Clifton Falls

by L A Taylor

  The phone went silent before Blake had chance to respond.

  The poor man has totally lost the plot if he thinks there’s a fertilizer monster out there, Mike thought.

  Blake stood with a baffled expression on his face. Karen knew the outcome without him saying anything, but she wanted to hear it anyway. “What’s up? What did he say to you?”

  “I’ve a feeling he didn’t believe me.” Blake sighed.

  “Are you surprised? It’s a bit hard to swallow, the fact that the fertilizer is the killer.” The more she spoke, the more Blake felt depressed with it all. “Anyway, you tried, so it’s best if you let them do the investigating. After all, it is their job.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, love. I’ll just go and put the kettle on.”

  With head down and a sad appearance on his face, Blake walked into the kitchen.

  Back at the police station Mike considered his conversation with Blake and tried remembering exactly who was on call when the Smythes were murdered. Strange as it sounded, Blake’s words had affected him. He’d treated the story as a joke, but couldn’t get it out of his head. Suddenly, his memory box kicked into action and he opened his door, calling Wayne to his office.

  “What’s up? You sounded very urgent,” the sergeant said upon entering the chief’s, private quarters.

  “This could be something, but then again might be nothing.”

  “Excuse me. I think I’m a bit lost.”

  Mike gave Wayne a grim smile and gestured to him to sit down. “Sorry mate for that twisted, puzzled speech. I’ve just had Blake on the phone giving me some weird information which might have something to do with this case, but it’s doing my head in because it could easily be a hoax.”

  Wayne tried to focus. It’d been a very tiring week so far, so hoped the answer was out there because then the case would be solved. “What’s that then?”

  Mike walked around his office. “He told me that he supplied Mr Smythe with some fertilizer and according to him, the fertilizer killed the married couple.”

  Even though Mike gave out this information in a serious tone it didn’t guarantee that Wayne would respond professionally. He burst into a fit of laughter. Mike knew he should’ve stopped the other man from doing this, but could he? As soon as one laughed, the other followed, but after two minutes of stomach aching giggles Wayne slowed down enough to talk again. “Stop it, man, my sides are splitting. Fertilizer you say. How scary is that?”

  Mike recovered, answering back. “I’m being serious now. Did you notice anything unusual about the garden?”

  Although he endeavoured to change his expression to a more sombre and business-like manner, there were still signs that the cheeks on his face quivered and his eyes watered. This was an indication to Wayne that Mike was finding it hard to release the information without some kind of a joke slipping into the conversation.

  “Did you notice a nine foot tall, angry fertilizer bag with a serious attitude problem coming toward you?” Mike spluttered.

  The laughter was so intense now that everyone in the building overheard their juvenile screaming. Mike moved over, slapping a hand against the other man’s shoulder. He was almost on the verge of falling over at this point.

  It took another few minutes before the laughing, hyena-like men were able to calm down.

  “I never checked the garden because I was too busy inside with that creature.”

  “No worries. I’ll send someone over to check it out more thoroughly.”

  Mike knew Wayne needed to rest so wasn’t going to send him on this job. He was ordered to go home after completing the paperwork from last night. Before Wayne finally exited the room Mike told him to break the news to Doug and Craig, as he wanted to assign the job to them.

  Doug and Craig were located in their most used room inside the police station--the canteen.

  “All right chaps. I see you’re busy.”

  Doug replied to Wayne’s sarcastic speech. “Man, we’re flat out with the task of choosing which dessert to have after our meal today. It’s not as easy as you think and very strenuous on the brain you know.”

  “I would love to stay and help you pick but the boss needs you both in his office. He’s got a job for you.”

  Both men gave out a, ‘you must be kidding me’, sigh.

  Within a few minutes they were briefed. They then left the station to carry out Mike’s orders.

  It didn’t take long before they arrived on the newly named ‘death street’. The officers walked down the side of the house to check out the garden, but nothing had changed since yesterday.

