As the Light Dies (41 page)

“
What the hell
!”
he said lifting a foot.

Katie looked to see what he was looking at, she clasped a hand over her mouth
.
“It is blood!”
she said.

Steve stepped back unsure. The puddle just looked black in this light making him think of hydraulic oil
.
Maybe there’s a leak, a burst pipe from the hasty shut down
,
he thought.

Stepping back Steve waved at the others indicating that he wanted them to move back.

“
You too
,”
said Katie as she stood up from her crouching position and there was a creaky groaning sound, louder than before and the strange gurgling deepened, it sounded like it was under strain, forcing, pushing
.
CRAC
K
.... the frame gave way and the door swung inwards bursting the hinges and a man fell backwards as the door opened like h
e’
d been leaning against it and he landed flat on his back.

“
God
!”
said Katie
.“
Hey are you ok
?”
she asked, dropping back down a couple of steps towards him.

Ken stayed put on the midway landing, he had a good view of the scene
.
The whole scene
.

He yelled out
,
“NO! STOP! GET BACK!”

He hopped down a couple of steps and grabbed her nearly knocking them both over in the process. He managed to stop them both from falling and he stopped her from dropping any further!

“JESUS
!
Wha
t’
s wrong
,”
she said
.“
The guy just fell
.
”

She was nearly choking against her collar as Ken pulled her.

“RUN!”
he yelled pulling Katie even harder, trying to pull her back up the stairs with him as the guy on the floor started to sit up.

Steve who was standing the closest to the man was just beginning to see what was wrong!

“
Oh, shit
!”
he said
,“
Ke
n’
s right w
e’
ve gott
a
go!”

Katie fought to pull Ke
n’
s hands off wanting to help the fallen man while he frantically tried to keep a hold of her. She could
n’
t understand him.

“
KATIE
!”
he yelled
.“
For fuck sak
e
RUN!”

Katie looked at Ken and then at Steve and she could
n’
t understand what was wrong with them both
.“
The ma
n’
s covered in blood
,”
she said
,“
he needs our help
!
”

She looked down at the man trying to assess his wounds knowing that she had to help him and when she looked at him properly, got a real good look at him, a blind panic exploded inside her and she realised how wrong this was!

She threw Ken off in an instant pushing him back against the banister and bolted back up the stairs in to darkness without looking back. All the commotion caught the attention of the man on the floor who was now sitting up. Steve looked at him hearing Ken behind him shrieking at him to hurry, t
o“
RUN
!
”

The guy on the floor turned to look at them, he turned slowly as if he was just realising what had happened after falling through the door, and that there were people watching him. It was Mick the new driller who had barged between Steve and Katie earlier, the big guy that Sandy had first gone on about.

Steve stared at him in disbelief, unable to take his eyes off him.

Mick was a strange dark colour, a mixture of black and grey. He almost looked like h
e’
d been charred in a fire
!
What on earth
!
Thought Steve confused.

Mic
k’
s eyes were fixed on him, they gleamed jet black like orbs of darkness. Below them, from his discoloured black lipped mouth all the way down to his huge barrel chest he glistened completely saturated in blood.

Steve stared dazed as Mick started to try and get up, and tha
t’
s when Steve saw that directly in front of Mick hidden behind his enormous bulk, lay a man in his lap with a horrendous gaping wound below his ribcage, Steve saw all the way inside the ma
n’
s stomach
.
What was left of it
!

Katie had been righ
t
, he thought as he saw blood flow freely from the opening in the ma
n’
s abdomen as the body was shoved out of the way by Mick as he started getting up.

The more Mick moved the more Steve saw of the body on the floor as it rolled and flopped out of the way and he realised that it was old Bill.

He gasped, he could
n’
t believe it! The questions that needed answered ran through his mind in a flash, there were thousands of them that all screamed to be answered at once!

Why did this happen? How did this happen
?
What’s happening?

He started to shake as his adrenalin surged and he realised that as hard as it was to believe, big Mick had been doing this, h
e’
d bee
n
eatin
g
old Bill. Ken started grabbing at his shoulder, pulling trying to get him to shift before th
e
man thin
g
on the floor was up on his feet. Steve began to stir from his daze like shock and he took one step back, then another, half of his own will half forced by Ken.

Ken was going hysterical but could
n’
t bring himself to drop down any closer.

“C’MON! C’MON
!
FUCKING RUN!”
he screamed as the thing that was Mick started standing up!

