by Jacob Rayne
They belatedly realised Campbell had been attacked and raced to his aid.
Baz’s gun roared again, hitting the female creature in the back and throwing her forward onto Campbell who was still struggling to fight his way out from under her.
Her teeth were closing round his windpipe when Osmo’s voice blared through the cacophony: ‘Get your stinking fangs off him or I’ll crush your other baby’s head under my boot.’
The words seemed to hit the mother like punches and she spun, letting out a cry as anguished as any they had heard when she saw her newborn child’s tiny head pinned beneath Osmo’s foot.
‘That’s right, skinny, I’m fucking talking to you,’ Osmo said. He pushed his foot down slightly, making the infant squeal. The mother bared her fangs in response. ‘Get off him and I’ll let your kid live.’
Uttering a low hiss that covered Campbell in a shower of fine blood spray, the mother reluctantly lifted her weight from him, and made for Osmo.
As she rose, Baz clubbed her across the back of the head with the shotgun.
Osmo darted in and plunged the stake into her back.
She cried out, swinging her arm round behind her. The stake came out as he fell to one side. Campbell darted for her but she smashed him hard in the face, sending him to the floor minus a couple of teeth.
‘Fuck’s sake,’ Osmo said, backhanding a bead of blood from his burst lip as he struggled to his feet.
Baz’s shotgun blast made mincemeat of the girl’s chest, throwing up vast crimson clouds of blood and bone splinters.
She roared, lunged for Baz, her fangs gnashing.
Osmo and Campbell eventually managed to wrestle her to the ground.
‘Get another fucking stake in, now,’ Osmo shouted, the blood that covered his face making him look utterly insane.
Campbell pulled one loose from his jeans, raised it high and slammed it into her back.
Baz ran in and stomped the spike with all of his weight. It sunk in with a sickly squelch, liberating a geyser of blood that sprayed up a full ten feet in the air, hitting the ceiling and raining down upon the three survivors.
‘She dead?’ Baz said.
‘Reckon so,’ Osmo said, watching the girl’s body jerk, blood racing from her jaws and the ragged wound in her chest.
Her movements slowly dwindled away to nothing.
‘Right, time to get the other baby,’ Campbell said.
They searched the floor for it, struggling to locate something so small in the chaos.
‘Doesn’t look like it’s here,’ Baz said, wheeling frantically.
‘Shit!’ Osmo hissed.
‘Hey, where’s the boy?’ Campbell said, scanning the darkness.
‘Fuck,’ Baz said.
‘Nige should get him,’ Osmo said.
Unseen by them, Brian snuck out of the rear entrance, clutching his new-born child to his chest.
85
‘What the fuck is going on in there?’ Nige said, struggling to see into the darkness.
‘Sounds like all hell’s broken loose,’ Clive said.
As the pale, blood-streaked figure came racing out of the entrance, Nige raised his gun ready to fire.
Clive’s rifle came round, catching Nige in the side of the head with a nauseating crack that separated him from consciousness.
The fleeing figure showed no interest in either of them, clearly in the throes of flight mode, desperate just to get away. He charged past them, cradling something beneath his jacket.
Clive had no interest in what was going on in the church; he cared only about escaping from the nutters who had held him prisoner for the last six months. He took the shotgun in case they came after him.
‘Fuck,’ Osmo bellowed upon seeing Nige’s prone form on the floor. He struggled to process what had happened, until he realised that the paramedic was missing. ‘The dirty rat bastard,’ he muttered.
‘What’s going on?’ Campbell said between frantic breaths.
‘Fucking prick double crossed us,’ Osmo panted.
‘Twat,’ Baz said, rushing to his friend’s side and trying to wake him up.
‘He’s ok, probably just concussed,’ Osmo said. ‘Put him in the car. We’ve got to get after them.’
‘Baz, me and Osmo will look for the creature, you see if you can find the paramedic,’ Campbell said.
Baz nodded, quickly carried Nige to the car and dropped him in.
