Parasite ; Sleeper Cells ; Kingdoms of the Dead

by Ian Woodhead

  The internal light showed Karl all manner of cooked meats, slices of cheese, a few pork pies and a whole cooked chicken. “Fuck me,” he gasped. Karl took out the chicken and the meat and placed it on the counter top while looking out of the window, wondering if it may be worthwhile just to see if there was a rucksack in this house as well. Should he really tempt his good fortune?

  There must be something in this house that he could use, even a canvas carrier bag would do the trick. Karl broke off a chicken leg and ripped off a lump of meat with his teeth while hurrying over to the stairs.

  God, this chicken was well nice. He wondered who lived here. Judging by crappy floral wallpaper, the stupid ornaments and all the framed prints positioned on the wall leading upstairs that showed the Colbeck countryside, he decided that it must belong to some decrepit old woman. As he climbed the stairs, he adjusted his image of the homeowner. The woman couldn’t be that knackered, these steps were well steep.

  He reached the top of the stairs and peered into the first room. He saw a pile of bulging black bin liners stacked along the far wall and a couple of old dining chairs next to the window. Somehow, Karl didn’t think he’d find exactly what he was looking for in the first room he looked in.

  The curtains were drawn in the next bedroom but there was enough light to see a large rucksack in the middle of a double bed. “Well, thank you, God, Jesus and his slutty mum. My luck really is holding out.”

  As he neared the end of the bed, his nostrils picked out the foul stench of rot. Karl padded along the edge and noticed a slumped figure in the corner of the room. He looked at the half-chewed chicken leg in his hand, guessing that he now knew what happened to the old lass who bought all the food. The empty bottle of pills was still clenched in the woman’s hand.

  Karl took another bite out of the leg; this meant he didn’t have to rush anymore. He finished off the meat and threw the bone at the woman. “Life deals you shite cards sometimes, you stupid old bag. I’d have thought that at your age, you’d have figured it out by now.”

  He reached for the rucksack, still not believing his good luck. The only thing he needed now were a stack of porn mags. Gazing at the sad looking body, he doubted very much he’d find any of those in here. Still, it was worth a look.

  Alex had shown him more than a few websites that catered to that kind of stuff. He knew Alex got off on the sight of all that wrinkly flesh. It couldn’t harm to just have one peek under the mattress.

  He pulled the rucksack off the bed, dived on the covers and threw the woman’s pillows on the floor. They pillows stunk of old perfume and menthol. Something told Karl that he was wasting his time; the only thing that probably turned on that dead bitch was a fucking new knitting pattern or a recipe for lemon cakes.

  He rolled on his back and sighed, this was just daft, hell, he’d only be away for a day or too, surely he could give his libido a break for a few hours. “You’re one hot motherfucker,” he said, gazing at the ceiling. A scream caught in his throat when he saw someone, anchored to the ceiling, looking back down at him.

  “Hello there, Karl,” Oozed the huge figure. “I sure hope you weren’t thinking of hiding away were you?”

  Karl shook his head, wondering why he couldn’t move.

  “I do believe you are lying to me. I can see the urge to flee in your eyes, my son. Don’t fret, I’m not too upset. Some of you do try to slip through my grasp, none so far have succeeded.”

  The creature’s crimson eyes locked onto his, Karl felt as though the monster was stripping away his memories, layer by layer.

  “I’m impressed,” he said, chuckling. “But, there are fifty-three of my furry little friends, shivering away and cowering inside that pipe. Now, I couldn’t allow all those little teeth to end your life” The monster then swung down, his feet still attached to the ceiling. “A good shepard keeps an eye on his flock.”

  Karl shrieked in paralytic terror as the monster’s jaw opened.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She had heard every word of that conversation. Georgina’s quiet gasp at the mention of that photograph almost gave her away. Their guard’s harsh laughter had thankfully covered up her noise. That sense of betrayal returned with intensity when she realised that he’d blatantly lied to her. What made it worse was that, like a silly naive woman, she believed every sweet word that dripped from his betraying lips.

