Honeybee

Chapter 30

Glancing around for a sign of escape, Jason frantically searched for a weapon of some kind. There was nothing to hand, and the smile on the big man’s face turned to a hardened look. Jason knew he had only seconds to live and the realisation set in his mind. And then he heard it. The screech of a Screamer. It wasn’t in the building, it was outside somewhere. Maybe in the car park, but close. The big man heard it too and tensed as he looked over his shoulder, and then he turned around to face the door. Time was crucial now and Jason saw the opportunity to escape. From his position on the floor, he kicked at the back of the big man’s legs, causing him to fall to his knees. Jason pulled himself up, his left shoulder ached but the rest of his body was still in good shape. He kicked the big man in the back and he fell flat on his face, the gun crashing to the floor as his grip was released. Jason picked it up and rammed the stock into the big man’s head and his body fell limp. He wasn’t sure if he was dead or just unconscious, but he didn’t have time to stick around to find out.

He eased out of the toilet door and saw the fat man with his back to him. He was staring out through the broken glass doors into the car park. He looked uneasy and held a shot gun out in front of him. Jason stepped slowly down the corridor towards him. Noticing Amanda poking her head out of the mini fortress, he silently motioned for her to go back inside and then continued on. He was a few meters away from the fat man now and he could hear his heavy breaths and see the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. Jason got right up behind him and was about to slip his arm around his neck when the fat man turned around. He rammed the shotgun into Jason’s stomach and sent him stumbling back.

‘Well, well, well. Jason Lambert.’ He said, as he levelled the gun, ‘It’s been a while.’

‘It has. But not long enough.’ Jason replied, gritting his teeth to hold back the pain.

‘And now I finally get to kill you. Then we will experiment on your body to see why you are immune.’

‘You’re crazy. And anyway, you’re not clever enough to work it out.’ Jason said.

‘Maybe not, but I think I can persuade your pretty little friend Amanda Silverton to help me.’

What’s with this man and saying people’s full names, Jason thought as his anger rose.

‘Where is she anyway? Hiding in some little cubby hole?’ The fat man said.

‘Actually, she’s just tidying up the mess I made when I killed your men.’ Jason said, feeling stronger now.

The smile dropped from the fat man’s face and his eyes left Jason for a moment as he looked around for his men. He pushed aside his anger and his worry and stood tall.

‘Maybe so, but you won’t get past me.’ He said as he re-aimed the gun at Jason’s chest.

Jason had been glancing over the fat man’s shoulder through the whole exchange, watching the Screamer make its way from the woods and across the car park. It was almost at the doorway when Jason finally replied to the fat man.

‘I don’t need to kill you.’ He said calmly, ‘The Screamer about to enter the building will do that for me.’

‘Pull the other one, Mr Lambert. You’ve used that one before.’ The fat man said confidently.

‘Ok… you got me.’ Jason said, smiling and holding his hands up.

‘Now, tell me where Miss Silverton is or I’ll shoot you right now and find her myself.’

‘Of course.’ Jason said, ‘She’s right behind you.’

The fat man heard movement behind him and he glanced over his shoulder expecting to see Amanda. Instead, he froze to the spot. Behind him was the most hideous Screamer he had seen. This one looked evil. The eyes were set in a scowl, the teeth were like razor-sharp thorns, and the face was made up of tiny vines. There was almost no human element left.

The fat man had no time to react before the Screamer wrapped a strong wooden arm around him. As he tried to wriggle free, vines sprouted from the Screamers arm, wrapping tightly around him. Within seconds, the fat man was completely cocooned in a tangled mess of strong vines. He had gone silent, the air squeezed out of his lungs. Jason watched in horror as the cocoon tightened, crushing every bone in the fat man’s body. Then he could see blood running out over the floor. The vines retracted and the limp, blooded remains of the fat man fell to the floor in a jelly-like heap of flesh and broken bones.

Jason glanced at the shotgun on the ground but it had been completely bent out of shape. He slowly backed away. Where was his gun? Why did he not bring it with him after slamming it into the big man’s head? He cursed himself for his mistake. He wasn’t a killer. He panicked. He made mistakes. Continuing to step backwards, he had made it past the mini fortress and almost to the toilets when a vine shot along the corridor and wrapped around Jason, pulling him toward the Screamer. He fumbled for the camping knife in his pocket and quickly flipped it open. Hacking at the vine, the four inch blade hardly made a mark on the tough wooden surface. Whenever it did cut in, the vine would regrow without leaving a mark.

Jason was now off the floor and staring the Screamer directly in the eyes. He kicked at the Screamer as he thought about the pain the fat man must have gone through before his body finally gave up. As he tried hopelessly to stab the little blade into the Screamers chest, the vines began to wrap around his body. He could no longer move, his arms and legs were bound and he could feel the vines tightening around his chest. This was it, he thought, the end. He would die in terrible pain, the life literally squeezed from him. Blackness crept into his vision as his head became light and his body became numb. Then on the borders of unconsciousness, Jason heard the most hideous sound from the Screamer. It was like the hunting screech only higher pitched and louder. Dropping free from the Screamers hold, Jason crawled away as fast as his body would let him. And then he stopped and watched as Amanda repeatedly plunged a hunting knife into the Screamers back. The screeching changed into a growl as the Screamer turned around and grabbed Amanda by the neck, the vines instantly wrapping around her until her face turned red and bulged. Jason willed himself to get up. He had already lost Natalie to these horrible creatures, there was no way he was going to let them take Amanda too. He got to his feet and reached for the knife that was still stuck in the Screamers back. Not wasting a second longer, he summoned up the strength, pulled the knife out and rammed it as hard as he could into the wooden skull of the Screamer. The vines retracted from around Amanda’s neck and she fell to the floor. A couple of seconds later, the Screamer turned to face Jason before collapsing onto the floor. Its blood, almost like plant sap, spilling across the ground and mixing with the blood from the fat man.