As the Light Dies (39 page)

He span around and threw up retching hard. His stomach heaved violently, repeatedly collapsing in on itself forcing anything inside there back out.

The back of the old lad
y’
s head was slick with blood matted hair. There was a jagged open hole in the centre of her head, flaps of skin hung away from the wound like bloody petals with shards of skull still attached to their underside; her skull had been hollowed out.

Gavin reached out and grabbed the tall coat rack and used it to hold himself up as he buckled.

He heaved repeatedly even though there was nothing left to come up, not even bile.

“Oh God!”
he said with a hoarse voice half gasping as he struggled for air pulling his dust mas
k’
s back in to place, he saw a phone, he snatched it up and as he half expected. It was dead and then he said out loud
,“
EDDY
!
”

He ran back through the house and jumped back through the window he came in by. Glass fell and shattered behind him as he bumped the frame. Outside he bounded along back the way h
e’
d come, following the morbid calls as they overpowered Edd
y’
s.

Running as fast as he could practically blinded by the black snow Gavin ran full pelt in to the wooden fence h
e’
d used to guide him up the drive. He bounced backwards rebounding off  the fence and fell in a heap in the snow, he let out a
n
oo
f
as he hit the ground, but despite any pain he was back up and running in an instant. He jumped the fence and ran for it.

He heard the sounds rise and fall, they sounded more aggressive, savage even, and sounded like there were more of them out there now! He was in no doubt that the sounds were some kind of communication. The
y’
re calling each other he thought, planning something.

“
God no
!”
he panted bounding through the snow using their sounds to guide him. He tumbled and fell, and was up in a flash nearly sprinting now. Lightning arced overhead illuminating his way just in time for him to see that he was about to reach the road and he had a thick hedge to climb through and a deep ditch to cross. He pushed through the hedge and it literally fell to pieces as he touched it. He dropped down in to the ditch and climbed out the other side on to the road and carried on running hearing Eddy up ahead yelling
,“
GET OUTA HERE, GO ON FUCK OFF! LEAVE ME ALONE
.
”

Gavin pushed himself as hard as he could. The morbid noises started to get louder, and Eddy became clearer, easier to hear and understand. Slapping and banging sounds filled the air followed by breaking glass and then what Gavin could only guess was Eddy screaming.

The primitive calls erupted and all but drowned out Edd
y’
s screams!

“
Shit
!”
Gavin cursed sprinting, trying to push himself harder than ever, and gradually the vague outline of the bus began to come in to view. A lightning flash confirmed it and Gavin saw Edd
y’
s silhouette through the windscreen flapping around beating back the other figures that were in there with him.

Gavin had been right, there were more of them. LOTS MORE! Dark figures were everywhere, all mixing in amongst each other fighting for position, it looked like they were actually fighting to get to Eddy and he was trying to fend them off punching and swiping at them any way he could.

What the hell
,
thought Gavin. He pulled his masks down and shouted, calling for them to leave Eddy alone
.
“HEY! HE
Y
, Leave him alone
.
FUCK OFF!”

His voice did
n’
t carry very far through the wind or the black blizzard, Gavin doubted that any of them heard him over the racket they were all making.

Eddy screamed out and snatched his arm back from one of the figures as it pulled him, then another jumped on him practically diving in to the cab with him. Eddy screamed out again in agony and then he disappeared, smothered by a mass of frantic silhouettes gurgling and clicking!

Gavin ran towards the front of the bus trying to think madly for ideas. He did
n’
t think the bus had a jack handle or a wheel brace that he could use in defence. Then before he had time to think of anything else Eddy was thrown up against the inside of the windscreen with both arms forced out either side of him forming a cross. Gavin skidded to a stop in utter shock as the figures, the darkened silhouettes, the ones that made that damn weird noise, tha
t
ha
d
followed him started tearing Eddy to pieces as they held him in position against the windscreen screaming!

Gavin went numb, he was horror struck
!

How can this be happening
?
He thought. Then the figure holding Edd
y’
s left arm firmly against the windscreen leaned in and bit down hard on Edd
y’
s neck and pulled away a clump of flesh as Eddy screamed! The skin stretched tight around Edd
y’
s neck at first before it split and tore apart, the wound almost seemed to grow as the stretched skin snapped back retracting back to its normal position leaving the deep gouge on the side of Edd
y’
s neck to start spouting blood across the windscreen. Eddy screamed and bucked wildly trying to break free but it was no use, he was held fast. His screams turned in to a wild life-threatening choke as he started choking on his own blood. The gush of blood sprouting from his neck almost seemed to pulse as he choked. The choke and the bright red fountain worked together - in unison like a pulse.

Gavin looked on helplessly. He simply could
n’
t believe what he was seeing.

He weighed up his chances but there were far too many of them for him to even think of trying to do anything. He was too late for that!

