CAN'T FIGH THE MOONLIGHT

CHAPTER 16-THE FIRST FULL MOON

I was a bit nervous. Phil had this look on his face that sent chills down my spine.

"You aren't going to do anything rash…are you?" I asked nervously.

Phil didn't reply.

He looked back at me, but the amber was gone from the irises.

"No…of course not," Phil said.

Hilary, Pim and I looked at each other.

VICKI.

"They really are freaks," I chortled to the rest of the group. "Especially that Pimple! Candida had the right idea."

They giggled.

"Well, I'm heading to the showers," I announced. "After all that cheering I like to smell nice."

They nodded.

"I'll meet you all tomorrow,"

I headed off to the showers.

Someone was standing in front of the girl's bathroom.

I gasped.

Then, the person stepped into the light.

"You! What do you want?" I demanded folding my arms over my chest.

Keely Teslow was standing there. Her blond hair had fallen over her eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said.

Her voice sounded rough and harsh.

"Thank me? For what? Telling the truth about what a freak you are? No problem. I'd be happy to tell anyone I can," I smirked.

She snorted.

"Unfortunately, you won't be telling anyone anything anymore," she said.

I glared at her.

The next thing I knew, she lunged for me, knocking me onto my back. She was hovering above me.

Her eyes had this haunting, almost glowing blue around her irises. Her nails were long…and black like claws.

I caught sight of her canines…they were long and sharp.

"What on earth…?" I demanded actually terrified.

She raised a hand and took a swipe at my throat.

I gurgled and blood began flowing rapidly from the four deep gauges in my throat.

I saw her smug smirk before blackness swallowed me up.

PHIL.

I was a bit worried about Keely. She said she had to use the bathroom and she hadn't come back since.

"I'm getting worried about her," I said as I began pacing the hallway like a caged animal.

"I'm sure she's fine," Pim said. But I even caught the concerned look on her face.

Hilary looked up from her book that she had begun reading.

"Oh. Here she comes," she said.

About 3 minutes later, Keely was walking down the corridor. She was grinning for some reason.

I paused.

She seemed a bit different though…something about her seemed totally off now. But I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Hey," Pim said brightly. "We thought you'd fallen in the toilet."

Keely laughed.

"No," she said shaking her head. "I just had some business to take care of. A girl issue."

"Oh," Pim said nodding.

But again, I was getting this strange sensation…and a faint smell of blood off of her. What bothered me is the smell of blood wasn't her own.

"Keely? Did someone bleed on your clothes? Was someone hurt or something?" I asked frowning.

"No…why? What are you talking about?" Keely asked sweetly.

"I smell blood off of you…" I began but Keely cut me off.

"That's right," she said coldly. "Embarrass me why don't you?"

With that, she stalked past me and stormed out of the school.

Hilary glared at me as she too, followed Keely. Pim however, stayed.

"Go ahead," I muttered. "Leave too."

"No," Pim said shaking her head. "You had more to say…what was it?"

I smiled.

"I smelled blood off of her, but it wasn't her own,"

Pim's blue eyes widened.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know," I said shaking my head. "But there's something definitely wrong with her…besides being a werewolf."

Pim and I followed Hilary out of school.

We all headed home.

Keely and Hilary were whispering to each other in the kitchen. I entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. I pulled out a bottle of apple juice and the minute I turned around to face them, they stopped.

"So, are you talking about me?" I asked in a forced cheerful tone.

"No," Keely said shaking her head. "We were talking about Pim."

I raised an eyebrow.

"What about Pim?" I asked.

"We think it's so cute how she believes everything you say. She's such a control freak," Keely said. "I've noticed how she always wants to take over the world."

I shrugged and felt a bit ruffled.

"She's harmless though," I said. "She doesn't really want to."

Keely laughed.

"Sure,"

Now I really began seeing a different side of Keely…a side that I didn't like at all. Arrogant…mean….things that Keely had never been in her life.

"What's with you?" I demanded narrowing my eyes. "You've changed for some reason."

"What ever do you mean?" Keely asked in that sweet tone…a tone I've never heard from her before.

"She'll be fine," Hilary said. "It's just her going through the changes. You'll be acting a bit differently as well."

"Changes?" I asked folding my arms over my chest. "She seems more arrogant than I've ever known her. She was never like this."

Hilary shrugged.

"Everyone goes through the changes differently," she explained. "When I was going through it, I was as nasty as a rattlesnake until everything balanced out."

I frowned.

I accepted her explanation, but something was still sitting off with me with Keely.

"I didn't see Vicki come out of school," Pim announced. "Did anyone see her?"

"Oh that's right!" Keely said snapping her fingers. "She entered the girl's bathroom but she wasn't feeling well so she left the back way."

"Someone still would've seen her," Hilary said.

"I don't think we have to worry about her anymore," Keely said shiftily. "I've got to be heading home. Shall I see you all in the morning?"

"Sure," Pim said eyeing me.

Even Hilary was eyeing Keely strangely.

She left.

"Something happened to Vicki…I know it," I said. "I have a feeling that's whose blood I smelled off Keely."

"But she didn't have any on her," Pim said confused.

"You forget," Hilary said gently. "Our sense of smell, hearing and sight are far greater. There may not be visible evidence…but we can still smell it from a mile away."

"Do you think she killed Vicki?" Pim gasped.

"I don't know," I said. "But something is wrong here."

Hilary left the house as well.

That night, Pim and I were in my room, just talking.

