Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Story Teller
Chapter 4: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp Part 1
"Damn it." We all said when we arrived at the airstrip and realized that all the bullheads were offline. The only Bullheads that were still operational were for evacuations and emergency purposes only, and we highly doubt our situation would count.
"Now what?" Blake asked, annoyed.
"We have to get back to Beacon before Ms. Goodwitch realizes we're gone." Ruby answered. Beacon has a strict curfew for all students, and missing curfew has severe consequences.
"Perhaps we can walk through the Emerald Forest." Velvet suggested while stepping closer to me.
"Are you sure? It's pretty late, and it will be hard to see what's ahead of us." Yang asked, surprised.
"The moon is shining unnaturally bright tonight. Plus, we all have our weapons to defend ourselves against the Grimm. And Blake and I can hear them coming due to our faunus traits."
"True, and yeah, the moon is unnaturally bright." Yang said as the moon was extremely bright for some strange reason.
"Not only that, but it seems like there will be a full moon tonight." Blake added while ignoring Yang's snicker.
"How is that weird?" Ruby asked, curious.
"The lunar phase, which tells us how much of the moon we will be able to see, says that today is supposed to be a Waxing Crescent moon, not a full moon."
"That is strange." Ruby said with Zwei barking in agreement.
"What do you say, fearless leader?" Nora asked.
"It is a nice night out despite raining heavily not even an hour ago. Alright." I answered after thinking it over for a moment. However, for some reason, I felt like I had forgotten something.
"Okay then. Let's get going and kick any Grimm's butt that we come across." Ruby excitedly said as she unfurled her scythe.
Chuckling, we turned around and followed Ruby and Zwei away from the airstrip and toward the Emerald Forest. Once we reached the Emerald Forest, we began making our way toward Beacon. Thankfully, as Velvet pointed out earlier, the moon was bright enough to pierce through the trees and give us plenty of light to see our surroundings. Although, I was curious and slightly confused about Velvet as she was practically side-by-side with me. But I didn't mind and assumed she didn't want to get lost or something like that.
However, as we traveled through the Emerald Forest, we became increasingly on edge. While not as heavily populated as the Forever Fall Forest, the Emerald Forest still had plenty of Grimm running around. But, we had yet to see or hear any. It honestly seemed as if the Grimm were trying to avoid this area of the Emerald Forest in any way possible. It's almost as if they were afraid of something, which is ironic as they are attracted to fear. While that might seem strange to some, the tense and ominous feeling in the air certainly reinforced the fact that something was not right. And that feeling intensified when Zwei began barking like mad.
'I better tell Yang and Ruby about what I saw Zwei do earlier.' I thought, recalling how Zwei's eyes glowed yellow and his pupils changed to black slits.
"Zwei, calm down." Ruby said, trying to calm him down but failed as he barked louder.
"Maybe he picked something up on his nose radar." Nora suggested, smiling as she tapped her nose.
"Grimm?" Yang asked while readying her gauntlets.
"Don't think so. Blake and I would have heard them coming already." Velvet answered.
"Then what could-" Blake began but stopped when we heard something that sent chills down our spines.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!
"W-WHAT WAS THAT!?" Velvet asked, scared as she clung to my arm with Zwei barking non-stop and even louder.
"I don't know. But I don't think we should stick around to find out." I said as we resumed making our way back to Beacon, albeit at a faster pace.
Although, Ruby had to carry Zwei to prevent him from chasing after whatever made the howl. However, after about ten minutes of walking, we began to feel a great sense of unease as the moon's light started to feel like an enemy. Even the trees began to look menacingly as their shadows loomed over us. The air became heavy, and the smell of rotting meat assaulted our noses, almost causing us to throw up. Yet, our faces paled when we saw some dead Creeps and Beowolves with giant claws and bite marks littered all over their bodies. One even had its intestine ripped out of its body. However, while the others were scared, I wasn't as I felt like I had seen these marks before. And after taking a closer look at our surroundings, I felt the same about where we were.
'Why does this place seem so familiar?' I wondered as I racked my brain for an answer. During the initiation, no student made it this far away from Beacon, which made it all the weirder as to why I felt like I had been here before today.
"M-maybe we should seek shelter." Nora said, taking out her hammer.
"No. Too risky. We should keep going. I don't think we're too far from Beacon." Yang said, trying to remain calm.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!
She failed.
"On second thought, I agree with Nora."
"I do too." Velvet agreed, her ears twitching as she tried to pinpoint the origin of the sound.
"I second that." Ruby added as she struggled to keep Zwei under control.
"But where are we going to find shelter? We're in the middle of the Emerald Forest." Blake asked. But before any of us could answer, Zwei jumped out of Ruby's arms and ran out of sight.
"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted before chasing after him.
"RUBY! WAIT!" Yang shouted as we chased after the young reaper and her dog.
Thankfully, the duo didn't go too far as we reached after only a minute of running. However, once we reached them, we realized why they had stopped as they had stumbled upon a ruined campsite. In the center was a campfire with logs circling it to act as makeshift seats. About ten feet away was a cabin that was in shambles and seemed like a good kick would bring it down. And to the right of us was a swamp that seemed eerily familiar to me.
