The BIG Horror Pack 2

by Iain Rob Wright

  More gunshots and this time it was Boss who reeled back. He spun around, holding his shoulder, and then dove down behind a picnic bench. Hopper had disappeared from sight the moment the first shot rang out, but Gellar and Norman both still stood out in the open.

  Lexi dropped the fire extinguisher in her arms, ran towards Gellar, and shouted at Norman. “Get in cover!”

  Norman dropped his axe and flung himself face down onto the ground, but was still out in the open. The fool had not found anything to hide behind. There was no time to help him, so Lexi grabbed a hold of Gellar and dragged her back inside the fire exit they had just stepped out of.

  “Did you see who’s shooting at us?” she asked Gellar.

  Gellar’s eyes rolled about in her head and she moaned.

  “Gellar, are you still with me?”

  She moaned again.

  “Damn it.” Lexi was on her own. She peered out of the doorway and tried to get eyes on the shooter. She spotted him immediately and recognised him almost as quickly. It was the man from the videos, Cog. His entire face was crisscrossed with bulging black veins, but he held the pistol in his hands steadily as he let off another shot. The bullet struck the picnic table her father was hiding behind. Boss had already taken a bullet. Was he okay? Trent certainly wasn’t – dead the second the bullet struck him between the eyes. His body lay only ten yards away from her, still bleeding out.

  Lexi located Hopper crouching behind a statue of what looked like a giant iguana. He was closer to the shooter than anybody and was yet to be spotted by Cog.

  Norman still lay out in the open, hands over the back of his head and screaming. Cog turned his sights on him now, but didn’t shoot. Instead he marched on over and dragged him onto his feet.

  Cog placed the gun against Norman’s head. “Everybody out where I can see them, now.”

  “Not going to happen,” came Boss’s reply.

  “You come out or I blow his brains out.”

  Norman whimpered, tried to pull away but was quickly pulled back. The look on Cog’s face was inhuman, his eyes swollen almost out of his head.

  “What happened to you?” Lexi called out.

  “The same thing that happened to everybody else.”

  “But you’re still alive.”

  “No, I am as dead as all the rest. My body just does not yet know it. I was the first, chosen to watch those I infected turn to dust.”

  “Chosen by whom?”

  Cog turned in Lexi’s direction, tried to spot her. “Chosen by whoever sent the package. My only crime was being the one to open it, yet all have paid the price.”

  Boss shouted out. “You’re a madman, Cog. Give yourself up and we can get you help.”

  “You can’t cure death. Now come out or I will kill this man.”

  A tense silence took over.

  Lexi made eye contact with Hopper, still undiscovered behind the iguana statue. He was inching out, trying to get an angle on Cog. He wanted Lexi to give him confirmation. She looked at Cog and saw that he was near the statue and facing slightly away. She gave Hopper the nod. Do it.

  “Three seconds,” Cog shouted.

  Hopper gave Lexi one last look and stepped out from behind the statue, ready to make a move on Cog.

  Something struck Lexi in the back and sent her sprawling out of the fire exit and out into the open. She spun around to see that Gellar was coming towards her with a snarl on her lips. She glanced sideways and saw Hopper rushing towards Cog, who was distracted by what was happening with Lexi.

  But he was too slow.

  Cog swung his arm and smashed Hopper in the face with the butt of his revolver, sending him to his knees in agony. Norman broke free and ran into cover beside Boss who threw him to the ground where he was safe.

  Lexi still stood out in the open with Gellar stalking towards her.

  Cog booted Hopper in the stomach sending him onto his back, incapacitated. Then raised his pistol.

  But pointed it at Lexi.

  Lexi had one eye on Gellar and one eye on the gun pointed at her. She felt her bladder loosen, but tried to keep calm. She started backing away from Gellar while putting her hands up where Cog could see them. “Please,” she begged them both.

  Gellar kept on coming, but Cog did not shoot her. Instead he let a feral grin find its way to his bulging, black lips. “Why waste the bullet?” He turned and ran away, laughing hysterically.