‘Let’s fucking go,’ Baz said, tear-arsing away.
Osmo was close to apoplexy when a frantic but thorough search of the surrounding area revealed neither of the men they were looking for.
Baz suggested going back to the garage. Osmo thought about it, but reasoned that the wily paramedic would probably have half the cops in the North East sniffing around their base soon.
‘Best leave it,’ Osmo said.
‘Yeah, he’ll call the cops,’ Campbell said. ‘You can just tell.’
‘What’s our next move then?’ Baz said.
Osmo stared into the distance, distraught that one of the creatures had escaped with the baby.
‘Hey, chin up, man. We went through the fuckers like a dose a salts,’ Baz grinned. ‘You should be proud of yourself. You were an animal in there.’
‘He’s right,’ Campbell grinned.
Osmo smiled, but his eyes still showed disappointment. ‘Just worn out, I guess.’
‘Well, why don’t we bed down here tonight and get to the other location tomorrow night?’ Campbell said.
‘Yeah. I’m too tired to take any more vamps out tonight,’ Osmo said.
They waited in the shadows of the abandoned church, after staking each of the corpses again. ‘Just in case,’ Osmo had confided with a wink as the stake sunk into the heart of the final abomination. ‘One of us should keep watch while the others sleep. Get a good night’s sleep, gents, cos we’re going for the second base tomorrow night.’
86
Brian was full of remorse for his family’s deaths.
He was on the verge of a total breakdown, blaming himself for being unable to protect them.
His lover’s torn carcass popped into his mind every few seconds, especially the way her eyes had stared out from the waxy face, no longer full of lust and life.
He longed to forget the ragged wound spewing gore where her heart had been torn in two by the cruel blade, and the way his infant daughter’s tiny head had burst across a foot-wide radius when ground underfoot.
He sobbed, thick tears cutting through the blood and grime on his face.
The stake he’d taken from one of the marauders gleamed in his hand. He pressed the tip of the murderous blade into his chest right above his heart and began pressing it into the wall.
Just as it began to draw blood, the blade clanged to the floor.
He shook his head vehemently and vowed to avenge them, even if it meant dying.
As far as he was concerned, it was the least he could do.
87
Osmo frowned as Campbell shook him awake late the next afternoon.
‘Hey, it’s almost two,’ he said.
Osmo’s face contorted even further, widening some of the nasty slash marks.
A fresh coating of blood slithered out of them, slowly descending down his cheek.
‘Face is a bit sore,’ he smiled, sending another rivulet of blood running down onto his chest.
‘Wouldn’t mind a bit more sleep,’ he said.
‘Fair does,’ Baz said. He was gripping his shotgun, cleaning it and loading it over and over, trying to keep his mind off the very real possibility that he could be dead before the sun rose again.
Osmo finally surfaced after three o’clock came and went.
Baz and Campbell had spent the time searching the local news for any more incidents.
A dog had been reported missing on one of the streets a few miles from their position, which they reckoned had probably served as a meal for the creature that had fled from the house.
They stared at the map, trying to figure out the most likely location for the tramps to be hiding out.
‘I reckon it’s the old abattoir they’re using,’ Osmo said, surprising Campbell with his prescience. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.’
Campbell and Baz turned to him, mouths agape.
‘What? I know that area well. There’s a creepy as shit old abattoir out there in the middle of the fields. Just the type of place those sick fucks would hide out.’
‘It ain’t on the map,’ Baz said.
‘It’s about here,’ Osmo said, indicating the very centre of the larger of the two red circles. ‘Right in the middle of our little danger zone.’
‘They’re gonna be waiting for us, aren’t they?’ Baz said, swallowing hard.
Osmo nodded, his face grave. ‘Yep. They know we need to make the first move. The ball’s in our court, so to speak. So we gotta bring our A game. How’s sleeping beauty?’ he said, indicating Nige with a nod of his head.
