But those orders were not always possible. The humans in the forest had fought back, killing his infernal brothers and wounding David—the female with the loud shouty stick had shot fire into his chest. He clawed at the wound now and pulled out a piece of shiny, nasty metal. He threw it into the dirt with a hiss. The humans fought back too hard. The one they'd followed from the road had tricked them, led them into an ambush they were too weak to repel.
Some ancient part of David, some fragment of fear remaining, had caused him to dash into the safety of the trees. Weak, oily memories flowed through his broken mind and made him feel somehow at home amongst these many trees. Had there been a time when running through the woods had made him feel free and… happy? The thick scabs on his mind fell away. He pictured a small boy that might once have been him.
No, must think not on things. Must only obey. Obey masters. David must kill.
Killing was good but dying was bad. David did not want to go back to the burning place. This place was better. This place had trees. But he would not go back and face the human with the big hammer or the female with the loud shouty stick.
No, David would find more of his brothers and come back. Yes, that would be to serve. His masters needed to know there were secret humans in the forest. Secret humans in the trees.
David knows. David knows their secret. Must tell. Will tell.
Humans in the forest.
22
DR KAMIYO
Dr Kamiyo was happy with his infirmary, given it had only been a day since he’d arrived at the camp. Jackie had agreed to disperse people throughout the log cabin, and have them sleep in tents where possible, but she also allocated three rooms on the third floor to be used for treatment. One was a conference room with enough space for five or six people. The other two rooms were small, and ideal for anyone infectious. Each room had windows that could be opened to allow ventilation. At the moment, he had a group of six in the conference room—one adult and five children. They each had fevers, possibly more Typhoid. Carol and Michael were amongst the patients, resting out their recovery. Of the other two smaller rooms, one was empty and one was occupied by a single occupant. It was with that occupant that Kamiyo remained now.
Vamps had been unconscious since Ted struck him with that savage hammer of his. The young man’s collarbone had been obliterated, and his shoulder badly dislocated. Kamiyo had managed to reset it that morning. Despite severe injuries, it was odd the patient had not yet awoken. Vamps had fallen unconscious from trauma, yes, but not from a head wound. That he was still asleep was a troubling sign.
Kamiyo had carried Vamps upstairs last night with the help of Eric—and Philip who had glared at Kamiyo the entire time. The grieving father was a concern, for he truly blamed Bray’s death on Kamiyo. Grief could be a dangerous thing, and the world was already dangerous enough.
It had been Eric’s idea to tie Vamps to the radiator with rope, and Kamiyo had agreed. The room already had a bed, so they slid it beneath the window to secure Vamps to the radiator. It made it awkward to check on the young man, but Kamiyo wasn’t ignorant to the danger Vamps posed.
Vamps had said he’d come from Hell and taken part in a triumphant battle against the demons in Portsmouth. Could that be true? It was only the slim possibility that Vamps was a good person in need of help that had allowed Kamiyo to convince the camp to give the young man a stay of execution.
Despite his failure to awake, Vamps’ vital signs were healthy, and he had lost much of his sickly pallor. In an ideal world, Kamiyo would have placed him on a hydrating drip, but as it was, he was forced to dribble small amounts of water into the young man’s mouth every half hour, along with packets of salt and sugar from the cabin’s small café. A crude way to give sustenance, but better than nothing. If Vamps didn’t awake soon, he might not ever.
Come on, just wake up and talk. Give me those answers I’m praying you have. Like, what is the meaning to all this?
As if his thoughts were magic, Vamps opened his eyes and sat bolt upright in the bed gasping. Kamiyo yelped at the unexpectedness. “Boris Johnson!”
“The Red Lord,” the young man said. “He’s here.”
Kamiyo placed a hand on Vamps’ chest to calm him, but when he realised he was bound, he panicked and started yanking at his ropes. The radiator rattled.
“Hey!” Kamiyo shouted in his face. “Hey, Vamps, calm down. You’re safe, okay? It’s me, Doctor Kamiyo.”
