J. H. Reynolds - Monsterstreet #1: The Boy Who Cried Werewolf

T he dirt road twisted through the forest like a snake, but the scrawny boy in the passenger seat didnt notice. His shaggy hair and brown eyes were veiled by a red hoodie as he stared down at his iPad, annihilating monsters on some faraway planet.

Suddenly, the cell bars at the top of the screen vanished, and the game froze.

No service? The boy shook the device, trying to wake the dead.

Youll survive for a couple of days, Max, his mother said, driving their blue minivan deeper into the woods. When I was twelve, we didnt have all those distractionswe played outside. It will just take some time to get used to being away from the city.

Max sank into his seat and sighed.

He looked out his window, and saw the tall, prickly pine trees for the first time. On the side of the road, he glimpsed a rusted metal sign that read, Now Entering Wolf County. Population 781. Oddly, the number 781 had been crossed out with red spray paint, and 634 had been written in its place.

Creepyville, Max mumbled, then turned to his mom. Do I really have to stay out here the whole weekend?

It was more of a plea than a question.

Weve already been over this, honey, his mother replied. I swear, youre just like your fatheralways questioning things. Thats what made him a good scientist, I suppose.

But Ive never even met these people. And now you want me to stay with them by myself for three days?

Youve met them before. You just dont remember, she said. In fact, we lived out here for a while when you were a baby. Before

She paused, and there was an awkward moment of silence. Max knew she was about to refer to his fathers accidental death, but it was something she rarely said aloud. He had asked her about it more times than he could count, but she always found a way to change the subject before he could get any real answers. In fact, he hardly knew anything about his father.

Believe me, Max, this is the last place on earth I want to be, his mother said, tapping the steering wheel. She had been acting strangely toward him the past few days. If you want to know the truth, your gramps and grammy wrote me a letter on your birthday asking for you to come stay with them this weekend. They seemed rather urgent about it. Said they have some things of your fathers that they want to pass down to you. It was supposed to be a surprise.

Max still wasnt convinced.

Why havent they ever come to our house? And why is this the first time weve gone to see them?

His mother took a deep breath.

Youre getting older now, and I think its important for you to spend some time with your fathers side of the family. After he died out here, I swore never to come back. But

Wait, Max interrupted. Dads accident happened here? At the place youre taking me?

His mother nodded.

Max sat back in his seat and gazed forward. It was the only clue she had ever given him about his fathers death.

Mom? he began.

Yes, honey?

When are you going to tell me what really happened to Dad?

The question was simple, but it ran deep and wide inside of him, like a story with no ending.

Max had no memories of his father. When other kids dads visited them at school, he pretended not to care that his own dad could never come. When other kids played catch with their dads at the park or in the yard, he turned his head so that he wouldnt have to feel the pain of missing his own father. And yet, he had never known why his dad wasnt there. The only thing he possessed that had once belonged to his father was the faded red hoodie he was wearing nowthe hoodie his grandparents had sent to him a few days before on his twelfth birthday.

Max played with the zipper as he watched the shadows of trees creep over his moms face. She glanced over at him and opened her mouth to speak. Max was sure that he was finally about to get some answers. But her eyes dimmed. Her lips sealed. And her gaze turned forward.

Ive already told you. Your father died in a hunting accident when you were a baby, she said.

But Max sensed there was more she wasnt telling him. And he wanted to know the truth. He wanted to know why his father wasnt there and why he had felt so lonely all his life.

Even so, he regretted asking her the question. He could see the pain in her eyes, and he promised himself he would never ask her again. But what he didnt know was that the answer to his question lay just up ahead, at the end of the slithering road.

T he minivan pulled up in front of a log cabin that had been built far back in the woods. Max looked out the window and saw ivy crawling across the shingled roof and up the stone chimney. Several stones and shingles were missing, and the downstairs windows were boarded up. He thought the house looked abandoned. Or even haunted.

This is the kind of place where ax murderers hide dead bodies, he thought.

He put his iPad in his backpack, climbed out of the van, and followed his mom up the stone pathway to the front door, lingering a few steps behind her. The air smelled like chimney smoke mixed with fresh pine. Red and brown leaves crunched beneath his feet, and a cool breeze tickled his face, reminding him that it was late October.

When he stepped onto the front porch, it creaked, and he thought he might fall straight through the floorboards. Thick cobwebs hung in every corner. The sign above the door read, Welcome to the Bloodnights.

His mom knocked, and he sensed that she was nervous or afraid. She had always been protective of him because he was her only child. But this felt different.

Lets seetodays Saturday. Ill pick you up on Tuesday, so youll only miss a couple days of school. She turned to him. Youll be back just in time for Halloween. Have you decided on a costume yet?

Mom, I already told youIm getting too old to go trick-or-treating. Ill just help you hand out candy this year and scare the kids that come to the door.

Youre never too old for trick-or-treating, she said.

Then she knocked on the front door again. Harder this time.

Dont forgetits very important that you listen to everything your gramps and grammy tell you while youre here. Understand?

Max nodded, and his mom knocked one last time.

Still, no one answered.

She cupped her hand above her eyes and peered through the nearby window. The inside of the house was dark.

Thats strange. Their letter said to come this afternoon.

Why dont you just call them? Max asked.

Ha! His mom laughed. Your gramps and grammy with a phone? Thatd be the day. Youll soon learn that things out here are... different. Why dont you go check around back and see if anyones there?

But this place gives me the creeps, Max argued, his heart pounding at the thought of going anywhere on the property alone.

Dont be silly. Its just an old house, his mother said.

Reluctantly, Max walked off the porch and around the corner toward the back of the house. As soon as he was out of his moms sight, grim visions invaded his thoughts.