The Unseen

Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Rashal stared at herself in my full length mirror, brushing her hair slowly, her blue eyes never leaving the glass. Okay, so maybe Rashal was just a teeny bit obsessed with her appearance.

We were still wearing our PJ's because my mom had to see us before we tried to sneak out. I could hear the microwave popping popcorn downstairs; that was my sweet mom doing us a favor. The popcorn was for the movie. Rashal and I were going to sneak out after we started the movie. Mom had promised she wouldn't disturb us in my room as we watched it. But she also promised she was coming in right after it was over to check if we were getting ready for bed, so we had to get back in one hour and forty minutes. We had decided that lying to both mom's probably wasn't a good idea, since we'd most likely get caught.

"Earth to Rashal," I said in a sing-song voice. "My mom is going to come up pretty soon, so you had better snap out of that little trance you have going over there."

Rashal was definitely NOT a blusher. So she didn't this time. She knew she was vain, but she didn't care. My best friend flopped on my bed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever."

Just then, Mom walked in the door with a steaming bag of deliciously buttery popcorn. She carefully opened the hot bag and set it on my desk. Too bad we wouldn't be eating it anytime soon. It would mostly go to the birds. "There you go, girls."

"Thanks, Mom," we both echoed. Mom walked out of my door, grinning.

I laughed and threw a pillow at Rashal. It thumped against her head. "My mommy, not yours." Rashal only smiled and stood. She started the movie then turned to me.

She said, "You, get ready for the stakeout."

I donned my mask, and I also wore a long sleeved shirt and sweat pants that were both black. I hoped to blend in with the shadows.

"Wait, wait...I'm coming."

I paused. "Now you want to go?"

"...Yeah," she replied uncertainly.

I sighed. "Here, let me find you some clothes..." After that, we were ready.

I looked at my window. "...Out the window...or face being caught by going out the front...?" I looked at Rashal.

"The window," we both said.

***

I shoved Rashal in the bushes. "Oof! Watch it!" came the muffled voice in the thick of the leaves. I pushed her in farther and wriggled in too. Rashal, heaving loud breaths, came up beside me and stuck her head out of the bushes.

Yanking her back, I hissed, "Rashal, be serious! The Wolf could be in there right now and have heard us!"

"Well, your whisper-yelling isn't helping."

We waited for a while, Rashal fidgeting every five minutes. I figured that she would make a bad super hero.

Twenty minutes later, we heard footsteps. They were quick...but not heavy like The Wolf's regular pace.

I clamped my hand over Rashal's mouth in case she tried to talk, or warn me -- like duuuuh, I'm not deaf, but that would be Rashal -- and listened intently.

And then, the figure appeared. It definitely was a he, judging by his body build. He was tall and muscular. He was dressed in all black and had a black mask that covered his whole face and hair. It could be called a hood, really.

The man walked up to the door, and he yanked out a key. Huh, he must have had a spare. But why was he going in there? That was The Wolf's secret place. And then something weird happened. He began to transform; grow bigger, furrier. And then, finally, he put his front paws on the ground and I knew instantly what The Wolf was. He was a man who could transform into a wolf! So...he was a...werewolf? No, he was still a guy and still a wolf, just both...not a werewolf. Werewolves were supposed to turn into wolves at designated times, but The Wolf seemed to control his ability. Besides, werewolves weren't real. Then again, my powers shouldn't have been real either.