Werewolf Skin (9 page)

“Excuse me?” I gasped. “Wear them? Why?”

“Because your aunt and uncle will search everywhere for the skins,” Hannah
replied. “They’ll search every house, every garage, every yard. But they won’t look for them on
us! That’s the
last
place they’d look!”

“I get it,” I replied. “And we’ll make sure to stay away so they don’t see us
until after daybreak.”

I wasn’t sure whether the plan made any sense or not. Hannah and I were both
too frightened to think!

Maybe… just maybe… we
could
cure Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta by
keeping the skins from them until morning.

“Let’s try it,” I said.

“Okay,” Hannah agreed. “Quick—get into your pirate costume. We don’t want
your aunt and uncle to suspect anything. While you’re doing that, I’ll sneak
next door and slip on one of the wolf skins.”

She pushed me toward the old clothes I had tossed onto the bed. “Hurry. It’s
getting late. Meet me in back of the garage. I’ll bring out your wolf skin for
you.”

Hannah disappeared out the door. I heard her in the living room. She said
good-bye to Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta and told them she was going to meet me
outside.

I heard the front door slam. Hannah was on her way next door to get the wolf
skins.

I quickly pulled on the ragged old shirt and torn trousers of my costume. I wrapped a bandanna around my head.

A sound at the bedroom door made me spin around.

“Aunt Marta!” I cried.

She stood in the doorway, frowning at me. “It won’t work,” she said, shaking
her head.

“Huh?” I gasped.

“Alex, it won’t work,” she repeated unhappily.

My aunt moved quickly into the room.

I couldn’t move. No time to try an escape.

“It won’t work. That costume won’t work,” Aunt Marta said, shaking her head.
“You need some makeup. Some black stains on your face. Something to make you
look less clean!”

I burst out laughing. I thought Aunt Marta had overheard our plan. But she
only wanted to improve my pirate costume!

It took several minutes for my aunt to apply the makeup. Then she searched
several drawers until she found a gold hoop earring, which she clipped on one
ear.

“There. Much better,” she said, grinning. “Now, hurry. Hannah is waiting for
you.”

I thanked her and hurried out. Hannah
was
waiting for me. Behind the
garage. Already in a wolf skin.

I gasped when I saw her. It was so strange seeing Hannah’s eyes peering out from above a fur-covered snout.

“What took you so long?” she demanded. Her voice was muffled inside the furry
wolf head.

“Aunt Marta,” I replied. “She had to fix up my costume.” I narrowed my eyes
at Hannah. “How does it feel in there?”

“Very itchy,” she grumbled. “And hot. Here.” She handed me the other wolf
skin. “Hurry. Put it on. The moon is already high. Your aunt and uncle will be
looking for these soon.”

I took the skin from her. My hand sank into the thick fur. I unfolded it and
held it up. “Here goes,” I whispered. “I
said
I wanted to be a werewolf
for Halloween. Guess I get my wish.”

“Just hurry!” Hannah urged. “We don’t want them to catch us.”

I pulled the wolf skin over my head. Down over the old clothes of my costume.
It felt a little tight. Especially the furry legs. The face fit snugly over my
face.

“You’re right. It’s itchy,” I groaned. “It’s so tight. I’m not sure I can
walk!”

“It loosens up after a bit,” Hannah whispered. “Come on. Let’s get away from
here.”

She led the way across the backyard. Then we turned and trotted along the
side of her house and down to the street.

I heard voices in the next block. Kids shouting, “Trick-or-treat!”

“We might be safer with other kids,” I suggested. “I mean, if we find a whole
group and stick with it….”

“Good idea,” Hannah replied. We crossed the street.

It was already getting really hot inside my wolf skin. I could feel the sweat
running down my forehead.

We walked for several blocks. But most of the kids were younger than us. We
didn’t find anyone good to hang out with.

We turned a corner and walked several more blocks, into the next
neighborhood.

“Hey—look who’s there!” Hannah declared, bumping my arm.

I followed her gaze and saw a mummy and a robot carrying trick-or-treat bags
across someone’s front lawn.

“It’s Sean and Arjun,” Hannah cried.

“Let’s trick-or-treat with them!” I suggested. I began running across the
grass, waving my paw at them. “Hey, guys! Hey!”

They turned and stared at us.

“Wait up!” I called through my fur-covered snout.

They screamed. And dropped their bags. And took off, running full speed,
shrieking for help.

Hannah and I stopped at the edge of a driveway and watched them run. “Think
maybe we scared them?” Hannah said, laughing.

“Maybe a little,” I replied.

We both laughed.

But not for long.

I heard heavy, running footsteps on the pavement behind us.

