Starting the vehicle, he put it in first gear, and put his foot down on the accelerator, simultaneously taking the handbrake off then cringed as he felt the ambulance rock slightly, swaying over to the passenger side and the steep slope beyond.
“Fuck!” he shouted, his fingers flicking on the headlights and the windscreen wipers, his eyes staring up in the direction of the farmhouse, nausea washing through him as he imagined his friends and the children facing off against the ghouls and the insane Bethany, for some reason the latter scaring him slightly more. These were inhuman beast, once human but now acting on their base impulse…kill and feed. Bethany knew what she was doing was wrong. It was a choice.
All of this was happening because of him and his refusal to leave people behind no matter what Bella had told him. If he had left her behind after she had tried to steal the ambulance then she wouldn’t have been in the vehicle to alert the ghouls once they had walked past the vehicle.
With a roar of anger, he let the vehicle roll back slightly, turned the wheel as if he was going to drive sideways into the rocky wall and floored the accelerator again, cursing as the ambulance lurched forward and sideways, scraping against the wall with a metallic screech, the vehicle rocking once more and he grimaced, one balled fist leaving the wheel to strike the dashboard.
“Come on you mother fucker!”
There was a loud metallic clang as the ambulance came free of whatever had been impeding its movement, and the vehicle surged forwards, tilting wildly, and grimacing, Victor straightened the wheel, steering it up the dirt track, a quick glance in the passenger side mirror showing that Bella was right behind him in the white van that they had taken from the village, her lights on.
The ambulance bumped as he reached the top of the slope and he drove up before the farmhouse, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the crowd of ghouls all fighting to get in through the front door of the building. Those at the rear of the group turned in his direction as they saw his approach flinching as the headlights shone upon them, many raising hands before their eyes, and grimacing, Victor floored the accelerator. He drove into those clustered in the doorway at speed, the impact scattering them before him, the ambulance lurching as several went under the wheels. Grimacing, Victor drove on, slowing as he neared the barns and then turned the vehicle in a circle on the area between the farmhouse and the drop to the valley below, watching as Bella parked her van directly in front of the front door, then turned his gaze to the ghouls that were lying about the area, dazed and injured from his collision with them, several trying to rise already.
Grim faced, he opened the door beside him, clasping the shotgun as he climbed out and kicked the door shut, then stepped around the front of the vehicle, watching as Bella exited the passenger side of the white van she had been driving and shoved her shotgun into the mouth of a rising ghoul, the blast opening the back of its head. Stone faced, Victor stepped through the rain towards another of them, pressing the end of his shotgun against the soft spot over its heart as it struggled to rise, and fired, dropping it limp to the wet mud. He glanced up as Bella fired her second barrel into the chest of another, and reloaded, watching as he turned his remaining barrel upon another ghoul, and moved to join her, gratefully accepting the shells that she passed him. As he emptied the spent cartridges and began to reload, she glanced about, “I say we clean these ones up and then drive the vehicles round the back, see if we can get people out of the upper windows onto the roofs”
Victor nodded, taking a step towards another of the ghouls then paused as he saw a figure lying upon its back several feet from them, previously unnoticed by the pair, and heart in his mouth he moved to stare down at it, a guttural curse of anger escaping him as he recognised their face.
“Dog?” Bella took a step towards him, “Who…?”
“Jiyaa” he shook his head, his throat tight, “She’s been stabbed…she’s dead”
“Bethany” Bella snarled, and Victor felt his heart sink as he nodded, realising that this was partly his doing for allowing her to escape, his head dropping for a moment as he stared down into the blank eyes of the poor woman, then glanced up once more as he heard Bella snarl again as she stepped towards a nearby ghoul as it tried to rise and pushed her shotgun in through its snarling mouth, “Kill them…kill them all!”
Chapter Fifty One
“Fuck!” Lauren flinched as a sudden gunshot rang out in the darkness, and cursing, she almost fell from the large wooden pergola that she and Alice had climbed at the back of the farmhouse, her fingers only just managing to grasp back to the wet wooden structure. Eyes wide, she turned to look at Alice, the woman just below her, flinching as the gun fired again, “Gunshots!”