  Doug stepped onto the dried up, mud patch of land and leaned over the great mass of dirt that used to be a grave. The dislodged, wooden fragments extracted from the coffin were still in plain sight. He tried unravelling the missing link between the next-door neighbour’s dog and the corpse from the hole.

  It was obvious. The rising corpse killed the pet and had injected it with the vicious virus. Why else would the dog go mental? Doug muttered inside his mind.

  Craig looked through the small window of the shed, spotting the bag of fertilizer resting inside the wheelbarrow. The door was padlocked, thus preventing him from walking in, but after a quick examination noticed that the lock looked worse for wear and weakened by rust. A step backwards and a swift motion with his size nine boot caused the lock to split and dangle. Once yanked off and thrown to one side, Craig was able to enter the shed. He curiously glanced at the bag before wheeling the barrow outside and calling over to Doug. “Right, I think I’ve found the stuff that we came here for. Let’s get back to the station and select that dessert before someone else grabs it.”

  Doug was in full agreement as he walked over to Craig.

  “Nice one. Let’s get out of here, I’m starving and I need some food.”

  Craig burst out laughing. “You aren’t hungry for food, mate, you fancy that new canteen lady. I know you do so don’t deny it. You’re one dirty little shit. You know you are.”

  Doug shook his head, whether it was because he was embarrassed that Craig had guessed right or because he was irritated that his mate was trying to set him up with a woman again. “No. I don’t fancy her. My fucking stomach’s rumbling and that means I’m definitely famished.”

  Craig stopped his adolescent giggles and just smiled.

  “I’ll let you off this time.”

  Doug wheeled the barrow to the car and placed the sack inside the boot, but Craig stared at him, making him uneasy.

  “What?” Doug shouted, as he looked down to check if his trouser zip was undone.

  “You’ve got it all over you. What if it’s infectious?” Craig said.

  Doug’s uniform had fertilizer patches all down it, but he seemed un-disturbed by it all. “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked down at the stains and wiped them off with a hand. “Fuck it. Infectious, my arse... I’ll infect you if you don’t get me back to the station.”

  Craig raised a hand as they both re-entered the car.

  Wayne decided to decline the chief’s offer of going home and was now back in conversation with Mike, laughing and cracking jokes on the fertilizer subject again.

  Doug and Craig returned from the house and headed for the chief’s office. “All right chaps. Did you find anything?” Mike asked, while trying not to laugh again.

  “Job done... We found some of that fertilizer you mentioned. It was in the shed,” Craig replied.

  Mike seemed slightly stunned by the news, but would he take Blake’s story seriously now?

  “Nice one. Send it off to the lab and tell them to search for anything out of the ordinary. I want to know everything about it. Every slightest detail must be accounted for.”

  This was a job for only one officer, so it was Craig’s turn to be acquainted with the strange ingredients. He wasn’t stupid enough to take all of the sack to the lab, so decided to take a sample instead. The rest was placed in the police storage warehouse.

  Doug
remained with the chief, as he needed to get some information off his chest. Mike and Wayne listened to the latest useful report about the grave, the dead mother, the dog, and the murders in both houses. It all made sense now, so if the fertilizer was added to this jigsaw then surely between them they could solve the mystery once and for all?

  We know the virus is passed between the killer and the victim, as it’s the only possible reason behind the morgue un-dead, but where does the fertilizer fit in? That has to be the ultimate question, Mike thought.

  “Mr Smythe used the fertilizer and his mother came to life.” Mike did the walking around the room thing again but was just as baffled by this, even after Doug’s little story. “That still don’t explain the girls in the forest and the rotting corpse that the lorry driver splattered. None of them had anything to do with the fertilizer.”

  “You’re right.” Wayne was so close to believing Blake’s theory, but now wasn’t so sure. “Shit, we’re back at square one again.”

