CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT

CHAPTER FOUR-THE FIRST MURDER

Mom pulled into our driveway. I pushed open my door and hopped out. The wolf hopped out beside me.

We walked up to the front door and entered the house.

"Well, where'd this lovely girl come from?" Dad asked crouching down in front of the wolf.

"Um, Dad…" I began slowly, but to my surprise, the wolf went over to him.

He patted her on the head.

"We got doggie!" Curtis cried as he rushed into the living room, followed by Pim. "Wait. That no doggie."

"What do you mean?" Pim asked curiously.

"That wolf. Me seen them before," Curtis said looking terrified now. "Wolf kill member of Curtis' family."

"So that's what happened," Mom said looking upset.

"Wolf kill Curtis' wife, Allyna," Curtis said looking for the first time like a real human being. "Wolf tore her to pieces in front of Curtis' eyes."

"Oh, I'm so sorry pal," Dad said looking grave and sad. He put a hand on Curtis' shoulder.

The wolf studied Curtis and then slowly went over to him. She nudged him but Curtis shook his head.

"I think she wants to show you she's not like that," Mom said softly.

"Curtis no trust wolf…wolf turn around and kill Diffy's," he said as he pulled out his club and took a swing at the wolf.

The club connected with the wolf's foreleg. The wolf let out such a whelp that it sent chills down my spine.

"Curtis no!" I cried as I went to lunge toward him to stop him, but he knocked me out of the way.

"Curtis stop!" Pim cried too.

The wolf was hobbling around trying to escape Curtis' club. The wolf took several more blows.

"CURTIS NO!" I yelled now.

Mom and Dad were even trying to stop him.

The wolf was cowering in the corner with a thin ribbon of blood flowing from one of the nostrils.

Curtis stood over the wolf and raised the club as if to finish it off. Finally, Dad managed to tackle Curtis away and wrestle the club out of his hands.

I dropped to my knees beside the wolf.

Right before my eyes, the wolf changed and Gabrielle was huddled against the wall, nude.

Shyly averting my eyes, Mom rushed forward with a blanket and wrapped it around her.

"My God," I heard Dad said.

"Uh oh," Curtis said looking abashed.

"Gabrielle?" Pim asked shocked.

"Yeah," she croaked out.

"What's going on? Where's the wolf?" Mom asked curiously.

"Mom? Dad? There's something you should know," I said gravely.

GABRIELLE.

I pulled the blanket around me tighter as Phil told the Diffy's I was a werewolf.

"My God," Mr. Diffy said crouching down beside me. "I never thought they existed."

He gently put a hand on Gabrielle's bare shoulder.

Curtis looked even worse than before.

"Curtis beat Gabrielle with club," he said his voice shaking.

"That's alright," Mrs. Diffy said putting a hand on his shoulder. "No one knew it was her. It was an honest mistake."

I had a thin ribbon of blood flowing from one of my nostrils. I wiped it away.

"Gabrielle hate Curtis now," he said as he took off outside.

"I'm thinking he has a crush on her," Mrs. Diffy said her lip twitching.

"Maybe Gabrielle of Allyna?" Pim suggested.

"I think that's what's going on," Mr. Diffy said slowly.

"Are you alright though?" Phil asked nervously.

I nodded.

"Yeah. Werewolves have a quick metabolism. Any injury I sustained during the transformation automatically heals itself,"

"Cool," Pim said grinning. "I could use you to attack my enemies!"

She cackled.

"She already frightened Candida," Phil said.

"Pim, she's not your personal pooch," Mrs. Diffy scolded.

Pim muttered an apology.

"Does anyone else know?" Mrs. Diffy asked.

"Keely," Phil replied.

"That's alright," Mr. Diffy said. "Erm, Phil, did you tell her about us?"

Phil nodded.

"Don't worry, Mr. Diffy," I said reassuringly. "I won't tell anyone as I hope you won't tell anyone about me?"

