Kill Tone

by Lance Winkless

  Jack and Rory start to break right, the change of direction heading them towards the long line of bars and food outlets they intend to get behind and use as cover. Just when Jack’s confidence increases that they will make it to the cover, a stream of screaming people head straight for them. They are running straight back down in the direction of the main stage and they seem to be coming from the dance tent.

  Jack immediately sees that not all of the people are ‘normal’; there are zombified ones in their midst.

  “Keep going!” Jack shouts at Rory as he moves across to Bobby’s side to try and fortify the side that will meet with the stream of people first.

  In Bobby’s hand is a small sledgehammer, fatter and heavier than Jack’s. The stream of people isn’t going to stop and Jack and the others are in no man’s land, and they still have some distance to go to reach the bars.

  Jack feels somebody take hold of his free hand, and grip it tightly. Jack glances to see that it is Veronica, and Rose is grabbing onto her. Jack pulls his hand free of her grip, grabs her wrist and directs her hand to hold onto the belt around his waist. Veronica understands straight away and takes hold of Jack’s belt, leaving Jack with both hands free. Both Bobby and Rory move in close too as the stream of people come onto them. Jack isn’t sure where the other two men are?

  They all keep moving forward, desperately trying to get to the cover behind the bar, directly in front of them. The first people on them take evasive action not to hit them, circling around them before they carry on their frantic run to get away from the creatures chasing them. The stream of people parting around them leaves them exposed and in the path of the oncoming zombies, and so they push forward.

  The first zombie is on them, its mouth gaping, ready to feast. Bobby moves farther left to try and get out of its way but it is useless, and the creature sees Bobby move and changes direction. Bobby, realising he will have to fight, brings his sledgehammer up to meet the jaw of the beast. The heavy hammer crunches into the bone of the jaw and the creature drops to the ground, going into a fit. They don’t stop to look, and Rory is already swinging his wrench at another one.

  Still, they push through the people, who flow around them getting closer to their sanctuary. Rory doesn’t even see the next creature; it appears from in the midst of the crowd and jumps onto him, knocking him backwards. Miraculously, he manages to stay on his feet, his arm up against the neck of the beast trying to bite him, pushing its teeth back and away from him.

  Rory stumbles back and around into them, the beast snarling into his face. An arm flashes across Jack’s vision and sticks a long screwdriver deep into the eye socket of the creature attacking Rory. The creature’s eye pops, gushing its disgusting contents all over Rory’s shoulder. The beast goes limp and falls away from Rory, pulling itself off the screwdriver in Rose’s grip.

  “Fucking hell, Rose,” is all Jack has a chance to say.

  Bobby pushes Jack on, who in turn gets Rory’s head back in the game. Jack swings his hammer again, this time bringing it down onto the top of a zombie’s skull, cracking its head open.

  “We are nearly there!” Veronica shouts from Jack’s side.

  Rory’s wrench despatches another creature and then finally, they are through the main stream of people and almost at the bar.

  Rory gets to the bar first and turns to look at the others with a half-smile on his face. His dropped guard is a mistake; he doesn’t see the creature come at him diagonally.

  “Rory!” Jack shouts.

  Jack’s warning comes too late for his new friend. The beast hits Rory backwards hard, against the bar that is just behind him. The wind is knocked out of Rory and he is stunned. Jack bolts to get over to Rory and deal with the fucking creature attacking him, bringing his hammer up as he moves. As soon as Jack is in striking distance, he swings the hammer down and into the head of the creature. This time, the hammer buries right into the top of the creature’s head, up to its shaft, Jack’s force is so great.

  The beast goes limp and Jack pulls it off Rory using the hammer buried in its head. Jack barely notices the creature tumble to the ground, his only concern is for Rory.