Vamps stared blankly like he didn’t recognise Kamiyo, but gradually he settled. “D-Doc? Doc, I’m in trouble, bruv.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Red Lord. He’s here.”
Here we go again, thought Kamiyo, but then reminded himself that he somehow believed the craziness this young man spouted. “Who is the Red Lord, Vamps?”
Vamps puckered his mouth, like he was trying to bring forth saliva. Kamiyo got him a glass of water, and after taking a sip, he spoke. “The Red Lord is Darth Vader, bruv. He’s the one behind the end of the universe, you get me?”
“You mean the world?”
“Nah, I mean the universe, bruv. God made bare amounts of worlds and filled ‘em with people, innit? The Red Lord has been attacking all the Earths and wiping out humanity on each one as he goes. Now he’s here to finish off this one.”
“What? You’re saying there are multiple worlds? Other dimensions? String theory, that kind of thing?”
“Bruv, I dunno what that is, but yeah I think you get me.”
“What does the Red Lord want?”
“To spank God’s ass and take his place. If he destroys the last remaining worlds, he’ll get a shot at the big man. That’s why we have to fight to survive, bruv. The Red Lord can’t win.”
Kamiyo leant forward, making sure what he was hearing was coming from a lucid mouth and not an addled mind. “Where is the Red Lord?”
“Here!” Vamps shook his head and looked as though he might go back to sleep, but then he beat his chest like a gorilla. “He’s in me, bruv. I remember it all. The fight in Hell went hella bad. Lucas—he’s the ex-Devil—got me out of there, but the Red Lord… Fucker hitched a ride, innit? Now he’s right where he wants to be.”
“Sorry, did you just say the Devil helped you?”
“Ex-Devil. Turns out the guy ain’t so bad once you get to know him. Look, Doc, the whole point of this demon invasion is to bring the Red Lord to Earth and allow him to consume the souls of the living—shit is like Big Macs to him or summin. He’s already taken the souls of Hell, but it’s the living what give God his strength. That’s why—”
Kamiyo stood up straight and placed a hand to his forehead. “Okay, please stop.” He took a deep breath and looked out the window. Outside, the other campmates dealt with last night’s fatalities. There was a lot of sobbing going on, a lot of heartache, and it made him glad he wasn’t out there. He kept his back to Vamps as he asked his questions. “Were you really possessed last night? This ‘Red Lord’ truly took ahold of you?”
“And will again,” said Vamps. “I’m sorry. You need to kill me, Doc.”
Kamiyo turned around. “What? I shall do no such thing!”
“Did you not hear me about the Darth Vader thing? The Red Lord is bad news, bruv. The worst.”
“Darth Vader fell to ruin,” said Kamiyo, feeling a sudden pang of sadness that there would never be a new Star Wars film. An odd thing to grieve, so he moved on. “Perhaps you’re to be Luke Skywalker. You’re still in there too, aren’t you?”
“Not for long, bruv. I remember hurting you last night, and that woman.”
“Jackie. She’s… okay. I explained it wasn’t you.”
Vamps shook his head. “It was like being trapped in a bath full of scolding water. I kept trying to come up and get my breath, but someone kept holding me down. I don’t know why the Red Lord is gone, but I can still feel him in me. He’ll be back.”
“You’re restrained. I won’t let you harm anybody, Vamps.”
&nb
sp; “That won’t matter, bruv. Take me out. Cut my throat or summin’. Just make it quick. And tell everyone I said something gangster at the end.”
Kamiyo shook his head firmly. “No! That’s not what I do. You are my patient. My duty is to heal you. Twice now, I have spoken with you lucidly. There’s a reason this Red Lord has retreated, and I shall find out what it is. Then I shall keep him at bay permanently. Vamps, if you’re one of the good guys, I’m not giving up on you. Twenty-four hours ago, I wondered if I’d ever see another person again—then I found this place. Perhaps I’m supposed to be here to help you. Christ, just give me something I can do to make myself feel useful again, okay? Let me try to help you, please.”
“Why do you even care so much, Doc? I’m just one guy.”
