"You fell asleep," I told her.
She sheepishly grinned and shrugged. "Guess it was a long hike."
I took a seat beside her on the edge of her bed. "And this day is going to get longer when I tell you we can't use the canoes tonight to get across the lake," I told her.
Susie frowned at me. "You said-"
I held up a hand. "I know what I said, but Scott knows what we were planning and he's promised the locks can't be picked."
Susie's mouth dropped open. "How'd he find that out? Can he read lips or something?"
I pursed my lips and shook my head. "No, worse. He's a-well, a-I think he might be a-" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This sounded ridiculous even in my head.
"Come on, Abby, you can tell me. I'll believe anything you say," Susie promised.
"He's a werewolf."
Susie stiffened and blinked at me. "Abby, you know how I just said I'd believe anything you say?"
I held up a hand. "I know, I know, it sounds insane. I sound insane, but I'm not, and it's not. He's a werewolf, and I. . .I think Nelson and he are trying to change us into werewolves."
Susie scooted back against the head of her bed and her eyes swept over me with raised eyebrows. "Abby, you're talking crazy. I should know."
"Just think about it for a minute," I pleaded. I raised my hand with my fingers open and counted them down. "Platt acting like an animal and going crazy in the kitchen-"
"She was just hungry."
"-that guy nearly tearing Linda apart-"
"Short temper."
"-the steak and wine they keep giving to us-"
"Just being nice."
"-the strange urge we have not to leave. Like we belong here and to them-"
"Love gives off some strange emotions."
"-and how I turned into a werewolf last night."
Susie opened her mouth, but her brain processed what I said. Her eyes bulged out and her mouth dropped farther open. "You what?" she questioned me.
I leaned towards her and stared her straight in the eyes. "I turned into a werewolf last night while-" I cringed. "While doing something with Scott."
Her eyes got bigger. "You and Scott have been doing it and you didn't tell me?"
I tilted my head to one side and my face twisted into disbelief. "I just told you I turned into a werewolf, and you're mad at me for not telling you about my sexual life?"
"That's important!" she insisted.
"Not as important as me turning into a werewolf!" I argued.
Susie slipped her back onto her pillows and frowned. "Well, maybe you just hallucinated about the werewolf thing."
I shook my head. "No, these things are too real. Believe me."
She folded her arms across her chest and turned her head away. "Believe somebody who wouldn't even tell me who she was dating. . ."
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her until I heard the marbles in her head rattle. "Listen to me! We're turning into werewolves and if we don't find out soon how to stop it we're going to be cursed! No more nights on the town during the full moon, no adopting a dog, no nothing. Got it?"
Susie furrowed her brow and tapped her chin. "Well, I guess as long as we don't get fleas I can be fine with that."
I growled, turned away from her and threw up my arms. "You're impossible!"
I started when a hand fell on my shoulder. I turned and found Susie staring at me with the most serious expression I'd ever seen. "I believe you."
I blinked at her. "You do?"
She nodded. "I. . .I've been having some strange urges to go outside at night, too. I think I wanted to go find Dan and have some fun with him."
"How did you fight it?" I asked her.
She sheepishly grinned at me. "I always fell asleep."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course."
She gave me a gentle shake. "Just because I haven't managed to have as much fun with Dan as you have with Scott doesn't mean I don't understand. We're in this together. Never forget that."
I clasped her hand in mine and smiled at her. "Thanks for believing me, even after I haven't been telling you everything."
Susie's mischievous grin slipped onto her lips. "Hey, just because I believe you doesn't mean I've forgiven you. You still owe me some juicy details about what you two have been up to."
"Even the part where we turned into werewolves?" I teased.
"You can leave that part out."
I sighed and shook my head. "But not right now. Right now that's the most important part, and I think that's what was happening to Platt when we caught her in the kitchen."
"No wonder she wanted to take a swipe at us," Susie mused.
"And why Linda didn't want us to get swiped. In folklore the scratch or bite of a werewolf passes on the curse," I told her.
"Must be tough donating blood."
