The Amazing Wolf Boy

Part 53 - Changing

Apparently, Spring Break was tree-trimming season in South Florida. Many of my uncle's jobs had us up twenty-foot ladders juggling buzz saws. Uncle Bob said we just had to thin the new growth a bit to let a hurricane blow through. There were a lot of snakes, especially in the palm trees, but my uncle assured me that they weren't poisonous. After they surprised me a couple times, they didn't bother me anymore.

On Monday and Tuesday, I got home so exhausted I just took a shower and fell into bed. But on Wednesday, Uncle Bob decided to knock off early, so I had him drop me and my bike at the Video Stop where Brittany worked.

I walked in with a bag from Burger King. I stank and had leaves in my hair, but when she saw me, her face lit up like I was a rock star. All my minor scrapes and aches disappeared.

"Hi," I said. "I thought you might like dinner."

"Got any fries in there?" She opened the bag and took a deep breath. "Heaven."

"Hello." A woman stepped out of the horror section. She had thick black glasses and a mustache.

I'd forgotten the boss would be in today.

Brittany said, "This is my boyfriend, Cody."

Not friend, but boyfriend. I smiled. 

"How do you do, ma'am?"

"Well, Cody," she said. "You look like you work for a living."

"Yes, ma'am. I work with Bob, the Fix-It Guy."

Her heavy brows went up. "Oh? Yes, I know Bob."

"Can I take my break early?" Brittany asked. "There's nothing going on."

"Certainly. Go right ahead."

Brittany grabbed the bag in one hand, my arm in the other, and led me down a short hall into a room lined with boxes. It smelled like cardboard. The light was dim and yellow after the bright fluorescents in the store.

"I'm starved." She set the bag on a table and opened a small, recreational-type refrigerator. "Do you want a Dew?"

"Yeah. Great." I sat at the table.

She set a can before me and opened the bag. "You look tired."

"Not tired enough, I'm afraid. I probably won't sleep much tonight."

She nibbled at the burger. "The full moon is Friday?"

"Right."

"Does that mean you'll have to go out tonight?"

"I don't want to," I said. "But the closer it gets, the stronger..."

"Like the hunger."

I nodded and folded half a dozen fries into my mouth.

Brittany frowned and set her half-eaten hamburger on a napkin. "Where's your uncle?"

"He was going home, said he needed to rest up a bit." I looked at her. "Why?"

"The sheriff stopped by this morning to talk to Grandpa. According to him, the coroner thinks most of the murders took place a couple days before full moons. They think the murders were ritualistic. A coven or something."

"Like witches?"

"Sure." She glanced toward the door. "I thought this might be a good opportunity to, you know, keep an eye on your uncle."

"Then you want me to go ahead and shift."

"You don't want to?"

"That's the problem." I looked at the door and lowered my voice. "Every time I change, it's like the wolf gets in deeper."