“Brandon!” Lauren clamped a shaking hand to her mouth as she took a step towards the young black man, her head shaking, “I am so sorry!”
“I am sorry I ran away” he intoned, staring down at the ground, “It won’t happen again”
“Oh you” she stepped quickly towards him, dragging him into an embrace while he stood with his hands beside him, staring at Victor.
As she released him, she tilted her head, her eyes drifting down him, “Are you hurt…at all?”
“No” he shook his head, then blinked, “Are you my mum now, Lauren?”
She clamped her lips together, tears rolling down her features and Victor felt his throat tighten at the innocence of the young man, smiling sadly for a moment before meeting the gaze of the young nurse, “The children…Emily and Eric?”
“Both fine” she nodded, smiling as she took Brandon by the hand and stepped back towards the ambulance, “They will be pleased to see you!”
Victor nodded, smiling and then turned to stare down through the rain and mist towards the bottom of the track, the hairs rising on his neck as he heard the faint snarling suddenly rise up.
“We need to get to the farmhouse and lock up and hide!” he grimaced, gesturing for them all to start moving, “Come on, through the back of the ambulance and out the side, we need to go now!”
“What?” Lauren blinked, head shaking, and Bella grimaced, gently pulling on the nurse’s arm.
“Ghouls, lot of ghouls, we found them chasing Brandon…and thanks to that bitch Bethany they have followed us back here!”
“Bethany?” she shook her head, “Who is she?”
“Just go!” Victor shook his head, “Alice, get them all safe and inside, I’ll get these two from the back of the van…we can’t leave them”
“Are you mad?” she shook her head, “Really?”
“Just go, please, get them and you to safety!” he forced a smile, nodding at her, “Please”
She hesitated for a moment, cast a glance at Bella then did as he had asked as the woman nodded.
“Dog!” as Alice and Lauren began to climb through the ambulance, helping Brandon, the silver-haired woman stepped closer to him, her face incredulous, “You can’t be fucking serious!”
“I told you, I cant leave people behind”
She grimaced, head shaking as she stared at him, and he winced, his gaze drifting past her to watch as the trio emerged from the ambulance and began to hurry towards the farmhouse, helped by Jiyaa and Doctor Green, then he gave a shrug.
“Look, go with them…I’ll be along shortly!”
“You can’t let them in the house!” she shook her head, “It puts the kids at risk!”
He turned his head at her words, nodding as he realised that she was right, her new argument finally winning him over to her point of view, and he gave a heavy sigh, “Fine, but I am locking them in the van for the night till this is all over!”
Turning his head to stare down the track, cursing in dread as he saw the first of the ghouls making their way up it, followed by its brethren, Victor stepped level with the open rear of the van, his brow furrowing as he found Freddy sitting there on his own, the set of handcuffs on the floor of the van beside his feet, the keys for it nearby.
Cursing, Victor snapped a hand to his pocket, his stomach lurching as he realised that the keys were gone, no doubt having fallen from his pocket during his scuffle in the rear of the van, then he blinked in shock and confusion as the black-haired, blood stained figure of Bethany stepped into view from inside the van and struck him hard in the forehead with a large hammer.
He grunted, legs giving way as he dropped to the wet mud, vaguely aware of Bella screaming in fury as she rushed forwards only to grunt and drop to the ground beside him, and the van.
Blinking, fighting to stay conscious, Victor watched as two pairs of feet jumped down from the rear of the van and ran off towards the ambulance, splashing in the wet mud, then the excited murmur of snarls and grunts from the horde of approaching ghouls washed over him.
Chapter Forty Eight
“Go!” Alice charged on towards the farmhouse, one hand clasped to the hand of Jiyaa as they ran side by side, the Indian woman overjoyed to see her return, while Lauren ran on ahead, leading Brandon by the hand, Doctor Green puffing as he tried to keep pace with them all. As she turned to look back at him, he winced, nodding then raised his eyes to the dark sky overhead, and she did the same, concern touching almost instantly.
