The BIG Horror Pack 2

by Iain Rob Wright

  “It’s not our business,” Boss said. “Let’s just take what we need and do what needs doing.”

  Lexi rolled her eyes. She was starting to get pissed off with her father, and she only gave him a break because he was their squad leader and they’d lost three members of the team. It probably weighed down on him hard. He wasn’t performing at his best.

  Hopper was the first to grab a rifle, and he also slipped a handgun into his belt. He located the cache of magazines and started filling them up with ball bearings from the crate. “Anybody know how much these things hold?” he asked.

  “Just keep filling till they’re full,” Lexi said, grabbing a rifle for herself and joining him at the crate. She was halfway through filling up the first magazine when they heard something from the back of the room. It came from a stack of shelving filled with riot helmets. One of the helmets fell off onto the floor.

  “There’s someone behind there,” Hopper said, jamming in his magazine and flicking off the safety.

  Boss put a hand up to stay any action and took a step towards the shelf. He spoke with authority. “I am Commander Sharman and this is a rescue operation. If you need assistance, please identify yourself and step out where we can see you.”

  There was another jolt. Another helmet slipped from the shelf and fell to the ground.

  “Reveal yourself,” Boss demanded.

  Lexi went back to filling her magazine with ball bearings. She had a bad feeling.

  Hopper stayed where he was, aiming his rifle ahead and looking eager to pull the trigger.

  Somebody stepped out from behind the shelving unit. They were followed by two more bodies. Then another half-dozen.

  Lexi stopped filling her magazine and shoved it into the base of her rifle, only half full. “Shit!”

  The dead people numbered nearly ten, and they all approached, hands outstretched, teeth grinding.

  Hopper let rip, aiming high. His first few rounds struck the ceiling but he brought the stream of ball bearings down onto the crowd. The first dead man’s head exploded into mush. The second dead man was dealt with easily, too. But then came the problem.

  Hopper kept his finger on the trigger, but the ball bearings ricocheted off the riot helmets impotently, hitting the ceiling or smashing the overhead lights.

  “They’re wearing armour,” Lexi shouted.

  The dead security guards were togged in full body armour and riot helmets. They had obviously been readying themselves for battle when they were infected.

  Lexi raised her rifle and joined the fight. She aimed low, trying to hit the unarmoured legs of her targets. Shinbones and kneecaps shattered. A couple of dead security guards crumpled onto their fronts, but they continued forwards, crawling on their bellies.

  “Retreat,” Boss bellowed.

  Hopper refused. He stood his ground and kept firing. Eventually Boss had to grab him and pull him back. “Move it!”

  “We need these weapons,” Hopper screamed.

  “Not if it ends up killing us.” Boss dragged him roughly into the corridor. Lexi shoved the armoury door closed behind them, but couldn’t lock it. The catch was electronic and Hopper had overridden it.

  The dead men pushed against the other side, pushing it open again.

  Norman ran up to help Lexi and together they fought to keep the door closed. But they quickly begun losing ground, their feet slipping on the tiled floor.

  “Damn it,” Lexi said. “We need to run for it.”

  Norman shook his head. “Big shits.”

  “Now, let go now.”

  She and Norman released the door at the same time. They turned and sprinted, while the door exploded open and the dead men fell through. They gave chase, seeming to gather speed as their joints loosened up.

  Boss led the retreat and even Hopper was committed to fleeing now. He held his rifle closely against his chest but was cursing loudly. “I’m almost empty,” he said. “The magazine barely lasts a few seconds.”

  “It does when you keep your finger on the trigger,” Lexi said.

  “How was I supposed to know? I’m not a goddamn soldier. We needed those other rifles.”

  “It’s in the past now. Forget it.”

  They reached the staircase that had led them from the Mexican Restaurant below. The dead men were sprinting now. Lexi was panting, not sure how much longer she could run. Hopper seemed to sense this and bought them some time. He let off the last of his rounds and took out the legs of the two nearest runners. They flopped on the ground and tripped up their colleagues, leaving a pile of scrambling bodies on the floor.

