Chapter 22
After Grandma left, Ali threw herself on the couch and said, “Culinary Arts” and started laughing. Reflecting on the last meal I'd prepared as a human, egg noodles and parmesan cheese, I chuckled, too.
After wiping her eyes, Ali said, “I'd better warn Rob.”
She gave him the two-minute version. Hanging up the phone, she studied me. “We have the whole afternoon.”
Uh-oh. When Ali starts talking about how much time we have, it's usually because she's cooked up an adventure, which I had to admit was more fun than hanging around waiting for Rob or even worse, hiding because he entertained clients.
I wagged my tail and lifted my eyes, waiting for the germ of an idea to build.
“This is the only time you'll ever be a wolf.”
Presumably that was true. Where was she going with this?
“The water park just opened. We sneak in, slide down one of the big slides, and sneak out.” Ali's face was flushed and her eyes bright, just like a crazy person's.
This was an ancient idea. At the age of fourteen, Ali proposed the adventure. I declined. The proposition changed with a dozen variations. We'd paid as patrons, scouted and marked the entries and exits. I'd drown. No matter how many times I slid down the slide as a human, I thought of myself as a mouse, tiny and in the way, and factored in the amount of water—too much. And then the odds that some kid slid down just as I jumped. The adventure would kill me.
As a wolf, my hesitation wasn't as legitimate. But the collar with the stupid mojo bag was a dead giveaway. Hmm...I watched my own thoughts, my emotions, my excitement. I'm going to do this. After years of fear, I'm going to slide down the superslide as a werewolf.
I nodded, but then pawed at the collar. We couldn't have anything that marked us.
“That's a good idea.” Ali said.
She removed the collar. I can't tell you how good it felt. When this is over, I'm never wearing a necklace or turtleneck shirt or anything like it again.
“I need to hide it someplace safe.” She walked around her little apartment, opening cupboards. In the end, she taped it to the wall in her closet.
The protection gone, I started to have misgivings. Not enough to call off the adventure, but a healthy dose of worry. Nothing new. Every time Ali dragged me (willingly) to experience a new way of looking at life, I worried about my health, my status as a law-abiding citizen, and whether my family would find out, usually in that order.
Ali looked just like a pixie when she readied herself for these things. Her smile spread from ear to ear and with her curly hair, that's all she needs. Wearing her pink pocket shorts and a tank top, she grabbed her keys and her backpack, “Ready to go?”
I jumped up and followed her out.
At the water park, Ali drove around until she could get a parking spot by the exit and entrance. An easy escape was key to the success of these kinds of things. “We can't leave together, I'll be back to human. You'll have to sneak out and wait for me.”
I shrugged, knowing there would be no sneaking, but it didn't matter. The four-legged ran faster than the two-legged. Anyone who has ever chased a dog knows that the only reason a dog is caught is because he's tranquilized or ready to come home.
“Trunk or door?” Ali asked.
I nosed the trunk.
Some of our plans failed when well-meaning passersby 'helped'. They shut the door, forcing a premature change from mouse or raccoon to human. In the end, Ali left the trunk open but down as requested and the doors closed. A trunk was more easily ignorable, and I could jump in to hide.
“Ready?” This was the culmination of years of thought and planning. Two video cameras in the parking lot, one over the cash register. Three attendants in the front, two at the slides, the concession stands clerks, a lifeguard on every slide. The golden scheme Ali worked toward for years.
“Let's do this.”
She set her backpack at just the right angle. Ali loved getting into things. She discovered early on that having a container to carry her clothes around gave her that much added protection. As lookout, I stood on my hind paws and circled once, then gave a single bark. Ali shifted into raccoon and struggled into the backpack, an amazing feat in and of itself.
We slunk along the edges of cars and then when the cars ran out waited for an eternity until a car load of teenagers and a couple with their children parked. Once the group of teenagers started for the entrance we fell in behind them. They joked about us following, and one obnoxious brat threw his empty plastic bottle at us. So much for mixing in.
The parents and their three kids paid for their tickets at the front of the line, the youngest two barely old enough to swim. Ali dodged with a loud chitter in front of the nearest group, then slid into the park, leaving the children pointing and the teens laughing. The attendant started after Ali with a walkie-talkie, and I made my move. As a mouse, my entrance would have gone unremarked, but with Ali acting as a distraction, I ran ahead of the groups and into the park.