It was already overcast and gloomy because of the foul weather but the autumn night was approaching, reducing their visibility as it did so.
She sighed in relief as they reached the top of the track, all five of them appearing to be winded by the run uphill, and she gestured towards the large farmhouse, “Go, keep running, Dog and Bella will be with us as soon as they can!”
In no time at all, they were at the front door of the property, Doctor Green hammering upon it while the others stood beneath the sloped porch, sheltering from the rain that had already soaked them all to the skin. Grimacing, Alice took a step back, staring at the top of the track, willing her two friends to hurry up, hope taking flight in her as she saw them approaching through the rain.
She glanced to the side as the front door suddenly opened wide, the square features of Robert the farmer staring out in shock as his gaze drifted from Brandon to her and then back again.
Stepping back down the hallway, he gestured for them to come in, his head turning, “Val, the lad is back, and one of the ones who left is back too!”
There was a murmur of confusion from his wife and he headed for the kitchen, his head shaking as he spoke once more, “I said the boy is back, Brandon, and that Alice girl is back too!”
Smiling, Alice watched as Doctor Green turned to the others, one hand gently guiding Brandon through the open door and into the house before he moved in behind him, turning back to face the three women only to gasp in dread as he stared past them, “Good Lord!”
“What?” she turned towards Dog and Bella as they loomed through the rain in her peripheral vision then cursed as she saw the hammer swinging towards her head, clasped tight in the hand of the black-haired Bethany, the woman screaming in raw hatred. Alice grunted as the blow missed her face and struck her hard upon the left shoulder, spinning her to the wet mud at their feet, and cursing and wincing in pain, she glanced up as the woman threw herself at a stunned Lauren, the hammer swinging wildly.
“Bitch!” the nurse somehow managed to dodge the blows, her body weaving quickly, but then she staggered to the side as the young man Freddy stepped in and shoved her with his hands, pushing her back to land beside Alice.
Instantly, Jiyaa was at her side, trying to help the two women stand, features etched with concern.
“Inside!” Bethany screamed, pointing to the open doorway with her other hand, and as she pushed herself to her hands and knees, Alice felt sick with dread as she saw the long knife clasped in it.
Without hesitating, Freddy spun and raced for the door, colliding heavily with the startled Doctor Green as the man stepped back towards the opening, shouting for Robert to come help.
With a grunt of shock and pain, the silver-haired physician fell back to the floor, the male teacher falling atop him, and screeching in triumph, Bethany raced for the door, only to stagger off balance as Jiyaa grasped at her hammer hand, dragging her back. With a roar like a wounded beast, Bethany spun on the spot, her other hand thrusting hard against the chest of the Indian woman, and Alice screamed as she saw the point of the knife she had been holding seem to grow from the back of the raincoat Jiyaa was wearing.
The combined screams of Alice and Lauren were loud over the heavy rain and behind the figure of Jiyaa, the features of Bethany were etched with raw delight as she sneered at them both over the shoulder of the woman that she had stabbed.
Without warning, the knife point vanished, and Bethany thrust Jiyaa backwards to splash heavily down on the muddy ground, the arms and legs of the India
n woman appearing limp as she lay there staring up at the falling rain. Snarling once more, the female teacher backed inside the house, the door slamming shut behind her and roaring in hatred, Alice rushed at it, both of her fists hammering upon its surface, her voice a snarl, “I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Alice”
She turned at the choking sob, her eyes meeting those of Lauren as the nurse knelt in a puddle beside Jiyaa, her head shaking, “She’s dead!”
Throat swollen with emotion, Alice held her gaze in silence, her body quaking as a wave of hatred and raw grief coursed through her, and she turned to the door once more, half crouching as she screamed as if she were possessed by a demon, the sound half-growl and inhuman.
“Alice” Lauren was suddenly beside her, hands grasping at her and she turned, grimacing as she saw the horde of ghouls emerging from the darkness of the early evening. For a moment, she stared at them in silence, then she let Lauren lead her by the hand, the pair of them running off into the rain, leaving the body of their friend behind.
