Clifton Falls

by L A Taylor

  half-cut man to sit and smile into nothingness.

  Even if Mike wanted to discuss the conversation with Hazel,

  couldn’t. It wasn’t because he was the chief of police; it was because

  of the drink. He was in another world from the alcohol too. Chris couldn’t keep up with Mike in the drinking game and his

  eyes slowly shut down for the night. The questions stopped just as

  quickly as they appeared, so whatever the little man was asking

  would have to wait for when they were both fully focused again.

  Mike managed to stay awake long enough to check out the latest

  news report about Clifton Falls, and seemed satisfied with what was

  said. He then removed himself out of his seat, headed upstairs,

  fetched a blanket, returned, and placed it over the new guest who

  was now spread out on the settee, sucking his thumb and numb to

  what was happening around him. He then went back upstairs to lie

  down on top of a more comfortable piece of furniture.

  SIXTEEN

  Blake and Karen had also witnessed the recent news report, but what seemed to be a reasonable account of the day’s activities for the chief, was somehow seen as a shocking, confusing, and heartbreaking moment for these two.

  The police lied to us about the mysterious deaths of Mr and Mrs Smythe, but why? Why would they make up a story about this? Blake thought.

  Ferocity overtook him after listening to the dribble, so an explanation needed supplying, but who was lying? He had to find a reason. “I’m off to the police station to get some answers. Something isn’t right here. Why did the newsreader say there was a domestic between two households when we were told something else? Maybe there’s more to it and that’s why we haven’t seen the bodies.”

  “Why don’t you just phone the police station?” said Karen. “No, I want to see them try to wriggle out of this.” Blake was mad, not mad for himself, but mad that Karen wasn’t told the truth.

  “I’ll phone you soon.”

  She watched her husband grab his coat and race out of the house. She wasn’t going to stop him. It was easier to let him deal with the frustration in his own way. Blake knew that the story they were told at the hospital sounded too comical to be true. He’d accepted it because his wife was upset, but it was all becoming clearer now.

  He parked his car and rushed into the station. He then raced up to George, who was a part-time, semi-retired, sixty year old police constable/receptionist.

  “Hello Sir. What can I do for you then?”

  “I want to speak to the main man, you know, the officer in charge?” Blake’s voice tone increased as each word raced out of his mouth.

  “I’m sorry, but if you don’t lower your voice then you’ll have to leave the premises.”

  The older man wasn’t stern enough with his approach to distract Blake on his course to find the truth.

  “I’ll calm down when I see the boss. Where is he?”

  “I don’t think you heard me properly, young man. I told you to sort your temper out or risk being shown the door. Now, what’s it going to be?”

  Blake stopped in his tracks. The second attempt worked. George wasn’t bullshitting, so Blake needed another method in order to get anything out of him.

  “Okay, I’m calm.” Blake glanced around the empty appearance of the police station. “Why aren’t there any officers here tonight?”

  “You’re being nosey.”

  Blake received a shorthand version of the whereabouts of the staff. George’s chat about them being around but not needed, started off Blake’s crazy thinking. He wasn’t going to leave it alone. He’d come this far and someone, somewhere, was going to explain the situation.

  “I’ve heard there’s been some unexplainable stuff going on. Do you know anything about it?”

  This question put the other man on the defensive.

  “Are you a reporter or just a nosey bastard?” George said. Blake had no answer for either question, so, just smiled. “Anyway, you came in here searching for the boss. You wanted to see him about something, so what was it?”

  “I want a word with him. Do you know where I can find him?”

  “He’ll be at home about this time, why?”

  “I need to speak to him because I know about the deaths.”

  Blake should’ve kept this information to himself because it freaked the other person out. George thought Blake was talking about all the deaths from that day and panicked.

  Maybe this man was one of the murderers. Maybe he came in to give himself up. George thought.

  George wasn’t taking any chances. He stepped back and instantaneously withdrew his gun from the holster, aiming it in the direction of the puzzled looking man.

  “Don’t move scumbag. Place your hands on the desk and keep still.”

  The sudden attack of forceful words stunned Blake into submission, and he did what was required. George moved from behind the desk, and with his free hand searched Blake’s body for weapons. When he was done, began to investigate the other man’s story. “Now, you explain again what you just told me.”

  “Look man, you’re scaring me. Please put that gun away.”

  “Not until I’m one-hundred-percent certain that you’re not a killer.”

  Blake nearly raised a cheeky smile, but the sight of the weapon put him off. That, plus the other person’s mood, was enough for him to hold back. “Me, a killer, you’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I’m not kidding, fuck face. What do you know about the deaths?”

  Blake’s plan wasn’t working. He only wanted to let off some steam but was now being accused of murder.

  “The deaths, the deaths have just been mentioned on the television.”

  Now it was the constable’s turn to wish he was somewhere else. “So, it’s appeared on the news now. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” A smirk of embarrassment replaced the serious emotion. George’s eyes lit up for some reason, and it had something to do with the news. “Did that sexy woman read it? She makes me horny.”

  He acted like a tongue-wagging dog. Blake visualized him whistling sexual tunes. Of course he wasn’t, but for a split second it seemed he was.

