Night of the Werecat Read online

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  ‘How To Be A Vampire’ Excerpt

  About R. L. Stine

  1

  You can do this, Wendy. Concentrate.

  Wendy Chapman focused all her attention on the four-inch-wide beam. Gymnastics was her favorite after-school club. But the balance beam terrified her.

  “Looking good,” her best friend, Tina Barnes, called.

  I won’t fall this time. I won’t! The floor was so far below. Wendy took a deep breath. She fought back her terrible fear of heights. It didn’t help that she had never been very surefooted.

  Halfway across, she steadied her outstretched arms. But she could feel her balance beginning to waver.

  “Pssssssst!” Wendy glanced toward the sound coming from the bleachers. Nancy Morrow’s smirking face caught her eye. Nancy hissed again, then windmilled her arms. She was imitating someone falling!

  Wendy forced her eyes back to the beam. Forget Nancy! she scolded herself. Concentrate on the balance beam.

  But it was too late. That glance away made her dizzy. Wendy teetered, then fell off the beam. Ms. Mason, her gymnastics coach, stopped Wendy from crashing onto the mat. But she landed awkwardly and stumbled forward.

  “What’s the matter, Wendy?” Nancy taunted. “I thought cats always landed on their feet.” She began laughing, and some of Nancy’s snobby friends joined in.

  Wendy’s face burned with embarrassment. Nancy was always teasing her!

  “That’s enough, Nancy,” Ms. Mason said. She patted Wendy’s shoulder. “It was a good try, Wendy. You’re improving.”

  “Thanks,” Wendy said faintly. She faked a smile. But inside she felt awful. On Saturday the top three girls in the club would be chosen to represent Shady-side Middle School at the all-city meet. I’ll never make the team now, Wendy thought sadly.

  On the way to the locker room, Nancy bumped into Wendy. “Maybe your little cat friends can give you lessons, Wendy,” she said with a sneer. “Cats have good balance, don’t they?” Nancy smoothed back her perfectly combed, shiny black hair.

  Self-consciously Wendy pushed her own thin blond hair out of her face. “Leave me alone!” Wendy snapped.

  “Gee, I thought it was a great idea,” Nancy went on. Her voice sounded sweet, but Wendy knew better. “I thought you’d love to be more like a precious kitty cat.”

  * * *

  “Why can’t Nancy leave me alone?” Wendy complained as she and Tina left school after Gymnastics Club.

  Tina shrugged. “She’s just jealous because you skipped a grade.” Wendy had skipped fifth grade. Most of the other kids in sixth grade were twelve, but she was barely eleven. But that didn’t bother Wendy. Her mother said Wendy was advanced for her age. “Don’t worry,” Tina continued, tightening her long, brown ponytail, “Nancy will find someone else to pick on sooner or later.”

  “Well, I wish she’d do it soon!” Tina and Wendy looked both ways, then crossed over to the bus stop. “And why does she hate cats so much, anyway?” Wendy couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike the beautiful animals.

  “Didn’t you know?” Tina asked. “She’s really allergic to them. Her brother told me if she even gets near a cat, she breaks out and starts sneezing.”

  “I wish I had a cat to stick right under her nose right now!” Wendy declared.

  Tina giggled. Her big, brown eyes twinkled. “Maybe you can get one at the cat show.”

  The Shadyside cat show opened that afternoon. Wendy and Tina had been looking forward to it for weeks.

  “If only.” Wendy sighed. She loved cats. But her parents wouldn’t let her have one.

  A red city bus pulled up to the stop. “Cat show, here we come!” Wendy cheered. She and Tina slapped each other high fives, then boarded the bus.

  The cat show took place in an empty store across from the Division Street Mall. As the girls stepped off the bus, Wendy glanced up. She spotted a large banner stretched across the front of the building.

  “There it is! The Shadyside Cat Circle Breeders’ Show,” she read aloud. She grabbed Tina’s hand and they ran to the entrance. The mews and meowing from inside seemed to be calling Wendy’s name. She was in such a hurry that she almost forgot to wait for her change when she paid the fifty cents admission!