Chapter Forty Nine
Cursing under her breath, Emily placed Lexie down upon the bed that she had been using since they had arrived at the farmhouse two days before, and stroked her head softly, earning several gentle licks from the injured dog, and she gave a smile, “Your mam will be back soon”
“Where are you going?” Eric looked up from where he was laying upon the other bed, casting aside the toy soldiers he had been playing with.
She paused before the bedroom door, turning back to meet his gaze as she opened it, “I am going to see what everyone is shouting about now…you wait here with Lexie”
He rolled his eyes, lazily picking up the toy soldiers once more, “Grown-ups are the worst”
She gave a weak smile, nodding at him, and then moved out onto the upper landing, cursing once more as she heard screams and shouts from downstairs, followed by the front door slamming.
Almost at once another scream sounded, quieter than the others, and then Emily flinched in shock as a sudden pounding sounded from downstairs as if something was trying to smash the front door down, followed by more loud screaming.
Instantly she knew that the ghouls were trying to gain entry, guilt washing through her as she recalled those that she and Eric had seen that morning. Had they found a way up the slope?
Feeling sick, she moved along the landing and began to slowly descend the stairs, pausing as she reached the middle landing and stared down.
She froze as she studied the scene below, her mouth opening in confusion, her head shaking slightly as she saw the familiar figure of Brandon standing in the hallway, one hand tapping repeatedly against the side of his head as he stared down the corridor and in confusion she followed his gaze. She felt the hairs rise upon the back of her neck as she saw the thin young man in the shirt and tie kneeling atop the struggling Doctor Green, one hand holding him down while the other punched down at him, repeatedly, and then she raised her eyes, watching in horror as a black haired woman in dungarees stepped towards the pair, a hammer in one hand and a bloody knife in the other, “Move, Freddy!”
Feeling sick, Emily stood watching in disbelief as the woman stepped further into the light, the young girl feeling sick as she saw that the mouth and nose of the woman appeared to be covered in blood, both of her eyes appearing bruised.
Muttering, the young man rose to his feet, and stepped back, and the woman cast a glance at him, “We have to kill these cunt’s, then we can use the house as our own…its you and me Freddy, you want that don’t you…”
He nodded, and she chuckled, stepping towards the fallen doctor, the hammer raising above him as he raised his hands, “Please…don’t do this…”
“No!” Emily screamed, taking two quick steps down the stairs towards them, her head shaking as she pointed at the couple, “Leave him alone!”
“Shit!” the man named Freddy cursed as he glanced up at her, and the woman gave a snarl.
“Get her!”
“She’s a kid!”
“Freddy!” the woman gave a scream of anger, then cursed herself as the large figure of Robert surged into the hallway, dwarfing the woman.
“Who the fucking Hell are you!”
With a scream like a banshee the woman turned, the hammer swinging for the big mans face but he turned it aside with burly forearm, then cursed as she thrust the knife into his stomach.
Emily screamed in concern as she moved down the stairs, gesturing frantically to Brandon to join her as he glanced her way, and sobbing he clambered quickly up the stairs and moved past her, his right hand grasping forward to hold her shoulder as she stood before him protectively, her courage making a mockery of her youth.
With a roar like the wounded bear that he resembled, the knife still embedded deep in his stomach, Robert grasped the black-haired woman about the throat with both hands, lifting her easily from the floor to slam her back into the wall opposite, knocking several pictures from its surface to crash down to the floor, her legs kicking wildly. He grunted as she raised the hammer suddenly, smashing him in the forehead with it, and as he staggered back and dropped to his knees, the woman fell back heavily to the floor before him, crying out in pain. Instantly she rose, raising the hammer once more, only to scream in surprise and fear as the enraged figure of Valerie bust from the doorway, a large knife clasped in her hands, “Get the fuck out of my fucking house!”
