The metallic walls of the corridor seemed to close in around them as they ran, the eerie blue lighting casting long, distorted shadows. Jessica's cheerleading-honed muscles responded with a fluid grace she'd never experienced before, each movement amplified by her werewolf nature.

  "Left here," Kevin directed, pointing toward a narrower passage. "The ship layout seems to follow a radial pattern. If we keep moving toward the outer ring—"

  A wet, slapping sound cut him off—footsteps, but not human ones. The noise echoed from somewhere ahead.

  "Back," Salina whispered. "We need another—"

  Too late. A figure emerged from an intersecting corridor, blocking their retreat. The Purple Man stood at least seven feet tall, its body a grotesque parody of the human form. That rubbery, violet skin gleamed under the blue lights, stretched taut over a frame that seemed both powerful and wrong, as if assembled by someone who'd only seen humans in blurry photographs. Its glowing yellow eyes gleamed at them like a predator.

  "Oh god," Kevin breathed.

  The creature tilted its head, the motion unnervingly bird-like. Then it moved—faster than anything that size should move—reaching for Jessica with elongated fingers.

  "Run!" she screamed, shoving her friends back the way they'd come. "I'll hold it off!"

  "Jessica, no!" Salina cried, but Kevin was already pulling her away. “That thing might be stronger than you!”

  "She can handle anything," he told Salina, his voice cracking. "We need to find another route!"

  The corridor bent sharply, and suddenly Jessica found herself alone with the Purple Man, cut off from her friends. Her back pressed against the cold metal wall as the creature advanced, its body giving off a faint, chemical odor that reminded her of cleaning supplies and rotting fruit.

  "Stay back," Jessica warned, falling instinctively into a defensive stance she'd learned in cheer practice. It felt ridiculous—what good would a high kick do against this thing?

  The Purple Man made no sound, but it hissed through its fangs as it approached. Jessica's enhanced vision caught subtle changes in its musculature as if it were analyzing her, calculating the most efficient way to subdue her.

  "I said, STAY BACK!"

  Her voice echoed in the narrow space, sounding braver than she felt. The creature paused, those glowing yellow eyes pulsing in what might have been curiosity. Or hunger.

  Jessica's mind raced. The aliens needed humans alive—that much was clear from the lab. They would not kill her outright, which meant she had a chance. A small one, but still a chance.

  The Purple Man lunged forward, its movements fluid and precise. Jessica ducked, feeling the rush of air as its arm swept over her head. She rolled to the side, coming up in a crouch, her body responding with a speed and agility that startled her.

  "Wow, and Coach Harris thought my back handspring needed work," she muttered, adrenaline making her giddy.

  The creature pivoted, seemingly unfazed by her evasion. It advanced again, more cautiously this time, cutting off her escape routes with strategic positioning. Jessica realized with a sinking feeling that it was herding her, backing her into a corner where she'd have nowhere to run.

  Think, Jessica, think! The old Jessica would have been paralyzed with fear, but not anymore. The wolf inside her wasn't afraid—it was angry.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  The Purple Man reached for her again, those long fingers stretching toward her throat. Jessica sidestepped, but her shoulder brushed against the wall. She was running out of space.

  Across the corridor, about twenty feet away, she spotted Kevin peering around the corner, his face tight with fear. He held up something metallic—a piece of broken machinery—and pointed urgently to his right.

  A distraction. Jessica gave him the slightest nod.

  Kevin hurled the metal piece down the adjoining corridor. It clattered noisily, echoing in the enclosed space. The Purple Man's head swiveled toward the sound, hissing like an angry snake.

  It was the opening Jessica needed. She launched herself forward, intending to duck past the creature while it was distracted. But as she moved, her foot slipped on something slick—some kind of fluid leaking from the wall—and she stumbled, losing precious momentum.

  The Purple Man's arm shot out, catching her by her neck. She choked as it yanked her backward, slamming her against the wall with enough force to knock the wind from her lungs.

  "Let... go... of me!" Jessica gasped, struggling against its grip.

  The creature's face came closer, those glowing eyes widening slightly. It was studying her, and somehow that was more terrifying than if it had simply attacked.

  From the corner of her eye, Jessica saw Salina step into view beside Kevin, her hands raised, lips moving in what could be a spell. Salina must be preparing to cast a spell. Hopefully, it will not hit Jessica by accident. Or maybe it would enhance Jessica to escape from the creature’s grip. Either way, Jessica would believe in anything.

  The Purple Man's grip tightened, its other hand reaching toward her face with methodical precision. Jessica knew, with gut-churning certainty, that it intended to take her back to that laboratory.

  "No," she growled, the sound rumbling from deep in her chest, more animal than human. "I am NOT becoming one of you."

  Something shifted inside her—not a full transformation, but a surge of power that made her skin prickle and her vision sharpen. She felt her canines extend, pressing against her lower lip.

  With strength born of desperation and fury, Jessica grabbed the alien's wrist and wrenched it away from her throat. Its skin felt wrong beneath her fingers—cool and yielding, like plastic left in the sun too long.

  The Purple Man shrieked—a high, whistling keen that hurt Jessica's sensitive ears. It tried to pull away, but Jessica held fast, leveraging her cheerleading-trained core to maintain her balance.

  "You picked the wrong girl to mess with," she snarled.

  The creature's free hand swung toward her face, fingers splayed. Jessica ducked, and in the same fluid motion, driven by an instinct as old as predators themselves, she lunged forward and sank her teeth into the Purple Man's forearm.

  The taste hit her immediately—metallic and acidic, nothing like blood should taste. She bit down harder, feeling her enhanced teeth pierce through that rubbery skin and into whatever passed for flesh beneath.

  The alien's reaction was immediate and violent. It shrieked, the sound ricocheting off the walls like physical blows. Its body convulsed, the arm in Jessica's grip spasming wildly. A thick, greenish-blue fluid oozed from the puncture wounds, dripping onto the floor with a faint sizzle.

  Jessica released her bite and staggered back, spitting repeatedly to clear the foul taste from her mouth. The Purple Man clutched its wounded arm to its chest, the vertical slits in its face now pulsing erratically with a frantic, bright light.

  "Jessica, come on!" Kevin's voice cut through her daze. "More of them are coming!"

  She could hear them now—the wet, slapping footsteps of multiple Purple Men converging on their position, drawn by their comrade's distress call.

  The injured alien backed away, still keening that high, painful sound. Its movements were jerky and uncoordinated as if Jessica's bite had disrupted something fundamental in its system.

  "Did you see that?" Salina breathed as Jessica rejoined them. "You actually hurt it."

  "Gross way to do it, though," Jessica grimaced, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "That stuff tastes like battery acid mixed with week-old sushi."

  "Save the culinary review for later," Kevin urged, tugging them down an adjoining corridor. "We've got company!"

  Three more Purple Men appeared at the far end of the passage they'd just left, their elongated bodies silhouetted against the eerie blue lighting. Unlike their injured companion, these moved with purpose and coordination, fanning out to cut off escape routes.

  "This way!" Jessica took the lead, her enhanced senses guiding them through the labyrinthine corridors. She could smell the aliens now—that same chemical-fruit stench, but stronger with their increased numbers.