The werewolf was jumping up and down in such a tantrum of rage that the dock was splintering under it. The other werewolves on shore howled and screamed with fury, spitting and snarling as they leaped helplessly in the air.
“What now, Gruff? Won’t they just swim out and get us?” Paul asked in a shaky voice. The boat was spinning in circles from his efforts with the single oar.
I sat up, rubbing my back. “I got this book on werewolves,” I told him. “It said that werewolves can’t cross water. And from what I saw of the one who fell in, they can’t swim either.”
“Yeah,” said Paul thoughtfully. “It looked like its legs were burned from the water.” He switched to the other side of the boat and rowed from there to change direction. I scrambled up and sat beside him so we could pass the oar back and forth between us and keep the boat sort of stable.
“Uh-oh,” said Paul, handing me the oar. We were in the middle of the pond, halfway across and he was looking at the shore.
I looked up. The werewolves were running along the pond’s edge, still snarling and spitting.
“Looks like they’re planning to meet us on the other side,” said Paul.
“Well, there’s no rule that says they can’t go around water,” I said, rowing a couple times then passing the oar back to Paul. “They just can’t cross it. We’ll just have to make sure we don’t go near the shore.”
Paul was quiet for a minute. Then he asked, “For how long?”
“Until sunrise,” I said, hoping I was right. I figured the werewolves probably didn’t need to change back into humans when the sun came up, but they wouldn’t want the town to see them—not yet anyway. “They’ll change back into humans then and go home.”
“Wow,” said Paul. “So it’s really true? These monsters are human?”
I nodded. I couldn’t meet his eyes. Paul was learning some of Fox Hollow’s secrets but not—to me—the biggest one. He still didn’t know that his new adopted brother was a werewolf, too.
“And Mr. Clawson, our old principal, was he a werewolf?” Paul asked.
“He still is,” I said. “He’s the leader of the pack.”
Paul let out a deep breath. “It’s great you know all this, Gruff. We’re lucky we have you. How did you find out about them? Did you see the werewolves in the woods?”
My heart lurched—did he suspect? “Yes, in the woods,” I said. “But only a few days before your hunters found me. I think the werewolves came with the town, Paul. For some reason it’s the town of Fox Hollow they’re really interested in.”
Paul was quiet again. I had a feeling he was thinking about his father and wondering. Red-eyed monsters continued to shriek and howl all around the pond. They had started fighting among themselves and we heard screams of pain mixed with the savage howls.
After a while the noises blended together and seemed to fade into the background. The motion of the boat was soothing.…
Paul’s head dropped onto my shoulder and I woke with a start. “Yikes!”
We were only a few feet from shore. Hundreds of glowing red eyes stared at us hungrily. Masses of werewolves were crouched silently on the bank, tongues hanging out, slobbering with anticipation as they waited for the boat to drift just a little closer. Claws twitched, itching to sink into our flesh.
I grabbed the oar and paddled wildly. The frustrated werewolves erupted in furious howls.
“We fell asleep,” said Paul with breathless horror. “How could we do that?”
“We better not do it again,” I said, handing him the oar. “We’ll have to keep nudging each other.”
“Deal,” said Paul.
And for a long time we stayed awake, poking each other with the oar as we passed it back and forth. But we’d been through a major ordeal. We were exhausted.
Finally even thoughts of being torn to pieces weren’t enough to keep us awake.
We slept—and the boat kept drifting.
Chapter 21
CRUNCH!
We didn’t wake until the boat hit the shore, its bottom grinding on the pebbly bank.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Paul and I both leaped to our feet in panic, yelling. The boat rocked dangerously. Still half asleep, we fell backward into the boat, knocking our one remaining oar into the water.
Paul dove for it, almost tumbling into the pond. I grabbed him and he pushed off from shore with the oar as I pulled him back into the boat. Shaking, we clutched each other.
“We’re still alive,” said Paul in a wondering voice. “What happened to the werewolves?”
Safely away from the shore, we looked all around, in every direction. No glowing eyes. No snarling monsters. It was still dark but I noticed the sky getting lighter in the east. “It’s almost dawn,” I said. “They’re gone. We made it.”
“Wow! We made it, we really did!” Paul slapped my shoulder. “But I can’t believe we fell asleep again.” His voice was still shaking. “That was dumb.”
“Yeah.” I shuddered and we started aiming for shore again. “We’d better try and get home before your mom wakes up. She’ll never believe us.”
“No, she won’t,” said Paul dejectedly. We fell silent until the boat nudged the shore. We hopped out and pulled the boat onto the bank. “What are we going to do, Gruff?” asked Paul.
“I don’t know. I guess we have to find out more about what they’re planning,” I said, hurrying back to town.
“We need to find a way inside Wolfe Industries,” said Paul, frowning.
“Right now we need to get back before your mom wakes up,” I said, breaking into a run.
We ran through town and all the way to the Parker house without seeing anyone at all. We paused outside the back door to catch our breath. Paul looked gray in the rosy morning light. I probably looked just as bad. Unlocking the door we tiptoed through the house and up to our rooms without waking a soul. Paul gave me the high sign as he slipped inside his room.
I
