Post by roch on Aug 9, 2007 18:31:17 GMT 1
More continuation of my horror fic. Set around spring this year, just to remind you. Thank you for encouragement!
The first four parts are at the following URLs:
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1180892091
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1180976796
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1181061095
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1185725157
==============================================
Part V
“I don’t think I can walk,” Rodney said as he slumped to the floor.
Viv squealed in fright as she tried to shift the shelves.
Jasmine turned away from the task. “Where’s my Granddad?”
“God help us, please God, help us!” wailed Edna. “We are being punished for our sins!” she exclaimed to the others.
Grayson stepped forward to the shelves, lending his weight to try to move them away from the door. “Rodney, get up! Stop moaning about your damn foot!”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Jasmine insisted as she hindered rather than aided the unblocking of their escape.
“Jasmine, go and get as many bottles of spirits as you can. I want you to soak the doorway, the floor, the counter. Make sure there’s a barrier between that door and this one! And hold on to one of those lighters!”
“But... where’s my Granddad?”
***
In the pub, a strange quietness had descended on everyone. The hostility had gone now, thanks to Scarlet’s words, but that did not mean that any decisions had been made. It was difficult to come to any conclusion other than that they should wait there and see what happened.
After a while, Marlon volunteered to go and get some supplies from the kitchen, and Diane started pouring soft drinks for everyone. As they ate and drank, bouts of conversation came and went.
“So... what are they?” Jack asked hesitantly, his eyes wide as he looked at the others. “I mean, I’m not stupid, I’ve heard about those zombie films. But that’s not real, is it?”
Matthew shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if they’re fictional, does it? They’re here. We have to work out what their weaknesses are so we can fight them.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re dead good at that,” Daz said. Scarlet elbowed him, and he coughed before speaking again with a strange burst of energy. “Well, OK, if they are like zombies in movies, then you have to chop their heads off, don’t you? Chop off the head or sever the spinal chord. Er, well, it depends on the film. But don’t they seem to drink blood as well? Maybe they’re more like vampires than zombies. Has anyone seen From Dusk Till Dawn?”
When he saw the blank look on everyone’s faces, Daz folded his arms and stood up straight. “What are you on about?” Zack asked.
“You lot are hopeless,” Daz proclaimed. “I suppose it’s up to me to save you then!”
***
Sandy was losing the battle in the cafe, but just as the tourists would not relent in their attacks, so he had no time to wonder whether the others were safely away yet. If he looked round, or called out to them, the tourists might get past and then precious moments would be lost for everyone.
He was beginning to feel strange, his mood darkening. If he concentrated, he was able to recall how much Jasmine meant to him, and that he would do anything to protect her. But in between those moments, he had begun to feel a peculiar sort of anger welling up inside him, and yet an emptiness as well.
One of the tourists suddenly grasped his arm tightly, and pressed forward with remarkable strength, opening his jaws wide.
***
“One more heave!” Grayson gasped, and everyone lent their weight to the shelves at once, even Edna (who was very little use but had at least stopped shrieking about God). With a groan, the shelves moved aside. They would have been a good barricade.
“Right, let’s go!” Rodney said, his hand on the door.
“No!” Grayson pulled him away forcefully. “Wait, we can’t just flee out mindlessly into the night. We’ll be hunted down!”
“What’s going on in there?” Jasmine cut in, her face pale as she listened to the sounds of a struggle issuing from the cafe.
“Jasmine, have you poured spirits where I told you?” Grayson put his hands on her shoulders. “Have you?”
She blinked. “Er, yes. I have. Is martini a spirit? I ran out of whisky and brandy.”
“It’ll do,” Grayson said. “Give me those lighters, Jasmine. Everyone, get by the door. Get ready anything you can use as a weapon. When I say the word, I want you to run outside together and wait right outside the door. Together! Don’t split up, whatever you do!”
Everyone gulped. Grayson put three lighters in his pocket and kept one in his hand.
***
“Well, strictly speaking they’re vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn. You can drive a stake through their heart, but I don’t know if that’ll work here. But cutting the head off works. I think that works in most zombie films too. It does in Dawn of the Dead.”
“Oh yeah,” Scarlet said. “I’ve seen that, it’s dead good.”
Daz laughed at the unwitting pun. But no-one else did. Suddenly he realised that everyone was looking at him a bit strangely. “What?”
“Are you enjoying this?” Carl said, his voice breaking. “Is it all just an action movie to you? My brother’s dead!”
Everyone fell silent, and Daz looked down at his hands, trying to blend into the background.
Scarlet couldn’t believe she had been enthusiastic with him when she knew what had happened to Jimmy. He wasn’t just dead, he was one of them. All that talk about zombie movies had been entertaining in a sick way, but what if she actually had to kill her own brother? She moved around the bar and stood close to Matthew and Carl.
After a few uncomfortable moments, Matthew spoke up. “So cutting the head off is the probably the best way then. But how are we going to manage that with no weapons?”
The others sighed.