"Was this place always here?" Yang asked as we examined the place.
"I don't think so; otherwise, Ozpin would have said something or sent someone to clean it up or remove everything." Blake answered as she walked over to the fireplace. Seeing that it was still usable, Blake turned to me. "Jaune. Pass me some matches."
"Here you go." I said as I handed her my matches.
"Thanks." She said as she started the fire.
"You know, despite being in the Emerald Forest, this is kind of nice. The moon offers a roman- I mean nice light, and the fire will keep us warm for the rest of the night." Velvet said as we sat down on a log.
"Ironically, but yeah, it's almost like camping." I agreed, chuckling but tensed when she leaned into me.
"Think there is anything useful in the cabin, Jaune?" Yang asked as she and Blake sat down on a log while Nora and Ruby sat on the one next to them.
"Doubt it. Whoever owned this place clearly abandoned it a long time ago." I answered as I tried my hardest not to blush from Velvet leaning into me.
"Well, it's not like we need anything else. The fire is all we need." Nora said.
"But I am curious about what caused Zwei to run toward here." Ruby said, curious.
"And what we heard earlier." Velvet added.
"I want to say Grimm, but I don't recall hearing anything about them howling like that." Yang said, unsure.
"Maybe some stray dogs." Blake suggested.
"Possible, but it sounded much bigger than any ordinary dog." I said.
"Well, whatever it is, the second time we heard it did sound further away. Maybe it left the area." Nora said.
"But we should remain alert as it might come back." Blake said as she got out her weapon.
"How long should we stay here?" Ruby asked.
"I would say until night passes and the sun comes up." I answered. "It would make it easier and safer to get to Beacon."
"Then what should we do in the meantime?" Yang asked.
"ANOTHER STORY!" Ruby and Nora shouted, causing me to chuckle.
"Alright." I said while grabbing my book. "What story do you guys want to hear this time?"
"Actually, before you do that, care to tell us who you all are and why you all are here." A voice said from behind Yang and Blake. Looking behind them, we saw two kids around our age and a dog walking toward us. However, while the rest were confused, I instantly recognized them.
'Ah, Grady and Cassie. And Grady's dog, Wolf. I can't believe I forgot. Then this must mean we stumbled into Fever Swamp, or what's left of it.' I thought, smiling as it seemed like they remembered me as well.
"Uh, sure. I'm Yang. The one with the cloak is my sister, Ruby. Next to her is Nora."
"That's me!" Nora excitedly said.
"Next to me is Blake. The one with the rabbit ears is Velvet. And next to her is Jaune." Yang finished as she pointed to each one of us.
"And what's the dog's name?" Cassie asked as Zwei and Wolf circled each other in a friendly way.
"That's Zwei." Ruby answered, giggling when Zwei and Wolf began to play with each other.
"Okay, so we now know who you all are, but here comes the tough one. Why are you all here?" Grady asked.
"We were out enjoying the day but had to take shelter when it started to pour. But something spooked us out of the house. Luckily, by then, the rain had stopped. We then realized it was late and tried to get to the bullheads in time but failed. Knowing we still had to Beacon, we decided to walk through the Emerald Forest." Blake answered.
"But as we were walking through the forest, we heard a loud howling sound and decided to seek any shelter we could find." Yang added.
"And then Zwei suddenly dashed away from us and led us to this place." Ruby finished.
"Wait, you guys are heading to Beacon?" Cassie asked, surprised.
"Yes. Why do you ask?" Blake asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Well, for starters, it's not common to see students entering the Emerald Forest for any reason outside of missions or initiation. But secondly, you guys are heading in the opposite direction of Beacon." Grady answered.
"WHAT!?" Yang, Blake, Nora, and Ruby shouted, shocked.
"Yeah. Beacon is that way." Cassie said, pointing toward what we assumed was the direction of Beacon.
"Great. So we just spent an hour walking in the wrong direction." Yang said with a groan.
"Not exactly. Really, you're only five minutes off the trail." Grady said as he and Cassie sat on the last remaining log.
"That's a relief." Velvet said.
"But now that introductions are out of the way, what story were you guys planning on telling?"
"Jaune was about to tell us some of the cool, cheesy horror stories he keeps written down in his book." Nora answered.
"But we still have yet to decide on what kind of story." Yang added.
"Mind if we stay and listen?" Cassie asked.
"Sure. I don't see why not." Blake answered, with the rest of us agreeing. "Oh, before I forget. Did you two know what made that howling sound earlier and what could have attracted Zwei to this place?"
"There is a hermit who lives not too far from here. He likes to play the sounds of wolves howling." Cassie lied.
"Uh, why is he living in the Emerald Forest, and why is he playing the sounds of wolves howling?" Yang asked, confused.
"After his wife and kids died, he moved to the Emerald Forest to be alone. But, about a year later, he gained an unhealthy obsession for wolves and played the sounds of them howling in an attempt to attract some."
"As for your dog, well, he might have just smelled Vandal's scent or the scent of our snacks." Grady answered while pulling out various snacks from his bag. "Want some?"
