Opening.
Pot hummed to himself, setting up a campfire when he heard the snap of a twig from behind him. He jumped around, stick raised and at the ready as a weapon. He lowered it and chuckled as he realized it was a lost traveler. “Oh, hi there! You caught me off guard, I was just in the middle of setting up a campfire; trying to stay warm on this cool night.”
He patted a spot on the log next to him as he sat back down. “Why don’t you stick around for a glass of hot apple cider?”
The traveler looked a bit confused, but opted to sit for a spell. It was chilly and a glass of warm drink sounded like the perfect thing. The little potato started humming again as he moved a few branches around and the fire finally started roaring to life. He looked up at his new guest, “Say, while you’re here, do you want to hear the tale of Werewolves in Idaho? It follows my good pals from Idaho, Tate and Tater, and how one night while searching for stuff, they get bit by a werewolf, and, well... Why don't I just tell you now? Here, grab yourself a snack and get cozy. This is Tales From the Fryer: Werewolves in Idaho.”
Part I: Late night attack
On a cool autumn night, so cold that the hair on the backs of alley cats would bristle, Tate and Tater were searching deep in the woods for ingredients to use in their seasonal drinks for Halloween.
"Jeez. It's kinda chilly, Tate" Tater said while shaking from the coldness.
Tate looked around in excitement. "Oh, chili! Where? I want some chili!"
Tater takes a deep breath before sighing. "Never mind, we gotta keep looking. There’s only a couple of more nights ‘til Halloween, and we gotta make sure the people get their pumpkin spice drinks and apple cider for the big night.”
“Yeah! Maybe we should get a little bit more for Thanksgiving. We could help Curly with the food this year.” The other started rubbing his stomach as images of a full autumn feast filled his mind.
“Good point, Tate. However, let’s worry about turkey time once it’s November. Okay?”
“Fair. Now, let’s see, them pumpkins gotta be around here somewhere.” The two continued to search all around the forest, but with no luck. As it grew later and later, the twins started to worry they wouldn’t get the ingredients needed for the drinks.
“Man, where are these pumpkins and apples at? I think everyone else got them.” Tate sounded disappointed.
“Calm down. I’m sure that we will find the apples and…” Tater was cut off by a scream in the distance.
“What was that?” Tate looked to his brother.
“It sounds like someone is in trouble. Let’s go investigate!” Tater and Tate made their way to the source of the noise, running in the dense, dark forest with only their dim flashlights to guide the way.
“Hey! Anyone here? We’re trying to help you.” Tater yelled out, searching through the bushes.
Tate heard the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping in a bush to their left. He shined a light in the direction. “Tater! I think I found them.” He pulled a section of the branches back, “Hey now, it’s okay. We’re just going to…” A wolf jumped out, latching onto Tate’s shoulder as he screamed for the beast to release him.
Tater heard his brothers cries for help and made his way to see what was going on.“Tate!” He yelled out at the sight of his brother battling a wolf. The tuber looked for a weapon and, after seeing a rock, hurled at the beast. "Get away from him, you monster!"
The wolf, now angrier, let go of Tate's arm and lunged for Tater. It knocked the other brother to the ground and bit his forearm. The yellow tuber screamed as his brother, Tate, looked around for something to throw at the wolf. Unable to find anything else, he raised his flashlight and whacked the wolf in the head. The wolf released Tater as it howled in pain before turning his attention back to the two tubers and snarling at them. The twins whooped and hollered as they waved their arms around frantically to scare the wolf away. After a moment, it finally turned tail and disappeared back into the woods, leaving the two of them to deal with their wounds.
"You okay, Tater?"
"I'm fine. I wish I could say the same about your shoulder. Think we should go get first-aid from Curly?”
“Nah, I’m fine. This will heal up in the morning. We should just go home for the night and try again tomorrow”
Tater and Tate made their way back home to sleep off their battle with the wolf. As they tucked themselves in nice and tight, cozy and quiet in their beds, they were unaware of the nearly full moon revealing itself as the clouds dissipated and howls echoed through the night.
Part II: Must be the full moon.
