The Final Winter: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel

by Iain Rob Wright

  Jerry shrugged. “Wouldn’t surprise me. All I ever did was annoy him.”

  “Then why did he always keep you around?”

  Jerry looked away from her then and stared into the fire. “Fate I guess.”

  Jess wasn’t sure she understood. “What do you mean, fate?”

  Jerry rubbed at his eyes and somehow succeeded in making them look even more tired. “Ever seen the play, Blood Brothers?”

  Jess shook her head.

  Well,” Jerry explained. “It’s a film about these two brothers that get separated at birth. A mother has twins and can’t afford to keep them both, so she gives one away to a rich family that she works for.”

  “Okay,” said Jess, still not following, but willing to listen.

  “Somehow, the baby boy she gave away ends up making friends with the son that she kept – his twin. They have completely different upbringings, one rich, one poor, but somehow they become best friends. Despite everything, they’re really very much alike.” Jerry stared at Jess and this time she was certain he would cry, but still he did not. He smiled instead. “That’s like me and Ben. You get what I’m saying?”

  Jess didn’t. But then she thought about it a little harder and ventured a surprised guess: “You and Ben were brothers?” Jerry didn’t answer her but Jess knew it was a hit and not a miss. It still didn’t quite make sense though. “Did Ben know?”

  Jerry finally allowed a tear to escape his eye. He blinked it away and it crept down his cheek. “We…we had the same dad, but I never told him that. My mom only told me when I was ten. By then I’d already been friends with Ben for three years.”

  Jess was shocked. She thought this type of scenario was meant for cheesy films and dodgy talk shows, not real life. “Why did you never tell him?”

  Jerry wiped the tear from his face, but did nothing about the new ones that ran down to replace it. “Ashamed, I guess. My mom told me it was just a one-night stand and that it was whilst Ben’s dad was together with his mom.”

  Jess understood and nodded. “You kept it to yourself because you didn’t want to hurt Ben or break up his family?”

  Jerry avoided looking directly at her and chose instead to carry on gazing into the fire as he spoke. “He idolised his dad; respected him as this great businessman. God knows why, the guy was a small-time jerk with more skeletons in the closet than Norman Bates. If I told Ben what his father – what our father – was really like, it would have broken him. I didn’t want to mess his life up like that – like mine. He was my brother.”

  Jess was emotionally winded by the story and had to remind herself to breath. What a beautiful sacrifice for someone to make, she thought, before hugging Jerry tightly.

  He yelled out in shock. “Hey, what’s that for?”

  Jess kissed his cheek. “For being such a kind human being. I don’t think you realise quite how rare that is. Ben was lucky to have you as a friend, Jerry, and even more so as a brother.” Jess realised that her comments had summoned fresh tears and even a little whimper from Jerry. She patted him on the back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Jerry wiped his eyes. “It’s okay. Think I needed that. Clears my head for what really matters.”

  Jess frowned. “And what’s that?”

  “What do you think?” Jerry spoke as if she were stupid. “You saw what happened to Ben. There’s something fucked up out there and it’s not going to stop till it gets us all. I’m sure if Peter could wake up and speak, he’d tell us to get the hell out of this FUBAR situation.”

  “He already did,” Jess blurted out. “He said I needed to get away.”

  Jerry was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, “I think that’s good advice. No one believed us about what we saw, and I guess we kind of just let it go because we were embarrassed, but we both know we’re not crazy. There’s something out there that isn’t human.”

  Jess considered for a moment that maybe she was crazy, but she knew Jerry was right. Both of them knew what they had seen earlier.

  They had to get away.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Make sure it’s tight”

  “I am!” Harry tugged the curtain ties around Damien’s wrists and felt them dig into the boy’s flesh. “Any tighter and I’ll cut his arms off.”

  “Good,” said Nigel. “Exactly what the dirty little rapist deserves.”

  When Harry had swung the whiskey bottle at Damien’s head it had instantly shattered, sending streams of Old Graham’s salty piss all over the both of them. Harry could still smell the vinegary pong on his clothes right now. Once Nigel had regained consciousness, the two of them dragged Damien’s limp body into the bar area and heaved him onto a chair. They were now currently in the process of restraining him to it as tightly as possible. The last thing they needed was Damien waking back up and endangering anybody else. They had enough on their plate as it was, and Harry still hadn’t forgotten about the incident in the dance hall. Chaos, it seemed, had started coming at him from all directions.

  Harry had placed Steph downstairs on a pile of blankets and covered her up with a duvet. She had stirred briefly when he’d first lifted her from the toilet floor, but she was yet to regain full-consciousness. Lucas had promised to look after her until Harry came back.

  It was unbelievable that Damien had tried to rape Steph. Harry had made a massive mistake in thinking that the lad was not capable of such evil? At least he didn’t get away with it, Harry thought, shaking his head as he thought about what could have gone down if Nigel hadn’t walked in and disturbed Damien.