"Yes, please." We answered.
"Okay, so what story should we listen to?" Ruby asked with a mouthful of candy. Looking to Cassie and Grady, we all nodded as we knew what story I should tell.
"Actually, I have a story in mind that kind of fits our current situation. Want to hear a short summary?" I asked, smirking.
"Sure." They answered.
"Okay. It goes like this. Grady and Emily didn't want to move to the swamps of the fictional land known as Florida. But their parents-both scientists- said that it would be an adventure they would never forget. That's for sure. First came the horrific howls during the night. Then there was the scary shadow lurking behind the tree and the spooky sounds coming from the swamp. Now Grady can't stop thinking about the spooky Hermit who chased him and his new friend Will while they were exploring the swamp behind his new house. And the almost-human howls that make him sit straight up in bed each night. Could Grady's new dog be responsible for some of the midnight mischief? He does sort of resemble a wolf, and he appeared out of nowhere. Everyone is convinced that the dog is a monster, but Grady knows better. Dogs don't howl at the full moon, or disappear at midnight, or turn into werewolves... or do they? How does this sound?"
"IT SOUNDS AWESOME!" Nora and Ruby answered with Yang and Velvet nodding.
"Sounds suspicious that you have a story like that ready for a situation like this. But I must admit, it does sound interesting." Blake said, raising her eyebrow.
'You have no idea, Blake.' I thought, smirking as I flipped through the pages to the correct story. If she only knew that the book was only a journal of everything that happened to the residents of Arc Town or me.
"Wait. Before we begin, what are your names?" Velvet asked our guests.
"I'm Grady, and this is Cassie."
"Hi."
"And our dog is named Vandal." Grady lied.
"Wait." Velvet said, realizing something.
"What is it, Velvet?" I asked.
"One of the characters in your story has the same name as him."
"Oh, yeah, I just realized that." Yang said.
"Have you met them before, Jaune-Jaune? Like with that girl earlier today?" Nora asked.
"No, just a coincidence." I lied.
"A pretty big coincidence if you ask me." Blake said, eyeing me.
"Anyway. On with the story." I said as I found the story again. "We start off by seeing plenty of dead trees surrounded by a thick fog. Soon, a swamp comes into view that does not seem too appealing and, in fact, comes across as eerie-looking to anyone who stumbles upon it. But just up the path, not too far from the swamp, we see an abandoned house that seems to be falling apart at the seams. Yet, it was not empty as a family had recently moved there."
Story
"What a great space." A lady asked as we entered the house. Inside, we see a lady and her son looking over their newly acquired home. "It's twice as big as your old bedroom, Grady."
"It's kind of... used." Grady said, looking at the stains that covered one corner of the room.
"Well, it's rustic. Rustic's in these days." The mother explained, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.
"Is this a blood stain?" Grady asked, pointing to the stains.
"No. That's just, um, dry rot."
"AAAHHHH!"
Scared of the noise they had just heard, Grady and his mother ran out of the room to see what was wrong. They stepped out into the halls and saw Emily, Grady's sister, visibly distraught.
"EW!" Emily said.
"Emily, what's wrong?" The mother asked, worried.
"That's it. That is it. I don't care what you and dad say; I am not living here."
"What is it now?" The father asked as he exited the room and made his way over to check on his daughter.
"The medicine chest."
Confused by what Emily meant, Grady and his father went into the room and opened the medicine cabinet.
"Cool." Grady said, excited.
"Oh, it's a little corn snake." The father said as he carefully picked up the snake.
"It was a corn snake." Grady told his mom as he exited the room.
"Oh, gross." Emily said, disgusted.
"Hi, there." The father said, smiling as he removed the snake from the medicine chest.
"Give the snake an earring; it'll look like your old boyfriend." Grady mocked.
"Grady, don't be silly. Snakes don't have ears." The mom warned and teased.
"MOM!" Emily said, not believing what she was seeing.
"Emily, we live near a swamp now. You're gonna have to get used to things that crawl and slither." The father said as he exited the room, causing Emily to let out an exasperated sigh.
"Besides yourself." Grady added.
"Oh." Emily said, annoyed.
"Grady. Set this free in the swamp." The father said as he handed the corn snake to him.
"Me?"
"Have fun." Emily teased, smirking as she went back to her room.
"MOM!"
"Go on. A little wildlife never hurt anybody. Just don't go too far in, okay?"
Real World
"You can say that again." Grady said, chuckling alongside Cassie.
"What do you mean?" Velvet asked, curious.
"Nothing. Just something my mom told me when we moved to Vacuo to live there for the summer."
"Anyway, continue, Jaune." Cassie said, smiling.
"Alright." I said as I found where I left off. "After being told to take the corn snake outside, Grady did so and began looking for a safe place to drop off the snake.
Story
Looking around, Grady wondered where he could place the snake so it didn't get immediately harmed. Deciding that the snake would be safer deeper into the swamp, Grady began walking along the path until he felt he was far away enough from the house. Although the sounds of birds chirping did calm his nerves, he still felt uneasy due to all the thick fog and trees around. Nevertheless, he continued forward. And once Grady thought he was far enough, he set the snake down on a tree stump, where it then slithered away.
