Free The Howling II by Gary Brandner Page A

on her robe, tying the belt securely beneath her bosom. She went to the window and pulled aside the blind. An expanse of lawn, revealing rose bushes and the back of the garage, brightened occasionally as the clouds broke up and the moon came through. But nothing moved.
    Leaving her room, Mrs. Jensen went out and began testing the door and windows of the house, even though she was sure she had locked them all before going to bed. When she reached the living room she heard something.
    A rustling sound in the shrubbery outside the front door. She looked through the peep-viewer, but could see nothing. She started to back away, then stopped as she heard a kind of snuffling outside. Then a soft scraping sound as of some animal pawing at the door.
    Animal? A dog, she thought. Could her sister’s German shepherd have gotten lost and somehow found its way here? It was a long way to where her sister lived, but you read about those things all the time. Maybe it was hurt. Mrs. Jensen opened the door.
    The wolf sprang into the air and hit her full in the chest, knocking her to the floor as it tumbled past her into the hallway.
    There was no time for Mrs. Jensen to think about what was happening. She could only react by instinct.
    The wolf, larger and stronger than any she had seen in the zoo, stood in the hallway, its powerful legs braced. The broad tan head swung to and fro, as, though it were looking for something.
    Mrs. Jensen stumbled to her feet. The front door was still open, letting the cold air in. Outside, the night was peaceful and clear; inside was terror.
    “Get out of here!” she said to the animal. Her voice sounded small and ineffectual.
    The wolf swung its head to look at her. The lips slid back to uncover long killer teeth in a devil’s grin. It growled deep in its chest, a menacing growl that warned her away.
    “Is somebody down there?” Joey’s excited treble came clearly from the top of the stairs.
    The wolf turned from Mrs. Jensen and looked toward the stairs. With a soft growl it started to move that way.
    Acting on the unreasoning instinct to protect the boy, Mrs. Jensen seized the nearest thing at hand that could be used as a weapon - an umbrella from the wooden stand near the door. Brandishing the umbrella like a club, she thrust herself between the wolf and the stairway.
    “Joey, get back!” she shouted. “Get in your room and lock the door.”
    Upstairs the door to the boy’s room slammed.
    The wolf threw her a look of pure animal hatred and lunged to one side of her, trying to get to the stairs. As the animal went past, Mrs. Jensen struck at it with the umbrella, hitting it across the back. The wolf hesitated. Mrs. Jensen threw herself upon it, clubbing at its head.
    The impact of her body knocked the wolf off-balance, and they crashed against the end post of the banister. The wolf was back on its feet immediately, teeth bared, snarling.
    Mrs. Jensen scrambled away on the floor, holding the umbrella out toward the wolf like a sword. She heard her own voice screaming incoherent things.
    The last thing she saw was the open-mouthed leap of the wolf. She went down helplessly under its weight as the beast brushed aside the puny umbrella. The head turned sideways and the cruel teeth clamped onto her throat. One flex of the powerful jaws crushed the thyroid cartilage and destroyed the larynx and esophagus. The teeth ripped through the platysma muscle and severed the carotid artery. Mrs. Jensen’s life ended in a burbling gasp.
    The wolf raised its bloody muzzle from the ruined throat and backed away from the body. It turned and started toward the stairs.

Chapter 13
    ONE POWERFUL BOUND carried the wolf a quarter of the way up the stairs. There he stopped suddenly and listened. Outside there was a growing clamor of voices, as the neighbors, roused by Mrs. Jensen’s screams, ran toward the Richter house to investigate.
    Torn by conflicting emotions, part human, mostly animal, the wolf hesitated. The