Anna fought against the rising sickness in her stomach. How much more could there be?
At the very back of the vast industrial kitchen was a door, which Shawcross now stood in front of. Anna assumed it was the pantry.
“What’s inside there?” she asked.
“See for yourself.” Shawcross twisted the door handle and pulled.
Inside, hanging from a light fixture by what appeared to be a bright red tie, was a man. He was kicking and wriggling as he hung by his neck.
“Just when I think things are screwed up enough,” Anna said.
“James was one of the company managers,” Shawcross explained. “He never owned up to having been bitten. None of us knew. He covered it up with his sleeve. While we were all distracted moving people into the freezer, James must have snuck off on his own. I found him hanging like this a few hours ago. He knew what was to become of him. I haven’t told the others yet.”
Anna watched the man swinging and kicking. “He’s been like this for hours? That can’t be. Nobody could—”
“Survive being hanged by their neck all this time? No, they could not. This man is categorically dead. Check his pulse if you don’t believe me, but I would advise against getting close.”
The purple ligature marks around the businessman’s neck were proof enough that the blood supply and oxygen to his brain had been cut off long ago.
“We need to get out of here,” she said. “We need to get every doctor and scientist in the country out here working this thing out. Whatever’s happening must have some explanation.”
Shawcross looked at her like she was mad. “We can’t leave. There’s no way.”
“What? Of course there is. There’s a door marked fire escape right over there.” She pointed.
“It’s locked. I know it shouldn’t be, but I don’t like the thought of leaving the kitchen unsecured at night. I always lock it once the cooks go home.”
Anna shook her head and cursed. “Great idea. So how on earth do we get out of this bloody kitchen?”
“The only way out,” he said, “is to go back through the house.”
Before Anna had time to reply, a scream echoed through the kitchen.
Chapter Fourteen
It was Kimberly who was screaming. The woman’s misty blue eyes were stretched wide as she fought desperately with Bradley, who had her up against the wall and was snapping his teeth at her. Slobber fell from his mouth and plastered his chin. His eyes were bleeding.
No one in the room was helping her. They stood back, frozen in fear. Anna ran over and shouted at Bradley to stop, but he wasn’t listening. Kimberly was weakening. She needed help.
But it was already too late.
Bradley swatted aside Kimberley’s arms and sunk his teeth into her windpipe. Her mouth filled with blood and she choked.
“I told you,” Shawcross shouted in Anna’s face. “I told you this would happen.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Shawcross still held the meat tenderiser in his hand and he swung it now in a wild arc, leaping as he did so.
The first blow opened a wide divot in Bradley’s skull and sent him staggering away from Kimberly, who was already still alive, yet badly wounded. The second blow dropped him, legs folding as he hit the floor in a crumpled heap.
Kimberly looked at Shawcross like he was her saviour. She even managed to smile at him. Shawcross smiled back, then smashed the mallet into the side of her skull, cracking open her temple and sending her to the floor alongside Bradley.
Anna threw up.
“S-she let me inside, saved me, and now she’s dead.”
Shawcross stared at Anna with bulging eyes. Blood spattered his face and streaked his ginger hair. “I told you this would happen, but I let you have your own way. I should have dealt with Bradley the moment you brought him in. A woman is dead because of my mistake.”
Anna shook her head. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“No,” he said, thrusting the bloody meat tenderiser in her face. “You’re right. It’s your fault.”
Anna looked down at Kimberly and Bradley. Was it really her fault that this had happened? Was a kindly, courageous woman dead because of her?
“I want to get out of here,” somebody said. “I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t get some air. All this blood.”
“We can’t leave,” Shawcross shouted, gesticulating furiously. “Those things are still out there. Soon as we step foot outside they’ll be on us like a pack of bloody hyenas.”
“But we can’t stay in here forever,” someone said.
“I’m leaving,” said somebody else.
Shawcross fumed. “You’d rather die a horrible death than stay here a while until help arrives?”
Anna thought about the call to emergency services that Shawcross had made hours ago, and how help was still yet to arrive. She didn’t like any plan that involved waiting around to be rescued because she wasn’t sure any help was coming. They needed a better plan.
“How about causing a distraction?” she asked. Shawcross glared at her, but his silence suggested he was at least willing to listen. “Those things seem to operate on sight and sound more than anything else. Maybe if we can lead them away from this part of the manor, we can all sneak out.”
“And go where?” Shawcross asked. “You said you were attacked in the gardens, so those things have obviously gotten outside too.”
I only saw one guy and I dealt with him. I think the park and zoo would be a safe place to go. We could even make a break for our cars.”
“Perhaps, but none of that makes any sense without a plan to get out of the kitchen. How on earth do we distract them?”
Anna stared down at Kimberly’s dead body, then looked at the frightened faces of the others. “I’ll go out. I’ll try to lead them away so the rest of you can escape.”
Shawcross frowned at her, but a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth suggested that he might actually be impressed by her suggestion. “That’s insane. They’ll rip you apart.”
