Read 100% Wolf Online

Authors: Jayne Lyons

100% Wolf (10 page)

C
HAPTER
F
IFTEEN
Escape Plans

Batty was overjoyed to see Freddy return safely to the
cell. He breathlessly told her about his meeting with
Uncle Hotspur, while she tried her best to comfort
and calm him. Sometime later the bored man came to
fetch St John, who gave a superior smirk as he was led
from the cell.

'Where are they off to?' Freddy yipped noisily.

'Outside walkies,' Hamish replied. 'Now, we must
be quick. Here's the escape plan ...'

'Escape? Fantabulous!' Freddy yapped at top
volume.

'Shush,' the other dogs cringed.

'Do you always have to be so thoughtless, lad?'
Hamish hissed.

Freddy had a think. 'Not
always,'
he decided.

'Good.' Hamish smiled. 'Or else we couldn't tell
you our plan.'

'Our escape plan!' Bruno woofed, even louder than
Freddy had.

'My hairy ears!' Hamish yapped in exasperation.
'You two have the brains of a human.' This is, of
course, a terrible insult among dogs.

'Well, yes, I am very clever,' Freddy was pleased to
have had his genius recognised.

'Stop showing off, Freddy,' Batty growled.

'I'm not, I'm just saying ...'

'Yes, you was showing off,' Bruno agreed.

'The next dog to make a
woof
won't be going on
any escape!' Hamish yipped in frustration, louder
than anyone else had.

The other dogs looked at their paws, feeling like
naughty puppies.

'Can we have some quiet?' the terrier whispered.
'Now listen ...'

Freddy was tempted to point out that now, by his
own rules, Hamish was not allowed to escape, for he
had woofed first. For once, however, he kept quiet.

The dogs gathered closer.

'I wasn't sure whether to tell you at first. I saw the
wee pink lad here and –'

'And we knew he'd snitch,' Bruno interrupted.

'Well, no offence, Freddy lad, but you didn't look
tough enough,' Hamish continued. 'Then you proved
yourself to be a fool. But you, lassie, are a sausage stealer
– the smartest, cheekiest and quickest profession on
the Wildside. So I just have to give you the chance.'

Batty was not a show-off but she couldn't help but
look proud and pretty at this news. Her tail wagged
beautifully.

'Not tough enough?' Freddy sulked at the appalling
insults.
'A fool?'

'Are you ready for the plan?' Hamish yipped.

Batty nodded, but Freddy only stuck his muzzle
in the air. His curiosity soon got the better of him,
however, and he forgot to sulk. Bruno walked over to
the straw where he and Hamish slept. He pushed it
away with his paw.

'There you go!' Hamish yipped proudly.

There in the stone-flagged floor was a metal grate.
Freddy and Batty looked at each other.

'Go on, lad,' Hamish woofed.

Bruno pushed his paw down with all his strength
on one corner of the grate and the opposite end
popped up. Hamish clamped it with his tiny teeth and
he and Bruno tugged the grate away, leaving a hole
about thirty centimetres square.

'A tunnel!' Freddy and Batty woofed together.

'Aye, well, it's a drain actually,' Hamish corrected
them.

Batty put her muzzle down the hole and sniffed,
then jumped back in excitement.

'Outside! I can smell the Wildside,' she barked.

'Oh aye,' Hamish agreed. 'There's a way out, all right,
we just have to find it. It's like a maze down there.'

'Whenever St John is gone, one of us has a look
around,' Bruno told them.

'But what about the ghost hound?' Freddy suddenly
remembered.

'You just hope you don't meet him,' Bruno growled,
sounding very brave.

Batty looked at him with new admiration and the
boxer went red.

'And have you ever seen it?' Freddy gasped.

'No, lad. I doubt he's even real,' laughed Hamish.
'Now you two can help, we'll find the exit in no
time.'

Freddy's face fell at the thought of going down into
the dark, where the ghost hound haunted. He was
more scared of ghosts than anything.

'I'll go right now!' Batty volunteered without
hesitation.

But she never had a chance, for suddenly there was
a loud commotion in the corridor. Quickly the dogs
pushed back the grate and the straw. Yaps began to
echo along from cell to cell.

'A human is here!'

'To adopt us!'

'Someone to adopt us, to love us!'

It was unbelievably good news. Never in the history
of Coldfax had a human wanted to adopt one of the
inmates.

'This is our chance, Batty!' Freddy said in
excitement. 'If we can be adopted that means we'll
be
outside.'

Batty raised her eyes at him affectionately, secretly
sorry for the poor little smelly poodle. Surely no selfrespecting
human would want
him
as a pet.

'Stinky, if you are chosen you must take your
chance and go. Don't worry about me,' she reassured
him.

Freddy was instantly dismayed. It hadn't occurred
to him that he might have to leave Batty behind.

