by Cenz Barone
Grant, Elise, Laura, Melissa and Cherie watched as Kenny pointed the gun at Mark’s brain. Mark making eye contact, pleading with him not to and Kenny turned away and holding back the tears as he pulled the trigger, a bullet went straight into his skull, his brain exploded in two. Mark’s hands fell from his throat as he laid stretched out dead. Billy was muttering swear words but the blood loss was intensifying, he coughed as his eyes closed, and his last words were “No, I am not ready to die” he then slumped over on his shoulder seemingly passed out. Kenny like a robot, unsure where this resolve had come from now approached Billy. Grant felt weak as he remained sitting on the bottom step having more or less forced Kenny into this.
Kenny raised the hunting rifle up against Billy’s forehead, Billy was still slumped with his eyes closed and the girls turned except Elise who watched in horror. Cherie meanwhile just flinched as Kenny pressed the cold butt up against Billy’s head and cocked back the gun, as he did so Billy opened his eyes which were blood shot and different, before Billy could do anything else Kenny pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight into Billy’s skull. Billy passed out so now Kenny took the hunting rifle and turned round it in the same way he did so with Claire and used the butt to began to smash Billy’s skull in, slamming it down harder and harder until the skull cracked and the brain gushed out through the small crack, after a few more thuds Kenny weakened his thudding, clearly Billy was not going to get back up from this. Kenny stepped back, his gait demoralised, his sense of right and wrong blurred. He in this moment had just killed three people, their bodies surrounding him and taunting. Kenny noticed the facial expressions of the still living near him. Kenny faced Mark’s body and went towards it, all observed him doing so and Kenny began to thud the butt of the rifle onto Mark’s skull until it was broken into pieces.
Violently Kenny next wretched and moved back towards the stairway looking around at them, his gaze settled on Grant “Damn you for asking me to do that”. Kenny said, holding the blood covered hunting rifle, the sight he was in was scary, blood all over him, and he looked like a maniac. A few days ago he was just driving around Oxford exploring in between sitting his exams, a regular student and now what was he. Suddenly Billy’s body twitched but it was just his body’s reaction to Kenny’s beating, an involuntary spasm but Kenny reacted instantly and without hesitation as he went back to bashing Billy’s skull, making the others around him usher away in the respect to keep distance because blood and brain matter was going all over the walls.
Cherie spoke now between Kenny’s thudding of Billy’s skull “Kenny stop, he is dead, he won’t get back up” but Kenny ignored her and kept bashing as Laura and Melissa watched Kenny bash their friends skull in and then he threw the weapon onto the floor did Kenny, and it went near Melissa’s feet. Kenny turned around to face the rest of the stunned group. They were looking at him with such trepidation. Kenny himself was conscious of why they had such looks on their faces, not one of them said anything, they merely watched Kenny breathe harder as he sought to bring some peace to himself, his nerves were so highly strung but eventually and what seemed like hours Kenny was cool enough to speak. Kenny said with so much effort at having to stop and re-start “I...I want to leave...here...I don’t want to stay, this is too much, I cannot stay here...not now...look at what I have done. My hands won’t stop shaking. I have so much blood all over me. It is still warm”.
Grant came towards him and he put out a reassuring hand towards Kenny’s shoulder but stopped himself from making contact as he saw how intense Kenny was. Grant wanted Kenny to not make a hasty decision to leave because Kenny was glaring at the door as though he wanted to open it. Grant knew he would need Kenny with them all, if they had any hope to survive, everyone who was left had to work together. Grant said with a whisper “We have to hold out until morning Kenny, remember the plan. We hold out until someone comes” with despair Grant then added “Someone has to come”. Kenny replied “It is done now anyways”. Kenny disappeared back towards the lounge as he said coldly “I need to get my mind off this. Where is that fucking map?” he asked himself aloud. Grant nervously watched him walk away. Grant was wondering was Kenny, like so many others within this house in such a short space of time about to snap and lose it or had Kenny already snapped and lost it.