The next morning Tater and Tate woke to find their wounds were all healed. Tate noticed his shoulder was good as new first and eagerly shook his brother to tell him about it. “Tater. Look, my shoulder is healed.”
Tater was amazed and looked for the bite mark on his forearm, but found no traces, not even a faint scar. “Wow. Isn’t this great? I told you we just needed to rest.” He thought to himself, believing that was the only explanation. “That was a crazy dream last night.”
“Dream?” Tate was incredulous as he rummaged for his flashlight. He pointed at the dent. “If that was just a dream, then why is my flashlight dented?”
Tater rolled his eyes, waving away his brother’s concerns. “You probably just dropped it on the ground. Now come on we got a long day of work and…” Tater trailed off as he stepped outside. Their farm looked like a tornado had whipped through.
“So, a dream, huh?” Tate’s sarcasm was met with a glare as the two headed out.
The rest of the town was in a similar, destroyed state. Fence posts were broken, with some even ripped out of the ground entirely, lawn decorations in two, patches of grass missing, and telephone lines down. As they heard arguing, they shifted their focus in the direction of the sound to see what was going on.
“Look at this damage to my yard! You are going to find out who is responsible for this, Officer Robertson.”
“I’m sorry, Mister Goldberg, but there’s no way this damage was caused by a human or animal. We can’t put the weather behind bars.” The officer shrugged, exasperation on his face.
“You think this was the doing of nature? Please, the forecast called for clear skies!”
“Sorry, Goldberg. The weather can change like that, and there’s nothing we can do about this.”
“Officer Robertson, look at what we found at the scene.” A junior officer presented a clump of hair. “Looks like it belongs to a wolf.”
Officer Robertson looked dumbfounded. “A wolf? There’s no way a wolf did all of this, unless you’re saying this is the work of a werewolf?” He snorted, tone sarcastic.
“Well, it is Halloween...”
“Oh, grow up, Jimmy. This is the real world. Let’s get back to the station.” The two cops headed for their car as Mister Goldberg chased behind them.
“Hey, where do you pigs think you’re going? Come back here! Who’s going to pay for this? Who?!”
Tater and Tate watched the cop car, and Goldberg, disappear down the road. Once they were in silence, Tate finally spoke up. “Tater, do you think it was a werewolf?”
“Tate, there are no werewolves. It was just a bad storm.” He headed for the woods. “Now, let’s go. We still need pumpkins and apples for our drinks. Remember?”
“Oh, right. Let’s go then.” The two spent the whole day collecting items for the Halloween drinks. Unlike the previous the night, they found an abundance of pumpkins and apples. Once the sun started to set, Tate and Tater made their way back to the farm.
“Alright, Tate, we did it! And, with a couple of hours left before the festival! Now, let’s get moving.”
“Mhm. Right behind you, Tater.” Tate’s response was slightly garbled.
Tater turned around to find his brother stuffing his face with apples from their haul. “Tate! Stop eating the apples.”
“Sorry, I’m just making sure they’re good.”
Tater sighed, shaking his head. “Whatever. Hurry, the sun has sat and the night is still young for selling beverages.” Once back at the farm, the twins started work for their drinks immediately. They were almost done when the cloudy night started to clear, revealing a full moon.
"Uh, Tater, I feel funny." Tate grabbed his stomach.
Tater didn’t even spare Tate a glance as he continued juicing the last of the apples. “It’s probably the apples you ate. You’re supposed to wash them before you eat them.”
“I gotta go use the john.” Tate ran out of the house and made for the woods.
Tater ran out, hollering after his brother. “Wait, Tate, we have a toilet in the house! And, who is John?” A pain filled Tater’s head, making him take a seat on the porch. “Owh, my head. All this stress is starting to get to me.” He started messaging his forehead, only to start feeling what felt like fur in place of skin. He opened his eyes to see dark gray fur covering his hands. “Oh, this ain’t good.”
