack is in danger. I must get home as soon as
I can,' Freddy said urgently, 'and without Madam, or
Priscilla, or my cousins telling – or else Chester will
shoot my dad!'

'But you can't escape until the full moon,' Ginger
reminded him. 'You have to transwimpate first, or the
Baa-Van will get you.'

'Trans-
wolf
-ate,' Freddy corrected her. 'But I can't
wait until then. I'll have to risk it.' Freddy shook his
head. 'I go tonight.'

'No, no! My sweet girl will tear your heart from
your body.' Dougal frowned. 'There is another way –
only dangerous . . .'

'Not as dangerous as staying.' Freddy shuddered,
thinking of the kissing to come.

'You could transwolfate tonight –' Dougal began.

'But that's impossible,' Freddy shook his head. 'The
moon isn't –'

'Not impossible – not with the juice of a Blavendoch.'
Dougal opened a cupboard and held up a tiny
crystal bottle. It looked as if it was filled with blood.

'The flower only blooms under the beams of the
full moon, where a wolf's blood has been spilt.'

'But whose blood . . .?' Freddy's voice trailed away
as he saw vampire marks on the old man's outstretched
wrists.

'A result of having a bloodsucking fairy witch for a
wife.' The old man laughed wheezily. 'She dinnae get
angry with me more than once a century but when
she does, my, her tongue is sharp.'

'But what can it do?' Freddy asked, holding the
bottle. 'Whoops!' He dropped it to the ground and
it clattered over the stone floor. Everyone held their
breath. Miraculously the bottle didn't break.

'It wasn't me!' Freddy gasped.

'Fool of a boy,' Dougal growled and snatched up
the precious bottle.

'Swallow one drop of this juice, under the beams
of the moon, and you will transwolfate – only . . .'

'Only what?' Freddy urged.

'The magic of the Blavendoch is as powerful as
the Moonstone, but darker, easily misunderstood
and misused. It is a magic born of destruction, not
creation.' The old man's voice lowered to a hiss of
warning. 'There can be
side effects
.' He raised a hairy
eyebrow.

'Oh! Like what?' Ginger pulled a face of excited
dread. This was scary, yet fun.

'Well, you can't be sure how long you will remain as
a wolf . . . It could be hours, or weeks, or . . . forever.'
Dougal's blue eyes gleamed at them.

'That's no' so-ooo bad, is it?' Ginger said brightly.

Freddy grimaced. He couldn't be sure that he'd
turn into a
wolf
in the first place. He didn't want to be
Dripsy-Wimpsy for the rest of his life.

'What else?' Ginger clapped her hands.

'Things don't always transform as you expect
them to. Things can get . . . rearranged!' the old man
whispered and tapped his nose.

'What
things
?' Freddy croaked.

'All kinds of bits. You can never know how the
magic will affect you.'

'Whoopie-do!' said Ginger. 'Magic!'

Freddy felt a little ill. He didn't want any of his
bits
rearranged.

Batty woofed and banged the floor with her paw.

Danger – home – quick.

'Oooh!' Freddy groaned, trying to summon his
courage.

'Hey Frederick, Madam says you must come back
and kiss Priscilla now!' came hideous Harriet's voice.

That made his mind up.

'Okay, I'll drink the juice tonight.' Anything was
better than kissing that hateful girl.

'What about Madam and all the snitches and
tattletales?' Ginger asked.

'The Plan Master knows what to do!' Freddy
grinned and gave her a wink. 'Cover for me. I have to
visit the boot camp.'

Freddy raced into the dance studio, dripping with
sweat, for he had run all the way.

'Zo glad you could join us, zir.' Madam smiled
coldly. 'Ve are avaiting your final zcene!'

'No problemo!'

Freddy gave a mighty yet elegant leap across the
room, saluting the ballerinas as he flew. They giggled
and blushed as he landed on his tiptoes, his kilt
swishing in a very heroic manner.

'Eeeww! He's sweaty,' Priscilla yelped.

Freddy ignored her and embraced her in his manly
arms.

'At last!' Madam cried. 'Ze kizz!'

