18
Red Light
Tim’s father swung the steering wheel. The green diving mask and the flowerpot made him look very unusual, a bit like an alien pilot.
‘Faster, William,’ said Mum. ‘Noura’s not wasting any time. Where is she now?’
‘There she is,’ Tim shouted. ‘On that road on the other side of the field.’
Like a black shadow, Noura ran on in the moonlight, stopping now and then to stick her nose in the air and sniff, then running on again.
Dad jerked the steering wheel.
‘What are you doing?’ Mum cried.
‘I’m taking a short cut, otherwise we’ll lose her.’ Dad raced up on to the pavement, sideswiping a planter box and destroying a rubbish bin.
‘Watch out for the lamppost!’ screamed Tim.
Crack! The right wing mirror snapped off.
Another tug on the wheel and they were driving over the field. Mum and Tim bounced on their seats. The field was rough and very bumpy.
‘There she goes!’ shouted Tim. ‘Ow!’
His head banged on the roof of the car. So did Mum’s.
‘Glad I’m wearing a flowerpot,’ Dad mumbled.
He pulled on the steering wheel again and tore right across the field. Soon he was on the road on the other side.
Noura was a distant dot running down the middle of the road. Cars beeped furiously, but Noura ignored them. She reached a crossroads with traffic lights and ran straight through the amber light without stopping. Angry drivers wound down their windows to shout at her. ‘Stupid dog. Where’s its owner?’
‘Faster, Dad,’ Tim cried. ‘It’s almost red.’
Dad had his foot to the floor, but the traffic light turned red. There was a police car on the other side of the intersection and Dad had no choice but to slam on the brakes.
‘Drat!’ He wiped the glass of his diving mask clean. In the distance Noura kept running.
‘Hurry up, hurry up,’ Tim mumbled. ‘Change to green, why don’t you?’ He wrung his hands and drummed his feet. The light was still red. Slowly the police car came driving up from the other side of the intersection and stopped next to Dad’s car. The policeman wound down his window, gesturing for Dad to do the same.
‘You have a flowerpot on your head,’ the policeman said. ‘Did you know that?’
The light turned green, but the policeman wouldn’t drive on.
‘Of course I know that,’ Dad said, raising his diving mask. ‘Sometimes I wear a tea cosy, sometimes it’s a flowerpot. That’s not against the law, is it?’
The policeman shook his head. ‘No, but it is a bit potty!’ He smiled and waited for a moment. ‘A bit potty … get it?’
But Dad didn’t laugh. ‘May I drive on now, officer? I don’t have time for corny jokes. We’re running late as it is.’
Behind them cars started to beep.
‘OK, drive on,’ the policeman said gruffly. ‘But not as fast as you just drove up. I saw that, buddy. Don’t forget.’
Dad nodded, wound up the window and tore off.
‘William, he said not so fast.’
‘I was doing fifty-five a minute ago,’ Dad replied. ‘Now it’s just over fifty, so I’m doing what he said.’
They drove on until they came to a T-junction where they could turn right or left.
‘Oh, no!’ Dad pulled over to the side of the road.
‘What are you doing, William?’ Mum asked.
Dad shook his head. ‘I don’t know which way Noura went. We’ve lost her!’
19
Traitor
‘Don’t move, werewolf. I’ve got silver bullets in this gun. They’re fatal for werewolves, so they can definitely kill a werewolf cub!’
The Scoffle gave a shrill shriek, but Uncle Seb ignored it. Slowly he walked up to Alfie. ‘Back into your cage, wolf, or I’ll shoot a hole right through you.’
Alfie’s ears lay flat against his head. He took slow backward steps. Valentine pressed his face against the bars and sniggered.
‘You traitor,’ whispered Alfie. ‘What did you do that for? I was going to help you escape too.’
‘Yeah, sure!’ hissed Valentine. ‘A werewolf who helps a vampire? That’ll be the day. But it’s not your day today, chump. You’ve had it now, but I’ll be free, you’ll see. Silvertooth will be very grateful.’
Alfie shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’
Uncle Seb came closer. He pointed at the cage with his gun. ‘Go on, into your cage, wolf. And no more funny stuff.’
Alfie looked around quickly.
Maybe, he thought, if I run really fast.
