Halloween was almost over and I had another great night. I received even more candy than last year. I said goodnight to my friends and decided to take a shortcut home. Big mistake.

I ran into Don Jr. He was a few years older than me and in high school. "Happy Halloween Don!" "Whatever nerd! Just give me your candy and I won't give you a knuckle sandwich." "Aren't you a little old to be out trick-or-treating? You don't even have a costume."

Don Jr. pushed me so hard that I ended up tumbling down a hill. I hurt myself during the fall and felt like crying. I was so tired of being bullied by guys like Don Jr. but didn't have the guts to stand up to them. One day I would. Just not today.

When I got to my feet I could feel several pairs of eyes  on me. I was not alone and just a little bit afraid of what could be waiting for me. I had already lost all of my Halloween candy, been shoved down a hill, and now the zipper on my wolf costume was stuck. What else could possibly go wrong tonight?

It was only a pack of snarling wolves. Wolves??? I stood there frozen solid with fear. One of the wolves came up and sniffed every inch of me. The other wolves soon joined him as I began to fear that they were going to have me for a snack. "It's okay. He's one of us" the lead wolf said. "Whew!"

"We saw what that bully did you and it wasn't fair. We look after our own. You must be cold and tired. We'll take you to our den to rest up and have something to eat." "What about my parents? They'll be worried sick." "It's taken care of. I left a message on your answering machine telling them that you were with friends."

I followed the pack of wolves to their den. "It isn't much but it's the best we could do on such short notice." "It's fine. Thank you so much for everything." "You barely touched your rabbit stew. Are you sure you're not still hungry?" "I'm good." "Howl if you need anything."

"Beowulf, why are you being so nice to that human? It's obvious he's not one of us and he's wearing a Halloween costume." "Not all humans are bad Wolfram. Besides, I feel I bad for the kid. He needs to build up his self-esteem."