  “You must be thinking about sky sports news because the only female you get on the news is that overweight, dragon faced, mud wrestler looking woman.”

  “Yes, that’s her, isn’t she a stunner?”

  Blake didn’t answer back. He couldn’t think of anything to say about George’s taste in the opposite sex.

  Both men felt more relaxed so George put the gun away.

  “What’s with the gun? The news report was about a domestic, but you’re waving a gun about.”

  George needed a suitable explanation and fast. “I was just being careful. I’m just edgy sometimes, especially after what happened with the Christmas robbery…”

  Blake seemed to accept the answer. Why wouldn’t he when Karen still had flashbacks in her dreams?

  “So, you already knew about the deaths, but you came here to tell the chief you already knew. That’s weird.”

  “I came here to have it out with him because he lied to me. He told me that Mr and Mrs Smythe died from an electrical current, but I know that was one big lie.”

  “Look, mate, I wish I could help you, I really do, but I’ve only been on duty for a short while. I don’t know what’s been going on today. Look, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll ring the chief.”

  A disturbing sound echoed inside Mike’s home as five rings sounded, but there was no answer. The sequence was repeated for the next few minutes. Still there was nothing. This was down to the fact that both men in that house were too smashed to hear the phone, never mind actually answering it. George looked over at Blake, shrugged his shoulders and replaced the handset. His next clever idea was to phone another officer. This time a voice was heard on the other end. Wayne had woken up and wasn’t sounding in the best
of moods. The only reason he’d answered the phone was because he thought it might be the chief, however, George’s voice was proof that it wasn’t, but it still had Wayne in a fit of worry.

  “You tell Mike I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

  He searched for his clothes whilst listening to the other man.

  “Mike’s not here,” said George.

  “Right, so why are you phoning me at this time of night?”

  George peered down at his watch and scrunched up his cheekbones. “It’s only a quarter to nine. I didn’t expect you to be sleeping already?”

  Wayne realized it was a false alarm and slowed down.

  “Yeah, man, it’s been a very hectic day.”

  George explained his reason behind the call but Wayne wasn’t in the mood for this, especially if it was the person who he thought it could be. “Is his name Blake by any chance?”

  George turned to the other man again. “Is your name Blake?” The mystery man nodded his approval. “Yes it is, why?” George continued.

  “I’ve spoken to him already today. Mike told him they died from some electrical fault.”

  “I know, but he doesn’t believe that story anymore, well, not since it was mentioned on the news.”

  Even Wayne had missed the report. He sighed.

  “Okay, George. I’m on my way, just keep him there.”

  Blake felt better now the police were taking this seriously. Maybe he could have a quick explanation and then get back to his worried wife.

  George walked over to the drinks machine and placed money in it. “Do you fancy a coffee while you wait?”

  “Okay,” replied Blake.

  George then moved back to the counter, fetching a packet of chocolate biscuits from his snack drawer. “These will do nicely. Just the tonic to go with a nice cup of coffee...”

  Both men sat down with their drinks. George offered Blake a biscuit and the waiting began.

  SEVENTEEN

  Colin had ploughed through the hideous corpses. He was definitely inline for employee of the month due to all the overtime, but of all the years doing this kind of work had never had a day quite like this one. He wrote down all the information given to him, but Wayne’s info was by far the most outrageous and yet the most realistic of them all. Blood and DNA samples were taken before the bodies were stored away, so all he needed to do now was disinfect the equipment, autopsy tables and surfaces. Colin knew he had to scrub everything down even though he was extremely tired. So far there was no proof on what’d infected the victims to make them do what they did, but wasn’t taking any unnecessary risks in case he caught something.

  ‘THUD’, ‘THUD’. Two bangs screamed out worrying signs from inside the room, but before Colin could work out where they came from, another loud ‘THUD’ echoed off the walls.

  “What was that?” he shouted.

  The banging remained constant, but Colin now had an idea of the source. It seemed that one of the cooling units used for keeping corpses fresh was the guilty party. If there’s a fault with the compartment then he’d have to remove the body. This wasn’t a job he could leave until the next day. Colin began to pull the coffin-like shape away from its hiding place, but the noise stopped immediately. He removed the body, placing it on a table before going over to his desk to fetch the appropriate tools for the job, but didn’t notice that the body had begun to move. A lump appeared from inside the body bag, and a hand paced up and down in a frantic attempt to find a way out. Colin supplied himself with the necessary utensils and headed back to work on the unit, but not once did he turn to look at the moving figure.

  A fading-in-colour hand gripped the two-way zip, pulling it down about a foot. The corpse had found a way out of the plastic coating cover, but still Colin was unaware of what was happening behind him. Both hands of the latest recruit to the walking dead were freed. The bag was stretched with force until the zip moved down to the end. With this task done, the zombie escaped the cocoon-like covering, dropping it to the floor. Colin definitely heard this, but the banging noises started again, interrupting his idea of turning around. This time the sharp sounds came from separate locations.