However, Grady became on edge when he heard animals screaming. And due to the thick fog and echoing of the swamp, he could not tell where it was coming from nor if it was close. Not wanting to stick around for much longer, Grady decided it was for the best to head back home immediately. But he very quickly found out that he was now lost.
"Wait a minute. It wasn't this far."
Growing increasingly on edge, Grady decided to run in another direction in hopes of finding the path back home. And with each passing second, not only did his pace increase but so did his anxiety.
"I'm not lost. I am not lost. I am not lost."
Yet, despite constantly telling himself this, he knew that he was indeed lost. Now starting to panic, Grady began to run away from whatever he felt was chasing after him. But had he not been so focused on what was possibly behind him, he would not have run into the man standing in front of him.
Home
The Next Day
"When summer vacation is over, I am out of here. A boarding school would be better than this hole." Emily said as she and Grady brushed their teeth and got ready for the day ahead.
"You know Emily; you're not the only one who doesn't want to be here. But, at least I'm trying to make the best of it."
"After running into that weirdo in the swamp yesterday, I thought you'd be on my side."
"Mom and dad have been talking about this experiment for years, and I'm not going to be the one to ruin it."
"Gee. And the one time I was counting on you." Emily said as she opened a jar of face cream, only to recoil in disgust when she saw the spider inside. "OHH!"
Not wanting even to touch the jar, Emily threw it in the sink before stepping away and crossing her arms while letting out a huff of irritation. All the while, Grady looked on with amusement while letting out a snicker.
Ten Minutes Later
We now see Grady exiting the house while carrying two large empty cardboard boxes. Going around the house, Grady threw them in the growing pile of other cardboard boxes. Haring the sounds of animals behind him, Grady turned around and spotted some deer nearby in a cage.
"Everything is off the truck." Grady told his dad as he went over to him as his father locked the cage.
"Great." The father said while hanging some wire on the cage. "This place is beginning to feel like home already."
"So, uh, when do you set the deer loose?"
Oh, not for a while yet. Your mom and I have to tag 'em and make sure the trip here hasn't sent any of them into shock." The father answered before turning to look at the swamp while smiling. "Did you ever think that you would be spending your teenage years in a place like Fever Swamp?"
"Not in my wildest dreams." Grady said with his tone saying otherwise.
"Ah, I'll bet you'll make lots of new friends." The father said, causing Grady to remember the incident yesterday.
"Oh, yeah, right. Like that psycho, I ran into last night."
"He's not a psycho. He's a- He's a hermit." The father corrected as he started to check the cage's corner. "I asked about him in town this morning. He lost his family a while ago, and ever since then; he's been a little strange. But he just lives off the land, doesn't harm anybody."
"I don't feel right about this place. It feels so- It just feels so weird."
"Oh, Grady." The father said, wondering what he could tell his son to assure him that everything was fine. "You see these deer here? Up until a couple of days ago, they had never seen a swamp before. Now your mom and I get to study how they're gonna adapt. Believe me; they will because it's just natural to adapt. And pretty soon, they're gonna love it here."
Grady looked toward the deer unconvinced but didn't say anything.
"And so are you."
"Very interesting. Glad I could be a part of your study." Grady said, upset. He then headed back inside the house, leaving behind his confused father.
Nighttime
We see Grady now fiddling with the television in hopes of getting it to work so he can have some form of entertainment. Unfortunately, all he got was static despite his best attempts and moving around the makeshift antenna.
"Grady. That's really annoying." The mother warned as she and the father worked on their laptop.
Not giving up, Grady ignored his parents and kept flicking through the channels while holding the antenna to try and get some sort of working signal.
"GRADY!" The father said, irritated.
"There's nothing to do here." Grady complained while standing up after putting the antenna on the television. However, all he got in return was an exasperated look from his parents before they went back to work. Looking toward his sister and seeing her busy as well, Grady decided to back up to his room and call it a night. Although, that proved to be challenging as the deer kept braying all throughout the night.
The Next Day
We see Grady playing ball by tossing it at the shed and catching it when it comes back toward him. But he put too much power in the second throw, causing the ball to bounce off the shed and fly farther away from him. Sighing, Grady turned around and began to go after the ball. Yet, another kid picked it up before he reached where it stopped.
"I saw you move in yesterday." The kid said as he threw the ball into his other hand.
"You live here? I didn't know any kids lived here."
"People don't usually move into Fever Swamp. They move out." The kid explained before handing Grady the ball back. "Hi, I'm Will Blake. And I live over there."
"Grady Tucker."
"So, what are those deer you got in that pen for?"
"Well, my parents are scientists. They're studying how the deer will adapt to the swamp."
"Scientists, huh? We don't get many scientists around here."
"It sounds like you don't get much of anything." Grady said, chuckling.
"Yeah. It's old-timers mostly. We're the only kids here." Will explained as they began to walk away. "I bet you had lots of friends where you came from."
"Yeah, like twenty right on my street."
"Oh, that must have been great."