“Maybe, but these things have chased me once already. They’re fast, yes, but they’re also clumsy. If I know exactly where I’m heading, I can stay ahead of them.”
“But what do you do once you’ve led them away? You can’t run forever. Eventually you’ll have to shake them off.”
Anna thought for a moment. “Can’t I slip inside one of the bedrooms and lock the door behind me? I could climb through a window and re-join you all outside.”
“You’ll never make it. Besides, I don’t have my keys. I was cashing-up the bar when the first attacks happened. My keys are still in the till.”
“I have my room card,” a man said from over by the sinks. He had a bloody handprint on his light blue shirt but seemed in good shape otherwise. “You can take it to get into my room,” he said.
“What’s your name?”
“Mike. I’m a junior sales rep for…it doesn’t matter, does it?”
Anna took the card and thanked him. “What number is your room, Mike?”
“Seven. It’s just up the stairs on the right. It’s not far.”
“Great. I’m sure I’ll be able to get there.”
“You really want to do this?” Shawcross asked her.
“A woman is dead because of me. Least I can do is try to get you people out of here alive.”
“Then you should take a weapon.” He offered her the bloody meat tenderiser.
She waved it away. “It’ll just slow me down. Plus, I still think these people are ill. I’m not about to bash somebody’s skull in unless there’s no other choice.”
“Sometimes there isn’t,” he said.
“Wait,” Mike said. “How will we know when the coast is clear?”
“You won’t. Just come out five minutes after I leave and pray that they’ve all followed me.”
“Any sign of danger and we will return back here to wait for help,” Shawcross said. “But if everything is all clear, we head out t
he front doors and regroup at the zoo. Hopefully Anna is correct when she says it’s safe out there.”
“Like I said, there was just the man who attacked Bradley. I didn’t see anybody else.”
“Just be careful,” Mike told her.
Anna smiled at the man. “I’ll see you outside.”
“My wallet is on the bedside table,” he said. “It sounds a little crazy, but if you see it, could you grab it?”
Anna was confused, but agreed. “I don’t think there’s going to be much need for your credit cards, but I’ll grab it if I see it.”
“Shall we get this over with?” Shawcross said impatiently. He was standing next to the barricaded exit with his ear against the door. “I think they’ve wandered off. I can’t hear them anymore, but who knows when they’ll wander back.”
Anna rubbed at her eyes. “Okay, I’m ready. I’ve had three hours sleep in the last thirty-six hours and I’m stuck in a low-budget horror movie, but I’m ready.”
Shawcross slid the fridge away from the doors, slowly shuffling it so as not to make noise. Mike lent a hand and the two of them got the exit clear.
“You ready?” Shawcross asked her. “Things get too dangerous, you come right back here and we’ll think of another way.”
“There is no other way,” she said. “We don’t know when help will get here or how long we can stay safe inside this kitchen. We have to get outside.”
Shawcross opened the door a crack and peered through the gap. “It seems all clear,” he whispered. “When they lose sight of people, they wander away to look elsewhere.”
“They’re still out there somewhere, though,” Mike said, “so be alert.”
Anna slipped through the exit and re-entered the dining room. Bloody streaks and handprints covered the back of the kitchen doors where the mob had been battering to get inside, but it was all clear now. Although her ears picked up the slightest sound of movement. A rhythmic tapping.
She crept onwards, heading for the foyer, her wellington boots sticking to the tacky bloodstains that covered the entire floor.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
There was an overturned chair up ahead, and the sound seemed to be coming from behind it. Anna felt her muscles tense up as she waited for someone to spot her. But no one did.
Tap, tap.
Anna approached the overturned chair, stepping closer and closer.
Tap, tap.
Finally, she spotted the source of the noise, and it was a sight she wished she could un-see.
Ten feet away, lying amongst a pile of broken chairs, was an infected person – one of the clumsy, slow ones. Dead if Shawcross was to be believed. It was lying on its back; face a half-eaten mess, only the chomping jaws left intact. The tapping sound came from its thrashing legs. They had been stripped clean of flesh from the knees downwards and the exposed bones of the foot and ankle were clicking against the stone floor. With each attempt to get up, the withered legs folded uselessly.
Tap, tap.
Tap.
The torn-apart beast spotted Anna and let out a hungry moan, like a plea for help, but she knew what would happen if she got too close. The body dragged itself across the floor towards her, but its progress was snail-like.
Anna ignored the corpse and crept onwards, trying to shake the disturbing images from her mind. The doorway to the reception hall was just up ahead and she could see the open front doors leading outside. A voice in her mind urged her to just make a break for it, to get outside on her own and run for help. Then she remembered that the others would be coming out in five minutes whatever she did. They were counting on her to clear the way for them.
She stepped out into the foyer, praying the space would be empty.
But that was not the case.
When Anna stepped into the reception area, a dozen infected people glared at her.
They screeched.
And then they came.
Chapter Fifteen
Anna was surrounded on all sides. The only place left to run was towards the kitchen, but she knew she wouldn’t make it. They had the jump on her.
