The Brutality Pack: An extreme horror collection

by Ian Woodhead

  “Sounds like our town.”

  Max glanced over at Phil, “Yeah, and until Daniel took matters into his hands, the violence stayed out of sight.”

  He moved away from the window, wondering how much time they had left. “The powers were faced with two simple choices; they could remove the gift or create a controlled pressure point. They refused to admit defeat so they created Brutality and towns like this one.” Max took a deep breath and looked at Dave; the boy believed him. He wondered just how much of this tale he would have believed if he hadn’t already seen the two families.

  “What the fuck are those things under the earth?” asked Phil.

  “You are not the first sentient civilisation to live on this planet. Like your civilisation, the two before you needed these locations.” He smiled at Amber. “Machines need maintenance. My job and the others before me were to ensure that nothing went wrong and that everything ticked along smoothly. We allowed the components to carry on with their depraved behaviour, safe with the knowledge that as long as the deviations were concentrated here, your species could carry on, living their lives relatively free from evil.”

  “What happened to them?” asked Dave. “The ones we saw.”

  Max took a deep breath. “Natural disasters; the planet grew colder and two ice ages reduced the species back to primitive levels.”

  “What is Daniel?”

  He avoided Dave’s gaze. This was one shameful explanation that he wasn’t looking forward to. “That man is, I mean, he was, just like me. Daniel was another guardian.”

  Phil shrugged. “So, we kill this bastard and everything is cool, right?”

  Max shook his head. “If we do that, his Ka will just inhabit another body. One of your friends found a set of knives. The police found them; I thought that Lisa might have had them. It looks like I was mistaken. They are the only tools that will end him. The Powers only bestowed this knowledge when I was between bodies.”

  “You mean you had no idea before,” asked Dave.

  “Well, it’s not something that they would advertise.”

  Dave and Amber ran over to the other desk and started to pull out the drawers. “Wait!” said Dave. “How old are you?”

  “Daniel and I were taken at the same time, Dave. We had been sent here to discover why none of the inhabitants had paid tax to the king.” Max smiled. “This was King John, by the way. Anyway, we were both caught and killed, and we both woke up in our same bodies, armed with the knowledge that a guardian needed to keep the machine running smoothly.”

  Max sensed movement. He turned around and ran back over to the window. “This is not good. Come on!” he shouted, running out of the room and down the stairs. They didn’t have much time left. Max’s face drained of blood at the sight of one of the first family staring into the room. “Oh no,” he gasped. No, not this, not again.”

  Phil grabbed a sweeping brush and stood in front of Max. “Fuck off, get out of here. I’ve got your back.”

  Max shook his head. “Phil, they’ll ignore you and me, it’s the outsiders that they’ll go for.”

  The hulking monster growled and entered the house, jumping as the door behind it slammed shut. It fixed its gaze on Phil and licked its black lips.

  “It’s not ignoring me.” Phil looked around. “Dave, just fuck off, will you and take your loose tart with you.”

  He raised the broom and swung it, cracking the pole into the side of the creature’s head. It staggered, shook its head, and then lunged for Phil. Max ran over to the pair, not wanting to watch the carnage. This just was not possible; how the hell had Daniel done this? Those creatures were programmed only to attack the outsiders. “In here!” he shouted, pushing them into the living room.

  Max and Dave pushed the sofa up against the door just as he felt the wood shudder. The creature had seen where they went. This door would not hold it for long. “Get to the back of the room!” he shouted.

  “What do we do now? We’re trapped.”

  Max ran past them. “Haven’t you learned anything yet, Amber?” He ripped off the wallpaper on the far wall with both his hands, trying to remember the sequence. He moved his fingers along the wall, feeling for the indentations, painfully aware that the creature was making short work of that door, and it would be in here any second. He grinned when he felt a distinctive click. Max pushed, grinning as the wall slid forward a few inches. He spun around and pushed them through the gap, moaning at the sight of the creature climbing through the shredded door. He squeezed himself through the gap and pushed the wall back into place just in time.

  Dave looked at Max. “Oh God, I can’t believe that Phil is dead.”

  “Are you serious?” Amber retorted. “A few hours ago that bastard would have tossed our bodies onto a huge fucking bonfire.”

  Max wrapped his arms around the girl. “You should mourn him, Amber. He was able to break from his programming; it is something that none of the others above ground were able to achieve. I suspect that it was because Phil was nowhere near as bad as the other locals. I always assumed they couldn’t change any more than a lion will stop hunting. At least, that’s what I thought. Phil sacrificed his life to help you escape. I suggest you think on that.”

  The girl pushed him away. “I don’t know what to think,” she cried. “Not anymore! Oh Jesus, you’re in my dad’s body, and that is creeping me the fuck out.”

  Dave grabbed Amber’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I should have persuaded you to stay in that storeroom.” He glared at Max. “These steps in front of me, don’t say they lead back to those fucking caves.”

  Amber moaned.

  “There is no way we can go down there again.”

