“…Sid, you need to do something…Be a man for once…”
She watched him race into the next room, curious to know more; smiling after seeing him flip open the staircase closet to remove a putter from a golf bag. But Sid was close to putting it back again.
“…What?” Betty nervously asked. “Are you worried because you may have to use it?...”
But Sid wasn’t talking. He was just staring at the putter in his hand.
“…I know you don’t use it for golf so you may as well use it for something else…You’re always at the casino…I know, Sid…I know what you get up to. You pretend to play golf.”
Sid closed the closet door, raising the putter like some macho man defending his family from an intruder as Betty’s moanful words washed over him. But he knew she was right. He did need to do something.
“But what if Bruno goes for me?” he asked, frowning. “I don’t think I can strike him.”
“Not even if he goes for the kids?”
Sid slowly shook his head. He glanced up the stairs, close to tears as he gripped the putter tight.
“I’ll go look for the dog…You stay here and watch the kids.”
Betty smiled, touching his arm as he aimed for the front door.
***
Betty placed the potatoes on the stove, feeling anxious after not hearing back from Sid. She turned quickly to the sound of a police siren blasting outside her house, slowly relaxing to control her breathing as thoughts of Bruno being found made her smile. But something scraping against the window spooked her. She looked outside to see Bruno standing on his hind legs scratching nails against the glass; his bloodshot eyes scaring her to fall back into a table before looking away. But, after finding the courage to look again, saw that the dog was gone.
She felt nauseous as she clutched a chair, her knees trembling after a reminder of seeing Bruno shook her, but, as she slowly moved away from the table she saw him race towards the window, crashing through it to shower broken glass over her. Betty swiftly raised her arms to protect her face but cringed after a sharp pain shot through her; her eyes opening wide from intense fear at seeing glass sticking out of her arms. She quivered at the sight of Bruno vomiting up blood, close to fainting as he licked it up again.
Sid raced into the kitchen, followed by the vet and two officers, but they stopped after shrilling growls scared them. They saw Bruno move from side to side, shaking his head at everyone as if deciding on who to attack; showing teeth before sniffing the floor.
“Are you okay?” Sid nervously whispered, seeing blood drip off Betty’s arms. “Just don’t move.”
She nodded, but Sid knew she wasn’t okay.
The officers reached for tasers while Sid stupidly raised the putter; sweating fast again as he shouted at Bruno. He hoped his voice would make the dog back off, but it growled more fierce.
“Betty, I love you,” Sid rushed from his mouth, swinging the putter until it broke a ceiling light. “I won’t let you come to harm.”
“You silly fool. I love you too,” Betty shyly replied, backing into a corner. “Now sort your dog out.”
The officers pointed the tasers at Bruno as the vet stayed behind them, but his face turned pale once the dog glared at him. He pushed the officers to do something but they were shaking from fear; their movements slow as they watched the dog. They waited for it to move but it just growled at everyone, not once making an effort to attack. The vet pushed the officers again to annoy them until they slowly walked towards the dog, surrounding it in an attempt to force it back against a wall. But Bruno still wasn’t budging.
“You need to talk to it!” the vet snapped towards Sid. “Keep it occupied while I inject it.”
“Why me?” Sid asked, still worried because he knew Bruno didn’t recognise him. “Those guys have tasers. Get them to do it…”
He kept an eye on Bruno as he slowly edged over to Betty, hugging her to tremble when the dog’s fangs extended in length. He glanced at the vet, knowing he’d seen it also.
“…Come on, man, my dog’s turning into a walrus. Do something.”
“Hey! The dog knows you,” the vet replied, placing a medical bag on a nearby shelf before opening it. “Get its attention and I will inject it to make it go to sleep.”
“But Bruno doesn’t like needles.”
Betty quickly released the hug and sighed at Sid, close to laughing nervously at what he just said as the officers moved closer. But Bruno swung paws at them, stopping them in their tracks.