I turned—and let out a gasp as my aunt and uncle came running furiously
down the street.

“There they are!” Uncle Colin cried, pointing at us. “
Get
them!”

I froze for a moment, horrified by the sight of my aunt and uncle running
toward us so furiously, so desperately.

“Don’t move!” Aunt Marta pleaded. “We need those skins!”

My legs refused to budge. But then Hannah gave me a hard shove. And we both
took off.

We ran wildly, across lawns and empty lots. We cut behind someone’s house,
then dove through an opening in their tall hedge.

My aunt and uncle stayed close behind, running full speed, and calling out as
they ran, “Give us our skins! Give us our skins!”

Their breathless voices rang in my ears. Their words became an eerie chant.

“Give us our skins! Give us our skins!”

We must have run for blocks. It all became a dark blur to me. My heavy wolf
paws thumped the ground. I struggled to keep my balance. Sweat poured down my
face inside the heavy fur.

Another turn. More dark backyards. And then the tilting, tangled trees of the
woods rose up in front of us.

Hannah and I dove into the woods, darting between the trees and tall weeds.
And still my aunt and uncle came after us, chanting, chanting their desperate
plea:

“Give us our skins! Give us our skins!”

We scrambled up a low hill lined with evergreens. Pinecones slid under my
heavy paws and rolled down the hill. Hannah stumbled and dropped to her knees.
She scrambled on all fours to the top.

“Give us our skins! Give us our skins!”

The cry grew shrill and breathless.

And then—suddenly—everything seemed to stop.

As if the whole world had stopped spinning.

As if even the wind had stopped blowing on top of that little hill.

I could
feel
the silence.

Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta had stopped their chant.

Panting, Hannah and I turned to face them.

“The moon—” Hannah whispered breathlessly to me. She pointed. “The full
moon, Alex. It’s so high. It must be at its peak.”

And as she whispered those words, my aunt and uncle dropped to their knees.
They tossed back their heads. As the white light of the moon washed over their
faces, I saw their pain, their horror.

They opened their mouths in long, mournful howls.

Their howls became hideous screams. They tore at their hair with both hands.
Shut their eyes. And screamed, screamed in agony.

“Hannah—what have we done?” I cried.

Tugging at their hair, my aunt and uncle screamed.

And then, they lowered their hands. And closed their mouths. And a calm
seemed to sweep over them.

As Hannah and I stared down at them, Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta helped each
other to their feet. They brushed each other off. Smoothed down their hair.

When they finally gazed up at us, I saw tears in their eyes.

“Thank you,” they both cried.

“Thank you for saving us!” Uncle Colin exclaimed.

And then they rushed up the hill to hug us, hug us so joyfully.

“You freed us from the curse!” Aunt Marta declared, tears running down her
face. “The moon reached the highest point in the sky, and we didn’t transform.
Colin and I are no longer werewolves!”

“How can we ever thank you?” Uncle Colin cried. “You are both so wonderful.
So brave.”

“So
hot
!” I grumbled. “I can’t wait to get out of this itchy skin!”

Everyone laughed.

“Let’s go back to our house!” Aunt Marta cried. “We’ll have a real
celebration!”

The four of us hurried back to the house. We laughed and joked all the way.

Uncle Colin and Aunt Marta made their way in through the kitchen door.
“Homemade doughnuts!” Aunt Marta promised. “And big mugs of hot chocolate! How
does that sound?”

“Sounds great!” Hannah and I agreed.

Hannah started to follow them into the house. But I held her back.

“Let’s dump the skins next door,” I said. “No one will ever need them again.
Let’s dump them in the abandoned house.”

She hesitated. She seemed afraid to go back into that dark, empty house.

But I went running over to the Marlings’ house. I couldn’t wait to take off
the hot, smelly wolfskin.

I pulled myself onto the window ledge, then lowered my legs into the open
bedroom window. I stepped into the room. Pale moonlight washed over the bare
floorboards.

Hannah dropped into the room behind me. “Alex—?” she called.

I started to tug off the heavy wolf skin.

But something near the closet caught my eye.

I stopped and walked over to it.

A folded-up wolf skin lay on the floor against the wall.

“Huh?”

I let out a startled cry. And turned to Hannah. “How can there be a wolf skin
in here?” I asked. “There were only two of them—right? You put one on, and you
gave one to me.”

Hannah stepped up beside me. Her eyes locked on mine. “I didn’t wear the one
from this house, Alex,” she said softly. “I used my own. I just got it last
night.”

“Huh?” I cried. “I don’t get it.”

“You will,” she whispered.

She knocked me to the floor with her heavy forepaws, and sank her teeth into
my chest.

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