The water park was busy enough that a crowd formed a line at each of the slides. Ali in her plans decided that a direct run to the slides was the best case scenario. The park was designed to make use of a natural hill, which made our infiltration of the water slides possible. A twenty foot climb up a ladder wouldn't do for a raccoon or a wolf, but a five foot ladder for the twirly slides or a platform for the straight and fast slides were entirely doable.
The last plan to my knowledge entailed a single slide into the pool and a brilliant escape. But we cut in line and jumped easily onto the slides and the water gurgled and sprayed onto our fur and suddenly I just didn't care that a dozen lifeguards were yelling and congregating at the side of the pool to watch. We swam to the lip of the pool and pulled ourselves out. Ali first. But I was right behind. I shook myself and grinned.
And we ran back up the hill, just the way we did as little kids pulling our sleds up the hill at Brierson's Farm. A few of the guys wearing company polo shirts positioned themselves to block us. I bared my teeth as if to bite and then dodged at the last minute, and we went again. And again. And again. Studies show that heady emotions can make a wereanimal more apt to forget themselves. Something akin to hyperactivity where decision making and logic became subdued in favor of emotion. Personally I think it's just because we've discovered a taste of freedom and feel more likely to escape without getting caught.
Now the crowd was calling across the pool, giving advice to the life guards, some running around the pool to catch us, others watching the crowd to make sure people were safe. My head said it was time to go. My heart wanted to stay and play until the park closed or they caught us.
Criminals always regret that last score, the one that got them thrown in prison. It was time to go. With a howl to Ali, I sounded the retreat. We fled the pools, running down among the concessions. One lady with a hotdog came around the corner, and I skidded forward, bumping into her. She screamed. I'm talking an ear-piercing scream, and dropped her hotdog.
After all the playing, I was hungry. Now, I've never been a believer in the five second rule. Normally if it hits the ground, I throw it away. But the hotdog hadn't been bitten yet, and landed right inside that little checkered carton that hot dogs come in. I snatched the hot dog, gulping it down and scrambled out of the way.
The problem with grand retreats is that there is always some poor soldier who gets stuck behind. I lost Ali. She's quite good at evasion. And when she decides to go incognito, she disappears into the strangest hiding places and quickly, too. One minute she's there. One minute gone. I ran.
Once the retreat had been declared, our agreement was to meet back at the car, and wait for the other party to show. Not that waiting would be a problem for me. I couldn't drive the car home anyway. And no matter how many times I'd been stuck waiting in an awkward place, Ali was always there waiting at the end. Our friendship existed solidly on trust and similar interests.
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Most of the crowd nearest the slides lost interest once I was out of view. They went back to the lines at the slides, eager to resume their own play, at least I assumed they did because I didn't end up with an entire horde following me. However, a few very determined lifeguards chased me.
I decided to circle back to the concessions in a large loop. This would give me time to watch for Ali, and create more distance between myself and my would-be captors. I slipped in between the two concessions, listening to the chatter.
Catching my breath, I waited until I heard, “Here! The dog's here.” A little girl, probably around seven pointed at me. Panting, I grinned, poking my head out the back of the concessions. I dove around the corner and down to the next stand and sidled in between the two, waiting, waiting.
“Where'd he go?” So just because I'm a wolf I'm a he. Well, I didn't have time to set the record straight. Most of the voices came from the front side of the concessions. I poked my head around back again. No one in the back. The bathrooms were just down the way. I would sprint down back down the hill again, behind the bathrooms, and out the gate. I waited just one more second, and one more.
“There he is.”
And bolted.
So fast the fence was a blur. By the time anyone had pointed me out, I was down the hill and swerving around the corner. The men's bathroom door stood open. Ali held the door. “Get in here.”
I slid across the wet floor, totally grossed out. The place stunk and paper towels overflowed from the receptacle and littered the floor. Bad enough I peed on concrete at the beginning of this wolf fiasco, but now I was probably sliding all over it. Perhaps karma had come full circle.
Ali closed the door. She was wearing a t-shirt and underwear but no pants. “Hurry, into the stall.”
She locked the door to the stall and sat on the toilet, than hoisted me up. My paws overlapped her shoulders and my hind quarters kept slipping.
“Shh...try not to move.”
I chuffed. It was as close as I could come to an answer when we were in hiding.
As predicted the door burst open a minute later. “Anyone in here?”
