Chapter 8: The Monster of Maple Heights

Second Uncle grabbed a flashlight and rushed out. I slipped out after him.

He shoved his feet into boots without tying them, nearly tripping on the porch steps in his hurry. I snuck after him, careful not to make a sound, heart pounding.

At the feast, Mr. Lambert had taken a fancy to the white rat’s pelt, bargaining with Second Uncle until he bought it for twenty-eight thousand dollars. He said he wanted to make a vest out of it and show it off.

Lambert, always one to flash cash and big talk, strutted through town in his new prize, promising to wear it at the next Rotary Club meeting and make all the women swoon.

Now, seeing Mr. Lambert again, he had shown off far too much.

He was hunched over in the middle of Main Street, body twisted in impossible ways, back arched high as a Halloween cat. His hands had warped into sharp, clawed things, tearing through his shirt sleeves. The white rat’s fur seemed to writhe and ripple, spreading up his neck, crawling under his skin.

His eyes glowed with a feverish light. Neighbors shrieked and scrambled away. The local deputy fumbled with his radio, stammering into the static. The whole town stood frozen, caught between terror and disbelief.

Second Uncle and several townsfolk attacked him with flashlights and pitchforks.

A handful of men grabbed whatever they could find—tools, shovels, a rusty crowbar from the back of someone’s truck. They charged Lambert, flashlights blazing, the beams slicing through the swirling mist, but he moved too fast, always just out of reach.

Nearby, Mr. Lambert’s lackey was clutching his bleeding hand...

A scrawny kid from the auto shop, pale as chalk, wrapped a rag around his palm, blood seeping through his fingers. He kept glancing at Lambert with wide, terrified eyes, muttering prayers under his breath as the nightmare unfolded in front of us all.

As the flashlight beams danced across the street, Lambert’s head snapped up—eyes locking on mine. And I knew, deep down, that nobody in Maple Heights would sleep easy again.