  “Nigel, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t walked in when you did. Steph is so lucky you were there.”

  Nigel’s chest puffed up proudly. With the beating his face had taken, Harry thought he looked like a dishevelled bear hit with a shovel. “I’m just sorry the little perv got the drop on me before I could take him down first. My head’s still bloody banging.”

  Harry gave the curtain ropes one last tug and was at last satisfied that Damien was restrained adequately. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “Vicious bastard really did a number on you. Soon as the phones are working, we’ll call the police and get him squared away.”

  Nigel seemed to flinch. “Police, yeah”

  Harry looked at him. “You okay, mate?”

  “Yeah, yeah, of course. Just a bit dizzy. Need to sit down, I think.”

  Harry stood up, frozen knees straightening with a click! “I can keep an eye on things here, buddy. You go and rest.”

  “Thanks, Harry. Can I get you anything?”

  Harry thought immediately about another beer, but for some reason he said, “I’m good, thanks.”

  Nigel walked away gingerly, clutching at his ribs. Harry shook his head as he imagined the pain he was in. Guy’s lucky to be walking after the walloping he got. We all owe him big time.

  Harry stepped back and examined Damien, asleep in the chair. What could make a person so violent as to want to rape and beat people? It made his heart ache to think of the amount of hatred that infected the world. Damien was just one tiny ant in a whole colony of remorseless monsters. Harry started to wish that he’d asked for that beer after all.

  A strangled snort came from Damien’s direction and for a moment Harry thought he was going to wake up. The boy’s eyelids fluttered for a second and his nose crinkled as though a fly had landed on it. But then he fell still again.

  “What do we do with you now?” Harry asked the unconscious lad. “Can’t exactly leave you in the middle of the room to freeze, can I?”

  Or maybe that’s exactly what you deserve.

  Harry’s fists clenched themselves automatically as he thought about how frightened Steph must have been. He had to take deep breathes until the moment passed.

  Try to let it go before it drives you insane.

  Harry needed to get away from Damien – just being near the scumbag made his stomach sick – but wasn’t an option ju
st in case he woke up and tried to escape. The only place warm enough to keep Damien prisoner was over by the fire, but that was already taken up by their casualty, Peter.

  Prisoners. Casualties. What the hell is happening tonight!

  The only other place that would be habitable was the cellar downstairs – once they got the new fire started at least. But no way was Harry about to drag Damien to the same place as Steph. In fact he was never going to let the kid anywhere near her ever again. He’d have to leave the bastard up here, beside the fireplace.

  Harry walked over to Jess and Jerry. Both of them were on their knees tending to Peter, but they didn’t seem to actually be doing anything useful, other than merely keeping an eye on him. What can they do? Harry thought. He noticed the two of them were both shivering and rubbing at their arms. The fire was obviously failing in its task of keeping back the chill. Jess looked up at him as he approached and he saw that, despite her obvious weariness, she could still manage a smile.

  “Hey,” Harry smiled back, “how you two holding up?”

  “It’s starting to feel a bit like that film, Alive,” said Jerry.

  Harry raised both eyebrows.

  Jerry sighed. “You know…that movie where the plane crashes? The one where they’re all freezing to death, one by one? They all start to eat the dead bodies to stay alive?”

  Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry.”

  Jerry’s own shoulders deflated. “Goddamn it, dude.”

  Jess spoke. “We want out of here, Harry.”

  Harry hadn’t expected that. Sure it was an obvious thing to say, given the circumstances, but Jess was an upbeat person and didn’t seem like the kind to complain. “I know you do,” he said, “but that’s not possible right now. You know what it’s like out there. It’s not safe.”

  Jess nodded. “That’s what I mean. It’s not safe here either. The snow is getting deeper and deeper, and there’s something out there that wants us dead. We weren’t lying earlier; there’s something really out there.”

  Harry pictured the flames outside, growing from the snow like shimmering beanstalks, and felt a knot form in his stomach. Then he thought about the thing pretending to be his son. “I know, I believe you.” he admitted. “So why on earth do you want to go out there?”

  “Because here we’re nothing but sitting ducks. I’d rather take my chances running to safety than waiting here to die.”

  “No one is going to die,” Harry state firmly, “but I agree that we may not be safe in here either.”

  Jerry’s face lit up. The cold air, mixed with the licking heat of the fire, made his cheeks blush like cherries. “So, you’ll help us then?”

  “No,” Harry said quickly. “If we go out there we’ll be frozen stiff in a matter of minutes or the victims of something even worse. It would be insane to leave here before morning. Even then I’m not so sure. I agree we’re in danger here, but I think we would be even worse off out there.”

  Jess seemed close to tears; possibly even full blown panic. She looked at Harry pleadingly. “So what do you suggest? That we wait here until someone else comes flying through the window or Damien tries to rape someone else?”