“I am.” Ali lowered her voice just that little bit. She sounded just like a ten-year old boy...good thing she wasn't wearing toe-nail polish.
“You seen a dog run through here?”
“Yes. He ran by the bathrooms before I came in.” I closed my eyes. It was so hard to stay perfectly still, but this moment was crucial.
“Thanks kid.” The door to the bathroom closed.
Sharing a bathroom stall, even with your best friend, is an awkward thing. When the questioner was long gone, Ali whispered, “I don't have any pants. I washed them after the park and when I was packing forgot to put them in.”
I giggled. Silently. Mostly it came out as me shaking with a few hiccups. Ali helped me down and unlocked the stall, then locked the door to the outside. That seemed the safest plan for now.
“I'm going to call Rob.”
What? I shook my head. Not Rob. There are a few things a boss shouldn't know about an employee. Unfortunately, Rob already knew most of those things. I really didn't need him to show up here and adding one more negative to the Jen-list. Especially when the only thing I didn't like about Rob was his moon trysts, which were apparently normal to the process of werewolf mating. And we were wet and not looking our best, although I did make a cute werewolf if I did say so myself.
Ali scrunched her hair up and squeezed as much water as she could out of it. With every word spoken as a whisper, she said, “Your grandma?”
I shook my head violently.
“Andrea?”
I shrugged, although it had not escaped my attention that all of the people Ali mentioned were in my family. But then she'd worn out her family already. The last big problem Ali asked for help on, her father said, You got yourself into this mess. You get yourself out.
My family it was. Ali dialed Andrea's number. Apparently it went to voicemail. Ali said, “Hey, it's Ali. Can you call me as soon as you get this message?”
Some people are tied at the hip to their phones. Andrea's not that type. She'd as likely leave her cell on the kitchen table for a week before noticing it had lost its battery charge.
Ali called a few more of our friends, but no one was available. She mentioned Rob's name again. I thought about the time and how long we had until the park staff rotated through cleaning the bathrooms or circled back in the search. Finally reason took precedence over humiliation and I nodded.
“Thanks. I was starting to run out of options.”
She could have become a raccoon again, and we could have run out of here and changed in the car, but changing didn't lend itself to a speedy getaway.
“Rob?” If she wasn't trying to be quiet, she probably would have put the phone on speaker, so that my embarrassment could reach new heights.
“Can you bring a pair of jeans to the water park?” Ali twisted her hair around her finger in a sleek wet curl.
Rob mumbled something. There must have been water in my ear because I couldn't quite hear what he said. I shook my head to clear the water out of my fur and then sneezed.
“Uh-huh, that's the one.” Ali stepped back, wiping her neck and glaring at me. I gave her the toothy wolf grin.
“We're in the men's bathroom, the one near the concessions. The door's locked. Knock three times, then once, then three times. When I unlock the door, hold the pants out and I'll grab them, throw them on, then we need to sneak Jen out of the park.”
“What are you doing in the water park?” That time, I heard Rob.
“Long story. Please hurry. The park staff is looking for us.”
My haunches were tired but I remained standing. Even if my butt fur already slipped in the nastiness that was the bathroom, I had no desire to repeat the experience. Someone tried to open the door once. Ali yelled out, “I'm changing. Can you please use the other bathroom?”
“Open the door.” A gruff manly voice ordered.
“I'm sorry. I can't just now. It will be about ten minutes. There's another restroom just on the other side of the park. It's not far.”
I tilted my head in a quizzical Why did you say anything?
Ali said, “You can bet there's someone around here with keys. I don't want anyone finding the park staff until Rob gets here.”
So far, playing in the slides was well-worth hiding out in a smelly bathroom. But the wait was interminable. I know Rob's not a slow driver. I've ridden with him. He must have hit every red light on the road.
Ali was feeling the same thing. At least twice she said, “I wish he'd get here.”
Finally the tell-tale magical knock. Three-One-Three sounded on the door. Ali unlocked the door and a very large hand, one I was familiar with thrust a pair of my sweats through the door. Ali threw them on in lightening speed.
She opened the door a crack and hissed, “Rob, come in here.”
Looking bewildered, Rob slid through the door, locking it behind him. “The park's back to normal. Everyone's talking about the excitement about the raccoon and the dog, but they've stopped searching. How are we going to get Jen out?”