"I'd say it would be-" I froze when a memory intruded my thoughts. The wine, it had an unusual flavor, almost like—
I clasped my hand over my mouth and tried to tamp down my gag reflex. Susie noticed the color drain from my face. "You okay? You don't look so good. Food upset your stomach?"
The mention of food finished off my last shred of control. I broke from Susie and hurried to the bathroom. In a few moments I was worshiping the porcelain goddess. Susie hurried after me, but took one look at me and backed out.
"I'll just wait outside," she told me.
A few minutes later I emerged a few pounds lighter and a little wiser, though the wisdom was terrible. I leaned against the bathroom door frame and stared at my worried friend who stood nearby. "We might. . .have a. . .problem," I told her.
"Yeah, you just lost some perfectly good food," she quipped.
I shook my head. "It's not my food I'm worried about, it's yours."
She tilted her head to one side and frowned. "My food? My food tastes just fine."
"Doesn't that steak have a bit of a strange flavor?" I persisted.
She furrowed her brow and tapped her chin. "Now that you think of it, it does have a strange taste every now and then. Kind of-I don't know-"
"Kind of rusty?" I suggested.
She nodded. "Yeah, like that, but not like the beef-blood rusty flavor you get. It's more like when you bite the inside of your mouth."
"Like human blood? Or maybe human-werewolf blood?" I asked her.
Her eyes grew wide and the color drained from her face. She pushed me aside and raced into the bathroom. In a moment I heard the all-too-familiar sounds of retching. I shuffled to her bed and plopped down. In a few minutes Susie reappeared at the door holding her stomach in one hand.
"Abby?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you tell me what I thought you told me?"
"That we've been put on a steady diet of the blood from Dan and Scott? Yeah, I am."
Susie cringed and doubled over. "That's what I was afraid of." She spun around and resumed her worship of the porcelain goddess. I lay my back on the bed, and in a few moments Susie crawled onto the bed and lay down beside me. "This changes everything. . ." she muttered.
"Yeah, becoming a werewolf does that," I agreed.
"No, I meant for the food. How am I supposed to tell what's good and what's got a healthy dose of Dan blood?"
I rolled my eyes. "Do you ever get your priorities straight?"
Susie sat up and grimaced. "You know I don't, but I think we both know we have to get over to the other side of that lake and find I don't know. Something that'll make them stop giving us this stuff."
"Or maybe a cure," I suggested.
"Yeah, that'd be good, too. You think everybody at the Garden knows the owners are werewolves?"
I snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if everyone who worked at the Garden wasn't a werewolf, and their curse wasn't the source of this miracle cure to old age."
"And here I thought the hair of the dog only worked on alcohol. . ." Susie murmured.
"Whatever it is we have to find it," I insisted. I sat up and glanced out th
e window. "Tonight we sneak out and, heaven, hell, or a werewolf, we find out what's over there."
Chapter 6
The rest of the day was consumed by worry and planning with intervals of normality. Those were provided by Linda, though I suspected she was one of the creatures. She returned to our small abode shortly after our talk.
My eyes widened when I saw her shadow skip past the window. "Get back to sleep!" I hissed at my friend as I jumped into my own bed.
We were nice and tucked in when there came a knock on the door. I looked to Susie. She sat up and shrugged, so I got up and opened it.
Linda's face sported the widest grin I'd ever seen and she bounced on her heels. "I got it!"
I blinked at her. "You have what?"
"The date between Mr. Nelson and Susie! He said yes for tomorrow!" she squealed. Her exuberance was dampened when she glanced between our two faces. "What? What's wrong?"
I slapped a smile on my face and shook my head. "Nothing's wrong, we're just-um-"
"Tired from our nap and the hike," Susie spoke up. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "I think I still need a few hours more. Maybe the rest of the day. Any way we can get our food delivered to the cabin?"
Linda nodded. "Certainly. Did you want the usual steak with wine?"
Susie drooled out one end of her mouth. "Yes, please!" I shot her a deadly looked. She cringed and scratched the back of her head. "Um, I mean, could we have some chicken? I've been meaning to trying that."