  Rory’s petrified face has already gone white, contrasting horribly with the red blood gushing from the side of his neck. The blood flows in deadly amounts out of the gaping bite wound and already, Rory is starting to fade out of consciousness, his arms limp at his sides. Jack feels absolutely helpless, standing and watching the life pump out of Rory, and there’s nothing he can do for him. Rory’s lips move as if he is trying to say something, but before Jack can move to get closer, to try to hear, Rory’s head slumps forward and he is gone.

  “We’ve got to carry on,” says Bobby, who stands next to Jack, looking down at Rory.

  Jack is in another world, his head spinning as Bobby stoops down to Rory’s body and checks his pockets. A moment later, Bobby stands, Rory’s keys jangling in his hand as he transfers them to his own pocket.

  A screech pulls Jack back to reality, his adrenaline fizzing as he spins around fearing another attack. Veronica and Rose are behind him, facing away, looking towards the chaos of the Arena, their weapons held out in front of them. Nothing is coming their way, but it’s only a matter of time if they don’t move.

  “Come on!” Bobby shouts.

  Jack looks and finds that Bobby has already climbed over the bar’s counter, and he stands waiting for them as if about to hand over a beer. If only! Jack thinks as he prepares to move.

  “Veronica, Rose,” Jack says. “Climb over to Bobby.”

  Veronica goes first. She jumps and places her hands on the counter and then brings a knee up to pull herself up. Jack glances back to check how she is getting on and sees more than he bargained for. Veronica’s shorts are almost see-through, the material stretching, giving Jack an eyeful, as she bends to get over the counter. Jack notices she is wearing tiny white knickers that define her buttocks beautifully.

  “Enjoying the view?” Rose says.

  Embarrassed, Jack quickly averts his eyes, turning his head away. Rose has a knowing smile spread across her face, deepening Jack’s embarrassment and he feels his face redden.

  “Don’t sweat it, Jack,” Rose chuckles, winking at him.

  Jack is lost for words as Rose goes past him to follow Veronica over the counter, and as much as he would like to watch Rose climb over too, he keeps his eyes watching for trouble.

  “Let’s go, Jack!” Bobby yells.

  Jack is over the bar’s counter quickly and is grateful for the security it offers. Bobby is already cautiously moving into the back to find the way out. Jack wonders where all the staff have disappeared to as he follows the others through the bar.

  The space outside the back of the bar is well lit and bigger than Jack had imagined. He thought that it would be long, running all the way up and down but it is also wide. Wide enough to fit big parked-up tankers full of beer down it, along with other supply trucks, enough supplies to keep tens of thousands of people refreshed for the whole weekend, in fact.

  The catering area seems to be deserted, however, the staff obviously not paid enough to go to battle with a baying horde of undead zombies. Or to try and help any of the paying customers, apparently—and who can blame them for not hanging around? Jack doesn’t plan to either. He wonders which way they all evacuated; they must have gone either left or right because a tall temporary wall has been erected behind the trucks of supplies.

  Bobby has turned left out of the bar, which should lead down to the backstage area where Rory’s van is parked. Jack hopes Bobby knows where the van will be parked, and which one it is for that matter. Sounds from the pandemonium in the Arena echo into the catering area but they seem distant, giving an uneasy eerie feeling.

  “How are you feeling?” Veronica asks Jack, the concern in her voice obvious following Jack’s episode with Rory.

  “I’ll be okay once we get the fuck out of here,” Jack replies.

  “Yes, me too. Have you
any idea what’s happened to those people?”

  “No,” Jack lies, suddenly conscious of the fucking pills he is still carrying.

  “It’s as if they have turned into zombies,” Veronica questions.

  “Whatever it is, it’s bloody frightening,” Jack says.

  “Yes, very,” Veronica agrees as they walk.

  “How do you know Bobby? I’m sure I’ve met him somewhere before,” Jack asks, wanting to change the subject.

  “Don’t you remember?”

  “Almost, I think.”

  “We met him the other night in Secret club. You got into an argument with him and then we got thrown out. You were very drunk, in your defence.”