Chapter 17 - Signals From Outside
Laura voiced “I can’t stand being here anymore” Laura walked towards the lounge, unable to take the sight of her dead friends anymore, she was followed by Melissa who was teary eyed. Cherie, Elise and Grant who appeared the most at ease, despite being surrounded by three corpses merely exchanged looks of dismay. There was silence between them until Cherie said “I will cover them up with sheets and move them away from the door” she studied the areas around Claire’s, Billy’s and Mark’s respective heads which had brain matter and pieces of skull, she felt like she would throw up again and added “Move them as best as I can, at least”. Cherie went upstairs to look for sheets as Grant and Elise made their way back into the lounge where Laura and Melissa were sitting. Kenny meanwhile was in the kitchen, frantically looking at the map as he tried to erase from his mind what he had just done. He was unable to focus, so opted to use the sink to wash his face of blood and trying to wipe off the sprinkles of blood from his clothing, he went through the cupboard to take out the tea towels to provide a means to dry himself.
Grant was tempted to go into the kitchen to see him but decided against it, instead he turned towards the television and said in front of the three girls with him “I will check the radio” he went towards the remote control but Laura lifted up the remote control which was right next to her on the sofa and said, wanting to distract herself “I will do it” Laura began to scroll the channels on the television searching through the radio stations via the remote control.
Melissa could not help but look down the corridor towards the front door where the corpses of her friends were, even though it was dark down that way she could make out their bodily forms and it was hard for her to imagine two boys she regularly argued with and called names in the scope of their friendship were dead and Claire, one of her good friends in university was nothing more than a bludgeoned mess. Not one of them wanted to say anything more. All they heard was Kenny and his contorted almost tortured voice as he was speaking curses to himself and they also heard the running water from the taps, the water he used. But they let him be and sitting down respectively in the lounge watched Laura go through so many different types of radio channels just hoping to find one that was broadcasting via the television.
A few minutes had passed when Kenny spoke loudly to himself saying “Fuck this!” then they heard him banging the table which rattled throughout the house. This made Laura and Elise flinch. Grant was also nervous whilst Melissa just stared ahead glaring at the television. Kenny then barged into the lounge from the kitchen and shouted “It’s almost 2 o clock” was all he said, pointing at the clock on the wall, and then he went up towards them “2 o clock in the morning. Why is it so early? Are those clocks right? It feels like it should be later”. Kenny was flipping out, it was clear but everyone just remained seated and then Kenny said aloud “If tomorrow at first light there is no sign of help. I am leaving. You people can do whatever the fuck you want. I cannot stay here. What... what are you doing?”
Kenny confused asked as he saw the television was on and Laura was using the remote to search through the channels, she then said “We are looking for anything on the radio. The television stations seem not to be working”. Kenny nodded and sat down trying to relax as he remarked “Yes. There has got to be some information on the radio, something useful for us”. Cherie was back downstairs with sheets and finished up moving the three corpses and already put Mark and Claire under one of the sheets she brought, and she finally did the same to Billy. Cherie stood overlooking the three which she moved to the side, she did not bother trying to remove the strewn pieces of skull and muscle from their skulls, nor wipe up the blood.
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Cherie was lost in thought overlooking their bodies and was readying to join the group in the lounge. Grant went to focus on the television, wanting to get everyone’s attention onto forward thinking thoughts. as he said “You’re right Kenny, maybe the radio will have some good information for us”. Kenny watched Grant who then asked him “Kenny, you cannot leave without knowing you are going somewhere worthwhile from here, even if morning comes. We have to...” Kenny stood up fast and interrupted him “No Grant. You don’t get to decide what I should do, what is wrong mate huh, you need someone around to bash someone else is skull in”. Cherie appeared now from the corridor and stood in the lounge doorway, she saw another argument might be brewing, Laura, Melissa and Elisa noticed her and looked her way, she folded her arms and then went into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette as Kenny and Grant were engaged talking.
