Emily raced through the forest, following Paul. She was worried about Santa, but she couldn’t think about that now. She had a monster to catch.
Emily scanned the trees. She hoped to see the dangerous werewolf. A twig snapped behind the bushes to her right. Emily stopped in her tracks. She crouched low to the ground, and she held her breath. She didn’t make a sound as she waited.
Snap!
There it was again. Something was hiding in those shrubs.
Emily glanced toward Paul, but he wasn’t there. He must not have heard the noise. He must have kept running. The girl shuddered slightly as she realized she was alone. But she refused to let Santa Claus and Agent Vance down. She was going to catch the monster, even if she had to do it by herself.
Emily clutched her silver necklace, as she carefully crept toward the bushes. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Closer and closer.
She felt her heart pump harder. Her hands began to shake. The forest was dark, yet Emily did not stop.
She reached the edge of the shrubs. The monster was just on the other side. Emily could her it breathing.
The young Super Spy took off her necklace and wrapped it around her hand. It was her best weapon against the creature. She took a deep breath, calmed her nerves and bent her knees.
“One. Two. Three,” she whispered, and then she sprang into the bushes.
Her arms wrapped around the large monster, and her face dug into its thick, black fur. “I’ve got you,” exclaimed Emily.
She pressed her silver necklace against the beast’s hairy back. She expected to hear the werewolf squeal in pain and fall to the ground in surrender.
But it didn’t.
The monster bucked her off its back and swatted Emily’s head with its big paw.
Emily dropped to the ground. Her head was woozy. The whole world seemed to be spinning too fast.
I don’t understand, she thought. Why didn’t the necklace work?
She got her answer when the creature rose onto its back legs. It grew taller and taller—too big to be a werewolf.
The beast stepped toward Emily and bared its razor-sharp teeth. It growled and roared, ready to make a meal of her.
As Emily’s head began to feel dizzier, she realized that she had made a mistake. She hadn’t attacked the werewolf. It was a very large, very angry bear!
Emily tried to stand, but her legs felt like they were made of rubber bands. She collapsed back to the ground. The color began to fade from her surroundings. The stars went out. The moon stopped shining.
The last thing Emily glimpsed was the shadowy figure of the werewolf. It was in the trees, swinging away from her. It was going to escape.
Then the young Super Spy slipped into a deep sleep.
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