Zombiekill (15 page)

“No!” Schafer pleaded, but as Conan shoved Rilla and Victoria through the door, it closed behind him, and the light above it turned red. There was no time for goodbyes, no time to promise her that he would come back for her, and no time to do anything but watch her leave.

Lyn sank to her knees and reached out for Jeremy. She put a hand on his leg and then collapsed over him, sobbing. Kyler glanced at Charlie who had been watching in horror the whole time.

“Whatever happens, stay behind me.”

Charlie nodded. She felt like this couldn’t be real; that she was dreaming this. Rilla and Victoria were inside, but were they safe? What were those two men going to do with them? Jeremy was dead, and now she was stuck in this foul room with just her father, Schafer, Magda, and Lyn. It didn’t make sense.

“You fucking animal,” snarled Schafer. He pointed his arm up to Butcher. “Fine. Send us back out onto the streets and see what happens. You think I’m going to forget about Rilla—about
you
? You’re making a mistake. We could’ve done so much together. This place you have is a haven. The corpses out there are killers, but there’s something natural about what they do. They hunt and they kill, but without feeling. You have a choice, and you act like this? You’re just plain fucking evil.”

“You done? Great.” Butcher hit the control panel, and a whirring noise started off to the side of them behind the wall.

Charlie turned to the exit but the light above the door was still red. The machinery making the noise was coming from the side of the annex and was hidden from view. What was he doing? What was Butcher playing at?

“You see, I’m not that stupid. Evil maybe, but not stupid.” Butcher hit another button, and the lights switched off save for the lone bulb that swung high above them. It was the light that had first come on when they had entered the place. Being back in near darkness was unnerving. Charlie felt for her father’s hand and took it, wrapping her fingers through his.

Ice cold fear hit Charlie. “Dad, what’s happening? Daddy?”

Kyler spoke through gritted teeth. “Stay behind me. Just stay behind me.” The chance of taking on Conan was gone. The opportunity to fight had never arisen, and now events were spiraling rapidly out of control.

“He’s letting us go, right?” asked Charlie. “Are we going back home? What about Rilla?”

“I love you, Charlotte.”

Even in the dim gloom Charlie could see the tears welling in her father’s eyes, and that scared her more than anything. Even when her mother had died he hadn’t broken down. The look in his eyes told her that this was serious.

Schafer barged past them suddenly and started pounding his fists on the exit. The door barely even moved in its frame despite the battering he gave it. He turned around, his face full of rage.

“Butcher. The door’s not opening. Let me out of here, or I’m coming up to get you. I’ll climb these fucking walls with my bare hands if I have to.”

Butcher’s laughter started out small and quiet before developing into a hysterical laugh that echoed around the room.

Schafer looked at Magda and it hit him. He had lost. He had been fooled into thinking he had a chance. They were at the point where they had reached the end, and the King was in sight. Attwood was the goal, and Schafer had forgotten about how people could manipulate and trick him into constantly moving forward. The game wasn’t always played in black and white. Schafer felt so miserable at losing, knowing he had just lost everything: Rilla, Magda, and himself. Schafer licked his lips and then looked up at Butcher.

“You’re not letting us go, are you?”

Butcher opened the door behind him and the whirring machinery suddenly stopped. A metallic crunching noise reached Charlie, and she realized the sound was coming from behind the wall to their left. There was another sound too. It was like a faint whining sound accompanied by scratching. Was it whatever had caused all those scratches on the floor and walls? What was behind those panels in the wall?

“Sorry I can’t stay, but I’ve got a couple of new house guests to see too. Nice to meet you folk. I’ve got what we need now. You’ve got about two minutes. They’re on a timer, so make the most of your time together. You five aren’t going anywhere. You ain’t nothin’ but zombiekill. My Verity always said if you ain’t good for nothing, then you ain’t good for anything but feeding to the wolves.” Butcher smiled maliciously and then disappeared through the door which closed shut behind him. The light flickered to red, and the door electronically locked as Butcher left.