'I'm so sorry, but I must save my pack. As soon as
I'm a boy again, I'll come back and adopt you.'

Batty whacked him reassuringly with her tail. He
was going to need all the help she could give him.

'Sit up on your back legs,' she instructed. 'Then
offer to shake paws.' Freddy did as he was told.

'Should I look fierce?' he wondered.

'Don't be silly, Stinky,' Batty laughed. Freddy's ears
drooped. 'You have to look
clever,'
she added.

That idea cheered him up immediately. The dogs
lined up.

Bruno looked strong, Hamish clever, Batty
charming and Freddy ... well, he looked pink and
silly. What were the chances of
him
being chosen?

The person was coming.

'That one
bites,
this one
smells,
that one
limps,'
the
Commander said from outside the next cell. The old
lady was clearly not going to help one of the inmates
go to a happy home. Several dogs couldn't bear the
wait and erupted into hysterical woofs.

'Oh, take me!'

'Pick me! I'm sweet! I'm good!'

'Steady, pups!' Hamish instructed. 'No human
wants a sissy for a dog. No offence, Freddy lad.'

'I'm not a
sissy!'
Freddy hissed in fury.

Bruno sniggered.

Freddy stood up on his hind legs and started a
special twirl.

There was the sound of applause. He had obviously
impressed the person with his tricks. He jumped around
in triumph, then fell back onto the straw with horror.

There stood his greatest enemy.

'Cripp!' he woofed.

Batty too had recognised the wolf hunter. She
jumped next to Freddy protectively.

'I won't let him take you,' she growled fiercely.

The Commander looked on in disgust.

'These are the very
worst
dogs, the dregs. You can't
really want one of these?' she asked in disbelief.

The ghastly man raised his arm and pointed
towards the two friends, his thick glasses steaming up
with excitement.

'Yes,' he cried, 'yes, I want one of those two ...'

On his pointing finger, the Moonstone shone
brightly in its ring. Fortunately, Freddy's own
Moonstone was hidden by the little silver medal Pam
had put on him.

Much faster than I can tell you, Freddy realised
the truth. He knew that a Moonstone in the hands
of a human was a fearsome weapon. At that very
moment Dr Cripp's blood would be burning hot.
He could use this ring to find the Fangen – find
them and destroy them. The hateful man had
discovered Flasheart, and now
him.
Who would be
next? Before he remembered that being brave might
also be dangerous, Freddy flew through the air and
caught Dr Cripp's finger in his sharp little teeth.
The doctor let out a high-pitched shriek.

'The pink one has bitten me,' he wailed. 'Again!'

Cerberus flung himself against the iron bars in a
spitting rage.

'Let go or die, you putrid pink dreg,' he snarled
savagely.

'Freddy, be careful,' Batty woofed with concern.
Her silly friend could be brave at the most dangerous
moments.

'Oh no, laddie. That's no way to be adopted,'
Hamish groaned.

Freddy dangled in the air, holding onto the ring
with all his might.

Crash!

The hunter fell backwards onto the stone floor of
the corridor and Freddy onto the straw in the cell.
The ring had fallen off into Freddy's mouth and,
with no other place to hide it, he swallowed it with
a gulp.

'Well done, Freddy. He'll be too scared to take you
away now!' Batty cried.

Freddy turned to see Cerberus's red-rimmed eyes
glaring with hatred at him, a deep, terrifying growl
coming from his throat. He almost preferred the
idea of going with Dr Cripp to staying here with
the wolfhound.

'You ought to keep these vicious monsters caged,'
the wolf hunter gasped. 'That ring was vital to my
work.
Vital.'

'Oh, it'll come out the other end quite soon, don't
you worry,' the Commander replied.

'I can't wait,' Dr Cripp sniffed sarcastically.

'So you won't be wanting the poodle after all?' the
old lady smiled in relief.

'The
pink
one?' the doctor snorted through his
nose. 'Of course not! It's that hairy hound I want.' He
raised his finger and pointed it again, at
Batty.
Freddy
woofed with shock.

'Perhaps she doesn't look like a wolf, but she can't
hide from me.' The ghastly man giggled madly.

'Batty, don't let him take you! He thinks you're a
Fangen,' Freddy yapped, horrified.

The Commander reluctantly opened the iron-barred
door. Batty ran to and fro, trying to keep away from
her.

'Help her, quick. He's going to kill her, not adopt
her. It's a trick!' Freddy called to the others.

Bruno immediately jumped in front of Batty.
Cerberus leapt at him with a snarl and knocked him
against the wall. He fell down, stunned. Freddy and
Hamish snapped at the fearsome guard dog's haunches.
He turned on them with a snarl and swiped both dogs
away easily with his heavy paws, then he backed Batty
into a corner. In a second, she had been muzzled and
was yanked on a lead out of the cell. Before any of
her friends could reach her, the iron cage door was
slammed shut once more.

