Rocky the Werepup

A Wolf's Belly: Part 1

"HOOOWWWWLLL!!!! Owwww!" Rocky screeched through the night, again. For three, long, sleepless months he had howled in pain each night. Every citizen in Adventure Bay had called Ryder asking if there was anything they could do to help.

And he'd answer the same way each time: "That would be nice, if I knew what was wrong. Sorry it disturbed you."

Finally, Mayor Goodway asked him to either aid Rocky in solving the problem or there were going to be problems. Ryder said he knew what she meant and took Rocky to Katie's straightaway.

"Wow!" She said once they had arrived. "Rocky, in a way, this is a special visit. It's not every day that I get to examine a wolf; hee hee... you're my first."

"That's... nice to know, Katie." Rocky told her, now wishing to have been anywhere but here.

"So, any signs of something wrong?" Ryder asked concerned.

Katie looked at Rocky then Ryder. "As a matter of fact, I can't find anything wrong with him. Rocky, you're as healthy as a horse."

"Funny, I recall being cursed into a wolf rather than a horse." He said playfully, and they all laughed.

"Seriously though, I really have nothing... Owww! HOOWWWLL!!! P-pain, in my b-belly. Help." He said as he gripped his midsection.

Katie looked at him and rubbed her chin. "Rocky," She said, "I may have a way to check what is wrong, but it's not very, um, comfortable."

"I'll take it. I don't care what it is, just do it!"

Katie stepped into the storeroom and returned with armfulls of equipment. She hooked everything up and returned to Rocky.

"Now, please stand and open wide. Say 'ahh'."

"Ahhh. (Glek!) (Gulp)." Before he even had time to think, Katie forced Rocky to swallow some object, it tasted horrid.

"Sorry Rocky, hope I didn't gag you too badly." She said apologetically.

"I'm fine Katie. (Burp.) Pardon me. I just don't think my stomach enjoys digesting gadgets."

"You're good, Rocky. Hmm... oh. Oh! Oh, my! Well, that's strange. Oh, dear..." Katie said aloud as she watched a monitor.

Ryder looked at Rocky worridly. He sent the same look back at the boy. "Katie," Ryder began, "Are there any problems in Rocky's stomach?"

She turned with an anxious face. "Well, I have good and bad news. The good news is that Rocky is not experiencing anything uncommon. He'll be fine. The bad news, is the cure..." She paused and gently rubbed her hands together.

"What do I have to do? It can't be as bad as... Oww!... these stomach pains." Rocky told her, and his belly grumbled in agreement.

"(Sigh) Rocky, I'm sorry to say, but the only way to stop those pains is to be a wolf. Meaning you have to eat some meat."

"Meat? That's not hard, I'll just grab a liver-sausage burger at Mr. Porter's."

Ryder shook his head. "I'm not sure if that is what she means."

"It's not." Katie said. "I mean, you have to eat fresh meat, like some you caught in the woods, I'm afraid."

His smile quickly faded and he looked uneasy. "Ok, thank you, Katie."

Ryder thanked Katie and took Rocky home. After they had gone inside and explained everything to the other pups, Ryder took Rocky, Marshall, and Everest to the edge of the woods.

"Do I really have to do it, Ryder?" Rocky asked, looking sadly at his master.

"You do. But it's for the better, you don't want to have stomach aches every night, do you?"

"I sure don't want to hear you moan and howl all night." Everest said.

"If it's for your health, then I say do it." Marshall added. "Not to mention, I am an EMT."

"I'll do it," Rocky sighed, "but I don't believe I'll enjoy it. See you later."

And he strode off into the woods.
As he walked he tried to think of some way to avoid the task, until a scent wafted into his nostrils. And it was a smell that made his entire body ecstatic: meat. Fresh, living meat, and oddly enough, Rocky wanted nothing more than to sink his sharp teeth into it.

"Must be the wolf part of me." He thought.

He crept slowly to a clearing, where the scent was at its strongest. And there it was, a deer. Rocky lickedhis lips and teeth, drooling from the emptiness that sprung from nowhere inside his belly. His muscles tensed, his legs flexed, and before he even knew it Rocky the wolf had pounced on, caught, and killed his first wild animal.

"I... I can't believe I just did that..." He said out loud. "Maybe I won't mind eating this stuff after all. Speaking of, this deer is quite plump- no, not plump- fat, actually. I wonder why th..."

Suddenly, he knew as to why the deer was large. The extended belly and swolen milk glands told him all he needed to know.

"I... I... I don't know what to say, or even do. I've... killed an innocent mother..." He looked at the sky, full of twinkling stars. "Just like my mother, killed innocently. (Sigh) I hate to do it, but I'll eat this so I don't have to kill anything else. (Sniff) I'm sorry, Ms. Momma Deer. And I'm sorry, Mom, I wish you were here..."

Spongebob Narrator: The next morning...
"(Yawn!) Oh, man. What did I do last night? And why is my belly so... full? (Burp!)"

Rocky put a paw over his mouth, then looked to his side. There, stacked neatly in the grass, was a pile of bones.

"Oh, right... Now I remember. That is what I did last night. (Hic!) Guess I'd better head home."

Upon returning to the Lookout, the other pups, namely Chase, took note of Rocky's now extended gut.

"Well, someone ate a big snack, didn't they?" Chase said, sarcastically. "What was it, a deer?"

The minute Rocky heard those words, the events of the night flashed back to him. Tears flowed down his cheeks and he sped off into his pup house and slammed the door shut. Chase felt like ice from the cold stares he received.

"Um, was it something I said?"
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Continued in Part 2...