Chapter Five
Yawning, David cracked an eyelid open. It took him a moment to remember that he had been sleeping on the floor of Lavern’s house. The room was dark. Obviously at some point he must have turned the light off after they had fallen asleep. Somewhere nearby he heard something scrape on the floorboards.
Reaching out with a hand he nudged Kathryn in the side. ‘Kathryn?’ he whispered. He had no idea where Lavern was sleeping and didn’t want to wake him. As much as he had appreciated him taking them in he had woken with an uneasy feeling as if someone was watching over him. ‘Kathryn,’ he whispered again a little louder as he shook her.
As he looked up at her sleeping form on the sofa he felt something drip on the side of his face. ‘You won’t wake her,’ Lavern’s voice said quietly in the darkness.
Almost jumping out of his skin, David rolled over, his eyes now wide open. Standing over him was Lavern but that wasn’t what drew his attention. In one hand he was holding a long carving knife. The thing that had dripped on the side of his face was the blood from the knife.
‘What the hell!’ David shouted as he scrambled away from Lavern, his eyes not leaving the bloody knife.
‘We have to make the most of the things that we find on the moors,’ Lavern said levelly as he stepped towards David. ‘You look like you have nice strong bones and I have a chair that needs some new legs.’
For a second David froze in confusion. Slowly his mind made the connection with the jar of teabags in the kitchen. ‘Wait, the teabag jar in the kitchen is actually a skull?’
‘Well done. I’m impressed you made the connection. Normally they’re too scared to think,’ Lavern said. ‘Or dead,’ he added with a shrug.
Backing away David glanced at Kathryn lying on the sofa. As his gaze fell to her legs he saw that her jeans had been cut off just above her knees, the flesh underneath hacked open to reveal a bloody mess of muscle.
‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ David shouted as he backed away, his eyes not leaving Kathryn’s legs.
‘I have a chair that needs new legs,’ Lavern replied. Glancing away from Kathryn, David saw him holding a blood covered bone in his other hand.
‘Is that?’
‘A bone from her leg? Yes,’ Lavern said. ‘A very strong bone I might add.’
‘That creature was yours as well wasn’t it,’ David demanded. ‘You’re a murderer!’
‘A murderer?’ Lavern said slowly as he advanced on David. ‘I don’t think so. I’ve never killed any of them.’
‘She’s still alive?’
‘Just about,’ he replied as he placed two bloody fingers against her neck. ‘She’s probably got another couple of hours, give or take.’
‘You won’t get away with this,’ David said as he spotted the mug on the floor beside the sofa. Slowly he inched his fingers towards it.
‘Who’s going to tell people what happened?’ Lavern asked as he took his hand away from Kathryn. ‘Your friends are dead or will be soon and no one knows you’re out here.’
Snatching the mug up, he hurled it as hard as he could in Lavern’s direction. Without waiting to see if it found its mark he hurdled the sofa, running out of the room. Behind him he heard Lavern shout out and the sound of the mug breaking.
As Lavern’s footsteps thundered across the old floorboards David threw whatever he could find in the path behind him as he ran, searching for another door.
‘You can’t leave!’ Lavern screamed as he appeared in the doorway, the rifle he had had on the moor in his hands. Backing away, David found himself trapped in a corner.
Slowly, as if he was playing with David now, Lavern loaded the rifle carefully. When he was satisfied he lifted it, pointing it directly at David's face. Closing his eyes to the dark barrel of the rifle he thought about his friends. Maybe, by some incredibly long shot someone would happen across the house before Kathryn died. At least one of them might survive to tell their story that way.
'Surprise, you creepy old bastard!'
Wait, he recognised that voice. Eyes snapping open, David looked up just in time to see a shovel hit Lavern in the side of the head, knocking him sideways. As he fell, the rifle discharged the bullet he had just loaded with an echoing bang. Ducking sideways instinctively David felt the wall vibrate as the bullet struck it.
'Edward?' he muttered in confusion as he saw him standing in the middle of the room, shovel still raised.
'We need to get out of here,' Edward said, lowering the shovel slightly as he stepped over Lavern, pulling David to his feet.
'Kathryn.' It was all David could manage to say as Edward led him out of the room. He had no idea whether he was shaking out of fear or because of the soaked clothes he was still wearing.
'She's still alive,' Edward said as he checked her neck for her pulse. 'Can you carry her?'
Silently, David nodded, trying not to look at her blood soaked leg as he scooped her up in his arms.
'Where's Amy?' he asked as he looked around for his girlfriend.
'It got her, that thing on the moor,' David said quietly.
'Let's go,' Edward said, striding in the direction of the kitchen. Whatever he was feeling right now he kept it hidden from David. Instead he led the way through the house purposefully.
Slamming the bolt on the front door across, Edward wrenched the door open, the freezing night air buffeting them as they stepped outside. At least the rain had stopped, David thought as he shifted Kathryn's limp body in his arms gently. They hadn't even got halfway down the driveway when they heard a sound that David had been dreading.
Somewhere off to their left there was a low, rumble like growl, a pair of blood red eyes appearing in the darkness. Laughing, Edward lifted the shovel threateningly. 'Don't worry, I'm ready for you this time,' he whispered to the creature. 'Go!' Edward shouted as he stepped towards the creature.
With a wild swing he aimed at the creature as it launched itself at him. With a crunch the shovel hit it in the side of the head, knocking it sideways with a yelp. It had barely landed on the ground again when it bound back to its feet, eyeing Edward warily. 'What are you waiting for? Get her out of here!'
Looking back at Edward one last time, David turned, running as fast as he could down the driveway with Kathryn in his arms. He had just about made it to the rusty iron gate, kicking it open with one foot, when there was a deafening bang that echoed across the moors.
'No! You can't leave!' Lavern shouted as he appeared in the doorway, his rifle trained on David.
Freezing in the gateway, David watched as Edward hit the creature with the shovel again. The sound of the creature in pain drew Lavern's attention away from him for a moment. For a moment he was grateful before he saw Lavern lifting the rifle again, firing it at Edward. He might have missed David and Kathryn from a hundred yards but he wasn't going to miss Edward from five.
David barely registered the echoing gunshot as he watched Edward crumple to the floor, the shovel he had been defending them with falling from his hands with a clatter. Slowly Lavern turned his attention back to David when Edward didn't move.
Backing away, David ducked as Lavern fired in his direction. Not caring where the bullet had ended up when it didn't hit him, he turned, sprinting up the road in the direction they had come from last night. The sky was just starting to get light. If he was lucky he might be able to find someone out here who could help him.
As a second bullet just missed him he spotted the car park where they had parked the day before. Sat beside the old blue Honda was a police car. Changing direction he headed for it.
‘Help me!’ he shouted as loudly as he could while breathing heavily. Just as he saw someone appear from between the cars he heard a third gunshot. This time Lavern found his mark as the bullet caught David in the shoulder, sending him spiralling to the ground where he and Kathryn landed in a heap in a puddle.
Lifting his head he tried to scramble forwards, shielding Kathryn as a second person appeared by the car
s. At the sound of a fourth gunshot he felt a blinding pain in his back as he slumped on top of Kathryn. Vaguely he was aware of a shout in the distance as the moors around him slowly disappeared, replace by darkness.