The woman screamed again as the wife of the farmer stabbed at her, the blade taking her in the shoulder, and then Valerie raised the knife once more only to grunt in shock as the young man pushed at her from the side, sending her tripping up the hallway to land heavily upon her back.
“Val!” Robert cried out in concern, heedless of the danger as the woman stepped forwards and raised the hammer above him once again, only everyone to turn their faces towards the front door as it suddenly crashed open, almost torn from its hinges by the force of the impact on it.
Emily screamed in terror as the horde of white-skinned naked ghouls surged through the entrance, grasping at the screaming figure of Valerie as she tried to rise, dragging her into their midst, their grunts of excitement loud.
With a roar of anger and denial, Robert somehow made it to his feet, a large hand reaching down to drag the knife from his stomach, and with a roar he threw himself at the horde, stabbing and slashing, Doctor Green rising unsteadily to his hands and knees behind him; his nose bleeding and his glasses broken as he wrenched open the door to a walk-in cupboard and crawled inside.
“Go!” the woman with the hammer screamed, pointing up the stairs towards where Emily stood with Brandon, “Go Freddy, get them!”
“The zombies…” the man managed to mumble, head shaking, but she pushed her way past him, insanity in her eyes as she charged up the stairs.
Heart in her mouth, Emily hesitated a moment longer, stifling a sob as she saw the brave farmer in the distance finally overwhelmed by the grunting brutal mob of Neanderthals, his large form vanishing amongst the heaving mass of white skinned bodies as they surged forwards. Then pushing Brandon ahead of her, she turned and raced back up the stairs in terror, the black-haired woman close behind her, hammer raised.
Chapter Fifty
“I didn’t think they would pass” Bella crawled out from under the van that Victor had dragged her beneath shortly before the horde of ghouls had reached the van, the pair of them hiding in silence out of sight until it had finally appeared that all of the creatures had passed by. Forcing herself to her feet, leaning heavily upon the side of the van for support, she let Victor help her to stand, the pair of them standing face-to-face in the near darkness, each of them suffering bloody wounds from the unexpected attack by Bethany.
“Are you OK?” Victor raised a hand to rest upon her right cheek, his bruised features filled with concern as he studied the face of the woman that he had grown incredibly close to in the past two days, his thumb gently gliding over the ugly bruise on her cheekbone, clearing the raindro
ps away, his head shaking, “This is my fault…I should have let you kill that bitch”
“No, this is her fault not yours” she shrugged, head shaking as she held his gaze, then she turned to stare up the slope past the ambulance towards the dark shape of the farmhouse, “Now we need to go and make that bitch suffer”
Victor nodded at her words, turning to take a step towards the rear of the ambulance, fully intending to climb through only to pause as he heard the door of the van open behind him, and he turned, watching as Bella reached in and then rose with a shotgun in each hand, “Here”
Reaching out to take it from her, he glanced down as their hands touched, his fingers overlapping hers and for the longest time they stayed frozen in place, the heavy rain falling upon them as they stood in the near darkness.
Sighing heavily, he raised his gaze to meet hers, something unspoken passing between them and without a word of warning, the former soldier stepped close to him, her lips gently brushing against his own before she stepped back, a look of shock upon her features, “Dog…listen…I…”
He nodded, his throat tight with emotion, “In case we don’t make it through this…I want you to know that…you matter…to me”
“Ditto” she replied, then they both turned as faint screaming sounded at the farmhouse, Victor grimacing as he took a step towards the rear of the ambulance, and Bella shook her head, “No, I’ve had an idea…you see if you can get it up the slope and I’ll follow in the van, in case we need to abandon this place, we can fit everyone in the ambulance and the van and drive out of here!”
For a fraction of a second, Victor held her gaze, nodding slowly and then he winked and turned, climbing through the ambulance and out the side, while Bella shut the rear doors tight behind him.
Sliding the side door shut, he wrenched open the passenger door, placed his shotgun upon the seat and climbed inside, scooting behind the wheel, sighing in relief as he found that Lauren had left the keys in the ignition after reversing downhill.
Ghoul: The Beginning Page 29