The Commander handed Batty over to the hunter.
Cripp looked at Batty, who snarled at him defiantly,
then with a laugh he pulled her away down the
corridor. He smiled in satisfaction. Only a silver bullet
could kill these evil beasts, but he was prepared; he
had a silver pistol with him always.

Freddy howled with anguish at the dog-napping
of his brave friend. As his sorrow echoed around the
corridor it was joined by the eerie howl of the ghost
hound of Coldfax.

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN
The Dungeon

'He's been missing for two days!' Mrs Mutton was
standing in the kitchen and raging at Sir Hotspur.

'The boy is here somewhere, madam,' he lied. 'He
is a skulking coward. Probably hiding under a bed.
Am I to blame for that?'

'You are to blame for frightening him so much
he ran away. Do you want to feel the wooden spoon
again, Hotspur?' She held up the dreaded weapon.

'No ...' Sir Hotspur looked more like a naughty
puppy than the fiercest wolf in Britain. Nobody
knew how old Mrs Mutton was, but she had looked
exactly the same when Hotspur was a boy. Both he
and his brother had felt the wooden spoon on many
occasions. She was the only creature on the planet he
was still scared of.

'Then find him now and bring him home safely,'
she ordered.

Sir Hotspur glared at her from under his eyebrows
and muttered to himself.

Mrs Mutton raised the wooden spoon again and
Sir Hotspur gave a jump.

'All right, madam! But the foolster is a disgrace, I
tell you!' Nonetheless he went out to pretend to look
for his irritating nephew.

'Silly old windbag.' Mrs Mutton shook her head as
he left the room.

'And don't think I can't see you two,' she turned and
cried at the smirking pink faces peeping in through
the window.

The twins only laughed and ran away. Their father
had pretended to be furious with them when he had
returned from Coldfax Fort. But they had seen that
secretly he was pleased. They had all three made a
pact never to tell. The existence of the Moonstone and
Freddy's imprisonment in Coldfax was to be a secret
between Sir Hotspur and his children. No-one would
ever know.

Freddy was inconsolable. Batty was in mortal danger
and it was his fault. If she had never met him, she
would still be safe now, happily stealing sausages and
running away from the police. Freddy had tried his
best to help her, but that had not been good enough.
Sir Rathbone would never have left a friend in peril.
And how could he help her now, stuck inside this cell?
But of course!

He jumped up, his ears high and alert.

'The drain, quick!' he yipped excitedly.

Hamish and Bruno looked up with questioning
ears.

'I'll go through the tunnel and rescue her!' Freddy
was pleased with his plan.

'But we haven't found the way out yet, lad,' Hamish
said gently.

'But I have to escape
now!'
Freddy yapped at full
volume.

'Hush, hush, lad!' Hamish urged. 'You don't want
everyone to hear.'

'To hear
what,
I wonder?'

St John's sly voice behind them made the dogs
jump. With him were the Commander, the bored
guard and the snarling Cerberus.

'Time to pay, pink pong,' the wolfhound slavered.

'Only one place to punish
biters,'
the Commander
laughed. '
You
won't be causing any more trouble in
Coldfax.'

Freddy started to feel extremely worried.

Just then the mournful howl of the ghost hound
once again filled the cell with its eerie music.

'The ghost hound is going to eat you alive,' Cerberus
laughed horribly.

Hamish's and Bruno's ears fell.

'Take him to the dungeon,' the Commander ordered
icily.

Freddy gasped with horror. He was being sent to
the ghost hound's lair?

'No. Please, I'm sorry, I'll be a good dog, I promise,'
he whimpered.

The bored man opened the door and the wolfhound
charged in. He bowled Freddy over and stood with
his heavy front paws on the poodle's chest.

To be fair, Freddy was just as frightened for Batty
as for himself. How could he escape if he was in the
dungeon? Then the horror of what awaited fell upon
him again. Before he could worry any more, he found
himself dangling in the air, held in the bored guard's
fist. Freddy could hardly breathe, but managed one
last croak.

'Bruno, save her.'

'Keep brave, laddie!' Hamish called.

Freddy couldn't answer. The cell door slammed
shut. As he was carried down the corridor, the dogs
stood silently by the bars of their cells to watch. They
had heard what the terrible punishment was to be.

Freddy's terror increased as they drew nearer to
the heavy oak door at the end of the corridor. The
Commander stepped forward, put a large key into the
lock and turned the heavy ring handle. With a hideous
screech the door swung away from her. Slippery stone
steps led down into the pitch black. Freddy smelt
cold, dank, stale air ... and also something much
more frightening.

'Take him down,' the Commander said.