Freddy would do anything if it meant saving his
werepack from danger. He gave an evil grin, showing
his sharp teeth.

'Argh!' Priscilla screamed and pulled away. 'It's
disgusting!'

'Yez, of course, it iz a boy – but you must kizz it
anyvay.'

Priscilla fell onto the floor with a very ungraceful
clatter. 'No way.'

'What?' Freddy looked with big innocent eyes at
the girls. 'Why?'

'A slug! He's got a slug!' Priscilla cried and jumped
up.

'Charming must kizz Zinderella!' Madam slammed
her stick and pushed up her spectacles.

'And I want to kiss the pwetty pwincess,' Freddy
declared and leapt gracefully towards her once
more.

'Oooh! Stay away.' Priscilla ran across the room.

'Kizzy-wizzy, kizzy-wizzy, Zinderella!' Freddy
called. He again showed the slug between his teeth so
that only Priscilla could see it. He held out his arms
and minced over on his twinkle toes.

She gave a scream and ran from the room.

Madam looked after her in surprise.

With a secret spit, Freddy caught the slug and put
it back in his pocket. The Plan Master! He truly had to
congratulate himself on a job well done.

'Oh, I'll kiss him!' the ballerina playing one of the
ugly sisters cried.

Before Freddy could react, she placed a big, wet
kiss on his lips and ran back giggling to the line.

Poor old Freddy stood still with shock and
horror. It was without doubt the worst moment of
his life.

Sugar Smith stood outside Dreamy Daze Hospital
wondering if she was doing the right thing. Dr Cripp's
words kept coming back to her.

Help me escape . . . and I will give you the biggest story
the world has ever known.

She walked to the gates – she had to do it.

'Hello, it's Sugar Smith,' she said into the
intercom.

The nurse she had spoken to last time answered.

'I just had to warn you, I think Dr Cripp may be
planning to escape.'

'Oh, Ms Smith, no-one has ever escaped from
Dreamy Daze.' The nurse chuckled. 'And besides, he's
completely harmless!' He pointed to the TV monitor
and switched it to show inside Dr Cripp's cell.

'See . . .' His voice trailed away. The only thing in
the cell was a balloon bobbing around with a crayon
drawing of the hunter's face taped onto it.

'But that's not possible!' the nurse croaked. 'Where
can he have gone?'

Sugar went cold. She knew exactly where the hunter
was headed – to shoot the Black Wolf of Milford.

As nightfall approached, Freddy lay on his mattress.
He had still not recovered from his horrific experience.
Eating the slug would have been better. He heard
Vinny's secret signal outside and jumped into action.

'Operation Escape Tarot is go,' Freddy whispered
dramatically and opened his door. He gave a low
whistle and Ginger's head appeared above the railing
at the top of the stairs.

'Got them!' She held up Madam's spectacles in
triumph. 'She's fast asleep.'

'Spectaculous, my friend,' Freddy congratulated
her. 'Let's go.'

They snuck out to the kitchen door. There stood
Vinny and his friends, wearing camouflage and black
face paint. They looked anxious in the growing gloom,
because Vinny had told them about the bloodsuckingfairy-
witch-creature-thing.

'Let's be quick then,' one muttered, 'before it gets
dark.'

'Don't worry, it's me she wants. She's got good taste,'
Freddy informed them.

'Wimp,' the boy scowled. 'I don't know why we're
helping him.'

''Cos he saved my life.' Vinny squared up to him.
'And I want to be a dancer! This might be my only
chance.'

The boys all looked at each other, looked back at
Vinny glaring at them, and tried desperately not to
laugh. Freddy was trying to hold in a laugh so big that
it hurt his stomach.

'We'd better hurry, lads,' Ginger whispered,
grinning. This was the best fun ever. 'This way.'

While Freddy walked with Vinny into the studio,
Ginger led the other two boys into the outhouse.
She then snuck upstairs and started having a loud
whispered conversation with herself outside the
twins' door.

'No, Freddy, I'm not hiding your sweeties for you!'
she hissed.

'No, not your chocolate either.'

'How did you sneak it all in? There's enough to
feed the whole school.'

