The Purple Haze

by Gary Richardson

  Craig was still being attacked. He screamed aloud for help, but only Yvonne seemed to be reacting to his situation. She had been frozen with fear up to this point, but something had snapped inside her now, and she lashed out at the dog, kicking it in the side as hard as she could. The dog let go of Craig's arm and stumbled away, but then turned its attention on her. It moved towards her slowly, looking at her and moving away from Craig who grabbed his arm and fell to his knees in pain. As she moved back the dog snarled at her. She waited for its attack.

  James saw the situation with Yvonne and Craig and went to move over to them, but he suddenly felt something hit his back, knocking him straight onto his front. His flak jacket cushioned the impact, but he lost his grip on his gun and was left unarmed. He rolled over onto his back and the dog that he had hit was moving towards him again, the lead dog from before not too far behind. Two loud bangs filled the air and the dog he had hit was torn in half by the blast from Martin's shotgun. The back half spun and fell dead, but the upper half was still fully awake, and the legs dragged it forward along the ground, leaving its internal organs behind as they fell from its body. Gaz fired a well-aimed burst from his sub-machine gun, and the head of the dog burst open. The body stopped moving.

  Yvonne was still waiting for the dog to attack. She never took her eyes off it. The dog reared up and looked as though it was about to attack, but as it took its first step it was knocked over as Craig threw himself into the side of the dog, knocking it over. His bravery had left him open however, and the dog was fast on its feet and attacking again, this time locking its jaws around Craig's throat. It forced him to the ground, and he looked up at Yvonne, his eyes watery from the pain but wide due to shock and fear. She looked into his eyes as the dog began to thrash its head from side to side, shaking Craig's body like a rag doll. Blood rose out of his mouth as he gargled on it and more blood foamed up around the teeth and lips of the dog. He lashed out with his uninjured arm, but his strength was gone. He couldn't hit it any more. He wasn't even sure if the teeth in his neck hurt any more, or whether the lack of oxygen in his brain was taking effect, his arm just hung around the dog’s neck as though he was hugging it. Yvonne watched on in horror, helpless to prevent it, and saw his arm slip away from the dogs neck as the dog bit down and snapped his neck. It looked up at her as though pleased with its kill, and went straight back into pulling chunks off his arm. The dog suddenly buckled as its head split open, and fell lifeless to the ground. Yvonne hadn't even heard the shot, but she looked around to see Colin pointing his gun at it.

  James was on his feet again and moving for his MP5. The dog was closing in and neither Martin nor Gaz could cover him as they were both reloading. He moved quick and got hold of it. He spun just in time to see the dog rear its head and lunge for him. He pulled the trigger and saw the dog flip back in mid-air, following the trail of brains and skull his bullets had blown out the back of its head. He gathered his thoughts quickly and looked around. He saw Yvonne crouched over Craig's body, Dave and Colin standing behind her. She was sobbing uncontrollably.

  “No,” he said in a whisper, and he, Martin and Gaz walked over to the scene. James moved around Yvonne to see Craig, but he felt his guts lurched up as he saw him. His face was covered in blood which was still flowing up out of his mouth. His eyes were open, looking into nothingness as though watching his own ghost depart to some otherworldly plain. His throat had been torn open with even more blood flowing from the open wound, and his arm had been gnawed badly, the flesh shredded by the teeth of the dog that had had the same effect as a mincer. Yvonne cried aloud, and the group just stood there, not knowing what to say. They had left the bank as an eight, and now only seven remained. It was during this shared moment and feeling of loss that none of them noticed the growing crowd around them. The commotion with the dogs must have alerted them, and they came again now, masses of them, staggering into view from the fog. Mike saw them first.

  “Oh shit,” he said, and the group looked. There was no time for grieving now. Now, they had to leave the body of their friend as it lay, lest the mass of walking corpses see them. Now, they had to run for their lives.

  Chapter 8

  James looked around for an exit. The creatures were coming at them from both ends of the street, and as far as he could see, they were trapped. He saw Colin raise his pistol to take a shot at the creatures but Martin knocked his down.

  “Leave it for now,” he said to him, “over there.” Martin motioned with is head towards the open door of a house. James looked over and saw it too.

  “In there, quick,” he said, moving the rest of the group ahead of himself, but Yvonne was still on her knees by Craig's body. He put his hand under her arm. “Come on,” he said.

  “We can't just leave him!” Yvonne cried.

  “He's dead, Yvonne!” James shouted. He felt bad shouting at her while she was grieving for her friend, but he was still in police mode, and it was his priority to get her to safety. “Leave him, there's nothing we can do!”

  He pulled her up with one hand. She kept her hand on Craig's shirt for as long as she could, not taking her eyes off his face. As soon as he was out of her reach, she moved with the rest of the group. They all moved into the house and James slammed the door behind them.

  James looked around at the house they were in. They were in a hall with stairs running up straight ahead of them. There was a door running off the hall on the right, leading to a living room, and a door at the end of the hall leading to the kitchen. James motioned them into the living room.

  “Get in there and keep low, don't let them see you,” he ordered.