"Of course not, dear," Mrs. Diffy said softly. "I think I have some old clothes that might fit you. Come on."

She helped me to my feet and steered me upstairs.

Sure enough, Mrs. Diffy had a pair of jeans and a red shirt that fit perfectly.

"Don't worry about returning them," she said kindly.

We entered the living room again.

"I'm going to talk to Curtis," Mr. Diffy said as he headed upstairs.

"We think you remind him of his wife," Mrs. Diffy said slowly. "That's why he was acting the way he was when you came around."

"I know," I said softly. "I heard him explaining it. I can understand why he mistrusts wolves."

"Are there anymore? Werewolves I mean?" Phil asked.

"Yeah," I said gravely, suddenly remembering something. "There are a few here in Pickford, but they're the Tyrix's. They're evil. I can't tell you who exactly, but I do sense them here."

"This is like a horror movie," Pim said hugging herself.

"But its real life," Mrs. Diffy said gently. "Listen your secret is safe with us don't worry."

I nodded, feeling much better. I totally trusted them.

Mrs. Diffy dropped me off at home.

Monday, I headed off to school.

I met Phil and Keely by Phil's locker.

"Morning," I said cheerfully.

"Morning, Gabrielle," Phil said brightly. "Curtis feels awful for what happened last night. He wouldn't even eat his favorite snacks."

"It's fine," I said. "He didn't realize."

"What happened last night?" Keely asked intrigued.

"Gabrielle changed after we came out of the ice cream parlor. Mom drove us home thinking she was a stray dog. Curtis realized she was a wolf and tried to beat her with his club,"

Keely coughed, but it sounded like she was covering up a chuckle.

"Oh no," Keely said straight-faced. "You poor thing."

"Once I changed back then I ended up having to tell them about me," I said pretending that I didn't notice Keely's reaction.

"Wow," Keely said.

We headed to the rest of our classes.

KEELY.

I angrily entered Science class. I could see plain as day that Phil had a crush on Gabrielle. I admit, I was jealous. I had feelings toward Phil, but never told him.

I was scared to really, I was afraid I'd lose him altogether. I'd rather have him as a best friend than lose him completely.

I was even jealous of Gabrielle. She was really pretty. I noticed how the guys look at her when she walks down the corridors. No one has ever looked at me that way before.

"I sense you're troubled?" a soft voice said beside me.

I jumped from being startled and turned to my right. A really cute boy with short, thick, black hair and hazel blue eyes, which were behind a pair of thin, black rimmed glasses, was sitting beside me.

"Um, yeah…Hi," I stammered. "I've never seen you here before in class. What's your name?"

"I just transferred here today. My name is Sam Androse," he said beaming.

"I'm Keely Teslow," I said.

"Nice to meet you," Sam said studying me. "May I ask what's bothering you?"

"Oh," I said shyly. "It's nothing really."

"I can sense it's nothing,"

"Oh. Well, you see my best friend likes this girl and I'm jealous of her,"

"Is she pretty?"

"Very,"

"You are pretty as well," Sam said.

I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.

"Do you wish the girl would go away?" Sam asked tilting his head.

"Not really," I said sighing. "I just wish I could tell my best friend how I feel."

"I'm sure you will," Sam said. "Eventually."

I smiled.

It turned out he had all the classes with me that Phil and Gabrielle didn't have so we stayed together.

GABRIELLE.

Phil and I met up with Keely at lunch time. She was with a cute boy though. He had short, wavy, thick black hair and hazel blue eyes, which were behind a pair of thin black rimmed glasses. He was dressed in tan pants and a burgundy shirt.

Keely was positively beaming.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully. "This is Sam Androse. He just transferred here today."

"Hi," Phil said holding out his hand.

Sam shook it.

"I'm Phil Diffy," Phil said.

"I'm Gabrielle Morris," I said politely as I extended my hand.

The minute Sam's hand closed around mine, a bright flash went off before my eyes. I saw a little girl screaming as this huge black wolf clamped its jaws around her throat.

