The Monsterland Trilogy [Books 1-3]

by Whittington, Shaun

  Six minutes later he fell asleep.

  *

  “My nerves are shot to pieces,” moaned Barry. He went behind the bar, with Lloyd's approval, and poured himself and his brother a pint of lager.

  “Don't go overboard,” Lloyd warned. “Maybe we should all have a brandy or two to settle the nerves.”

  “Great idea.” Barry looked for the bottle of brandy and took it down. He took out five glasses and poured a more-than-generous amount for all five.

  “I'm fine,” said Sue. “I'm okay with lemonade.”

  “Nonsense.” Barry took two full glasses off the bar and handed a glass each to Joan and Sue. Both women took the glasses. David handed Lloyd a glass, then he and his brother downed theirs quickly before starting on the pint that Barry had pulled earlier.

  “Easy now.” Lloyd was beginning to become a little tetchy. “Let's not go overboard.”

  Barry turned to Lloyd and put his hand in his pocket. He pulled out his wallet, took out some cash and slapped the money on the bar. “We've had the fright of our lives. We're just trying to let off some steam.” Barry pointed at the money on the bar. “That should cover it.”

  “I don't care about the money,” snickered Lloyd. “In fact, the way things are going money will be pretty much useless to us if things don't improve. I just want to make sure we're all focused.”

  Joan chipped in with her own advice for the two new arrivals. “If they come for us, like they did back at the guesthouse, being drunk will only get you killed—well, infected at least.”

  “Don't you worry about us, love,” David remarked, now leering at Joan.

  “I'm not worried,” she said, straight-faced.

  “Nothing wrong with a bit of Dutch courage in case the shit hits the fan.”

  Joan sighed, and looked over to Lloyd for some support. The pub owner was already regretting letting in these men, and was trying to get them to slow down before any unfortunate incidents occurred.

  David and Barry were like two kids in a sweet shop and began to look at what else they could drink.

  Barry asked, “What else do you fancy, bro?”

  David pointed. “Let's try some Jack Daniels.”

  Joan threw a glare in Lloyd's direction and said, “Aren't you gonna do something?”

  Lloyd sighed, rubbing the palms of his hands over his face. “I suppose I better.”

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  He was dreaming, and in his dream Gordon Burns was running along the country road, along the Pennines. It was daylight, and his feet slapped the hard tarmac. He had hit a steep hill. He was beginning to tire and his thighs became heavier as the hill was already taking its toll on him. He looked around and could see the gowned man chasing him. As he reached the peak of the hill, Gordon welcomed the flat surface and tried to pick his pace up, but it felt like his legs were made of steel and his pace was actually slowing whilst the gowned man was gaining on him.

  Out of breath, Gordon stopped running and decided to take his chances with the infected individual. Gordon shook with fear, as the infected person ran at him with a vicious snarl, and he only had a few seconds to think about how he was going to defend himself. Should he kick out at the knee, temporarily crippling the manic man? A person wasn't a threat if they were unable to walk. Or should he strike out and try and aim a punch to the throat? The assailant would be useless if they couldn't breathe.

  Instead, Gordon panicked and the gowned man jumped at him; both of them were wrestling with one another and rolling along the floor. Gordon was now close-up to his aggressor and had his hands around his throat to prevent him from getting bitten. The contaminated human growled at Gordon as he was being prevented from tearing a piece out of him, and Gordon could see its horrible yellow teeth and its diseased bloodshot eyes. This sight alone sent him into spasms of panic.

  As the battle continued, Gordon seemed to be losing his grip, but just as he thought he was finished the gowned man began to speak to him in a female voice. “Gordon. Gordon. Wake up. Wake up, Gordon.”

  *

  “Gordon, Gordon.”

  Gordon was in the middle of a dream when he opened his eyes and shot up, startled. He looked to the side of him, to see who was shaking him. It was Sue.

  He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and groaned, “What is it?”

  “You'll have to come downstairs.”

  “Why?”

  “We might need your help.”

  “What?”