  The group moved into the lounge, keeping crouched as they went, with Dave doing the best he could with his injury. James moved up to the window keeping as low as he could without actually lying down and once he got under it he slowly lifted himself to look out. He saw the creatures moving closer, but they weren't pursuing them to the house. He watched as they closed in on Craig's body, dropped to their knees around him and began pulling at him and biting into his flesh. As the numbers around him grew, they began to make short work of him. They bit off chunks of his flesh from his arms and legs, others began ripping at his midsection, pulling him open and then tearing at his innards. The feeding was like an animal frenzy. They seemed to fight among themselves over pieces of meat like scavenging animals would do on an African savannah.

  James moved away from the window, he couldn't take any more of the images. He turned to the group and looked at them. The criminals looked like they were ready for vengeance. For the first time since meeting them James actually stopped thinking like an officer of the law and saw that these men were actually feeling the loss of one of the group. They looked mildly bereft but still ready for anything. Yvonne was no longer crying, but her cheeks were lined with tears and her eyes were still puffy, but she too looked angrier than sad now. Mike looked at James.

  “What should we do?” he asked.

  “I have no idea,” James replied.

  “Are there a lot of them?” Dave asked.

  James didn't speak to answer, he just nodded. He moved away from the window and looked back into the hall. He checked the window on the door and saw that it was frosted glass. He was glad of this because he at least knew they could move freely in the hall and not be seen. He went back into the lounge.

  “I don't think they are coming for us, they are staying in the streets. If we stay in the hall, they can't see us.” He gestured them to come into the hall. They obeyed and moved into the hall. Once in there they all stood up.

  Martin came closer to James. “We can't stay in here,” he said to him, “if they realise we are in here, they're going to come for us like at the bank and we'll be trapped.”

  “Yeah I know that,” James said angrily, “just give me a second to figure something out!” He moved down the hall to the kitchen and looked inside. It was small, with the bulk of the kitchen units to the right hand side and the rest of the space was
taken up with a dining table. He cautiously moved to the back door and looked out of the window into the garden. He looked for any sign of creatures, human or dog, but couldn't see anything other than the lawn and the six foot high fences at either side of the garden. He went back into the hall. “The back garden looks clear. I think we can get away if we go over the fences.”

  “What about Dave?” Gaz asked.

  James was losing patience. “What about Dave?” he snapped.

  “Well he's not going to get over a bloody fence is he?!” Gaz said forcefully, the tone of James' voice had obviously rubbed him up the wrong way.

  “Well we'll help him then!” James said back, matching Gaz' tone of voice. “You may not think I'm trying, but I'm doing all I can to get us all out of here, including you. Nobody will be left behind.”

  Dave spoke out at this argument. “Look, for God's sake! Stop talking as though I can't hear you, I'm right here. I can get over the fences as long as someone helps me.”

  As always it was Mike who broke the tension. “This isn't helping,” he said. “Dave, I'll help you over the fences, okay?” Dave nodded at him. Martin looked at Yvonne, who still looked as though she was focused on getting payback.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked her.

  Yvonne looked at him, and although tears had lined her cheeks, her look was hard and focused. “Yeah I'm ready. Let's go.”

  She went to move towards the kitchen, but Martin put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “Do you know how to shoot?” he asked.

  “Never done it before, but I'm a fast learner,” she replied.

  Martin looked at Colin “Colin, give me your pistol.”

  “Well what am I going to use?” Colin said looking at his gun.

  “Mike, give Colin Conner's rifle.”

  Mike shouldered his MP5 and took the assault rifle from around his shoulders. He held it by the barrel and handed it over to Colin stock first. He looked reluctant to take it, but he reached out and grabbed it by the grip, and he handed his pistol to Martin. Since she had never used a gun before, martin wanted to check the gun was in the best possible condition for Yvonne. He removed the magazine and pulled back on the slide. As the bullet in the chamber was ejected he looked through the slot to see if the barrel was clear and clean, which it was. He locked the slide back, picked the ejected bullet up, put it back in the magazine and loaded it back into the handle. He released the lock on the slide which snapped forward and he switch the gun to 'safety'.

  “This is the safety catch,” he said, pointing it out to Yvonne. “The gun is locked and loaded. When you want to fire, switch this, point and shoot. Only head shots seem to kill them, so don’t waste your bullets.”

  He held the gun by the barrel and handed it to Yvonne. She took it and held it tightly. She was surprised by the weight. She looked at the gun and examined it, stroking her hand along the cold surface. For a second her fascination of the weapon made her forget the hell outside, but she lowered the gun to her side, holding it in one hand.

  “Okay, now I'm ready,” she said with a confidence that got a small nod of admiration from Gaz.

  “If that's all, we need to go now,” said James, sounding even more impatient now.

  He led the group into the kitchen and to the back door. He scanned the area again and it was still clear. He turned the key in the lock and pulled down the handle. They went into the garden and looked around properly. There was nothing in there. James moved to the fence on the right of the garden and poked his head over the top. This garden also looked clear, but he noticed that the gap between the houses left a clear view to the road were the creatures were still gathered. The fact they were now just stood there, swaying from side to side as though trying to keep balance, must have meant that they already finished with Craig's body. He ducked behind the fence again and turned back to the other survivors.