“Checkmate.” Schafer looked at Magda. The lone bulb shone directly above her, and he went to her. As he embraced his wife he saw Lyn still holding onto Jeremy’s body. There was nothing she could do for him, yet she still clung to him. He was all she had now. Her daughter was gone, like Rilla. Schafer knew there was no way out of the room. He had been caught in a trap, and whatever happened next wasn’t going to be nice. They had two minutes at most. What exactly did that mean? Were they to be kept prisoner here? Was somebody else coming to get them?

“Dad?” Charlie looked at the wall opposite them, and the four red lights turned green. Her father backed away keeping Charlie behind him as the panels began to swing forward. It was slow at first until the first one appeared. Finally, she understood. When the first one appeared Charlie knew what was going to happen and she grabbed her father, wrapping her arms around his thick body.

“Just stay behind me,” said Kyler nervously. “Charlie, I need to tell you something. I don’t blame you for what happened to your Mother. I was horrible to you, and I know things went bad for us, but-”

As the first panel swung open, the barking began. Another dog howled and then appeared from behind the second panel. Finally, a third and fourth appeared. All four dogs were ferocious and bared their teeth as they faced the five living people in the annex. Saliva dripped from the dogs’ jaws, and their black fur was matted with excrement and blood. Some of the dogs had deep infected cuts on their bodies, and one appeared to have been deliberately blinded in one eye.

“Dad?” Charlie gripped her father’s shoulder. “What happened to Mom was a horrible accident. I don’t want—”

“It’s okay,” said Kyler. “Be quiet now. We’ll talk later.”

The single bulb above them was enough to see what was happening, though the corners of the rooms were still in dark shadows. Charlie knew it was impossible to hide from them. There was nothing left to do, no way out. The dogs were pitiful, horrible creatures who had long since lost any kind of attachment to man. They were feral animals with a thirst for blood and a hunger for meat. They only knew one thing now. Man was their enemy, and Butcher had them for good reason. It was a cowardly thing to do, but effective. He had left them to die and would probably be sleeping soundly by the time it was all over. It crossed Charlie’s mind to try and placate them, but these dogs had been treated badly and had one thing on their minds. She wasn’t sure exactly what breed they were although one was definitely a Rottweiler and the other three appeared to be Doberman’s. Now that they were free of their cages they intended to feed, and Charlie’s eyes widened in horror as they sprang forward.

The first dog leapt forward effortlessly and took Lyn’s head in its jaws. Its teeth clamped around her face, ripping off an ear and digging through her cheeks into her soft flesh. Lyn screamed and grabbed the dog’s neck as they rolled onto the floor, but the dog was unrelenting. It shook her head around and clawed at her until the screaming stopped and her arms went limp. An incredible amount of blood pooled around Lyn as the dog savaged her, ripping apart her face in seconds and reducing it to nothing but a bloody mask for her broken skull.

Instantly two more dogs raced forward and jumped up at Magda and Schafer. The sheer power of the dogs knocked Magda off her feet, and Charlie heard the crack of her skull as she hit the ground. She held her arms up to protect her head and the dog attacking her kept snapping at her, digging its teeth into her fleshy arms. Her hands were bitten, and Charlie saw several fingers break off to be gobbled up quickly by the dog. Schafer tried to get to his wife but had problems of his own. The dog attacking him was huge, and its shiny black coat shimmered in the dim light. It wrapped its jaws around his leg, and blood was pouring through his jeans as he beat on the dog’s head.

“Dad?” Charlie’s eyes were drawn to the fourth dog that was walking toward them. Its black eyes were locked on hers, and Kyler pushed Charlie behind him. Shivers of fear raced up and down Charlie’s spine, and she felt her bladder weaken as the dog picked up its pace, going from a walk to a jog to a run in a split second.