***
Sandy’s mind blanked out suddenly, like a television being switched off. But he did not stop moving. The tourists were getting past him now, slithering with strange unnatural movements through the doorway and past the counter. One of them seemed to sniff, as if trying to detect human blood. Sandy followed.
***
Grayson flicked the lighter and a little flame appeared with a flash. He stared at it for a moment, as if it were a symbol of hope.
The sounds coming from the other room had subsided, and that could only mean one thing. Sandy had succumbed. The tourists were coming, silently making their way towards their next prey.
“Come on!” Viv hissed quietly, unable to contain herself.
Grayson looked round at the other survivors, feeling a sudden stab of emotion. He had been cynical when Sandy spoke of the war, but now he understood. It was about the common effort, trying to save your comrades and countrymen, sacrificing yourself if it was necessary as long as what you did was for the greater good.
There was a noise on the other side of the door through to the cafe. It was a strange scarping sound that went through his teeth. The door began to open.
“Now!” Grayson shouted.
***
Just as Diane emerged holding a fire axe and a large, unwieldy farm implement that she could hardly carry, everyone became silent. Not realising why, she was about to announce that what she had found would make decent weapons. But then she heard it.
There was a voice outside, somewhere near the door. Matthew went closer, trying to hear what was going on. Then he heard it clearly.
“Carl!” the voice shouted.
Realising who it was, Matthew turned to the others but said nothing. They didn’t seem to be able to hear properly, and if he could protect Carl from the doom this was surely going to bring him, then he would.
“Well what is it?” Jack asked, coming closer.
“Nothing,” Matthew said. He knew he should have made something up to assuage everyone’s curiosity, but after what he’d been through that day his wits weren’t quite as sharp as usual. Normally, he would have been able to deceive people successfully in the blink of an eye.
“Carl!” The voice was louder that time, and Matthew shut his eyes.
Carl, who had come closer to the door, gasped. “Oh God, it’s Chas! Quick, let her in!” He did not realise that Matthew had been trying to hide it from him, but now that he turned and saw the look in his brother’s eyes he understood. “For God’s sake, Matt, let her in!”
“Carl!”
“Chas!” Carl shouted back. “Chas, I’m coming to get you!”
In one last, desperate attempt, Matthew grabbed his little brother’s collar. “You can’t let her in, Carl! If those things are around, you might let them in too. Or... she might be one of them.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Carl breathed. “Besides, they don’t strike you as emotional, do they? But listen to her, she’s desperate. We have to let her in!”
Before anyone could stop him, Carl punched Matthew squarely in the face and pushed past him, scrambling to dissemble the barricade they had put up to protect themselves. Jack tried to make him stop and think, and Zack came closer though he was not sure what to do.
But Carl had already opened the door.
The first four parts are at the following URLs:
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1180892091
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1180976796
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1181061095
shewolf.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=fan&action=display&thread=1185725157
==============================================
Part V
“I don’t think I can walk,” Rodney said as he slumped to the floor.
Viv squealed in fright as she tried to shift the shelves.
Jasmine turned away from the task. “Where’s my Granddad?”
“God help us, please God, help us!” wailed Edna. “We are being punished for our sins!” she exclaimed to the others.
Grayson stepped forward to the shelves, lending his weight to try to move them away from the door. “Rodney, get up! Stop moaning about your damn foot!”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Jasmine insisted as she hindered rather than aided the unblocking of their escape.
“Jasmine, go and get as many bottles of spirits as you can. I want you to soak the doorway, the floor, the counter. Make sure there’s a barrier between that door and this one! And hold on to one of those lighters!”
“But... where’s my Granddad?”
***
In the pub, a strange quietness had descended on everyone. The hostility had gone now, thanks to Scarlet’s words, but that did not mean that any decisions had been made. It was difficult to come to any conclusion other than that they should wait there and see what happened.
After a while, Marlon volunteered to go and get some supplies from the kitchen, and Diane started pouring soft drinks for everyone. As they ate and drank, bouts of conversation came and went.
“So... what are they?” Jack asked hesitantly, his eyes wide as he looked at the others. “I mean, I’m not stupid, I’ve heard about those zombie films. But that’s not real, is it?”
Matthew shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if they’re fictional, does it? They’re here. We have to work out what their weaknesses are so we can fight them.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re dead good at that,” Daz said. Scarlet elbowed him, and he coughed before speaking again with a strange burst of energy. “Well, OK, if they are like zombies in movies, then you have to chop their heads off, don’t you? Chop off the head or sever the spinal chord. Er, well, it depends on the film. But don’t they seem to drink blood as well? Maybe they’re more like vampires than zombies. Has anyone seen From Dusk Till Dawn?”
When he saw the blank look on everyone’s faces, Daz folded his arms and stood up straight. “What are you on about?” Zack asked.
“You lot are hopeless,” Daz proclaimed. “I suppose it’s up to me to save you then!”
***
Sandy was losing the battle in the cafe, but just as the tourists would not relent in their attacks, so he had no time to wonder whether the others were safely away yet. If he looked round, or called out to them, the tourists might get past and then precious moments would be lost for everyone.