  Her eyes might have been closed, but she knew exactly what that tart must have looked like in the picture. Somebody who doesn’t want anything to do with a woman does not keep a half naked picture of the woman in his wallet. When their guard spurted out his vile suggestion, Georgina almost opened her eyes, ran over to those bars, and pulled down his zip. That would have shown her cheating husband not to fuck with her.

  When the man had finally left, she almost wished that she had used her tongue on that foul-mouthed man, he might have taken her with him. Georgina became bored of feigning sleep. She opened her eyes, stood up and walked over to the bars. She nearly swallowed her tongue in excitement when she saw that the idiot had dropped his keys by the side of the milk crate.

  She spun around and saw Ethan staring at her. He waved. “Are you okay?” he whispered. He stood up and brushed the dirt from his trousers. Ethan hurried over to the bars and looked up. “We don’t have much time left. I don’t want to die.”

  Georgina grabbed the side of his head and showed him the dropped keys. “We don’t have to die; all we need to do is reach them.”

  The boy eagerly nodded. The apathy and dread just fell off him, his whole body invigorated. “Oh, thank fuck,” he blurted out. Ethan beamed at the woman. “I can get those, easily!”

  The boy ran over to William’s sleeping form and carefully took the laces out of his boots, he then scrambled around on the floor until he found a small stone. Georgina watched him work, knotting them together and tying the stone to one end. He then ran back over to her.

  “Um, this is a bit embarrassing but, can I have your bra please?”

  “How can I resist an offer like that?” she replied, winking. Georgina reached under her shirt and unhooked the bra. After slipping her arms out of the straps, she passed it to Ethan.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, but this will probably ruin it.”

  She shrugged. What did that matter? Should it surprise her that she asked the boy for help instead of him? He was still slumped in the corner; Georgina had a bloody good mind to leave him in here. She’d love to see the look on his face if he awoke to find himself all alone with the sun slowly setting.

  The boy had constructed a sling mechanism and grunting with determination, he pushed his arm through the slat, trying to get those keys. He hadn’t succeeded yet though. A small stone shifted to one side, close to her husband’s foot. Georgina watched in astonishment as a tiny mole pushed its tiny body out onto the floor and scurried along side William’s inner thigh. She had never seen anything like that before.

  What was it doing? She was no botanist but Georgina was sure that moles shunned humans, even sleeping ones. “Ethan, I know this is a stupid question but, do you have friendly moles in your village?”

  He stopped, looked at her curiously. “Why are you asking me that?” he replied. “There were some tame squirrels that used to beg for food in the woods.”

  She pointed over to her husband, shaking her head as the mole jumped onto his lap and proceeded to clamber up the front of his shirt. It truly amazed her that William hadn’t felt anything, then again, he’d always been a heavy sleeper.

  The boy gasped, “Oh fuck!” Her jumped up and ran over to him. As soon as Ethan’s shadow passed over the mole, the animal responded by squealing then using its powerful front legs to rip through William’s shirt and shred his chest.

  William certainly woke then. He screamed out in agony and looked down; watching in disbelief as the animal used its powerful claws to rip though the man’s tender flesh, it pushed its snout into the raw wound. Ethan reached down,
grabbed its back paws and pulled it out; the boy slammed it against the floor before jumping up and down on its twitching body.

  She found herself thrown back against the bars when she tried to check on William.

  “He’s gone,” hissed Ethan, holding her back. “Go near him and he’ll infect you too. Come on, you’re supposed to be a scientist, think about it.”

  Georgina watched helplessly as William writhed about, across the dusty floor, while Ethan desperately tried to reach the keys. “We’ve got to help him!” When she moved again, he grabbed her wrist and pulled Georgina back.

  “Please, lady. You need to believe me. If we don’t get out of here, right now, he’s going do to us what that fucking mole did to him!”

  Her husband’s body jerked once before lying still. She moaned softly to herself, just knowing that he was dead. He saw the boy quickly glance over at his body. He cursed then went back to trying to reach the keys. She wrapped her arms around her knees and wanted to scream out. This was a fucking nightmare. Her nightmare then intensified when her husband started to move his fingers. She watched horror struck as his fingers dug into the hard packed soil as if it was soft sand.