In the woods, Tate fell the ground after his legs finally gave out from the distance. He started screaming in pain as his shirt’s buttons popped, one by one, as he doubled in size. Claws sprouted from the ends of his fingers, and he saw his body steadily becoming engulfed in dark gray fur. He felt his tooth sharpen into a fang, and a sharp pain in his lower back. He looked back to see he had grown a tail and felt atop his head to find two wolf ears. Tate closed his eyes, howling as his face grew a snout. The pain had finally stopped and Tate looked at himself in the lake to find his eyes were bright yellow. “Oh my gosh. I was right; werewolves are real! Tater ain’t going to believe this.”
“Tate! Where did you go? I just want to talk.”
“Oh no! Tater! He can’t see me like this. What am I going to do?” Tate panicked, searching for a place to hide. He spun around in circles until Tater entered the clearing, in a werewolf form as well. Tate froze, shock on his face. “Tater, you’re a werewolf, too?”
“Yep. Looks like that wolf was a werewolf.” Tater shrugged.
"Tater, look at us. We’re freaks." Tate cried out, almost like a howl at the end. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. It's not like you become a werewolf everyday. Maybe we could-” As the two were talking, a third figure entered the clearing. A larger werewolf. The brothers went into attack mode on all fours, trying to determine if he was a threat or not.
The larger werewolf raised up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Don't worry boys. I'm just like you; a werewolf cursed by the nightfall."
Tate and Tater relaxed, with Tate scratching his head as he asked, "So, you're a werewolf as well?”
"Correct! Now, do you rookies want to learn the basic from an experienced werewolf like me?"
Tate and Tater were hesitant at first, looking at one another before Tater stepped forward. "And, what's in it for us?"
The werewolf laughed. “Come on, don't you want to learn how to be a beast of the night? How to long jump?” He paused for dramatic effect, “How to survive an attack from a monster hunter?
The two thought for a moment before eagerly nodding. "Alright, Wolf-Man. We’re in!"
"Very good. Now, let's get the basics down!"
Part III: Werewolves for dummies.
The three were on a rooftop, watching over the city at night. The werewolf crouched closer to the ledge, looking back to the twins. "Alright, you two. The first thing is super hearing. You should notice that your hearing is much stronger.” He leaned over. “Listen and hear all kinds of thing you couldn’t hear before."
The two copied the werewolf, leaning over and taking in the sounds, from a car alarm blocks away and, strangers whistling tunes to birds chirping as they retire for the night and the buzzing of bugs. Each one sounding like it was blasted out of a stereo. Not only were sounds clearer than ever, but their vision was stronger than before, too. The city looked more vibrant and crystal clear.
"Wow. The night has never been this clear before." Tater said with amazement as he took everything in.
"Yeah, Tater. This is too cool. I... awhowl! These loud cars are starting to hurt my ears." Tate tried to block some of the noise by covering his ears.
"Don't worry, you get used to it. Now, let’s go." The werewolf stood up and walked off.
Tate and Tater followed, eager for their next test. He led them to a dense forest, with Wolf-Man standing in the middle of the clearing. “Somewhere in this forest, I’ve buried two juicy steaks. You two are going to see if you can find the steaks with your enhanced sense of smell. Then, with your claws, you’ll dig them up.”
"Okay, sounds great! Is there a time limit or-" The blast of an air horn interrupted Tater’s question.
The two started sniffing the ground, fervently searching for the steak as their werewolf coach continued to holler words of encouragement in the background. After scouring what seemed like nearly every inch of the clearing, Tater finally found his steak. He quickly dug it up and brought it to Wolf-Man. “So, how did I do?"
"You did great." Wolf-Man responded.
"Really?" Tater said with excitement.
"Yeah. It only took you one and half hours, but I’ll cut you break this time since you’re a rookie.” Wolf-Man ignored as Tater’s expression fell and scanned the wood line. “Say, where is your brother?"
Tater shrugged. "I don't know. He was in the forest just a couple of…" He trailed off as Tate trampled through a bush, running on all fours with something in his mouth.
The two looked in disgust and horror as Tate dropped an arm at their feet. Wolf-Man broke the silence, screaming as he lifted the arm up. "You blockhead! I said steak! Where did you even get this?"
Tate shrugged. "Oh, I'm sorry. I got lost and ended up in a cemetery.”