The flash vanished and I quickly let go of Sam's hand.

My breathing sped up.

"Gabrielle? Are you okay?" Keely asked concerned.

"Oh yeah," I said cheerfully. "Just realized I'd forgotten to do question 3 on Mr. Dannis' exam."

"Would you like to join us for lunch? We can all sit together," Keely said eagerly.

"Sure," Sam said as he peered at me before following Phil and Keely toward the cafeteria.

"Are you okay?" Pim's voice asked as she came up beside me.

"Something's wrong with him," I muttered. "Something horribly wrong."

"Phil? Oh we knew that a long time ago," Pim cracked.

"Pimsie!" a cheery voice called.

A girl with long dark brown hair and brown eyes came up beside Pim.

"What Berwick?" Pim demanded rolling her eyes.

"Come on! You're missing the Art Special in the gym!" the girl exclaimed clapping her hands.

"See you later," Pim grumbled and allowed the girl to pull her away.

I headed outside as well.

I sat down beside Keely. Across from us were Sam and Phil.

"So where did you come from? Like where did you transfer here from?" Phil asked intrigued.

"Maine," Sam replied.

Alarm bells began going off in my head.

"Oh really?" Keely asked happily. "That's where Gabrielle's from!"

I forced a grin and pushed my food around on my plate. Suddenly, my appetite was lost.

"We might be staying here for a bit," Sam said. "We're not sure."

So they talked.

That night there was a second full moon. I changed and crept silently out of the house.

Keeping to the shadows, I trotted along the hedges and bushes silently: my paws making no sound on the grass.

Suddenly, I heard a scream.

My ears perked up. I raised my head and sniffed at the air. I picked up a scent and followed it to an old alleyway.

There was the black wolf, standing over the little girl. She had pigtails and was in a dirty nightgown. There were several blood stains on the girls' arm like she had been dragged.

I approached, retracting my top lip and exposing the white canines and incisors. The little girl looked from me to the black wolf and screamed more, perhaps thinking a second wolf would finish her off.

But I kept my eyes completely on the black wolf. Just as I was about to make a move, the black wolf opened its jaws and clamped them down on the girls throat. The girls' scream was cut off.

I felt something liquid spray onto my face and muzzle before the black wolf took off into the darkness.

I looked helplessly at the girl before taking off and fleeing to Phil's house.

I sat on my haunches on the porch and raised a front paw, scratching at the door.

The door opened. Pim stood, looking absolutely terrified.

"MOOM!" she howled.

Mrs. Diffy came running.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Diffy said as she pulled Pim back against her. I got up and walked into the house.

"What's wrong?" Phil asked coming into the living room. "Whoa."

He stopped when he saw me.

PHIL.

The wolf had blood on her face and muzzle. She sat, looking at us quizzically though.

"She's hurt," Pim said.

Immediately, Mom ran and got a towel. She crouched down in front of the wolf and gently wiped off the blood.

"Where's the wound?" Dad asked.

"There is none," Mom said, her voice suddenly sounding tight.

Pim had been watching TV. A news reporter came over the TV now. She was standing in front of an alleyway where a body was lying with a white sheet draped over it.

"This is Natalie Peters for Channel 3 news. Only a few moments ago, the body of a little girl was discovered in this alleyway. The little girl was around the age of 8. Her throat had been torn out by some kind of animal,"

All eyes turned to the wolf.

"No way," I said fiercely. "There's no way she could've done that!"

"There's good evidence," Mom said sadly.

"I agree with Phil," Pim said angrily standing beside me. "If she wanted to kill before she would've killed Candida no? Why do this now? I don't think she did it!"

"Pim…" Mom said in a reasonable tone.

"No mom," Pim said indignantly.

I've never seen Pim this adamant about something.

"We don't believe she did it," I said firmly. "When she changes, she can tell us what happened…what REALLY happened."