A stocky man in a navy blue jumper came at Anna first. He collided with her so hard that she went hurtling back into the dining room. She stumbled, and when she looked down, she saw that the body with skeletal legs had managed to crawl up behind her. It now clawed at her leg, trying to bite down on her ankle. If not for her thick wellington boots, it might have succeeded.
The stocky man came at Anna again. She managed to kick her leg free just in time to move. Her attacker missed her and went crashing into the dining room.
More came.
Anna watched the horde of infected rushing into the room. Seeking the nearest barrier for protection, she leapt onto the mahogany dining table and clambered down it. She was counting on the erratic, uncoordinated movements of her pursuers to buy her some time and, sure enough, as they reached the table, they struggled to lift themselves up onto its polished surface.
Anna dodged candelabras and centrepieces as she made her way down the table. Only a couple of infected people had managed to clamber behind her, and they slid and toppled as they tried to keep balance. Most of the remaining mob pursued her from the ground, reaching up at her as they kept pace.
Pure survival instinct urged Anna onwards, but she was running out of table. She had to think fast.
She put on the brakes, skidding on her heels and turning. An infected girl sprinted towards her from atop the table. Anna met her charge head on and, at the last moment, skidded on her knees. The highly polished surface allowed her to glide, and she collided with the girl charging towards her and knocked her aside like a bowling pin.
Anna’s rubber wellingtons got a grip and brought her to a stop. She hopped back to her feet and continued running, heading for the foyer. There was one more infected person on the table with her: a large man with an ample gut. She threw herself at his large belly, tucking in her shoulder and ramming him.
The man rocked backwards, lost his footing and fell off the table, leaving Anna free to sprint the rest of its length. Within seconds she’d reached the end and was leaping through the air. As she landed, she glanced back at the mob that was now behind her.
She had a brief chance to make it back to the safety of the kitchen, but she found herself heading for the reception foyer as originally intended. She picked up speed, the screeching mob giving chase pushing her to a level of effort she didn’t know possible.
She reached the foyer and the only infected person in her way was the woman she’d tied up earlier with the keyboard and cord. Anna dodged right past her and rushed for the staircase, hoping there were no infected people on the second floor where she was headed.
The mob ran up the stairs after her.
Anna’s heart threatened to burst in her chest. Her feet throbbed as they struck the cold stone steps one after the other, but she couldn’t afford to stop. Death pursued her.
At the top of the staircase she turned right. The mob was still behind her, crashing into the walls and side tables as they hurtled along screeching.
As Anna passed Room 5, someone jumped out at her. The two people in front of her were both young and clearly not infected. They stared at Anna with wide, terrified eyes as they quickly realised that she was in no position to help them. If they’d been hoping for rescue, they were going to be sorely disappointed.
The youngsters turned back to re-enter their room, but the door had already closed behind them and locked them out. The panic on their face was sudden and obvious.
“Run,” Anna shouted at them, pulling the Room 7 key card from her jeans pocket and getting it ready. The youngsters spun on their heels and hurried after her.
The infected were right behind them.
Anna threw herself against the door to Room 7 and slid the card into the magnetic reader. As she did so, the plastic card bent and the reader flashed red. An irritated buzz sounded.
“Shit! Shit! Come on.”
She looked left and saw two-dozen monsters hammering down the corridor, a tidal wave of death bearing down. The two kids beside her sobbed, waiting for either death or salvation.
Anna removed the key card from the slot and reinserted it. Her hands were shaking.
The card reader flashed red and buzzed again.
She removed the key card again, knowing there would only be time for one more attempt. She took a deep breath and slid the card into the slot carefully.
The reader flashed green. The door handle clicked.
The infected pounced.
Anna collapsed through the door along with the two kids. She managed to kick out and close the door just in time. A second later, the wood began to rattle on its hinges as dozens of infected maniacs crashed against the other side.
“W-who the hell are you two?” Anna asked between heaving breaths.
The male of the pair stood up. He was shaking visibly and his black dress-shirt was crumpled and sweat-stained. “We’ve been up here for hours,” he said. “We snuck away from the party last night to – well, you know – and then we heard everything going crazy downstairs. We stepped out and there were people being ripped apart. People I’ve worked with for months have gone completely Jack Torrence.”
The girl stood up as well. Her blonde hair was a tangled mess and her cherry lipstick and black mascara were smudged. “We thought help was coming when we heard someone coming down the hall,” she said. “We were sure you were it, but then we realised you were being chased. What is going on? Please, tell me?”
Anna went over and examined the room’s door. It was weaker than the ones downstairs and wouldn’t hold forever. Even now it bulged and rattled with every blow.
She put a finger to her lips to keep the young couple quiet. Then whispered to them. “If we keep quiet they should go away. They seem to operate on sight and sound.”
“They?” asked Charlotte. “Who are they?”
“I don’t exactly know. Something bad has happened to a lot of people. Pretty much your entire company came down with some kind of sickness last night. It’s infected them with some kind of bloodlust.”
The BIG Horror Pack 2 Page 14
