21 – Fruit
Monday morning was the same as the previous few days. Snow built on snow. It was murky and looked like it was set in for the day and it was forecast to snow for the foreseeable future. Wayne thought that he would get his post route out of the way as quickly as possible as it would only get worse the longer he left it. It was still not officially light, but how light it would get, he didn’t know. It was getting him down now. He couldn’t ever remember it snowing this much or for so long and wondered how long it would take to get back to normal. Weeks he thought.
He had walked through the village up amongst the houses, delivering the letters and parcels. Some of them had glass porches and he was concerned to see that the post from last week had not been taken inside. As he walked, he thought about various explanations for this. Maybe some people had gone away early for Christmas, or had got blocked off from the village. It was a worrying thought. The post he was delivering was actually a backlog that he was working through. There had been no fresh post for the last few days and he was hoping that this snow would do one soon because there would be an enormous amount of Christmas Cards building up for him somewhere to deal with. And what about all the people who ordered online for Christmas? Black Friday had meant that he had also had a lot more to deliver and he hadn't managed to do all that yet. Looking on the bright side, at least he was getting some way towards catching up. Even though, he didn’t want to go out in the snow, he thought it was better to go out and get on with the job. If he stayed in, he would only end up watching another box set. He would thank himself in the future.
Another point that struck him was, where were all the snowmen? He usually saw at least ten on his rounds in the winter. Some kids managed to make one with about one inch of snow. But with inches and inches, even feet in some places where it had drifted, there were none. No snowmen in Friarmere. Weird. Come to think of it he hadn’t seen kids sledging for a few days. He had seen kids out on the odd occasion last week, throwing snowballs, but not many since. He had seen a few small ones, bundled up, with their mothers off to school. Maybe kids didn’t like playing in the snow anymore. They were too interested in going online, taking selfies and the like. He longed for the old days.
When he saw that he had two parcels and three letters for Christine Baker, he thought it was a good job it was early. She might still be in bed. Get it out of the way. Sneak up to her door, snipe the letters through, and with it a card saying you had to come to the post office to get your parcels. He had nothing for The Grange luckily, so her post would be the last one before he made the trek over to Lazy Farm. The snow came down straight, with big flakes. There wasn't a smidge of wind so at least it wasn't drifting today. The flakes made tiny quiet patter noises, which he liked. It might be only him left in the world. No birds, no cars, no sheep baahing, no trains. There weren’t any other sounds apart from the settling of the snowflakes and his footsteps. When it was like this, no one else about, he quite enjoyed it and as he had been walking for a while, he was very warm, although it was way below zero degrees.
As he got about twenty feet away from Christine's house he saw that her curtains were open and she was standing in the window looking out into the dark. It wasn't yet seven am and he thought it would probably not be light, or approaching some kind of light until about eight at this rate. She moved out of the window and he knew that she was definitely making her way to the door. This was not how he had wanted it to happen. After he had just been feeling so good about the morning, his route was going to end up like this. But he had never been a lucky guy.
By the time he had walked up the short path to the front door, it was open and she was standing in the doorway. The dull light from a candle shone behind her, her legs were planted slightly apart and her arms were outstretching. She seemed to have some kind of nightdress on that was black, lacy and nearly completely transparent. Oh why couldn’t this snow make me snowblind. This was not the most attractive thing that Christine could wear. It had tiny shoestring straps that cut into her shoulders. Wayne was pleased to see though, that it came with the matching panties. That would have sent him over the edge. As it was, there was nothing hiding her low hanging fruits. Wayne thought he might start complaining about it to head office, so they wouldn't make him deliver here every morning.
‘Morning!’ he said in a bright and cheery voice. He had all her post in one hand and held it out, with the other side of him turned away so as to quickly make his escape.
‘Wayne, sweetie, you have got to come in. I am a state. I am having such a problem. You need to help me. I don't know who to ask,' she gasped out at him desperately. You’re a state all right he thought. All his dreams of making an escape gone in a flash.
‘What's wrong?' he said in a beaten voice.
‘Come out of the snow, sweetie. You are getting cold and Chrissy might get a bit cold too standing here. So come inside and I will show you my problem. We can have that nice drinky that we spoke about. Maybe a nice hot toddy to keep you warm on the rest of your journey?'
‘No, I can't do that Miss Baker, I would lose my job if they caught me.’
‘I have told you it is Chrissy, to you. We are special friends, aren’t we?’ Wayne ignored this question and reluctantly stepped inside.
‘That’s better,’ she said shutting the door behind him, ‘Chrissy was getting a bit cold!’
‘Maybe you should put your housecoat on then,' said Wayne. Hoping she would take his advice, ‘Anyway, what do you want me to look at?’
She stared back at him confused, obviously not knowing what he was talking about, now that she had got him inside. He waited for her to tell him but she just cocked her head to one side and smiled.
‘I thought you had a problem, you wanted me to look at.’ Her eyes widened in realization.
‘Oh yes, Oh yes, Wayne sweetie it is in here,’ she said and trotted into the hall. As he followed her into the hall she stopped, waited for him to come through, then shut the kitchen door behind them both. He thought this was a bit strange, but imagined that she just trying to keep the heat in. They went through to the living room, which was cluttered with very dated furniture. She stopped and pointed to the corner of the room.
