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WEREWOLF OF MISTY VALLEY
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"I know about Phil getting bitten by an animal," said Pete. "I don't blame you for being concerned. Don't feel embarrassed."
"It was a raccoon bite," she countered.
"All the same, I'd be cautious if I were you. If he was bitten by the wolf, he certainly wouldn't tell anyone. It is in the nature of a werewolf to keep its identity secret.
"The moon will be full tomorrow night, Peggy. Don't be afraid to come to me if you need help."
***
When she returned home, she spotted Phil's pickup parked in the carport. She did a double take when she saw a goat tied to a stake in the front yard. She hurried into the house.
"Phil, what on Earth is a goat doing in our yard?"
He seemed irritated. "Look, I'm going to start raising livestock as a hobby, okay? Got to start with something."
"It's just that I was a surprised to see a goat in our yard," she said. "But I wish you'd wait until we fence off a place behind the house."
"Sorry I snapped at you," he said. "Guess I should've told you before."
That night she couldn't sleep. Her mind was in turmoil. She fought to convince herself that werewolves were mythical creatures. It was all nonsense, and she was foolish to even think about it. But then she would think of the facts.
It was a fact that Phil was bitten by an animal. It was a fact that he had taken a sudden interest in werewolves. It was a fact that he had a live goat tied in the yard. In anticipation of feeding when the change came?
And it was a fact that the entire populace of the valley was convinced that a werewolf roamed the valley and surrounding mountains. Even Pete, a seemingly practical and well educated young man, was convinced.
She thought of the goat, and was horrified to think of Phil, in wolf form, attacking and feeding on the poor creature. Or worse, what if he, as a wolf, decided to feed on a human? Pete had said that humans were their preferred victims. And she would be convenient, lying next to him.
In her tormented mind, she reached a decision. She could not simply brush her fears aside, considering all that had happened. Would she be willing to risk her life to prove the werewolf thing was a mere myth?
The moon would be full tomorrow night. She shuddered to think that she might be lying in bed next to a bloodthirsty monster. She glanced at Phil, sound asleep and softly snoring, and chills surged through her body.
The next morning, after breakfast, Phil told her that he had to return to Asheville. "I've got to pick up the revolver," he said. "The gunsmith found something that needed repair."
After Phil left, she did not resume her work on the old house. Instead, she sat down and racked her brain for an excuse to leave the house. Finally, an idea came. She found a sheet of writing paper, sat down at the kitchen table, and began writing:
"Phil, I've received a call from one of the ladies in Arcos. One of them is sick, and knowing of my experience as a nurse, the ladies asked if I would come and look after her. I'll be back as soon as I can, but don't know how long I'll be gone. It depends on the lady's ailment. Love, Peg."
***
It was almost noon when she entered the general store.
Pete greeted her. "Hello Peggy. What can I do for you?"
"I've been thinking it over, Pete, about this werewolf thing. I hope you don't mind if I ask your help."
"I said I'd help you, and I meant it. If you need a place to stay for awhile, you're welcome to stay with me and my mom."
"I'm so mixed up. I need some time to think. I'd really be grateful for a place to stay for a while. I need to relax and think."
She told him about her ruse to escape the house.
"You can stay in the back room of the store until closing time, then I'll take you to my place. Later on, you can call Phil and tell him you're with the sick lady, and that you'll stay with her all night."
She found a crossword puzzle book on the store's magazine rack and worked the puzzles to pass the time.
***
Before leaving for Pete's house, she called Phil from the phone in Pete's store and told him that she would be with the sick lady all night.
It was just at dusk when they left the store in Pete's old army style Jeep. A chill now filled the air and a mist was forming.
Darkness had fallen when they arrived at Pete's house. They entered the house, and Pete locked the door. "Can't be too careful tonight," he said. "The werewolf might want you for its mate."
"She gasped. "What did you..."
"Sorry," he said. "Bad joke." He looked around. "Mom's not in. Guess she's at the grocery store. Sit down and make yourself comfortable, while I go in the kitchen and make us a snack."