  Gellar fell on top of Lexi and started to wrestle with her, just like the woman at the top of the Helter-skelter had.

  “Lexi!” She heard her father shout out.

  “Dad, help me.”

  Boss grabbed hold of Gellar’s shoulder straps and began yanking her away from his daughter. The American woman was strong, but together they managed to pull her away. But she came right back at them relentlessly. Every time they hit her or shoved her away, Gellar came back for more. She was one of them now. One of the dead.

  Lexi swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at the dead American. She had liked Gellar, respected her bravery. But somehow that bite on her neck had infected her and now she was gone; just another monster.

  “We need to put her down,” Lexi said, surprising herself by how cold she sounded.

  “We might be able to do something,” Boss said.

  Lexi shook her head. She picked the fire extinguisher she had dropped and walked towards Gellar. The woman snarled at her with no sense or recognition. They weren’t teammates anymore.

  “I’m sorry, soldier,” Lexi said, then smashed the fire extinguisher into the middle of Gellar’s face. It took another two hits to drop her, but once Gellar fell onto her back, Lexi quickly straddled her and brought the fire extinguisher down on her face enough times to finish the job. By the time Gellar stopped moving, she had no face left.

  Hopper let out a groan from nearby and climbed up onto his knees. Boss went over and helped him while Lexi slid off of Gellar and sat on the floor. Norman had broken cover, too, and quickly picked up his axe. Lexi gave him a stern look.

  “Next time I say take cover, don’t just flop on the ground where you’re standing.”

  Norman looked upset. “I’m sorry. I really not like guns. Where I from, guns are very bad.”

  Lexi allowed herself to soften and nodded. Norman wasn’t a solider and he had saved them all earlier. “I just don’t want anyone else getting killed.”

  “How did that mofo get a gun anyway?” Hopper asked.

  “I’m sure they keep a few locked up somewhere,” Boss said. “Grand Galaxies has a massive security roster.”

  “For all the good it did,” Hopper said. He clutched his ribs gingerly. His nose was bleeding. “Poor Trent, man.”

  Lexi went on over to where Trent lay in a pool of his own blood. Aside from the small red dot in his forehead, he looked his usual self. She let out a sigh and suddenly felt tears fill her eyes. “This is so screwed up. First Miller, now Gellar and Trent.” She turned on her father. “What the fuck is wrong here? Why did SABA only send us to deal with a shit storm this big?”

  Boss grunted. The gunshot wound in his shoulder was only shallow and he seemed to be dealing with it via little more than a wince here and there. He’d been lucky. “I told you, Lexi. Nobody had any idea.”

  She didn’t buy it. “Somebody targeted this place. SABA must have known that a terrorist act could have been behind the radio silence.”

  “They trusted us to report back if a bigger team was needed. My orders were to respond back if the situation was extreme.”

  Lexi shook her head. She had questions, but couldn’t yet form them into words. Something was wrong here. There were too many things that made no sense.

  “Why did your American friend turn into space zombie?” Norman asked.

  Lexi looked at him like he was an idiot. “Because she was bitten by one. It’s pretty obvious this this thing spreads easily. When Gellar got bitten she was infected.”

  “That make no sense,” Norman said.


  “It makes perfect sense,” Hopper argued.

  Norman was shaking his head adamantly. “No, no sense. Look.” He rolled up his sleeve. “It make no sense because I bit twenty-four hour ago and I feel fine.”

  They all stared at the nasty-looking bite mark on Norman’s arm and then looked at each other in confusion. Was the virus spreading some other way?

  Hopper was the first to comment. “I’m convinced Gellar changed because she was bitten. There’s no other way.”

  “She went near the meat in the cargo bay,” Boss said.

  “And I had my entire arm in it,” Hopper rebutted. “I’m okay.”

  “Maybe I immune,” Norman suggested.

  No one said otherwise.

  “Maybe you are,” Lexi admitted.

