And then I saw her. Yeah, you heard me right. A her. I have never seen a girl before in this fort. Well, to be truthful, I have never heard of a she wolf. She had deep black hair, and a round face. Her pretty brown eyes gazed at me, even though she was six rows ahead of me. I was still standing, and when the man in the front said that we could sit down, I did with haste. I leaned over to Payton and whispered, “Why did I have to stand up?”
He whispered back to me, “Gordon just read all of the newly bitten werewolves. You are one of them, so he had you stand. I told him about you. Don’t worry though; Wolfgang is very eager to meet with you, and I am sure you are the same.”
To tell you the truth, I couldn’t be less eager to meet Wolfgang. I could tell from his shaggy hair, to his powerful voice that he wasn’t friendly by any means. I shuddered, thinking about what he looks like as a werewolf.
The whole Council went by, and I paid no attention to it. Jonathan next to me took in every word, as if he drained it all in his head. I couldn’t have imagined a more boring thing to sit through.
I even tried to wave my hand to get Jonathan’s attention, but nothing worked. My friend was totally engrossed in the Council.
After an hour or so, Wolfgang walked back up to the podium. Payton knew that it was now the time to discuss Landon, and the over population. He had Landon’s report tucked away in his pockets, so he could read it aloud to the werewolf community.
“It is now that time. This is the time that we are to discuss the major importance of our society. Whoever feels the need, may come and speak.” Wolfgang said abruptly, and he turned around and sat back down.
I looked at Payton, and I saw him slowly rise from his chair. “What? What are you doing?” I said to him quietly. He looked at me and said, “Landon, follow me. You are of major importance.”
What the heck? No way was I about to go up in front of hundreds of werewolves and let them talk about me! No way!
Payton walked past me and grabbed my arm. He yanked me up and I said, “No! No, please!”
My English teacher stared at me and said, “Landon, this is the whole reason that I brought you here! Come!” He pulled me out of the isle, and I nervously crept up the stairs, and onto the stage. I could feel every eye on my back, just glaring at me. I also tried to not catch Wolfgang’s eye. He seemed to be focusing all of his attention on me.
Payton whispered, “Landon, just stand right here, and I’ll talk.” He took out my essay and unfolded it on the podium. Once it was all unfolded, he looked up into the audience. The stage was lit brightly and all of the werewolves were either staring at Payton or me.
My knees were shaking like crazy. I prayed that I wouldn’t have another panic attack, because if I did, I knew that I would have to hide my face in shame.
Payton coughed and then said, “My fellow werewolves, today I have brought with me a boy of extraordinary talent and faith.”
What? Since when?
“Landon Maxfield has been a very brave soul all the way up to this point, and I would like to congratulate him.” Payton looked at me and smiled. I didn’t smile back. The walls were closing in, and in my mind I thought, “Oh, Payton! Hurry! I’m gonna die!”
“What I have today is an essay that Landon wrote. As you know, I am an English teacher, and Landon was one of my students.”
Hey, people. Key word here: was.
“This boy wrote a report on the subject that scared him most. Let me read you that essay:
“Werewolves are real. They live in this world today. They are out there, waiting. Some of them are hiding, because of their fear, but they rest, they are out there.
First of all, lets get our facts straight: werewolves are ruthless killers. They get immense pleasure out of a simple kill, such as their mortal enemies, the Vampires. It is fascinating to see how far these beats would go to get their bloody claws all over the Vampires.
Ever since Ferdinand Wolfgang became the leader of the pack, werewolves have been ferociously hunting and killing vampires. But, before Wolfgang, there was peace between the two races.
The wars broke out, and the female Vampires refused to fight. They thought that all Vampires should flee to another distant land. The male Vampires anonymously disagreed, and the woman left them. They were outcasts, and called themselves Hags, or more commonly called the Witches.
The wars raged around them, and no one, not even the terrible werewolves could feel safe.
About a century ago, the werewolves were becoming scarce. Vampires began to take over all of their major cities, such as Tumbaka. Werewolves retreated father and farther back into the Alberta Mountains, in Canada. Once there, Wolfgang established Fort Wolfgang: a refuge for any living werewolves. There they lived safely for a century.