Uncle Seb grinned, moonlight splashing on his silver teeth. ‘I wouldn’t try it, wolf. You’re fast, but my bullets are faster. Within three seconds you’d be a sieve. And that would be a shame because Dr Cutter prefers his werewolves undamaged, without any holes in them. He likes to make his own holes.’
Uncle Seb sniggered.
Alfie hung his head.
Then he growled and leapt at Uncle Seb, taking him by surprise. He was as fast as lightning, his claws flashing in the moonlight. Uncle Seb dropped his gun in fright, but Alfie bumped into something. It was as if Uncle Seb was surrounded by an invisible wall. Dazed, Alfie fell to the ground.
Uncle Seb looked at him and smiled, then opened his coat to reveal silver necklaces, silver belts and silver buttons. ‘You little twerp. Do you think you can resist this? There’s not a werewolf born that can touch me. I’m protected by silver. Now, get into your cage!’
Defeated, Alfie crawled back into the cage. The chicken fluttered out quickly and ran off cackling.
Uncle Seb closed the door, this time locking it. ‘Too bad about the chicken, wolf. You’ll just have to go to bed without any supper.’ He sniggered again.
Alfie growled. Inside he was furious at himself. And he was furious with Valentine, the traitor. Why was I so stupid? he thought. Why did I want to free him too? He’s not worth it. He’s just a good-for-nothing vampire.
Valentine coughed. ‘Um, Mr Silvertooth?’ His voice was as sweet as honey.
Uncle Seb turned around. ‘What do you want, bloodsucker?’
Valentine rubbed his pale hands together nervously. ‘Well, I thought … I thought, seeing as I warned you … about the werewolf escaping and that … I thought maybe you might want to let me go … Now, I mean … OK?’
Uncle Seb scratched his head. ‘So you thought that, did you? Oh, hmm, I’ll have to think about it. Maybe you’re right. You did do me a favour.’ He lay a finger against his nose thoughtfully.
Two seconds later he looked at Valentine. ‘No, I don’t think so. I’d rather keep you here. The collectors will be arriving soon. I mustn’t disappoint them.’
Valentine’s face turned pale green. ‘But I helped you. Otherwise you’d have lost the werewolf.’
Uncle Seb smiled. It was a vicious smile full of malice and gleaming silver. ‘You’re absolutely right. Thanks for your help.’ Then Uncle Seb walked back to his shack.
Valentine stuck his arms out through the bars, clawing the air with his fingers. ‘I want to get out of here! I don’t want to be stuffed! I’m only 200 years young. I have a whole undead life in front of me.’ He burst into tears.
Uncle Seb just went into his shack without a backward glance.
Alfie sat motionless in his cage. Valentine had betrayed him. Valentine was a nasty vampire who had made fun of him and called him a werewimp. But Alfie still felt sorry for him.
‘Don’t cry, Valentine,’ Alfie growled. ‘We have to think this through. There must be a way to escape.’
Valentine wiped away his tears. ‘Escape? How? We don’t have any keys. We’ll never get out of here.’
‘My friend Tim will think of something,’ said Alfie.
‘Wow, have you got a friend?’ Valentine asked. ‘I wish I did. I don’t think I’ve ever had a friend. Everyone’s too scared I’ll bite them. Life’s not fair.’
Once
again tears appeared in Valentine’s eyes. He crawled off into the darkest corner of his cage and sat there sniffling.
Alfie didn’t pay him any more attention. Tim is really smart, he thought. He’ll be sure to come looking for me. He knows I would have phoned home, but I haven’t. He’ll definitely be worried. Maybe …
But suddenly Alfie hung his head. Tim doesn’t have a clue where I am. Nobody does. I don’t even know myself. And I’m not smart enough to think up a good plan. I’m just a stupid werewimp.
He sat down despondently and peered for a long time at the bushes around the cages.
Was that something moving?
No, it can’t be, thought Alfie, but for a moment there …
He rubbed his eyes with his white forepaws and wiped his tears away. Then he looked again.
It was true. Something was moving in the bushes. There was someone there.
20
What Now?
Tim and his parents sat in the car feeling miserable. Noura was nowhere in sight. Dad scratched his head under his flowerpot. He pushed the diving mask up to his forehead.