Lightning flashed over the bus illuminating the scene forcing Gavin to look away. They were literally devouring him right in front of him. Gavin could turn his head but he could
n’
t stop what he was hearing. The screams were terrible. They were gut-wrenching for Gavin to hear. He looked around quickly, desperately trying to find something, anything at all that he could use as a weapon but there was nothing and he instantly hated himself for forgetting to grab the fire poker back at the house. He started backing up, i
t’
s all he could do, if he wanted to stay alive, he knew his best bet was to make a run for it back to Inverness. It was his only bet. So with tears streaming down his cheeks he stole one last glance at Eddy. H
e’
d been pulled down on to the dashboard now. The figures were all over him like rabid animals, it was sickening. One figure crawled over Edd
y’
s back and started gnawing at the back of Edd
y’
s head chomping down on his scalp, breaking the skin at first and then digging in with blackened fingers and psychotically stretching and tearing the skin apart, sliding the scalp apart over Edd
y’
s bloody skull! Gavin knew what that one was after!

This just can’t be happening
,
he thought still backing up, still watching, numb to his core in absolute disbelief unable to turn around, until he saw the figure stuffing its mouth with both hands as it pulled handfuls of something from Edd
y’
s silhouette - his head.

Gavin turned around telling himself over and over that there was never really anything he could have done here, and he started to run.

Just gotta stick to this road, that’s all. Just stick to the road and I’ll get to Inverness. That’s it, just stick to the road
,
he told himself.

He felt dreadful for leaving Eddy but if he did
n’
t leave now he might be seen, he might even be next! He ran choking back tears hating himself for not being able to help Eddy, for not being quick enough or remembering the fire poker from the house oblivious to the fact that he was already being pursued....

“
Whoa Sandy. Calm down buddy! I
t’
s ok
,”
said Steve
.“
Just take it easy and tell us wha
t’
s happened, let us know wha
t’
s got you all wound up, and w
e’
ll see what we can do about it ok
.
”

Steve tried to ease Sandy back in to his seat, he was visibly shaking now and it was impossible for him to hold his water without sending it all over the place.

“I can’t calm down damn it
!
If yo
u’
d seen what
I’
ve just fucking seen then yo
u’
d understand! The
y’
re going at each other like feral fucking animals down in the canteen! One minute
I’
m taking my tray up to the rack you know, with my empty plate and that, yea
!
”

Steve and the others nodded.

“
Then someone made this weird noise somewhere. I picked up on it coz it was so strange you know, like, so outa place you know. It reminded me of the sound your foot makes when you pull it out of wet peat or thick mud in a bog of some kind. That squelchy sound you know
.
”

“
I know what you mean
,”
said Katie placing a new cup of water on the table beside him.

“
Yea
,”
said Sandy glancing at her
,“
well tha
t’
s what it sounded like but real loud you know, and I mea
n
reall
y
loud! Anyway
I’
m racking my tray thinking that was that and that
I’
d just head straight to my bunk, when I hear that noise and then like two seconds later there was a hell of a crash! So I spun around to see what was going on and there was a guy lying face down on a table with that big guy, uh, Mick I think his name is, h
e’
s the new driller. Fuckin
g
hug
e
guy he is
!
”

Steve shot a knowing glance at Katie, she nodded.

“
Anyway
,”
Sandy continued
,“
he was holding this other guy down. H
e’
d obviously pulled him across the table over a row or something, and this gu
y’
s struggling like a fish out of water trying to get back up swearing
n’
cursing and threatening Mick
n’
all you know, when Mick just falls down on him and starts fucking biting chunks outa the gu
y’
s neck and his ears and whatever the fuck he can get his fucking mouth around! It was just fucking crazy, and within a split second, and I mean a split second the whole fucking place erupted with guys all over the place trying to tear each other to fucking shreds
!
It was awful
!
No other word for it. Then just across from me a queue of gu
y’
s still waiting to be served just reached through between the heat lamps and the hot plates you know and grabbed a hold of big Donny the chef, and they pulled him right across the hot plates and all of them set on him. Eating him like he was a fucking hot dog! Poor guy was screaming the place down pissing blood everywhere being eaten and cooked at the same fucking time lying on the hot plates. I do
n’
t know what musta hurt more being cooked alive or eaten alive! His screams were terrible, absolutely fucking terrible I tell ya
.
I’ll take that sound to my fucking grave.”

Sandy dropped his head in to his hands and just shook
.“
Oh my God it sounds horrifi
c
,”
said Katie looking at both Stevie and the other guy. Stevie nodded giving Sandy a minute to get himself together, he extended a hand to the new guy the man took it and they shook
.“I’
m Steve
.
”

“
Yea,
I’
m Ken.
I’
m on scaffolding and boy am I glad I was
n’
t hungry
!
”

“
I can imagine
,”
said Stevie raising his eyebrows.

Katie followed Stev
e’
s lead and introduced herself and then asked them both
,“
Wha
t’
s the next step then
?
”

Ken shrugged shaking his head
,“
No idea
,”
he said.

