The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

by sweetie buttons

Grady Tucker moves to Fever Swamp with his family. There are rumors about the mysterious swamp, but he finds himself drawn to it, as well as the strange, mysterious hermit who lives there. But is the hermit hiding something, and is as scary and dangerous as everyone says he is? Are the rumors true?

8. Chapter 8

"You're so totally weird, Grady." Emily burst out laughing.

"He's really not that bad," insisted Grady.

"Only you would make friends with some creepy swamp hermit," scoffed Emily.

"You should try talking to him," suggested Grady. "He's a nice guy."

"Of course you'd like him," said Emily. "You're as weird as him."

"I'm friends with Will and Cassie as well," insisted Grady. "But they're mean to him. They're always playing jokes on him just because he lives in the middle of the swamp."

"You should go join him," suggested Emily scornfully. "That'd be best. You'd be away from us normal people."

Grady flushed, glaring at his sister. "I was just at his shack because I needed somewhere to hide during hide and seek," he insisted.

"And you couldn't find anywhere else to hide in the swamp?" Emily rolled her eyes.

Grady had to admit she had a point. "Well, it was a good hiding place," he insisted. "They didn't even find me."

"They told me they couldn't find you anywhere in the swamp," said Emily. "They were actually starting to get worried about you. Did you spend the entire time at that creepy old guy's shack?"

Grady felt himself blushing. "Not that long," he said. "We just started talking, and I lost track of time."

Emily burst out laughing.

"He's very interesting to talk to," insisted Grady. "He knows a lot about the swamp. Dad should talk to him. He'd help him a lot with his research."

"Tell him that, then," suggested Emily. "Actually, that's a good idea. A weird animal man living in the middle of the swamp is the perfect test subject."

Grady decided not to tell his dad about John. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling John wouldn't want him to tell anyone about him, and he didn't want to invade his privacy. He had no problem with Grady visiting, but he probably wouldn't like being interviewed by a scientist like he was a test subject.

That was the reason he provided himself, but he knew there was another one. It was also for his own desires, as well as John's. He didn't want someone else to know John. He wanted him to be his own secret friend. He knew it was selfish of him, but he didn't want somebody else to visit him, as childish as it sounded. It was nice to have a friend. He didn't have many back at home. They all thought he was weird, just like they thought John was weird. Maybe now, they had found friends in each other.