‘Pots and kettles and all that,’ Nige grinned, exposing twisted stumps where his front teeth had previously been. ‘Head feels like it’s gone under a truck but other than that I feel great. Just gutted I missed the action.’
‘You’re not, trust me,’ Baz said, his face taking on a haunted look for a few seconds.
‘You’ll get plenty of chance to make up for it tonight,’ Osmo said. ‘Now let’s get this plan fixed in our heads.’
88
‘Officer Campbell and me will sneak through the fields to the south,’ Osmo said. ‘There’s a little trail that goes through the woods on the outskirts of the fields. We’ll drop our car there and make our way in. And we’ll meet there afterwards for a one hell of a piss up.’
They all grinned, in spite of their trepidation.
‘Baz and Nige, you’ll come in from the north. There’s an old road leads up to the abattoir, but avoid it, they’ll probably have people watching it. Instead what I want you to do is creep in through the old drainage system and come up and under. You shoot anything that moves. Stake it if it ain’t dead. Stake it if it is dead, just in fucking case, y’get me?’
Baz and Nige smiled grimly.
‘Officer Campbell, we’ll come through the fields and get into that building by one of the main entrances. I would have each of us going in alone, but I don’t want to spread us too thinly, since there are only the four of us.’
‘Makes sense,’ Nige said. ‘Reckon I’d probably bottle it if I was going it alone anyway.’
Baz nodded gravely.
‘Now put thoughts like that outta ya heads,’ Osmo said. ‘If you feel like you can’t go on, just scream and run at ’em. But only if you have to. We need to try and keep ourselves hidden as long as possible.’
‘Tell ya what might help,’ Baz said, bringing up Google Earth on the laptop he’d had the foresight to hide in the boot of his car.
‘What in the name of all that’s holy is this?’ Osmo said.
‘Clever eh?’ Baz grinned. ‘Blew my fucking mind too when I first saw it.’
Baz moved the little yellow man to the area on the map that Osmo had pointed out.
‘This is fucking magic,’ Osmo grinned. ‘Have you seen this shit, Officer Campbell?’
Campbell grinned. ‘Clever stuff.’
‘This is the track, right?’ Baz said.
‘Reckon so,’ Osmo said. ‘Though it is a while since I was there.’
Baz moved the figure slowly so he was walking through the trees.
Osmo watched, his expression that of a kid being shown a magic trick utterly beyond his comprehension.
‘That’s the storm drain there,’ Osmo said, pointing to a large round structure set into the ground.
Baz nodded.
‘So that’s what we’re headed for?’ Nige said.
‘Yep,’ Osmo said. ‘Get in there and pop up in their midst. Kill every fucking thing in your way.’
‘Sun’s going down,’ Baz remarked.
‘Nearly time, gents,’ Osmo said. ‘Get your heads ready for this.’
As the sun sunk below the horizon, all four of the men slumped into a gloomy silence.
Even Osmo was a shadow of his normal self.
They all knew the chances of the four of them coming out alive were slim to none.
Each of them had replayed the scenario in their heads ad infinitum, tried to picture the horrors lurking in the abandoned abattoir, and it was all too easy to allow terror and doubt to creep in.
Unbeknown to them, the horrors that awaited them would be much worse than they were imagining.
89
‘Right, gents. Take a piss stop and let’s get this show on the road,’ Osmo said.
Five minutes later, they were armed to the teeth and ready for battle.
They each hugged, ‘In case we don’t see each other again,’ Baz had said.
‘Don’t even let that enter your mind,’ Osmo scolded him.
They hugged anyway, slapped each other on the back. Baz and Nige’s car pulled away first, leaving Osmo and Campbell alone in the dark.
‘I didn’t want to scare them, but you know we’re in the shit here, don’t you?’ Osmo said.
Campbell nodded.
‘We can do it, I know we can, but it’s gonna fuck us up for life.’
‘Bit late for that,’ Campbell laughed.
‘I just want you to know I treasure your friendship, Officer Campbell. Always have, always will.’
‘Thanks, Osmo, I feel the same way.’