"I'll have some chicken, too," I agreed.
"Then two chickens with the wine," Linda repeated.
"Without the wine," I corrected her.
Linda's face fell. "Is there something wrong with the wine?"
I shook my head. "No, I just don't have drink as often as I have been, so I'll just take some water."
"Ditto," Susie chimed in.
"All right, if that's what you want," Linda reluctantly agreed.
"Yes. So we'll see you later this evening?" I asked her.
She nodded at the front wall. "I'll be right here if you need anything."
My heart sank. "Thanks. . ." I muttered as I closed the door.
"Have a good sleep!" she called through the entrance.
I turned to Susie who shrugged and lay her head on her pillow. "Looks like it's nappy time for us."
"Don't get too comfortable," I warned her as I slipped into my bed. "We have things to do after dinner."
In a few minutes Susie's whistling snores echoed through the room. I lay awake a while longer thinking over how to get to the other side of the lake. I didn't find any answers before I, too, drifted off to sleep.
I was rudely awakened a few minutes prior to dinner. My shoulders were shook so hard my teeth rattled and my eyelids vibrated open. Above me was the grinning face of my best friend and soon-to-be murder victim.
Even with my eyes open she kept shaking me like I was a can of whip cream and she was desperate to cover her slice of pie. I knocked away her hands and sat up. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" I yelled at her.
Her grin didn't falter. "I have the perfect plan for tonight!" I leaned forward and clamped a hand over her mouth. My eyes flitted to the front wall. "Mmm mh mm," my friend mumbled through my hand.
I removed my hand and glared at her. "Mind repeating that?"
"I said she's not there. Linda, that is. I saw her walk away a few minutes ago to get our dinner," Susie told me.
"You should have told me that to begin with," I scolded her.
"I wanted to tell you my epic plan before I forgot it," she defended herself.
I rolled my eyes. "If it's an epic plan than you wouldn't forget it."
"Maybe it's so epic that I would forget it."
"Susie, spit it out."
She opened her mouth and froze. "Um, I think I forgot it." I thew my arms up, but her face brightened. "Wait! Wait! I remember! We can take the golf carts!"
My face drooped and I narrowed my eyes. "That's your brilliant plan?"
She shrugged. "It could work."
"Do you even know where the keys are?"
"Yeah. I overheard some of the other attendants mention they're hidden under the seats." She leaned back and put her fists on her hips. "But they didn't know ol' Susie is a snoop."
"And then what?" I asked her.
"Then we-um. . .then we-uh. . ." She frowned and her shoulders slumped. "Then we get to the other side of the lake somehow."
"'Somehow' is a little vague," I pointed out.
She frowned at me. "I don't have much to-" A shadow passed our window followed by the light rap of our attendant on our door.
"Abby? Susie? Are you awake?" Linda called.
"And starving!" Susie quipped. She hurried past me and opened the door.
Linda stood in the doorway with a large tray in her hands. The tray was covered by a dome, but I could still smell the sweet scent of cooked chicken. "Dinner time," she announced with a smile.
Linda stepped inside and set the tray on the table. Susie crowded her, and I admit I was famished. I'd never felt so hungry in my life, and the smell of the chicken drove me nearly mad with the hunger. Linda lifted the lid and showed off two whole Cornish hens.
"Did you need anything else?" Linda asked us.
"Only some time and a turkey carver," Susie quipped.
Linda pointed at the pair of sharp knives with the forks. "Those aren't quite as big but they are sharp, so be careful."
"Then we're all set," Susie replied.
Linda smiled and bowed her head. "I'll be outside when you're finished."
Linda left us alone with our dinner, and the moment the door closed behind her we jumped on the fowl food. Susie and I forsook the utensils and instead grabbed at body parts. We didn't even care if they were parts to two different birds. Everything was fair game, including pushing the other to the side in a mad game of bumper shoulders. When we had a handful we stuffed our faces.