  ‘BANG, BANG, BANG’. This was the ideal smoke screen to prevent him from noticing the slobbering fiend watching him, seeing if he was a threat. Somehow, this recent zombie communicated with two more, fully changed, evil beings. Colin froze with concentration and the latest barrage of noises prevented him from hearing the dead man leave the table. A few more seconds of mindless brain activity and thoughts of where the noises escaped from gave the monster time to sneak up behind him.

  There was no holding and no groaning. Wearing a hideous grin, the zombie opened its jaws, snapped them together and sunk deadly teeth into the back of the man’s neck. Colin let out a very disturbing, high-pitched scream. His left hand touched the infected area, but once returned to eye view was totally soaked with red fluid. Colin turned around to face the reason behind why he was bleeding down the back of his neck. There he was, standing toe to toe with a man who was supposed to be as dead as a dodo. If he’d acted on the theory that ‘zombies did exist’, as he’d told Wayne, then he wouldn’t have been in this mess.

  The creature in front of him had tasted its first morsel of fresh meat, and with blood dripping from its chin, moved in for another attempt at biting the human. There was no time to think, Colin had to find a way out of this predicament and had to act quickly. He pushed the beast, running past, but was so full of fear and lacked concentration on what he was doing that he fell head first into one of the metal tables, hitting it with extreme force. The walking corpse wasn’t giving up easily and it headed toward him. Colin noticed it closing in so shook himself in order to clear his head, but the corpse dropped down on the floor beside him.

  “Get the fuck away from me, please, I beg you. I just want to go home.”

  A terrified and puzzled expression was all he had to offer now as the blood from the stinging hole dripped onto the tiled surface. The smell was so strong that it excited the beast.

  Colin was almost back on his feet, but the monster grabbed his trailing foot, pulling him down again. All the shaking couldn’t prevent another attack from happening and the creature bit a chunk of flesh out of the calf part of a leg. Colin gritted his teeth, wincing. He swung an arm and connected a hand against the side of the creature’s head, knocking it across the floor. This gave him another chance to escape, but he found it very difficult to rise up from the ground now.

  He dragged himself across the floor, the blood now seeping out of two wounds. While doing this he turned his head to check where the zombie was. The beast wasn’t coming to get him anymore, instead, it was responding to the ferocious cries from the other corpses. Colin watched in shocked amazement as the zombie walked over to the cooling units, pulling them open. The creature tore apart the plastic covers to reveal more hideous, newborn zombies. With eyes very much dazzled by what was happening in front of him, Colin saw the recently deceased men roll out of their new resting places and plummet to the floor.

  Time was running out for Colin, but he still didn’t move. He froze in fear, following the movements of the latest members as they stumbled to their feet. A trio of hungry corpses stood inside the morgue, each with mouth open as they followed the blood trail leading to the scared man.

  “Go away,” he bellowed. He hoped and prayed that somebody would hear him. “Help, help, please, can anybody hear me?”

  The light from the room slowly faded. The beasts hovered over their prey, blocking out the brightness. The shouting stopped as Colin raised his arms to cover his face.

  Nash and blind Vincent were back from the dead and they grabbed onto the poor, defenceless victim. Vincent’s zombie corpse relied on sound in order to accomplish this task. The new Nash gripped onto Colin’s left arm, and with hungry teeth plunged them deep into the skin, yanking away the surrounding flesh. Colin lowered his arms after this attack. He was on the verge of a shrilling squeal whe
n Vincent attempted to grab a bite. The blind monster lowered its face, snapping teeth at whatever was in the way. It returned with a mouthful of Colin’s right cheek. Now it was time for the man to scream…

  This time the sound seemed to travel for miles. Tearful and bleeding to death all Colin could do was pray that this final yelling sound would crash through walls and doors on its quest to find help from someone.

  There was somebody else in the lower regions of the hospital. Gary was mopping the floor outside the main entrance to the morgue and he’d heard the terrible scream over the music on his Iphone. He may’ve been registered as a nurse, but was always given the short straw when there wasn’t cleaning staff available to mop down the morgue area. He may’ve worked a number of years at the hospital, but working close to the morgue still freaked him out, so listening to music distracted his attention away from that room. It normally worked—well, it had until now. He removed the headset, listening for the noise again, but it’d gone quiet.

  Should I go into the room? Or pretend I never heard anything? he wondered.

  Blocking the doorway in the room of death was three creatures, each feasting on the savaged carcass.

  Before Colin finally died he saw his own intestines being torn from his stomach by one of the zombies. It’d used one of his cutting tools to slice his stomach open. Hands had reached inside to scoop out the organs before the zombie sat next to the other creatures to devour the still warm findings. The zombie had no remorse, just crazed hunger for food of a human.

  The Nash and Vincent look-alikes fought over the dead man’s left arm, and after repeated attacks from the piranha-like approach, wrenched the limb from his body.

  Gary was still stuck in two minds on what to do next. He’d been watching the door for a few minutes and tried remembering if he’d witnessed Colin leave for the night.

  Perhaps he’s still in there and had shouted because he’d dropped a body on the floor. Maybe he can’t lift it up on his own.

  After a few more minutes of hesitation, Gary decided to find out if Colin needed help. He tried the door, but it seemed to be stuck.