  Mike re-entered the conversation. “Let’s calm down and take a good hard look at what’s been said.” Everyone stopped as Mike extended his thoughts for a few seconds. “We’re pretty certain that the infection is passed on when someone’s been attacked by one of those freaks.” Wayne wasn’t sure where the chief’s words were leading him, so Mike directed the next question at him. “We’ve definitely erased the last of the infected ones, haven’t we?”

  Now Wayne knew something wasn’t right. He felt the pressure of the question, but still wasn’t sure where it was going. “What’s up? What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Jason was bitten last night, wasn’t he?”

  “I told you it was only a scratch. He wasn’t bit like the others. He’s fine.”

  “I hope you’re right, mate, but we have to be one-hundred-percent sure about this.”

  Doug and Wayne sensed that the chief had a touch of sorrow in his speech. Their orders were to go to Jason’s house because the constable needed to supply a blood sample. He was the last victim of the living dead, so, if he’s fine then all the heartache would be over. Wayne tried to smile, but deep down knew that Mike had a purpose to all of this.

  This was going to be one of the toughest journeys in Wayne’s life.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Jason’s wound had become very painful. He’d taken a large amount of painkillers to ease the pain, but so far it wasn’t working. The surrounding skin had changed colour and the contamination process had started. He was about to experience serious mood swings, where his temper could flare up at any time. All the other infected people would’ve gone through the same ordeal if their wounds had time to spread before they died.

  His mother made him a nice cup of soup, and shouted out to him from the bottom of the stairs. “Jason, love, I’ve made you a warm drink. Are you awake?”

  “Fuck off bitch, and shove the drink up your arse.” His mother couldn’t believe what she heard.

  He must be kidding with me, but even so, would never use such disgusting language. He never has, so why now? Dawn, Jason’s mother thought.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Didn’t you hear me before, I said fuck off,” Jason shouted. He sat crunched up inside his bedroom, his face etched with

  pain as the energy seeped through the sweat that poured from his body.

  His mother appeared in the doorway, ready to give him a piece of her mind for his appalling language. “How dare you speak to me with those obscenities,” she began, but stopped after seeing the condition he was in. “What’s up my baby? Are you still in pain?” Dawn needed some assistance and so shouted down to her husband. “Donald, get up here. Jason’s getting worse.”

  Now Jason’s father was in his bedroom. He was equally concerned, especially as Jason was muttering to himself with tears flowing from his eyes. “All right lad, I think we’d better find you some help,” Donald said.

  The man of the house now took control of the situation. He was doing his fatherly job now and needed to take his son to the hospital. Jason however had other plans, and it would take some persuading before he committed himself to the task in hand.

  “You’re not taking me anywhere, you old fart. Just piss off and leave me alone.”

  The married couple knew that this wasn’t their son shouting out the spiteful nonsense. It was as if a demon had entered Jason’s body, taking a swear book with it.

  Jason flipped out without any prior warning, leapt from the bed, pushed his father against the bedroom door and sobbed loudly. He was in extreme pain so lashed out like a wounded animal. He wanted to escape and find a quiet spot to rest his aching body. After a crazy glare toward his father, Jason made his escape down the stairs. Dawn rushed over, placing the drink down before comforting her husband. She too was at the brink of a crying frenzy. Donald placed his arms around her, giving her a big squeeze as they watched their son nearly fall down the stairs in his pursuit to reach the outside.

  Two police officers were making their way up to the house just as Jason opened the front door. Wayne grabbed onto the distressed man before his legs gave way beneath him. “Hey, calm down buddy. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Get out of my fucking way, twat, and take your greasy hands off me.”

  Wayne and Doug now witnessed the same verbal explosions that’d faced Dawn and Donald, but Wayne could see beyond this mask of mystery and knew Jason was frightened because he’d been infected. He was also aware that Jason knew he could soon end up like all the others who’d been attacked before him.

  “Jason, mate. It’s Wayne, talk to me, please.” The grip on his colleague was released and Jason remained upright. “I know you’re worried about what might happen to you, but flipping out on everyone won’t change anything.”

  “I’m scared, man, I’m so frightened and I don’t know what to do.”

