Red Die

And then in a flash of light and heat and sound, everything was gone.

Sarah watched as John limped down the aisle of the plane, his leg clearly bothering him. When he reached their seats, he collapsed down with a groan.

“You okay?” Sarah asked, concern creasing her brow.

John waved a hand dismissively. “I’m fine. Just this stupid bite still feels weird.”

Sarah eyed the bandage peeking out from under his pant leg. John had insisted on venturing deep into the jungle alone one night, despite her warnings.

He had returned triumphant, brandishing a machete and sporting the bite on his calf from some unknown creature.

‘Nothing serious’, he said at the time.

Another risky adventure to add to their honeymoon memories.

The plane rumbled as the engines started up.

Sarah glanced out the window at the inky night sky. She was excited to get home and start their new life together, but sad their adventure was ending.

John took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thanks for an amazing trip, babe.”

“I wouldn’t want to explore ancient ruins with anyone else.” Sarah smiled back at him.

She leaned over and kissed him, a familiar warmth spreading through her. They had so much to look forward to.

As the plane accelerated down the runway, she pictured lazy Sundays spent reading the paper, John attempting to learn how to grill, maybe even starting a family someday. She gave his hand another squeeze as the plane lifted off into the night, her heart swelling with love.

An hour into the flight, John shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His face was flushed and beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

“Hey, you okay?” Sarah asked, concern etching her face.

“Yeah, just feel a little… uh… I don’t know,” John muttered.

As Sarah watched, he began to shiver, his teeth chattering.

“John, you’re really not looking good. I’m going to get the flight attendant.”

John shook his head. “No, I’ll be alright. Don’t want to cause a fuss.”

Sarah bit her lip. She didn’t like this. Peeling back the bandage on his calf, she stifled a gasp. The bite marks were an angry red, oozing blood and yellow pus.

John groaned, his body wracked with chills. “It wasn’t just a bite,” he whispered through chattering teeth. “I think it was…something else.”

Sarah’s pulse quickened. What wasn’t he telling her? She glanced around the dimly lit cabin. Most passengers were sleeping or watching movies on the seatbacks.

Leaning in close, she whispered “John, what really happened out there? What bit you?”

He shook his head weakly. “I don’t know. But I hear it calling to me. The moon…it’s calling to me Sarah I can hear it whisper to me, make it stop…”

A cold dread crept up Sarah’s spine as she stared into John’s feverish eyes. Something was very wrong.

Sarah’s hands trembled as she unscrewed the cap from the bottle of water and brought it to John’s parched lips.

He gulped it down greedily, rivulets spilling down his chin.

As she dabbed at the moisture with a napkin, John’s gaze drifted to the window. Sarah followed his line of sight.

Outside, the full moon hung low and heavy in the inky night sky.

John’s eyes glazed over as he stared, transfixed. “It’s out there, Sarah,” he murmured. “Calling to me. I can feel it in my blood. Burning. It fucking burns.”

Sarah suppressed a shudder at the unnatural timbre in his voice. This wasn’t her John speaking.

“What’s out there, honey?” She kept her tone gentle, soothing. “What’s calling you?”

John’s breath came in ragged gasps now, his chest heaving. “The moon. Aren’t you fucking listening to me? The moon! THE FUCKING WOLF!”

Sarah froze.

A wolf?

That’s what had bitten him in the jungle?

She had to get help.

Now.

As she turned to flag down a flight attendant, John seized her wrist in an iron grip.

“No!” he growled, baring his teeth. “We can’t let them know!”

Heart hammering, Sarah pried his fingers loose. “John, you need help. You’re very sick from that bite.”

John’s eyes cleared for a moment as he slumped back. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

Sarah clasped his hand, blinking back tears. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

But even as she said the words, she wondered — would it really be okay? What was happening to the man she loved?

A violent spasm wracked John’s body.

He lurched forward, clutching his stomach as he retched and gagged.

When he looked up, blood dripped from his mouth where he’d bitten his tongue.

John’s eyes went wide with panic. “Blood,” he rasped. “There’s blood.”

“It’s okay, you just bit your tongue”, Sarah said as she grabbed a napkin to dab at his mouth. “Try to stay calm.”

