Cripple Wolf Read online

  Mohammad closed his eyes and imagined the rewards awaiting him in heaven. There was no way he was letting the plane land in Portland.

  “This is Fetish Flights number thirty-three we have an extreme emergency, repeat we have an extreme emergency.”

  The only response over the radio was static.

  “Fucking nothing,” said Dax.

  “That’s impossible,” said Chavez.

  As soon as the animal had started attacking, Dax and Chavez radioed a distress call to inform Portland of their situation, but they got no response. The equipment all seemed to be working fine but even when they tried radioing other planes they got only dead air. Normally, even out in the middle of the ocean, they should be able to pick up both Tokyo and Portland and at least a dozen other flights.

  They both sat silent for a moment. They couldn’t even count the number of flights they’d piloted together but there had never been any problems. Now that they had one, they were all alone.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Chavez.

  “What?”

  Chavez pointed at the instrument panel and Dax saw the problem immediately. The compass was spinning around wildly. Its needle pitched back and forth rapidly. The LCD readout with their speed suddenly dropped to zero and then changed to 999 and back to zero. The altitude indicator jumped up and down widely. The GPS just turned off.

  The plane, however, stayed steady and gave no sign of a problem.

  “We’ve got a real problem here,” said Chavez.

  Dax nodded and did the only sensible thing he could think of—he snorted another line.

  “Alright,” he said, “there’s a monster on our plane, we lost contact with everyone, all the instruments are malfunctioning, and we still have four hours until Portland.” He lit another joint, hit it, and passed it to Chavez.

  He grabbed the throttle and pushed it forward. The plane picked up speed and the speakers started blaring Slayer’s “Angel of Death.”

  “Fifty dollars says I can get us there in three and a half.”

  Sister Mishka Holloway realized that the infant was no longer moving. She held it out in front of her, its swathing bathed crimson. She slowly unwrapped the child and was stunned when she saw, instead of having died, the baby was completely healed. Where, just an hour before, there was a large gash, now was completely smooth pink skin.

  The child’s chest slowly rose up and down.

  Sister began to cry. Finally after everything that had happened, God gave them a miracle.

  The baby opened its eyes and looked right at her. It cooed and smiled, opening its mouth wide. That’s when Sister saw its gums were bleeding. Small pointed teeth burst through the tender flesh and the child suddenly had a mouthful of needles. Its tiny body began to thrash and it sprouted a thick coat of brown fur.

  She cried harder as the child transformed into something closer to an animal than human.

  It leapt out of her hands and dug its tiny claws and teeth into her neck. The claws pierced her throat, grasped her windpipe and with a quick pull, wrenched it out of Sister’s neck. She gurgled and fell limp. The baby werewolf giggled.

  “Allah, protect me . . .” Mohammad whispered as the cabin erupted.

  The low drone of people crying and talking was suddenly replaced with screams of panic and people frantically scattered in all directions. Mohammad stood up and saw fur covered monsters attacking people everywhere. It looked like anyone bitten by the beast had been similarly transformed at the exact same moment.

  A very pregnant woman staggered by, her jaw missing and tongue flapping about at an odd angle. Her stomach was slashed open and the head of her unborn fetus dangled out of the wound. A werewolf pounced onto her back knocking her straight to the floor and sunk its hungry teeth into her swollen belly.

  The two pierced lesbians were still making out despite the slaughter surrounding them. A monster towered over them and grabbed each one by the back of her head. It pulled them apart and then slammed them together. Their heads smashed in a soupy mixture of blood and brains.

  Mohammad reached into his pockets and took out his knife and taser. He climbed over the seat in front of him while the beast gorged on the woman’s corpse. A monster rushed him from his side and he shot the taser. The creature thrashed and crumpled to the floor. Another came at him from the front, climbing over a row of seats. Mohammad slashed with the knife cutting through both of its eyes.

  He scanned the cabin for an escape. Everywhere, people were fighting and dying, overwhelmed by the beasts. Right next to him was the staircase leading to the lower cabins. He didn’t see much of a choice, so he ran down the stairs.

  Daryl was attending to an elderly woman with blue hair, two broken legs, and half her face missing from a bite when she transformed. It happened quickly and Daryl was taken off guard and didn’t react. The bitch slashed forward and ripped into his pants, tearing his testicles completely off. She swung her other paw and scooped out his face as if it were nothing more than silly putty.

  Raymond was across the cabin watching as, in the exact same moment, every injured person changed into a beast and assaulted their caregivers. A few tried fighting back but immediately fell to the inhuman strength of their attackers.

  Above him, he heard screams and the sound of struggle from the upper cabin.

  He ran to the intercom and was about to call the cockpit when he saw a passenger run to the metal door between the cabins. The man was obviously panicked and just looking for a way out when he hit the door open button. Raymond spun to stop him but he was too late.

  The door slid open and the wheelchair bound werewolf burst through and ran right over the man who opened the door.

  Kiichi, Kana, and Yousei were huddled by the steel door, trying to formulate a plan, when the man started screaming. They all turned to see the baby werewolf gnawing at the dead woman’s neck and the injured boyfriend, now werewolf, disembowel his former love.

