The Carnage Trilogy (Book 1): The Carnage [Unbending, Unyielding, Unforgiving]

by Birch, Matthew

  "I love you Dad-"

  "I love you too"

  "Now, go and get changed, tell your brother to as well," I say while withdrawing from the hug. Lola blushes as she is only in her pyjamas. While Lola goes back to the living room where Tommy is sitting, I and Joey are left alone for a moment.

  "Damn Bro" He whispers, his eyes observing my weapon. I snatch the handgun I had only got about a month of practice with back from Joey; I observe it in my hands this time around. This weapon could be the ticket between life and death. Ten bullets, that's all I have.

  "Hey, Cal-" Joey barely gets the words out before a loud crash ripples its way through the house from the living room-

  Joey sprints at full speed-

  I follow him in pursuit-

  And, I am greeted by a horrific sight. My wife lies at the bottom of the stairs.

  She's getting up now. Very slowly and with a groan of what I think was the pain she's had on her arm for a while. The injury she sustained is clear and exposed and it is not what I remember. What happened to her?

  My wife...

  She's pale.

  She has reddish eyes.

  She is groaning.

  She smells of decay.

  She-

  My eyes widen. They warned me of this. The Doctors...

  She leaps at me, knocking me back onto the floor. "What are you doing?!" I shout while trying to get her off me with as much strength as I could muster!

  "GET INTO THE GARAGE!" Joey shouts to my two kids who comply without question.

  My wife snaps at me over and over. Aiming for whatever part of me was closest. "GET HER OFF ME!" I scream at Joe who is too startled to do anything. "JOE!" I try again.

  Nothing that even remotely resembles a reaction...

  The handgun lies beside me. She's getting closer, her filthy mouth opening wide as she goes in for the kill, a clean bite at my neck-

  BANG

  Lifeless, my wife's body falls onto me, blood seeping from the hole in her head. Pushing her off me, I let the trauma sink in for a minute. My wife is dead. She tried to kill me. No, I can't justify this. Wait, but-

  "Callum" Joey speedily begins taking me away from my own thoughts. Lending me a hand, he helps me up. He does not say anything else. He simply looks at the door, and back at me. Using nothing more than his expression, I finally let him get his way. My heart has sunk to the depths. The numbness eats away at me. I glance at my wife's body one last time and make a quick decision-

  "We'll go" I confirm what he wanted all along. The right thing to do is get out of here while we have the chance. Then, the T.V comes back to life and beams us the latest live footage. The camera is slowly lifted up out of the debris on the floor, the person behind the camera can be heard saying, 'Oh, shit' over and over in his own little panic. It's no news reporter though, just some guy who steps in front of the camera. "STAY AWAY FROM THE CITY. GET AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN-" He screams his warning at the world. It is right there and then, that something moves in the shadows behind him. Whatever it is - is much bigger, and less human than anything I have seen before. The man looks up from the camera at something in the distance behind the camera. Something we can't see from the positioning of the camera is moving in on him. I have a gut feeling, and it's telling me whoever this bloke is, is already dead. There is shouting, but it is muffled, the man turns around and sees whatever that thing is getting closer. It's stalking him closely. The man freaks out and makes a run for it when a soldier-

  No, what the hell is that?

  That is no soldier, what soldier looks like that-

  The signal dies. Deep breaths Callum. Deep. Breaths.

  No need to panic.

  I turn and look at my two beautiful children who peek in from the dining room. I turn and look at my brother who has beads of sweat running down his face. I turn and look at my wife who is dead on the floor with a bullet in her skull.

  This can't be happening. What do I do? Don't panic. I am PANICKING.

  "Daddy, someone keeps banging on the garage door" Melissa whispers.

  I snap out of it, and when I turn, I step forward, moving into the garage, where I see them-

  With one fell swoop, the garage doors are torn open, and I turn and run as fast as I can-

  The windows smash, they crawl in one by one-

  Joey shouts, Lola screams, and little Tommy cries...

  "JOEY, GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"

  "JUST HOLD EM' OFF THEN!"

  Taking aim with the handgun, I shakily focus on the crazy people who edge closer now. One shot, miss. Second shot, where did that one even go? "DOORS OPEN!" Joey yells, and that is all I need to hear. Fuck it; I'll try another day when I'm not shitting myself with fear! Running outside, I see Joey unlocking his car and getting inside. Oh yeah, I left mine on the other side of my house in the driveway of the garage.

  Everything’s going to shit.

  Joey jumps into the driver's seat. Lola helps Tommy into the back. We are swarmed by crazy people who hone in from all directions.

  "CALLUM!"

  "I KNOW!"