“That is not fair Kenny. What you did needed to be done”. Kenny shook his head and replied “I know mate but I did it. None of you stepped forward, you put me on the spot, and look what I did” Kenny said as he looked towards Cherie and asked her “Would you have done it?” Cherie did not reply she just smoked, she was through arguing. Kenny then looked at Melissa and Laura and asked them both “Your friends are out there. I murdered them, how does that make you feel? Would you have done what I just did?” Melissa did not want to answer, so Laura told him “They were not my friends, if they were like those people outside attacking others, they are not my friends anymore”, Laura was trying her best to adjust by dissociating who her friends were as she remembered and what just took place. It was tough, her face heavy in grief. Kenny remained heightened in emotion.
Elise stood up and stated to Kenny “You are scaring everyone”. Kenny could see their looks on him and he had tears in his eyes and it was an awful lot for this youngster to take, they were all struggling but he had just used his own person to inflict such damage on three other human beings, up until this time everything seemed distant or almost less personal but he felt like he killed people who weren’t fully sick but basing it off on expectation of what was happening made him enact what he carried out.
Kenny just muttered looking around the room “I am so sorry. I am sorry” he then sat back down as Grant watched this youth take his time and try to find comfort and gaze at the television. Grant wanting to get everyone refocused and trying to act as normal as he could turned towards the television, and then Laura handed him the controls “Look at it. There is nothing on the radio stations”. Grant took the remote control from her and said aloud as the message which had appeared on the television was present. It read “Regular transmission will be delayed until the state of emergency ban is lifted” Grant now began to flick through the channels until he reached channel 32 as he exclaimed “We have a live feed here”. Everyone now paid attention to the television, the first sign of a proper live feed for a while.
Melissa stood up, becoming intrigued because she was too overcome to sit down. Cherie moved from smoking at the side of the room to the middle. The screen presented a news station with a man in a suit, who sat facing the camera in a blue and white backdrop, he had coffee in front of him and a list of places were coming on the screen, everyone listened. They could tell by the man’s unkempt appearance he was stressed, no cares were given to the usual polished look of newsreaders on television anymore it appeared.
He began to speak “For those of you who have family or friends in the cities and you yourselves are outside of those cities, authorities are saying not to enter, there is blockades taking place around every major UK city, London, Birmingham, Southampton, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Belfast, York and Oxford have all been cornered off as just some of many. Authorities are not letting anyone in or out. For those within those cities the advice is still the same as it was a few hours ago, you are advised to remain in doors and await help from the police. Earlier today Prime minister Black issued an order for the armed forces to work in conjunction with the civilian services to bring this state of what is being described as civil unrest to order, for those of you who have not seen the following images from various cities in the UK, it is quite difficult to watch so please be advised of graphic scenes”
The images were of news reporters behind barricades speaking with people who stood as ghosts before the camera, trying to get across what they had witnessed was as overwhelming as before. All around the various interviews other people were running. Police with weapons were seen walking and patrolling, military men in tanks and standing in guardianship positions outside the borders of respective cities were seen and gunfire was heard throughout. Elise remarked, speaking what was on the groups mind “It has gotten worse hasn’t” and it seemed to have descended into far more bedlam than it was when Kenny, Grant, Elise and Cherie had last seen a television broadcast.
Also heard was the visible sound of fighter jets and helicopters zooming over head which translated through the audio of the television. Shouting and panics was the audio track to the scenes being witnessed and dead bodies were piled together in some places, even being set alight. Many people were seen in terror filled expressions of inevitable doom and it seemed like the television stations were salivating over this. Cherie said observing this “I cannot believe this is our country” and it truly did feel like they were watching the scenes of a long away refugee camp or a war zone, yet here it was, based on the streets of Great Britain.