“Dog and Bella?” Alice raised an eyebrow.
“I hope so” Lauren nodded back at her friend, feeling blessed once more that the woman that she had felt closest to in the group had returned to them, Lauren began to climb once more, guilt touching her as her thoughts drifted to poor Jiyaa, her other friend. If only she had learned before that morning that the woman had spoken English, she might have gotten to know her better, maybe the last two days might not have been so lonely for Jiyaa. In the chaotic moments following Jiyaa’s brutal murder by the black-haired woman, Lauren and Alice had fled around the rear of the farmhouse, feeling sick with dread as screams had sounded from within the large building. Out of their minds with worry and anger, they had reached the back door only to find it locked, and had been forced to hide in the shadows of the doorway as several ghouls had come into sight, over spilling from the huge crowd at the front. As the ghoul stragglers had departed, Alice had pointed to the pergola that stood at the rear of the building against the wall then leaned closer, whispering that they should climb it and get in through the upper windows.
Sighing heavily once more as she pictured the way that they had been forced to leave Jiyaa lying upon her back in the rain, Lauren raised a hand from the pergola to wipe the raindrops from her glasses, then dragged herself up to sit upon the cross beams atop that had formed a large grid, reaching down to haul Alice up to sit beside her. For the briefest of moments, they sat there, staring down at the back of the farmyard below them, Alice grasping at Laurens left arm as a couple more of the ghouls suddenly shambled beneath them and off into the rainy darkness once more. Then slowly, they rose up, hands reaching out against the back wall of the farmhouse to steady themselves, their shoulders level with the large windows on the upper floor.
They both turned, exchanging glances as more gunshots sounded from the front of the house, then turned as screams sounded from inside the room whose window they were standing before.
“Emily!” Lauren grimaced, grasping at the wet windowsill as she stared into the bedroom, her stomach lurching as she saw the young Asian girl rush inside the room with Brandon, her charge stepping over to the opposite wall while Emily slammed the bedroom door and leaned upon it.
She staggered back as something or someone struck the door hard, the handle turning and beside Lauren, Alice let loose a roar of anger as the black-haired woman appeared in the doorway, the young man standing behind her.
Within the room, the young boy Eric gave a scream of terror, and Emily backed towards him and Brandon, her arms spreading out wide beside her as if she were trying to keep them both safe behind her and Lauren felt her heart swell with emotion at the young girls bravery.
“Bethany, you mother fucking bitch!” Alice swung a fist up, crashing it on the window, and Lauren tensed, fearing they were about to get showered in glass only for the pane to wobble in the frame.
Yet within the room, all five of the occupants saw them, the bruised and swollen features of the black-haired woman twisting in shock and anger as she stared back at them, one hand clasping to the hammer she had attacked them with earlier, the knife that she had killed Jiyaa with gone.
With a snarl, the woman turned her gaze back on the teenage girl, and she stepped towards her, the hammer raised above her head ready to strike.
Outside in the rain Lauren and Alice cried out in dread only for the Bella’s dog to throw itself from the bed, its yelp of pain as it landed on its bad front leg loud even through the window but despite its agony, it rushed forwards, sinking its teeth into the left ankle of the psychotic woman, sending her off balance into the wall beside the door. With a snarl she raised the hammer once more, clearly intending to strike the dog then cursed as Emily rushed forwards and grasped at the hammer with both her hands, and with a cry of defiance, Eric threw himself from the bed to wrap his arms about her other leg, the three of them crashing down to the floor.
Instantly the young man was beside the pile of bodies, desperately trying to drag the children away from his companion, only to stagger away cursing as the dog turned upon him, snarling, while Brandon stood against the wall, the palm of one hand flat against it while his other patted himself upon the side of his head, his features twisted in grief. Turning her gaze upon him, Lauren began to hammer upon the window, calling out to him, Alice stepping precariously past her on the wooden cross beams as she shouted obscenities at the black-haired woman.