I glanced out the window. A full moon hung in the midnight sky. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen and I slid off the bed, landing on all fours on the carpet.

PIM.

Phil was on his hands and knees, staring at the carpet.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a squeaky voice.

Forget my usual "Dominating the whole World" personality…now I was a scary situation and had real fear for my brother.

He didn't reply. His back lengthened and narrowed; thick, shiny black fur began growing all over his body; a tail grew and was bushy with the same black fur; his hands and feet changed into paws and had deadly claws on each digit;

His ears grew and tapered into points; his nose and mouth pulled forward into a snout and white canines and incisors slid down under purple lips. The bottom jaws held the same deadly canines and incisors. His eyes changed into these haunting blue eyes; his legs bent into haunches.

Before long, Phil was gone and a black wolf the size of a Great Mastiff dog was in place.

The wolf sat on its haunches, tilted his head up toward the sky and parted his jaws. A long, almost inhuman howl rose up and rattled the windows. I clamped my hands over my ears.

I sat, frozen in fear.

The wolf shook its body and then took several steps toward me. Even though Phil was gone, this wolf still had a humanish appearance.

"Pim? What on earth is going on…?" I heard Mom's voice cry in the hallway.

The bedroom door opened and both Mom and Dad stood there.

"Good Lord!" Dad cried.

"Pim, get away from it," Mom said as she leaned in and tried to pull me away, but I squirmed against her grip.

"Mom no! This is Phil!" I cried wrenching my arm out of Mom's grip.

Mom tried again to grab me. She succeeded but she dug her fingers too deeply into my arm.

"OW! MOM LET GO!" I cried cringing in pain.

At that, the black wolf retracted its upper lip, exposing white canines and incisors and I heard it growling warningly at Mom.

The ears were flattened out sideways.

"Barbara, let go," Dad said wrenching Mom's hand off of my arm.

Immediately, the wolf stopped growling.

"My God," Dad said awed. "This is Phil."

I carefully took several steps toward the wolf. It watched me but made no attempt to bite or anything.

"Be careful okay?" I heard Mom whisper nervously.

I extended my hand out and it touched the wolf's head. The wolf lowered its head submissively and its eyes closed as I gently stroked its head.

"He's Phil alright," I said smiling as I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around the wolf's neck. I pressed my face into the wolf's fur and hugged it.

The wolf had his head over my shoulder.

The next thing I knew, I heard glass breaking downstairs and something charging up the stairs.

"What on earth is that now?" Mom asked as I saw them looking toward the direction of the stairs.

"OH MY GOD!" Dad cried as he dragged Mom away from the door and I heard them enter the bathroom and the door slam.

A white wolf appeared with blue eyes. This wolf was about the same size as the black one…but it was holding a human hand in its jaws…horribly enough, I recognized the hand.

It had a wedding ring on the fourth finger.

"Mrs. Teslow," I whispered as tears formed in my eyes.

I felt the black wolf's body tense up. It began growling and its ears flattened out sideways.

The white wolf's jaws opened as it dropped the hand on the floor. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. The white wolf began taking a step toward me, but the black wolf put one front leg over mine and lowered its head threateningly.

All four canines were bared angrily at the white wolf.

The white wolf continued to approach me.

"Two wolves! Curtis save Pim!" Curtis cried, appearing at the doorway.

The white wolf's head snapped around as it snarled at Curtis.

"No! Go hide!" I cried to him.

He seemed shocked for the moment as the white wolf began easily walking toward him now.

I released the black wolf and stood up. I kicked the white wolf in the hindquarters. Its head snapped around in pain and anger and it snarled at me.

The teeth barely missed my ankle.

I began backing up slowly. The black wolf was snarling at the white one. My feet tripped over Phil's backpack on the floor. My foot had gotten tangled up in the straps and I felt myself falling backward. The back of my head hit the dresser and blackness swallowed me up.

THE WOLF.

Pim had cracked the back of her head on the edge of the dresser. She landed on her back and a small pool of blood began collecting on the rug. The white wolf stood over her and prepared to clamp its jaws around her throat when I jumped in front of the white wolf, standing over Pim. I snarled and flattened my ears back.

The white wolf snarled back. I snapped my jaws at the white wolf.

It began slowly backing off and it took off out of the room, bounding down the stairs.

I turned my attention back to Pim.

I gently nuzzled her with my snout.

"Black wolf protect Pim," Curtis said. "Me get Barbara and Lloyd."

I heard him knocking on the bathroom door.

Shortly, Barbara and Lloyd appeared and rushed right over to Pim.

"What happened?" Barbara cried hysterically.

"White wolf go to attack Pim, but black wolf protect her," Curtis explained.

Barbara raised her eyes to mine. I was sitting on my haunches at Pim's head with one leg on either side of her head. I lowered my head and gently nuzzled Pim's cheek with my nose.

Shortly, Pim's eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

"You fell and hit your head," Curtis explained.

"I'm calling 911," Lloyd said as he rushed out of the room and headed downstairs.

I began licking Pim's face.

She smiled and then drifted off unconscious again.

PHIL.

In the morning, I had changed back into my human form. I quickly grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt and pulled them on. I jogged downstairs. Mom and Dad weren't there. There was a note pinned on the fridge.

Phil,

We're at Pickford Memorial Hospital. When you change back meet us there. Pim is in stable but critical condition.

Love, Mom and Dad.

I quickly showered and changed and hurried off to Pickford Memorial Hospital.