Alone
Page 26
We grabbed the things we thought we needed my bag and my beloved rifle, Callum grabbed his bag and a blade to go along with his pistol. Then we set off on foot, the walk to the holiday park only took ten minutes from where we parked. As we snuck in my heart dropped the place looked deserted not a soul in sight human or creature, a few cars had been stacked up to make a sort of barricade along with looked like some fairground rides but there was a gap enough for us to manoeuvre through. Inside we took a quick look around me using my scope as I could see further, there was a large hotel or what was left of it, the burnt remains told a story that a fight had broken out here at some point, bullet holes had ripped into the brickwork but there were no bodies. Past this hotel was part of the large car park along with the entrance to the big top tent, this went past another hotel this one intact, behind a row of buildings which had once been cafés and restaurants was an old fairground, the rides had rusted since they were no longer maintained or used, many of them had been shot to pieces or burnt. My stomach sent me a signal that this place was bad that something was off about it, that we should both just turn around and run away. What if they had gone, moved on to somewhere new? What if the creatures had attacked them and they were all dead, even Tanya? Squeezing my rifle as the unease of this place rattled me I turned with the scope and spotted another barricade just in front of what I thought to be the main entrance through the tent like building, this one was a bit more efficient with large spikes protruding from it, these spikes had done their job well of keeping away the creatures as quite a few had been stabbed by them making them stuck until their bodies could take no more and died. What struck me as odd was these ones looked fresh but old blood had been scattered over some of the other spikes so did that mean they moved the old corpses to another place and burnt them? Like maybe the other hotel only looked abandoned as it was actually a crematorium of sorts to burn the dead? It did look rather burnt out and maybe that was on purpose which meant that even though this place looked deserted they could be around keeping watch and waiting for us to make a wrong move. Maybe they had seen us in the truck trying to sneak up on them and now they were waiting to ambush us in return.
“Well where’s the welcome party?” Callum said a little offish.
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“Well they don’t normally let people get this close to their base, either they’re no longer here or they spotted us already and are waiting to jump us, I expect the latter part”, he replied.
“Where shall we start looking?” I asked.
“Let’s try the tent, looks like the main bit so maybe they are all holed up in there, or the hotel maybe?” he mulled this in his mind before deciding definitely the tent first, “I’ll take lead only shoot if you really have to the longer we don’t get found out the better”.
Taking out my penknife I held it in my right hand and my rifle in my left so I could swap to which ever, walking slowly we reached an alley just before the big tent but it had been blocked with some food cages from a small convenience store.
Two sets of huge glass doors sat closed but unlocked just past the spiked barricade we climbed through before he pushed gently on one making it swing inwards, checking for any immediate dangers he signalled for me to follow, I ran in taking aim with my rifle using the scope to check out the place, the big tent had been used as an entertainment centre, a café area sat right in front of us, the tables and chairs had been thrown around and smashed to pieces, to our left an old arcade was situated leading to the swimming pools, to our right was a stage where kids performances and shows had been shown, a huge kids soft play area sat behind that leading to some fast food huts. Walking in and taking care to keep a look out we reached the café, broken glass crunched under foot making Callum stop me with his arm, he pointed to his eyes and then to the soft play area, looking over I think I spotted what he saw, a blur of movement rushing through, then it stopped hiding behind the tip of the stage roof which kept that part of the play area hidden. Nodding to him I followed him as he led the way to it, I kept sweeping the rest of the area with the scope making sure no one was sneaking up on us, I noticed a small teddy bear that had been left behind on the floor beneath the stage, I hoped the owner of that teddy had made it out alive ok. We reached the play area, Callum entered it slowly looking round a corner that hid the other half of the big tent.
Ka-chink…
A small empty soda can rattled across the floor stopping inches before my feet, I looked at Callum who urged me to check out where it came from but to stay low, I took to a crouching position manoeuvring so I could look back round to the stage, swinging my gun quickly I looked to find nothing. My heart was hammering so heard in my chest, this place was so eerily quiet I didn’t like it, it made me more nervous as the quiet minutes went on. I turned back to Callum who was waiting for me to tell him something, shaking my head he looked confused, he mouthed the word ‘AMBUSH’ to me, I felt sick to my stomach but I think I knew what he meant, they were going to distract us from where they really where so they could take us down.
Then I saw movement again up higher in the soft play, I pointed up, he nodded and took off at a quiet sprint leaving me behind, charging after him I tried to be as quiet as him, the play area had huge soft blocks that made moving quickly over them hard, jumping over some netting that had been cut away I looked down to see wooden spikes underneath it so if you fell you were dead. Stopping I decided to look around me, then I saw more and more traps, razor blades had been taped to parts of the netting that you would need to climb up to reach higher levels, the ceiling part also had razors attached to them so if you stood tall your head would be cut to pieces. Up on the level above me I could make out barbed wire which had been tied around a moving/ spinning foam pillar. I didn’t like this one bit, these people had made one scary as hell playground and were expecting us to play along and get killed, well I was gonna make sure that neither of us bit the dust today I just had to slow Callum down and warn him although by now he must have had a pretty good idea at the games awaiting us in deathly play area.