“Don’t let it scratch you!” the vet yelled, reaching into a small box to retrieve the needle. “It may spread what it has if it draws blood.”
Sid cautiously moved away from Betty, closing in on Bruno to stare into his eyes, but blood dripped from them to leave Sid feeling sick to the stomach.
“Bruno, mate,” he said, pleased to see the dog lower its paws and look at him. “Do you not recognise me?”
The vet watched on, smiling to see Sid’s voice was being noticed. He watched the dog whimper and roll around on the floor, acting like it was playing with its master instead of being fierce; confusing him to stall on making a move. He nodded towards Sid and sighed before slowly creeping to the side of the dog to raise the needle, but Bruno stopped rolling and stared at him. He froze as carnivorous jaws clamped down on the hand holding the needle; his fingers snapping off to leave him sobbing in pain as they plummeted to the floor. He frighteningly fell to his knees as the dog licked the blood from its lips; his body weak as he stared at his fingerless hand. He was close to fainting from the stinging pain shooting through him, cringing each time his heart pumped out more blood, but the sound of tasers firing came to his rescue. He watched Bruno crash against a wall, shaking fast before flopping to the floor; not moving as the officers turned the tasers off.
“Betty!” Sid shouted, rushing over to help the vet. “Get something to tie around his hand – quickly!”
“I’ll get some bandages from the cupboard,” she replied, close to crying herself after seeing Bruno sprawled out as if dead.
As everyone suddenly stared at the fingers sitting in a pool of blood, Bruno was moving slightly; his eyes opening to see Sid help the vet up off the floor as the officers walked towards Betty. No one noticed the dog; the frantic moment had left it invisible.
It sniffed the aroma of blood before springing back to life, barging into Sid and the vet to knock them over like skittles at a bowling alley as Sid collided with the table whilst the vet fell on his stomach. He shivered like he was taking an ice bath, feeling the dog’s breath on him as it closed in, wanting to get up and run but being too scared to try. He closed his eyes and winced as the dog bit into his wounded hand, hearing it growl with pleasure as it tugged on it until dislocating his shoulder.
Betty dropped to the floor to crawl under the table, placing her hands against her ears to drown out the heartbreaking squeals coming from the vet as Bruno crunched into the bone before wrenching his hand away.
The officers nervously fumbled with their tasers, but Bruno howled to scare them before calmly climbing on top of the crying vet’s back to sink teeth into his skull; ripping off the top and spitting it out.
The dog had no fear.
It glanced at the officers as they aimed tasers at it again, growling as it sunk teeth into the vet’s brain to suck into its mouth like it was eating jelly from a spoon. But it was tasered before taking another bite. It shook rapidly and fell off the dead man, howling like it was injured before rolling around on the floor until the probes fell off.
“Do something!” Sid shouted, cowering under the table beside Betty. “We have kids upstairs.”
A loud deafening ‘BANG’ scared him into whacking his head on the table; the noise echoing around the room as an officer reholstered a handgun. Betty burst into tears and pushed Sid before screaming in his face, close to collapsing as she crawled from underneath the table to see Bruno dead on the floor. Sid slowly followed her; his legs wobbly after see
ing his pet with a collapsed eye socket.
SEVENTEEN
News spread quickly amongst the residents of the street as a large crowd of worried people watched the Gilbert family sadly leave their house; their heads bowed to hide the tears. One of the officers smiled as he led them to the police car but suddenly cringed as a reminder of what he did to the family dog sent shivers down his spine. He watched the family slowly enter before sitting in the driver’s seat, glancing at the restless neighbours as he quickly shut the door. He turned the key as the family huddled in the backseat before nodding to his partner standing on the side of the road, seeing him sadly back away to be engulfed by the crowd.
The neighbours stared at the police car as it made some distance. They felt angry for being left in the dark and the remaining officer sensed it. He turned to walk back to the house, sweating as glaring eyes made him nervous.
“Hey!” one of the residents shouted, feeling courageous. “Did one of you fire a gun inside there?”
