Hell Flower

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"Veronica! Get back!" I wailed at her.

When Veronica reached Reggie, she collapsed on her knees next to him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her hands in his long, light brown fur. Her head swung around, violet hair flying everywhere as she glared daggers at Alex.

"Back the fuck off!" she growled at him, showing him her teeth.

He bared his teeth back at her and snarled, charging in towards them. His claws tore up weeds and kicked up dust and pine needles as he sprinted across the clearing.

The adrenaline pumping through my veins made everything move in slow motion. Without thinking, I ran up alongside the fire and scooped up a palm full of smoldering embers in my numb hand. I couldn't feel them as they seared my skin. I was doing who knew what damage, but I didn't care. Like a catapult, I swung my arm around and chucked them at the werewolf.

The barrage of fire struck his side right before he reached Reggie and Veronica, sending sparks across his body and singeing his fur. He halted mid stride, an ear-piercing howl escaping his throat as his head flicked around to face me.

"Hey!" I screamed, my voice hoarse and rough. "Shit head! Over here!"

The monster shook his body, his matted grey and white fur flying around him and flicking blood and sparks into the air. His eyes smoldered and burned with rage as small embers of fire continued to burn on the ends of his fur.

Before the werewolf had the chance to make his next move, a gust of air rushed past me. Liz and Jake ran up from behind me in unison, nearly knocking me off my feet as they darted past.

Liz dove in right for Alex's head and grabbed him by the ear. She sunk her teeth into him as she clawed at his face. Jake went in from the other side, striking the monster by the shoulder.

The sudden attack caused the giant werewolf to lose his footing. He fell onto his back, rolling as paws and claws tangled. Yelps and whimpers filled the air as the two smaller wolves tag teamed the attack. Blood and saliva steamed in the cold air. Next to me, the fire raged, like it was encouraging the carnage.

I heard Veronica screaming from the other side of the clearing, but I couldn't make out the words she was yelling.

My heart pounded, and my hands shook as I watched. My feet took slow, shaking steps back, putting distance between me and the wolves. I wanted to run, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. I couldn't even bring myself to look away from the battle.

My heart ached. Somewhere at the core of the monster Liz and Jake were attacking, Alex was still there. He'd lost control to it, but could he still feel everything that was happening? Did he feel the pain? I remembered what it had been like when I had been taken over by that same monster. I remembered the terror.

Was Alex desperately trying to fight to regain control as he watched the monster he had become attack his friends—the monster that was now infecting his mind instead of mind?

With a chill, another thought occurred to me. Had Alex known the entire time? Had he known that this was going to happen the moment I had bitten him? Was that why he had been so sure the exorcism would work this time when it had failed before?

A shudder rushed through my body as nausea pooled in my gut. Liz and Jake might kill Alex to destroy the monster.

Was that what Alex wanted? He couldn't have predicted how powerful and dangerous the combination of the two werewolves would have become.

Had he intended to sacrifice himself to save me?

My eyes burned as my entire body screamed in pain. I didn't even know what was hurting anymore. All of the scratches, bites and bruises that covered me ached and throbbed in unison along with the pain in my heart. I felt like I was on fire.

I didn't want it to end this way.

An earsplitting yelp pulled me out of my head, my focus immediately drawn back to the fight. Alex had somehow managed to right himself, and he now had his jaws closed around Liz's shoulders. With a swing of his neck, he tossed the smaller wolf to the side. Liz landed hard on the ground with a whimper. After one failed attempt to push herself up, she slumped back over. Defeated.

The demon let out a barking roar at Jake as they continued the brawl.

I needed to run, but my feet were frozen to the ground.

"Allison!" Liz's voice shouted.

My gaze shifted from the wolves for just a second. Liz had shifted back to her human form. She lay on the ground by the fire, her hair a tangled, bloody mess. Three scratches ran across her cheek and all the way down to her neck, blood glistening in the warm heat of the flames.

Why had she shifted back?

"Hand grenade, Allison!" she shouted. "The hand grenade!"

"What?" I shouted back, furrowing my brow. What was she talking about? I felt like I should know, like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't place it.

"Twist off the top!" she screamed.

Suddenly, it clicked. The plastic toy she had given me on the tour bus yesterday—the hand grenade token from the drink she'd gotten in New Orleans. I felt the pocket of my jean shorts. It was still there, even through my shift and all the fighting. Was it . . .

I pulled the tiny plastic hand grenade out of the pocket of my jean shorts. It fit perfectly in the palm of my hand, like it belonged there. Like I'd been meant to have it.

My eyes went the lid. For the first time, I noticed that the ridged top was just a slightly different hue of neon-green than the rest of the plastic. Liz must have modified it somehow. That was why she kept it on her at all times. It wasn't for luck . . . it was for protection.

My left hand was still numb, so I bite down on the top, twisting it off between my teeth. With a pop, the serrated plastic seal broke and the top jerked loose.

A sudden bark startled me. Still holding the top of the plastic grenade between my teeth, I glanced back to the wolves. Jake and Alex were both on their feet again, facing off against each other. Alex was bowed down in a threatening pose, and Jake was taking slow, shaking steps back.

Jake shifted his momentum. He dove in for a desperate bite, but the demon headbutted him before he could sink his teeth in, knocking the smaller wolf off towards the fire. Jake collapsed to the ground, whimpering and panting as he tried to push himself back up. His beaten legs shook uselessly beneath him.

The monster barked and coughed up a mouthful of sticky blood like a splatter of ink. Its fur was torn back and matted with red across its entire body. In one place, a scratch ran so deep ribs were exposed, the white bones slicked red with blood. I didn't know how a creature was even able to keep moving with all the wounds it had sustained, unless it was completely blind to the pain.

Blood dripped from its teeth, curdling into pink foam in its jaw as it mixed with saliva. The werewolf's gaze focused in on me one last time. Its irises glowed orange with rims of red, swelling until they consumed the entire eye.

For a second, I felt like I was looking in a mirror. I remembered staring at my own reflection in the bathroom back on the tour bus as my eyes burned with fire. I remembered listening to the poisonous voice of my wolf as she polluted my mind with lies, turning me against my friends and family. Turning me into a monster along with her.

Before, when I had looked into the werewolf's eyes, I had seen only an empty void. But now, I saw her. I saw myself. I saw all of my demons.

Without breaking eye contact, the werewolf charged at me.

Immediately, I pulled the cap out of the hand grenade with my teeth. I tossed the empty plastic piece to the ground and took the tiny hypodermic needle attached to the end of the cap in my shaking fingers.

Hell Flower.

A small plastic guard covered the tip of the needle. Holding the end of it in my bloody hand, I put the guard between my teeth and drew the needle out of my mouth. The cold metal tip traced across the tender surface of my lower lip, daring to break skin, but I didn't let it.

As the wolf dove in, I leaned to the side to avoid its teeth. I drew back my fist, and with a guttural scream, I slammed the needle into the side of its shoulder. I felt a pop as skin broke, and the needle slid in.