‘What now? Noura forgot all about us, of course. She’s tracking Alfie and that’s all she thought about. Werewolves are like that. They follow their instinct and forget the rest.’ Dad sighed. ‘It must be amazing!’
Tim bounced up and down impatiently on the back seat. ‘We can’t just sit here dreaming, Dad. If we drive fast we might catch up with Noura.’
Mum shook her head. ‘But if we head in the wrong direction we’ll lose her completely. We’re better off waiting. Maybe Noura will retrace her steps when she finds out she’s lost us.’
Dad sighed again. ‘What am I supposed to do now? I don’t know what to do.’
‘I do,’ Mum blurted. ‘I’m going to call Noura’s parents. Give me your mobile, William.’
Surprised, Dad gave Mum his mobile phone. ‘Do you think Noura’s parents know where she is now?’
Mum shook her head as she typed in the number. ‘Of course not, silly. That’s the point. They don’t know where Noura is.’ She held the phone up to her cheek. ‘Hi, this is Alfie’s mother … Yes, that’s right. Noura is here at our house, that’s what I’m calling about. They’re having such fun together. Is it all right with you if Noura stays over tonight? … Yes, of course, we’d love to have her. OK, then … Yes, bye.’
Mum handed the phone back with a sigh. ‘There. That was a bit of a fib, but it was for their own good. Now they at least won’t be worried. All we have to do is get Noura and Alfie back and then everything will be fine.’
Tim didn’t answer. When his mother put it like that it sounded simple. But what if they never saw Alfie again? It was a terrible thought and Tim quickly put it out of his mind.
He pressed his nose up against the window and saw two figures running down the middle of the road in the darkness. One was wearing a big cap and the other had a hat on, and the two figures were roped together.
They were definitely no ordinary joggers. The front one made strange, gigantic leaps, stopping now and then to sniff the air, then running on. The one at the back obviously found it hard to keep up and was almost being dragged along behind the other one.
Tim’s eyes widened and he started panting with excitement. The window steamed up immediately and he couldn’t see a thing. Quickly he wiped the glass clean. The two figures were close now. Tim leapt with joy, banging his head on the roof of the car again.
‘Tim, what’s got into you?’ Mum said. ‘You’re acting as weird as your dad.’
But Tim was beside himself. ‘Look, Mum, Dad! There! Grandpa Werewolf and Leo!’
21
Saved!
Alfie saw brown eyes with golden speckles. Pointy black ears and a black wolf’s muzzle. He almost leapt with excitement. A small black werewolf was sitting in the bushes, with just her head sticking up over the leaves. She stuck her snout in the air, looked left, looked right and then looked straight ahead at Alfie’s cage.
Alfie could hardly believe it. Noura was sitting over there in the bushes, less than twenty metres away from him. How did she get there? Or was it someone else?
Again he rubbed his eyes with his forepaws. When he looked back, Noura was still there. She waved.
I’m saved, thought Alfie. Noura has come to rescue me. But he didn’t dare call out. He glanced over at Uncle Seb’s shack. It was dark and there was no movement. Suddenly his joy turned to fear.
Wait a second, he thought. Noura can’t free me. She doesn’t have a key. Her being here is actually horribly dangerous. Uncle Seb mustn’t see her, otherwise he’ll lock her up too.
Alfie gestured with a paw, ‘Go away, run away.’
But Noura didn’t understand and waved back cheerfully.
‘Oh, no,’ Alfie groaned softly. ‘Go away now, please, Noura.’
‘Who are you talking to, werewolf?’ Valentine’s pale face appeared behind his bars. ‘What’s going on?’
Alfie just pointed.
Valentine squinted and peered. ‘What’s that I see? Another werewolf?’
Alfie nodded. ‘That’s Noura, my girlfriend.’
‘Wow!’ said Valentine in a jealous voice. ‘You’ve got a girlfriend too?’ He sounded like he might start crying again. ‘And I don’t have anyone at all. Nobody likes me.’
I’m not surprised, thought Alfie, but it was still sad, someone not having a single friend.
‘Please don’t betray her, Valentine. Otherwise Silvertooth will catch her too.’
The vampire nodded. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t say a word to Silvertooth. I’ll be as quiet as a bat. Even if I don’t think it’s fair that you have a girlfriend and I don’t.’
