Jessica's bare feet slapped against the cold metal floor, each thunderous step reverberating through her bones as the alien vessel shuddered around them. The ship's death throes had begun according to plan, yet somehow, it was far more terrifying than any of them had predicted.

  "This way!" Kevin shouted over the cacophony of blaring alarms, his voice barely audible above the groaning metal. His glasses slipped down his sweat-slicked nose as he pointed down a branching corridor bathed in pulsing crimson emergency lights. "I hope the hangar is ahead."

  Salina stumbled behind them, her normally perfect goth makeup now streaked with sweat and fear. "It better be," she gasped, grabbing the wall for support as another violent tremor rippled through the ship. "Or else I will haunt you in hell!"

  "Keep running," Jessica snapped, grabbing his arm to steady him when a violent quake nearly sent him sprawling. Her enhanced senses made the sensory assault almost the whine of failing systems, the acrid smell of burning circuitry, the metallic taste of fear thick in the air.

  The corridor ahead ended abruptly in a massive bulkhead door, its alien markings pulsing with the same urgent rhythm as the alarm lights. Jessica's heart sank. "Please tell me that's not locked."

  Kevin approached the door, his fingers dancing over the strange symbols etched beside it. "This is a guess, but if I follow the light rhythm-"

  The door hissed open before he could finish, causing all three to jump back in surprise.

  "I totally meant to do that," Kevin mumbled, adjusting his glasses.

  "Sure you did, genius," Salina replied, but there was no bite to her words- only relief as they rushed through the doorway.

  The hangar bay stretched before them, cavernous and dimly lit. Pod-shaped vessels lined the walls, their sleek, organic curves unlike any Earth aircraft. The teens skidded to a halt as the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the vast space.

  "Hide!" Jessica hissed, pulling her friends behind a stack of storage containers.

  They crouched in silence as a group of Purple Men rushed into the hangar. The aliens moved with purpose, their long, slender limbs carrying them swiftly toward the escape pods. Their normally melodic language now sounded harsh and clipped with urgency.

  "They're evacuating," Kevin whispered, watching as the aliens boarded the pods. "They know the ship is done for."

  One by one, the pods detached from their moorings and glided smoothly through the hangar's energy field, disappearing into the star-speckled blackness of space. Within minutes, all but one vessel had departed.

  "Why didn't that one leave?" Salina asked, pointing to the lone pod remaining.

  Jessica strained her enhanced vision. "I don't see anyone inside. Maybe it's damaged?"

  "Or maybe it's our ticket home," Kevin suggested, hope kindling in his voice. "We need to move before someone else gets it."

  They emerged from their hiding place, sprinting across the open expanse of the hangar bay toward the abandoned pod. Jessica's werewolf senses screamed a warning a second before the threat materialized, a familiar, sickly sweet scent that made her stomach clench with recognition.

  "Stop!" she cried, throwing out an arm to halt her friends.

  A Purple Man stepped out from behind the pod, blocking their path. Unlike the others, this one moved with an unsettling, predatory grace. Its right wrist bore a ragged wound that oozed violet fluid.

  "That's the one," Jessica whispered, her throat suddenly dry. "The one I bit after we escaped the lab."

  The alien fixed its large, pupilless eyes on Jessica. Recognition flashed across its features, followed by something far more terrifying- hatred, pure and primal.

  As they watched in horror, the alien's body contorted. Its slender frame bulged with rapidly growing muscle mass, veins pulsing through its flesh. Its smooth, hairless head elongated into a lupine muzzle filled with needle-sharp teeth. Patches of coarse purple fur erupted across its skin as its hands transformed into lethal claws.

  "What the hell?" Salina gasped, backing away. "What's happening to it?"

  "My bite," Jessica realized, horror dawning. "It's turning into a werewolf!"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  The werewolf creature threw back its head and unleashed a howl that was neither fully wolf nor alien- a sound that seemed to pierce through Jessica's very soul. The ship groaned in response as if the vessel itself feared the abomination before them.

  "Get to the pod," Jessica ordered, pushing Kevin and Salina behind her. "Figure out how to make it work."

  Kevin grabbed her arm. "You can't fight that thing alone! It might be stronger you!"

  "Do I have a choice?" Jessica's eyes flashed golden as she felt her own transformation stirring beneath her skin. "Besides, I created that monster. We can't escape on time if that thing distracts us. It's my responsibility to stop it."

  Salina hesitated, then pulled Kevin toward the pod. "She's right. We need to be ready to leave the moment she's done."

  "But-"

  "Kevin, now!" Jessica shouted as the alien werewolf charged.

  Jessica met the creature's attack head-on, her own transformation erupting in a wave of pain and power. Bones cracked and realigned, muscles bulged, and claws extended from her fingertips as her werewolf form emerged.