Wolf-Man and Tater both facepalmed. After a deep exhale, Wolf-Man spoke up again. “You know what, never mind. Time for the final test." The twins followed their mentor to the edge of a cliff, where he explained they would be testing their super jump abilities. He demonstrated himself, getting a running start and leaping as soon as he hit the edge. He soared across the chasm and landed on the other side, leaving a dent from the impact.
"Uh, I don't know about this one. I mean, are you sure we have super jump?" Tater yelled out.
"Come on, you're a werewolf. You can do this now. Jump!" Wolf-Man yelled back.
Tate volunteered to go first, with his brother wishing him good luck. The first boy took a few deep breaths, working up the courage to make the leap. Tate started running and released a battle cry as he jumped and flew through the sky. He closed his eyes after he looked down, seeing how far the ground was below him. It wasn’t until he felt the ground beneath his feet that the potato opened his eyes. He smiled as he realized he made it. He waved his arms and called out to his brother, “Tater, I made it!”
Tater paced in a circle, not wanting to jump. Tate and Wolf-Man cheered him on from the other side. After listening to theirs, and taunts, for a moment Tater finally worked up the courage. He got a running start, yelling as his feet left the safety of solid ground. "Yahoo! Reach for the sky!" Tater grinned, seeing the cliff come closer. His smile fell just as quickly when he realized he would be too short, barely able to grab the cliff side as he started to plummet.
"Tater!" Tate yelled as him and Wolf-Man rushed to save him. “Whoa. That was a close one.” He laughed a little as he brushed a bit of dirt from Tater’s fur.
"Uh, yeah. You probably didn't have enough runway, but we’ll work more on it later. For now, you two still got a lot of work to go over.” Wolf-Man was cut off by a loud meow behind the group. "Oh no, not him!"
“Who is it? Why are you scared, Mister Wolf-Man?" Tater asked.
“It's my arch nemesis, Were-Cat!”
Out of nowhere Were-Cat jumps, landing in front of the group. “Well, well, well. If it isn't Man-Wolf." He said sarcastically.
Wolf-Man responded in a hostile voice, "Hello... Kitty." The two were locked in a stare-off
"Oh, this is not good." Tate says.
Part IV: Running away with your tail between your legs.
"What are you doing here, Were-Cat?" Wolf-Man asked.
"Huh, that's funny. I could ask you the same thing."
"Oh, I’m just trying to teach these rookies how to be a werewolf."
Were-Cat threw his head back, erupting in laughter. "Why would they want to be a werewolf when they can be a werecat?"
"Oh yeah, because being a werecat is so much better then being a werewolf." Wolf-Man’s voice was filled with sarcasm.
"Better then being a wolf? Of course it's better! Where do I even start? We’re quicker, fast reflexes, the nine lives, and, best of all, we land on our feet." Were-Cat grinned.
The werewolf rolled his eyes, tone still sarcastic. "Oh, wow. It's almost like werewolves can do all that but better."
"So, canines can land on their feet? I must of missed that part of evolution. But, then again, what do I expect from a toilet bowl drinker?"
Tate and Tater gasped in the background at the werecat's epic roast.
"Listen here, litter box user, you’re going to be missing some teeth from your mouth if you don’t shut it." Wolf-Man raised his fists like a boxer.
“Of course you would say that. You’re nothing but a meat head. Always going with violence; you probably just lack the brain power that a werecat has.”
Wolf-Man punched Were-Cat in the face, knocking him to the ground. Were-Cat slowly sat and felt something warm dripping from his nose. He looked down at his hand to see blood. "Oh. So, you want to fight, huh? Well, catch me if you can, loser!" Were-Cat jumped away, hopping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Why that scaredy-cat... Come boys, let's knock this feline down to no lives!" Wolf-Man took off at Were-Cat, with the twins following close behind him.
As they hopped between rooftops, Tater started laughing. "You called him a scaredy-cat because he's a werecat. That's good."
"Tater, come on. Now is not time for jokes." Tate looked back to his brother with a serious expression.
