Plague Of The Revenants (16 page)

Now the noise was deafening and it was hard to believe the creatures were not already inside the house. All of the children were in tears. Everyone else, myself included, was shaking like a leaf.
I rushed down into the third reception room which we were using as a storehouse for non-perishable goods and grabbed a coil of thick rope which we had found in a barn then ran back to join the others. “Keep as quiet as you can and don’t try to be heroes,” I told them. “Only attack them if they start to stick their heads inside. Don’t try to repair the barricades.” We hurried downstairs and I flung open the door to the passageway.
I charged out of the front door and shone the flashlight into the tunnel at which point I stopped short. A mass of rotten, eviscerated arms was reaching in to block our path. We had underestimated their strength. The passageway would not hold, not with so many revenants subjecting it to such a sustained attack. They knew what they were doing as well, albeit in a primitive way. They knew this tunnel led into the farmhouse which was why they paid it so much attention. They would not leave until they had what they wanted. Frey charged over to the wall and tried desperately to hold up the boards as a multitude of revenants now started to pile on top of the weak points. “Run!” he roared. We raced past him and I turned at the entrance. “Come on!” I yelled. “I need to lock this door.”
Frey let go of the wooden board and came to follow but the board half collapsed on top of him and the falling revenant pinned him to the floor. He struggled and kicked out and I raced to help but too late. The revenant sunk its teeth on to his arm and ripped out a sizable chunk of flesh. He cried out in horror. I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away, not prepared to see him ripped apart. “Forget it,” muttered Frey. “This is my just desserts for making the place so flimsy. It’ll happen to us all eventually. Just carry on with what you have to do, Grant.”
I all but pushed him through the church door then turned around once more and shone the flashlight back down the tunnel. The gap in the passageway was open now and the revenants were falling over one another to gain entry. I prayed Hammond would notice they were in and take steps to block off the front door accordingly. As for myself and the rest of the small party there was no way back for us now. There was nothing for it except to dash into the church and slam and bolt the door behind us.

I half lay Frey against the wall, knowing I would have to keep a close eye on him for he wa
s bound to turn quite soon yet at the same time not quite possessing the fortitude to finish him off there and then. I climbed up to the window and flashed the torch over the area between the church and farmhouse. The graveyard and the yard beyond leading to the farmhouse were a mass of living corpses. They were climbing over one another in a bid to reach the upper storeys of the house, bodies piling on top of bodies. Soon they would reach the first floor windows and afterwards there would be no holding them back. At least they were not surrounding the church but at the same time there was no chance of getting everyone out and over here through the infiltrated tunnel. The revenants would be bound to follow. I ran into the bell tower and started pulling hard on the ropes. I pulled at the ropes and slowly they turned in the loft. A low, somehow ominous peeling rang out that I had no doubt could be heard for miles around. It was a desperate move but at least it would draw the creatures away from the house. I went back to the main door and opened it a crack. The revenants had now infiltrated the tunnels. We were completely cut off. The revenants were now crowding around the church but some still persisted at the farmhouse and what was worse even more had now come to join them and doubtless many more would follow, roused by the peeling of the bells. I wondered then if my quick actions had doomed us all.
“Take over,” I ordered Kit, motioning towards the bell and then to the others. “Quickly. Follow me upstairs to the top of the tower.”
Up the steps we charged in single file, I leading all the way up to the top of the tower. I threw the hatch open and stepped out. The ringing of the bells had proved to have only limited success, for the revenants were now spread all over the area and there were so many of them it was like the aftermath of a music concert.
“Maybe we could lead them all in here,” suggested Dev. “Then we could finish them off as we pleased?”
“It wouldn’t work,” I said, pointing to the large windows. “They’d soon be through those and then we’d be in as worse a state as we were before.”
“So what are we going to do?” Demanded Paul.
I looped the rope around the flagpole and started to secure it tightly. Keep a hold if it so I don’t fall,” I said, throwing the rope over the edge of the tower on the nave side.