  “We have to finish this, Dave.” He started to descend, knowing they had no other choice but to follow. The energy was beginning to dissipate, and he wished it would stay for a little longer; he needed the boost to help him complete this and to cover the incredible guilt for what he was leading these two into.

  The Powers had only told Max enough for him to see that they had never abandoned him or the town. An involuntary shiver went through him when he thought about what else they had told him.

  “It’s getting lighter.”

  Max nodded. Dave was right. “Look, none of the families will be down here, they’re all above ground.” He quickened his pace, not wanting to share his fears with them. Oh, he so hoped he was wrong about this. Max stopped at the base of the stairs and gazed into the large chamber; it was empty, at least of living people. He shut his eyes and tried to hold his tears back. The Powers had already hinted of this, but to actually witness Daniel’s ‘work’ just turned his bowels to water.

  He slowly walked out of the tunnel and into the first family’s slaughter room. They brought their food in here. Max looked in horror at the parallel row of several wooden poles jutting out of the ground; a narrow trench was between the poles where the creature’s gutted their food and watched them bleed out before eating the drained meat.

  “What the fuck is going on?” cried Dave, walking past Max and looking at the occupied bodies.

  “This is where me and Daniel died all that time ago,” he whispered. “It looks like he has never allowed the experience to leave him.”

  “But I thought he wanted to set the people free!”

  “Nobody can set them free but the Powers. Everyone is going to die, Dave. The man is going to turn this planet into a funeral pyre,” said Max. He watched his words sink in. The boy was almost ready for his ultimate betrayal. The sequence was close to termination. Max couldn’t stop their final plan, even if he tried. “The first families have dozens or chambers like this one. That maniac will slaughter all of them.” He wished he could stop this charade.

  Dave spun around. “Oh no!” he cried. “Where’s Amber?”

  Max wanted to throw up.

  “Amber?” screamed Dave.

  The lad raced back up the stairs. Max swallowed his fear as he followed Dave, just hoping that the Powers wo
uld be merciful. He groaned when he saw the huge shaggy pelted sub-human creature at the top of the stone stairs. It waited until Dave was almost at the top before it pushed its claws into Amber’s exposed throat. Thick blood blasted from the entry wounds, splashing against the rock face. Max grabbed Dave and jerked him back as the creature pulled the girl’s body into another hidden tunnel. “She’s dead, Dave!”

  He was just thankful that the Powers heard his plea. The sub-humans had not allowed his last body to die so easily. “Come on, we need to finish this.”

  “It’s not possible, she can’t be gone, how is that fair?”

  Max turned him around and grabbed Dave’s shoulders. “If we don’t stop him, it won’t be just her, everyone alive will perish.” He dragged the lad down the stairs, hating every second of this. He had no choice; he had to see this out to the bitter end.

  He re-emerged out into the chamber, feeling like he was dragging a ragdoll. The bodies hanging off the gutting poles had donated most of their blood. Max passed them, not wanting to gaze at their pale faces, frozen in tortured screams. Their agony must have been unbelievable. He tried not to let his feelings blind his rational side. Max knew that if these creatures had possessed true self-will, then their punishment might have even fitted their crimes.

  “I can’t live without her,” Dave cried.

  “Focus that misery and grief, Dave. Turn it into hate. The person who caused this is in one of these chambers. Don’t let her death be in vain. Help me stop him, help me before he kills everyone.” Max saw the lad’s fire erupt. “We still have time to stop Daniel before he finishes his plan.”

  He saw several faces watching him as he entered the next chamber. Daniel’s next victims were already tied to the gutting poles, but the boy holding the curved blade had yet to cut through their flesh. Max saw Daniel standing next to a police officer. The other guardian spotted Max and grinned.

  “Ooh, I see you have a new body. That’s a bit cleaner than your other one. What do you think of my body?”

  Max took one step towards the boy.

  “He has orders to start slicing if you attempt to stop him.”

  “Daniel, please don’t do this.”

  “Is that it? That’s your whole argument?” Daniel started to laugh. “Oh dear, in all the centuries I’ve known you, why do you never fail to amuse me, Max? You are so utterly predictable, so tragic, and so devoted to your duties.” Daniel walked a little closer to them.

  Max waited. Tony was staring at Daniel. Before Max could nudge Dave, the lad shot past him and swung his fist into the boy’s stomach. The boy folded in half. Dave snatched the blade and pushed the blade into the boy’s neck.

  He watched Daniel’s expression alter; he didn’t rage, the man just laughed. “Well done! I hadn’t expected that one, Max.” He took the blade from the policeman and charged Dave; the lad stood no chance. Daniel plunged the knife deep into Dave’s heart. “There you go,” Daniel said, panting. He stepped back after retrieving the curved knife. “There, that’s the end of your silly little scheme to stop all of this. Now, will you let me continue? I’m way behind schedule as it is.”

  Max walked over to Dave; he bent over and closed his eyes. “Forgive me?” he whispered. Max picked up the knife and said, “You don’t believe in the Powers, do you?”

  The man shook his head. “You already know the answer to that one.”