  The big room was filled with long tables. Cages containing cats and kittens stood on each table. Their owners sat behind them.

  Wendy’s eyes widened. “I’ve never seen so many cats!” she exclaimed. “I could spend the whole week here!”

  Tina chuckled. “I like cats, too,” she commented. “But nobody is as cat-crazy as you.”

  “I know,” Wendy agreed. “I love them. Do you think my parents would notice if I stayed here forever?”

  They wandered up and down the aisles. Wendy didn’t know where to look first. All those beautiful cats! Each sweeter than the last.

  Wendy stopped at a blue cage containing a long-haired brown and white striped cat. It was nearly as big as a cocker spaniel.

  “Cyril is a Maine coon cat,” the owner told her. “Would you like to pet him?”

  “Oh, could I?” Wendy reached into the cage and stroked the silky fur. Her heart melted when the cat purred and licked her hand.

  “I wish my parents would let me have a cat,” she said for the millionth time. “When I grow up, I’m going to have a huge house filled with cats and kittens!”

  “Look at this, Wendy,” Tina called. Wendy said good-bye to Cyril and joined her friend at a side door. It led into a much smaller room. The room was empty except for a large booth. Blue curtains covered with cat stickers hung from hooks shaped like little cat heads. The curtains were pulled shut.

  Wendy stepped into the room. “Mrs. Bast’s Cat Curios,” she read from the sign over the booth. The letters were made up of colorful paw prints.

  Tina stopped beside her. “It looks closed,” she said.

  “Let’s check it out, anyway,” Wendy suggested. “I think Mrs. Bast has my kind of shop.”

  “Just remember what your mom said about spending more money on cat things,” Tina warned.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to buy anything,” Wendy reassured her. “Unless I really, really have to have it,” she added with a giggle.

  Wendy approached the booth. “Hello?” she called. “Mrs. Bast?”

  No response.

  “Maybe I should meow,” Wendy joked. “Maybe Mrs. Bast only serves cat customers.”

  “There’s no one here,” Tina said. “Come on, Wendy, let’s go back to—”

  “Please, Tina, I just want to peek inside. I have to find out what’s here.” Wendy reached out to part the curtains. Instantly a hand shot out from inside and grabbed her wrist.

  Startled, Wendy tried to free herself. But she couldn’t. The grip was too strong.

  Wendy’s heart nearly stopped. She felt herself falling through the thick blue curtains!

  2

  “Help!” Wendy screamed. “Tina!” The curtains smacked Wendy in the face as she fell into the booth. She struggled against the strong hands that gripped her. “Help!”

  The hands let go. Wendy stumbled back
ward a few steps.

  “Welcome!” a voice croaked.

  Wendy blinked. Across from her stood an old woman, wearing a long red dress. A beautiful hand-painted cat covered the front of it. The woman’s frizzy white hair surrounded her face like a cloud.

  “I’m Mrs. Bast,” the old woman announced. Her whole face crinkled up into a zillion wrinkles when she smiled at Wendy.

  “Wendy!” Tina cried, rushing through the curtains. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m f-fine,” Wendy stammered. She rubbed her wrists. For an old woman, Mrs. Bast had some grip.

  “You’re my first customers,” Mrs. Bast told them. She flung apart the curtains. “I was just getting ready to open the booth when you showed up.” She grinned at the girls. “I could hear you through the curtains. I didn’t want you to get away. I knew you would appreciate fine cat curios.”

  A mewing sound caught Wendy’s attention. On the counter behind Mrs. Bast stood a long-haired white Persian cat. “Ohh,” Wendy breathed. “Is that your cat?”

  Mrs. Bast gave the cat a pat on the head. “This is Samantha,” she said. “She’s my assistant. She chooses what I should sell.” Mrs. Bast began bustling around the booth. “Samantha has very good taste.”

  Wendy reached out and gently touched the Persian’s back. Its long white fur was as soft as a silk scarf.

  “She likes you,” Mrs. Bast commented.

  “All cats like Wendy,” Tina said.