But John was beyond calming.

He thrashed against his seatbelt, face contorting in agony. Other passengers turned to stare.

“What’s wrong with him?” one asked.

“I think he’s having a seizure,” another whispered.

Sarah barely heard them.

Her focus stayed locked on John as she tried to soothe him. But when she reached to brush the hair from his eyes, he snapped at her hand with a feral growl.

Sarah jerked back with a yelp. For an instant, it had seemed like he meant to bite her.

John’s face crumpled. “Sarah…I’m sorry…” he choked out between pained gasps. “I don’t know…what’s happening…”

Dread coursed through Sarah’s veins. What if he turned violent? They were trapped here at 30,000 feet.

She had to get him under control.

Grabbing his wrists, she pinned them to the seatback just as a flight attendant arrived with the first aid kit.

Sarah tightened her grip on John’s wrists as he thrashed against her hold. The flight attendant set the first aid kit on the seat and opened it, rifling through bandages and packets.

“What seems to be the problem?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Sarah said through gritted teeth as John jerked in her grasp. “He was bitten by something in South America. Now he has a fever and he’s acting really strange.”

John let out an unearthly howl that made the passengers around them shrink back in fear. His eyes were wild, unseeing, as he snapped his jaws at Sarah.

She flinched away, losing her grip on one wrist.

Immediately John’s freed hand shot out, clawing at her face. Sarah barely turned her head in time, feeling his nails rake her cheek.

Cries of alarm erupted around them. A large man across the aisle jumped up.

“We need to restrain him before he hurts someone!” he shouted.

The flight attendant fumbled for plastic ties.

But before she could act, Sarah managed to recapture John’s wrist. She looped his seatbelt over his arms, binding them tight.

He thrashed and bucked, still growling, as a thin line of drool dripped from his mouth.

Sarah’s heart hammered against her ribs. What was happening to him? This couldn’t be just an infection…could it?

“John, please, it’s me. Try to focus,” she begged.

Sarah’s heart pounded as John’s screams pierced the quiet hum of the airplane cabin.

He thrashed against the seatbelt, teeth gnashing as he ripped through the fabric. Sarah recoiled against her window seat as John scrambled over her, trampling a flight attendant who had rushed over.

“John, wait!” Sarah cried out, stumbling after him.

She caught a glimpse of his face, contorted in agony, before he staggered into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Sarah hurried after him, ignoring the alarmed passengers who had poked their heads into the aisle.

She slipped through the bathroom door before it latched, locking it behind her.

John hunched over the toilet, violently ill.

Sarah crouched beside him, rubbing his back. “It’s okay. I’m here,” she soothed.

John lifted his head, eyes bloodshot. “No, it’s not okay.”

He turned to the mirror, clawing at the skin on his cheeks.

It sagged from his bones like melted wax.

Sarah recoiled in horror. “What’s happening to you?”

“I don’t know.” John peeled back the skin on his hand, revealing coarse fur underneath. “But you need to get away from me. Now!”

Sarah set her jaw. “I’m not leaving you.” She clutched his arm. “We’ll figure this out together.”

John thrashed in her grip. “Let go! I don’t want to hurt you.” His bones cracked, reforming under rippling muscles.

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t leave John, not like this. But she had to get help before he…changed.

A howl split the air as John doubled over, no longer the man she loved. Sarah screamed as fangs snapped inches from her face.

Sarah scrambled back against the sink as John — or the creature he had become — rose to its full height.

It towered over her, seven feet of corded muscle and matted fur, eyes burning crimson in a face that was more wolf than man.

It let loose another bone-chilling howl, so loud the mirror cracked down the center. The beast lashed out, shattering the glass completely, sending shards raining over Sarah.

She threw up her arms to shield herself, biting back cries of pain as the jagged edges cut into her skin.

The creature was not finished.

It grabbed the metal toilet paper dispenser and ripped it from the wall, smashing the toilet and washbasin in a frenzy.

Water spewed everywhere, mixing with the blood from Sarah’s wounds.

Over the roars of the beast came frantic pounding on the door.

Muffled shouts of “Sir! Ma’am! Is everything okay in there?”