‘I know, you’re like a son to me. If I don’t make it I’ve left you everything in my will.’
Campbell’s mouth hung open for a second, utterly speechless at this show of friendship. ‘Don’t think like that,’ he said.
‘I know. But I wanted to be prepared.’
Campbell wasn’t sure what to say.
‘And, Officer Campbell, if one of them things bites me I want you to put one of those stakes right through here.’ Osmo tapped his yellowed finger on his breastbone. ‘Don’t hesitate. Just stick it right through there. I ain’t ever gonna be one of them.’
Campbell paled a little at the thought of this, but nodded.
‘Now let’s go nail us some blood-drinking motherfuckers,’ Osmo grinned, his finger jabbing the play button on his CD player. A frenzy of thrash metal riffs came roaring out of the speakers.
‘Officer Campbell, I’m sure you’ll find this shits all over your Coldplay,’ Osmo grinned – making Campbell nod and bellow with laughter – before giving the volume dial a stiff twist to the right and drumming his hands enthusiastically on the dashboard.
Campbell couldn’t think of anyone better to have on his side.
‘Stop anywhere round here,’ Osmo said.
Campbell rolled the wheel to the right a little, spinning the car in a wide arc so it was pointing back down the trail in case of the need for a quick getaway, which, both men realised, was a great possibility.
‘If all else fails, drive the car into the building,’ Osmo said. ‘I’ve loaded it up with some petrol cartons. The hint of a flame round it and it’ll go up like fucking Hiroshima.’
Campbell grinned despite the wave of unease which already threatened to drown him.
‘Ain’t nothing in here we ain’t seen before,’ Osmo said. ‘It’s gonna be no worse than the things we saw on that farm, trust me.’
But he was wrong.
Part 5 – In the belly of the beast
90
‘Ok, stop here,’ Baz said, eyeing the fence that marked the end of the trail accessible by car.
‘We fucking ready?’
‘Kinda,’ Nige said, his belly churning.
‘Get in, cause some havoc, get out again. Tell every fucker in the pub about it,’ Baz said. ‘That’s how it’s gonna go down. And don’t you think otherwise, even for a second.’
Nige nodded, racked his shotgun, got out of the car. The belt of stakes he had under his combat jacke
t was a reassuring weight against his chest.
‘They ain’t gonna stand a chance,’ Baz said.
He took a quick look around, then scaled the fence, landing in a wet patch of dirt on the other side.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go avenge our friends.’
The thin trail that led through the woods was almost invisible. Seemingly their only ally against the darkness was the frail light of the moon.
Osmo pulled Campbell to one side as he heard footsteps in the distance.
A tramp in a dirty trench coat strolled back and forth along the path, a cigarette between the gore-stained fingers of his hand.
‘I’ll go left, you go right,’ Osmo said.
Campbell nodded and crept through the treeline to the tramp’s left.
Seeing him in the moonlight like this was a horrendous experience; the deathly pale light seemed to give the tramp an eerie glow and made the blood that covered his face look almost black.
Campbell was roughly twenty feet from the tramp, totally focussed on attacking him, when a branch cracked beneath his foot.
The tramp looked round.
Osmo was standing a few feet from the tramp now, having snuck through the trees at a faster pace than Campbell.
He tapped the tramp on the shoulder. ‘Say, got a light?’ he asked before decking the tramp with a titanic mallet strike to the temple.
‘One down,’ Osmo grinned as his stake punctured the tramp’s chest, sending blood racing out to nourish the soil beneath them.
Baz gulped as he saw the mouth of the storm drain looming up ahead.
It was not the sort of place he’d want to venture into at the best of times, let alone with a bunch of creepy, flesh-eating tramps giving chase.
His mouth was suddenly desert dry.
‘We really going in there?’ Nige said, voicing the doubts he’d also been having.
Baz nodded, knowing he needed to be the braver of the two. If he went to pieces they were as good as dead.
‘Sure fucking are,’ Baz said, moving towards the storm drain.