She stared at his face. Was it her imagination, or did his face somehow look different?"
He spun around and hurried to the kitchen.
Peggy looked at her watch. The grocery store had closed over an hour ago. She looked around the house, and saw no sign of a woman's touch. The house, and all in it, told her that this was a bachelor's place. What was Pete up to?
Was he planning to take advantage of her? She was puzzled, for he seemed like a nice young man. But she hadn't really known him that long.
She glanced out the window to see that a full moon was now visible through the thin mist. My God, she thought. Had she made a terrible mistake? Suppose that Pete was the werewolf. How did he know so much about the creature? And his face... She ran to the door only to find it locked. She was testing the knob of the locked door when she heard a low growl.
She spun around, and was horrified to see a huge, grotesque half-wolf, half-man staring at her with it's gray-green eyes, snarling and showing its teeth. It stood there, its eyes fixed on her as if relishing her fright.
She was frozen with terror. Her eyes moved around the room, seeking escape. The creature still had not moved from its position in the doorway.
She spotted a window only a few feet away. If she could just get close to the window, she thought, she might have a chance to crash through it and escape. She started working her way, crablike, toward the window.
But the wolf sensed what she was up to, and with inhuman speed it jumped in front of the window. It seemed to be toying with her, whetting its bloodthirsty appetite. Suddenly it hunched, ready to spring.
Peggy was startled, and jumped when she heard a crashing noise. She turned to see the door burst open. Phil rushed in, holding the revolver. The wolf turned, facing him, once again ready to spring. Phil fired, but the shot missed the creature. With blazing speed it had jumped out of the way just as Phil fired.
It turned toward Phil and crouched, but this time when Phil fired the shot found its mark. The wolf fell, and in moments its body lay still.
Peggy ran to Phil, and they embraced. She was trembling, and her eyes were filled with tears. "Phil, my darling, I don't know if you'll ever forgive me."
He held her tightly. "You're forgiven, Hon. But I hope you'll forgive me for not telling you what I was doing. I can see now that I should have told you everything. But I thought that you would think I was crazy if I told you what I was up to."
"How...how on Earth did you know where to find me?"
"It took some doing. Let's get out of here. I'll explain on the way home." They hurried from the house.
"Shortly after Uncle Dan died," Phil began, "my lawyer gave me a sealed letter to be opened after his death. Uncle Dan wrote that he was convinced that stories of a werewolf in the valley were true. He further stated that he was convinced that the werewolf was one of the men in Arcos. He was not sure which one, but he listed a dozen suspects. Pete was one of them. I knew Uncle Dan was a no-nonsense, trustworthy man, and I had to take what he said seriously."
Phil went on. "I read up as much as I could on werewolves, then took the revolver to the gunsmith and had a couple of silver bullets made. I bought the goat, and hoped to use it as bait to lure the wolf and then shoot it with the silver bullets.
"When I saw the note you left for me, I called Sara Kovacs, who knows everything going on in Arcos, and asked her who was ill. She told me flatly that no one was ill. It then dawned on me that I must have been acting pretty suspicious lately. That, and the raccoon bite must have really given you cause for suspicion."
"But how did you know that Pete was the one?" Peggy asked.
"I didn't know until you called, saying that you were with the ailing lady and would be there all night. The caller ID--which I finally remembered to buy--told me that you were calling from Pete's hardware. That convinced me that something was wrong. It took me some time to find out where he lived, or I'd have gotten there sooner."
"I wonder," she said, "where the law will come into this."
"When they find the werewolf in Pete's house," said Phil, everyone in Arcos will figure out what happened. The mayor, old George Dunny, will cover the whole thing up and simply report Pete as a missing person. If anyone told investigators the truth, they'd lock him up as a Looney."
"We're almost home," she said. "I didn't sleep at all last night, and I'm exhausted." She relaxed as the anxieties and tension of the past two days drained out of her. She put her arm around his neck and snuggled up next to him. "I don't think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight."
He grinned. "I think we'll both sleep well," he said.
***THE END***
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