"It was." Grady answered before running on ahead while smiling. "So, uh, do you want to play catch? You got a mitt?"
"Uh, I'm not much for baseball." Will said as he walked up and handed Grady the ball back. "I got some targets out back. You've got a B.B. gun, don't you?"
"Our family kinda doesn't believe in guns."
"Oh." Will said, unsure of what they could now. But before he could begin to think about what they could do next to pass the time, an animal snarling caught their attention. Yet, unbeknownst to Grady, Will began to smirk. "You been in yet?"
"Yesterday."
"Did you get lost?"
"Yeah."
"People say that the swamp starts to grow inside your head. You get confused, turned around. Sometimes people go in and are never heard from again." Will said before turning to look at Grady's house. "You know why your parents got that house so cheap?"
"Yeah, because it's a piece of garbage."
"No. 'Cause, the old lady who lived there went into the swamp one day and never came out." Will said, causing a chill to go down Grady's spine. He then went over to the edge and smiled. "So, let's check it out."
"Wait a second."
"It's okay. I know my way around." Will assured. Grady still seemed unconvinced but gave in, threw his mitt away, and made his way over to Will.
Real World
"You know, looking back at it, it's pretty obvious." Grady said, getting out attention.
"What is?" Nora asked.
"Uh, um. That it was easy seeing our friend, also coincidently named Will, tricking us into going into some scary woods." Cassie quickly lied.
"Wow. Two for two in names. Talk about a coincidence." Yang said, shocked.
"Almost too much of a coincidence if you ask me." Blake said.
"Are you sure you haven't met them before, Jaune?" Velvet asked.
"Nope." I lied.
"Where is your friend?" Ruby asked as she petted Zwei, who fell asleep next to Wolf.
"Ah, he's dead." Cassie answered, causing everyone to tense.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that."
"How did he die?" Blake asked.
"He was setting up a net to try and catch some fish or alligators. Unfortunately, the net got tangled in the water, and he could not pull it out as it was stuck. But when he went in to retrieve it, he got trapped in the net, which then sunk to the bottom of the swamp where he drowned." Grady answered.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Velvet said.
"It's fine. Will was suffering from a disease so bad that he was constantly suffering. So, in some ways, it's a relief that he is now at ease." Cassie said.
"How about we continue the story?" Yang suggested. Nodding, I picked up where I left off.
Story
"This is incredible." Grady excitedly said as he followed Will through the swamp. "Dinosaurs used to live in places like this."
"They still do. Alligators." Will said as they continued walking. "You know, some of the most successful predators live in swamps and jungles."
"So, how do they call it Fever Swamp?"
"'Cause people around here believe there's a fever that comes from this swamp. It makes your body hot like an oven, and it gets inside your head and starts boiling your brain. Makes you do crazy things. Even makes you run into the swamp and stay there."
"Maybe we shouldn't be here." Grady said, scared. But his fear grew tremendously when they both heard an animal loudly snarling.
"Oh, no! We gotta get out of here!"
"What is it?"
"Shut up and run!"
Confused, Grady turned around to try and spot what made the growling sound, only to see a mysterious figure running through the woods. Fearing for his safety, Grady ran after Will as fast as possible. But after running for a few seconds, Grady suddenly fell to the floor when something grabbed onto his leg. Hearing footsteps behind him, Grady turned around and saw the mysterious figure slowly getting closer.
"Over here." He heard Will say. Turning to where it came from, Grady saw will hiding behind a tree and a fallen tree. Getting up, Grady quickly dashed over there just as the figure arrived.
"The Swamp Hermit. I thought he only came out at night." Will said, sounding surprised before gently pushing Grandy to signal to him to follow after the Hermit quietly.
"I saw that guy yesterday." Grady said as they watched the Hermit prepare something.
"It's lucky he didn't see you."
"He did see me."
"That's bad, Grady." Will said as they moved to a better position to spy on the Hermit more easily. "They can't prove it, but he's the real reason people keep disappearing."
"My dad says he's harmless."
"Don't believe it. He's been roaming around this swamp for fifty, sixty years."
"Come on. He can't be that old."
"He's even older than that. People like him don't age like the rest of us."
"It's impossible."
"It's true. He'll never get a day older as long as he keeps finding victims." Will explained as they watched the Hermit enter his house. "The moon is full tonight. You'll hear him howling, and you'll know exactly what he is. Nothing else on earth howls like that."
"Like what?"
"Like a werewolf."
Nighttime
We see Grady helping his family out in the kitchen. However, he soon goes over to the door and looks out the glass panel to see the full moon. Ever since Grady returned home, he could not stop thinking about what Will said earlier about the Hermit being a werewolf. And not a second after Grady looked out the window, he heard the sounds of something howling.
"Dad. Why can't I drive into town? I have a license, you know?" Emily asked.
"You just got your license, and you don't know the roads." The father answered.
"So, I'll drive slow."
"Is there any mail for me, like from my friends?" Grady asked as he set a bowl on the table.
"Mail doesn't come until Wednesday." The mother answered.
"Amazing it comes at all." Emily said, annoyed.
"I hear you met the neighbor boy today. What's he like?" The mother asked as she sat down at her spot.