‘It’s down there, sweetie.' There was another door in her living room and she gestured towards it.
‘What's in there?’
‘My basement. I have a really bad flood and it is going to keep rising and I know that there is a way you can switch it off but it is just too high for Chrissy to reach.’
‘So I'm going to get wringing wet?’ He cried in astonishment.
‘No, no. You’ll see when you go down there. I just need a big tall strong man like you.’ She opened the door and inside it was like looking into a pool of ink.
‘Looks like I’ll need my torch.’ He bent his head, to retrieve the torch from the back of his belt. When he looked up, a beautiful young woman stood in the doorway of the basement, smiling. Christine looked at him and raised her eyebrows up and down a couple of times, cheekily. He cleared his throat. ‘To be honest I don't know where this is going, but I am seeing someone.’
‘That's not a problem for me,’ Christine said seductively, walking towards him. ‘Is it a problem for you, Kate?
‘Never has been before,’ Kate replied. She stared at Wayne. He could not shift his gaze. Unbelievably lost in her. In her beauty. Wayne wanted to find out everything about her, to be hers, to be her even. Christine was behind him now and gave him a gentle push.
‘Go on sweetie. Go to Kate.’ He shuffled forward. There was a small part of him that could see this happening, like a movie. A small part that was still Wayne. Wake up, run away it shouted.
He reached the top of the stairs. Kate took hold of his jacket at the shoulders. Christine gave him one last shove and he disappeared into the inky black with Kate.
‘Welcome to the fold, sweetie,' said Christine as she followed them both in and shut the door.
This was the last band
practice before the concert on Wednesday. Ernie couldn’t call anyone. The phone lines were out, the mobile phone network was down so, their communication network was well and truly blocked off. Ernie had left Lynn at home. She was not feeling well at all, and had stayed in their bedroom all day. Lynn had said there was no reason to go, as she didn't play an instrument and she didn’t want to go through all that snow, getting freezing cold, catching her death, just to sit in band that night. Ernie would rather have had her at band feeling ill but safe, rather than at home, alone. But she had insisted, and after he left he stood outside until she had bolted herself in. That was all he could do. He couldn’t drag her out of the house by her hair feeling terrible, just to sit in band all night. But it was doubly important for him to be there and kept in the loop about what he called The Invasion.
He had taken a long walk up to the Primary School today to speak to the headteacher. Mr Shufflebotham had insisted that the children were looking forward to it and with everything else going on, it would be good for them. He had some staff off as well as children, afflicted suddenly with this mystery bug. As he was now short staffed they had to call off a visit to the village Methodist Church Christmas Tree Festival, as the risk assessment had looked a nightmare. And a trip to the Christmas Pantomime in town had been cancelled, due to no transport. At least with the Christmas Concert it was up to the children’s parents to get them there and back safely. Ernie walked away, knowing he had tried his best. Now he had to let it go, and realise that the concert was still on.
Before he got to Band, he had roughly worked out that there would be probably fifteen players left to play the concert. That really was a skeleton crew, he laughed to himself. He couldn’t find better words. Ernie would tell them that tonight. It might raise a titter. Bugger only knows, they needed it at the moment.
Freddie was down in the dumps because he could no longer contact his wife Brenda, who was visiting her sister Doris, in Melden. He had spoken to his wife two nights ago and she had ensured him that Doris was well and truly alive, but very ill in bed with an unknown illness. At her age that was worrying. She also said that the snow was just about as bad over the tops. Brenda had not got out much really, and her other two sisters had been bringing groceries for them both. She said too, that the weather was making sure that there was no one out and about.
Barry had felt a bit better than the other night, which Ernie was very relieved about. He needed his conductor for the concert, which was most definite. Mrs White conducted all the children and Barry would conduct the band. They needed it to be a harmonious and seamless process.
All fifteen of the players did not make it that night, but they had also told him previously, that if it was bad snow, they might not make it. The band room was close for some people, but others lived further, or weren’t brilliant on their feet and didn’t want to slip and break their legs. It was unthinkable for them to be lying in the snow, either freezing or being someone’s takeaway dinner. Those that thought this way said they may skip band to ensure an appearance at the concert. On the other hand with no option to contact them, they might not be there for other sinister reasons.
Ernie was reassured that Barry was only going to practice the music for the concert and then finish, as everyone was concerned about getting home. They had travelled in groups, thinking that it would be safe to go home in the dark and through the snow. No one would take the chance of going alone, and being chosen. They were still stopping at each other's houses, and would do, until this was sorted. As Ernie reminded them, in his words.
‘To be got by the short and curlies means you are also sacked from band.’ To him this meant more than being bitten.
It was a short uneventful rehearsal. After band, they all left in their small groups. Freddie asked if Ernie, who was just locking the outside door, if he was okay to get home. Freddie had got Gary and Danny to come to stay at his house as he wanted to man the phone, just in case Brenda rang. Ernie’s car was right by the door because as usual, he had been the first to arrive.
