Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (free ebook reader for pc txt) 📕

light of his screen blinded him of his dark surroundings. He enabled the flash on the camera app as he smiled up at the black screen. Another loud thump broke his concentration. "C'mon already," he mumbled to himself, returning to his phone as he flexed his chest and tilted his head back to the side to pose with a sideways peace sign.

With a touch of his thumb, his flash lit the screen with an image of terror that stood just behind him. Bright yellow eyes bared fangs through a long, dark snout just over his shoulder. Cory tossed the phone and bolted in a scream. His bare feet tore through the rocks and dirt as he raced toward the car. "Grace!" he shouted loudly. The footfalls behind him pounded closer. They gained on him in an instant. Cory's back ripped with a swipe, almost stumbling him off balance as he continued charging to the parking lot.

"Grace!" he screamed, passing the deserted playground before reaching the rough pavement. "Get in the car!"

As his lonely blue sedan became clear through the distant, dim light, what looked like clothes appeared piled over the trunk on the other side. Ignoring the asphalt scraping away at his feet, he tore his toes through a touchdown sprint for the vehicle. As he got closer, he could see that Grace was slumped over the back of the car. He slowed to a jog as he huffed to catch his breath.

As he panted to suck the wind into his chest, it filled with a cold shock. Her body laid sprawled over the rear end of the car, arms spread out with a mouth opened as wide as her eyes that blankly stared him in the face. The blood that had splashed against the cracked rear window from her ripped throat spread down the dark blue side panels. The icy fear that gripped Cory's chest turned his stomach weak as he gagged up a fiery, sour liquid from the depths of his last meal.

Cory spun into a frantic circle, bouncing his eyes across the vacant, shadowy parking lot to the large bushes behind his car. Turning further, he felt the sting across his back as the air caught the cool trickle that ran free from his wound. He clambered to rattle his keychain from his pants pocket before pausing to look at Grace one more time. Her dead eyes gazed into his soul. And then came a blink. It startled him back a few steps. Her arm slowly raised and slapped down at the trunk. It raised again, slamming down against the car while her eyes flinched around.

"Grace..." he said, standing in fright. Only his trembling knees weren't paralyzed by the weakness that gripped his spine. "I'm sorry." He rushed to the driver side door. His reflection in the window was a sight that horrified even himself as he struggled with shaky hands to cram the key into the door. The lock turned and Cory glanced up. Reflected in the glass, he could see the werewolf standing behind him. He jerked at the door.

A monstrous snarl barked into a roar behind his naked shoulder blades. He was burst through tiny pieces of shattered glass, landing his face into the seat. The broken glass window sliced through his belly as he kicked and screamed, trying desperately to crawl his legs into the car. A powerful, bone cracking bite clamped through his shin. With one giant tug, he was ripped from the vehicle and he tumbled across the pavement. Cory's vision blurred through the sharp grains of glass that scratched his eyes as he tried to look around. The dark figure approached with a deep, rumbling growl. A final slash ripped through his neck and the night fell silent to the fury that the day had unleashed.

Chapter 15

The empty hallways of Pine Bluff High were eerily silent as she finished arranging her desk. She turned the pocket-sized portrait around to look at it. The words "Ms. Tanner" were etched across the bottom of the brass stand that framed it. Her name was Susan. Nobody had called her that in many years. Wrinkles now formed around her cheeks, making the old photo a picture of someone else. It portrayed someone who had seen many years of bustling hallways filled with noisy crowds of young faces changing classes. She now wore the face of someone who had watched many children grow up to have their own that would, in turn, visit these same halls.

A few weeks until open house, but it's never too soon to prepare. She looked at the hands of her antique wristwatch. Almost four in the morning. The streets would still be as silent as the school by the time she locked up to leave. Plenty of time to visit the cafeteria snack machine.

After a brief stroll to the lunchroom, she slid in her change and typed her selection. The large metal spiral that held the double pack of cupcakes began to slowly turn and the package leaned forward to a stop against the plastic window. She waited for a second, pressing her mouth and eyebrows into a scold before she lurched forward to give the machine a light bang with her fist.

A dark form swept across near the hallway intersection in the corner of her eye. She raised to look, adjusting her wireframe glasses. The window flickered with a flash from outside followed by a light rumble of thunder. Several sections of hallway were still unlit. "Hello?" She shouted before taking a brief pause. "Must be losing my mind," she said as she sat in the floor and tried to reach her arm up through the trap door of the snack machine. After twisting on the floor, she pushed upward until her attempts finally managed to shove her bony elbow above the sharp edges of durable plastic flap that guarded her midnight snack. She reached harder, wiggling her fingers to brush against the edge of the wrapper.

When she turned to