Animal Nature

Chapter 18

"Our friend's back," said Martha when Shy arrived at the shelter that afternoon. "What happened to your face?"

"Uh... gym class. What friend?"

"Go take a look in the big pen."

"The wolfhound?" Shy headed into the kennel, with Martha following.

"Bill and his crew picked him up near the Klaski farm, terrorizing the chickens. Mr. Klaski said he shot it, and hit it, but Dr. Fleiss stopped by and couldn't find a mark on him."

The wolfhound lay in the pen, still tranquilized. Shy remembered reading somewhere about how quickly werewolves could heal. "Are they going to euthanize him?"

"Most likely. A bunch of cows were killed last night at the farm next door. The wolfhound is the obvious suspect, but Kat says it's impossible for an animal of this size to do that kind of damage." Kat Polanski was the director of the Middlebury Animal Control Department.

Shy stared at the wolfhound, wondering if her boyfriend was trapped inside.

"So, depending on how things go, you might have the chance to tame this beast after all."

At six o'clock when Martha left, the wolfhound was still asleep. Shy finally caught Patches and locked him in his pen. He was the last of the dogs. With one last glance at the animal in the large pen, Shy went into the office and picked up the phone.

"It's Shy," she said when Mrs. Lupien answered the phone. "Is David home?"

"No, he's not. He's been missing since last night. He stormed out of the house after he hung up on you and never came back. You don't know where he is?"

A clatter rang out in the kennel, muffled by the steel door. "No, I don't, sorry, Mrs. Lupien. He wasn't in school today and he hasn't called me or anything."

"Can you let me know if you hear from him? We've called the police, but they haven't found him. We've been driving around all night looking for him." Mrs. Lupien's voice cracked. Another clatter from the kennel, and a few excited yips from the dogs. Shy pulled the phone so she could see what was going on in there, but the lights were off and she couldn't see anything.

"Definitely, I'll let you know," she said. "Um, I have to go, I'm at work right now."

Shy hung up while Mrs. Lupien was saying good-bye. She had a pretty good idea of where David was.

Shy flicked the light switch to the kennel, located in the office beside the kennel door, and stood at the window watching. The florescent bulbs flashed like a strobe, but it was enough for Shy to see. The door to the large pen was open. Light pulsed over an empty aisle.

Shy pressed her face to the glass, focusing through the intermittent light to look for the wolfhound. The back door was closed. David—the wolfhound—had to be inside, but she couldn't see him anywhere.

Cracking the steel door open, Shy stuck her head in and whispered, "David?"

Patches yipped.

The wolfhound—the werewolf—David—slunk out of the large pen and stood in the center of the aisle in the flickering light, its eyes leveled at her, head down and the ruff of its neck bristling.

Shy opened the door wider. "David! It's me, Shy. You know me, right?"

Lowering its head, the wolf gave a low growl.