‘Yes, I’m fine. You get off out of the cold. Lynn will have the kettle on.’ Freddie drove off slowly. Ernie waved to him, listening to the muffled tyre sounds and compacting new snow. It had stopped snowing again. His hand was on the door handle of his car and he was still waving, when Lynn popped up from the other side of the car, next to the bushes.
‘Boo!’ she said loudly, 'Surprised?’
Ernie, knew straight away that this was no longer Lynn. She stood in her fleece jacket, twigs in her hair. Her eyes were blood red and he could see her new, very sharp vampire teeth. He wanted to say, I told you I shouldn’t have gone out. But he didn’t say it. He didn’t think that Lynn would listen to his advice again, so there was no point. One small part of him was comforted knowing that he was right.
‘Look who I have found? Two more people to play with.’ He wasn’t thinking clearly. His brain felt like soggy cabbage. He still had his mind on band.
‘I don’t suppose you mean you have you got me some fresh players for Wednesday?' he asked dazily but optimistically.
‘No just recycled ones.’ He heard his two back doors open and out of the car got Vicky and Jake. His eyes were wide open.
‘Join us.’ Lynn said flatly.
Jake and Vicky were already either side of him. He looked from one to the other. The similarities to his wife’s condition were obvious. Then Lynn was at the front of him. He glanced up and started to put his hands up to defend himself. The three of them struck all at once, Ernie dropping to his knees as he took the weight of three people. He looked up the track and could still see Freddie’s taillights, going oh so slowly. Ernie watch them get smaller and smaller, along with all hope for Friarmere Band.
22 - Teeth
The next day’s snow was thick but at least falling snow had stopped. It was quiet. The village in stasis. Most roads were reduced to tracks. Two firm indentations, where tyres had gone before, but still perfect snow in the centre. So you had to get onto those tracks if you wanted to try and move around. You could not go out of the village anyway, as the village was situated in a deep valley. To get out any way meant going up over the hills. Even on the way up, car tyres could not grip the road on the steep inclines, so they kept slipping back. The higher you got up the road the snow became increasingly deeper, so the problem got worse. All these roads were now completely cut off.
At just after seven in the morning Mark was going around the village delivering milk, it was going to be his last delivery in the milk float. His float only just made it on the two tracks. Often he heard the snow dragging across the bottom of the vehicle and it would tilt alarmingly to one side or another. Along with dropping off, he was also planning to pick up.
Paula was running around her house trying to get herself sorted so she could set off for work. She was a large, fifty year old woman who plodded through life, just doing the bare minimum and looking forward to a big bar of chocolate and half a bottle of Malibu every night. Today, she had been asked to attend a yearly review at work, which was an office in the village and she fully expected it not to go well. Paula needed to be there and ready at eight o'clock before work, so the boss could get this out of the way before everyone else got in to start their day.
Mark was looking through her window. She was going to be out for the rest of the day, so had opened the curtains. As it was dark outside but light inside, anyone could see what was going on inside. She was fully distracted in her haste and Mark waited outside her kitchen door with his back against the wall. He was really looking forward to this, he did every time, and couldn’t imagine he would ever get sick of it.
The Master had indicated that they were to make less vampires, and start feeding or else there would be no one around to eat. If they were discreet, he felt it was now time that they could allow for feeding and leaving the corpse.
Mark had decided that Paula, would be the first of them. He had to wait another minute, staring at the side of the next house t
o hers. He heard a key rattle and she opened her door handle. A rectangle of light shone through onto the snow, first small then very large, until it was larger than the actual aperture. She appeared in the doorway, causing a shadow in that golden rectangle for a moment, huge, like a giant. Then her arm went up and she clicked off the light. All was dark, she started to step outside.
He quickly revealed himself, turned towards her and pushed her back into the house. She wasn’t expecting it and being quite a large lady, with a low centre of gravity, she easily fell over. She flopped backwards onto the floor, her handbag came open and all its contents were splayed over the kitchen floor. Her arms scrabbled about in its contents, knocking them helter-skelter around the kitchen, grasping for some kind of weapon. Her purse went flying across the floor, a lipstick, her sad white sandwiches with a pale cheese filling wrapped in cling film. He jumped on top of her with his full force expecting to bounce, as she had such a large stomach. But he didn't. What he did do was squash all the wind out of her, which only made it worse for Paula. Soon he was drinking his own pints of nourishment.
Later that day when Paula's cats came in expecting to find an empty house they found her lying there. A mess of her own blood, torn clothes and the contents of her handbag. The sandwiches would forever remain uneaten. These cats were unable to save their mistress. They would wait for two days and then decide that their owner would have to be their next dinner.
The primary school was still in session. The secondary school however, did not open. Lucky for Bob. The primary kids were all still practising for their concert, unlucky for them.
By mid-afternoon it had started snowing again. The Master had asked for several of his new vampires to come and see him at The Grange. He was having a lovely get together and had a couple of dishes on the menu that they would enjoy. As he said to them, it was a Meat and Greet!
Sticky Valves: Book 1 of the Saddleworth Vampire Series Page 19