Tate nodded, getting a serious look himself as they continued their chase with Were-Cat. Every time they though they were close, the slippery feline would back flip, sidestep, or use some other slick trick to escape their claws. As the chase dragged on, the twins were starting to feel defeated. They lamented that he was too fast, too agile, and too quick. Wolf-Man spoke up, "Don't worry, fellas. I know where he's going; I've done this chase before. As a matter of fact, last night me and nine lives had a brawl.”
Tater thought back to the junior officer’s words and the state of the town this morning, putting the pieces together. “Wait. You and the werecat caused all that damage last night?”
“Yep. Sorry about that, sometimes our fights can get destructive.”
“Wow. You know Mister Goldberg is mad with you.” Tate chuckled, remembering the argument this morning.
“Yeah, well, I’d like to see that Goldberg take down a werewolf like me. Now, let’s focus. There’s a cat to catch.”
“Alright, let’s get him!” Tater cheered, running ahead of the group.
Seeing the others catch-up again, Were-Cat started to taunt Wolf-Man. The two traded insults back and forth, with Wolf-Man growing visibly upset. Tater suddenly got an idea. "Say now, why don't we try boxing him in?"
Wolf-Man scratched his chin as he mulled over the suggestion. "You know, that’s a good idea. You go left while your brother goes right and I go down the middle.”
The three then spread out to corner the werecat. They waited, trailing a bit behind as they waited for the perfect time to ambush. Were-Cat was too busy continuing to taunt the others, mostly Wolf-Man, asking if his rookies turned tail and ran away in fear. As he laughed at his own joke, he ran into a dead in. Before he could find an escape, they all jumped out, cornering him.
"It's over, Were-Cat. We’ve got you covered. Now, give it up!" Wolf-Man snarled as the three started to close in.
"Oh no, you got me.” Were-Cat dramatically covered his face in the crux of his elbow. “What will I ever do? I guess I will just… Surprise!" He blew catnip into their faces, blinding them so he could make his escape. "Ha, ha! Never trust a sneaky cat. Smell you later, losers!"
The three wipe their eyes before following after him. This time, they ended up crashing a Halloween rooftop party. Were-Cat snatched a random glass as he ran by. “Thank you, I’m thirsty.”
Wolf-Man was close behind him until he crashed into someone carrying a tray of food. He scrambled to get up, slipping on deli meats and olives as he apologized. Tate and Tater ran past, weaving through the crowd with ease due to their small size. No one paid them any attention, thinking they were just in costumes. The most they heard was, "Aw. Those werewolves are adorable,” as they passed one group.
Were-Cat was nearly at the other side of the rooftop, he looked back to see Wolf-Man was starting to close the distance again. “Well, this was fun but I gotta to go.” Were-Cat snickered, looking ahead of him again, preparing to make his dramatic exit. He skidded to a stop, surprised to see two, little, gray werewolves waiting at the ledge for him.
Wolf-Man lunged at Were-Cat, the force sending both of them flying over the ledge. Tate and Tater ducked as the two flew over their heads. The screams of both werebeasts filled the air as they fell into the alley way. Tate and Tater peered over the ledge.
"Oh my, Mister Wolf-Man! Him and that cat fella fell. I hope they’re okay.” Tater’s hands were cupping his head, in disbelief. He watched his brother jump down before following behind him.
Once on the ground, it didn’t take long to find the other werebeasts. They ran over, moving a trash can off of Wolf-Man to find him unconscious. Tate and Tater yelled his name in shock, before looking
angrily over to the werecat. He was slumped over, holding his head in his hands. Still conscious, but with a nasty headache.
"Alright, you hurt Mister Wolf. Now, we’ll take maters into our own hands." Tater lunged at Were-Cat, launching into a barrage of attacks. None of which appeared very effective since the werebeast flicked the werewolf spudling away. Tater groaned as he hit a wall.
"My turn." Tate dove for one of Were-Cat’s legs, leaving small bite marks.
"Owh! Hey, that is not a chew toy! Get off me, you simpleton." Were-Cat attempted to shake Tate off, but the tuber was latched on, his sharp teeth deep in Were-Cat’s leg. The werecat managed to pry Tate off, tossing him to the side as he examined the deep teeth marks left behind. "So that's how you two want to play, huh? Well then, it’s time for you two to see what a cat can do." He lunged at the twins, claws out in an attempt to hit them both at the same time.