  The body builder was just standing still, staring, and screaming like a little girl.

  Both creatures immediately leapt at him and he went silent as they took him down.

  “Speed Racer time,” Yousei yelled as he hit the door open button.

  All three punks spilled out into the back cabin. They took a quick look around but the original monster was not to be seen and the other steel door had been opened.

  The boyfriend-wolf dropped the corpse and charged them. It sprung at Kana knocking her down. Kiichi immediately delivered a steel toe to the thing’s temple. Yousei grabbed a suitcase from the overhead compartment and used it as a battering ram to knock the monster off Kana.

  Yousei pulled her up when Kiichi noticed the The Star Spangler on the floor. He was missing both arms and a leg but he was still alive.

  “A little help?” he said.

  “Come on man, pogo,” Kiichi said as he lifted The Star Spangler up.

  “Very funny.”

  The Star Spangler precariously balanced himself and hopped forward on one leg. “Oh this is gonna suck.”

  There was a howl and they all looked back. The wheelchair-wolf was zooming straight at them. The punks climbed over the center seats leaving The Star Spangler alone in the aisle. He hopped forward as the beast gained on him. Then the footrest of the wheelchair hit him in the ankle and The Star Spangler fell on top of the monster. The two rolled forward, the beast blinded by the superhero.

  The punks watched as the tangle of man and beast wheeled down the aisle and plowed straight into the wall at the end.

  Kana clapped.

  The werewolf pawed at The Star Spangler and grabbed a hold of his remaining leg.

  “No. No. No.”

  The beast tore off the last purple limb and tossed it aside. It held up the torso in front of itself. The Star Spangler could see bloodlust in the monster’s eyes and drool dripped down its chin. The Star Spangler had no way to defend himself, unless you counted biting and it was doubtful that would accomplish anything, but he refu
sed to beg or cry. If this was it, he was going out with dignity.

  The werewolf cocked its head and then tossed the torso aside, having lost interest in its victim.

  While the monster was toying with The Star Spangler, Yousei spied Abdul’s body, the taser and switchblade lying next to it. He didn’t question why that man had weapons, he just grabbed them.

  “Power time.”

  He tossed the taser to Kana and all three punks took off through the doorway into the front cabin.

  They were met with a feeding frenzy. The transformed injured passengers had slaughtered their caregivers and were feasting on the corpses. Mouthful of Ants froze in the doorway. The creatures were too consumed with the carcasses to notice them.

  Kiichi saw one of the flight attendants hiding behind the back rows of seats. He crouched down on the floor and was almost completely hidden from sight. Their eyes locked and the attendant held up a finger to his pursed lips. Be quiet.

  Kana pushed Kiichi forward as Yousei took the lead. The three crept down the aisle. They slow stepped, careful not to draw any attention from the dozen creatures in the cabin.

  They passed a werewolf that was missing the lower half of its body and lapping blood off the floor. It saw them and hunched over the puddle, growling, protecting its treat.

  They got to the stairs that lead to the upper cabin and crept up them. Yousei took point so when they reached the top he signaled with this hand for them to stop. He slowly peaked his head out. To his right was the upper cabin, where apparently most of the passengers had congregated.

  The room was an even bigger bloodbath than anything on the lower levels. At least two dozen werewolves were feeding, fighting, and two were even fucking amongst the seats and corpses.

  As the plane pitched ever so slightly, a thick river of blood ran running down the aisle and flowed down the stairs. Kana clapped her hands over her mouth so as not to vomit, worried that the sounds of her retching would attract the beasts.

  Yousei looked to the left. There were the large metal doors that led to the cockpit. Since the plane was still in the air, the pilots must still be OK. He looked back at his friends and motioned with his head in the direction of the cockpit. They nodded.

  “Stay silent hill,” he whispered.

  He took Kana’s hand and she took Kiichi’s. The three slowly moved out of the stairwell into the upper cabin. Just like below, all the beasts were engaged in their own activities and took no notice of them.

  They were inching toward the cockpit door when the intercom blared to life.

  “This is the cockpit, can someone please respond? Is there anyone out there?”

  At once all the monsters perked up and turned in the direction of the cockpit and saw the three punks.

  “Fucking Jar-Jar,” grumbled Kana.

  “I don’t get it,” said Dax, “what happened to everyone?”

  To punctuate his statement there was suddenly banging and muffled cries coming from their cockpit door. Dax and Chavez both looked back.

  “Well let them in,” said Dax.

  Chavez got up and unlocked the door. He opened it and three young people decked out in black leather, multi-colored hair, and covered in piercings and tattoos spilled in. Behind them, from floor to ceiling was a wall of brown fur, claws, and gnashing teeth.

  He slammed the door shut and the monsters slammed into it. The door shook but the strong steel did not budge.

  Dax turned and looked at the punks getting to their feet and saw that Chavez’s face had gone white.

  “Dude . . . what’s up?”

  Chavez sat back down at the controls and took the joint from Dax. He hit it long and hard.