"He's okay."
"Yeah?"
"Without a car, I'll never meet anyone my own age." Emily complained.
"Oh, Emily. Come on. It's not like we're on the moon." The father said, tired.
"His name's Will. You know what he said?" Grady said as he cut through some bread with his knife. "He said there's a fever you get from the swamp. The fever boils your brain and makes you go nuts."
"That's ridiculous." The mother said.
"Are you sure? Did you know that a lot of people have disappeared around here? Did you know that the lady that owned this house disappeared? But Will knows what got her. A werewolf."
"Well, that's just great. Werewolves." Emily said, scoffing.
"I don't know about this, Will." The mother said, skeptical as she put some food on her plate.
"Will knows the swamp, mom." Grady countered. "And you know who he thinks that werewolf is? The Swamp Hermit."
"All right. I heard just about enough." The father said, tired. "Now listen. There is no such thing as a werewolf. Those stories are just old folk legends. There has never been a shred of scientific evidence. And also, there's no such fever as the one you described. And as I told you before, that old Hermit is a harmless old eccentric who has never hurt anyone."
"Or no one's lived to tell about it." Grandy said, causing everyone to let out an exasperated sigh.
Later That Night
We see Grady sleeping in his bed. However, it was not a peaceful slumber as he constantly tossed and turned. But after a couple of minutes, Grady woke up in a cold sweat. And as he tried to calm his beating heart, he wiped the sweat off his neck and forehead.
"No!" He said before getting out of bed and racing toward the bathroom. He turned on the lights before moving to open the medicine cabinet and taking out a thermometer. And once it beeped a few seconds later, he took it out and smiled. "Normal."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!
Stepping out of the bathroom, Grady walked down the hall to the window, peered out, and noticed that the moon was full tonight.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!
Looking down toward the deer pen, Grady saw them huddled together as if they were afraid of something. Or perhaps they sensed whatever was howling was close by and knew it was a threat. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Grady opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony to get a better look at the house's surroundings. But after hearing something race through the nearby trees, Grady ran back inside, closed the door, and sprinted down the stairs to the front door, where he proceeded to lock it.
But he did not stop there as he moved to the living room and locked each window. However, before Grady could continue, he froze in place when the handle of the back door started to jiggle. But strangely enough, the door was already ajar. Fearing the worst, Grady slowly moved to close the door and lock it. Yet, as soon as he reached the door, it flew open with an animal jumping on him.
"AAHHH!" Grady screamed when whatever pounced on him forced him to the ground.
Real World
"Wow. Another coincidence. That's how Vandal and I met." Grady said as he petted a sleeping Wolf.
"Really?" Blake asked.
"More or less. The only part that's the same is Vandal barging through the back door of our home. But instead of whatever caused the dog in the story to do it, Vandal was attracted to the scent of cooked meat. We had a barbecue at the time."
"Is that why you named him Vandal?" Yang asked, curious.
"The breaking and entering no. The destroying all the plates and containers to get to the food, yes." Grady explained as Wolf let out a content yawn in his sleep.
"And your parents let you keep him?" Nora asked, surprised.
"Yup. We're big animal lovers. Heck, at the time, we were even planning on visiting the animal shelter to adopt a dog."
"Where are your parents?" Velvet asked.
"Back home. Cassie and I like to hang out and go into the woods exploring."
"But why the Emerald Forest?" Ruby asked.
"It reminds us of the first time we met." Cassie explained.
"But enough questions for now. Let's continue with the story." Grady said, motioning for me to continue.
"After the door flew open with the dog pouncing on him afterward, Grady began to shout while trying to get the dog off him."
Story
"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Grady shouted as he tried to get the dog off him.
"Grady?" The mother asked as she put on her robes while exiting her room.
"HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! HELP!"
"GRADY! GO AWAY!" The mom said after turning on the lights. She then pushed the dog off and helped her son to his feet. "Honey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He answered, panting. Once he calmed down enough, the mother, Emily, and Grady turned back to the dog and saw that it had also calmed down.
"That was trying to kill you?" Emily asked, smiling as the dog calmly looked at each of them.
"Did I hear someone screaming?" The father asked as he entered the house and closed the door behind him.
"It was Grady. He was being licked to death."
"Where were you? You missed all the excitement." The mother asked, smiling.
"Something upset the deer. I went out to check 'em." The father answered as he began to pet the dog.
"You left the door open." Grady said as he walked over to the dog.
"Well, I think we found our culprit." The mother said.
"Hey, boy."
"He is huge." The father said, surprised at the size of the dog.
"So that's who's been howling. What are you doing scaring people like that? Huh, boy?"
"Wonder who he belongs to?" The mother asked.
"No collar. No tags. He's probably a stray." Grady said as he looked for anything that could tell who the owner was but didn't find any.
"Well, he seems friendly enough."
"Can we keep him for a while? I bet he'll make a great watchdog." Grady asked, hopeful.
"I don't know, Grady." The father said, unsure.
"Oh, come on, dad. Life in the country is not complete without a dog." Grady said, trying his best to convince his father. "You want to live here; you got to take the whole package."