  “Or just damn lucky,” Hopper said.

  “No,” Lexi said. “If luck played a part in the infection then there would be others who didn’t turn.”

  “Maybe they not have place to hide like me,” Norman said.

  “Yeah, perhaps. But if you are immune, then we need to get you back to Earth alive. If this virus ever gets released at home, you might hold the key to a cure.”

  Norman propped his axe over his shoulder and smiled wearily. “If my blood make you all want to protect me, then that fine with me.”

  Hopper looked down at Trent and said, “I wouldn’t get too excited. So far we’ve sucked pretty bad at keeping people breathing.”

  Lexi hated that he was right, but wasn’t ready to quit just yet. “All the more reason to get our arses to the comms room,” she said, “and then get the hell out of here.”

  “Okay, then,” Boss said. “Let’s keep going.”

  Chapter Eleven

  They headed inside the Mexican restaurant and headed straight for the staff corridor at the back. The only problem was that the restaurant wasn’t empty. There was a dead employee wandering about, still dressed in his apron and red company baseball cap.

  Norman was far more comfortable dealing with the dead than he was when faced with a gun, and he trotted forward now and swung his axe like a baseball bat. It lodged halfway through the dead employee’s neck, but it did the job. The dead man hit the floor and stopped moving.

  “You’re disturbingly good at that,” Hopper said.

  Norman pulled his axe free and shrugged. “Learn fast or die.”

  “Good point.”

  They made it into the corridor and found that the back of the building stretched much further back than it appeared from the outside. The first offices pertained to the restaurant, but further back they began to concern themselves with the administration of the park at large. The accountancy department and training centre lay nearby but were of no interest. What was of interest was the flight of stairs below a sign reading: SECURITY OFFICES & COMMUNICATIONS SUITE.

  “We made it,” Hopper said with a relieved sigh.

  “We don’t know what we’ll find yet,” Lexi said. “That maniac, Cog, is still around somewhere.”

  “We’ll deal with him,” Boss said flatly and then took the first step.

  The staircase went up a single storie and deposited them in an upper foyer. Hopper immediately went on over to a bank of vending machines next to a seating area. None of them carried cash so he made a ruckus by smashing in the glass with the padded elbow of his suit.

  Boss hissed. “Do you have to do everything so bloody loud?”

  Hopper pulled out a packet of potato crisps and started munching on them. When he spoke he spat crumbs everywhere. “Sorry, Boss.”

  Boss shook his head irritably. “Let’s just end this.”

  Lexi frowned. End this? Far as she saw it, getting to the comms room was only halfway. Even if they hailed for rescue, the military ships would take at least eight hours to arrive from Earth. There was still the question of twenty thousand missing guests. Where the hell were they all?

  The biggest area ahead was the security galley. Three separate doors along one wall led to it. The communications suite, however, was right at the far end of the foyer and accessed only by a single door. They headed there now.

  Boss waited for everybody to assemble then put a finger to his lips to hush them all.

  Then they went inside.

  Lexi had expected to find Cog pointing a gun at them, but the only thing moving were the screen savers on the various monitors.

  “Can we still do what we need to without Trent?” Lexi asked.

  “I know my way around,” Hopper said. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Get to it then,” Boss ordered, a little unkindly.

  Hopper plonked down on one of the seats and wheeled himself towards the main console. Immediately he started typing away and clicking on the mouse. While he was busy, Lexi stayed near the door, making sure the foyer remained clear. Last thing they needed was a horde of dead people trapping them inside the cramped communications suite.

  She couldn’t believe that she was still alive after two marines and a tech specialist were dead. She was just a navigator; the only danger she was supposed to encounter was carpal tunnel syndrome and bad posture.

  “Shit! Damn damn damn.”

  Lexi spun around to see Hopper slamming his fist down on the desk.

  “What is it?” Boss asked.

  Hopper swivelled on his chair so that he was facing them. “Somebody’s disabled the conduit.”

  Boss frowned. “Explain.”