Kamiyo looked out of the window and stared off at the lake. It seemed to reflect his own memories back at him. “There are things I need to make right. Saving your life is a good start.”
Vamps pulled at his ropes, clunking the radiator. “I can’t spend the rest of my life tied to the wall. Sooner or later, I’m gunna need to take a slash, innit?”
“You can go in a bucket. For now, just relax, Vamps. Everything will be okay. You’re safe.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he said. “But I’m worried you people ain’t.”
Kamiyo folded his arms and held his ground. “I suppose time will tell.”
23
TED
News of a wounded demon on the loose spread throughout the camp like wildfire. Eric had suggested they keep a lid on it, but Nathan had spilled the beans less than an hour later, telling the other teenagers in the camp with a gleeful sneer. Once it got back to Jackie, she swiftly summoned everyone into the cabin’s main space. Ted didn’t appreciate being summoned anywhere, but he was too weary to argue.
Jackie stared at Ted now like he was the only one in the room. “What is this I’m hearing about a demon on the loose?”
Ted shrugged. “There’s a demon on the loose.”
“Could you elaborate, please?”
“There’s a wounded demon on the loose.”
Jackie scowled at him. “Is this a game to you, Ted?”
“No.”
“One demon isn’t a threat,” Hannah chimed in. “The wound I gave it might not have been immediately fatal, but it probably ran off into the woods and bled to death.”
“Or it’s gone off to tell its dirty little friends,” said Frank, hands on his hips. “We have no way of knowing.”
“The demons don’t operate like that,” said Ted. “They’re mindless animals that don’t know how to do anything but attack.”
Hannah nodded, but then argued. “Exactly, Ted. When have you ever seen one run away? They don’t show fear, they just keep attacking until either they’re dead or you are.”
“Then perhaps you’re mistaken about the body count,” said Eric hopefully.
“I’m not mistaken. I shot four.”
Jackie put both her hands against her temples and looked like she might scream. “Then what does this mean? You say those monsters don’t retreat, but one of them has. Why?”
“It’s gunna bring more,” said Frank, sticking to an apparent philosophy that things would always turn out in the worst way possible. Even Ted thought the guy could do with lightening up. “It won’t be lung before we’re attacked again, I promise yow.”
Philip moved up beside Jackie and glared at Dr Kamiyo who was standing next to Hannah. “We were fine here until you people came. You brought the monsters. Our children are dead because of you!”
Jackie put a hand on his arm. “Philip, that isn’t helping. We need to focus on today, not yesterday.”
“No,” said Ted. “You need to focus on tomorrow. It’s nothing but dumb luck that’s gotten you people this far, and that luck has run out. You all need to be ready.”
Eric rubbed at his forearms nervously. “How?”
“By moving into the castle,” said Hannah. “By preparing to fight.”
“And by building defences,” said Ted. “You have all you need to make it a job for any demons to get at you.”
“You mean like the ones you brought last night?” Philip yelled.
“He saved us,” argued Nathan, who was sitting alone on the reception desk while the other teenagers and children stood on the opposite side of the cabin.
“He endangered us,” said Philip. “He and his friends led the demons right to us. I heard Kamiyo say so himself.”
Ted shrugged. “Maybe we did bring the demons. Maybe we didn’t. Tough shit either way, ain’t it? You gunna do something about it or what? Because I promise, pissing and whining ain’t gunna help.”
Philip stepped up to Ted. “How about I start by sending you back the way you came?”
“Suits me fine,” said Ted, and he turned around and headed for the exit. In no way did he need this shit.
A little girl rushed to block his way. It was Milly, the grieving child he had spoken with earlier. “No, please,” she begged. “Don’t go out there!”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because you fought the monsters last night. I watched them get Reece, and no one came to help,”—she glared at the others in the room—“until you did. You killed the monsters before they hurt anyone else. If you leave, who will be here next time?” She put her hands on her hips and tried to look stern, but she ruined it a moment later by saying, “There are no wasps here, I promise.”