"We'll see."
"Come on, Dad."
"Okay. I'll tell you what. I'll check in town. If nobody comes to claim him, then we'll talk about it." The father relented before quickly adding. "But he sleeps outside."
"Deal."
"Excuse me. Doesn't anyone care about what I think?" Emily asked in disbelief, only for the dog to bark in answer.
"See? Someone cares." Grady said, smiling.
Next Day
We see the father feeding the deers and making sure they are alright while Grady plays with his new dog in front of the house.
"Come on, boy. There you go. Here we go. Come on. That's okay." Grady said as he kicked around a soccer ball while the dog chased after it. And from the porch, the mother smiled at her son while she fixed a telescope. "How long's it been since you had someone to play with? Huh, boy?"
The dog answered the universal dog's way by licking Grady's face.
"Neither of us has to worry about it anymore."
"Don't get too attached to that dog, Grady. He might have a home." The mother reminded.
"I'm thinking about calling him Wolf because he looks like one." Grady said as he walked over to his mom while Wolf continued to play with the soccer ball.
"What'd you bring that out for?" Emily asked when she spotted her mother working on the telescope.
"There's going to be a full moon tonight." The mother answered.
"Full moon?" Grady asked, worried.
"It will be spectacular. The sun, the moon, and the earth will be lined up so the earth's shadow will pass over the moon. A lunar eclipse." The mother explained.
"Ooh. Can I still get some tickets?" Emily asked, not impressed.
"Some day, something is going to impress you kids." The mother said as Emily walked away. "I just hope I'm around to see it."
But she didn't realize her words set Grady on edge as he began scanning the sky.
A Few Hours Later
"Did you hear the howling last night?" Will asked Grady as they walked through the swamp.
"Yeah, it was Wolf." Grady answered as Vandal ran on ahead.
"Is that what you think?"
"Come here, boy." Grady said, with Wolf coming right over. They then continued walking through the swamp. "Good boy. Don't worry. If that Swamp Hermit comes around, Vandal will smell him a mile away. Won't you, boy. But anyway, what's this stuff tied to the trees?"
"Wolfsbane. It's supposed to ward off werewolves. Of course, educated people know it doesn't work."
"Oh, right. The educated people use silver bullets."
"Shows how much you know. The fact is werewolves invented that silver bullet story themselves, so poor people couldn't afford to hunt them down."
"Were-folk?" Grady asked, confused.
"I suppose you'd call them were-persons." Will teased.
Smirking, they went under some branches and continued walking through the swamp and after Wolf.
"Maybe we should go back. I don't know this part of the swamp." Will said while looking around.
"WOAH!" Grady suddenly shouted as the ground underneath him gave way, causing him to fall down the hill. Seeing his new owner fall down, Wolf got on his four legs and began barking. Will attempted to try and save Grady but couldn't see him. Luckily, Grady managed to grab onto a vine to stop himself from going into the swamp water. Finally spotting Grady, Will ran down the hill to try and help him.
"WOW!" Will said, stopped in his track when he saw the bog.
"Where are we?" Grady painfully asked.
"The bog is the heart of the swamp. Right in its very center. A couple of years ago, a kid fell in. Sucked him down like quicksand." Will began as Grady got up and slowly made his way to safety. "There's no telling what's down there."
"I wonder how deep it is."
"Let's find out." Will said as he walked further on the fallen tree that he was standing on. He then laid on his stomach and reached into the bog's water.
"What's it feel like?"
"Like green, slimy mashed potatoes. Ah, this is too gross." Will answered. However, he became worried when he tried to pull his arm out of the water but couldn't. "Hey. Hey, wait a second!"
"What is it?"
"Something's got me. HELP! HELP ME!" Not wasting a second, Grady immediately laid down and tried to help Will free his arm. "There's something down there. It got my arm."
Grunting, Grady used all his strength and together managed to free Will's arm from the bog, only to realize that it was only a shoe that trapped Will's arm.
"Oh, it was only a shoe." Will said as they stood up. Grady tried to grab the show, but Will pulled away in time. "Sucker."
"You're not funny." Grady said as he swiped the show from Will.
"Oh, man. That was awesome. You should've seen the look on your face." Will said, laughing. "Come on, Grady. I couldn't help myself."
But all he got in return was Grady glaring at him while he put his show on. However, they tensed up when they heard Wolf barking not too far away. Worried, they climbed up the hill to check on him.
"What's the matter, boy?" Grady asked as Wolf continued to bark.
"Somebody's watching us." Will said as he looked toward the nearby trees. But it proved difficult to see anything due to the fog. Grady tried to see if he could spot anything but failed.
"I thought you said that didn't work." Grady asked when Will picked up some wolfsbane and gave it to him.
"Do you believe everything you hear?"
"Come on. Let's get out of here. Come on, boy." Tapping Wolf's head, they rushed back home with Vandal right behind them.
Home
We see Emily looking at the deer as she passes by their pen while listening to her cassette player.
"Oh, how cute. A bunny." She said, smiling as she kneeled next to what she assumed was a sleeping bunny. However, when she turned the bunny to its side in an attempt to wake it up, she discovered something so horrifying that it caused her to scream in terror.