“Here's my plan. We open the door and Jen makes a run for it, out of the gate. If she's not followed she jumps into my trunk. If she is, then she runs out of the parking lot and down the street to the corner with that bus stop. We leisurely stroll to the cars. If Jen hopped in great, if not I'll pick her up on the way out.
Rob's eyebrow twitched slightly. “Fine. We'll meet at my house.”
Ali shivered, “I need a hot bath first. Can we get dressed in real clothes and then come over?”
I watched the two bouncing conversation back and forth like a ping pong ball and waited for Rob to show some sign of annoyance or displeasure. What I didn't expect was for him to chuckle as Ali stepped out to take point. A few seconds later, she rapped on the door and I wa
s off and running.
Turns out the staff, while not on high alert, was still watching for me. One look over my shoulder revealed three men on the chase. I exited the gates, jumping over the turn styles because some enterprising soul had blocked the entrance with cardboard, as if that would stop a wolf. It was probably a major pain for the patrons as well, because the attendant had to remove the cardboard every time someone left. Then I fled into the parking lot.
Ali's car was not an option. Too many people not only watched me leave, but decided to follow along and see where I went. So I ran straight out of the parking lot and down the street as planned. I could still smell the bathroom though, and looked forward to a bath, preferably with rose soap.
Sitting near the bus bench, I felt content. Adventure complete without major mishap and the chase over. The euphoria of exercise was starting to kick in, and I was feeling good.
Rob pulled into the bus parking zone and opened his passenger door. “Hop in.”
I probably wouldn't get a better pickup line from him. Well, our plans had gone sour enough times, Ali would understand. I leapt into the pickup, staying on the floor because I was wet and gross.
He was driving his backup car, which was a beat-up truck that no real estate agent would drive anywhere near a client; however, as Rob once explained, it's great for off-road adventures and moving.
I refused to walk into his house having slidden through the water in a public restroom. Instead I went to the hose and sat next to the spigot. “Just a second.” Rob threw on his grubby clothes.
He turned the hose on in the front first and hosed me off. I mimed to him flea shampoo by flicking my paw on my ear.
“You want me to be careful of your ears?” Rob asked, his head tilted.
I shook my head and then nibbled at my fur the way an animal does to get something uncomfortable out.
Rob just stared at me and shrugged.
Words would sure be useful at this point. I put my head down and then rubbed my paws over the top, as if I were washing my hair.
“Shampoo!” Rob said.
I nodded.
By the time my fur was scrubbed and polished, soaked and rinsed, Ali drove up. She smelled like she'd taken a shower, even if she hadn't gotten the soak in.
“Playing dirty, Rob?” Ali said.
“I'm the rescuer, I make the rules.” Rob crossed his arms which really showed off his arms and shoulders.
“You didn't warn me.” Ali teased.
“And let you squeal in front of me and steal the moment?” Rob asked.
I was confused that it was a moment. I was wet and scraggly, chased out of a place I didn't belong, and I smelled of a guy's bathroom, an indescribable scent made only worse by the wolf-powered nose. But Rob thought it was a moment. I grinned.
Ali followed us inside, and we finalized plans for the next day. When Rob went to the bathroom, she snuck the collar back on me. I could have gone another year without seeing the thing again.
Tyler was coming to Rob's house instead of the park on Saturday. One more day and I would be a woman again. I'd see myself in the mirror again. I had no idea how much I would miss my own body when I put on that amulet and wished my body away. Now, I was grateful to be getting it back again. One more day.
I dried off inside on the furnace register. The hot air was just a bit too toasty with my fur, and I turned every now and then to get a new side. Ali, Rob, and I shared dinner while Ali recounted our adventures at the water park.
Somehow I thought he'd react the way my family would, with disapproval and a frown. He surprised me with his laughter and avid curiosity. I swear he envied us. I guess from a distant perspective we must seem like rebels. We're more like immature children, were-folk who haven't had the decency to grow up. That's my family talking, not just Grandma either. Mom and Dad's lectures ran along those same lines.
The evening felt like magic to me. I fell asleep on the doggy-bed excited for the next day.
Chapter 23
Tyler arrived a few minutes before eleven o'clock. He and Rob chatted about werewolf things. Rob invited him to breakfast and while we ate, Tyler asked all kinds of questions a parent would normally have long answered. Not that Tyler was without knowledge. A few of his werewolf friends at school filled him in on most of it.