'Okay, then – you hide it in the outhouse. I won't
tell anyone.'

She hid behind a long curtain and waited for the
magic to work. After a minute of muffled whispering,
pushing and kicking, the door opened and the twin
pink faces of Harriet and Chariot peeped out.

'Let's get them then.' Harriet pushed her brother
out of the way.

'Ow,' he yelped, as she pinched him.

'Shush, dunderbrain,' she hissed. 'Hurry up.'

The Putrid Pair began to sneak down the stairs.

'Freddy-sicky is going to get a surprise,' Harriet
sang under his breath, 'when we steal his sweeties.'

'He's not the only one,' Ginger sang to herself
with a giggle. Then she sprinted down to the studio.

She burst in to find Vinny holding Freddy as he
arched back gracefully, his arm over his head. Vinny
pulled him up and Freddy skipped away elegantly.

'That's it, now Cinderella jumps into Charming's
hands,' Freddy said as he sprinted around the room
and flew into Vinny's arms.

'Oh, that's perfect, lads!' Ginger clapped. It was
unbelievable how well Vinny danced.

'Thanks.' The big boy blushed with pride. 'The
steps are quite easy to remember.'

Freddy wafted the air with his arm as he had seen
Priscilla do.

'Then it's the kiss!' Ginger reminded them as Freddy
pranced around the room once more.

Both boys stopped.

'No way!' they said together.

'Oh my word, what a magical moment. What
a hero you are, Freddy Lupin.' Priscilla's snort of
amusement came from the door. Everyone turned to
see her looking as perfectly perfect as ever. She turned
up her nose when she saw Vinny.

'
I'm
Cinderella and nobody else.' She glared at
Freddy. 'Not you, mongrel.'

'Rather a mongrel than pure poison,' Freddy said.
'Anyway, I'm not Cinderella – I'm not a girl, am I.
Ginger will be.' He pointed to Ginger, who stared at
them all with big eyes.

'Clip-Clop?' Priscilla roared with laughter. 'As if she
could ever take my place. I'm beautiful, I'm talented,
I'm . . .'

'A right pain in the bum,' Vinny finished.

Priscilla's breath was taken away. How dare he!

'You get that big oaf out of here right now,' she
ordered, 'or I'm calling Papa and you know what
happens when I do! Argh!'

The sack was over her head before she knew what
was happening.

'Come on, let's get out of here – we've got the
other two,' Vinny's friend announced, throwing the
struggling girl over his shoulder.

'Let me down!' came her muffled cry.

'Okay, lads, let's fly,' Vinny called. They all raced
downstairs. There in the outhouse, two firmly tied
sacks rolled around the floor.

'Oh, ha-ha-hardy-ha!' Freddy roared in triumph as
he saw them. 'Not smiling now, are you, pink piggies?'

Harriet squealed in fury from inside the sack.

It was growing dark and all the boys were looking
at the sky in concern.

'Thanks.' Freddy and Vinny shook hands. 'I only
need a day, so don't get into trouble.'

'We'll keep the snitches quiet as long as we can,'
Vinny nodded. 'I'll be back in the morning to take
your place, but . . .' He screwed his face up. 'Are you
sure the old girl will fall for it?'

'Oh, yes,' Ginger nodded. 'She's totally blind
without her glasses. Just stay out of mole hair reach.'

'Okay then. Good luck, sissy,' he called over his
shoulder. The boys hefted the struggling bundles and
headed back to boot camp.

'So far, so easy,' Freddy said, laughing.

'Do you really think I can be Cinderella?' Ginger
said to him shyly. 'I'm nothing like Priscilla.'

'Nothing like!' Freddy agreed. 'You're much nicer
than her. I usually hate girls but you're not as bad
as the others. Oh!' He looked up at the sky. The half
moon was just rising. 'Time to go.'

His stomach hurt a little with nerves, but there was
no going back now.

'Hurry, lad, be quick!' Dougal urged. He was waiting
with Batty in a clearing in the rhododendron bushes,
far from prying eyes. Batty gave an urgent bark. Ginger
grasped his sleeve as they all heard the distant laughter
of the Baa-Van.