Just the mention of a gun was enough to get the others talking amongst themselves.
Doug Carlton turned to stare at the neighbours, revealing lines around his ageing eyes. He had been an officer for over twenty years but today had been the worst, so he was struggling to speak as another resident shouted at him. He didn’t know what to say so hoped his silence would work, allowing him to carry out his duty of placing ‘no entry’ police tape around the house. But the crowd wasn’t giving up as more people came forward to holler at him.
“Come on officer, you must know if a gun was fired?” someone said, as another cried out - “Who did you shoot?!”
Everyone who had witnessed the medics carrying corpses from the Smythes’ house earlier had seen something disturbing again in the street where they lived, so none were going anywhere without finding out answers. But Doug ignored them and re-entered the house, slamming the door shut behind him to more outbursts of words. He shivered as he stared at the kitchen, gulping hard after realising the struggle to cope on his own; reaching for his phone as he stumbled towards the staircase. He sat down and held it against an ear, releasing a tear as he made a call; feeling exhausted as a voice was heard on the other end. But the sound of banging against the front door made him jump.
“Doug!” Susan yelled. “What’s going on down there? It sounds pretty noisy.”
“I wouldn’t say it was pretty,” he replied, cringing from the racket. “Is Jason still there?”
“He’s just finishing off the paperwork from earlier. Why?”
“Can I speak to him?”
Doug glared at the door as a loud THUD echoed around him. He knew someone had kicked it.
He heard Susan mention his name before seconds later hearing Jason take the phone from her; listening to the man breathe as if he’d just been running.
“Doug…What’s up?” Jason asked, puffing out his cheeks. “Who’s shouting?”
“I’m inside the house of the crazy dog, but I need to be cordoning it off.” Doug heard more shouts rip through his ears. “But the people outside won’t go home.”
“Are you having another panic attack?”
“Yes…I thought I was over them, seeing as I’d not had one for years, but I’m losing control of the situation…I need your help.”
Jason shook his head at Susan and mimed – He’s not coping – before focusing again on the call.
“Where’s Craig?” Jason asked, even though he knew where he was. “Do you need me to find him?”
“He took the family to the hospital…They were so traumatised.”
“No problem,” Jason calmly replied. “I’ll give him a call. Get him to meet me outside the hospital before coming to you.”
He replaced the phone and raced back to his desk, grabbing his jacket before leaving the building.
***
Jason parked the car outside the hospital’s main entrance before beeping the horn after spotting Craig Bennett standing inside the doorway, wiping sweat from his balding head. Craig nodded as the sliding doors opened to let him out, but he soon stopped walking after someone called out his name.
“Slow down,” Mike said, catching him up. “I’m coming with you.”
“Did Jason call you?”
“Nah…Susan filled me in on what was going on.”
They reached the car and entered, bowing their heads as a cold shiver raced through them. There was only one person on their minds now and that was Nash. They closed their eyes as Jason quietly sobbed; his heart pounding after realising it could’ve been him lying in the morgue.
“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Mike softly said, touching Jason’s shoulder. “Nash knew the risks when he became a copper.”
“Knew the risks?!” Jason snapped at him. “Where does it say in the police force manual that dead people will rise again to kill?”
Mike didn’t have an answer.
He sat back in his seat, staring at Jason whilst nudging Craig for support; hoping the man would say something soon before the situation strangled him.
“Where’s Wayne?” Craig asked, snapping Mike from staring. “I didn’t see him inside the hospital.”
“I’ve sent him home…He’s no good to us right now.”
“What do you mean?” Jason popped up to say, feeling sick for even thinking about what Wayne had recently seen. “Does it have anything to do with Nash?”
Mike nodded. “Wayne needs some rest. We need him fully focused.”
“If you’re sure.” Jason gulped as he started the engine, saying nothing else as the car was driven away.
