“You think that’ll work with Jack?” the girl demands, already sounding a bit happier. I’m sure it’s because I told her that she can go home now.
“It should, yes,” the so-called doctor assures her. “I have everything here and only need to dip the dart into the pure essence. It’ll have the same effect as an injection.” He fumbles with something inside his bag and then holds out a blue tube plus a small dart with bushy purple feathers. “Would any of you like to take over the shooting? I’m not very good at that sport.” His forehead creases. “I had to chase Tarzan around the house for half an hour until the seventh dart finally hit its target.”
“I’ll do it,” the red gnome volunteers and reaches for the items the dark one holds out. She fits the dart into the tube and sets it to her lips, turning toward me.
“Hold it!” I shout, lifting my hands in defense. My tongue dries out inside my mouth.
“Sorry, Jack.” Again, lines of worry mar her pretty face. She’s not really going to—
Whump!
A brief sting over my heart draws my gaze down. There’s a ball of purple fluff sticking out of my chest, the needle penetrating my skin. “Huhhh.” Pulling out the dart, I examine it for a moment, then I lift my head. All three people look at me in expectant wonder, but my words are meant for the girl alone. “I can’t believe you shot me.”
None of them says anything. They just stare as if they’re waiting for me to turn into a Pop-Tart. And then a strange sizzle starts in my toes, rapidly creeping up my body. It feels like bugs are crawling through my veins. Shit, what is that?
The sensation intensifies twenty times when it reaches my throat. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, my eyes grow wider and wider until they feel like balloons inside my skull, and the next second, I explode into the Wolf.
Boy… That hurt.
The world looks like it tipped to the side. What the freak show! They drugged me? I’m sure they snitched some of the Caterpillar’s tobacco and administered it intravenously to me. Stupid people! Wanting to leap at them, I realize my right side rubs against something. Stone. The floor? Fuck, I’m lying down.
My legs row in the air as I struggle to get to my feet. It’s hard work, but I’m the master. I can do anything. Yeah, right, people! Didn’t think I’d survive your conniving attack, did you?
Once in an upright position again, I’m confronted by the next problem. The earth is quaking. Yikes, how does one stand in this rickety vault? Hastily clawing the concrete, I try to balance myself from the tremor. Still, I keep tripping over. My vision blurs. And damn, is it warm in here?
My knees are so weak, I can’t hoist myself up anymore, can only lean forward. I try to reach the gate but fall again. My muzzle dunks into a steel bowl of water.
Help! Help! I’m drowning!
Because my head is so heavy, I can’t seem to pull myself out of there. Hysterically, I pedal at the bowl with my forepaws. More water splashes on my face. I squeeze my eyes shut but, thankfully, I can breathe again in the next moment. Yeah, good. I’m safe. And still alive.
Rolling my eyes to the people on the other side of my prison, I let my tongue loll out between my canines.
There, you wisenheimers! Couldn’t kill me, huh? You’ll have to come up with something stronger if you want to knock me out.
And then everything goes dark.
*
Whoa. My head hums. Feels like it’s housing a swarm of bees. I lick my dry lips. Fangs… Okay, the Wolf is out. But where am I? Doesn’t seem like my bed—too hard for that. And Riley wouldn’t be lying in it with me either. She must be around somewhere, though, because I can hear her soft murmurs.
I have no idea what she’s saying, though. Her voice comes from far away. And yet she’s close because her captivating scent crowds my nose. Morning dew and wood strawberries. Unmistakable.
A funny sensation overrides the buzz in my head. It’s there, right behind my ear. Like tiny squirrel feet scurrying through my fur. This feels nice—although I doubt any sane rodent would voluntarily run over a wolf.
The tiny feet remain in one place, starting a gentle tread. I groan in pleasure.
A girlish snicker follows. “Yeah, you like that, don’t you?”
Oh. So the dulcet caress comes from Riley’s fingers. Is she trying to find a trigger to open my skullcap and let the bees out? That would be awesome.
My eyelids feel too heavy to lift, but I scoot a little closer to where her voice comes from. A scraping sound erupts as my paws drag over stone. Nope, definitely not my bed. Not even my apartment, judging by the moist, tomb-like air filtering through my nose. When my snout knocks into something hard, my eyes finally open.
I can see Riley. She’s sitting on the stone floor in the warm light of a flame. But some sort of iron grid separates us. What the hell? Her arm is through one of the many square gaps, and she continues the gentle rub behind my ear.
Rolling my eyes from one side to the other, I scan my surroundings. Stone walls but no windows, a pallet in the corner, and the contorted face of a wolf staring back at me from the stainless steel of a tipped-over water bowl on the floor. Goodness, I know where I am!
Startled, I jump to my feet—or try to. The result is pancake á la wolf.
“Easy there, Jack,” Riley says in a strangely soothing tone that I don’t recall ever hearing from her before. “You’ve been unconscious for several hours.”
Finally, fighting gravity, I manage to sit up. We’re at eye level now, and she smiles through the gate. “You should take it slow. I don’t know if you remember what happened, but you’ve had a pretty tough day.”
Tough day? I remember that you shot me, little miss! Since I came here and asked Phil to lock me up in the first place, they probably had a good reason to do it, though.
“I guess it’s safe to let you out now.” Riley scrambles to her feet and straightens her dress under the long, red cloak. “Can you change back to yourself?”
I will myself to change into my human body. Nothing happens. My muscles tensing, I strain harder to summon the change. Still, the Wolf remains strong. Crap, why is that?
A skeptical V appears above her nose. “Are you trying, Jack?”
No, I’m hatching an egg here. What does she think?
Freaked out, I stand up and look under my belly through my legs. Shit, there’s fur everywhere. How is that possible? I never had any trouble changing to either of my forms before.
“Okay, don’t panic,” Riley quickly says, holding out her spread fingers to me. “Before Dr. Jekyll left, he said something like this might happen.” Hanging on to the gate, she lowers to a squat and looks me in the eyes through the gaps. “He was surprised that you popped into the Wolf after the injection anyway. Since this was your first shot of Hyde elixir, it’ll take a few hours for you to adjust. Don’t worry. You won’t be stuck in wolf form forever.”
Oh, great, they drugged me with monster potion. Anything else I need to know?
She tilts her head to the side, her gaze softening. “Are you hungry?”
My tongue rolls out, and I start to pant.
Hey! Sucking it back inside, I close my mouth and frown.
“Okay.” She stands. “Phil left a while ago to finish off the thing with Briar-Rose. I don’t want to go raiding through their fridge uninvited, so how about you and I go on a little hunt through the woods? The doctor said that would be okay now. Maybe we’ll find a bunny for you. Or some warthog.”
My ears stand at attention, and again, my tongue flaps out. Sheesh, I didn’t want to do that. But what’s more, my backside begins to wiggle. I check behind me to see what’s going on and find my tail wagging. Hey, stop that, you stupid, useless thing!