  “And I like all cats,” Wendy added. She scratched Samantha under the chin. The white cat began to purr. It was Wendy’s favorite sound.

  Mrs. Bast rubbed her hands together. “What are you looking for today?” she asked. “Jewelry? Photos? T-shirts? Knickknacks? I’ve got them all!”

  Wendy turned her attention from Samantha to the shelves and displays in the booth. There were trays of cat pins, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. T-shirts hung from a rack. A clothesline across the top of the booth held posters of lions, tigers, cheetahs, and panthers.

  “This is pretty,” Tina remarked. She held up a purple bracelet made of cat-shaped beads.

  Wendy poked through a tray on the counter labeled “All items $5.” A shiny object caught her eye. “Tina, look!” she exclaimed. She held up a silver chain. A delicate metal charm of a black cat dangled in front of her eyes. In the center of the cat’s forehead was a spidery white star.

  Tina turned to see the necklace. “It’s pretty,” Tina agreed. “But what’s that weird white spot on its face?”

  “That’s what I like best about it,” Wendy said. She ran her finger lightly over the white mark. It was so unusual. And the cat looked so real! “I’m going to take this,” Wendy told Mrs. Bast. She held out the charm.

  The old woman glanced at the trinket and gave a startled gasp. Then she scowled. “That charm isn’t for sale,” she snapped. In a quick move Mrs. Bast snatched the necklace from Wendy’s hand.

  Wendy was shocked. “But why not?” she blurted. “It was in the tray with all the other cat charms.”

  “It’s not for sale,” Mrs. Bast repeated. “And it’s not a cat charm. It’s a werecat charm. That white star on its face is the mark of the werecat.”

  Werecat? Wendy glanced at Tina. Tina raised her eyebrows.

  “What’s a werecat?” Tina asked.

  “Have you heard of werewolves?” Mrs. Bast demanded.

  “Everyone’s heard of werewolves,” Wendy replied. “They’re people who supposedly turn into wolves when the moon is full.”

  “Werecats are the same,” Mrs. Bast said. “Only they turn into cats. Very large, very wild cats. And they do it every night, whether the moon is full or not.”

  Tina snorted. “But werewolves aren’t real,” she protested.

  “I don’t know about werewolves,” the old woman said. “But werecats are very real indeed.” She poked her head out of the booth and glanced around. Seeming satisfied no one was listening, Mrs. Bast continued. “I’ve seen them myself,” she whispered. “Right here in Shadyside. They prowl the Fear Street Woods.”

  Wendy looked at Tina and they both smiled. They loved stories about Fear Street.

  Everyone told stories about the creepy things that happened on Fear Street. But Wendy had been in the Fear Street Woods lots of times. And except for twisting her ankle once when she tripped, nothing terrifying ever happened to her! Still, she and Tina loved to hear all the Fear Street rumors.

  “After midnight,” Mrs. Bast continued in her croaking voice, “that’s when the werecats roam.”

  “Like alley cats?” Wendy asked.

  Mrs. Bast shook her head. “Not at all. You would never mistake a werecat for an ordinary alley cat. A werecat is more daring. All its senses are sharper. It can see, smell, and hunt better. Even its balance is better than a regular cat’s. Werecats are beautiful, fierce creatures.”

  “My cat, Shalimar, is fierce when I don’t feed him.” Tina giggled. “Maybe he’s really a werecat!”

  “Maybe we should bring Shalimar over to the Fear Street Woods!” Wendy joked.

  “Hah!” Mrs. Bast’s barking laugh made Wendy jump. “A werecat would attack your Shalimar if he got in its way. Werecats and regular cats are mortal enemies.”

  “Shal can take care of himself,” Tina insisted.

  “He wouldn’t stand a chance with a werecat,” Mrs. Bast replied. “They run on pure instinct, and they are very powerful. And just like an ordinary cat, werecats are territorial. A werecat will defend its home to the death.”

  “Why do they only appear after midnight?” Wendy asked. She didn’t believe a word Mrs. Bast said, but she liked any story about cats. Especially one that included Fear Street.