***
Doug slowly opened the front door, pushing his way through the crowd of people to reach the street. He breathed fast as everyone followed him, close to hyperventilating as a police car closed in. He raised a smile as it stopped outside the house, but the bystanders smothered the car before anyone could get out.
“Hey!” Doug screamed, pushing through them again. “Let us do our jobs and go home.”
“And what is your job exactly?” an irate man asked. “Hiding inside the house instead of telling us what’s going on?”
Doug grimaced, close to losing it as the car doors opened, but he calmed down when the others got out to stand beside him.
Jason was the first to approach the crowd, close to giggling after seeing them surround the car like they were at a car boot sale. It reminded him of his car boot selling days, feeling a rush after persuading a stranger to buy some piece of tat he would otherwise throw out. He nodded to Mike, not waiting for an order as he raced to the back of the car; whistling to get the crowds attention as he lifted the boot.
“Roll up! Roll up!” he hollered as the crowd closed in. “Have I got some goodies for you people…”
Mike opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly after seeing the crowd become sucked in by Jason; each ignoring the other officers as they tried to see what was inside the boot.
“…Does anyone fancy a wicked bargain?” Jason asked, putting on his best sales voice. “Only available for today…These crazy creature comforts will explode your brain.”
His words became baffling for everyone but at least now they were calm. Even the irate man was intrigued. He pushed to the front of the crowd as Jason pointed inside the boot, but all he saw was a spare tyre, a car jack, and a few police issue jackets.
“Where’s the brain exploding creature comforts?”
“Please move away from the vehicle,” Mike politely said, standing next to the man. “And go home.”
But the man pulled out cash from his pocket and waved it in Mike’s face.
“I’m not going anywhere until I get one of those creature comfort thingies.”
“Sorry pal, they’re all sold out,” Jason said, sniggering loud to annoy Mike.
The man lost his cool again, but this time his anger washed over the rest of the crowd as voices suddenly echoed the same words – What the hell is going on? –
Mike knew they would become impatient,
especially now Jason had acted like a little shit, but he was overrun before he could move. He tried shifting people out of his way as Jason slammed down the boot but his ears rung from the constant shouts of – Are we in danger? And – We need protection. -
“Okay! Everybody back off and calm down,” Mike ordered, pleased to see the crowd give him some room. “I’ll answer your questions but you need to settle down.”
“You want us to be calm after what we’ve witnessed?!” cried out an elderly woman with a rolling pin. “You’re havin’ a laugh.” She raised the pin to worry Mike. “I haven’t put this down since the commotion started.”
“Yeah!” shouted another woman. “We’re all worried sick about our families. What’s going on, eh?”
Craig and Doug raced over to Mike, giving him a hand as more yells arrived from the seriously scared people. But, as they ushered most of them away from the car, the irate man kicked it.
“Stop that!” Mike snapped, taking a deep breath. “I understand you are angry but whatever went on here today won’t be affecting you.”
“How do you know?”
The man was close to kicking the car again but Jason sneaked up to him, surprising him into backing away.
“Just tell us something that’ll help us understand?” the man asked, pointing at the crowd. “But don’t even think about bullshittin’ us…”
Mike was scrambling to think of something to say to appease the man, feeling extreme pressure to come up with one of his ‘get out of jail card’ speeches, but his mind went blank after seeing everyone glare at him. He knew it was too risky to mention the same story he told Blake at the hospital because the man could flip and give him a fat lip, so he said nothing. But the silence made the man angrier.
“…Come on, we want answers!” he shouted.
Mike felt sweat seep through his shirt as the pressure increased, but still, nothing was coming to mind and it bothered him. He knew he should be used to a group of troubled people demanding answers, but he had nothing to say to make them feel better about going home. And, to make matters worse, a television crew van had just arrived, with the most hated reporter, according to the police getting out of the vehicle. This guy would sell his mother to get a story. It didn’t matter what the investigation was, he’d find a way to get what he wanted.
Clifton Falls: A Zombie Story [Part 1] Page 12