I could barely eat. Finally, I would be free! This inability to shift between human and mouse really hampered my enjoyment of life, except for the water park. That was great.
But there were other problems. For example, Rob never eats sweets. And it's so much trouble to spell out chocolate cookie only to have him spend an hour explaining why werewolves in wolf form shouldn't eat chocolate.
I didn't made puppy eyes or whine to change his mind. It occurred to me that even if I convinced him that cookies were an absolute necessity, he'd just drive to the nearest grocery store and buy packaged cookies. Ali and I make our own cookies with the freshest of ingredients.
I'd had some good times as a wolf, don't get me wrong, but I was anxious to get back to human form. So while I pushed sausage around with my nose, Rob explained pack life and invited Tyler to the half-moon barbecue for his own pack.
And then it was time. My heart sped while I danced on my paws waiting. Rob mistook my eagerness, “Jen, do you have to go outside?”
No—I just wanted this over.
Rob unbuckled the collar and handed it to Tyler. The collar remained in collar form as it had before. I wondered if it had anything to do with the mojo bag, which may or may not have worked. We didn't exactly have any problems when I took it off to slide at the water park.
“Put it on and take your wolf back.” Rob said.
Tyler nodded and gently grasped the collar. A haze of light swirled around Tyler, and he laughed as the change took him and said, “I'm back.” And then he was a wolf for just a moment and then, like the others, came back to human. The collar disappeared in a haze of light and in Tyler's hand was the amulet. He handed it back to Rob his face lit with a bright enthusiasm we hadn't seen before.
“Thanks. I can't thank you enough.”
Rob congratulated him and we waited. Nothing happened. I put my face on my paws. If three cats died to make the amulet, maybe the magic still trapped me somehow. It's rather embarrassing to admit, but I whined a little, just a teeny whine barely noticeable, but enough to make a point of my distress.
“We'll figure it out Jen. Don't worry.” Rob said, and I would have felt better, except he looked extremely worried. His brow hardly ever has worry furrows, he's just not the type. But here he is with a crinkled up forehead telling me not to worry.
Still I was glad when Tyler left and Rob scratched my ears, “I won't be able to scratch your ears when you're human. There are a few decent things about being a wolf.”
I didn't dispute that, but I'm sure I could manage without an ear scratch once I became human again.
“Ali promised to show us the trap today. Are you still up for it?” Rob tucked the amulet in his briefcase. I couldn't stand to have it near my throat anymore. I hated the thing with a passion.
Rob wasn't being inconsiderate of my feelings. Having wolf traps set in a park designed for werewolves is a huge deal. All of the packs in the area planned to send as many helpers as possible
Werewolf packs are like church groups. When the clarion call goes out, help appears en masse. Over one hundred people were milling about the park when we arrived. Unfortunately, a few of them wanted to pet me.
I growled and bared my fangs, and Rob warned them off. He didn't tell them I was his office assistant. And I was grateful for that. There were a few stories I would never live down if the truth got out. This was one of them.
Although many of the folk who turned out to help were wolves and could only change at the full moon, a small group of other were-animals arrived. When a were-hound appeared, Rob pointed him out to me.
“That's Jose Sanchez.
If anyone can track the trapper today, he can.” Jose stood with a group of werewolves in human form. He wagged his tail just like a normal dog. Funny how we seem to take on the characteristics of our animal cousins.
An older gentleman with white hair, a clipboard, and a bullhorn called for attention. In an instant, the crowd hushed. He called for the trackers first.
“That's us.” Rob said. I'd missed Ali in the crowd because she was already in raccoon form. It's not as easy to see or even smell when a hundred people are milling about. Many of the tracker group had already taken their animal form.
“This raccoon here will lead you to the first trap. She marked a few spots on the way with cinnamon. If you smell it, you're on the right track.”
Ali chittered and stood on two legs to get a good view of her team. With a nod, she skittered toward the woods. The crowd of animals started after her. Ali and the group in fur didn't wait for those still in human form. They needed to get to the location and start tracking the hunter before the trap clearers went in.
I stayed with Rob and heard some of what was happening with the remaining crowd. The pack leader gave a speech then started calling out pack names and sectors.
By the time Rob and I arrived at the point of my trapping with the other humans, the hound had already bayed a find.
Moon Struck: When Were & Howl Book 1 Page 22