Ten Minutes Later
We see the father, mother, and Emily standing around a table in their basement. The father seemed disturbed as he worked on something with some of his tools. Knowing that her daughter was still visibly shaken, the mother went over to her to try and console her.
It was horrible, mom." Emily said, upset. She then moved to sit in a nearby chair. "It was just sitting there... looking up at me with those big, innocent eyes. So I reached out to pet it."
"Well, honey, didn't you realize something was wrong when it didn't run away?" The mother asked.
"I thought it like me."
"What's wrong?" Grady asked as he entered the basement and saw everyone sorrowful.
"It's that stupid dog. I know it is. We should have taken it right to the pound when we found it." Emily said, causing the father to turn to her.
"Hey. You leave Wolf alone. He's not bothering anyone."
"I'm not so sure about that, Grady." The mother said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come take a look." The father answered.
"Stay." Grady ordered Vandal before walking over to the table. "Oh, that's sick dad."
"It was mauled by some predator." He explained before setting down his tools. "Just like half a dozen other animals in the area last night."
"It just killed them for no reason." Emily added.
"Oh, come on, dad." Grady said, not believing Emily. "Wolf didn't do this. I mean, look at him."
"Bite marks are canine."
"So what? It could have been anything. It could have been a wolf."
"Grady. There are no wolves in the swamp." The mother said.
"How do you know?" Grady asked, irritated, before walking away.
"Look, the swamp's a pretty brutal place, you know? If that dog's been living there, he could have become just as brutal." The father said as he put his tools away, grabbed a collar from a drawer, walked over to Wolf, and put it around his neck.
"And he was outside all night." The mother added.
"The bite marks. I bet they're big, right? Too big for Wolf." Grady asked, hopeful that would prove Vandal was innocent.
"No, Grady. They're not. We think it was Wolf."
"IT'S NOT WOLF!" Grady shouted, trying to keep himself together. "There might be something going on out there, but it has nothing to do with my dog."
"We'll get you a new dog." The father said, standing up.
"NO!" Grady shouted, with Wolf whimpering afterward. "It's okay, boy. No one's going to hurt you. I'll make sure of it."
He stood up and looked at everyone with a determined gaze.
"I don't want another dog." He said before leaving with Wolf.
"He's completely irrational. Maybe he has that swamp fever he's been babbling about." Emily said, showing that she really didn't care for the bunny and just wanted Wolf gone.
Half an Hour Later
"It's the Swamp Hermit killing all those animals." Will said as he and Grady ran through the swamp.
"I've got to find his shack. I can't let them blame it on Wolf. They'll take him away." Grady said, determined to prove that Wolf was innocent.
"Oh, man. No one actually goes looking for the Swamp Hermit." Will said, shocked. He then ran and grabbed Grady's arm to get him to stop walking. "Getting yourself wasted isn't going to help your dog."
"Well, if you're that scared, then go home. I'll do it myself."
"Oh, I wish I'd never told you." Will said, exasperated. Knowing that he wouldn't sway Grady, he relented when he saw him resuming his path to the Hermit's place. "All right. I'll go. But I'm outta there before the moon rises."
Running after Grady, they continued making their way to the Hermit's home. And after about ten minutes, they finally found the place. Although, they were confused when they saw wolfsbane all over the place. Walking up to the home, Grady began looking for a way to get inside.
"One bite. One bite, man. That's all it takes, and you'll be just like him- a werewolf. If he kills you, you're lucky." Will said as they continued to look for a way inside the Hermit's home. "You see anything, werewolf?"
"I don't know. It's dark in there." Grady answered as he looked inside through a window. However, both Will and he screamed when the face of the Swamp Hermit suddenly appeared on the other side. Seeing that they were caught, both ran as fast as possible to try and escape as the Hermit chased after them. And it seemed like they would successfully escape as they kept putting distance between themselves and the Hermit. Unfortunately, it didn't last as Grady set off a trap the Hermit set.
"WILL! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Grady shouted as he was trapped inside a net. "Will! GET ME OUT OF THIS THING! WILL! HELP!"
For a moment, it seemed like Will would help Grady escape the net. However, Will became paralyzed in fear when the Hermit finally reached them. And after a moment, Will ran off, leaving behind a terrified Grady and smiling Hermit.
"WILL!"
Real World
"Uh, I'll be right back." Grady suddenly said, standing up.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked.
"I-I'll be right back. I just need to grab something. I'll be back in a moment." He vaguely answered before running into the woods.
"Should we go after him?" Blake asked Cassie.
"He's fine. He will explain it better when he gets back." She answered.
"Alright. But since Grady will be gone for only a few moments, how about we wait until he gets back." Nora suggested, with the others nodding in agreement.
"Alright. We'll wait. And it will give my throat a short rest." I said as I closed the book. However, Yang, Ruby, Velvet, Nora, and Blake became on edge when we heard the howling again.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!
However, Cassie, Wolf, and I knew the real reason as the Full Moon shone brightly on us.
Notes:
Part 2 will come out soon.