  William shuddered once then slowly lifted his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. The man only looked towards them when Ethan cried out.

  “Shit, I’ve got them!”

  Georgina tried not to piss herself when William turned to look directly at her. His crimson eyes fixed the woman with a glare of pure hate. Georgina saw nothing of her husband left in those primal features. He got to his feet and started to advance. Ethan pressed the keys into the palm of her hand. He jumped up and silently charged into the man.

  His sudden action took the creature totally by surprise. Georgina watched Ethan slam him into the back of the carrier before fumbling the key into the lock. The boy screamed out in pain but she didn’t turn around. She grabbed the handle and turned it, shouting in shock as the door actually opened. She spun around, swung her fist into the side of the creature’s head before dragging the boy off him and pulling Ethan out of the carrier.

  She ran over to the door, trying to lock it before the creature could escape. As soon as she reached the door, the creature dived forward, smashing his fists against the door and laughing. The door swung back, catching Georgina. She fell back dazed.

  “The sun’s gone in!” cried Ethan. “Get up and run.”

  She heard his boots hit the ground and saw his face lean over, blocking out what little light that was left.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.

  She shrank back, watching his teeth change and elongate, sharp ridges formed along the surfaces. William’s mouth filled with blood.

  “Oi, fuckhead!”

  She saw him spin around, just as an intense blast of searing white light hit him in the face. It was as if somebody had scorched his head with a flamethrower. His flesh just melted and ran like boiling wax, down his shoulders. Ethan turned off the lamp; he packed it back into his rucksack before running over to help her up.

  “I’m so sorry about William,” he said. “Look, we’d better find somewhere to hide. Those people must have heard that noise.” He looked up. “Besides, it’ll be getting dark pretty soon. You’ve seen what happens when the sun isn’t around.”

  Georgina shook her head, “We are not hiding anywhere, lad. We find a car and get the hell out of here. We need to alert the authorities, Ethan.”

  “I can’t leave! I’m a local. You heard what they said earlier about them not being able to leave. Georgina., I’m sorry, look, there’s no need for you to stay.” He fearfully looked towards the pub. “I can get you a car. Look over at that old Ford escort, parked outside the chip shop. That belongs to Mr Wilberforce. The door will be unlocked and the keys are in the glovebox.”

  She shook her head. “No way, I’m not leaving you, Ethan.” She held him tight and kissed him. “You saved my life. We’re in this together.” Georgina looked at the boy’s rucksack. “How did you know that the light would do that?”

  “I didn’t. I just couldn’t think of anything else to try, besides, none of them seem to be too crazy about the sun.”

  “In that case, I suggest that we go back to the caverns. It’ll be the safest place.”

  “I’m sorry; did I just hear that correctly?”

  Georgina nodded. “Yes you did. We both know that those things are not hiding in there, if they were, my husband and I wouldn’t have got out alive. They’ll be out in the village tonight, hunting down the locals. Besides, if your lamp does that to them, imagine what a dozen arc lights with do.”

  They both looked up towards the pub at the sound of a door slamming shut.

  “Shit!” cried Ethan. “We need to move it.”

  Georgina watched a large stocky built man in his early forties walk towards the horse carrier. She pulled Ethan around the corner and ducked behind a post box and waited for him to make the inevitable discovery.

  “It’s Alison’s dad,” hissed Ethan.

  Was she expected to know who Alison was? Georgina assumed it must be a neighbour or an old girlfriend maybe. She heard Ethan crawl away and watched the man slowly walk up to her dead husband. He didn’t appear to be all that moved by the fact that he now had no flesh on his head. It surprised her to find that she felt exactly the same; she felt no connection to him now.

  He nudged the dead man’s body with his foot before peering into the horse carrier’s open door. The man then spun around. This time there was urgency to his movements. Now that he’d turned his back, she felt a little safer. They needed to get out of here.

  “He isn’t going to tell on us,” said Ethan, pushing past her.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  The boy stopped in the middle of the street and pushed the butt of a rifle into his shoulder.