  Hopper nodded at her and they got running again, joining Norman and Boss at the bottom of the stairs. They wasted no time and kept on running until they were out of the Mexican restaurant and back outside in the park.

  “How do we get to the tower?” Lexi asked.

  Norman pointed. “That way. Through Ice Lands.”

  “My rifle is empty. You’re the only one still packing heat.” Hopper meant Lexi who still held a loaded rifle.

  “Do you want my magazine?” she asked. “I feel kind of stupid holding this thing anyway.”

  Hopper shook his head. “Your turn to be the hero.”

  They got moving quickly, cutting a path through the deserted Forbidden Zone. Lexi wondered if it was the same direction Cog had fled and was pretty sure it was. How long before they ran into him again? It must have been he who had damaged the conduit.

  The sands of the Forbidden Zone began to ease and eventually turned into pretend ice sheets and glaciers. Lexi and the others headed through an archway and entered the Ice Lands. Like the other sectors, it resembled the surface of a hostile planet, but this time it was a little more child-friendly, with fluffy creatures resembling penguins and the extinct polar bears of Earth. The rides, also, were much gentler. A monorail ran overhead, disappearing up a fake mountain, and just ahead was a carousel with ride-on sledges. Ice cream was available from a nearby store shaped like an igloo.

  “We keep going,” Norman said. “It is at very end of this sector.”

  Hopper was still carrying his empty rifle but held it by rail on the top, more like a briefcase now than a weapon. “When you were hiding out, Norman; did you see where all of the infected guests went?”

  “They all huddle together in great big mess, but I not see where they go.”

  Hopper sighed. “Great. Let’s hope we don’t get to find out.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The Ice Lands section was not as large as the others and they managed to traverse it in a little over ten minutes. No one had spoken along the way, too tense to concentrate on anything other than keeping watch for threats. Lexi led with her rifle but her father kept himself only a single step behind her. He seemed to have calmed a little, his shoulders lower and more relaxed, but he still wasn’t the reassuring leader he was well known to be.

  Norman pointed the way, even though it was obvious. They were approaching a large mountain that seemed to stretch up forever but was actually painted in such a way as only to appear so. The top of the mountain was actually just wall and ceiling. Directly ahead was a large cave entrance, but it was really just a set of double doors leading out into the next area. A wooden sign was scrawled with the words: Here there be shopping.

  When they passed through, they found themselves in a non-themed area. Lexi felt like she was back to reality, away from the make-believe theme park and surrounded by glass shop fronts and marble fountains. There was an escalator leading upwards and they took it. The upper floors were walled with glass and the vastness of space encircled them, whilst below was the domed roof of the Grand Galaxy amusement park.

  “This is amazing,” Hopper said.

  “It quickly get boring,” Norman said. “I was here for hours with Suzie from Sales.”

  Lexi looked at Norman to see whether or not he was sad. He didn’t seem to be. “Was Suzie a friend?”

  “Not really, but we hit off when we queue at L
ondon Terminal. We were on date, but all I end up doing was holding all of Suzie’s bags.”

  Hopper chuckled. “Sounds about right. Women, right.”

  “Amen to that, brother.”

  “You’re sorry she’s dead though, right?” Lexi asked.

  Norman shrugged. “Lot of people dead. I kind of numb to it at this point.”

  Lexi frowned. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to be numb to people dying, but then she hadn’t lived through what Norman had. Maybe his reaction was understandable.

  The floors seemed to climb forever and before long the surface of the moon stretched on for hundreds of miles in all directions. Suddenly Lexi felt extremely small and insignificant.

  Hopper pointed upwards at the glass windows. “Look.”

  Lexi looked up and saw a beautiful sight. “Earth.”

  She’d seen it a dozen times before from space, but seeing it now took her breath away. It was beautiful. It was home. Perhaps she wasn’t so jaded after all.

  “Let’s hope we get back to it soon,” she said, wheeling towards the next set of stairs. It led to the final floor, so far as shopping and eating areas went.

