Read Online The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series) - Free Book Online

was not a human hand.”
    “I don’t know what makes sense!” I practically shouted. “But Dan being a werewolf sure doesn’t! You have been watching too many horror movies. Werewolves don’t exist.”
    “I know what I saw!” she shouted back.
    “Look,” I replied, calmly as she began to cry, “It’s pretty far out there, but maybe you're right. I know you wouldn't make it up.”
    I thought about what Lucy had said. I knew she wouldn't make something like that up, but people's eyes play tricks on them all of the time. It wouldn't help for me to point that out to her though. “He does act kind of . . . dog-like,” I offered.
    Lucy sat on my bed, defeated. She sat that way for several minutes.
    I waited while we both processed the implications.
    Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know Xoe. I understand why you don't believe me. I can hardly believe myself, but I know what I saw.”
    I grabbed Lucy’s arm and gently pulled her to her feet. “Let's take a walk. We’ll try to come up with some alternative theories.”
    The only problem was, that having considered the alternatives, I knew there weren’t any. I mean, the best I could come up with was that Dan thought he was a werewolf, could I fault Lucy for thinking that he really was one? Who was I to say that such things didn't exist? The legends had to come from somewhere.
    The problem was that the only information I had came from movies, and the werewolves, according to the films, were always different. Some could only be killed by silver bullets, and others would die if you just whacked ‘em with a big stick enough times. Some just changed once a month, on the night of the full moon, others changed the whole week of the full moon, and others could change at will. We needed answers, and answers we did not have. I guess we’d find out if Lucy's crazy theory was not so crazy after all once the full moon rolled around.
    I moved my grip from Lucy’s arm and took her trembling hand to lead her downstairs. The truth was what it was, even if big and growly.

Chapter Seven
    I stopped by my backdoor to slip on my hiking boots and a jean jacket on our way outside. We journeyed out across my backyard together, then headed into the woods where Lucy and I had met so many years ago. We reached a damp, narrow trail that led through the tall pine trees to the wider, more used trail that connected to a different road. Running water sounded from a stream in the distance. It sounded close, but in reality, it was about two miles away. A cool breeze was blowing, scented with the autumn leaves.
    Lucy fell in step behind me, seemingly lost in thought. Usually walking out in the woods was peaceful, but I could almost taste the tension emanating from Lucy. I glanced back at her a couple of times, but waited for her to talk first. She needed time to process things. She was so quiet that if not for the sound of her footfalls, I wouldn’t have known that she was there. We walked for a good ten minutes that way, her trailing behind me, neither of us saying a word.
    Lucy’s voice finally cracked the silence. “Do you think I’m going to be a werewolf now? I mean, if that’s what Dan is . . .”
    So we were going with the werewolf theory then. That she took it so seriously made it seem more real to me, which I wasn’t exactly grateful for. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly over my shoulder, “but whatever happens, we’ll get through it, even if I have to lock you in a cage once a month.”
    Lucy quickened her stride to walk beside me. “A cage?” she asked.
    I glanced at her. “Well, maybe not a cage,” I replied, “though I don’t know what else to use. We could just lock you in a room, but seeing as neither of us knows anything about werewolves, or whether or not Dan is one, I’d say better safe than sorry.”
    Lucy thought for a moment, then responded, “A cage it is then.”
    “We’ll get online and do some research tonight. We of course won’t find any solid