We call it a dewclaw. It’s how you know you’re one of us.
I…ah, I see. And when you say ‘we’ call it a dewclaw…
I mean me and Mama and Daddy. And Uncle Freddy and Aunt Sandra. And, well, our whole family.
So…they all talk about that as being a dewclaw?
Yep. It’s like what my dog Roscoe has, only bigger. That’s how Mama first told it to me.
Okay. So now, who else comes around your ranch? Other than your Mama and Daddy and Uncle Freddy and Aunt Sandra.
Hmm. That’s mainly it except for Jonathan. That’s Uncle Freddy and Aunt Sandra’s son. He used to play with me when we were little, but he’s all grown up now. And he don’t come around no more anyway.
That’s Jonathan…Peterson?
Yep. That’s him.
Why doesn’t he come around any more?
I dunno…Maybe because he got mad last time. He saw me after the docking and he started crying and cursing and stuff. He said it wasn’t right. Wasn’t right what they’d done to me. He tried to talk to me, but my parents, they protected me. Daddy told me later that it wasn’t anything to worry about. Said Jonathan was just upset because his adult dewclaws hadn’t come in yet. Because he hasn’t done the Necessary.
Okay. So because I want to make sure I understand everything, let’s kind of break down some of what you’re talking about, okay?
Yes, ma’am.
So what is ‘docking’?
You don’t know that? You’re playing with me. No? Okay, if you say so. Well, docking is when you get to a certain age—with girls it’s usually when you first get your color—they have to clip off your baby dewclaws. It hurts something awful, but they have to do it so your adult dewclaws can grow in right.
Um…sorry, give me just a second.
Yes, ma’am. No need to cry about it. It hurts, but we’re made tough. We can take it.
Yes, well, that’s good. Um, you said…you said something about Jonathan’s…his adult dewclaws hadn’t come in because he hadn’t done the Necessary. What’s that?
Gosh, I thought you’d know that part for sure. Okay. Well, when one of us reaches sixteen, we have to do the Necessary. We have to kill a person and eat their heart. And it can’t be one of us. It has to be one of you. After that, our adult dewclaws grow in and we get real strong, real tough.
Okay. When you say ‘us’ and ‘one of you’, what do you mean?
Well, I mean, we’re werewolves. And you’re just a normal person, right? I don’t mean no harm, ma’am. You can’t help it. And you’re in no danger from me. I made a promise to myself a long time ago I’d only take one life, and that was for the Necessary. I just don’t feel right about it.
So the social worker, the woman who was out at your ranch yesterday. Do you know what happened to her?
I do. That lady was my Necessary. I promise, I killed her quick as I could. She didn’t scream for long, and she was dead when I took her heart…(whispering) Don’t tell, but Daddy helped me with getting it out. I had trouble holding the knife good.
So are you saying you killed that lady yourself?
Yes, ma’am.
Because she was your Necessary?
Yes, ma’am.
And your parents are the ones that…that ‘docked’ you?
Yes, ma’am.
How old were you when they did that?
Um, I was eleven going on twelve.
And they told you that you and your family are werewolves. That your…your dewclaws would grow back when you did your Necessary?
That’s right.
Okay. Have you ever been away from the ranch before today?
Sure, plenty of times. Out in the woods learning to hunt and fish and camp. I love going out there.
Well, yeah. Alright. I meant more like, have you ever been to towns or cities. Places like where you are now. Not this building, I don’t mean that. But you saw all the cars and people on the way in, right?
Yes, ma’am.
Have you ever been around anything like that? Been to school or talked to people other than your family?
No, ma’am. Mama told me it wasn’t safe for our kind to mix too much until we’re grown. They taught me themselves, and they did a real good job. But I am excited about getting to meet more people. I think I’m more excited about that than I am getting so strong and tough when my dewclaws come back in.
So, what di-
When do you think that’ll happen, ma’am?
When do I think what will happen, honey?
When do you think my dewclaws will grow back? I woke up last night because the spots were itching, and I was so excited I could hardly go back to sleep. But when I got up today, they were just the same. Do you know when they’ll come back?
I…I don’t know, baby. I guess I don’t know a lot about werewolves and dewclaws and stuff. I’m sorry.
Oh, it’s okay. I bet it’ll be soon. Hey, what do you call them?
What do I call what?
Your dewclaws. I mean, I know they’re not for-real dewclaws like mine if you’re just a regular person, but you didn’t know to call them that, so you must call them something else. So what do you call them?
Thumbs, baby. We call them thumbs.
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