So, what can the Vampires do? They use the legendary silver bullet to kill their enemies. Myriad amounts of silver have been shipped to various places throughout the world, and it could only mean one thing. The Vampires were preparing for the final battle.”
I felt my face flush. I just then realized how badly my grammar was, and how stupidly I had written the report. Well, Payton didn’t have to go and read it to all of the freaking werewolves either!
I heard some gasps around the room as it was being read, and it was all that I could do not to cry. The walls were closer than ever, and my face was hot and red. I could feel the tears starting to come out of my eyes, and my nose started running.
“As you can tell, Landon has no living relationships to werewolves, and I was puzzled on how he knew all of these facts. Wolfgang, for example, is only known to the Vampires and us. There isn’t any possible answer to how a fourteen year old boy could know all of this!” Payton exclaimed.
I looked down at my shoes, which were covered in dirt and mud. The walls were slowly inching closer, and the room felt hotter than it ever had before.
“I brought the matter before Wolfgang, and he and I agreed to turn Landon into one of us and bring him here. And so I have done so. Now, my King, Wolfgang,” Payton turned around to address Wolfgang, “what is your say in this matter?”
Wolfgang was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering between Payton and I. Now the walls were closing fast, and I put my hand up to my cheek. It was so hot that it almost burned me!
“I think we should kill him and get it over with. Haven’t you read the prophecy? It says that he will betray us. Kill him and let it be done!” Wolfgang commanded.
What? What was that about? One minute I thought I was going to have a panic attack, and then next I thought I was going to have a heart attack! No way am I going to die! I have gone too far to die now. I will kill Wolfgang if I have to, but no way I am going down that easily.
Payton, shocked, turned to me, with his mouth open. “My King, Landon is a very talented boy, and he could be a very useful werewolf.”
Wolfgang’s next words were, “Prove it.”
Payton dropped his mouth, but then quickly shut it. I felt my face flush once again, and I knew I was doomed. How in the world was I supposed to ‘prove it’?
“My – My King,” Payton stuttered, not knowing what to say.
“Prove to me that this boy isn’t just a worthless pile of junk.”
I shook my head, mouthing the words, “Just drop it. Let me die.”
Payton’s eyes widened, and he said into the microphone, “How will Landon prove himself?” I gasped and shook my head violently as if I had not just heard those words. I didn’t want to prove myself! If I did, then I would fail and die!
“I want us to vote on what Landon should do. As all of us werewolves, we surely can decide,” Wolfgang said, evilly. Well, maybe not evilly, but if he was going to set me through a really hard task, he was surely evil.
Wolfgang rose from his chair and moved Payton aside of the podium. I saw the horror on my English teacher’s face as he was ushered aside. What was going to become of me?
Wolfgang said slowly over the microphone, “Let us take a vote on what to do. I have decided two options. One is for this boy to be set out in the Valley of Darkness and suffer the trials there. Another way is to have Landon set through the Instincts Trial. Now, what say you all?”
I was stunned, even thought I had no idea what the heck he was talking about. These stupid werewolves were going to condemn me!
“For the Valley of Darkness?” Wolfgang said. Hands raised silently and Wolfgang counted each hand. The werewolves in the audience looked happy, and pleased.
Except her. You know, the one she wolf that I saw earlier? Yeah, she looked just as horrified as I did. I wondered that if I came out of this alive if I could talk to her. Just once, you know. I have never conversed with a she wolf.
Wolfgang nodded and said, “The Instincts Trail?” More hands raised; more than the last time. I knew that I wasn’t going to live. I had no idea what instincts they were talking about. I really, really hoped that they wouldn’t be hard, but knowing the werewolf ways, they were probably impossible.
The next word the Wolfgang spoke terrified me to the core: “Both?” There was no hands raised, and then every single flipping werewolf raised his hand, minus Payton and the girl.
“So be it,” Wolfgang muttered, and he turned to face me. His brown beard scared the living crap out of me, and then he muttered, “Landon, you have been sentenced to the Valley of Darkness and the Instincts Trial. They will take place tomorrow and the day after. May God have mercy on your soul.”
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