"You've gotta be kidding me," I said.

"A werewolf," Cassie exclaimed.

"It's not a werewolf, you idiot," shouted Emily. "It's a bear!" Yes. It was a huge black bear. It growled at Emily as she pressed her back against a tree. Wolf started barking at it, but the bear stood up on its hind legs and growled. Wolf backed off a little, then barked again before lunging at the bear, who ran off while he gave chase.

"Wolf, come back," I shouted.

"What about Emily," asked Cassie.

"Yeah, what about me," Emily asked, miffed.

I realized she was right and I ran up to her. "Are you alright," I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I am never coming back to this swamp," she complained.

"She's fine," I said to Cassie. "Why did that bear attack you," I asked Emily.

"Heck if I know," she said. "I was just setting up the camera when that bear came up behind me."

"Well, as long as you didn't provoke it. You didn't, did you?"

"I don't know!"

Cassie looked in the direction where Wolf and the bear had run off. "I hope Wolf is okay."

"He'll be fine. Black bears usually run away from danger." Sure enough, Wolf came running back and I hugged him. "Don't ever run off like that again, boy." Wolf licked my face.

"Maybe we should head back," Cassie said.

"I'm with her," said Emily. "I've had enough of this swamp for one day."

"No. Let's finish setting up the trail cameras and then head home," I said. "You know how much this project means to Mom and Dad."

Emily sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if they care more about this project than about us."

So, after the adrenaline wore off, we resumed placing the trail cameras on the trees. We didn't really speak much the whole time. We passed the peat bog, then we came across something familiar. It was the swamp hermit's shack, still camouflaged by reeds and dry grass. "Let's go back," said Emily. "That guy still gives me the creeps."

"Me too," said Cassie. "I know he's not a werewolf, but..."

"Hold on," I said. "I want to say thanks for saving my life. I haven't gotten the chance yet."

"Grady, no," said Emily. "Besides, look. His boots aren't here. I think he's gone out."

Even Wolf seemed to agree with them as he kept tugging on my shirt. "You too? Ugh. Alright, fine. We're almost done setting up the trail cameras, anyway. Let's go."

And so, we turned around and resumed placing the cameras on likely spots. I wished we could have stayed a little while longer. We finished setting up the last camera and we started to head back. "Hey," Cassie said. "I've never been to this part of the swamp before. Let's check it out."

"Sure," I said.

"Oh, no, I've had enough adventures today," said Emily. "We're going back."

"Aw," whined Cassie.

I smirked as an idea formed in my mind. "True, but Mom wants you to keep an eye on us, right? So, you have to follow us, right?" I took a few steps forward, then Cassie and Wolf followed. Emily groaned, then followed after us. There wasn't much to see, save for moss-covered trees, a bush that we were sure was poison ivy, and some more of those football-sized mushrooms. Seriously, how do they get so big in Fever Swamp? We did see some wildlife, but nothing dangerous this time: just some squirrels, a rabbit, and a pair of sandhill cranes.

Then we saw something we didn't expect: it was a house. Not a shack like the swamp hermit's, but a log cabin. Its walls and roof were covered in moss, the windows were gone, and the old wooden door was wide open. We stepped inside and found nothing but an empty house. No furniture, no paintings. Just an empty cabin with a stone chimney and fireplace. "Do you think someone lives here," Cassie asked.

"Nope," Emily said, wiping some dust off a windowsill. "No one's been here for a very long time."

"Maybe the first pioneers who came to Fever Swamp lived here," Cassie theorized. "The ones who succumbed to the fever all those years ago, according to the legend."

"This is kinda disappointing," I said. "I was expecting more excitement."

"I'm not," said Emily. "Let's go home."

With nothing left to do, we followed Emily out of the swamp. "Psst," Cassie whispered to me. "Let's meet back at the cabin."

"Why? There's nothing there," I whispered back.

"It'll be the perfect place to focus on your werewolf training."

"I don't need training. I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"Can you transform without the light of the full moon?"

"Uh..."

"Exactly."

"How do you know this stuff?"

"I told you, I'm a fan of monster movies."

"What are you two talking about," Emily asked.

"Uh...Cassie wants to know if she can stay over and play the Super Nintendo with me," I said out loud.

"I'm more of a Sega fan," said Cassie. "But I don't mind."

"Well, as long as her parents don't mind," said Emily.

We finally reached the backyard where we found our parents tending to the deer. "Hey, Dad," I said. "How did the talk go with Dr. Flint?"

"Not good," he said. "Apparently, she cares more for her ratings than scaring some 'weird-looking deer'. Her words, not mine. But she promised not to hurt them so long as they don't get in her way."

"Great," I said sarcastically.

"So, she's gonna be here for a while," said Cassie. "We don't even know why."

"So, how was your day," Mom asked. "Did you put up the trail cameras like I told you?"

"Yeah, and I nearly got eaten by a bear," Emily said.

"Bears rarely eat people," I said. "What are the chances?"

"There's a bear in the swamp," Mom asked.

"Not surprised," Dad said. "Bears in Florida do live in environments like Fever Swamp. I hope you stayed away from it."

"Wolf chased it off," I said. "And I know to stay out of danger."

"Just be extra careful if you go out there," said Mom.

I decided to change topics. "So, how are the deer?"

Mom looked at the deer and said, "We put the trackers in them and I think they're ready." She opened the pen's door, but they didn't move.

"Go on, shoo," said Emily. They didn't budge.

"They must be too scared to leave," I said.

Dad shook his head. "Well, we can't force them out. We'll leave the pen's door open and wait for them to leave on their own."

"What's to stop something from trying to eat them again," Emily asked.

"We've got Wolf," I said. "He may be a chicken, but he won't let anything bad happen to him. And we all know he wouldn't kill the deer, right?" I gave my family the stink eye.

"Grady, we already apologized for the whole 'believing Wolf was a killer' thing when you got bit by the real culprit," Emily said. "Let it go."

I smiled. "I just like never letting you live it down."

Cassie was allowed to stay over after getting the okay from her parents. We had lunch together, watched TV and played Final Fantasy II* together on my Super Nintendo. Following that, the two of us sat on the front porch, watching the sun set over the trees. Wolf was sleeping between us. "Do you have any idea why Dr. Flint might be in Fever Swamp," I asked her.

"Well, if I have to guess, the Werewolf of Fever Swamp," she said, nudging my shoulder. My heart jumped a little. Was she really after me? Then Cassie giggled and said, "Don't worry. Most of the people dismissed it as some large animal, maybe a cougar. Besides, I know it was Will who was behind those attacks." She sighed and said, "Poor Will. I wish we could have helped him."

"Me too. I wonder where he went." I got back to the matter at hand. "Well, what else could she be after?"

"Maybe the Skunk Ape?"

I gave her a strange look. "The what?"

"Florida's Bigfoot."

I raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "Okay, I know without a shadow of a doubt that werewolves are real. I mean, I'm the living proof. But Bigfoot is another story."

"Who knows?"

Soon, Cassie went home. I had dinner with my family, watched some TV with Emily, then got ready for bed. After brushing my teeth, showering, and slipping on my pajamas, I went to sleep. Sleep seemed to come easy for me ever since Will was driven out. I do get the occasional nightmare every now and then, but nothing too scary. I don't really remember what I dreamt that night; my sleep was interrupted by a tapping sound. I tried to ignore it, but the taps kept coming. Annoyed, I got up and realized someone was throwing pebbles at my window. I opened the window and saw who it was.

"Cassie?"

*What Final Fantasy IV was called in the United States at the time.