  “All cats are nocturnal,” Mrs. Bast explained. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But late night is the time of the werecat. And as the moon grows fuller, the werecat grows wilder. There’s no way to predict what it will do.”

  “But if they turn back into people by day, don’t they think like humans?” Wendy demanded.

  “During the month there is a bit of the human left in a werecat,” Mrs. Bast agreed. “But when the moon is full, the human no longer has any control over the animal. And once the werecat experiences its first full moon, the transformation is complete.”

  “What do you mean?” Wendy asked.

  “After that first full moon the werecat inside begins to do things—even in human form. Even during the day. The human and the cat blend together.”

  Mrs. Bast fell silent. Wendy thought the story was over. She glanced at Tina, and Tina rolled her eyes. She obviously thought Mrs. Bast was nuts.

  But now Wendy wanted the cat charm even more. “What a cool story!” she told Mrs. Bast. “Please, I have to buy the charm now. It will be my favorite cat jewelry!” She held out a five-dollar bill.

  “No!” Mrs. Bast snapped. “I cannot allow you to have it. It wouldn’t be right!”

  Wendy stared at the old woman. What was Mrs. Bast’s problem?

  “Come on, Wendy,” Tina murmured. She tugged Wendy’s sleeve. “Let’s go look at some more cats.”

  But Wendy wouldn’t give up. She wanted the charm!

  “Please, Mrs. Bast—” she began again. But before she could say anything else, the white cat leaped off the counter and slipped under the curtain.

  The old woman gasped. “Samantha! Come back here!” She dropped the werecat charm and hurried after the cat. Tina followed her out of the booth.

  Wendy’s heart stopped. The beautiful charm lay on the table. Right in front of her hand.

  I found it in the five-dollar tray, Wendy told herself. There was no reason why she shouldn’t have it. Besides, it wasn’t as if she were stealing. She would pay for it.

  Wendy could hear Mrs. Bast and Tina moving behind the booth. “Samantha,” Mrs. Bast crooned. “Here, sweetie.”

  Her hand shaking, Wendy slowly placed the five-dollar bill on the tray. Then she grabbed the necklace and looped it around her neck. She quickly faste
ned it and slipped it inside her T-shirt.

  She did it! She couldn’t believe she actually did it! Her heart pounded in her chest. She felt a strange tingling sensation where the charm touched her skin.

  “Tina!” Wendy called. “Let’s go!” She wanted to get out of the booth before Mrs. Bast noticed the charm was gone. But I didn’t steal it, she told herself again.

  Tina popped her head into the booth.

  “Let’s get back to the show,” Wendy said.

  Tina looked puzzled. “But—”

  Wendy quickly interrupted her. “Isn’t it time to meet your mom?”

  Tina glanced at her watch. “Ooops,” she said. “You’re right.”

  “Got to go, Mrs. Bast!” Wendy called over her shoulder. She and Tina hurried back to the main hall.

  Wendy stepped into the huge room, then stopped in surprise. The moment she entered the room, she heard a horrifying sound. She and Tina stood still.

  A terrible wailing filled the air. Wendy shuddered. Her entire body tensed.

  The sound grew louder and weirder.

  A chill ran up Wendy’s spine, and she clapped her hands over her ears. She couldn’t stand it.

  It was the most terrifying sound she had ever heard.

  3

  The screeching sound grew louder. Louder. Wendy searched the room, frantically trying to find out where the sound came from. Then her mouth dropped open in surprise.

  The horrible wailing came from the caged cats!

  “What’s wrong with them?” Wendy cried.

  “I don’t know!” Tina shouted over the noise. “But it’s awful! Let’s get out of here.”

  They ran through the exhibits, their hands covering their ears. But they could still hear the terrible sound. They raced by table after table of screeching cats. As Wendy passed Cyril’s cage, a furry paw reached out and clawed her.

  The moment they stepped through the exit, Wendy heard something even stranger. Silence. The yowling had stopped.

  Tina and Wendy slowly lowered their hands. They stared at each other for a moment.

  “That was totally weird,” Tina finally said.

  “Totally,” Wendy agreed. What could have made the cats act like that? she wondered.