“Callum?” I called out as a whisper but there was no reply, “Callum!” I repeated, “I think this is a trap!”
Still he made no noise and I couldn’t even hear him moving about on the upper level, I knew I had to go to make sure he was ok, taking care to not get stabbed or cut I climbed up. Shouldering my rifle I just held onto my knife keeping it coiled into me. There was still no sign of Callum up here and the panic really began to set in, moving so gingerly I climbed over another soft block, dropping down I almost yelled out as I splatted in some blood, it wasn’t fresh so I didn’t scream out his name yet but this made a bile taste creep into my mouth. Turning a corner I reached a small plastic tunnel, there was no way he had gone this way as more barbed wire had been placed in the middle, this must be for the people who would run and not look in blind panic. Turning back the way I came I found another soft stair case, treading only at the sides as small knives had been sown into the fabric, this top part was very narrow and the ceiling was lower making it so I had to crawl, making my way through I came to an opening which had been roughly torn, climbing up I found myself right at the top of the kids climbing frame. To my left a plank of wood had been balanced between a sturdy ish looking pole from the play zone and leading over to the roof of the stage, taking a glance I could make out a squared hole like a loft hatch to climb down from. Quickly clambering over I reached the hole and looked down to see a ladder leading down into darkness, just as I was about to climb down I heard movement coming from an arcade area, lying flat I grabbed my rifle. Through the rifle scope I could make out three men all of them had the sign for the big guns on their arm bands. They hadn’t spotted me as their eyes were focused below me which meant they might have spotted Callum, I clicked my safety off and took aim, holding my breath I readied myself to shoot them in succession.
“I wouldn’t do that little girl”, a male voice snapped behind me.
I froze waiting for him to do something.
“Drop the gun”, he commanded.
Doing as he said I placed the gun down.
“Now turn slowly where I can see your hands”, he snapped.
I turned to him to see a guy of medium build, he had scruffy strawberry blond hair, an unlit cigarette sat on his lips as he spoke, he wore a long black coat which had seen better days, fag burns and grime had settled into the fabric, “Stand up and come slowly to me”, he commanded.
I stood up making my way to him he grabbed me and pulled me close to him, patting me down he searched me for any other weapons, he somehow missed my knife which I had snuck up my arm, he took my bag and rifle before making me climb down the ladder, it reached down to the stage which was where I found Callum, he had blood blossoming from a cut on his head, his arms cuffed behind him. The bloke knocked me to the floor cuffing my hands too.
“Callum I’m sorry”, I whispered.
“Don’t be”, he smiled.
“Really you don’t want her to be sorry? Once Danny knows it’s you Callum he’s going to want to kill you himself, maybe torture your little girlfriend first while you watch”, the strawberry blond one snarled.
“Take us to him”, Callum said.
“Oh we will when he returns”, he replied, “He’s on a supply run and will be back soon, until then his Mrs can keep you company”.
I felt a pang in my chest, would that be Tanya? I didn’t have time to ask as the bloke lifted me over his shoulder throwing my bag and rifle to another guy, I didn’t struggle as I didn’t want to make this situation worse or make them want to kill us sooner before I saw her. They took us leaving the big tent behind, we headed to what looked like an apartment complex, there were about five or six different buildings all holiday apartments for the park, I could see people looking out of the windows peering down at us. None of them battered an eyelid as we were forced through and led to the old burnt hotel by another path that went around the old rusted fairground. Once there they opened a rather shoddy looking door, the walls had all been scorched and soot covered everything, it seemed they were using this place as a sort of prison as well as a crematorium. The old wooden hotel doors were gone replaced with the metal from the food cages that I had seen near the convenience store, blood covered the metal as people had tried to escape or by the looks of things had been brutally murdered inside the make shift cells. I tried to keep my cool as we reached a cell at the end, they threw us in and padlocked the door shut.
“The Queen Bee will come see you shortly give you your welcome pack and then Danny will come to kill you both”, Strawberry blond laughed as he walked away.
Lying on the floor I moved my arms under me and over my feet so my arms were cuffed in front of me instead of behind, standing I took a look around, the room had been stripped bare of any of the comforts it might of once held, a small battered bed sat in one corner with bloodied dirty sheets, blood stains lined the walls where people had tried and failed to stay alive. The windows were cracked and broken but sheets of metal had been crudely attached on the outside stopping any form of escape.
I turned to Callum who too was looking at the window, “What now?”
“We wait, we might be able to convince the Queen Bee to let us go, I’ve got a feeling she’s your sister”, he said.
“Do you really think she would be in charge like him?” I asked.
“Yeah I do, she was his so he might share the power with her, for a price”, he replied.
“A price? What could she give or owe him?” I asked.
“Not what she owes but to save her own life and her sanity, if she is his then the other guys cannot touch her. She would only have to succumb to the…well to him”, he replied but I knew what he meant. If Danny had been raping her and she became his then he wouldn’t want to share.