Silently they stared at Noura.
‘What’s she doing here?’ whispered Valentine.
Alfie looked back at Silvertooth’s shack, where the windows were still dark. Noura crept closer, hiding behind the next bush.
‘I think she wants to set me free.’
Valentine sighed. ‘Oh, that must be so fantastic. So ultra-romantic. A girlfriend risking her life to rescue you.’
Alfie gritted his teeth. ‘It’s not fantastic at all. It’s just stupid. It’s way too dangerous here. If Silvertooth catches her, he’ll stick her in a cage too. I have to chase her off.’
Cautiously Noura emerged from the bushes.
‘What can I do?’ Alfie groaned. ‘How do I get her out of here in a hurry?’
‘Easy enough,’ whispered Valentine. ‘Call her names. Be mean. That’s what I always do. It gets rid of anyone.’
‘You sure?’ Alfie asked.
Valentine nodded. ‘Be mean and nasty to her, she’ll be gone in no time.’
Alfie hesitated. He didn’t like to be mean to people, but he had no time to come up with another plan.
On all fours, Noura crept over to Alfie’s cage. ‘Hi, Alfie.’ She stood up and laid her forepaws between the bars. ‘I’m so glad I’ve found you.’
‘I’m not,’ growled Alfie. ‘Go away, Noura.’
22
Grandpa and Leo
Tim and his parents leapt out of the car.
‘Grandpa Werewolf!’ Tim called.
The figure with the hat looked at him with surprise. The other one was a big fellow, dressed in a cap and a long raincoat. His paws were covered in mud and the tip of a tail was sticking out from under his coat. He had a wolf’s muzzle, just like Grandpa.
‘Tim?’ Grandpa Werewolf pulled on the rope. ‘Whoa, Leo. Stop for a sec, calm down.’
Dad hurried over to Grandpa Werewolf, looking at Leo with awe. Leo was a whopper of a werewolf, at least twice as big as Alfie. Grandpa Werewolf looked tiny beside him.
‘Hi, Grandpa. Hi, Leo. Wow, you’re even bigger than last time,’ Dad said.
Like Alfie, Leo was one of Grandpa Werewolf’s grandsons. He lived in the wild and had an unusual way of talking. He looked like a brutal, bloodthirsty beast, but he was quite nice once you got to know him.
Grandpa Werewolf raised his eyebrows at the sight of the flowerpot, diving mask and fur coat. ‘Um, yeah, I was wondering where you’d got to. Fortunately I was able to find Leo quite quickly. He’d already changed into a wolf so I lent him a raincoat and a cap.’
‘Have you found Alfie’s track?’ asked Dad.
Grandpa Werewolf nodded. ‘We went to your house, but you’d already left so we started track tracing straightaway.’
‘And that rope?’ asked Mum.
Grandpa grimaced. ‘I’m not that fast any more. I can’t keep up with Leo without it.’
The big wolf growled. ‘Let’s be on our wayses, Grandpa. Leo’s smelling little werewolf all loud-and-clearsy. Not that little werewolf has BOs or any stink like that.’
Grandpa Werewolf nodded. He was still panting from running so much. Beads of sweat gleamed on his snout.
‘What are you doing here anyway?’
Quickly, Dad explained what had happened.
‘Ah, of course,’ said Grandpa softly. ‘Noura is a track tracer too. I didn’t think of her.’
Tim couldn’t bear it any longer. ‘Can we get going? Grandpa Werewolf can come in the car.’
Mum nodded. ‘Good idea. Come on, Grandpa. Someone your age shouldn’t be running behind youngsters with a rope around his waist.’ She undid the knot.
‘I agree,’ said Tim’s father.
‘That’s more up my husband’s street,’ Mum continued. ‘He loves doing unusual things.’
‘Exactly!’ said Dad. ‘I mean … huh?’
Mum tied the rope around Dad’s stomach. ‘Come on, William. If we lose Leo, we’ll never find Alfie. So you have to keep your eye on him. And anyway, a bit of running is good for your belly. You could do with losing a few pounds. I’ll drive. Grandpa, Tim, get into the car. Leo, seek Alfie!’
Alfie the Werewolf 3: Silvertooth Page 4