  “They believe in you, my friend.” He held the knife out in front of him. “This will end your life, Daniel; it will remove your Ka from this realm.” The uncertainty in Daniel’s eyes lasted for just a few seconds, but it was enough to tell Max that he knew it was true.

  “Don’t just stand there,” shouted Daniel. “Go get your fucking knife back!”

  Max waited for the man to turn before he turned the blade around. “If I go, my friend, so do you. We died together. You were gutted right where you are standing, Daniel. You are about to experience your death again.”

  “No, you can’t do this!”

  He sighed, feeling the last piece fit into place. “You don’t get it. Our time has come, Daniel. The Powers planned everything. Neither of us has free will. They planned everything.” He looked over at Dave’s slumped body. “They are our replacements, Daniel. It has all been preordained.” He took a deep breath and pushed the knife into his chest, smiling at the sight of the bright light removing the pain, and taking him to meet the other guardians.

  Epilogue

  Dave opened his eyes and gazed at Amber lying beside him. He slowly sat up and saw another couple lying in a bed on the other side of the room. He rubbed his eyes and looked down at his chest. There was no wound, no nothing. It happened, Dave had no doubts; he could still feel the fucker slicing into him.

  The others began to stir. Dave wrapped his fingers around Amber’s hand then leaned over to kiss her. She opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.”

  “Oh my God, I thought I was dead.”

  “You were dead,” said the man from the other bed. “We all were.”

  Dave looked over at him. Dave had seen him around town a few times.

  “I’m Gavin by the way, and welcome to the end of the world.” He got up and walked over to the window. “It’s about to start, do you want to watch?”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  Gavin nodded. “It’s okay, the Powers have yet to fill you in. We have been here a bit longer than you. It’s the end of humanity, Dave. North Korea fired three nuclear tipped missiles at Seoul. One of them went astray and vaporised China’s capital city. We’re sitting on the edge of Armageddon.”

  “What, I don’t get it, did Max fail?”

  The man laughed. “Max did everything he was supposed to. He wasn’t meant to stop Daniel. The plan was to recruit the next four guardians. That’s us, by the way. We’re going to be caring for the inhabitants of the next town that will be built on this spot. We’re going to look after the fourth family.” The room exploded into white light. As normal light resumed, he saw Gavin sitting on the bed holding the girl.

  “There goes London. We have a few minutes before the three missiles heading for this area turn us into radioactive dust. Make these moments matter, buddy. Once the town is ready, the Powers will resurrect us and we’ll be able to start our work.

  The end.

  BURGER

  By

  Ian Woodhead

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright Ian Woodhead, April 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

  .

  Acknowledgements

  A big thank you to the following people for taking time to beta read this little story. You all rock, seriously!

  Matt Hickman

  Kyle M Scott

  Anna Garcia-Center

  Leslie Whitaker

  Becki Narron-Heath

  Pat Singer

  Amy Farmer

  Daniel I Russell

  Lisa Redden

  BURGER

  There's this old woman living next door to us. Now this mad bag is never seen during the day. She only comes out at night and then spends the hours from dusk to dawn roaming the deserted streets on the look out for stray cats.

  A few days ago, my older brother ordered me to murder her. He dropped my favourite scissors into my hands, giving me that famous intense stare that he'd perfected since childhood and calmly informed me that the bitch had stolen Fluff, my brother's black and white kitty.

  We both knew there wasn't a chance that Fluff still lived. My brother's mental pet would be in kitty heaven, killing rats and
rabbits and terrifying any celestial postman. You see, old Mavis Potter didn't wander through the town at the dead of night, collecting these cats out of kindness. Oh no, she killed the cats, ate their soft bits and fashioned cutlery from their bones.

  A bit mental you think? A crazed loon, someone who deserved the twin points from a pair of scissors stuck through her chest? Sure she was, what else would you expect from another local, born in our quaint town of Brutality. She was one of us and that's the sole reason why I couldn't do her in.

  I love my brother and I'd do anything for him, up to a point. He knows this and obviously, he takes advantage.

  I did set fire to the woman's house when she was out though. Gavin even joined me. He even smiled when the sounds of the animals that she must have collected the previous night began to scream.

  It still wasn't enough for Gavin. Because I had failed to kill her, despite doing so would have broken the ultimate rule, I still had to pay penance. That brings us to why the pair of us are now standing in this crappy kitchen, with me cooking in this rather splendid frying pan and Gavin leaning against the doorframe, holding one of the occupant’s sharp knives and watching the last few drops of blood fall onto the blue tiles.

  For the first time since the disappearance of Fluff, my brother had dropped the Gavin glare into his mindbox and closed the lid, to the obvious relief of myself. Gavin wasn’t exactly the nicest person to be around when he had his glare cemented onto his face. Granted, my brother was a bit of a cunt to me nearly every day, but at least now, he was able to direct his cruelty at somebody other then me for a change.

  In fact, I do believe that I see a hint of a smile glued to his face. That’ll be due to that knife. Gavin so loves a good sharp knife, especially when given the opportunity to use one.