Hungry Like The Wolf
By: Bay, 6th grade
Were-wolf; [wair-woo-lf] -noun, plural: werewolves- a human being who has changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, while retaining human intelligence. Origin: While the ‘wolf’ part of ‘werewolf’ is English, the ‘were’ is not. ‘Werewulf’ occurs only once in Old English, in about the year 1000. ‘Were’ means man, and wolf means ‘wolf’. The combination proves to become ‘Man-wolf’.
“Malcolm!” Trinity cried. She wiped half-melted marshmallow off of her new yellow and white polka-dot top. Her friend, Malcolm chuckled. “Oh, come on, Rufus!” She joked, using the pet nickname for Trinity she had made up in 2nd grade. “It’s just a little marshmallow, it won’t hurt!” “Oh, but my fist will when it hits your face for ruining this shirt that cost 19.99!” Trinity screeched, and began to chase Malcolm around the campfire. They had camped out here for Halloween to be able to get away from Malcolm’s annoying younger twin brothers, and now Trinity was wishing they had never came. She tackled her friend, who began to giggle like a madman. Trinity sighed at Malcolm’s giggle fit, and asked, “What is it?” “Nothing…” Malcolm choked out. “It’s just that the marshmallow stain on your top looks like a hot dog!” She sputtered, and began to smack the dirt. “That’s not funny…”
“Oh, but it is! It’s, I mean, come on! A hot dog?!” Malcolm choked out. Trinity growled quietly, her eyes appearing yellow in the dim light of the campfire. “Stop giggling right now… Rachel!” Trinity taunted, using the oh-so-dreaded name of her friend. “Haha- wait, did you just call me Rachel?” Malcolm said, picking herself up off the ground. “Yeah… Rachel.” “You know I hate my real name! You also know I like the name ‘Malcolm’ better!”
Trinity was the one cracking up now. “Seriously, Malcolm! Why do you hate your name!” “I just… do! It seems too… girly!” She gave a small gag, and pretended to stick a finger down her throat. Trinity smiled. She and Malcolm were complete opposites, yet best friends. Trinity liked shopping, Malcolm liked skateboarding. Trinity liked purses, Malcolm preferred messenger bags. Trinity wore heels, Malcolm wore Chuck Taylors. But, in Kindergarten, when the other girls wouldn’t play with ‘Rachel’ because she liked the name Malcolm and wore black, Trinity walked on over and invited her to play with the puppet theater. And, that day, Trinity had re-enacted ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ with her as the Wolf, and Malcolm as Red and her grandmother. They had been best friends ever since.
“Come on, it isn’t girly. It’s cool!” “No it isn’t, Malcolm is a cool name!” Trinity scoffed at this remark. “As if! Trinity is the coolest name ever!” She pretended to be angry. Malcolm laughed, and stuck a marshmallow on the end of her roasting stick. “Rufus is better than Trinity.” The red-head gave a fake snarl, and threw a pebble at Malcolm’s head. The girls began to laugh, and resumed roasting their marshmallows. Trinity took a swig of the Thermos of hot chocolate they had brought, and offered some to Malcolm. She eagerly grabbed the Thermos and chugged down the warm, chocolaty drink. “Sheesh, Malcolm, don’t drink it all!” The brunette stopped in her intake of the hot chocolate, and wiped a trickle of milk from her chin. “Well, I’m cold!” “You’re wearing a hoody! I’m in a tank top!” Trinity said, clutching her arms. “Fine, here’s the rest.” Malcolm said, tossing the spare Thermos at Trinity.
The redhead snatched the flask, and drank the hot chocolate. It was creamy and hot, and very sugary. Hot chocolate was her favorite warming drink, well, besides coffee. After about a minute, Trinity set the half-empty Thermos down on the ground. “Oh great, now I have to go to the bathroom!” Malcolm laughed, half-choking on her marshmallow. “Serves you right for not bringing a sweater!” Trinity frowned, and walked into the woods. She hated going to the bathroom in the woods… it was so creepy. The section Malcolm designated for this purpose just had to be in a dark part of the woods. Trinity tiptoed through the brush, shivering in the cold October night. She glanced at her watch. It was 11:57. Nearly midnight… they should get to bed soon.
Suddenly, Trinity heard a rustle in the bushes. “Malcolm?” She asked. There was no response. “Malcolm… is that you?” She jumped. Two large, yellow eyes were staring at her from a bush, and there was a soft snarling in the air. Trinity began to shake violently. The eyes were unblinking… concentrated on its prey. Trinity screamed, but she was cut off as she felt fangs sinking into her leg. She bit her lip, expecting pain. But, nothing happened. She felt herself falling… she lost her sight and hearing, but as she disappeared into the darkness, she felt different. With a gasp of pain, she could feel her legs changing, soon her head and body. Before she knew it, she was a wolf. With a groan, she stood, and weakly stumbled into the woods.
“Trinity?!” Malcolm said, jumping up. She had heard Trinity scream. Malcolm rushed through the bushes, heading towards the source of the noise. But when she looked around the area, she saw nothing except a pool of blood on the ground. She began to shake, and rushed back to the campsite. She grabbed Trinity’s cell phone from her purse, and quickly dialed in 911. Rinnng… rinnng… “Hello, 911. What is your emergency?” “I would like to report a missing person.”