He was beginning to feel strange, his mood darkening. If he concentrated, he was able to recall how much Jasmine meant to him, and that he would do anything to protect her. But in between those moments, he had begun to feel a peculiar sort of anger welling up inside him, and yet an emptiness as well.
One of the tourists suddenly grasped his arm tightly, and pressed forward with remarkable strength, opening his jaws wide.
***
“One more heave!” Grayson gasped, and everyone lent their weight to the shelves at once, even Edna (who was very little use but had at least stopped shrieking about God). With a groan, the shelves moved aside. They would have been a good barricade.
“Right, let’s go!” Rodney said, his hand on the door.
“No!” Grayson pulled him away forcefully. “Wait, we can’t just flee out mindlessly into the night. We’ll be hunted down!”
“What’s going on in there?” Jasmine cut in, her face pale as she listened to the sounds of a struggle issuing from the cafe.
“Jasmine, have you poured spirits where I told you?” Grayson put his hands on her shoulders. “Have you?”
She blinked. “Er, yes. I have. Is martini a spirit? I ran out of whisky and brandy.”
“It’ll do,” Grayson said. “Give me those lighters, Jasmine. Everyone, get by the door. Get ready anything you can use as a weapon. When I say the word, I want you to run outside together and wait right outside the door. Together! Don’t split up, whatever you do!”
Everyone gulped. Grayson put three lighters in his pocket and kept one in his hand.
***
“Well, strictly speaking they’re vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn. You can drive a stake through their heart, but I don’t know if that’ll work here. But cutting the head off works. I think that works in most zombie films too. It does in Dawn of the Dead.”
“Oh yeah,” Scarlet said. “I’ve seen that, it’s dead good.”
Daz laughed at the unwitting pun. But no-one else did. Suddenly he realised that everyone was looking at him a bit strangely. “What?”
“Are you enjoying this?” Carl said, his voice breaking. “Is it all just an action movie to you? My brother’s dead!”
Everyone fell silent, and Daz looked down at his hands, trying to blend into the background.
Scarlet couldn’t believe she had been enthusiastic with him when she knew what had happened to Jimmy. He wasn’t just dead, he was one of them. All that talk about zombie movies had been entertaining in a sick way, but what if she actually had to kill her own brother? She moved around the bar and stood close to Matthew and Carl.
After a few uncomfortable moments, Matthew spoke up. “So cutting the head off is the probably the best way then. But how are we going to manage that with no weapons?”
The others sighed.
***
Sandy’s mind blanked out suddenly, like a television being switched off. But he did not stop moving. The tourists were getting past him now, slithering with strange unnatural movements through the doorway and past the counter. One of them seemed to sniff, as if trying to detect human blood. Sandy followed.
***
Grayson flicked the lighter and a little flame appeared with a flash. He stared at it for a moment, as if it were a symbol of hope.
The sounds coming from the other room had subsided, and that could only mean one thing. Sandy had succumbed. The tourists were coming, silently making their way towards their next prey.
“Come on!” Viv hissed quietly, unable to contain herself.
Grayson looked round at the other survivors, feeling a sudden stab of emotion. He had been cynical when Sandy spoke of the war, but now he understood. It was about the common effort, trying to save your comrades and countrymen, sacrificing yourself if it was necessary as long as what you did was for the greater good.
There was a noise on the other side of the door through to the cafe. It was a strange scarping sound that went through his teeth. The door began to open.
“Now!” Grayson shouted.
***
Just as Diane emerged holding a fire axe and a large, unwieldy farm implement that she could hardly carry, everyone became silent. Not realising why, she was about to announce that what she had found would make decent weapons. But then she heard it.
There was a voice outside, somewhere near the door. Matthew went closer, trying to hear what was going on. Then he heard it clearly.
“Carl!” the voice shouted.
Realising who it was, Matthew turned to the others but said nothing. They didn’t seem to be able to hear properly, and if he could protect Carl from the doom this was surely going to bring him, then he would.
“Well what is it?” Jack asked, coming closer.
“Nothing,” Matthew said. He knew he should have made something up to assuage everyone’s curiosity, but after what he’d been through that day his wits weren’t quite as sharp as usual. Normally, he would have been able to deceive people successfully in the blink of an eye.
“Carl!” The voice was louder that time, and Matthew shut his eyes.
Carl, who had come closer to the door, gasped. “Oh God, it’s Chas! Quick, let her in!” He did not realise that Matthew had been trying to hide it from him, but now that he turned and saw the look in his brother’s eyes he understood. “For God’s sake, Matt, let her in!”
“Carl!”
“Chas!” Carl shouted back. “Chas, I’m coming to get you!”
In one last, desperate attempt, Matthew grabbed his little brother’s collar. “You can’t let her in, Carl! If those things are around, you might let them in too. Or... she might be one of them.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Carl breathed. “Besides, they don’t strike you as emotional, do they? But listen to her, she’s desperate. We have to let her in!”
Before anyone could stop him, Carl punched Matthew squarely in the face and pushed past him, scrambling to dissemble the barricade they had put up to protect themselves. Jack tried to make him stop and think, and Zack came closer though he was not sure what to do.
But Carl had already opened the door.
