“We don’t have to hand the girl over to a doctor or nurse,” Argus said. “We just have to get her to the hospital.”

“Like what, lay her down on the front steps, ring the doorbell, and leave?”

“No, not exactly,” said Argus, obviously getting frustrated with Harlan’s attitude. “Maybe…if we get her near the hospital we could make sure somebody found her on the grounds. Or we could take her to some place near the hospital where a search team would find her.”

They were both decent plans, but they were still too risky. First of all, there was no guarantee Angelina would be found immediately, even if they dropped her off near the hospital. And, perhaps more important, who knew what might happen to the pack if any of the townspeople claimed to have seen a “wolf-man” in the woods? The town would be up in arms, and every Ogopogo watcher and Bigfoot hunter would be camped out in the forest trying to snap a photo of—or maybe even shoot—the new Redstone Monster. No, risking a werewolf sighting, even at a distance, was something to be avoided at all costs.

“Church is over, don’t stand up!”

“What?” said Tora.

“Stay in your seat,” muttered Angelina.

They all turned in time to see the girl’s eyes flutter open. She had turned her head and was looking directly at them. And then her eyes went wide at the realization of what she was looking at—three human-like forms, covered with hair from head to foot, with pointed ears, sharp claws, and fangs.

“Great!” moaned Harlan. “What do we do now?”

That’s a good question, thought Tora. A very excellent question.

No one, it seemed, had an answer.

Tora turned away from Angelina then, and looked over her shoulder, hoping, or perhaps praying, that she would see Noble stepping out of the forest, the picture of health and eager to solve this little problem for them. But of course Noble wasn’t there. They were on their own, and it was up to them to come up with a plan.

Tora glanced over at Harlan. He’d had lots of questions about what they were going to do, but no answers. Obviously he wasn’t going to offer a solution.

And Argus? He was all about action. He was eager to get things done, but he had little interest or regard for the details. But who could blame him? Who worried about details when you had a set of claws like steak knives?

It’s up to me, she thought. She would have to be the one to figure things out. And whatever happened in the end—right or wrong—it would be on her. As she thought about that, her appreciation and admiration for the job Noble did leading the pack was heightened to the point where she again began to wonder…What would Noble do?