“You can’t be thinking of going down there yourself!” Exclaimed Paul in horror. “We’ve already as good as lost Frey.”
“That reminds me you need to keep an eye on him if I don’t return,” I said, trying to remain calm. “Judging from the size of his bit I’d say he has about half an hour. Try and finish the old boy off if you can, nobody wants to see him turn.”

I did not look down but instead took a firm hold of the rope and stepp
ed off the end of the tower. I felt the rope slipping in my hands and tightened my grip as I went down, wincing as the burn took the skin off my hands. I prayed that the flagpole would hold and that my companion’s grip would also remain strong. I slid several feet down the roof my feet desperately kicking out for a foothold for I knew well enough the fate that awaited me if I were to tumble off the side of the roof into the swarm. At last I steadied myself and looked down. There were a few revenants clamouring on the opposite end of the farmhouse. I struggled to free myself from the rope. I took the hammer and threw it off the roof, following it with the flashlight to see it land on the floor about a metre from the wall of the nave. It was wet and slippery on the roof and I came close to falling several times. I climbed on to the other side of the roof and slid down to the guttering where the revenants were less frequent. I nonetheless clambered down as best I could so that I was holding on to the guttering with just my hands. A revenant appeared, seemingly from nowhere, beneath me. I let go of the guttering and landed square on top of it where it crumpled like a stamped on can. Landing on the revenant broke my fall and a moment later I was on my feet and dashing to find the hammer in the darkness.
The revenants ran towards me as soon as I hit the ground. I dived to the floor and fumbled in the dark, for the light was even worse than I imagined it would be. When the revenant was a metre away my hands gripped around the handle and I brought the hammer up fast, smashing into the revenant’s skull. Now I ran forwards, blindly swinging the hammer, sometimes connecting, sometimes not and rounded the corner. The revenants saw me at once and turned their attention towards me. I ducked and dived as they lumbered towards me, doubled back over my tracks and dodged them around the graveyards, attacking when I had to but knowing I had to save my energy for the trial ahead. One of the revenants dived on me and ripped my coat as I twisted out of its grip. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the keys to the truck. Meanwhile the church bells continued to chime out, which brought the revenants away from the farmhouse but right into my path. I swung my weapon as though I were preparing for the hammer throw and every now and again there would come the dull jerky thud as I connected with rotting flesh. I needed space, I needed to remain free. If I were knocked over I was dead. Each time a revenant’s face appeared from the darkness I was convinced I was doomed and braced myself for the bite. I sprinted as fast as I could towards the truck, frantically pressing the keys to open the doors. I reached the truck as another revenant assailed me from the side. I flung open the driver’s door and knocked it off its feet then leapt into the truck and slammed the door shut.

I revved the engine
, sounded the horn and flashed the lights to attract their attention. The revenants turned and immediately started to surround me. I knew I had to be quick. I thrust my foot on the accelerator and drove forward as fast as I could. The revenants came to meet me, as if embracing death. The results were instantaneous. There came a series of dull thuds and sharp jolts as the truck collided into the undead. The revenants exploded on to the bonnet like they were made solely of blood to the point where I was forced to turn on the windscreen wipers to clear the effluence from the window. I honked the horn to draw them away from the farmhouse, drove quickly into the driveway and flashed the lights before them. At least this served to relieve some of the pressure on the rest of the survivors. For the most part I was breaking their bodies as opposed to killing them outright but at least this meant they were unable to climb and threaten the farmhouse. Still, I was definitely starting to thin down their ranks. I went from one end of the graveyard to the other, knocking down the headstones as I passed, then turned the truck around and came back after them. The vehicle bumped over the already downed revenant bodies. Still the fallen revenants continued to crawl into my path. I gratefully ran them down. As I drove through them, smashing into them one by one, the truck gradually slowed. The key was breaking away in time and getting clear of them so I might be able to turn again and regain the momentum. The windows of the truck were now smashed to pieces and now I was forced to swerve as the grasping arms attempted to reach in to claim me. Their dull, inhuman eyes were vacant but somehow at the same time hungry and hateful. I knew the truck could not last forever but I was determined to get maximum usage of it whilst there was still life left in its engines.