Tate rolled to the side, dodging the attack entirely, while Tater’s sidestep was a bit slower, causing him to end up with a scratch. Tater held his face while his brother was amazed at the speed. "I know, but Mister Wolf would tell us not to quit."
The twins jumped at Were-Cat again, but he caught the two and slammed them to the cold, hard ground. They groaned in pain. "You boys give up, or are you hungry for more?" Were-Cat taunted.
Tate and Tater brushed the dirt off themselves and got ready for round two of their fight. "Never! You're going down, cat man." Tate spat as he jumped at Were-Cat, only for the feline to sidestep. Tate hit a pipe and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Oops. Guess the cat is quicker than the wolf." Were-Cat grinned with a shrug as he turned to Tater.
"Alright, cat, it's just you and me. A duel you will have, sir." Tater made shadow boxing motions, bracing himself for the fight.
“Well, you know what, because it's one-on-one, I will let you pick the type of duel we have.” Were-Cat chuckled. “So, what's it going to be?"
Tater paused, thinking for a moment. “How about a game of rock, paper, scissors?" Were-Cat accepted the duel and the two started the countdown. Just as Tater threw his hand out, Were-Cat played a dirty trick.
“Oh my god, it's Dracula!” He pointed down the alley. As Tater turned to look, the werecat bonked him on the head, knocking the last tuber out. "Ha,ha. Like I said, never trust a cat." Were-Cat then jumped away, leaving the three out cold in the middle of in alley.
Part V: Werewolves black and blue
The next morning, Tate and Tater woke up in the alley, both back to normal. "Oh man. What a crazy night.” Tater looked at his hand to see his usual, fur-free knuckles. "Huh? My hand... I'm me again. Tate look."
Tate wakes up, happy to find they were both no longer werewolves. “What happen last night? Was it real?"
"Well, given the fact we woke up in this ally way, I would say yes."
"Wait, what about Mister Wolf?" Tate looked over to find a man in the spot where the Wolf-Man was.
"Ugh... That darn cat. I'll get him back, if its the last thing I do!" As the man curses Were-Cat, a police officer walked by the alleyway.
"Hey. What is going on here?” He took one look at the disheveled state of Wolf-Man and made a disgusted face. “Look man, I get it's the land of the free, but you gotta put on some pants."
"No. I’m a werewolf. I just gotta get back to my-" Wolf-Man was cut off by the cop throwing a towel over him and putting handcuffs on him.
“Yeah, sure pal, and I'm the queen of England. You’re coming with me."
Tater and Tate watch as their mentor was escorted off by the officer and sent downtown. "Well, there goes Wolf-Man. Now what are we going to do Tater?"
Tater looked at his brother. "I guess we’re just going to have to learn the basics on our own."
Tate nodded and the two begin to walk back to their farm, planning their monthly werewolf training sessions.
Tate and Tater emerge from their shed with axes in hand, ready for a night of chopping wood for their new lumberjack business. After a year of training, the boys are experts in harnessing their new werewolf powers. "You ready, Tate?"
Tate responds, "You bet." As the full moon comes out, the twins transform into werewolves, howling with delight and heading into the woods.
Part VI: Back at the Campfire
"And that was the story of Tate and Tater becoming Werewolves in Idaho. How was that? Did you get scared? I hope not too much. I mean, just telling this tale gave me goosebumps. I'm just glad there's no werewolves or werecats in these woods.” Pot chuckled before a strong gust blew his fire out.
He frowned. "Awh man. This wind blew my campfire out." The potato hummed as he started his fire again. He dusted his hands off, happy for the warmth as he looked up to the terrified traveler.
Pot turned to find two pairs eyes, one yellow and one green, shining from the woods. Hisses and growls were heard as Pot started to sweat. "Um, I guess this was a bad night to forget sliver bullets.” He chuckled then gulped as he waved to the traveler.
