Howling Hats

Madelyn hid in the shadows of the alleyway, right next to a small shop called Howling Hats, a shop placed cozily on a corner street that was pretty dead on this full moon night. The lights were still on, as she hobbled her way into the little space between the shop and the building next to it, carefully sliding down the wall, keeping her left leg straight as she could. She was so tired from all the running, especially after getting shot across her left thigh. Every time she put pressure on it, there was a sensation that both stung and tickled at the same time. It was definitely not a fun sensation. The eight-year-old looked around, and then back at herself, at her giant hands, covered in brown fur, her hind legs ripping through the back of her jeans, her tattered shirt, and down at her short, but pointy snout. All she could think of was wanting her mom, and began to weep uncontrollably.

“Hello,” a gentle voice said.

She looked up to see a young man dressed in a dark shirt and pants, wearing a black 1940s fedora. She immediately backed farther into the shadows with her one good leg. She ran into a dead end, attempting to back farther for a few more seconds, but stopped after realizing she couldn’t.

“No, no,” he said, “it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

He looked at her with eyes that, to Madelyn, somehow seemed familiar, but couldn’t explain how.

He pointed to her leg. “Can you tell me what happened?”

She tried to speak, but was interrupted by the backfire of a distant truck engine. Madelyn cringed tightly at the sound. The man looked down the street, just as a huge red truck was pulling around the corner. On top of it, a giant spotlight beamed a bright light, scanning the sidewalks, picking up on what appeared to be a blood trail that lead back to the alley, to Madelyn.

Without hesitation, the man quickly went over to her, and knelt down.

“Okay, I’m gonna have to pick you up. I’m sorry if this hurts, but try not to scream, okay?” Without waiting for her answer, he wrapped his arms under her small body, and picked her up. She let out a brief cry, but held the rest in as best she could.

“I’m so sorry, honey, I know it hurts.”

He rushed around the corner and into the now-darkened hat shop, just as the spotlight shone on the alleyway.

Inside, the hat shop was the size of a small cafe: long, but cozy. The walls were lined with shelves that were full of all kinds of hats, from old-fashioned fedoras, to panel caps. They almost looked like they were about tho overflow the shelves, but somehow, were able to stay right where they were without sacrificing their integrity. The man closed the curtain on the front door window, locked it, and gently set Madelyn down.

“Now, if you’ll give me one second...”

The man stood up, scanning the shelves. As he did, the light started to pass by the window, but didn’t seem to keep going. Outside, Madelyn could hear men’s voices shouting, and soon enough, saw shadows rise from below the curtain. Her heart was racing like a steam train. Meanwhile, the man kept searching the shelves casually, mumbling to himself as he did, until...

“Ah-hah! Here we go!”

He pulled out a black “Invader Zim” baseball cap, putting it on her backwards.

“No matter what, do not take this off,” he said in a playful army guy tone. “Understood?” She was surprised by his calmness of the situation at hand, that all she could do was just stare, and nod absently at him.

“Good,” he said, “Now just stay like that, and don’t do anything.”

He got up, headed for the door, and turned on the lights. He opened the door quickly to a group of men with long scraggly beards dressed in hunting gear, carrying rifles and harnesses. “Oh, thank god,” he said with exasperation. “I need your help! I just found this girl in the alleyway! I think she’s been shot! Can you help us?!”

They peered into the store, and a look of terror streaked across their faces.

“I’m sorry, we can’t help you,” one of them said. Then, in the blink of an eye, they raced

back to the truck, some hopping into the cabin, the rest in the cargo bed, and sped away.

The man closed the door, and turned back to Madelyn, a relaxing smile going across his face. “What... how did you...” she tried getting out.

“Look at your arms,” he said.

She did, and was surprised to see, not large, hairy arms with big finger nails, but small, smooth human arms, with finger nails shrunken, though her mother might say they needed to be cut anyway.

“If I were you, I’d keep that hat on for the rest of the night, at least until the full moon is gone. Don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise.”

“Who are you,” she asked.

“Oh, just a normal hat seller looking out for folks like you.”

He tipped his hat to her, and suddenly, his eyes turned golden, and his hair grew out slightly.

Madelyn’s jaw dropped, as he put the hat back atop his head, reversing the transformation. Soon enough, the ambulance came, and put Madelyn onto a gurney, swatting away anyone who dared take her hat. As she was being loaded into the ambulance, the man in the black 1940s fedora stood in the doorway, and waved, shouting, “Come back soon!”

She smiled and waved back. As the ambulance doors closed, there was not a shred of doubt in Madelyn’s mind: she would indeed be back.