Free Full Moon Halloween by R. L. Stine

strike.
    BONG…BONG…BONG…“It’s midnight,” he gasped.

25
    The four kids huddled close together, listening to the chimes of the clock.
    BONG…BONG…
    Tristan gazed out the front window. Like a big silver balloon, the full moon floated high in the night sky.
    BONG…BONG…BONG…Twelve chimes.
    Twelve o’clock.
    Midnight on Halloween night. A full-moon Halloween.
    The hour of the wolf.
    Now what? Tristan wondered, his eyes on the shimmering moon.
    Now what?
    The first scream from the kitchen made all four of them jump.
    Tristan recognized Mr. Moon’s terrified voice. “ Stop! Go away! ”
    Angela’s scream rang through the house. “ Don’t touch me! Let go! ”
    And then both of them were shrieking. Screaming at the top of their lungs.
    “ Help! ”
    “ Help us! ”
    “ Stop! Please! Don’t! ”
    “ Oh, help! Somebody—help us! ”

26
    “ Stop! Please! Stop! ”
    “ Ohhh—no! ”
    The cries of horror echoed from the kitchen. Frozen in fear, Tristan heard a loud crash. The sound of breaking glass.
    He heard a hard thud .
    Mr. Moon uttered a sharp cry of pain.
    “No! No! No!” Angela was screaming shrilly.
    Another thud .
    Then silence. A terrifying, still silence.
    Tristan’s whole body shuddered. Rosa grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly without realizing it.
    Ray and Bella had their mouths wide open in fear. No one wanted to move.
    “Wh-what is happening in there?” Ray stammered.
    “Why are the Moons screaming like that?” Bella whispered.
    It didn’t take long to find out.
    Tristan heard a high animal howl.
    The rapid thud of footsteps.
    Another howl.
    And two snarling wolf creatures trotted into the room.
    Their gray fur bristled on their backs. Their teeth were bared.
    Glowing, dark eyes searched the room. Moving together, their paws pounded the floor heavily. Their long tails waved furiously behind them.
    The wolves howled again.
    “Werewolves!” Tristan cried.
    “ No! It can’t be!” Bella shrieked.
    Werewolves! Howling for us—howling in triumph, Tristan thought.
    And as the raging creatures moved closer, trotting side by side, Tristan saw the blood on their claws.
    And the chunks of skin clinging to their long, curled fangs.
    Human skin?
    What have they done to the Moons? Tristan wondered.
    Did they eat them?
    How did they get into the kitchen? Where did they come from?
    “We—we’re trapped!” Rosa gasped.
    The wolf creatures lowered their heads as they moved toward the kids. They arched their backs, growling with each breath.
    Preparing to attack.
    Tristan and his friends backed to the wall.
    The wolf creatures rose. Slashed the air with their blood-soaked claws.
    And leaped.

27
    Tristan dodged to the right.
    The snarling wolf creature hit the wall.
    Dazed, it let out a grunt and backed away, shaking its bristle-furred head.
    The other werewolf sprang onto Ray. Ray dropped to the floor and spun away as the creature snapped its jaw inches from his head.
    The first wolf creature leaped at Tristan again.
    Tristan had no room to dodge. With a frightened cry, he threw his arms around the creature and tried to wrestle it to the floor.
    “Help! Oh, help!” Bella was screaming at the top of her lungs, hands pressed to her cheeks.
    Rosa stood stiffly, body tensed, ready to helpTristan if he needed it.
    Tristan struggled with the wolf creature. He dragged it to the floor and tried to roll on top of it.
    But the creature was too strong. It quickly rolled over Tristan, opening its jagged-toothed jaw in a roar of victory. Then it lowered its head to attack.
    Gasping for breath, Tristan raised his arms. Wrapped his hands around the creature’s head.
    He twisted the head one way, then the other. And tugged.
    “Oh!” To Tristan’s shock, the wolf head came off in his hands.
    “Mr. Moon!” Tristan gasped.
    The wolf head was a mask of rubber and fur. Mr. Moon grinned down at Tristan from inside the werewolf skin.
    “Happy Halloween, everyone!” the teacher cried. He climbed