Chapter 4
“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.”