“Well, Happy Halloween! Make sure to stop by next year for another hair-raising tale.” The potato made a break for it as two hungry werebeasts chased after him with utensils in hand.
Bonus part: Jailbreak.
“Look, I’m telling you, I’m a werewolf! Tonight is going to be a full moon and...”
The guard cuts him off with a laugh. “How many times are you going to say this? You’re not a werewolf. Now go to bed; the other cells are trying to sleep.”
As the guard walks away the man sadly slumps onto his bed. A ray of moonlight hit his face he winces as his eyes started to turn a shade of yellow. “Yes, finally! Jailbreak!” He howled as he turns into Wolf-Man.
Hearing a commotion, the guard comes back to investigate. “Alright, what is all the noise for…” The guard was gobsmacked to find an empty cell, with only a ripped jumpsuit on the ground a hole in the wall. “Yep. I’m definitely retiring after this week.” He walked back to his office.
As Wolf-Man jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he bumped into none other than Were-Cat. “Hello, cat. Long time no see. You ready for round three?”
Were-Cat was sitting by a ledge, picking his teeth with a toothpick. “Aw. If it isn’t the big bad wolf. I thought you’d never get out.” He flicked the toothpick over the edge and stood up, rolling his shoulders. “I don’t want to run tonight. Put them dukes up, dog.”
Wolf-Man cracked his knuckles with a grin. “Alright, then. Nothing below the belt.”
The two brandished their claws, sending fur flying every which way and sending one another flying. After awhile of this, with neither appearing to win, they grew tired and called a truce. Were-Cat sniffed the air. “I smell pizza. You know, all this fighting has made me hungry. Maybe we could…”
Mr. Goldberg walked out of the pizza restaurant, carrying dinner for his family. “.99 for two pizzas. Is this place trying to bankrupt me?” He grumbled, his diatribe spiraling from the outrageous cost of his pizzas, bread sticks, and cola, into the damage to his yard. Were-Cat landed in front of him, causing Goldberg to drop his food as he cowered. “What do you want? I’ll write you a check for whatever! Just don’t hurt me.”
Wolf-Man landed not long after. “We don’t want money. However, those pizzas will do.” He whistled happily as he picked up the food and disappeared into the night.
Were-Cat started to follow, but paused for a moment to turn to Goldberg. “Oh, by the way, sorry about the damage we did to your yard. Thanks for the food!” He taunted and followed after Wolf-Man.
Goldberg’s fear turned to anger. ”That was you two?! You animals! I’ll call the army on you troublemakers. You’re history! You hear me? History!”
Officer Robertson and his rookie, Jimmy, were sitting in their car, on patrol and enjoying the peaceful night. “Man theses donuts are good.”
“Yeah, Jimmy. This one of the highlights of this job. That, and protecting the people of this town.” Officer Robertson propped his feet up, letting them dangle out of the window.
Jimmy grabbed another doughnut. “Say, did I ever tell you about the time I found this naked dude in an alley? He tried claiming he was a werewolf.” He chuckled, taking a bite. “What was even weirder, is that I swear I saw two potatoes with him, and it looked they were moving on their own.”
Officer Robertson rolled his eyes. “Not this again, James. How many times do I gotta tell you: potatoes can’t talk or walk, and there are no werewolves.” As soon as Officer Robertson finished his sentence, Wolf-Man and Were-Cat ran by the police car. His mouth dropped in shock.
“See Kevin! I told you, werewolves are real! Now, what are we going to do?”
“Time for a chase. That’s what we’re going to do.” Officer Robertson quickly turned his police own and started to chase after the werebeasts.
Back in the woods, Tate and Tater were on a lunch break, situated right at the edge of the wood line to watch the quiet city at night. They saw Wolf-Man and Were-Cat running away with pizzas, with the cops hot after them.
“Should we help them?” Tate asked as took another bite of his sandwiches.
“Nah, they got this, Tate.” Tater finished his sandwich and stood up, brushing off the crumbs. “Besides we got lots of lumber to make. Let’s go.”
Tate quickly finished the last of his lunch as he followed behind his brother to finish cutting up the trees as the cops continued down the road after the werebeasts.