Werewolf Boy

By Cathy Predmore

On a dark and misty night, Dylan Predmore thought he was bit by a werewolf. He was hurrying home from his friend’s house, preoccupied by the full moon, when something big and hairy nipped at his leg. It hurt and he told his mom about it. She seemed certain it wasn’t a monster, but maybe a dog, and took him to the doctor to get a shot just in case.

The more Dylan thought about it, he became convinced it really was a werewolf that bit him.  He knew all about them from his grandfather’s old movies. He felt excited about it because he always wanted to see a real werewolf, although he didn't think it would be in the mirror!

A few days later, Dylan went to his baseball game and played his best game EVER.  He ran lightning-fast around the bases and threw out at home plate all the way from the outfield.  Dylan jumped so high in the air to catch a ball that it felt like he could touch the sky.  His coach was very happy; his teammates gave him high-fives, and best of all… Dylan got the game ball! 

His dad was really proud of him and his family went out to dinner to celebrate. Dylan ate three hamburgers but he was still hungry!  He couldn’t remember meat ever tasting that good before. Dylan went to bed and tried to sleep but was really restless.  He opened his window to get some air and noticed it was almost a full moon.  Dylan listened to some dogs barking and it almost seemed like he knew what they were saying to each other.

The following Saturday Dylan came downstairs and asked his mom, “Is Grandma here?” “No,” she said, “Grandma didn’t say anything about coming over today.” “Really?” Dylan replied, “ I can smell her perfume.” Just then Grandma’s car turned into the driveway. “What a strange coincidence Dylan,” his mom exclaimed, “You were right!”  Grandma had stopped by to bring his mom some tomatoes from her garden and while they talked, Dylan went out to play. 

His neighbor’s cat Cooper walked by. However, Cooper hissed and ran away when Dylan tried to pet him. “I wonder what’s wrong with Cooper?” Dylan thought, "Could it be that the cat knew he was now part wolf?"

Later that month, Dylan was in his room at night and tossed and turned in his bed.  He felt restless and opened his window as clouds moved across the night sky.  Light from the full moon shinned right on Dylan. He felt excited and….different. He looked down at his hands and thought hair was growing on them.  His fingernails felt longer than his mom’s and, he thought, “Is that a point on my ear?!?” Dylan backed away from the window and snuck across the hall to the bathroom. He looked into the mirror and froze.  Looking back at him were the glowing yellow eyes of a wolf!  He snarled and gnashed his teeth together. Dylan’s heart pounded in his chest as he ran out of the house and into the night. 

Dylan streaked across open fields and leaped up into trees. He splashed through puddles, sat on his roof, and howled at the moon. He felt fast, wild, and even a little dangerous.

When he woke up the next day, Dylan felt like himself again.  

 “Dylan!” his mom called, “Come down here right now.” He went to see what was getting her mad.  “Just look at this mud all over the floor.  It’s a mess!” She exclaimed. “When did you even track this inside?  I didn’t see it before you went to bed?”

Dylan thought about it for a moment and decided to keep his moonlight adventures to himself.  He didn’t think his mom would believe him and he surely didn’t want to go back to the doctor for another shot or maybe worse…a silver bullet. 

“I’m sorry Mom,” he said, “I’ll clean up the mess right away.” 

“Are you ok Dylan?” she asked?  “You’re acting unusual this morning.” 

“What do you mean Mom?” he asked and quickly looked down to see if he was hairy.

 “Well for starters, you never offer to clean!” she laughed, “And we sure have to cut those fingernails.”

Dylan went off to school on the bus but this time he didn’t feel worried about the big kids in the back.  Dylan knew if he wanted to, he could probably eat them.

He asked his dad to sign him up for the next season of baseball.  Dylan wasn’t sure that he played as well as the other kids before the bite.  However, now he was confident thanks to his new animal reflexes.

Dylan really liked being a werewolf.  He grew his hair long, enjoyed a kinship with dogs, and enjoyed his meat rare.  He liked it so much that he didn’t even care if it were true.  Dylan kept changing into a wolf his special secret.  However, every month in the full moon’s light… he really went WILD.