We hadn't bothered to wait for breakfast at the B&B, so we stopped at a Starbucks in the newer area of Oak Noll. I stared out the window watching nothing, trying to think of anything else but last night. My brother absorbed in his tablet, mom and dad comparing notes and debating on where to stop next. It wasn't really a debate. Mom always got him to stop where she wanted.
It was close to noon when we drove into another forgettable town. I followed my parents into an antique store and looked around for a few minutes then went back outside and sat with Jake on a bench across the street.
After a few minutes, he looked at me and in one of those rare lucid moments between a sister and her baby brother he asked, "Jen, were you scared?"
I looked at him, trying to see if he was sincere or just going to rib me when I answered. He had a concerned look on his face.
"Yeah, I was, it happened so fast."
"Do you know what kind of dog it was?"
"Jake, it didn't look like no dog."
"Huh?"
I stared into the parking lot, seeing the thing in my mind. "It was huge. It must of been seven feet tall and it stood up. It had pointy ears. His shoulders were broad and it didn't seem to have a neck. Its paws had pointed claws. He stood and walked at me at first, then crouched down on all fours and ran at me. I fell and he was on top of me. He smelled horrible. His breath was worse. Its mouth was large with sharp yellow teeth. The top of his long muzzle was wide and, I swear Jake, its eyes glowed red."
I looked down at Jake. His had a puzzled look on his face and I waited for one of his wise-ass cracks. But he looked back down at his iPad without saying a word. I shrugged my shoulders thinking, "Well so much for my little brothers concern or believing me."
"Did it look like this?"
Jake held up his iPad. There was a picture, a drawing, of the thing. We both said together, "That's a werewolf." I looked at the screen.
"Sis, I think those guys were just fucking with you. They were probably playing some kind of hunt game. One guy puts on a wolf costume and his buddies try and track him down. You happen to show up, they scare the shit out of you and they have a good laugh. Remember the waitress telling us to stay in last night. Didn't want anyone interfering with their fun."
I thought, "The little bastard is right. It was dark, I was scared. My imagination got the better of me."
I loudly agreed with Jake's take of last night. "Those motherfuckers!"
An elderly couple walking by, giving me a startled glance. After they passed, Jake and I looked at each other and laughed.
Jake wet back to his iPad, "I can't wait to text the guys and tell them about your werewolf."
"Oh, please don't." I begged, "You know the kinda crap I'd have to put up with. Come on Jake don't.".
He looked up at me and, I don't know if it was the expression on my face or him a just, for once, being human, said, "Okay, but you owe me. Unless you turn into a werebitch by next full moon, then I let everyone know."
"Asshole."
But at least we both were smiling.
The next two weeks dragged on. I had no more dreams of the "werewolf". Once in a while I'd have a bit of anger at those old men playing some kind of role-playing hunting game and using me as part of it, scaring me half to death. But then I'd just let it go, thinking one day I'd probably laugh about it.
The week at Ocean City was cathartic. I met a couple of other girls that had just graduated too and hung out with them the whole week. Jake had his first crush. He was so cute.
When we got home, I had a couple weeks to get ready to leave. I couldn't wait to go, mixed with some apprehension about leaving.
I remember hearing a comment one afternoon in passing. A mother talking to another about how her kids were acting up and blaming it on tonight's full moon.
Later that evening as the shadows grew longer, my thoughts went back to Canterville, the woods, the face of that "werewolf". Again, it seemed so real. Everything that night was so real.
As the sun set, I remembered what my dad had taught me; "A full moon rises with the setting of the sun". I sat in my room and watched the light fade. I suddenly felt tired, afraid. I glanced at the clock, it was almost nine, but I was so sleepy. I changed into my pj's, a light pull over soft cotton blouse, matching shorts, crawled into bed and closed my eyes.
A violent shiver shot through me. My eyes wide open. I looked around. "What the fuck?" I was standing on a path in the woods. "Canterville. Shit, it's the same woods." There was the moonlight shining through the trees. A fine mist catching it. I felt the dirt of the path on my feet. I looked down. I was naked! My tits jutting from my chest, nipples hard and pointing. Goosebumps all over me. The loudness of the crickets and frogs, ringing in my ears. My breathing heavy.