Old Bil
l’
s limp body lay across Mic
k’
s feet. Mick swung one of his trunk sized legs and kicked old Bil
l’
s limp husk with tremendous force and sent it sliding across the corridor that was now slippery with Bil
l’
s own blood. His body slid all the way across the corridor and thumped against the opposite wall where it lay in all its butchered glory.

Mick let out that gut wrenching gurgle as he stood up and looked at them. Ken clasped a hold of Stev
e’
s jumper and was yanking him back up the steps as fast as he could.

“But old Bill!”
said Steve
.“
Old Bill! We ca
n’
t just leave
!”
he said still struggling to get his head around what he was seeing, his eyes still no
t
believin
g
what they were seeing
!
Not wanting to believe
!

Mick bellowed as he called out the weird gurgle sound like a gorilla, a giant silverback calling in the troop. Suddenly more discoloured figures appeared in the corridor following Mic
k’
s call. They all shared the same slick black eyes and strange mottled, discoloured skin. Blood was smeared across their faces and soaked their collars, their hands and forearms.

The two men were horrified, they stumbled backwards up the steps unable to take their eyes off the figures gathering in the doorway until they stumbled up on to the midway landing and the next section of stairway leading back up through the iron giant back the way they had come and that was their trigger to run as even more discoloured figures shuffled in to view.

Both men turned and ran, they bolted launching themselves up the stairs two or three steps at a time running for their lives. Seconds later they both men felt the thunderous vibration of trampling feet as the horde started their chase!

Steve and Ken kicked their legs as hard as they could, forcing themselves up the stairs being deafened by the morbid calls rising up behind them.

As they passed each level Steve was sure he heard new calls rise up somewhere in the darkness
.“
Where the hell are we going
?”
asked Ken.

“
Back to the lounge, w
e’
ve gotta find Katie and I bet tha
t’
s where she headed
.
”

“
What if she did
n’
t go back up there
?
”

“
Then fuck knows. W
e’
ll have to figure it out
!
”

As they ran up the last stairway gasping for air Steve heard the door below them burst open as new figures heard Mic
k’
s battle cry and came looking emitting their own rabid calls in return.

“
Shit the
y’
re fast
,”
he said as they burst out on to the L-shaped corridor that led back to the lounge.

They ran for it and as they rounded the corner they saw Katie at the other end up against the lounge doors. They were still closed. She was slapping the doors with both hands screaming and shouting
.“
Oh shit, tha
t’
s not goo
d”
said Ken.

“
That fucking prick is
n’t’
opening the door for us
,”
said Steve as they closed in.

The fire door the men had just come through crashed open behind them.

“
Here they come
,”
said Ken.

Steve called ahead
,“
Katie wha
t’
s wrong, w
e’
ve only got seconds
!
”

Katie turned towards them relieved to see they were both ok but shaking with fear, she called back to them
,“
He wo
n’
t open up
.
”

“
Ah shit! What now
?”
said Ken practically out of breath.

“Fuck knows!”
said Steve
,“
h
e’
gotta open up! Those things are right behind us
.
”

Steve and Ken skidded to a stop beside Katie as she hammered the door and Steve slammed his fist against the door making it judder.

“
SANDY
!”
he yelled. No answer.

“HEY SANDY! YOU’VE GOT TO LET US IN!”
Still no answer.

Steve hammered the door again and yelled
,
“YOU’VE GOTTA FUCKING OPEN UP, RIGHT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
”
Still there was no answer.

“Oh Fuck!”
said Ken looking back the way the
y’
d come. Katie turned to look with him.

She gasped
!“
Steve we have to go
,”
she said.

Steve still hammered the doors!

“Steve!”
she said grabbing his arm.

Steve did
n’
t turn; he knew what was happening behind him, what was coming for them. Hearing it was bad enough and turning to stare would
n’
t help things.

The furious discoloured group were approaching fast with Mick leading the way charging ahead of the horde.

Steve thumped the door again and before he could shout Sandy yelled through from the other side
.“I’
m not opening up! I told you that, I did. I told you, I told you not to go. I practically begged you, but oh, no you just had to go and grab some attention did
n’
t you? Bring them...
.
”

“
Sandy please, just open the door, w
e’
ll be in, in a flash and then block the place up again, ther
e’
s three of us to help get the job done,
c’
mon
,”
called Steve.

“I’
m sorry
,”
said Sandy
,“I’
m really sorry, I really am but I ca
n’
t open the door now, not now. I can hear them coming. I told you did
n’
t I
.
I told you!”