  “I’m going to drop the cunt,” he replied, taking aim.

  She yelped as Ethan pulled the trigger and the man dropped to the floor.

  “Got him,” he said. “This is so much more powerful than my rifle.”

  Georgina grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the car he mentioned, hoping to god Ethan was right about the car keys and the unlocked door. She heard the pub door opening.

  Chapter Sixteen

  It took a big man to admit that he was past his prime. Tony Lane sat up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and patiently waited for his fucked up eyeballs to remember how to focus. At forty-eight, Tony knew deep down that if he didn’t stop the binge drinking, he’d end up under the dirt before he clocked this decade.

  He had no idea how much he’d put away last night, nor could he remember how much the session had cost him. Tony decided to wait for a bit longer before he weighed his wallet. His eyes presented him with bright yellow floral wallpaper, a fucking horrible multi-coloured carpet that made him dizzy and a neon-pink quilt cover.

  “Oh fuck,” he croaked, when out of sequence fragments of last night’s activity knocked on his brain-door and jumped inside. There wasn’t a chance in hell of sorting out those memories into an order that he could understand, at least not yet. He sighed as a figure beside him shuffled closer to him.

  None of those memories showed him just who he had fucked last night. Tony imagined his neck was an oiled ball-bearing and swung his head to the side. Pulling his eyes to the bottom of his sockets, he saw a slim human shape trying to cuddle up to his hairy body. Oh, this could be potentially embarrassing. Judging from the room’s décor, he’d gone and used his honey tongued words on another teenager.

  Shit, that meant yet more cold stares and disgruntled looks for the rumour-spreading village fishwives. Whilst overflowing with ale, Tony’s schoolie radar must have just given up the ghost. All he saw were a pretty smile, nice tits and a willingness to climb onto his cock.

  “Fuck,” he whispered, lifting up the cover. She looked barely old enough to drink, never mind performing bedroom sports. He dragged his rough hands down her side, not t
oo surprised to see his cock stiffening when the girl beside him sighed and giggled in her sleep.

  Tony pushed her dark brown hair back so he could find out just who he had picked up. Last night. The hope of finding a stranger who preferably looked over eighteen, flew out of the open window when he recognised the girl’s face. She was over the age of consent alright, thank fuck, but the good news stopped right there.

  “You really have landed in the shit this time, Tony.” He quietly climbed out of the bed and looked on the floor, trying to find his clothes. He needed to get the fuck out of here and just hoped that his best mate’s pretty daughter was as pissed as he was last night. This was so fucking embarrassing.

  He spotted his gear hung over a chair close by the door and hurried over, trying not to make a single sound. What the fuck was he playing at? The girl was just a fucking child, hell, he’d even changed her nappy and bottle fed her. Tony climbed into his boxers and allowed a smirk to play over his lips. He’d hadn’t done that last night of course, now that would have been weird and pervy.

  Even so, why didn’t those warning bells go off last night? The bitch had come on to him a few times in the past, until last night, he’d managed to resist Emma Clark’s octopus like arms. Tony pulled his t-shirt over his muscular frame and nervously glanced back towards the bed, Now that he’d fully woken, he was absolutely terrified.

  His terror increased when Tony saw just how late it was. Hell, they’d slept through most of the day. What the fuck will his wife think? She was used to him coming back home. He took his trousers off the chair, almost feeling his heart burst in shock as the chair tipped over.

  “Get a grip!” he muttered. What the fuck was wrong with him today? Tony picked up the chair, slipped on his shoes and quietly opened the bedroom door. Apart from his own ragged breathing that he just couldn’t keep under control, he heard no other sound. The rest of the household were either still asleep or weren’t in the house.

  He should have greeted this news with joy, instead it only increased Tony’s fear. Hot salty tears dripped onto the carpet, between his feet. Tony grabbed hold of the banister and squeezed tight, watching his knuckles whiten. He lifted one hand off the varnished pine, he formed a fist and swung it into the wall beside him. The plaster around the impact cracked. Tony had left a few spots of blood on the pale green wall but that didn’t matter.