  “The conduit is a bunch of cables leading from the comms centre to the dish outside. Without being connected to the satellite array, we can’t send a message further than a couple of miles.”

  “What do you mean it’s disabled?” Lexi asked.

  “I mean somebody has cut it or dismantled it in some way. Every time I try to connect, it fails. I can’t get a single packet through and there’s nothing I can do on the system to remedy it. It’s not software related. Somebody has been messing with the hardware.”

  Norman placed the head of his axe down on the ground and flopped all of his weight onto the handle. “Oh brother. We never get out of here, do we?”

  Boss rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Can we fix the conduit, Hopper?”

  “Depends on what’s been done to it. We’re better off making straight for the array itself. I can tap into it and send a message directly. It’ll have to be basic, but someone should get it on Earth and understand we need help.”

  “Where’s the array?” Lexi asked.

  Hopper leant back in his chair and sighed. “At the top of the Astronomer’s Finger.”

  Lexi groaned. “You mean that huge, massive tower we passed on the way in?”

  “It is big,” Norman said. “I go shopping there yesterday. They have biggest Burger Queen.”

  Hopper sniffed and then nodded. “I could eat.”

  “What about the jamming signal?” Boss asked. “Is that still in place?”

  “Yeah. It’s not coming from anything in here. What’s strange is that it’s localised.”

  Lexi crossed her arms. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that the Hermes was disabled, but that giant ass spider that jumped at you was working just fine. The jamming signal seems targeted, but the only way I know for something like that to be possible is if the signal is shortwave.”

  “What are you getting at?” Boss said irritably. He’d been getting less and less patient for the last few hours.

  “I think Grand Galaxies is fitted with localised signal jammers, as in separate units attached to each section of the installation that can be controlled individually.”

  “Wait,” Lexi said. “That would mean…”

  “That this place is fitted with signal jammers as standard. No one sabotaged this place, they just made use of the systems already in place.”

  Norman was looking utterly confused. “But why? Why would a tourist facility have signal jammers installed?”

  “A very good question,” Lexi said. “Cog said this place has a hidd
en agenda. I’m starting to believe him.”

  “Nonsense,” her father said. “We’ve already discussed this place’s need to contain communications should the need arise.”

  Hopper scoffed. “Well, everyone here seems to be dead, and thanks to the signal jammers, not a soul could get a phone call through to their loved ones. Whoever built this place is a tool.”

  “The British and American Governments built this place. The administration we all work for.”

  “So what we do then?” Norman asked. “We make it here, but it is complete shit party.”

  Hopper grinned. “Not a complete shit party.”

  Lexi looked at him. “No?”

  “Nope. There’s an armoury inside the Security vestibule. I’ve just unlocked it. Time to arm up.”

  “Best suggestion anybody’s had all day,” Lexi said. “Let’s be quick about it.”

  They left the communications suite and headed back along the foyer to the first of the three doors leading to the security area. When they moved inside, they were met by an endless bank of television monitors, each one showing a different angle of the park or surrounding facilities.

  “Whoa,” Hopper said. “There’s not an inch of this place not on camera.”

  “That’s good,” Lexi said. “Maybe we can find out where Cog is, as well as all the other guests.”

  “Let’s find the armoury first,” Hopper said. “I’ll feel much better with something thick and powerful in my hands.”

  Lexi huffed. “Typical man.”

  They moved carefully through the vestibule, mindful of being ambushed from the dark corners behind the many desks and computers. They found another room on their left. Its door was hanging ajar, the electronic keypad beside it lit a solid green. ENTER.

  “Open sesame,” Hopper said, grabbing the door and pulling it ajar.

  “You’re frikkin’ kidding me,” Lexi said as she stepped inside and looked around. The armoury was twenty feet wide and lined with rows upon rows of low velocity assault rifles and handguns. There was a huge crate in the centre of the room packed with ball bearing rounds ready for loading into magazines. “Why the hell would a theme park need this kind of fire power?” she asked. “There’s enough here to equip an army.”