Freddy whimpered and with his scratchy little toes
tried to kick the bored man, but they began to descend
into the dark. Cerberus paced behind, with a rare and
nasty smile. At the bottom was another thick wooden
door closed with an iron bolt. The bored man opened
it and threw the poodle roughly onto the stone floor
beyond. In an instant, Freddy scrambled round and
charged at full pelt back towards the door, where he
was met by Cerberus's bared fangs.

'Get back in there, nose-drip,' he roared. Freddy
then realised that he was more scared of a real Cerberus
than a mythical ghost. But only just.

He whimpered as the door slammed shut and
left him in pitch black. The man's footsteps retreated
upstairs and the upper door slammed. Freddy couldn't
see a thing, but shut his eyes anyway to hide from
the dark. With a hammering heart, he thought of the
occasions he had hidden in his tower from his furious
uncle. All those times he had one friend to comfort
him, one friend to talk to.

'I can be brave just like you, Dad,' he whispered. 'I'm
not scared, I'm not scared. I'm not. I'm ... Arrggh!'

Freddy jumped high in the air with fright as he
heard the rattling of a heavy chain over the stone floor.
From the dark came a terrible and ragged breath.
Freddy backed away until his little backside was pushing
against the wooden door. With his eyes clasped
tight, he waited with trembling legs. Some thing, some
terrible thing, was walking across the floor.

The ghost hound of Coldfax was coming for him.

A few miles away, dusk fell on the woodland around
Farfang Castle. A stooped and creeping figure hid
among the trees. As the figure leaned forward, the
fading light revealed the thick glasses and greasy hair
of Dr Foxwell Cripp. He stood licking his lips and
rubbing his hands together.

'This is the place,' he whispered to himself. 'Who
knows how many wolves are inside?' He gave a
repulsive gurgle.

Just then, the huge front door opened. Dr Cripp
jumped back into the shadows as Sir Hotspur strode
out of the castle, his face flushed with temper. He had
received a rather sharp slap on his bottom from Mrs
Mutton's wooden spoon for failing to find Freddy, and
was sent yet
again
to search for him. He began to walk
around the grounds pretending to look. It wasn't long
before he had had enough of the charade.

'I'll keep that foolster locked up forever,' he
grumbled to himself. 'The Fang Council will grovel
for my forgiveness. Soon I shall be hailed as the best of
wolves – the best of wolves, sir!' he roared at the night
sky and stormed inside once more.

'And I am the best of men,' Dr Cripp wheezed with
delight. 'Tonight is the beginning. I have found them
at last, and I shall not rest until Britain is free of the
Fangen. Now begins the final battle against the evil
Werewolf Pack.'

He raised his silver gun dramatically to the moon
and turned to face the muzzled dog tied to a tree
behind him. Batty snarled defiantly as the doctor
walked towards her.

Cripp gave an evil grin. 'Your time will come soon
enough, werewolf.'

Freddy, frozen with fear, heard the heavy breathing
coming closer. Just when he felt he couldn't get any
more terrified, he did. He almost barked aloud when
he felt a warm breath blow over him from ghostly
nostrils. The ghost hound must be only inches away.
Then, at last, he could bear it no longer.

'
Yooooowwwwlllll,'
Freddy howled.

He leapt high in the air as the unearthly voice of
the ghost joined him.

'
Yooooowwwwlllll
,' they howled together. Freddy
turned and scratched his little toes against the heavy
oak door in an effort to escape. It was useless.

'Let me out. Please let me out!' he howled in
misery.

'Out. Out!' the ghost hound echoed.

A mighty paw slammed against the door just
centimetres from him. Freddy scampered away and
cringed in a corner.

After a few minutes of whimpering he noticed
that everything was quiet. At last he managed to
open his eyes. After several blinks, the previously
impenetrable darkness gradually faded into a gloomy
dusk. Freddy began to hope that the ghost hound had
disappeared once more. With his heart still beating
rapidly, his eyes scanned the room for movement. He
was confused and frightened, not only for himself,
but for poor Batty too.

'I must get out of here,' he yipped in frustration.

'Out. Out!' came a ghastly growl.

'Great howls!' Freddy yelped in terror once again.
The ghost hound had been there all the time.

'Howls,' the growl repeated.

Freddy stood looking out at the gloom, his spindly
legs shivering. He could make out a dark shape lying on
the floor. He made a drastic decision and summoned
up every ounce of bravery he could.

'Mr Ghost Hound?' he squeaked.

'Ghost?' came the growl again. Freddy's heart
thumped but he forced himself to continue. After all,
if he had to share a dungeon with a ghost hound from
hell, it would be better if they could be friends.

'Why are you here?' Freddy croaked very slowly.
He wasn't too sure of what to say to a phantom.

'Here ... ?' the spirit repeated mournfully.

'What do you want?' Freddy yipped.

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