“This is the curse of the werewolf. If you are bitten by a werewolf, you are to become a wolf. If you do not succumb to the urge to kill for food in three days, you will return to your original form, but you shall become a wolf again every full moon. If you do kill something, you are to stay a wolf forever.” Those words rang through Trinity’s head. She had fallen asleep, and a voice had told her those laws. Kill nothing for three days, and you will return to your original form. That seemed easy enough. All she had to do was not eat anything for three days. She gave a wince as her stomach growled. This would be harder than she thought.
She wandered through the woods, carefully stepping over logs until remembering she was a wolf, not the prissy, high-heeled girl she was not 5 hours ago. Her pelt was a tawny grey, splattered with brown on her head and tail. Her paws were large, her fangs powerful and sharp. She looked to the sky, seeing a hawk fly overhead. What would Malcolm do? She was sure to have noticed Trinity’s scream… what would the city do? Come find her…? She was a wolf, and nobody went looking for a wolf…
“What was the girl’s name again?” “Trinity Meyers.” Malcolm rang off, her face covered in sweat. “What happened, exactly?” “We were out camping on Halloween, and I think around midnight Trinity went to go to the bathroom. About a minute later, I heard her scream. When I went to go investigate, she was gone… nothing but a puddle of blood on the ground…” Malcolm said quietly, her body shaking. “We will alert her parents. One of the officers will take you home.” Malcolm gave a small nod, clutching her shoulders. What had happened to Trinity?
The next day, Malcolm stood on the corner of Main Street and Lupine Lane, handing out flyers. They read:
Missing: Trinity Meyers
Age: 15
Height: 5’7
Appearance: Long red hair, green eyes, and tan skin.
If seen, please contact (132) 407-4892
“Have you seen this girl?” Malcolm asked any who passed by. “Have you seen this girl; please be on the lookout!” She soon ran out of flyers, and rushed down the street to her house. She opened the door, and jogged up the stairs. She grabbed a leash from her desk, and walked back down the stairs. She clipped the leash to the collar of her German shepherd, Melsey, and headed to the front door. “Mom, I’m taking Melse for a walk.” She called. “Okay, honey. Be careful.” Her mother called in response from the living room. Malcolm made her way to the forest, letting Melsey sniff around every so often. She walked towards the campsite where she and Trinity had stayed, and let Melsey smell the spot where Trinity had sat three nights ago when they were roasting marshmallows. “Smell her, boy? Well, go find her!” Malcolm said, and unclipped the leash. Melsey took off like a flash, sniffing the air for the familiar scent of Trinity. “Please find her, Melse…” Malcolm said, following the path of her dog.
Trinity gave a groan, collapsing on a pile of leaves. She was starving, having not eaten in three days. All she had to do was wait until midnight tonight, and then she would become human again. But her mind was clouded. The brain of the wolf had melded with her brain, causing her instincts to become scrambled. Her human mind told her to rest, and sleep. The wolf side of her brain ordered her to kill anything, just for food. Right now, the two sides were having a war. After about 10 painful minutes, the wolf side won. Trinity opened her yellow eyes, snarling quietly. She stood, and began to walk through the woods, her keen nose on the lookout for anything to kill. “Melse, wait up!” She heard someone call. She smiled grimly. Food. A German shepherd trotted up to her, sniffing the ground. With a yelp, he retreated a few feet back. “Melsey!” The prey called, and jogged up to the dog. “Melsey, what are you-“ She began, but cut off as she saw the wolf growling nearby. “Oh my God…” She whispered, and gripped Melsey’s collar tightly. She began to shake violently, her knees about to buckle. Trinity licked her chops, not caring what or who this prey was. It was prey, and that was what mattered.
“Melsey, attack it!” Malcolm cried, and Melsey jumped in front of her, growling. The wolf seemed to smile, and easily batted the smaller Melsey away with its large paw. Malcolm gave a small cry, and fell backwards. She held her hands out in front of her, and closed her eyes tightly. This was it… she would never find Trinity…
Trinity snarled, her large yellow eyes fixed on the quivering prey in front of her. She bared her fangs, and with one leap was upon it. She sunk her fangs into the vulnerable neck, relishing the adrenaline rush she got from killing something. Oh, it felt so good! Finally, something to eat! She tore into the fresh meat, eating her fill. The dog nearby had run off as soon as she had attacked. Trinity smiled grimly as she finished her kill. With an air of smug satisfaction, she took a few steps back, licking her red muzzle. Suddenly, she realized what she had done. Her human brain was dominant now. She had just killed Malcolm. Her best friend since kindergarten… was dead. And she had killed her with her own hands. She stared at the large collection of blood on the ground, and at the torn carcass of her friend. Tears stung her eyes. How could she have done this? Had hunger really pushed her over the edge? Why…? Why Malcolm? Trinity stepped away, looking to the red ground, blood dripping from her muzzle, mingling with the tears. She would be a wolf forever… but, yet, she would always be hungry.