The thought of this made me feel so sick to my stomach, I hoped that hadn’t been the case but then who was I kidding, when Monique and Amanda had been out that one bloke from the big guns had tried it on with Amanda. They had a reputation for it along with the killing, was I going to find Tanya a broken woman? I guess I wouldn’t find out until I saw her. We waited for hours, the sky had begun to darken by the time we heard movement at the end of the corridor, muffled footsteps made their way to us over the carpet, a key in the lock turned and the cell gate opened. I kept looking at one of the walls the one with the least blood on it, I felt sick to my stomach, what if it was her? What if she had changed too much for me to accept?
“Turn around so I can see you both”, her voice rang out in the room, I could tell it was hers by the tone but it had changed slightly, it was harder and more no nonsense than I remember.
I turned slowly, I felt my lungs pull the air around me hard and then stop making me feel light headed, I saw the same mirrored expression on the face in front of me, Tanya stood there like a dream but a bad one, it was her but she looked so different, she no longer had her dark long glossy hair, it had been cut bluntly with what looked like a razor, it looked jagged and sharp in places, scruffy looking into a strange wonky bob, her pretty face had been in fights, scars lined her nose and cheeks, her eyes looked haunted but hard they hid all her emotion from me. Her clothes were dark, black dirty trousers, a black dirty jumper torn in many places, in one hand she held a pistol tightly and in the other she held a blind fold.
“Stacie?” she asked but she knew it was me.
I nodded to her, “Yeah it’s me”, I whispered.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Finding you”, I replied.
“Why?” she said bluntly, “I hid you so you would have a chance, not to come looking for me. I put you in that box so that you would live on, so you could survive!”
“I promised dad”, I said.
“Dad’s dead”, she said.
I nodded, “Yeah he is now, he was still alive when I came out of the box, badly injured but alive, he made me promise to find you and that is what I have done”.
“No dad died I saw him dead on the floor”, she spat.
“He was unconscious, I saw him alive, he died right in front of me, but he made me promise to find you so we could still be together”, I spat back.
“You’re lying, he died there, you shouldn’t have come. Why are you here?” she sounded exhausted.
“I’m not lying and I’m here for you, you’re my sister and I couldn’t live on knowing that you might still be alive somewhere. Still alive and needing me to help you like you helped me”, I said.
“You need to go you can’t be here”, she stumbled her words, she didn’t sound like the strong Tanya that had just walked in and demanded we face her.
“I’m not leaving without you”, I said, “We could go leave now before they notice”.
“I want to stay here”, she said oddly.
“What I don’t understand, why would you want to stay here?” I asked confused.
She didn’t look away from me but I saw a flash of pain in her eyes, “I have my reasons for wanting to stay”.
“Look if it’s because you have friends then we can take them too”, I suggested.
“No you don’t understand”, she started before stopping.
“Then tell me”, I said.
She shook her head, “No, no I can’t have you know me like this. I will send for one of the others to escort you out, Danny needn’t not know you were here”. She looked terrified now when she mentioned his name.
“What has he done to you?” I asked gently.
“Nothing, he’s done nothing I’m fine!” she snapped.
“Tanya it’s me your sister, you can tell me anything I’ll understand”, I tried.
“You won’t understand this, not at all”, she replied bluntly.
“Try me, look I understand you have a way of life here maybe but so do we, we have a camp its safe, secure, I need you there”, I said.
“I’m needed here more, I have responsibilities”.
“I belong with the big guns, Stacie you don’t understand I’m one of them now I can’t just leave”, she replied.
“Course you can you just get up and leave”, I snapped.
“What and have them hunt me down and killed and you and your camp”, she snapped back.
“We can fight them we have guns and people”, I suggested.
“Your camp won’t want me Stacie I’m too much like them, your friends won’t like me and neither will you”, she snapped.
“I know you will have done stuff to fit in here, to stop them killing you but you wouldn’t have done anything that bad, I know you”, I smiled.
“No that’s the problem Stacie you don’t know me not anymore”, she replied harshly, “Look we need to get you out now before…”
Footsteps echoed up the corridor and I knew that it must have been this so called Danny as both Tanya and Callum clammed up a little. The tension in the room grew and I knew we were in deep trouble.
He turned up at the cell gate, he looked displeased at Tanya who hadn’t done what she was meant to yet which I guessed was something to do with hurting us.
The metal of the cell gate chinked as it opened revealing Danny, his arms and body were decorated with tattoos, his dreadlocked hair not looking any different to the day I first laid eyes on him, his face however showed many war scars, piercings in his ears, nose and mouth tried to make out he was a hard man but I instantly took them as a weakness as they would be the first things I would attack if he came near me. He grinned at me before introducing himself, “Hello Callum long time no see”, he turned to me, “And you must be his little girlfriend, I’m Danny, welcome to the big guns. This here is Craig you will be his bitch now”, he said so matter of factly like it was normal to assign a ‘bitch’ to one of his men, Craig turned out to be the strawberry blond bloke, he smiled coolly as his eyes burned into mine and I just knew his eyes were undressing me.