My breath caught in my throat. That glow was where the moon was rising. I was running out of time. When the moon’s rays touched me I would change into a werewolf.
Already I could feel my senses sharpening. I heard a mole digging furiously to escape deeper into its burrow. High in an oak, a baby bird cheeped in distress.
Blood pulsed harder in my veins. I had to get to my friends before I became a monster. They’d never believe me then.
There was no more time to lose.
I took off up the trail, feet pounding as hard as they would go. I knew if I didn’t get there in time Mr. Clawson would change into Ripper and—but I couldn’t think about that.
Suddenly I heard someone cry out up ahead. It was a whimper of pure fear. Somehow I put on more speed, ran even faster. My heart banged in my chest. The cry came again.
And then a voice. “Don’t be scared of the dark, little one.” It was Mr. Clawson’s voice. “The night is your friend,” he said soothingly. “And I’m here. I’m heeere.” Mr. Clawson’s last word stretched into a growl. It sounded as if he could hardly keep himself from changing into Ripper right that second.
But I was almost there. I’d save them. They were just around the next bend. I could hear them all now.
“Where are we?” I heard Kim ask, her voice sounding shaky. “We’re not lost, are we, Mr. Clawson?”
The principal laughed. It sounded throaty and thick, not quite human. “Lost? Of course not.”
I rounded the bend and there they were! I opened my mouth to shout and slipped on a patch of dead leaves. I went down on one knee.
As I scrambled up, a shaft of moonlight broke through the trees and struck me right between the eyes.
Chapter 37
Bright light blinded me. My head seemed to glow from within. I shook my head to clear it and moonlight poured into me like an electrical charge.
I fell to the ground as if I’d been struck by lightning. Power surged through me. My skin rippled as new muscles ran under the surface like rope. My fingers clenched and claws sprouted, long and beautifully curved.
Fangs erupted from my gums. My teeth grew long and pointed. My nose lengthened into a snout and a world of marvelous smells opened up to me.
RIIIIP!
My clothes fell away as muscles tightened and swelled my strong body. My skin toughened into fine hide and fur sprouted to cover it. I tasted the night with my tongue. My eyes sharpened and glowed until I could see an ant scurry off the path and a moth flutter through the trees.
I was strong, magnificent and free. No one could touch me.
But then I heard one of the kids whimper again. “I want to go home,” she wailed.
And I remembered who I really was and why I was there. I had to warn everyone what was about to happen. I had to get them out of the woods. Confidence flowed through me. I was strong, I could save them.
Opening my jaws to shout a warning, I was suddenly struck dumb. As a werewolf I had all kinds of powers. But one thing I couldn’t do was speak in the human tongue. I couldn’t shout a warning or tell my friends how to save themselves.
Mr. Clawson had won after all. I stamped my foot into the ground and raged in misery and frustration. I gnashed my teeth and howled in fury.
“AAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Instantly fifty heads snapped in my direction. I felt the silvery glow of the moonlight shimmering on my powerful new body. Someone screamed. And then everyone was screaming in fear. The piercing noises hurt my ears.
I clapped my hands over my ears and slunk out of sight into the woods.
“What was that?” shouted Big Rick.
No one answered him.
And then I had an idea. I knew how I could save the kids. I’d scare them right out of these woods.
Chapter 38
I slipped through the woods, my feet flying over the ground. I felt my body glowing in the moonlight. My skin tingled deliciously as if silver light ran in my veins instead of ordinary blood.
But I was so hungry. Hunger gnawed at my stomach. A pheasant, too terrified to stay hidden, burst from the bushes, flapping wildly. I could snatch it from the air with one swipe of my claws. My fangs dripped as I pictured how sweet the bird would taste.
But no. I remembered what Ripper had told me during the last full moon, when I became a monster for the first time. “After your first kill, little one, you will be one of us.” I shuddered. No matter how hungry I was, I didn’t dare kill anything, not even a mouse or a pheasant.
I would never be one of the werewolves. Never.
I swallowed my hunger and raced on, circling around behind my school friends. If I was going to scare them, I wanted them running back toward the bus, not deeper into the swamp where the werewolves were waiting.
Reaching the trail, I headed toward them, baring my fangs in the moonlight. I could hear the kids’ voices, frightened and confused.
“Hey, where’s Mr. Clawson?” cried Paul. “He was here a minute ago.”
My heart skipped and thudded in my chest. If Mr. Clawson had slipped away then it might already be too late. The werewolves would attack at any second!
I leaped into a bright patch of moonlight and howled, beating my breast with hairy fists.
Chapter 39
Kids scattered, screaming, in every direction.
Oh, no! This was not what I wanted. If the kids didn’t stick to the trail they would get lost in the woods, fall into bogs of quicksand, be caught by werewolves.
“Stop!” shouted Paul. “Everybody! This way. Back to the bus!”
“Right,”
