|
The adult male werewolf
made his way back to meet up with Poe in the cave. He opened the door and
sniffed the air. The hair on his back stood up straight when he sensed the
presence of a vampire.
“Conri, I’m up here. The
vampire locked me in this cage. Get me down.” Poe pushed his face to the
metal bars for a better look. Deep guttural growls erupted from Conri’s
throat. “What’s the matter? Why are you growling? Did the vampire come
back already? Is it dark outside?” Poe watched as Conri moved towards him,
his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. When he stood under the boy in
the cage he looked up at the chains holding it in place. Shocking Poe with
an enormous leap, Conri stood on a ledge straight across from the boy.
“That was pretty cool. I didn’t know werewolves could jump like that. Now
what?”
Conri leaped again,
grabbing the heavy steel chains with his paws as he flew through the air.
He landed on top of another cage. With the links in his grasp, he pulled
them apart and the cage fell toward the ground. Conri jumped and caught
the falling boy just before the cage smashed into the stone floor.
“Uh, thanks, Conri. Can
you open the door now?” Poe scooted backwards as the werewolf ripped the
barred door open, tossing it across the room. “Thanks. You’re pretty
strong.” Conri picked Poe up and set him on his back. “I guess we’re going
for a ride.” The werewolf pounced from one end of the cave to the exit,
threw the door open and rushed down the dark tunnel. They emerged into the
darkness of the night and headed to a cluster of bushes and tree branches
where Leeloo and Candi waited, along with the elderly who hadn’t found the
strength to walk away on their own. A few minutes later Prysm showed up
with her brother, Shayde and his friend Drake. Both boys stood frozen when
they saw the werewolves. “They’re our friends, Shayde. Don’t be scared.”
Prysm ran over to care for
the elderly. “Shayde, you and Drake need to help carry these people to
town, back to the Misty Valley Old Folks Home. Conri and Leeloo will help
you. Poe and I will stay here with Candi since we’re both exhausted.”
Leeloo picked up several
people as did Conri. Shayde and Drake helped the few who could walk with
some assistance. They disappeared into the darkness of the trees, leaving
Prysm, Poe and Candi alone.
“How’s your foot healing,
Candi?” Poe shone the flashlight at her paw. “It’s fixed. It’s not broken
any more. That was fast, unless…” Poe scratched his chin. “Do your parents
have the power to heal things too?”
Candi licked Poe’s face.
Prysm grinned. “It wasn’t a spell at all then, or a freak thing. Their
family of werewolves is endowed to heal things. That is so cool. I read a
book in the library that explained how some werewolves have special
powers.”
Something swished out of
the cave, moving so fast that neither Prysm nor Poe could see the form.
They heard a hissing sound and as they turned their heads to follow the
noise, the dark shape flew in front of the full moon. “It’s the vampire,
Count Stupid Name. He’s looking for me.”
“Poe, that’s two things
now we have to be careful of, a witch and a vampire. Pretty soon all the
creatures will be after us.” Prysm rested her chin in her palm.
“Don’t forget the
Frankenstein monster. He’s pretty ticked off at me too. What should we do?
Do we sit here and wait for Conri and Leeloo to return, or do we try to
make it home by ourselves?”
“I’m not sure, Poe. I hate
just sitting here. We’re lucky the vampire didn’t see us. What if he comes
back?”
“Let’s wait a little
while. Has your mother ever told you the story of why Misty Valley is
invaded with ghoulies every October?”
“Not really. I just
figured it was always this way.” Prysm’s gaze darted back and forth.
“Why?”
“There’s a way to stop
it.”
“What? Why hasn’t anyone
tried then?” Prysm jumped up, frightening the tired baby werewolf.
“You scared Candi. Be
quiet. Something might hear you. I’ll explain it all but you’ve got to sit
still for a while.” Poe explained the history of their town and what the
solution was.
“You mean all we have to
do is get Mr. Death to meet up with Witch Lilith and apologize to her and
we can have a normal life again?” Prysm’s eyes bulged in anger. “Hasn’t
anybody ever approached him about this before?”
“Apparently everyone has,
but he’s stubborn. We might have to kidnap him and take him to the haunted
house. We’d need Conri and Leeloo to help us do that. Neither of us is
strong enough to carry him.”
The two sat for hours
making a plan to end the October curse. Now and then they’d hear the
vampire whizzing past, or they’d see Witch Lilith on her broom hovering
around her haunted house. When Conri and Leeloo returned, they came
alone. “Where’s my brother and Drake?” Prysm looked behind the werewolves.
“Did you take them home?” Leeloo nodded. “That must have been fun for
them. “We’ve got a plan. We’re going to need your help though.” The
werewolves sat next to Prysm and Poe. Leeloo held Candi in her paws,
playing with her as she listened. They decided the next night would be a
better time to put their plan into action. Leeloo placed Candi and Prysm
on her back and rushed towards Prysm’s home. Conri did the same with Poe.
They agreed to meet at the cemetery as soon as twilight fell the next day.
|