As if in a daze, Brandon turned his face towards them, eyes widening as he saw Lauren standing at the window, and he took several steps towards her, then winced and covered his face as the young man kicked out at the dog, knocking it back to lay whining on its side, then stepped in to drag a screaming Eric from the legs of his friend.
“Brandon!” Lauren called out once more, her eyes drifting to watch as Emily now fought desperately with the black-haired woman for possession of the hammer while the man held a struggling Eric in his arms, one hand clasped tight over the boys mouth, then turned back to her charge, “Open the window, quickly!”
As if in a dream, Brandon slowly walked across the room, wincing each time someone shouted, his hands reaching out for the window clasp.
Beside Lauren, Alice cried out in concern and the nurse turned her gaze, her stomach sinking as she saw the black-haired woman rise to her knees, one hand pinning Emily to the ground by her throat while the other raised the hammer high then seemed to notice the danger, her shrill voice loud as Brandon opened the window, “Freddy, don’t let them in!”
With a curse, he released the boy and rushed towards the window, only to falter and slow as Alice heaved herself up and into the room, her right fist hammering hard into the man’s face.
As he staggered back, crying out in pain, the black-haired woman gave a snarl of anger and began to bring the hammer down towards the teenage girl beneath her only to scream in agony as Eric rushed at her from behind and grasped her hair, dragging her roughly backwards and off.
“You fucking little cunt!” she gave a roar of hatred, twisting her hair free as she rolled to her knees then grunted in shock as Alice rushed in and kneed her hard in the face, rocking her back to collide with the wall. With a grunt, she toppled forwards, righted herself and rose with surprising speed, straight into a punch from Lauren, the nurse stepping in quickly, her right fist snaking out to crack the woman in the face.
Crying out, she fell back against the wall, her right hand sweeping out before her with the hammer, desperately trying to keep the two furious women away, “Freddy help me!”
“Leave her alone!” the voice of the young man suddenly shouted, a sob from behind making both women take a step back from their foe and turn, each of them cursing in concern as they found the young black man in the grip of Freddy as he stood behind him, an arm wrapped about the neck of the terrified Brandon, the other hand grasped tightly to his black and white tracksuit.
“Let him go!” Lauren screamed at the man, taking a step forward, Alice moving with her only for them both to pause as the black-haired woman stepped alongside Freddy and pointed the hammer at Brandon’s face, her free hand rising to point at the two women as she snarled angrily.
“Stay back…I fucking swear to God, I’ll kill him!”
“Let him go!” Lauren repeated her words, head shaking as she stared in hatred at the couple, her heart breaking as Brandon gave a sob of terror.
Taking a step forwards, Alice grimaced, her eyes locked to those of the woman with the hammer, her voice barely more than a whisper, “I am going to kill you…I promise”
“Fuck off cunt!” came the reply, the woman reaching back to open the door to the landing beyond then turned back towards them, “You…all of you…out of the room and downstairs!”
“Fuck off!” Emily pushed herself to her feet, moving to embrace her brother, “The ghouls are there! They killed Val, Robert and Doctor Green!”
As Lauren and Alice glanced at the girl, seeing the dread on her face, grief coursing through them at her words, the black-haired woman gave a bitter snarl, “I don’t fucking care…down the stairs!”
“What are you hoping to do?” Lauren shook her head suddenly, the madness of it all washing over her, “What are you getting out of this!”
“The house…safety…food…weapons” came the sneered reply, the blood-stained features of the woman twisted in grim amusement, “I’ve never been good with sharing…so you need to go!”
“You don’t need to do this!” Lauren shook her head, fists forming at her sides, “Listen to me…”
“Out!” the black-haired woman shouted at her, mouth twisting, “Out or I kill the retard!”
“Don’t call me that!” Brandon suddenly shouted, his features suddenly filled with indignation and rage, twisting in the grip of the physically smaller Freddy, pushing the man back out of the open door, “Don’t call me that don’t call me that!”