Sure enough after a few minutes t
he engine started to labour and splutter. I thrashed my foot on the accelerator but it was no use. Parts of the bodywork were hanging off and still the revenants converged like lemmings upon it, almost as though they were seeking the final death. I was instantly surrounded; it was as though the remaining revenants had been waiting for this very moment and now they seized their chance. The windows were broken and the driver’s side door was hanging off its hinges. I had no protection at all. Now the engine spluttered tortuously to a halt. I turned the keys in the ignition but I knew it would be no use. I considered I had no chance at all but I was determined not to go down without a fight. Hopefully, I thought, I had thinned down the revenant ranks to give Kit and the others a fighting chance. The truck was thick with blood and I dared say the gears were clogged with guts as well. I could tell there would be no saving it. Every part of the bodywork was dented. I should have backed up, shouldn’t have let the truck get so damaged, should have led the revenants away instead of going in for the kill straight away. But it was too late for regrets now. I dived out of the truck and came back up with the hammer. The headlights of the truck still illuminated the scene before me. There were revenants lying all over the graveyard but many more still on their feet. The downed revenants now attempted to crawl towards me. Provided I was careful they would be no problem. I just needed to skirt around and prevent their jaws from ensnaring me in the undead mantrap. It was no use. There were still too many. I had run down many but grossly underestimated the numbers, and there must be at least fifty more coming straight towards me. I hurried back towards the church but a multitude of arms reached out from the ground. If I had time I could probably finish them all one by one but with so many still attacking my way was all but cut off. I swung my hammer into the floor to finish off a couple of those lying broken on the ground then attempted to retreat, leaping over the bodies on the ground. Hands reached out. One of them knocked me clean off my feet. I scrambled quickly to my feet and swung the hammer blindly, shattering arms but missing the crucial kill in the head. I was trapped. I tried to hammer a path through but the revenants were coming too fast. I stopped where I was and fought with a walking revenant as it approached, missing it head with the first hit and merely knocking it over with the second. The creature was crawling to its feet before I was finally able to end its suffering. The battle won but a close run thing and so many more revenants making for me. I jumped and skipped away, trying to beat a path to the church. I hammered frantically at the ground, searching for heads and teeth, but the flailing hands of the crawlers blocked my swing and often I was forced to grapple. On one occasion I almost abandoned my hammer completely as a revenant advanced behind me but at the last moment I was able to snatch it away and swing the hammer back round to catch the revenant in a one hit kill. It was no use. In the meantime the remaining revenants were surrounding me. I knew I could not fight them all off, knew I was bound to be pulled down by the crawlers in the end. I was a dead man. The bells still chimed above me. I wished they would give it a rest. I looked towards the tunnel and saw revenants crawling in and out. There was to be no sanctuary there either. At least the farmhouse appeared to have held. I tried to make my way back to the truck so I might at least try and seek shelter there, even if it were just through climbing on top of the roof. It was no use. The revenants were already all over it. Every one of my escape routes was now blocked off. I raised my head and roared up towards the tower but my voice was carried away over the groans of the revenants. There was nothing to be done. I wondered whether I had done enough. We could still not contend with fifty revenants and to make matters worse the remaining survivors could not even make for the church. I wondered how long Reverend Thorpe and the others could survive, wondered whether Kit and those still in the church would be able to work something out.
