"And he gave you a bandage?" Will demanded.

"He was really nice, actually," said Grady, licking his ice cream. "He didn't seem weird at all. Well, kind of, since he lives in the shack. He knows how you talk about him behind his back."

"Well, can you blame us?" asked Cassie.

"Yeah. He's practically begging for people to talk about him," added Will, slurping at his ice cream. Grady noticed the aggressive way he and Cassie were eating them. They sprayed bits of ice cream all over the table as they chomped down on them, as if trying to finish them as quickly as possible. Emily wrinkled her nose at their lack of manners.

"He didn't seem like a werewolf at all," said Grady.

"Really? No scars on his face or anything?" asked Will.

"Well, he did have a scar on his face," admitted Grady. "But that doesn't mean he's a werewolf. I'd be surprised if he didn't have a scar from living in the swamp."

"That's true," admitted Cassie. She gobbled up the last of her cone, gulping it down in a way that made Grady cringe. "But tonight is a full moon, right? Don't go to sleep. Stay up and listen. You'll hear howls from Fever Swamp."

"That's ridiculous," Grady scoffed.

"It's true," Will insisted. "Listen, and you'll hear."

"Emily, you know this is crazy, right?" Grady asked his sister. She had apparently told Will that her brother had entered the swamp, which was why he had gone after him.

"I think you're crazy for talking to that guy," retorted Emily, eating the last bite of her ice cream in a much more neat manner. "He might not be a werewolf, but he definitely sounds weird."

"He was very nice," argued Grady. "He gave me a bandage for my leg."

"He could probably rip your leg to shreds," Cassie said. "Tonight, at least."

"That's ridiculous," Grady argued. "You know what, Emily and I will stay up late tonight, and I bet we won't hear anything."

"We will?" Emily asked. "You can if you want, but I need my rest."

"You always do," muttered Grady.

"Okay, you do that," Will told Grady. "And we'll say 'I told you so' when you hear howls coming from Fever Swamp."

"The only howls I'll hear are howls of laughter from me when I find out you made it up," retorted Grady.

That night, Grady pretended to be asleep when his parents came into his room, and then stayed up. He didn't believe a word Will and Cassie said, but he was a little curious. Maybe there were howls from Fever Swamp, even if it wasn't a werewolf. It could be another animal making them. Yes, that was probably it. They were dumb to mistake it for a werewolf.

He stayed up, reading a comic book in his bed. There were werewolves in the comic, their shiny figures illuminated by the moon shining through the window above his bed. He put the comic down and glanced back out the window. The moon was full, a shining orb in the sky. Grady stared at it, transfixed, the light reflecting in his eyes. It was hanging low in the sky. He didn't hear a thing.

Will and Cassie had made it up. Of course they had. He returned to his comic when he jumped out of his skin.

He heard a long, low howl, muted and far away. He glanced out the window again and stared at Fever Swamp. Had it come from there?

The howl sounded again, like a wounded animal in pain. It continued, growing louder and sounding more like a wail than a howl. Actually, there were several howls, rising in volume above each other, deepening and becoming throatier. It sounded like several animals competing to see who was the loudest. Or several animals in a fight.

Grady stared at Fever Swamp illuminated under the moonlight, standing out like a dark, ominous cloud. Were the noises coming from there? He couldn't tell.

He reluctantly placed his hands on the windowsill and raised the window an inch. Then he jumped. The howls seemed to jump out at him. He raised the window completely, the cool night air hitting his face. The noises sounded like they were right outside his window. They sounded different now, low and mournful. There was something melancholy about the howls, as if they were in deep pain. It almost made Grady feel sad.

He stared at the swamp, trying to ignore the sounds. He couldn't handle the noises any longer. He shut the window and slid into bed, closing his eyes. He barely slept that night. The noises kept him awake, not to mention his frightened thoughts.