  Sue sighed, “It's all kicking off downstairs.”

  “Fuck.” Gordon moaned and stood up straight, stretching his back. “I knew the trip to the bar would be a bad idea.”

  Gordon trudged down the stairs, with Sue in front of him, and as he approached the door he could hear raised voices coming from the bar area. He turned to Sue. “How long have I been out?”

  “Dunno.” She pulled a face as she began to think. “About an hour or so.”

  Gordon walked in, rubbing his eyes, and could see that there was a stand-off and that the new arrival, Barry, was holding a broken bottle with David by his side. Joan and Lloyd looked like they were trying to defuse the situation.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Gordon was still half-asleep.

  “They're both drunk,” said Joan, referring to the brothers. “Lloyd told them that they had had enough, things got heated and Lloyd banned them from having any more to drink.”

  “And then,” Lloyd chipped in, “I asked them to leave, but they refused, so I hit them both. And now this.”

  “We're not going anywhere!” Barry yelled with a slur. He was obviously intoxicated and his brother appeared to be in a similar position. “We're just letting off a bit of steam.”

  “A bit of steam?” Joan guffawed falsely, and pointed at David. “He tried to grab my tits.”

  “I was just having a laugh,” protested David. “Jesus, don't be so fucking sensitive.”

  “We can't have that.” Gordon shook his head in disgust.

  “Which is why I've asked them to leave,” Lloyd remarked.

  “Sending us out there will be like giving us a death sentence,” said Barry. “You can't kick us out because my brother got drunk and groped Joan.”

  “You were laughing when he did it,” snarled Joan.

  “Fine,” David huffed. “If you want us to leave, then we should be allowed to take one of those vehicle outside, preferably the jeep.”

  “No chance.” Joan was adamant, and puffed out her chest. “That Renault's mine, and the jeep is Lloyd's.”

  “Wait a minute.” Gordon held up his hand and turned to Lloyd, Sue and Joan. “Let them take one. We'll still have one left.”

  “And what if this place comes under attack?” Joan said. “We might need to escape in both vehicles. There's five of us.”

  “Even if you manage to throw us out by force,” David sneered, “we'll come back and smash the place up.”

  “Charming,” Sue bravely spoke up.

  “Man, I'm fucking sick of this.” Lloyd went over to the pool-table and grabbed a cue. He stormed over, holding the cue, and could see the fright in both mens' eyes. “No more Mr Good guy.”

  He swung the cue at David and caught him on the side of his arm, making him fall to the ground and scream out. Barry lunged at Lloyd with the broken bottle, but Lloyd managed to swerve out of the way and palmed Barry in the face, breaking his nose. Still clutching the bottle he took another swipe at Lloyd and took a knee to his stomach from the pub owner.

  At this point David had taken his belt off and had wrapped it around both of his hands. He looped the belt over Lloyd's head and was beginning to strangle him, making him drop the cue. Both men fell to the floor, and as Gordon and Joan began to walk over to try and diffuse the situation, Barry booted Lloyd in the face and put the broken bottle to his neck.

  “Any of you fuckers move,” warned Barry, “and I'll make this cunt bleed all over the floor.”

  David picked himself up and stood next to his brothe
r. “This is what's going to happen. We're staying, and you're leaving. You've got two vehicles outside, so get in them and don't come back. I think that's fair enough.”

  Lloyd was lying on his front, too scared to move as Barry was crouched with the bottle still placed on his neck, but it didn't stop him from speaking up. “That's not gonna happen.”

  “Oh, I think you'll find that it is.” Barry began to laugh, stood up straight and put his right foot on Lloyd's back so he couldn't get up, and said to him, “Make one move and I'll cut you.”

  David giggled, “Yeah, and we'll cut up your fucking son while we're at it.”

  “Don't you threaten my boy,” Lloyd hissed, saliva slipping out of his mouth with anger. “He's upstairs on his Xbox. He doesn't even know this is going on.”

  Joan turned around and began walking away.

  “And where do you think you're going, bitch?” David snarled.