  Hopper spun around slowly, checking things out. “The satellite array is at the very top of the tower. There must be another staircase somewhere.”

  The floor was entirely made up of restaurants and each of them was backed by a panoramic glass window. There seemed no obvious route upwards.

  But then Lexi saw a possibility. “I think that’s it. That door.”

  Between an Italian eatery and a place that seemed to specialise in snails was an unassuming blue, wooden door. It led to neither restaurant on either side.

  “Good spot,” Hopper said, rushing over to the door. He ran his hands over it but failed to find a handle. There was, however, a keyhole.

  They grouped together behind Hopper.

  Lexi said. “Looks like it opens outwards.”

  Hopper shoved on the door. “It seems pretty thick. Might end up being a broom closet, but I think we need to get it open to see.”

  “I agree,” Boss said, the first time he had said anything in a while.

  “How, though?” Lexi asked. “I wouldn’t even want to think about who has the key.”

  “I have key,” Norman said. They all looked at him as he propped his axe on his shoulder.

  Boss grunted affirmatively. “Hop to it then, civilian.”

  Norman rushed forward and swung the axe, burying it in the centre of the door where it wedged. He put his foot against the wood and levered it free again. The next blow he aimed right at the lock. It bent. He hit it three more times and was sweating by the time the door shunted open.

  Boss nodded at the civilian. “Good work.”

  Lexi put a hand against the door and glanced at her father. “Are we ready?”

  He nodded.

  Lexi pushed open the door.

  All was quiet. At first.

  The door did indeed lead to a staircase, utilitarian and unlike the posh marble steps of the previous flights. This one was not meant to be seen by public eyes. As soon as Lexi placed her foot on the very first step, a figure appeared at the top. It ran towards her immediately.

  Lexi backed up and raised her rifle.

  It was no man that leapt through the door at her, but another one of the humanoids.

  “YOU HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ENTER A RESTRICTED AREA,” it squawked at them.

  “Stand down, steel-cheeks,” Hopper said. “We have full authorisations to be here.”

  The humanoid glanced at Hopper, its eyes pulsing blue. “”YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. SIT DOWN ON THE FLOOR AND CROSS YOUR LEGS UNTIL A MEMBER OF SECURITY CAN ARRIVE TO DETAIN YOU.”

  “Bite me.”

  The humanoid turned to face Lexi, who in turn faced it with her rifle slung high. “DROP YOUR WEAPON OR LETHAL FORCE WILL BE EXERCISED.”

  Lexi swallowed, unsure what to do. She looked at her father.

  Boss was not happy and the irritation was clear in his voice as he told her to, “Shoot the thing to pieces.”

  Lexi pulled the trigger.

  She was not a soldier and her training with assault rifles was non-existent. The weapon bucked in her hands and punched her shoulder like a fist, but she fought to control it and aimed a continuous stream of ball bearings directly into the humanoid’s chest.

  The humanoid stumbled backwards, sparks and torn shreds of latex skin filling the air in a cloud. But once the initial impact dissipated, the machine swiped its arm, rebalanced, and stalked towards Lexi again.

  She kept firing, ripping an ever-widening hole in the humanoid’s chest. But it kept on coming. She started taking steps backwards, keeping a distance between her and the machine.

  “Aim for the head,” Hopper shouted.

  Lexi caught his eye and nodded. She refocused and aimed for the head. It was a tougher target to hit, and she missed with half of the rounds she fired, but the ball bearings eventually hit the target and caused massive damage. Sparks and black lubricant began leaking all over the place.

  Click!

  Lexi released the trigger and pulled it again, but nothing happened except that same harrowing click. Her rifle was dry. And the humanoid was not yet done. “I’m out of ammo,” she whimpered.

  Hopper ran forwards to help, but the humanoid shot out an arm and swatted him to the ground like a fly. Boss moved himself between his daughter and the machine but didn’t seem to know what to do.

  The humanoid stalked them. One of its blue eyes was shattered and sparking, and its lower jaw was hanging loose by a single wire, but it had lost none of its murderous intent.