  Jason sobbed some more. Wayne placed a comforting arm around him while his parents watched from the bottom of the stairs. It was now mother’s turn to take her son for some consoling. “I think it’s best if we took you to the hospital. You need to be checked over,” she said, giving Jason a huge hug.

  Wayne knew it would be better if he took him. Donald and Dawn’s part in their son’s welfare was over for now. Wayne took them to one side to explain the dangers of Jason’s condition. They didn’t need this right now, so Wayne promised to get in touch once Jason was checked out and felt more comfortable. Donald broke first, agreeing to do this, but it took longer to persuade his wife to let go. Eventually though she went along with the plan.

  Doug walked back to the police car. Jason apologised to his parents for the abusive language and the assault on his dad, promising it would never happen again. He knew there was another war, a war that needed to be won, a war between good and evil. His parents said they would fight it with him, if they were needed.

  Wayne helped Jason into the vehicle. The injured man felt the sharpness twisting his insides upon sitting down, and as each second ticked by, the pain flowed to another part of his body. He gave his parents another worried smile before the car drove off. He was last seen waving sadly from the back seat, his face now sad because he knew this could well be the last time he saw his parents again.

  It was 2.15pm when the police vehicle reached hospital grounds again, but it wasn’t Hazel who greeted them this time. Instead, a blonde bombshell with curves in all the right places was in charge. Victor had drafted her in from the city. In fact, quite a few doctors and nurses had been moved from their regular positions to help out with the crisis.

  “Hi, my name’s Katrina. Hazel is resting at the moment, but she filled me in on the virus that’s going around.”

  A second nurse escorted the injured man into a wheelchair and everyone made their way inside. Wayne didn’t know how much the nurse knew about the deaths, but didn’t want to explain it again and wasn’t in the best of moods after finding out that the whole hospital had changed its staff members. Deep down though knew he was being unre
asonable. “Oh right, the virus,” he said, in a ‘whatever you say’ attitude.

  Katrina couldn’t work out why Wayne was acting like this when Doug had been staring at her backside since he first walked into the building, but she was a distraction that Wayne really didn’t need right now.

  “I’ve been ordered to put your friend in quarantine in case the infection spreads,” she said.

  “Quarantine my arse. You can’t do that to him,” snapped Wayne.

  “Look it’s for his own safety as well as everyone else’s. Please, it’s for the best.”

  Jason wasn’t having this. He didn’t want to be treated like a piece of meat for these two to fight over, so interrupted the squabbling pair. “Wayne, it’s all right. I do need to be put out the way.” Jason gestured that he wanted a quiet word, so Wayne wheeled him away from everyone else. “If we’re going to fight this virus then I must go. I am, as far as we know, the last to be contaminated, so if I die and return as-one-of-those-things.” The last five words seemed to have a five second gap between them as the petrified man spilled them from his mouth. He gripped Wayne’s right arm with all his strength, which wasn’t much at this time, and as Wayne stared deeply into his eyes, guessed that he wasn’t going to enjoy Jason’s next words. “I want you to kill me.” The sad, depressed, and weakened man whispered.

  The words were brutal. Wayne managed to keep it together, knowing this wasn’t the time to let his guard down. “You won’t die, mate. We’ll find a cure; just wait and see.”

  The words he spoke weren’t whispered and the others heard the word ‘die’. They now looked over to witness a sad moment between the two men.

  Jason tried to increase his grip on Wayne’s arm, making him understand that his next words were also important. He’d something to say, but Wayne was now being sucked in by Jason’s sad, lost, and tearful eyes.

  “You know and I know it’ll happen, so I’m asking you as a friend.” His pain increased. “I don’t want to be a murderer like the rest of them, so will you kill me if I change?”

  Jason released the grip on Wayne’s arm and pressed his hand over the infected area. Wayne reached out, hugging Jason and pulling him close. This bonding moment was probably going to be the last time they got this intimate with each other. Wayne whispered into Jason’s right ear. “I’ll do it.”