"Speaking of full moons," Nash said, hopping

to his feet. "It's my turn to tell a scary story, and

this one is real."

Nash, handsome with his boyishly beautiful

features and muscular build, took center stage

behind the fire as if the small flames were

footlights. He began telling a story of a werewolf

in Legend's Run in the early 1900s.

I scooted next to Ivy, who linked her bony

arm with mine as if it were a designer purse.

"Many years ago, as the full moon shown

bright," Nash said with an eerie tone, "the

inhabitants of Legend's Run heard a horrible

howling. The cry of the beast wailed throughout

the town. As the howling grew closer, children

woke up from their sleep, travelers had to control

their horses, and homeowners locked their doors.

The few brave souls who did venture out to

investigate say they witnessed a creature never

seen before - a monster standing on two legs,

thin as a man, hairy as a dog, with the fangs of a

wolf and the eyes of a beast."

"Ooh!" Ivy whimpered, hugging my arm.

Tall tales of werewolves ran rampant for

generations in Legend's Run. It might have been

because occasionally a wolf was spotted in the

outlying wooded areas and in the early days there

wasn't much else to do but create outlandish

stories of their origin. I was a skeptic on rumors;

I had the mind-set that I'd have to see it to

believe it. To me, there was a big line between

fact and fantasy. However, hanging out here in

the darkness, anything seemed possible.

"The creature appeared tormented," he

continued. "It was ready to attack at any

moment." Nash raised his hands as if he were the

monster.

Now I clutched Ivy.

"This monstrous creature could rip a giant

into tiny pieces. His bite was deadly and he could

kill without warning. The townspeople tried in vain

to capture and kill the monster, but he returned,

full moon after full moon. The creature couldn't

be taken down with a gunshot or the threat of fire

but instead vanished into the woods."

Nash paused. "The townspeople often awoke

to find their cattle missing, or in some cases

dismembered."

"Gross!" Ivy exclaimed.

Abby let out an audible gasp. "Tell us more!"

"It was only a matter of time, they feared,

before the monster would be coming for them.

"The residents spent the nights of the full

moon living in terror," he continued, "wondering

what - or who - would be the beast's next

victim."

"I can't take any more," Ivy said, covering

her ears.

The darkness played with our imaginations. I

spotted Dylan and Jake eyeing the woods as if

every tree hid a stalking werewolf.

"Some dismissed the witnesses' accounts as

drunken tall tales," Nash said. "Still others swore

there was only one explanation..."

We waited in trembling awe.

"A citizen of Legend's Run had become a

werewolf," he concluded in a serious tone.

His words left us silent.

Then he said with a deliberate voice, "But

which of their neighbors had been overtaken by

the glow of the full moon was never discovered."

"No - " Abby said.

"Still, generations later, underneath a full

moon, the werewolf can be seen but has never

been captured," Nash instructed. "By day he is an

ordinary man, descended from that unlucky

citizen of Legend's Run. But by night and under

the curse of the moon, his eyes turn red, his

muscles bulge, his teeth grow sharp, and he is

covered with fur. A half man, half wolf who is

tortured by his condition and threatening to

anyone in his path."

Then he looked at each one of us. "Could

the werewolf of Legend's Run have been one of

your ancestors?" he wondered out loud.

The firelight cast ominous shadows against

Nash's face, distorting his normally perfect

features. His nose seemed as long as a

warlock's, his ears pointy, his hair savagely

spiky. His hazel eyes appeared fiery red.

He glared at us again. "Which one of us

could be the Legend's Run werewolf's

descendant?"

"Not me!" Abby blurted out.

Just then a gruesome howl was heard off in

the distance.

Startled, I squeezed Ivy's hand. She let out a

scream.

"Nash! You're scaring us!" Ivy charged.

"He's just fooling around," Jake assured.

Even Nash appeared startled. His eyes

darted away from us. We heard the wailing again.

"I guess that could be your mom?" Dylan

joked.

But Nash wasn't laughing.

Wolves weren't prone to approaching people

or populated campsites, but it was dark, we had

food, and we were closer to their homes than

ours. I didn't want us to be the ones who proved

the naturalists wrong.