'She's coming.' The old man held out the crystal
bottle. The deep red juice began to glitter and whirl
under the light of moonbeams.

'Thanks everyone, I'll never forget you,' Freddy
began to say.

'No time, Freddy, quick!' Ginger urged as the
laughter became louder and more hysterical.

Freddy's neck was prickling with fright. He took a
swift gulp of the fiery liquid.

'No, lad! A drop only! Oh no!' Dougal snatched the
bottle back. 'What did I tell you?'

Freddy grasped at his throat as the liquid burned
into his stomach. Ginger held her head as she watched
his face wobble and distort as if made of plasticine.
Batty ran around in a tight circle, whimpering.

Freddy fell to the floor with a groan. This did not
feel like a normal Transwolfation, but rather as if
his body were being pushed, pulled and shaped
against its will. He yelped with pain and then lay
gasping for breath on the grass. He had transformed.
He looked at Ginger's face, frozen with shock.

'Oh, laddie, no!' Dougal shook his head with
horror. 'You took too much, it's terrible. What have
I done? Let's just pray it doesn't last too long. I have
never seen so horrific a sight!'

Freddy jumped up and looked down at himself in
fright. He put his head between his paws to check.
Phew! At least all his bits were in the right place. So
what was Dougal's point exactly?

'You're a poodle!' Ginger clapped in delight.
'Fantastic!'

'Welcome back, Stinky,' Batty laughed and licked
his face. 'Time to run. There's a creepy, screamy thing
coming right this way. It smells really scary.'

'She is, and she wants to suck my blood,' Freddy
agreed.

'So long, Freddy.' Ginger gave him a hug, which
Freddy bore like a true hero. He was going to have to
get used to the adulation of his fans.

'Well, at least she winnae recognise you.' Dougal
shook his head. 'Go now and good luck.' He turned to
Ginger. 'You too, lassie! Quick, while I stop my sweet
girl from tearing your flesh from your bones.'

'Bye, Freddy, bye-bye.' Ginger waved madly and
then ran as fast as she could back to safety.

'This way,' Batty growled and disappeared into the
dark, with Freddy scampering at her heels. 'Down,
quick,' she urged and collapsed onto her stomach.

Freddy held his breath as they watched the beautiful
pale Baa-Van floating over the moors, singing in her
strange laughing scream and looking for the boy with
spiky hair and green eyes. Never had Freddy been so
glad to be a poodle, and safe from discovery.

In the clearing, Dougal was no longer looking
like a bent and wizened thousand-year-old man, but
rather a young and strong wulver, his MacLeod tartan
billowing in the wind and his fangs glinting in the
moon. The Baa-Van screeched into the clearing, saw
him, and then became calm. Her beautiful eyes did
not turn red, but rather she smiled and took Dougal's
hand – once more the fairy princess he had fallen in
love with.

As they ran along the road that led across the dark
moors, Batty explained why she had come and her
adventure on the train. Freddy congratulated her.

'You're not the only Plan Master, Stinky,' she
barked.

'Chester is searching the castle for some treasure
thing,' Freddy told her. 'Hotair must be helping him.
Is Mrs Mutton okay?'

Batty didn't know and Freddy was concerned. At
least he was on his way. It felt good to be running
free with Batty again, flying through the night air
together.

'I'm really sorry that I was a bit . . .' He didn't know
what to say. '. . . You know.'

'Don't fret, Stinky. I'm here, ain't I? Quick, look
cute!' Batty jumped into the headlights of a small
utility truck. She ran up and down and flapped her
ears. Freddy too did some marvellous prancing on his
toes and a perfect pirouette. The van slowed. A man
leaned out of the window.

'Hello, ladies – need a lift to town?' he said, laughing
at their antics.

'
Ladies?
' Freddy paused, ready to explode.

'Keep calm, Stinky, think about your mission.'

Batty gave a sweet bark. Freddy gulped down the
insult and wagged his tail charmingly.

'Up on the back then,' the driver called and the
two friends leapt onto the flat-bed trailer.

They were on their way.