Sam started to scream as soon as the hands tightened on his ankles. The fall knocked the breath out of him, silencing him momentarily, but after a second or two he was screaming again.
I scrambled to my knees, grabbed Sam's arms, and pulled as hard as I could.
I could see the wolf-man underneath the car, spread out on his hairy belly and grinning wildly. Drool was dripping from his jaws.
I pulled with all my might, and Sam slid toward me. But the wolf-man came with him, wriggling out from under the car, not loosening his grip.
I stopped pulling and let go of Sam. I grabbed the iron bar that he'd dropped, jumped to my feet, and began pounding the outstretched arms of the wolf-man, who howled angrily.
The wolf-man released one of his hairy paws and swatted at me. I ducked out of the way and struck at the hand still holding Sam. The wolf-man yelped with pain and his fingers came free.
"Run!"I screamed to Sam as I yanked him to his feet.
We sprinted toward the guard's house, side by side. I could hear the wolf-man scrambling out from beneath the car. He'd been playing with us before, but now he was furious. I knew he'd come at us with everything he had. The games were over. There was no way we'd make it to the guard's house. He'd have us before we were halfway across the yard.
"Keep... running,"I gasped to Sam, then stopped momentarily and looked back to meet the charge of the oncoming wolf-man.
My actions took him by surprise, and he ran into me. His body was hairy and sweaty and heavy. The collision sent both of us flying to the ground. Our arms and legs were all tangled up, but I quickly freed myself and whacked him with the iron bar.
The wolf-man roared angrily and swiped at my arm. This time he connected, just below where it joined with my shoulder. The force of the blow deadened my arm, which became a useless lump of flesh and bone. I dropped the bar, then reached for it with my other hand.
But the wolf-man was quicker. He snatched up the bar and tossed it far away, where it fell with a clang, lost to the darkness.
He stood slowly, grinning nastily. I could read the expression in his eyes and knew, if he could speak, he would be saying something like: "Now, Darren Shan, you're mine! You had your fun and games, but now it's killing time!"
He grabbed my body by the sides, opened his mouth wide, and leaned forward to bite my face off. I could smell the stench of his breath and see bits of meat and shirt from R.V.'s arms stuck between his yellow teeth.