I was backed into a corner and there was no escape. The revenants on the ground reached out their hands towards me whilst those who could still move their feet were advancing fast. Though I scythed the hammer manically around in an arc I knew I was tiring and could not hold them off for much longer. Suddenly the door of the church slammed open and I turned to see Frey emerging from within, clutching his injured arm in one hand whilst holding the fire alarm aloft in the other. I opened my mouth to shout a warning then checked myself. Frey knew he was finished and he wasn’t about to turn without taking a good few of the bastards with him. Frey shouted and waved his arms. The revenants turned to stare at him. I seized my chance, swinging the hammer to knock one of them off balance and charging through them before they’d had the chance to react. Frey hurried forwards, past the farmhouse and towards the barns. The revenants reached out and seized a hold of his feet but he shook them off. On some occasions he let out a cry which suggested he was bitten and he fell over a few more times but it was clear he no longer cared. The revenants came towards him. As Frey neared the barn he was virtually reduced to a crawl. I started scything my way through the crawlers in a bid to help him. Frey pulled open the barn doors and stepped inside. The revenants followed. I did not need Frey to tell me what to do but instead picked my way carefully though the crawlers until I was mostly clear of them then hurried forwards to close the doors, trapping both the revenants and Frey inside. I prayed they finished him off quickly, prayed the devoured him completely so there was no chance that he might turn.
I turned around to survey the scene. The graveyard was full of bodies and although some still walked there were nowhere near as many as before. I allowed them to come to me and annihilated them one by one.
I picked my way over to the passageway, finishing off crawlers as I went. The passageway was badly damaged but could soon be put back together. The revenants lay piteously moaning on the ground, some moving limply towards me although their broken limbs meant they crawled at a snail’s pace and thus presented no danger. With most of the revenants now either finished off or entrapped my own group slowly emerged from the church followed, a little later, by Hammond and Thorpe from the farmhouse. A few of the other survivors also emerged cautiously and looked in wonderment at the sea of bodies all over the graveyard. I was relieved to discover that nobody else had been bitten. Only four revenants had breached the windows and these had been quickly finished off by the defenders in the farmhouse. Still, the loss of Frey was a blow which we would all feel, if not now then later. Mrs Frey wept bitterly at the loss of her husband and at the circumstances of his death, which had ultimately been horrific, if heroic. The farmhouse too had survived fairly well. The barricades had been partially torn down and the corpses of some of the revenants lay over the broken ground floor window sills but I was amazed there had not been more destruction. We were secure enough. We couldn’t survive another swarm attack but the odd one or two coming by should be easily kept out.
We walked around finishing the revenants off until we could no longer hear their moans. I was pleased to see Stan helping as well, indeed he set about the task with gusto, finishing off those on the ground and even approaching to strike down a walking revenant when it crossed too close to his path. The work took us until well into the night but nobody wanted to have dead revenants stinking the place up. When most of the crippled revenants had been finished off and cleared away I took the flashlight and made a tour of our territory. The church had survived practically unscathed and indicated the importance of not abandoning it just yet. Several people congratulated me but the plaudits were muted. We were still stunned at the force of the attack and the death of Frey.
“You did it all,” said Paul, and he sounded somewhat resentful. “We could have lowered ourselves down after you, we could have helped you, taken another truck.”
“We couldn’t have afforded to lose another truck,” I told him.
“We may not have lost either had we had two trucks,” he replied. “It was hell having to watch you pull that little stunt from the roof, you know that? I almost climbed down after you and would have done had Tom not stopped me.”
“Just as well,” I said lightly. “I might have mistaken you for one of the revenants.”
“I’ve never met anybody as lucky as you,” said Kit warily. “You seem to walk on water. I think it’s because you like to kill. You’re not one of us, hardly even part of the human race. You’re relishing this.”
“Hardly,” I said. “If I did this all the time I’d soon be dead.”
“This was a one man bloodbath,” said Kit. “I can’t fault you for what you did but the way you did it, well...”
“You’re alive, aren’t you?” I replied defiantly. “And Frey was dead before I lowered myself from the tower.”
“You did too much,” snapped Kit. “Paul is right. You should have let us help you before you embarked on this one man wrecking mission. Are you looking to kill yourself? I suppose some might do it to put their troubled souls at peace, at least that’s how my father justifies the killing. But you don’t see it like that, do you Grant? You’re killing because you can, because it feels good to you? You’re doing the right thing but for all the wrong reasons. You’re dangerous.”
“Think yourself lucky I’m on your side,” I replied. “Let’s hope I’m just as much of a threat to the Elite, whoever they might be.”