  “Will one of you tell me what the fuck is happening?”

  “Mega mecha werewolf horde,” gasped the female punk.

  Chavez stared at the punk and passed her the joint.

  “Rasta,” she, said grinning.

  Chavez turned to Dax, “I’m way too high for this shit.”

  Mohammad climbed over the bodies in the back cabin. He found it surprisingly easy to get back there. Most of the monsters were too concerned with their kills and those punks distracted the others leaving him free to move about the lower section of the plane.

  He searched through the bodies and found Abdul. His friend was mangled with most of his insides now outside. The upper part of his chest was untouched. Mohammad found the hidden button and Abdul’s chest flipped open. Inside were the explosives, still armed and operational.

  Mohammad was relieved. Allah was still watching over him.

  He removed the bomb as he heard howls from the upper deck and the sound of heavy creatures moving about. The punks must have gotten the monsters excited and they were searching for more prey they may have overlooked.

  He pulled out the bomb and looked around. He headed to the bathrooms and service station at the back of the cabin. The area was empty, with the exception of two mutilated corpses.

  He pushed the button shutting the emergency doors and slumped to the ground. His body was sore and tired but he was still alive.

  On the floor next to him was a small one-foot-wide hole that had been torn into the aircraft’s floor. He paid no mind.

  Raymond was still hiding in the seats when he heard the horde moving down the stairs. The werewolves were on the move. Those damn punks must have gotten them excited.

  The beasts began to flow down the stairs into the cabin, sniffing the air and growling.

  Raymond knew he had to get out of there.

  He crawled beneath the seat in front of him. He didn’t know where he was going. The cockpit crossed his mind but all the monsters were blocking the stairwells. Then his back bumped into a seat and the fetish wear on his uniform rattled.

  A growl sounded next to his ear. He turned, and there, still sitting in the wheelchair, was the damn beast that started this all.

  Raymond got to his feet and backed away from the snarling creature. His back hit the wall and he found himself next to the emergency exit.

  Then a crazy idea crossed his mind.

  He looked around the cabin and there looked to be fifty werewolves staring back at him. Each one drooling and eyeing him with desire.

  He reached his hands back and found the emergency lock. He clicked it off.

  His movements were slow and calm, he didn’t want to excite them just yet. The pack crept forward. The wheelchair wolf held its position in front of him and continued to growl.

  Raymond paused for a moment and tried to think of something positive, some good last note to go out on. But he had nothing. He had no family. No love in his life. His career and constant travel had made keeping even basic friendships impossible. Hell, his cat died last year.

  He looked around the cabin as the monsters bore down on him.

  “Fuck ya’ll,” he whispered and opened the door.

  “Mother-cunt-fucker. What now?” Dax yelled as alarms went off all over the cockpit. The punks were sitting on the floor and the five had been passing joints around constantly. The punks were kind of weird, especially how they talked, but he and Chavez did manage to find out from them that the plane was filled with werewolves and, most likely, they were the only five people left alive.

  But there was a bigger problem. He knew Chavez noticed it as well but hadn’t said anything. One of the few instruments that will still working was their odometer. According to it, they should be over the west coast of the United States right now with Portland just a scant half an hour away. Instead, open ocean and black skies stretched out for forever in front of them. Even if the odometer was malfunctioning and even if they weren’t going as fast as they thought, land should be in sight.

  Dawn was also due forty minutes ago.

  “We got decompression in the front cabin,” responded Chavez

  “What’s our altitude?”

  “You know damn well the altimeter is not working.”

  “Shit, OK let’s hope we can do this.” Dax snorted a
nother line. “Hold on,” he directed as he began to take the plane down.

  If they didn’t get the plane below 20,000 feet in a matter of minutes the entire plane would depressurize, exposing them all to extreme cold and a dangerous lack of oxygen. They would be knocked unconscious.

  When Raymond opened the door, it flipped outward with such force that it surprised him. He suddenly found himself outside the plane hanging onto the door handle. His body pressed flat against the plane.

  Monsters, corpses, and luggage flew out from the doorway in a constant stream. Raymond screamed, not in terror but primal rage at the beasts. Now they were the ones dying.

  He saw the monster in the wheelchair come flying out with the other debris.

  Got you, you bastard.

  He pulled with all his strength toward the doorway. He had resigned himself to dying when he opened the door but now he was willing to fight for survival again.

  He felt the plane pitch down and the pull became less strong. Dax and Chavez must still be alive and they were trying to pressurize the plane. There was still a chance of making it out of this.

  Through the grace of God he managed to pull himself into the doorway. He held onto the doorframe tight and the plane kept going lower. He looked into the cabin and it seemed to be empty of almost everything. The oxygen masks had lowered and were whipping about from the overhead compartment.

  There was something bouncing around in the cabin. Raymond struggled to make out the shiny purple blur. It suddenly was headed straight at him and then he heard the blur screaming.

  It shot straight at him and Raymond was able to register the blur as a torso with a screaming head right before it hit him square in the chest. The force sent him and what was left of The Star Spangler out into open air.