  She stopped walking and said, “I'm going upstairs for a piss. That is allowed, isn't it?”

  Neither brother said a word and Joan carried on walking.

  Before she disappeared, Lloyd spoke out. “Joan. If you run out of toilet roll, girl, there's more under the cupboard where the sink is.”

  “Erm...” Joan was slightly puzzled by Lloyd's announcement. “I'll be fine, thank you.”

  Barry clicked his fingers and pointed at his brother, David. “Go and follow her, and get the kid down. If he struggles, give him a slap.”

  David did what he was told and followed Joan up the stairs, staggering from the drink he had consumed earlier.

  “Jesus. A woman can't even have a piss in peace,” she snapped as she heard his footsteps behind her whilst she was making her way upstairs.

  “Don't lock the door,” said David.

  She shut the bathroom door and locked it.

  Hearing the door being bolted David yelled, “I said: Don't lock the door!”

  “You can kiss my flaps,” Joan sneered. “After grabbing my tits earlier on, I don't trust you.”

  “What's going on?” Now, Junior was standing in the hallway, outside of his bedroom.

  “Ah,” responded David. “I was just about to get you. Things have changed.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Watch your mouth, kid,” David snapped. “You and your old man are leaving.”

  “Fuck off!” the youngster began to laugh.

  “You think I'm fucking joking?”

  Junior continued to stand outside his room, his arms folded and full of attitude. “My dad won't allow this.”

  “Your dad is downstairs in a heap.”

  Junior laughed, “Bollocks.”

  “I'm not gonna argue with you, kid. Get downstairs.” David then turned to the bathroom door and began hammering at it. “Hurry the fuck up, bitch. How long does it take to have a piss?”

  Junior giggled and was re-entering his room.

  “Stay where you are,” ordered David, losing control of the situation.

  “Kiss my balls,” was Junior's response and slammed his bedroom door shut.

  “Fuck.”

  The bathroom door lock was slid open and the door handle was moving, which told David that Joan was about to exit. The door opened.

  “About fucking time.” David rubbed his head. The alcohol in his system was making him weary. He looked up and gasped as he saw a double-barrel shotgun pointing at his chest. He immediately held both hands in the air. “Don't shoot.”

  “Sorry about that.” Joan smiled, holding the shotgun with her finger caressing the trigger. “I needed more toilet roll, so I went into the cupboard and found this.”

  “Please, don't shoot.”

  “Junior!” Joan called out.

  The bedroom door opened and a shocked Junior stood and glared at the situation in front of him. “What is it?”

  “Keep playing your Xbox until we come up for you, got it?”

  “Erm..okay.”

  “What you playing?”

  “One of the Call of Duty games.”

  “Well, get back inside and knock yourself out. We'll give you a shout when this is all over.”

  “Can I do something, before you go?” Junior asked.

  “Okay, but quickly.”

  Junior walked over nonchalantly and punched David in the balls. David lowered his raised arms and doubled over, groaning in discomfort. Junior went back to his room, giggling to himself.

  Joan waited patiently for David to recover, and once he was standing upright again, she said, “Downstairs. Now.”

  David walked uncomfortably with the gun pressing into the middle of his back. They both entered the bar area and smiles appeared on Gordon and Sue's faces when they saw the situation. Lloyd, still on the floor, desperately tried to look and could see Joan holding the gun. “Found it then?” he giggled.

  Barry held his hands in the air, took his foot off of Lloyd, and the owner of the establishment got to his feet and began to casually brush himself down.

  David then suddenly had a rush of blood to his head. He spun around and took a hold of the gun and Joan and himself struggled. Sue and Gordon hid behind a table for fear of the gun going off and could see that Joan was losing the fight.

  The gun then went off twice, and it was Barry that was hit. He was hit in the legs. Gordon ran over, now knowing that both barrels were empty, and pushed David over with everything he had. David flew backwards and smacked his head at the bottom of the bar.

