Free Werewolf Skin by R. L. Stine

stared hard at me too. “Early start, huh?” he
asked softly.
    I nodded and took my place at the breakfast table.
    “Marta and I worked all night,” Uncle Colin reported. He yawned. “We took
some pretty good shots.”
    That’s a lie! I wanted to shout. I followed you. I saw what you did. I
know what you are!
    But I didn’t say anything. Just stared down at my cereal bowl.
    I’m having breakfast with two werewolves! I thought, feeling my stomach
churn. My aunt and uncle run through the woods at night, murdering and ripping
animals apart.
    I can’t sit here another minute! I told myself. I started to get up.
    But I felt Uncle Colin’s hand on my shoulder. “Relax, Alex. Have a nice
breakfast,” he said softly.
    “But, I—” I didn’t know what to say. I was too terrified to eat. I wanted
him to take his hand off me. It was making my whole body tremble.
    “It’s Halloween,” Uncle Colin said. “You’ll be out late tonight.”
    “Have a good breakfast,” Aunt Marta chimed in.
    They watched me as I choked down my cornflakes. They didn’t smile. They were
studying me coldly.
    They know that I followed them, I decided. They know that I know their
secret.
    They’re not going to let me get away.
    “Uh… I have to go to Hannah’s now,” I said, struggling to sound calm and
cheerful. I slid my chair back and started to stand up.
    But I felt Uncle Colin’s hand grip my shoulder again. He grasped me tightly
and held on.
    “Alex, come with me,” he ordered.

 
 
28
     
     
    He kept his hand clamped tightly on my shoulder as he led me to the back of
the garage. He walked quickly and didn’t say a word.
    I wondered if I could break out of his grip and make a run for it. How far
would I get?
    He let go of my shoulder. What did he plan to do?
    “I’m sorry I followed you,” I said in a choked whisper. “I—I won’t tell
anyone what I saw.”
    He hadn’t heard me. He had moved to the corner of the garage and picked up a
long-handled tool.
    He shoved it toward me. “I need your help this morning,” he said. “There’s a
lot of yard work to be done.”
    I swallowed. “Yard work?”
    Uncle Colin nodded. “That’s a weed whacker. Have you ever used one before?”
    “No. Not really,” I confessed. The handle shook in my hand.
    “It’s pretty easy,” he said. “I need you to cut down all these weeds behind
the garage.”
    “Yeah. Okay,” I replied, feeling dazed.
    “And be careful not to toss any weeds in the Marlings’ yard,” he warned. “I’m
sure they’ll be watching your every move. Waiting to complain to us about you.”
    “No problem,” I replied.
    There are no Marlings! I wanted to scream.
    “I’ll work with you,” Uncle Colin said, wiping sweat off his forehead with
the back of his hand. “Together we can teach these weeds a lesson they’ll never
forget.” He grinned for the first time that morning.
    Does he know that I know? I wondered. Is that why he’s keeping me here this
morning?
     
    My uncle and I worked in the yard all day. Whenever I would take a short
break, I’d catch him watching me coldly, studying me.
    I was so frightened. I wanted to drop my tools and run.
    But I couldn’t leave without warning Hannah and her family. They had to know
that they were in danger too.
    I didn’t see Hannah until after dinner. She burst in just as we were
finishing.
    “Well? How do I look?” she demanded. She did a fast twirl in her rag-doll
costume.
    “You look wonderful!” Aunt Marta gushed.
    Hannah frowned at me. “Alex, where’s your costume? Come on. You’re not ready
to trick-or-treat?”
    “Uh… it’s upstairs,” I told her. “It won’t take me long to get it
together. Uh… come help me—okay?”
    I practically pulled her all the way to my room.
    “It’s a great night out,” she said. “Perfect for trick-or-treating. The night
of the full moon.”
    I tugged her into the room and shut the door behind us. “We’ve got a
problem,” I told