  “The next garden is clear,” he said quietly, “but the gaps in the houses are going to give the creatures a clear view of us. We'll only have a short time in each garden because once they've seen us they'll be coming for us.”

  “Can you make it, Dave?” Mike asked.

  “Yeah, I'll make it,” Dave replied.

  Colin stepped forward. “I'll go first so I can help Dave from the other side.”

  “Right, good idea,” said James.

  Colin didn't need any signals. He had shouldered his rifle and was fast up and over the fence. Once over, he looked down the gap between the houses and saw five of the creatures standing there. Two of them immediately spotted him and let out a loud, airy moan. The others turned and saw him, and they too moaned. “Get moving!” he shouted over the fence.

  As soon as they heard his shout, the group sprang into action. Those that could, climbed over, and Mike helped Dave as he said he would. Yvonne struggled slightly, but Martin helped her get her first foot on the top of the fence, and she handled the rest. Dave pulled himself up after receiving a leg up from Mike. He swung his good leg over and passed his crutch to Colin, who propped it up against the fence and carefully helped him down. Once he was clear Mike climbed over the fence himself. Once he hit the ground he saw most of the group had moved to the other side of the garden and were starting to climb. He looked to his right and saw that seven of the creatures were now coming down the gap in the houses towards him, with more behind. He got to the fence with Dave and helped him up, and Dave got over. Again Mike climbed the fence. Before jumping into the next garden he looked back to see the creatures coming round the corner, slowly but looking right at him, their deformed faces expressionless with their mouths hanging wide open. All the while they seemed to letting out a series of moans. Mike figured they must be communicating in this way, signalling to others in ear shot that a food source was nearby.

  He dropped over the fence and saw pretty much the exact same scenario. The group had mostly reached the other fence and more creatures were coming down the gap in the houses. He moved quickly again and the same procedure took place. This was repeated for the four garden fences. He didn't want to let himself believe it with so many creatures after them, but he was starting to believe this was going to work.

  The creatures were coming into every garden the survivors entered. They carried on the same routine, but the creatures were too slow and clumsy to keep up with them. As they progressed through the gardens, they noticed fewer and fewer were coming into them. Eventually the creatures stopped coming. The group stopped for a breather and looked back over the fences as far as the fog would allow, and they were lined with reaching and grabbing hands, still hoping to get a hold on their prey. Mike checked on Dave who was sitting panting against the fence. “Are you doing okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” said Dave panting, “I just need to catch my breath.”

  James surveyed the garden they were in. It was the same as the others, only now nothing was coming for them. The alley by the side of the house was completely clear. “Just stay here while I check the street,” he said. He moved slowly down the alley, his gun stock resting against his shoulder, the sights at eye level, ever ready for any sudden attack. He moved on and reached the end of the alley way. He pressed his front to the wall and leaned out to see what would be ahead of the group. At first glance he saw one of the creatures, and recoiled around the corner. He waited a few seconds, waiting for it to attack, but no attack came. He carefully leaned out again to get a better look. He looked at the creature and it was just standing there, looking right in his direction. James stared at it a moment and it appeared to stare straight back, but as it turned away from him in a clumsy, shambling way, he noticed a white cane hanging from its wrist. “Blind,” he thought to himself. He waited for the creature to turn away from him fully. It began slowly shuffling away from him, attracted to the noise of the other creatures still trying to chase the group through the gardens. He looked up to the other end of the street and as far as he could see the way was clear. James slowly moved back to the group, careful not to
make a noise that would attract the blind thing round the corner.

  “Is it clear?” asked Martin.

  “There's one there but it's blind,” James relied.

  “What do you mean blind?” Gaz asked.

  “Blind. It’s got a cane and everything. If he we go slowly and quietly he won't know we are here.”

  The group followed James up the alley way to the street, Dave being very careful not to make a noise with his crutch. James did the same as before and leaned out. He saw they creature had moved about seven or eight paces away from the alley. James motioned the group to move and they did, as quiet as possible. Once Dave was out and on the street, James moved out himself, still watching the creature. Inside he couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for it. Not only had it lived a hard life devoid of sight as a person, now it was a mindless walking corpse doomed to wonder aimlessly with only sound to guide it. He quickly shook this feeling off though when the thought of becoming a meal for it entered his head. He turned away and quietly followed the group up the street.

  Chapter 9

  The road so far had been easy going. The group had managed to move a good distance, and had left the housing estate behind. They were now walking through a field following a public footpath. Nobody had spoken for at least half an hour. They were afraid to talk in case their voices attracted any unwanted attention. If they needed to drink, they would drink and if they needed to eat, they would eat, but everything was done in silence. The grass around them wasn't too long, about thigh high, so they could walk through it easily if they had to, but it obscured their view after about fifteen feet, so they had no way of telling if anything was lying in wait for them. They were moving okay though, and even Dave was getting good at moving quietly despite his injury and was able to keep up with the steady pace of the rest of the group.