“
W
e’
ll have to go and check on things
,”
said Steve
.“
See wha
t’
s going on. See if things have calmed down
.
”

“YOU CAN’T!”
Sandy blurted
.“
You ca
n’
t go down there. You ca
n’
t go nowhere fucking near there. Not if you wana stay in one piece. What we need to do is start blocking the doors before they come fo
r
us.”

As he finished he jumped up and grabbed the table opposite him and started dragging it towards the doors. Steve stood up beside him
,“
Sandy, whoa man
c’
mon, calm down a minute
,”
he said.

Sandy did
n’
t stop, he carried on dragging the table and said
,“
Yo
u
can’
t
go down there. If you do, you wo
n’
t come back, the
y’
ve gone mad, or crazy or something
!
Haven’t you been fucking listening to me
!
They were out in that ash for too long.
I’
m telling you,
I’
ve been on the radios permanently since before that ash got here and shut everything down and
I’
ve been hearing them gradually turn on each other on the other instillations, trust me
,
I’VE HEARD IT
!
I did
n’
t realise at the time, but now
I’
ve seen it I realise what was happening. They were
n’
t just stressed or pissed about being stranded, they were changing, becoming sick or infected or whatever the fucks wrong with them and
I’
m telling you
.
I’ve seen men fucking eating men!”

He finished and carried on shifting the table towards the doors, pushing it one second, pulling it the next. Steve eyed Ken and Katie leaving Sandy to it for a second and said
,“
We have to go and check wha
t’
s going on down there, if h
e’
s really telling the truth then ther
e’
s gonna be people that need help, our help, or he could have lost the plot or even been exposed to something
.
”

“
Yea, I agree
,”
said Katie
,“
it could just be that Sandy saw something and took it out of context and panicked and ran up here letting his imagination take over
.
”

“
Maybe
,”
said Ken nodding
,“
but he does sound pretty convincing. I mean he is pretty spooked
.
”

“
Yea I know
,”
said Steve
,“
but we ca
n’
t just let him barricade us in here withou
t
reall
y
knowing why. It could just be that Sand
y’
s flipped for some reason and w
e’
ll end up boarded up in here with him
.
”

“
Yea, w
e’
d better go check
,”
said Katie
.“C’
mon
,”
she said and she started over towards Sandy who was currently turning the table over on its side across the doors.

“Sandy,”
she called
.“
Sandy, stop. W
e’
re going down to the canteen to see if anyone needs our help
.
”
“YOU CAN’T!”
he blurted.

“
Well, we are. There could be people down there in need of help and were going down to see if we can help. If we ca
n’
t help, then w
e’
ll come back, ok
?
”

He hesitated for a second seeing Steve and Ken coming up behind her.

“I’m blocking the door behind you,”
he blurted and pulled the table back from the doors just far enough for them to get passed.

“
Good
,”
said Katie
,“
you do that, and when we come back w
e’
ll call through so you know i
t’
s us and can open up, ok
?
”

Sandy did
n’
t answerer, instead he cracked open one of the doors and peeked out. Seeing it was clear he opened it all the way for them.

“
W
e’
ll call through like Katie said Sandy, ok
?”
said Steve as he started through following Katie
.
“Humph!”
was all the response he got as the three of them stepped out in to the corridor.

The door slammed shut behind them and they could hear Sandy pushing the table back in to place behind the doors. Steve sighed
,“
Ok then
,”
he said
,“
le
t’
s go and see shall we
?”
and they started off along the corridor deciding not to take the stairway right outside the lounge. Katie said she thought it best they use the stairway along the corridor at the end of their level. She said that with it taking them out right beside the cantee
n’
s main doors it would give them the advantage of being on higher ground and give them the element of surprise if they needed it. Steve and Ken saw the logic and went along with it. They made it to the end and started their descent down through the darkened rig vaguely lit by dying glow sticks.

Steve said over his shoulder
,“
Be as quiet as you can guys, just in case we get there and find i
t
i
s
how Sandy described it
.
”

Katie and Ken acknowledged and they continued down the stairs through the iron giant. Katie was about to say how unlikely it was, but then thought better of it thinking it would be best if they were all alert and on their guar
d
. It’s always better to expect the worse
,
she thought. As they descended, they took a few seconds on each level to look through the fire doors and check it
.
Just in case
.
They did
n’
t see anybody, nor did they hear anyone or anything. The rig was deserted!

Katie was constantly checking over the banister, looking down towards the next section of stairway making sure it was clear. If something was wrong, she wanted to know about it as early as possible. She was
n’
t the type to walk easily in to trouble. Steve thought she was overworking it a bit, but did
n’
t say anything. He thought that if anyone on the rig was suitable for a task like this, then it was Katie and that if there turned out to be a problem of some kind there was no one else h
e’
d rather have by his side. They continued quietly, checking their path and the levels they passed until they reached the level directly above the canteen.

Steve turned to the others
.“
Well, this is it
,”
he said pushing the door open on to the next section of stairway. As soon as he cracked the seal between the door and the frame they all heard what they assumed Sandy had been trying to explain to them. They heard the strange gurgle resonating through the air deep like a bass drum. The sound almost felt like a vibration!