As it neared them the dog jumped up and Kyler pushed his arms up defensively. Charlie screamed as the dog latched onto her father and dragged him down to the floor. They rolled around like wrestlers as the dog tried to get its sharp teeth into Kyler. Charlie saw Kyler smack the dog on the side of the head two or three times, but it had no effect. The dog kept twisting its head around, nipping at Kyler’s hands and arms, and Charlie saw that her father was bleeding. She looked around frantically for a weapon, for anything they could use to defend themselves, but there was nothing. The room was completely bare.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she looked over at the others for help. Magda was dead. The dog that had attacked her was gorging itself on her as it thrust its jaws deep into her neck. The dog’s face was covered in Magda’s blood, and Charlie looked to Schafer for help.

“Schafer?” He was lying on his back holding a dog above him. His arms were trembling with the effort, and the dog’s jaws were only inches away from taking off his face. The dog pawed at him and was gouging out a huge amount of flesh from Schafer’s torso.

“Oh, God, what do I do? What...?”

Charlie noticed that the dog that had killed Lyn was padding toward her, its tongue hanging out as it panted. Blood dripped from its mouth and it ignored Schafer, Magda, and Kyler. Its aim was clear as it walked toward her. Charlie pressed herself up against the cold wall. She was afraid to take her eyes off the creature, but found herself drawn to it as if hypnotized. As it neared her it snarled and revealed a row of dirty sharp teeth. It barked rapidly and approached her cautiously.

“Dad?” Charlie glanced at her father who was still fighting off the dog. His fist was hammering the belly of the dog, but he was losing the fight.

Kyler stretched his head back and his eyes met his daughter’s. He pushed the dog up and put an arm around its neck. Kyler’s face was covered in sweat and drool from the dog, and blood splattered his neck. “I love—”

The dog whipped its neck free from Kyler’s grasp and buried its teeth into his neck, ripping out his jugular, and destroying any last chance he had of telling his daughter what she meant to him.

Charlie screamed as she watched her father torn apart. He was the strongest man she had ever known. How could this be? There was a sharp jolting pain in her leg, and she felt blood trickle down her ankle through to her sock. The dog had bitten her shin and was jumping up to bury its teeth into her belly. Darting backwards, Charlie reeled from the attack. The snarling vicious dog snapped at her, and she grabbed the dog’s head with her hands as they sank down to the ground. The dog stank and was more powerful than she had imagined. Its face hovered above her as she tried to hold it off, but it was too heavy. It scrambled to get to her and managed to rip open her cheek as its upper jaw sliced through her skin.

Charlie screamed in rage knowing that her father was dying right beside her. She ignored the blinding pain and jammed her thumb into the dog’s right eye. It burst and sprayed warm blood over her as she screamed and pushed her thumb into the socket until she felt bone.

The dog howled and backed off leaving Charlie prostrate on the floor. She rolled over and saw her father next to her, his body twitching as another dog jumped up on top of him and ripped open his stomach.

“Dad, please.” Charlie felt a weight on her legs and looked down to see a snarling dog climbing over her. This was not the one she had just blinded but another one. It had killed Magda and been drawn to Charlie; to fresh meat. Its black eyes poured hatred over her, and it peeled back its lips to reveal an array of broken yellow teeth all jagged and sharp, its gums lined with pieces of flesh and dark blood. It let out a series of barks that silenced the others and made the hairs on Charlie’s neck stand up.

As it lunged, Charlie rolled to her side. The dog narrowly missed her, and as she attempted to get up, the blinded dog ran back at her, clamping its jaws around her thigh. Letting out a scream of rage she yanked the dog’s head back, thrusting her fingers into its slavering jaws and pulled it off. The dog’s teeth ripped through her flesh and tore her leg, but she managed to pull it off her, and she hit the dog with as much force as she could, aiming for its bloody eye.

The dog wheeled away but was instantly replaced by another one which charged at Charlie. She turned and ran, jumping over her dying father as she made for the door through which Rilla had left earlier. She banged on it furiously, but there was no way through and no one to answer her. She turned just in time to see the dog flying through the air. It hit her full on, its massive head barreling into her chest and winding her. Charlie fell and raised an arm which the dog gleefully sank its teeth into, shredding her left forearm as it pulled back and forth. It ignored her screams and dragged her away from the door like she was just a chew toy.