  I run for the front passenger door and open it-

  And I get in-

  And a rough hand grabs at my shoulder as I am half-way into the seat. Evilly snarling at me, hungry for its prey, the crazy person draws itself closer to me-

  I blink-

  The car shoots forward as Joey slams his foot into the peddle; I fall into the car while the crazy fucker lets go, fortunately. Joey saved my life. I merely get up from my awkward position to grab the door that hangs open. Pulling it shut and relaxing in my seat, I take a deep breath of calm. Glancing down at the gun in my hands, I make a mental note to not be such a shaky coward in future. I barely survived by the skin of my teeth. Looking back, I face my kids who sit there in shock. "You two alright?" to which I get what barely passes for a nod from both of them.

  "Reminds me of zombies, you know?" Joey says out of the blue. I look at him and tilt my head. "I guess you're right" He has a point. Joey shakes his head, his eyes on the road.

  "No. I said they 'remind' me. I didn't say they are. Zombies don't move and act the way they do. Something about them is off. More, unique..." he explains but trails off after unique. I have no idea what he means but he quickly continues his spoken thoughts. "Some of them move fast. Some could out-power any human. I've seen it. What might be originators? I think, because when I was at home watching the news. Deep within the city near that science facility. I saw something in the background Bro. Big, red and vascular. Definitely not a zombie"

  "Is that why you-" I say.

  "Yes, that is why I think it all started there..." He cuts me off.

  One last nod is all I can give him as I stare out the window into the darkness.

  "Look at that shit man..." Joey whispers to me as we come out on a hill and with it comes a direct overview of the capital city. My jaw drops. I can't find the words to speak. My heart drops out of my chest. Slumping in my seat, I avoid the look of disaster.

  "What do we do?" I find myself looking to my younger brother for answers.

  "It is less populated up north. We're going to see dad" Joey looks at me out of the corner of my eye, his brain already one step ahead with a plan. "That a plan then Bro?" he snaps me out of my daze as I continue to watch the remains of the city fall into nothingness.

  "Yes, anything to get us away from this Carnage..."

  Chapter 1 - Lakeside View

  Ed Jones

  "Hey, Marcus!" I shout as loud as possible to wake the slumbering man who sleeps peacefully in the next room...

  For now, that is anyway. Dashing out in his red and white boxer shorts which are riddled with smiley faces; he comes sliding to a halt across the smooth wooden floorboards. His sleepy eyes host baggy black bags from how little sleep we got after last night’s fiasco. He runs a hand through his messy short cut afro before letting his hand trail across his black skin. He's fairly tall, actually standing a little taller than I do.
His face twists into annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, what is it?"

  Leaning over the sofa, I look at him with a devious grin that is hidden behind a look of pure innocence. Marcus is one of my many, many friends! Okay, fine, you caught me. I lied because, well, he is the only friend really. I'm not an easy person to put up with, so not a lot of people can be bothered to actually tolerate me. Marcus is a first, to be honest, but he can get just as bad as I am after a couple of shots on a good night out. Besides, we always have a good laugh, and anyone who can't put up with me is going to miss out! Their loss...

  Marcus has always been a decent friend to me; he's been there through good and bad. Plus, I think the day we definitely decided we were gonna get along was when he got his own back at me after I had pranked him. Though, sometimes I don't think he can keep up with my bullshit. Eh, I don't prank him that much so he has no real reason to get so annoyed at me sometimes-

  OKAY, FINE, I LIED AGAIN. (Do I regret it, no)

  We've known each other since we started university about a year ago. We got halfway through the course and decided to have a gap year for the hell of it. Well, after what happened anyway with the idiot in the science department. Anyways, we started our vacation, travelling the world until finally; we come here on what is probably the most popular tourist attraction on the planet. Okay, it's nothing amazing. In fact, we were only passing by on the cruise ship when we heard about a gorgeous nature resort in the north-eastern part of this island. Took some negotiating but we had JUST enough money to rent out a cabin for a week and chill. A great way to end this vacation I say.

  Placing my attention on Marcus after dazing out for a moment, I watch as the more or less naked man simply murmurs the words, "Really?" with a distaste for my ugly mug of a face.

  Then, in the blink of an eye, I whip my phone out and snap a quick picture of him standing there like a chicken without a head! I didn't even have to think! I saw an opportunity and I took it, as per usual. Marcus just rolls his eyes as per usual.

  "So... did mummy buy those for you?" I proceed to piss him off for a laugh. I point at his boxer shorts like an immature child. A bit of banter won't hurt this early in the morning. "Shut the fuck up Ed. Did you wake me up for no fucking reason you ass-hole?" Marcus retaliates with a look of fury in his eyes. Ouch, someone’s in a bad mood aren't they? I chuckle, shake my head, and turn my view from a nearly naked Marcus to the window beside the front door. With an extended index finger, I gesture to what is so important.

  "Aren't those the same lads from last night?" I mention as the yawning Marcus strolls across the wooden floorboards. A creak accompanies him with each step he takes. He itches his hairy chest, rubs his eyes, then focuses on the outside world.