  Boss grabbed the rifle from Lexi and swung it by the barrel, bludgeoning the humanoid with the stock end. Its head rocked backwards on its shoulder, but quickly sprang back. It snatched the rifle from Boss and quickly snapped it in half.

  “YOU ARE GUILTY OF VANDALISING THE PROPERTY OF GRAND GALAXY ENTERTAIMENT RESORT. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST.” The machine’s warning was even more foreboding seeing as it no longer had a mouth with which to speak. It grabbed Boss by the shoulder, gripping him where he had earlier been shot. He screamed out in a high-pitched tone.

  Lexi looked around for a solution and saw Norman standing there, holding his axe, but he was frozen to the spot.

  “Norman, help us!”

  He still didn’t move.

  The humanoid continued squeezing Boss’s shoulder and forced him down to his knees. “UNDER SECTION 971, LETHAL FORCE HAS NOW BEEN AUTHORISED.”

  Lexi shouted at Norman again, but still the man did nothing. His wide eyes were fixed on the humanoid. His lower lip quivered.

  “Lexi, get out of here,” Boss managed to bellow at her.

  “I won’t leave you.”

  “Give me that!” Lexi looked around to see Hopper shoving Norman away and snatching the man’s axe from him. With it, he raced towards the humanoid, span a full circle, then swung the axe horizontally and lopped off its head. It hit the ground like a football and rolled away, while the dismembered body slumped to its knees where it remained like it was praying. Boss got up off the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder, and kicked the machine over onto its back. “Back to the scrap yard for you,” he said.

  Lexi grabbed her father and held him steady. Blood leaked down his chest from the aggravated wound on his shoulder, but no real additional damage had been done.

  Hopper, too, was hurt, rubbing his hip and wincing. “Those things hit harder than a tax bill,” he muttered.

  Lexi went up to Norman and shoved him. “What the hell were you doing?”

  “I…sorry.”

  “That’s not good enough.”

  “Yeah,” Hopper chimed in. “You’re like a regular gangster when it comes to killing zombies, but anything else and you freeze like a popsicle.”

  “I…I… The dead do not scare me.”

  “They sure as hell scare me,” Hopper said.

  “They don’t scare me because they already
bite me and I fine. In fact, they not even interested in me.”

  Lexi frowned. “What?”

  Norman took a large gulp. He was covered in sweat and extremely pasty. He looked as much a coward as he had just behaved. “After I got bite on my arm, the space zombies lose interest. I able to walk right by them.”

  “But when we found you, you were hiding,” Lexi said.

  Norman nodded. “Still survivors hang around for while. They a little… out of mind, yes? I think better to just low-lie until help arrive.”

  Hopper wore a disgusted look. “This whole time, you’ve been immune and unmolested by those things, but you’ve still allowed us to take all the risks. You could have scoped things out for us without any risk to yourself. You’re a coward, man.”

  “No,” he said. “I not coward. They still risks. They are other survivors, like one who kill Trent. And bad machines. Who know how long dead men ignore me. Eventually, luck will run out. Give back my axe.”

  Hopper held the axe up and seemed like he was about to hand it over, but then he lowered it and shook his head. “Think it’s of more use to me. I don’t have a get out of jail free card like you. Plus, I’m willing to actually use it when it counts.”

  “I save you all,” Norman said.

  “Yeah, you did,” Lexi said. “Which is why we’re not kicking your butt right now.”

  “Enough,” Boss shouted, recovered enough to stand tall again. “Let’s get up those bloody stairs and begin sorting this mess out.”

  They took the staircase in single file as it was too narrow to do otherwise. The only weapon they had now was Hopper’s axe, so he led the way. The stairs did not lead directly to another floor, but instead twisted and turned back and forth, climbing ever higher. Bare cement walls, not the glass facades of the public areas, surrounded the stairwell and made the journey extremely bleak.

  By the time they reached a doorway, they were all out of breath. Norman most of all, for he had to kneel down on the steps and take a rest before they went on. No one argued, for they could all do with a quick breather.