Help calls were also heard as reporters were seen scanning faces in what seemed like safety camps, within buildings or outside in zones surrounded by barbed wire, they were all engrossed watching this and the broadcast was much appreciated to those within the house to gauge further the state of the country. News reporters were also wearing bullet proof vests for whatever reason and gleefully spoke into the camera, what was the usual UK city had turned into a cesspool of mayhem and carnage the type associated with an underdeveloped nation caught up in the grip of a war or protest.
The group watching the TV felt better in many ways, they were not alone, and there were millions of people wondering what to do and where to go for help. Kenny turned to them all and said almost forgetting the previous 20 minutes of him slaughtering three people with the butt of the rifle. He suddenly became more optimistic as he said, overtaken by the idea there was help outside “This is our way out. The authorities have to find us”. Kenny finished saying as he turned back towards the TV and made a heavy sigh as he like the others were reading different towns, villages and locations all mixed up with no order as to where in the country they were but suggesting it was safe to go there. Kenny said “The van might have enough petrol to make it to one of those stations, does anyone recognise the closest? For fucks sake I wish they would slow down the flashing names. I can hardly focus!”
Nobody answered him as the names of various rescue stations throughout the United Kingdom trickled down below the screen, Kenny raised his voice once more “Come on people we have to work together, someone get a pen and paper” Kenny stood up and was scanning the room for anything to use to write down, he needed a pen at least but then Elise turned to him and said his name sternly “Kenny” Elise then added “I don’t want to leave here, the thought of what is out there scares me half to death. Look at the TV how can it not scare you. It does not look like there is any order or control out there. Our only way out is to wait for help to come to us just like we have been advised, all we have to do is wait. Besides we have been out in that van for God knows how long trying to find a place, I am not going out there again. Nothing has changed. It might seem like a long time since we arrived in this house, but we have only been here for a few hours”.
Kenny sat on the floor and looked up at Elise, as he said “You are right Elise, why be suicidal, surely it is far saner to wait. To wait and to pray, do any of you believe in God?” Nobody answered him again all were too invested in the television. Kenny was just trying to make sense all unto himself about what was happening, then he muttered “Now’s the time t
o start to believe, but I just killed three people I am fucked either way. I cannot dare to imagine how many more people will be dead by one of our hands by the end of the night”. Cherie glanced at Kenny from observing the television and said “You really need to cool down man” Kenny shook his head at her and stood up and said “I don’t know about cooling down. Do you think help will come? Three people are fucking dead, they are just down that corridor, we put another one outside earlier on, those fucking things are outside and look at the television, there are people in safe spaces, I have no idea what to do. But all of you ask yourself, how many more will it take huh? By the time someone does come here we might all be dead”.
Elise had enough and stood up to meet Kenny’s panic which was getting to her and made her angered. Elise said to him “Kenny just stop it. Nobody else here is sick, nobody else has been bitten. We are all healthy and are all secure in this house. Can we all agree nobody else comes inside here, no matter what? Even if they ask for our help” Elise stared around at everyone, reserving her longest gaze for Grant who just nodded, subservient before Elise was he, she did not have to say it but it was obvious she was holding Grant as being a big part in what had transpired by inviting those people from across the street in at the rear of the house into their domain. Despite his best intentions, it was clear it was too risky to bring anyone else into the house. Elise then looked back at Kenny, everyone was in agreement with Elise that nobody else should be sought to be brought into the house, even Laura and Melissa had no objection despite the good deed of the group around them to seek to help them was a huge part in their survival up until this point.
Adding in frustration to Kenny, Elise said “As long as we don’t go outside or let anyone inside we should be fine, that is all we have to do Kenny”. Elise getting spirited and thinking of her husband, the only strength keeping her going, and then she said “Just look at the TV. It’s a jungle out there Kenny, all of you, you must see that”. Elise had their attention as she added “Clearly there is some security going on outside but the reason we are advised to wait within safe places is because the authorities will seek us out, I for one do not want to go looking for rescue stations, phantom ones we don’t even know exist. So we stay, only a fool would go out there”.