  “Oh God, yes. It’s coming back to me now,” Jack says as it dawns on him.

  “He arranged the tickets for me and Rose to come today.”

  “Did he? I’m sorry if I was out of order.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I’ve seen worse. You were quite sweet, when you weren’t being a dick, that is.” Veronica smiles.

  “Was I?” Jack asks, encouraged. “I did enjoy spending time with you,” Jack adds, playing it low key.

  “Did you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I enjoyed it too, Jack.”

  Chapter 14

  Bobby leads the way, slowly and steadily, in silence down the walkway in the catering area. Jack can’t shake his feeling of tension, sure something is going to jump out of the shadows at any moment. All of their eyes are wide and their heads flick from one shadow to the next doorway nervously. They have all watched those kinds of scary movies before, and it seems inevitable that something is about to happen to scare the shit out of them.

  The part of Jack’s mind that isn’t taken up with searching and listening for danger is concerned with Jenny’s safety. With any luck, she was far enough back from the trouble to get away safely. Jack prays that even now, she is on her way home to their daughter, with Robert in tow or not. He is also wondering about Daryl and the rest of the crew, but especially Daryl. Jack decides he is big enough and ugly enough to look after himself, although Jack isn’t sure about the youngsters. Jack is also a little concerned about the money at Big Dave’s; quite apart from his cut, he is going to be in big trouble if he doesn’t give Dmitri Ivanov his payment. The Russian mob boss won’t be interested in any quality complaints that Jack might raise. Fuck me, Jack thinks, how does he get himself into these deep holes?

  Bobby stops suddenly and turns slightly towards one of the parked-up beer tankers. He raises his sledgehammer. Something is wrong. Jack looks to where Bobby’s attention has been drawn, a new fear rising within him.

  A shadow moves in the light of the overhead spotlights, only a small move from behind the tanker, but it definitely happens. Bobby bends down and picks up a stone off the ground, throwing it in the direction of the shadow. The stone pings off the tank's metal underframe and the shadow starts to travel.

  Bobby raises his sledgehammer as a dark figure springs out from behind the tanker. The young woman dressed in black jeans and t-shirt looks scared to death when she sees Bobby with a hammer raised in the air. Nobody moves for a second and then the girl quickly turns and runs away from them in the same direction as they are heading. With BAR STAFF in large white print on the back of her t-shirt, she soon fades into the distance and then disappears into the darkness ahead.

  “Fuck me,” Bobby says. “My nerves are in shreds!”

  “Come on, Bobby,” Jack says, walking up behind him and putting his hand on his shoulder. “It can’t be much farther.”

  “I know, that’s what worries me. What are we going to find when we get there?”

  “We will deal with whatever we find when we get there, bud,” Jack says with more confidence than he is feeling.

  “At least it looks like it is clear ahead,” Rose observes.

  “Let’s still be careful,” Veronica suggests.

  “Yes, nice and easy does it,” Jack agrees.

  As they work their way down and close in on the backstage area, the sound of turmoil from the Arena increases. They are now adjacent to the main area of the audience, near the front of the main stage. In fact, they have reached the last bar in the long line, and Jack notices the rear entry, dark and foreboding.

  Jack puts himself between Veronica and Rose and the evil-looking door, his hammer primed and ready for action. They ease past the door, not taking their eyes off the opening. Jack gets a glimpse of the Arena, through the door. He doesn’t see much detail, but he does see that there are still many, many people out there and they don’t look like they are faring well.

  The last bar traversed, the path forward takes a bend around to the right, as it goes past the toilet blocks which jut further out from the bars. None of them needs to guess that it is the toilet block; the pungent smell tells them that much. They feel slightly safer as they go around the blocks despite the awful smell, because there are no openings in it, from the side where they are.

  As the path straightens again, the entry into the backstage area is in front of them. A tall black barrier cuts the path off, but Jack is relieved to see a door cut into it at the end of the path.