The creature whirled toward the noise, lips curling back to reveal fangs as long as Sarah’s fingers.

She knew if that door opened, there would be a slaughter.

“John, stop!” she pleaded, her voice cracking. “Please, don’t do this!”

The beast paused, massive shoulders heaving. For a moment Sarah thought she saw a flash of recognition in those burning eyes.

Then it threw back its head and howled once more, drowning out the screams of terror from the other side of the door.

The creature charged, slamming into the door with the force of a freight train.

The metal frame gave way instantly. The flight attendants didn’t even have time to scream before they were ripped apart, blood and viscera spraying the walls.

Passengers cried out in horror, scrambling over each other to get away from the nightmare lumbering down the aisle. Sarah stumbled from the demolished bathroom, gagging at the overpowering stench of blood. She looked at the faces of the people around her, eyes wide with terror, children wailing.

“John, stop this!” she shouted again. “You have to stop!”

The beast paused, chest heaving, blood dripping from its jaws. The entire plane held its breath, praying this moment of stillness would last.

Then the pilot’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Remain calm. We are making an emergency landing.”

The creature threw back its head and howled in rage, the sound rattling the windows. Then it sprang forward, slashing through the nearest passengers.

Sarah could only watch helplessly as John massacred everyone on board.

She stood frozen in horror as the creature that was once her husband rampaged through the cabin.

It moved with lightning speed, ripping into the defenseless passengers trapped in their seats.

Blood sprayed across the walls and ceiling as the wolfman tore out throats and disemboweled victims with its massive claws. The metallic scent of blood mingled sickeningly with the acrid odor of voided bowels and bladder.

Cries of terror turned to gurgling death rattles. Parents futilely tried to shield their children, their lives extinguished in an instant.

The beast was relentless, driven by some unknowable bloodlust. In mere moments the pristine cabin was painted red with blood and insides.

Bodies and body parts littered the aisle.

Sarah fell to her knees, gagging and weeping. She pleaded again for John to stop even as she knew it was hopeless. The man she loved was gone, replaced by this monster that delighted in slaughter.

She could only watch helplessly as it finished off the remaining passengers. With an animal roar, it smashed through the cockpit door and Sarah lost sight of it.

Sarah’s screams pierced the night as the plane lurched violently. Through the cockpit door, she heard wet tearing sounds and agonized wails over the crackling intercom.

The pilots.

Oh god, no.

Bile rose in Sarah’s throat as the plane dipped and rolled. She white-knuckled her seat, pulse hammering.

What was happening?

Where was John?

A blood curdling howl sliced the air.

The cockpit door splintered open and out staggered the hulking form of the werewolf, blood dripping from its gaping maw.

John.

No no no, this can’t be real.

Sarah whimpered, frozen in terror as the plane spiraled out of control. The beast turned its glowing eyes on her and prowled closer, fangs bared.

“J-John,” Sarah choked out. “It’s me. Please…”

The werewolf roared deafeningly. Sarah shrieked as it swiped at her with razor-sharp claws. She cringed back, heart shattering.

The man she loved was gone, leaving only this monster in his wake.

As the plane plunged into freefall, Sarah closed her eyes and braced for impact, knowing these were her final moments.

Sarah forced her eyes open, tears blurring her vision as the werewolf loomed over her. She had to try one last time to reach the man trapped within.

“John, I love you,” she sobbed, spreading her arms wide. “No matter what happens, I’ll always love you.”

For an instant, the beast hesitated, a glimmer of recognition in its eyes. Hope fluttered in Sarah’s heart.

Then it snarled, seized her in its massive claws, and ripped into her flesh. Sarah screamed as razor teeth tore through muscle and bone.

Blood sprayed, hot and slick.

With a guttural growl, the werewolf discarded her ravaged body. Sarah’s world exploded into white-hot agony. Through the haze of pain, she heard the wrenching screech of metal as the plane’s nose dove.

This was it.

Sarah closed her eyes and pictured John’s face, his warm smile and bright eyes.

A final declaration of love crossed her lips before the deafening impact silenced her forever.

Sarah grabbed a napkin to dab at his mouth.

And then in a flash of light and heat and sound, everything was gone.

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