Honeybee

Chapter 16

There was a loud thump at the back door that almost made Jason jump out of his skin. He had been eating a can of pear halves in syrup, which were now scattered across the kitchen floor. Another bang at the door, this time it was harder, this time it was followed by a screech. Jason shook his head as he prepared himself for the fight that was sure to come. He really disliked Screamers, in fact, he hated them with a passion. Like humans, some were clever, some were sneaky and some were lacking a little in mental capacity. The less intelligent ones were easy to kill, a quick stab to the head usually did it. But the clever ones were a real threat, forming groups of four or five and hunting together. Jason had encountered a group like this before. It was useless fighting, they would overpower him and rip him apart within a matter of seconds. With these, the best plan was to run and never look back.

He hoped the Screamer at the door was one of the stupid ones. He was tired and really couldn’t be bothered to fight off another Screamer. A quick and easy kill would suit him fine. His hopes were shattered when he heard more screams followed by a thump at the front door and another on the timber covering the front windows. The glass was smashed months ago from previous attacks but the timber was still holding strong.

Thump, thump.

They weren’t giving up.

The screams were deafening as Jason reached for a weapon. He had acquired a range of weapons, a modified staff with a blade attached to the end was effective at longer range, but for close combat he found a hunting knife to be best.

In a way, he knew that this was coming. He had been stalked by a group of Screamers for the past few weeks, and he always ran when they got too close. Now they had found his home, he had no choice but to fight. Another thump echoed through the empty house followed by a crack. The timber was giving way at one of the windows, before long a Screamer would be in the house. Snatching up a large rucksack, Jason rammed in anything he could find, his weapons, food, anything that came to hand. Moving quickly he scanned the room that he had lived in for the past year, partly sad to leave its comfort.

Before he left he grabbed a journal he had been writing on an almost daily basis.

‘Can’t leave you, my friend.’ He said. ‘We’ve been through thick and thin.’

Thump. Crack.

The timber covering the window splintered into a hundred pieces as a Screamer punched its deformed fist through it. Jason quickly ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He looked around for a way to escape even though he knew the only way was through the front or back door. He could go upstairs and jump out of a window, and probably break a leg or ankle in the process. No, his only options were to stand and fight or to try to outrun them, but he had to get out the house first.

The Screamers were almost though the doors, tirelessly hitting and rattling them, trying to force their way in. Jason went back into the kitchen and prepared to charge at the back door, holding a knife at head height ready to plunge into a Screamer. Just before he was about to leap into action, something caught his eye and a new plan formed in his head. Two gas canisters that he acquired a month or two ago stood under the hob. It could work, he thought, if he could get all the Screamers into the house, but then he would need to get out too and that could be tricky. He’d worry about that at the time, right now it was about getting them all in one place. He went around the house removing timbers from the windows and the supports holding the doors closed. Then he ran into the kitchen and walloped the valves off the gas canisters with a lump hammer. They were big and made a hollow clang as the valves went flying off. Gas hissed into the room as Jason turned on a small battery radio and then lit a candle at the far end of the kitchen and placed it on the floor. And then he ran and hid in a cloakroom just off the hallway.

The Screamers were in the house now. They had easily knocked off the remaining timbers on the windows and climbed through. The others had forced their way through the doors.

Staring out of a crack in the door, Jason could see two Screamers hobbling down the hallway towards the sound of the radio. He could hear the others scrambling around too, with any luck they would all end up in the kitchen just in time for the party. How many of them there were, he was unsure, but it was definitely a bigger group than when they were stalking him a few days ago. Opening the door a bit more, he saw his opportunity to escape. He ran toward the front door and he was almost there when a Screamer stumbled into the hallway from the lounge and blocked his way. He grabbed his knife and thrust it into the Screamers face just as it was about to let out a screech. The Screamer twitched for a moment and then fell in a heap on the floor. Jason retrieved his knife, stepped over the Screamer and made his way through the door.

Jumping in his truck, he had it in gear before he had even started it. He turned the key, lifted the clutch and slammed his foot to the floor as he burst through the gates and onto the road. At the same time, the dark night lit up in an orange glow as one half of the house exploded in a huge fireball. Hopefully all the Screamers went up in flames with it, but it didn’t matter to Jason, his house was destroyed and he wouldn’t be returning any time soon. The panic was over for now and he relaxed his body a little as he gazed at the long road ahead.