  Barry writhed on the floor, screaming in pain, and Lloyd picked up the broken bottle that Barry had dropped after he was shot and walked over to David, who was now sat up and rubbing his head. Lloyd pulled David's head back and began ramming the broken bottle into his face like a maniac. David screamed as blow-after-blow hit him, and by the time Lloyd had finished with him he was a bloody mess with many fragments of glass embedded into his skin.

  Almost out of breath, Lloyd dropped what was left of the bottle and said, “Don't you ever threaten to harm my son again.”

  David collapsed to the side and bled out, then Lloyd strolled over to the screaming Barry.

  “Leave him,” Gordon called over. “You've done them enough harm.”

  Lloyd ignored Gordon, but before he could inflict more harm on the man, a noise stopped him in his tracks.

  He looked over to Gordon, Sue and Joan, then took a gander out of his window. Even Barry stopped his screaming.

  “What is it?” asked Sue.

  At first Lloyd didn't respond, he just glared out, almost as if he was under a spell.

  “Lloyd,” Gordon tried. “What is it?”

  Lloyd sighed and said, “In the attic. All of you.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, thanks to the screamer over there,” he pointed at Barry, “And Mr Shotgun, we've attracted some admirers.”

  “What are you talking about, Lloyd?” Sue asked with a shiver in her words.

  Lloyd turned and glared at the three of them. “They're coming.”

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Junior went back into his room after hitting that prick in the balls, and continued playing with his Xbox. His thoughts then went to Joan. He thought she was average looking, especially compared to his sexual fantasy women, Michelle Keegan and Jennifer Lawrence, but wouldn't turn her down if she would, by some miracle, come into the room and offer him a blowjob.

  Now he couldn't stop thinking about her and felt a twinge in his groin. He paused his Xbox, grabbed his phone that desperately needed charging, and went onto his usual porn site. He went onto the MILF blowjob section, and dropped his trousers and pants around his ankles. Grabbing a couple of tissues, he wrapped them around his already hard penis and stroked it with one hand and fast forwarded the porn film with his other finger to get to the good bit. He heard two bangs coming from downstairs, but chose to ignore them and continued with his fantasy of getting a blowjob from the strange woman he hardly knew. He wasn't far away from reaching climax. He closed his ey
es and lay down flat on his bed, and was seconds away from releasing semen for the first time in two days.

  “Aw, come on, Joan.” Junior groaned with his eyes tightly shut. “Suck my cock, you dirty cunt.” He continued to stroke his shaft and his eyes opened once he heard the sound of people running up the stairs. “What the..?”

  *

  As soon as they all reached the bottom of the stairs they could hear the sound of running feet, almost sounding like a stampede. As they reached the first floor to the living quarters, they could still hear the sound of the injured Barry, pleading for them to save him.

  His yelling had predictably enticed the infected into the bar and Lloyd cussed under his breath. “Fuck. I should have killed him.”

  Shattered glass was the next thing they could hear. They're in. Lloyd went into Junior's room and dragged him out as he was in the middle of masturbating.

  “What the fuck?” was Junior's response.

  “Put the salami away, and stop bashing the vicar. We've got company. Attic!” bellowed Lloyd as he left Junior's room. “Everybody in the attic.”

  The screams of Barry could be heard downstairs and they were guessing that he was being attacked by the Runners.

  All five ran to the end bedroom and went into the attic one-by-one. Lloyd closed the attic and they all sat in a circle, listening to the place, both ground floor and first floor, being smashed up by the frantic Runners that were desperately looking for something to munch. Lloyd explained to his son what was happening, and Junior began to shake with fear.

  Lloyd lay down and placed his ear against the hatch and could hear the frantic and snarling infected running through his place. He looked to see the other four. His son was still shaking. Joan glared into oblivion. Gordon also had a blank look on his face and was comforting a sobbing Sue Hart.

  Two minutes later, silence engulfed the house.

  Lloyd announced with little confidence, “I think they're gone.”

  Sue wiped her eyes and said to Gordon, out of the blue, “What if they find a cure?”

  Gordon was baffled by Sue's statement. “What?”