I happened to glance at Susie as she gobbled down a thigh. Her face and hands were smeared with chicken grease, and pieces stuck out from her mouth. Gone was the fun-loving brown eyes, and in their places was a golden hue tinged with wildness. It was like looking in a mirror, and I didn't like what I saw. I leaned forward and coughed out the meat that filled my mouth. I tossed the legs onto the platter and grabbed a napkin to clean off the grease that covered me.
"Susie, you have to stop," I told my friend as I wiped my face. She kept gorging herself, heedless of what she was doing. I tore the thigh from her hands and she growled at me. "Listen to yourself!"
Susie started back. Her tongue flicked out and tasted the mass quantity of grease around her mouth. She looked down at herself and wrinkled her nose. "Did I get anything into my mouth?" she asked me.
"Somehow we both did, but I think we need to stop. This food might be-" I paused and jerked my head towards the window. Linda's silhouette stood behind the curtain.
Susie nodded. "Gotcha. Now what?"
I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. "I don't know about you, but I could go for another nap." Susie frowned until I gave a wink to her.
"Ooh!" she exclaimed. "Right, right, really sleepy. Remind me never to go hiking with your boyfriend again."
I scowled at her. "He's not my boyfriend."
Susie grinned and swept past me to the door. "Sure, whatever you say," she teased as she opened it. She stuck her head out and to the side. "We've done enough carnage. Could you take the food away?"
"Sure thing," Linda replied as she stepped inside. Her eyes widened when they fell on the chaos that lay on the plate. "You two must have been hungry."
"And now we're tired. We're going to hit the hay for the evening. Why don't you take the night off?" Susie suggested.
Linda picked up the tray and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but my orders are still the same. Stay here until you've fallen asleep."
"That's okay. We'll make sure to fall asleep quick so you can hit the hay yourself," Susie offered.<
br />
Linda smiled and bowed her head. "Thanks. Goodnight."
"'night," we replied.
Linda left with the platter and Susie jumped onto her bed. "Now what?"
I walked over to my bed and slipped beneath the covers. After the meal my body was energized and my mind was in a mild panic state I had a hard time suppressing. "Now we wait until dark and go get your golf cart."
Chapter 7
The hours passed slowly for us. We both played possum in our beds as night overtook day. The neighboring cabins hushed as their occupants settled down for a real sleep. Linda's shadow was an ever-present reminder to keep quiet, but at a quarter to eleven she disappeared from the window.
"Is it time yet?" Susie whined from her bed.
I leaned left and right to catch any view of Linda's shadow out the window, but there was nothing there. "I think so, but no talking unless you have to," I instructed her. We threw off our covers and tiptoed to the door. I leaned my ear against the entrance and listened. "I don't hear anything," I told Susie.
"Let me go first," she pleaded.
I frowned and held up my hand to silence her. Something outside had moved some gravel. "Wait a sec. I think there's somebody out there."
Susie leaned her ear above mine. "I don't hear anything."
I strained my ear. "I swear there was something there," I insisted.
"Maybe it was a squirrel," she suggested.
"It didn't sound like a squirrel."
Susie pushed off the door and grabbed the knob. "Let's go. Those golf carts won't power themselves, you know."
There came that gravely-moving noise again. "Wait!" I hissed, but it was too late.
Susie turned the knob and swung open the door. The door swung inward and presented us with a view of Linda, and not a very happy Linda. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a frown graced her lips.
"What are you two doing?" she questioned us.
The color drained from Susie's face. "Um, we were just-um, going to the bathroom."
"There's a bathroom inside your cabin," Linda reminded her.
"We wanted to-um, to go au natural. You know, be one with the woods," Susie explained.
Linda pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, I don't know, now please close your door and get back to sleep. For real this time."
Susie turned to me and firmed up her lower lip. There was a wild look in her eyes I didn't like. "Abby?"
I slowly shook my head. "Whatever you're planning, just-"
"Remember me and my sacrifice." Susie leapt forward and crashed into Linda. They both fell to the ground in a mess of legs and arms. Susie wrapped herself around Linda's legs and held them closed. "Run for it, Abby!" she yelled at me.