They Call Me Creature by R.L. Stine

look?” I asked. “Do I look like Frankenstein now?”
    Dad ran his fingers gently over my neck. “It should heal without much of a scar,” he replied. “It might itch after a while. Try not to scratch it, okay?”
    â€œYeah, sure,” I muttered.
    â€œDo you have any symptoms at all?” Dad asked as we reached the car. “Do you feel at all strange or sick?”
    I shook my head. “No, I feel okay.”
    I climbed into the car and waited for him to slide behind the wheel. Dr. Davis had given me some painkillers, but my throat still ached.
    â€œDad, why did you tell Dr. Davis it was a chipmunk?” I asked. “It didn’t look like a chipmunk.”
    Dad started the engine and backed out of the parking space. “I didn’t see it very well. And without its fur, it was hard to tell what it was.”
    â€œBut it looked like a pig,” I said. “It had a snout. It didn’t look like chipmunk at all. Why didn’t you say it looked like a pig?”
    Dad turned to me. “It was simpler, Laura. That’s all. It doesn’t really matter. We’ll get your blood tests and find out what to do next.”
    I swallowed and stared out the window. We drove for a while in silence. “I hate to say it, but I’m a little afraid to go back in the woods,” I confessed.
    â€œDon’t worry about that,” Dad said. “You won’t be back in the woods for a long while.”
    My mouth dropped open in surprise. “Excuse me? Why not?”
    â€œWhy not?” Dad raised his eyebrows. “You’re the one seeing vampire pigs! Do you think the woods are safe right now?”
    â€œBut—but—” I started to protest.
    â€œBut what, Laura?” Dad shook his head. “We don’t know what bit you. Whatever it was, it could be rabid. And we know it’s dangerous. Aren’t those enough reasons?”
    I could see there was no point in arguing. I turned away from Dad and stared out the window the rest of the way home.
    As soon as we reached our house, I ran up to my room and slammed the door. I dropped facedown on my bed and buried my face in the pillow.
    I have to go into the woods, I thought. He can’t keep me out. He can’t!
    A short while later I heard Dad’s voice downstairs. He was talking to someone on the phone. I climbed out of bed and pulled my door open a crack.
    â€œShe seems to be fine,” he said.
    Who was he talking to? Dr. Davis?
    â€œBy tomorrow. We’ll have the blood tests in the morning,” Dad said.
    Not Dr. Davis.
    I walked to the top of the stairs. I could hear Dad so clearly now. I could hear what he said next—the cruelest, most hurtful words I’d ever heard in my life.
    â€œCan you take Laura for a while? A trip to Chicago right now would help. I really have to get her out of here.”

 

    I called Ellen right away. And in a trembling voice begged her to come over.
    She and Stevie Palmer had made up, and she was supposed to go biking with him and a couple of other guys. But she said she’d tell them to go without her.
    A few minutes later she showed up. I pulled her up to my room. “Laura, what’s wrong?” she asked, dropping onto the edge of my bed. “You sounded so weird on the phone.”
    â€œIt’s Dad. He’s sending me away!” I cried. “I—I heard him on the phone. With Mom. He asked if Mom could take me. He—he said he had to get me out of here.”
    Ellen jumped to her feet. “I don’t believe it.” She shook her head. “He can’t send you away just like that. What’s wrong with him?”
    â€œI—I don’t know,” I stammered. “Maybe it was because of the animal that attacked me.” I told Ellen about the little pig. Then I showed her my neck.
    â€œOh, gross.” She gasped. “Does it hurt?”
    â€œNo, but Dad said I can’t go