  She caught the creature's first blow against her forearm, the impact sending shockwaves through her body. Indeed, this thing was strong- stronger than any opponent she remembered. It slashed at her face with its free hand, and Jessica barely ducked beneath the attack, feeling the wind of its passage ruffle her fur.

  "Is that all you've got?" she taunted, circling the creature. "The cheer squad hits harder during practice."

  The alien werewolf roared, spittle flying from its jaws. It lunged again, faster this time, catching Jessica across the shoulder with a glancing blow that still cut deep enough to draw blood. She retaliated with a flurry of slashes, her claws tearing through the creature's leathery hide.

  They separated, both panting. Behind them, Jessica could hear Kevin and Salina working frantically inside the pod, the click of switches and hum of awakening systems providing a soundtrack to her battle.

  "Come on, guys," she muttered. "Hurry."

  The ship lurched violently, throwing both combatants off balance. A series of explosions reverberated through the structure- distant at first, then alarmingly close. The hangar bay lights flickered and dimmed.

  "Jessica!" Kevin called from the pod. "I think I've figured it out! We need to go now!"

  The alien werewolf seemed to understand the urgency in Kevin's voice. It glanced between Jessica and the pod, calculating. Then, with unexpected cunning, it changed targets- charging not at Jessica, but toward the pod where her friends worked.

  "No!" Jessica launched herself after the creature, desperation lending her speed.

  She tackled the creature from behind, sending them both crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs and fury. They rolled across the hangar bay, each fighting for the upper hand. The alien wolf's claws raked her side, drawing a pained howl from Jessica's throat. She sank her teeth into its shoulder, gagging at the alien taste of its blood.

  An explosion rocked the hangar, closer than before. The floor beneath them buckled, and a section of the ceiling collapsed, crushing a row of empty docking stations. Fire and smoke filled the vast space.

  "Jessica!" Kevin's voice cut through the chaos. "The pod's running! We need to go!"

  She glanced up to see the escape pod hovering a few feet off the ground, its hatch open with Kevin and Salina silhouetted against the bright interior. Hope surged through her as she delivered a powerful kick to the creature's midsection, creating just enough space to scramble to her feet.

  The creature recovered quickly, lunging for her again. Jessica sidestepped, using the alien werewolf's momentum to send it crashing into a stack of equipment. She turned and sprinted toward the waiting pod, her heart thundering in her chest.

  "Reach!" Kevin called, extending his hand from the hatch.

  Another explosion tore through the hangar, this one directly beneath the pod. The vessel lurched upward, startled into motion by the concussive force. Jessica leaped, fingers outstretched toward Kevin's waiting hand-

  Their fingertips brushed for one tantalizing moment-

  Then the pod shot upward, the autopilot engaging in response to the imminent destruction of the hangar. Jessica fell back to the floor, watching in horror as the vessel carried her friends away.

  "No!" she howled, watching helplessly as Kevin and Salina's horrified faces receded through the energy field and into the blackness of space.

  Behind her, the alien werewolf growled, pulling itself from the wreckage where she'd thrown it. Blood oozed from multiple wounds across its body, yet it still stalked toward her with murderous intent.

  The ship gave another catastrophic shudder. Warning lights flashed throughout the hangar as countdown symbols appeared on every screen. Jessica didn't need to understand alien language to recognize an imminent self-destruct sequence.

  She was trapped in an exploding alien vessel with a nightmarish creature determined to kill her while her friends hurtled through space in a ship they barely knew how to control.

  Jessica Tumblerlee, a high school cheerleader turned reluctant werewolf, now faced the most impossible situation of her bizarre life. She turned to face the approaching creature, a grim smile spreading across her lupine features.

  "Well," she growled, flexing her claws as the countdown raced toward zero, "I guess we're going out together."

  *****

  In the escape pod, Kevin frantically worked the controls, trying desperately to turn the ship around.

  "We can't leave her!" he shouted, tears streaming down his face as he watched the alien vessel growing smaller behind them.

  Salina gripped the edge of the console, her knuckles white. "The controls are locked! It's on some kind of autopilot!"

  Through the view port, they watched in helpless horror as the massive alien craft broke apart, brilliant explosions flowering across its surface like deadly blooms. The hangar bay where they'd left Jessica was now consumed by fire.

  "She can't be..." Kevin couldn't finish the sentence.

  Salina placed a hand on his shoulder, her own eyes wet with tears. "If anyone could survive that, it's Jessica."

  As Earth grew larger in their viewscreen and the alien vessel blazing behind them, they clung to that fragile hope that somehow, against all odds, Jessica Tumblerlee would find her way back to them.

  After all, she'd already survived becoming a werewolf. What was a little spaceship explosion compared to that?