Ted knelt in front of her and then pointed a finger at Hannah. “That young lady right there is ten times more dangerous than any demon. Stick close to her, and you’ll be fine.”
Hannah waved at the little girl and smiled.
“But I don’t want to stick close to her. I want to stick close to you!”
Ted swallowed, a sudden thickness in his throat. He studied the three-dozen children packed into the room—all were terrified. Terrorised. Then he looked at the adults, who seemed little better. If they couldn’t get their act together by the time the demons next came, they would all be slaughtered.
Forty children dead.
Could he walk away from that?
Ted moved away from the doors, and released a long, drawn-out sigh. Then he clonked his hammer down on the floorboards. It got everyone’s full attention. “When all this started,” he began, “I was a builder. The very day it started, when the monsters spilled out of those gates, I was building a block of toilets for a primary school. Nobody had any clue what was happening, of course. People just knew they needed to panic. Cars started piling up in the road, people looted, and then the monsters came and started eating people. The teachers at the school were some of the bravest individuals I ever saw. They moved the children into safety and contacted the parents—but most of the parents never arrived. Instead, the demons came and waited them out. I saw a hundred kids get eaten alive while everyone stood around in shock, telling themselves it wasn’t happening. Me and the five guys on my crew wanted to stay and help, but we were terrified—no different to all of you last night. We ran, leaving those children and teachers to their fate.
A month later, the guys on my crew beat off a dozen demons without a single loss on our side. Only thing that changed was we knew we had no choice but to fight back. There was no point in running or screaming. No one was going to save us but us. That’s the learning curve of survival, people. You need to learn it fast.”
Frank flapped his arms. “How? How do we get experience without facing the monsters? Dunno, if yow noticed, but I ain’t exactly built to battle demons. Unlike Lord of the Rings, Dwarfs aren’t all that handy in a fight. If you have anything useful to share, I’m open to suggestions, kidda.”
Ted sighed, wondering if he was being unfair to these people. They were just doing their best, and it wasn’t their fault whether or not it was good enough. “You all need to listen. Not just to me, but to Hannah and the good doctor here. We know how to survive. Listen to what we tell you and you might have a chance.”
/> Frank crossed his arms, grumpy yet obliging. “Fine by me.”
Philip shook his head in disgust and disappeared into a side room. A few of the older teens followed him. Eric appeared in two minds but stayed put.
Jackie stepped forward so that she was right in front of Ted. She stared at him hard, drilling into him with her eyes. “Okay. You three can call the shots, so long as you stay here and help us.”
Ted could barely believe what he was agreeing to, but he knew there was no turning back now. “First thing we do is move up into that castle. The camping trip is over, people. Time to embrace the Dark Age.”
Hannah glanced at him with a smirk on her face. He didn’t know why, but he got the impression she thought she had won.
Ted took his hammer and went outside. There was work to do.
24
DR KAMIYO
Dr Kamiyo looked out the window at the wooden palisade erected at the bottom of the cabin’s steps. The sharpened spikes were only four-feet high, but he’d like to see a demon try to get over them without being careful. Ted had done a fine job in the last two weeks, working tirelessly with both the children and adults to first move the camp up onto the hill and behind the castle walls, and then make it an absolute nightmare to attack. He’d also fortified the cabin by the lake, so Kamiyo could continue to use it as an infirmary, and as a place for everyone to work during the day.
The cabin constantly reeked of fish now, for Steve, the camp’s butcher, gutted the daily hauls from the lake. With the weir Ted had built, they were now more than able to keep themselves fed calorie-wise, if not nutrition-wise.
Life was okay. The demons hadn’t arrived as they’d feared, and behind the thick castle walls everyone slept quite soundly. Frank ran a squad that spent each day thinning out nearby trees to make it easier to spot approaching threats, and they deposited the timber in the castle’s courtyard where Ted’s team would then make use of it. In the late afternoon, Hannah taught hand-to-hand fighting techniques that the teenagers in particular loved learning. The group was toughening up, in more ways than one.
Hell On Earth Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 95
