Children of the Wolf

Gruff?” she asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Terrible things,” I said in a rush, encouraged by the sympathy in her kind face. “Werewolves. Coming. Tonight. You must believe. Must help.” I struggled with the effort to find the right words. Even though I could understand almost everything and could even read some now, it was still hard for me to sort my thoughts into words. “They come at full moon. Children in danger. Please. We must stop them.”
Miss Possum’s soft brown eyes widened. She looked very alarmed. I felt a surge of hope. “Dear me, Gruff,” she said. “I know it’s been rough for you being thrust into civilization so suddenly. And I’ve been very impressed with your progress. Very impressed. But it’s only natural the strain should take its toll. You’re anxious about fitting in, Gruff, and it’s made you imagine these terrible things.”
Miss Possum patted my head reassuringly. “You must try not to worry so much. You’ll get used to us humans,” she said. “And, Gruff? One thing I can tell you for a fact. There’s no such thing as monsters.”
It was no use, she’d never believe me.
I chewed my nails until gym class and then I tried Mr. Grunter. I had become one of his favorite students since it turned out I was good at almost all gym things. This time I tried a slightly different tack.
“Remember last full moon, Mr. Grunter? Wolves blamed for bad trouble?”
He nodded, looking at me curiously. “Sure, Gruff. Be pretty hard to forget that.”
“Not wolves. Werewolves,” I said, shaking my head for emphasis. “Werewolves coming tonight. Coming for children.”
Mr. Grunter scratched his head thoughtfully. But just then Mr. Clawson appeared at the door of the gym. “You ready, Grunter?” asked the principal. “We’re about set to go.”
Mr. Grunter waved, calling back, “Sure thing.” Then he turned to me. “What you say is interesting, Gruff. I must admit, I always wondered why a wolf would come through a window after a child. But we don’t have time to discuss it now. Come see me after the field trip, and we’ll discuss your concerns.”
“Field trip?” My voice squeaked. The hairs on my neck began to rise.
“Sure, isn’t it great? The principal organized a surprise field trip for the whole class. Quite a treat.” Mr. Grunter grinned and hoisted a backpack onto his shoulder. “We’re leaving as soon as the bell rings.”
“But no!” I cried. “Mr. Clawson is werewolf. Mr. Clawson is leader!”
But my words were drowned out by the loud clanging of the bell.

Chapter 30
Kids were pouring onto a waiting school bus as I ran outside. Kim and Paul waved at me as they climbed aboard. “Come on, Gruff,” they called, faces flushed with excitement.
“No! Don’t go!” I screamed, running alongside the bus. “It’s a trap! They’ll get you! Monsters will get you!”
Kids looked at each other in surprise and then began to laugh. “Good one,” someone yelled. “Monster stuff!”
“No,” I yelled. “Really! It’s true. Werewolves coming. Horrible danger!”
But the kids laughed louder. “Werewolves!” I heard them hooting. “It’s broad daylight, we’re getting to go on a field trip instead of spending the day in school, and Gruff is talking about werewolves! What a funny kid.”
My heart thudded in my chest. I felt so helpless.
A heavy hand came down on my shoulder. My heart leaped into my throat. I whipped around, knowing who I would see.
“I guess this means you don’t want to come with us on this field trip,” said Mr. Clawson, his eyes blazing into mine, his fingers digging into my shoulder like he was itching to rip me apart right there. “Well, that’s fine,” he snapped. “You can stay right here. In the basement, perhaps.” He paused to consider it. “Yes, I think so. Your own special detention room in the basement.”
I jerked away from him, my breath coming in little gasps. I turned and ran. As fast as I could go, I ran after the bus.
“Wait! Wait for me!” I couldn’t let them face the monsters alone.
The bus puffed black smoke as it pulled away from the curb. It was leaving without me. “Wait,” I screamed. “Wait.”
But the bus kept going.


Chapter 31
I raced after the bus, waving my arms and shouting. I saw kids waving back at me and laughing. Slowly, with a grinding of gears, the bus ground to a halt. Mr. Grunter, who was driving, opened the door.
“Decided to come with us, did you?” he said, grinning at me. “You won’t regret it, Gruff.”
I dropped into the seat behind Kim and Paul. They twisted around, still laughing.
“We thought you weren’t coming,” said Kim.
“I know you want to stay in school and learn all the stuff you’ve missed, Gruff,” said Paul, his blue eyes twinkling. “But werewolves—that’s going too far even for you.”
My stomach lurched as Big Rick dropped into the seat beside me. He was grinning. “Hey, geek-face, that monster stuff was pretty cool,” he said, jabbing an elbow in my ribs. “Did you see Clawson’s face? He looked like he had a mouthful of old roadkill.”
“He is roadkill,” chimed in another kid.
“Come on, you guys, he’s the one who organized this field trip,” Kim protested. “Give him a break. Mr. Clawson got us out of school for the whole afternoon. He can’t be all bad.”
“Oh, yeah? The monster stuff may be weirdsville but wolf-boy’s right about one thing,” said Rick. “Clawson never did anything because it was going to be fun for us kids. He’s got something up his sleeve. For instance, why won’t he tell us where we’re going?”
“He wants it to be a surprise,” said Kim.
“That’s what worries me,” said Rick. He stood up and pointed out the front of the bus, at a large black car with heavily tinted windows that was leading the way. “Clawson won’t even ride on the bus with us. He can’t stand kids. His idea of a surprise is not going to be our idea of fun.”
“He’s probably taking us to the state prison to show