“Fuck!” Bethany spun towards the black young man, hammer raising only to curse and stagger back as Alice and Lauren struck her at the same time, the trio crashing back through the open door into the stunned Freddy, driving him back down the landing. Fighting frantically, they bounced off a wall then careened into another, all three women shouting and cursing as they fought. Alice cried out in pain and shock as Bethany swept an elbow around, catching her in the cheek, then snapped her own right fist hard into the woman’s face, a punch from Lauren following close behind, and screaming, the black-haired woman pushed herself away from them, the friends crashing to the floor beside the railings that supported the upper floor banister.
As Bethany staggered back away from them down the landing, she struck Freddy as he tried to back away from her and he spun sideways, the upper banister stopping him at the waist and then he went over, his legs kicking up high towards the ceiling as if he were doing a backflip.
He screamed as he fell, and lying atop Alice, Lauren turned her head, staring through the railings as the man landed atop the horde of ghouls huddled on the floor of the corridor, fighting among themselves as they shovelled bloody gobbets of meat into their open mouths, the stomach of the nurse twisting as she realised they were consuming someone she had known.
The ghouls erupted in a storm of excitement as the man landed in their midst, his screams of raw terror turning to agonised cries of pain as they began to grasp and pull at him, snarling at each other in their eagerness to claim the fresh meal. In seconds, he was gone from sight, dragged beneath the maelstrom of bodies but his screams remained, loud as they echoed around the stairs.
With a scream borne of utter madness, Bethany suddenly lunged at the pair as they lay on the floor, hammer raised, and cursing, Lauren rolled to the side and tried to rise, grunting in pain as the hammer came down hard on her left forearm. “Bitch!” Alice kicked out with one of her boots into the black-haired woman’s right kneecap, the sickening snap loud as Bethany’s leg bent to the side in a manner that nature had never intended.
Howling in pain, she fell back, bracing herself against the banister, the hammer swinging weakly before her in an attempt to keep Alice and Lauren away from her as they rose quickly.
“Keep back!” she shook her head, sobbing in pain as she tried to edge along the banister towards the other end of the landing, perhaps hoping to hide in one of the other bedrooms, but Alice and Lauren moved
with her, both their faces grim.
They all turned as the stairs creaked behind and below them, Lauren feeling sick as she saw several of the ghouls moving onto the lower stairs, their heads turning to look up at the three women above, beige eyes wide as if surprised. They had only stayed downstairs where the food was, their limited intellect having not considered searching the house for more, until they had begun making noise above them on the landing.
Snapping her face back towards them, Bethany suddenly dropped the hammer, her hands rising beside her head as she forced a sickly smile and nodded, “You win…I surrender…I give up!”
“Like you did in the van you mean?” the voice of Alice was thick with hatred, her words a growl.
“What?” the black-haired woman blinked, her head shaking, “I am giving up…please…you win!”
“Too fucking late…you killed Jiyaa!” Lauren shook her head, and as if rehearsed, both she and Alice rushed forwards, pushing the woman back down the staircase, a scream of terror escaping her as she tumbled head over feet before finally stopping halfway up. Taking the hand of Alice in her own, Lauren stepped back to the wall behind them, her eyes locked to the bruised face of Bethany as she raised her head to look at them, then screamed in terror and pain as the ghouls that had been climbing the stairs reached her.
With an excited snarl, one of them grasped at her right arm, bending it back behind her, twisting and jerking it wildly as he grunted and without warning the limb came loose, blood spraying up the staircase walls, coating the gleeful ghoul.
The scream of Bethany was agonised, her body all but invisible beneath the white-skinned ghouls as they began to tear the clothing from her, powerful fingers thrusting into the meat beneath, and then her head was yanked back by the hair as one of them began to eat her face.
Lauren and Alice stayed long enough to see her die, her remaining arm going limp in the grasp of a ghoul as it took a bite from her bare bicep, tissue and skin stretching as it tore its mouth away, chewing contentedly as it moaned around the meat in its mouth, and then they slipped away, back towards the bedroom where Emily and Eric stood waiting for them in silence.
Ghoul: The Beginning Page 30