Howling

It Was You

August 16th, Night of The Accident

"John, you have to visit the doctor. You've been laid up quite frequently for a while now."

Okay eavesdropping is very wrong, but when I heard Korey's worried voice through the door, curiosity overtook me.
I stopped walking, standing still as I listened silently.

"Babe, I'm fine. Don't I always get back on my feet?"

"It could be an indication of something bad hon. I just want to be sure that you're okay."

The soft creak of bed springs as someone sat down.

"Please. For me."

"Korey," John groaned, "I'm. fine."

Silence.

"Fine," Korey replied quietly, "I'll schedule the appointment as soon as tour is over."

"You will not," John replied. I could have sworn I heard growling amidst his words.

I stepped back quietly, certainly surprised. I had never heard him and Korey argue before, even on this level.
Deciding to leave them be, I snuck away to the bus' small living room and laid down on one of the couches, letting out a small sigh.

I checked my phone for the time. It was already 11pm and everyone was still awake, surprisingly enough.
Maybe we should do something all together tonight, something fun.
While I was quietly musing over our options, Seth came into the room, talking to someone on his phone quietly.
He seemed to be surprised that I was there and gave me a slight smile as he sat on the other couch.

I grinned knowingly at him before unlocking my phone to get directions on Google Maps.

"What are you up to," Seth asked casually after he hung up the phone.

"Oh...something," I replied, watching the blue line trace all the roads we'd need to take. Luckily our destination was only twelve minutes away, and it was a nice warm night.

"That's different. Certainly sounds better than nothing," he responded with surprise.

I shut off my phone as I stood up, looking for my rental car keys.
"Well since everyone is up and around, and it's a nice night..."

"Yeah," Seth asked curiously.

"I figured we'd go night swimming. For our first night in California."

He grinned, "I'm down. It's a good night for a little adventure."

"That's what I thought," I replied, going to my bunk where my car keys ended up being.

"Gotcha," I whispered softly, listening to them jingle satisfyingly as I made my way back to the couch to wait for John and Korey.

***

The ocean waves crashed onto the shore, reflecting the beautiful full moon and stars in the sky.
Despite it being night time, the sand still felt warm beneath our feet. Gorgeous, I thought.

I sat on the blanket, smiling softly as I watched all the activity around me.
Even John-who had been down all day sick-was up and around with the others, splashing around in the waves happily, if with little energy.

"Hey you coming back in," Korey inquired from on top of Johns back.

I smiled, standing up and jogging back into the surf, "Yeah! Just wanted to take a small breather."

Seth splashed me playfully as I crashed into the water, "Well ya got it!"

That was the last happy memory I had before all the following events.

Around twenty minutes later we agreed to pack it in for the night as we had a show tomorrow.
John quietly helped out, wincing a little.

I passed it off as nothing. His illness was affecting him again.
"John do you want some medication," I asked, digging through my purse.

"No," he whispered, laying his head back against his seat with the towel over his face, "Let's just get home as fast as possible."

Seth gave me a nervous glance from the passenger seat.

"John-"

"He said he's fine Jen," Korey replied, "Let's get back to the bus now."

I nodded silently and turned on the Impreza, backing out of our spot.

We just got on the highway when it happened.
John screamed like a banshee as a flash of moonlight reached through the window. I was startled, instinctively pressing harder on the gas as a result.

"Okay we are taking him to a hospital," I told everyone, switching lanes for the next exit.

"NO," John screamed, "Pull over! Get out now!"

"He's shivering violently," Korey reported, amidst all the shushing.

"How's his temperature," I asked, speeding up.

"Ah-oh god! Jen drive faster he's burning up!"

"What the hell," Seth muttered in confusion.

"Too-late-" John cried, "I'm s-sorry-"

"No hang on John," I told him.
I looked at my speedometer.
The car was at its peak speed and holding.
The hospital windows gleamed like a beacon in the distance.

I was about to announce how close we were when I heard Korey's blood-curdling screams.

"JOHN!"

His cries slowly turned into loud howling.
My heart dropped like an anvil as fear sunk its ice-cold fingers into me.

"NO NO-" Korey cried and screamed, "STOP HURTING ME!"

Seth screamed, flesh ripped. Everything was so confusing and a panicked blur.

Then I felt a piercing pain in my own shoulder.
My screams joined theirs as I tried to fight the now-animal off.

I couldn't drive.
I swerved into a tree and the last thing I heard was the tortured  cries of my friends and a howl-too animal to be man, too man to be animal.