  Harry felt his face pull back in a snarl. “Damien won’t be hurting anyone else, don’t you worry about that.”

  Jess shrugged as if his assertion meant nothing. “Okay,” she said, “but like I said, there’s something out there that’s less than friendly. You really just expect us to wait here till it tries to get in?”

  “No,” said Harry. “We prepare, and if whatever is out there tries to get in…”

  Jess and Jerry both looked at him. “Yeah?”

  Harry snarled. “We make it wish it hadn’t.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jess decided Harry was crazy. He had to be. Why else would he suggest bunkering down in the pub and waiting for whatever was outside to get in? He didn’t understand the situation, and perhaps that made sense. Harry hadn’t seen what she and Jerry had seen, hadn’t seen Ben’s young body disintegrate into a billion bloody granules of sand. No one else understood that there was a seven-foot psychopath out there with a film prop from Braveheart.

  Jesus, I sound like Jerry. Either way, if I ever see another sword again in my life it will be too soon.

  Once Harry was far enough away, Jess turned to Jerry and said, “Are we really going to stay here?”

  “You mean batten down the hatches like the kid from Home Alone? That dude under the hood is a demon or a vampire or…something, and if we try to duke it out we’ll end up like Ben for sure.” Jerry ran both hands through his messy hair and sighed. “But what choice do we have?”

  It was the first time Jerry had mentioned Ben without welling up. Jess wondered if he was turning an emotional corner. “Maybe Harry’s right,” she admitted, “that we’ll freeze to death out there as soon as we leave, but it isn’t much warmer in here. I just…I don’t like feeling trapped, you know?”

  “Me neither.”

  “So what do we do?”

  Jerry shrugged. “Arnie-up, I guess. Get some weapons and take it to the first thing that comes through the door, From Dusk till Dawn styley.”

  “Whatever happens, I don’t think they’ll be using the door.” Jess looked down at Peter who was still sleeping on the sofa. He seemed more peaceful now than before and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. “I think windows are more their style.”

  Jerry laughed. “No shit.”

  “Well,” Jess put her hands on her hips, “should we get started?”

  Jerry nodded and rose up from his knees. Immediately he let out a shudder. “I think before we do anything we need to refuel the fire. I’m freezing, and I think Peter’s turning blue.”

  Jess looked down at Peter once more and saw the blue tint at the edge of his lips like a thin line of biro. She started to think that his peacefulness was indeed a bad sign. “I’ll go and check with Harry,” she said. “They’re building a fire downstairs anyway.”

  She rose up from her knees and patted Peter on the forehead. His skin was cold.

  Over at the other end of the pub, Harry was standing with Lucas who’d come from downstairs to help watch over an unconscious Damien. Jess couldn’t believe what Damien had tried to do to Steph. She knew he was a jerk, but…

  I dunno. Something just feels a bit off about the whole situation. Damien is a lot of things, but I never pegged him as a rapist. Still, how much do I know about the guy, really?

  “Harry,” she said, approaching him by the bar. “The fire is struggling and we need something to burn.”

  Harry nodded and rubbed at his chin. The stubble there made his face seem dirty. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “We’ll get it going again soon with some of the chairs Nigel broke up. I forgot to say earlier that I think I’ll have to leave Damien over there with you and Jerry. The only other option is to put him in the cellar, but with Steph…”

  Jess waved a hand. “That’s fine, I understand. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Harry stared into her eyes. “You sure you’ll be ok?”

  “Yeah, course. If he tries anything I’ll whack him with the fire poker or ring the bell. You tied him pretty tight by the looks of things anyway.”

  Harry looked down at Damien’s swollen wrists bound behind his back and saw that he had indeed done a good job. “I knew the Boy Scouts would come in handy one day.”

  Jess laughed. “I knew there was something outdoorsy about you?”

  “No,” said Harry. “That’s just the smell.”

  Jess laughed again, this time louder. “You’re in a cheery mood despite everything.”

  Harry seemed to stare into space for a moment before making eye contact with her again. “Guess I decided it was time to start taking part.”

  Jess didn’t know what he meant. There were a lot of things she didn’t understand tonight. “Taking part in what?” she asked him.

  Harry smiled. “Life, I guess. Now, let’
s go find you something for that fire.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She took Harry’s free arm as he grabbed a candle from the bar. Lucas nodded to them both as they passed, letting them know he was happy to stay behind and supervise Damien. As the two of them sauntered towards the bar, Jess felt a surreal feeling of safety that made her wonder if she was in some sort of denial about the fear she’d felt only minutes before. It was peculiar, but Harry’s lightened mood made her feel that things might just work out okay.

  Jess blinked twice and refocused her mind. Her skin felt tight under the prolonged attack of the cold and the chill felt like razor wire pulled tight around her flesh. She couldn’t wait to get in front of a renewed fire and would get as much paper and firewood as possible before settling in for the night.