  “Here we go,” Bobby says as they close in on the door. “This door should lead into the backstage area.”

  “Should?” Jack asks.

  “I haven’t been down here before but it is in the right place to be about level with the VIP area, and the backstage is next to that,” Bobby surmises.

  “Okay, let’s see then,” Veronica says.

  “I’ll do the honours,” Bobby says as he reaches for the door handle.

  Slowly, his hand grips the handle and pushes it downwards. He nervously begins to open the door inwards, not knowing what to expect on the other side. Jack is poised behind him ready to react and Veronica unwittingly brings her wrench up higher.

  As he opens it slowly, Bobby’s head peers around to look beyond the door. He pauses for a moment, looking with the door ajar, the nerves of the rest of them increasing.

  “It’s clear,” Bobby says as his head comes back and he opens the door enough to get through.

  On the other side of the door, there is another barrier a couple of meters opposite, parallel to the barrier they have come through and towards the main stage. The poorly lit corridor is obviously where staff and supplies move between the catering and backstage areas.

  “This way,” Bobby says with only some confidence as he leads them down the corridor.

  At the end is another door on the opposite barrier with VIP AREA in a large font painted onto it.

  “This is it,” Bobby tells them and tries the door handle; thankfully, the door is unlocked and gradually, he opens it. “It’s deserted,” Bobby informs them as he pulls the door open just enough to get through and the rest follow him out.

  “Oh, my God, it’s spooky,” Veronica says quietly. “We got drinks from that bar over there only a few hours ago.”

  She isn’t wrong, Jack thinks as he looks at the bar Veronica is pointing at, now standing idle. Whoever was here has left in a hurry; full drinks are standing on the tables, and chairs lie on the ground where they have been knocked over.

  “The backstage car park is through that door,” Bobby says, indicating to a door in a barrier adjacent to the main stage, the back of which reaches up into the air behind it.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Veronica asks. “We could just get out of here through the VIP camping area Rose and I came in through.”

  “If it’s as quiet through there as it is in here, at least we will have transport. There is nothing beyond the campsite but country roads and countryside,” Bobby points out.

  “There could be ‘those creatures’ out through the camping area,” Rose says. “Let’s go for Rory’s van and get as far away from here as we can.”

  “Okay,” Veronica submits.

  Jack thinks the VIP area looks cool, or at least it would be with glamorous people in it. Veronica w
ould have fitted right in. He is amazed at how quickly everyone has abandoned it, leaving full glasses of beer behind. It’s a real shame, he tells himself as he picks up an untouched beer off the table and downs half of the glass before anyone notices. Oh, that’s good, still ice cold, he thinks when he puts the glass back down onto the table.

  “Would you like some peanuts with that?” Rose teases him, as she catches him at it again.

  “I’m parched,” Jack defends himself.

  “I know the feeling,” Rose says.

  Bobby is peering through into the backstage area from the VIP zone and again, it looks abandoned. Where has everyone gone? he questions to himself as he double-checks that the coast is clear. He knows whereabouts Rory’s van will be parked but doesn’t know which one it is. The only chance he has of finding it is through pressing the button on the key fob to get either the horn to sound or the alarm to flash the van’s lights.

  Bobby has decided not to let on that news, not just yet.

  Bobby takes Veronica and Rose through into the backstage area and Jack follows on behind, letting the door swing closed behind him. Jack has never been backstage at a big gig like this. His head tilts back to look up to the back of the massive main stage as he follows the others down and away from the stage towards an opening at the back, which must lead out to the car park.

  Not sure if the deathly noise from the Arena is being amplified somehow by the stage behind it, but Bobby slows down. His expert ear in acoustics should be able to identify where the sounds are coming from, but they are swirling at him from every direction. The dark exit to the car park in front of them does not look inviting. The dull lighting out there does not give him confidence; anything could be lurking in the shadows.