  Not far from us is a small group of about four drunken men. I never got their names from last night; luckily I remember them enough to recognise them. See, the four of them wanted to foolishly pull an all-nighter and never made it home!

  "Seriously, you woke me up just to show me some drunks trying to get into their home?" Marcus growls at me. Marcus sends a death glare my way before pulling the curtains shut to avoid being seen. I raise my hands in my defence and grin cheekily. "I thought it was pretty funny mate!"

  Marcus scoffs at me and turns. "What? Them or that fucking disaster we called a night out?" he asks while walking back to his bedroom slowly with yet again, another yawn.

  I ignore his comment about last night being a disaster because it wasn't for me and that is what matters right? I had a good time, who can blame me? "I gotta say them. I made a bet with the one of em', that they would never even make it back to the door" a smile plasters itself onto my face. Although, why I may remember the bet, however who knows how much I actually bet him. "Actually... I'll be fair here; they almost got to the door -barely got to the door - I'm going to have to say it doesn't count though because the point is that they have to you know, be inside the bloody cabin" I add on whilst peering out another window from where I am sitting.

  Marcus gives me one last bored look from over his shoulder, "I am gonna get dressed. You better not call me out for anything stupid again" he orders me around like I'm a dog. Marcus is quite the demanding man. Of course, I ignore him and pull the curtains he so rudely closed to show how rebellious I am. I hear him tut before his bedroom door slams some distance behind me.

  Now, back to the more pressing matter of getting the money I'm owed from last night’s bet. Oh, um? They are gone. They must've given up on getting into their cabin. Lost the keys I assume. I laugh under my breath before darkly whispering, "Dickheads" Ow, that was quite raspy actually. You know, my throats feeling rather dry. You know what helps when you have a dry throat? Now, I know you would say something like ‘drink water; it will help your throat’. To which I say, ‘no’. Because, when I walk into my dirty mess of a kitchen, the first thing on my mind when I fling open the fridge, is the thought of a really fucking cold can of coca-cola. Damn does that sound good right now! Except, after having whipped the fridge door so far open it smacks a nearby kitchen counter, I am left with nothing but an air of disappointment and broken dreams when I search its various contents. I am left with a scary sight.

  "No coca-cola?"

  Slamming the fridge door shut in my own little version of a tantrum, I frown and cross my arms. I swear I still have alcohol in my system...

  I am not normally so, immature. You know what, speaking of alcohol in my system. Water would be so useful right now. I take back what I said about water. It is actually the most useful liquid in the universe.

  Walking into the kitchen, I turn the cold tap on and let it run for a bit. Opening up a nearby cupboard, I grab a pint-sized glass. Just before I place the glass under the tap, another frightful sight crosses my view...

  Last night’s vodka still has a little bit left?! "How'd I leave you unfinished?" I say out loud. Pouring the last remains of vodka into the big glass, I wait till it has what I would say, a guess of at least twenty percent vodka in it. I could use this, so I down it all in one go like a pro. Placing the glass down victoriously, I begin wiping my mouth and giving a thumbs up to a nearby mirror as if to praise myself.

  Realisation hits me! Marcus must have such a horrible hangover. So, using the glass I just drank the rest of the vodka out of; I fill it up with water to the brim and place it on the side for him when he gets out of his room. Chuckling to myself, I walk over to the T.V and turn it on. Switching to E4 and getting an episode of the big bang theory started. I personally think it's overrated but I know Marcus loves it. As the opening theme of the show begins - sounds of someone groaning rings in my ears. Now the real question here is...

  Who left a window open? Oh yeah, most likely me. Getting up with a huff, I look out the window that gives an amazing view of the lake on the right-side of the cabin. I see something... Something wrong... What the hell is that?!

  Snickering to myself I realise that someone's sleeping in the lake. Just on the shoreline. I can't make him out very well but who cares? Haven't got a clue who it is. Which reminds me, how are the drunks doing? I can only see one of them now. Same guy I made a bet with is just wondering with a limp. He looks in pain. Holding his right arm with his left hand, he seems to be shouting something. I can't hear him. He's barely a whisper in the background with the T.V on.

  This reminds me again, whoever is sleeping out on the lake needs to shut up. I've never heard someone groan so loud. Unless it's snoring - probably snoring. Should I go out there and help him? Nah, he's not face down so he's fine.

  Oh, my god, my mind is a mess right now. I keep going off on tangents, I can't even think straight. Closing the window where the man is still groaning in the lake before ripping all the curtains shut, I finally make myself at home by flopping down onto the sofa at long last. Kicking my feet up onto the coffee table and resting my hands behind my head, I concentrate on the television screen that burns my secretly tired eyes. What episode is it today? Ah, the Halloween episode. Man, I love this episode person
ally. Maybe it's because I have always loved Halloween? Not for the candy or anything. But because I like to scare people shitless sometimes. As if on cue, an example of mine opens his door right behind me. Marcus’s heavy footsteps pound the floor.