As the Light Dies (82 page)

And why hadn’t any of them come over to their children banging against the windows
,
she wondered.

Mandy called over to Bill
,“
Try using the edge of the shovel, you know, use it like a blade to prise the window open. Bill looked at her with raised eyebrows and nodded.

“
Why did
n’
t I think of that
?”
he asked himself and started trying to angle the shovel blade between the window and the frame as more loud thuds echoed from down the corridor.

Bill worked quickly, digging the shove
l’
s blade into the groove between the frame and the stubborn window and then levering the shovel backwards and forwards. After a few minutes of struggling the shovel suddenly slid in between the window and the frame and broke the icy seal.

Bill used his shoulder to press against the window and open it letting in icy cold air that rushed in through the gap and chilled him.

The children cheered their headmaster and called even louder for their parents as Bill pushed the window as far open as it would go. He lifted the shovel up and through the window. But there was no-one there to take it!

“
Maybe they have
n’
t heard me over the wind
,”
he said glancing back at Lisa. She shrugged her shoulders and nodded towards the kids crying out louder than ever.

Bill puffed out his cheeks, rolled his eyes then turned around and started shouting through the window for someone to come and take the shovel from him, but even as he did so the loud bangs continued from down the hall.

Mandy looked at Lisa frowning, she was worried. She felt stupid for feeling that way, after all why should she be worried; frightened even.

It’s just eager parents. That’s al
l
, she told herself. But it did
n’
t feel right!

Still looking at Mandy, she said
,“
Sounds like the
y’
d rather kick the doors down
!
”

Lisa did
n’
t quite know what to say, or think. Part of her actually believed that they wanted to smash the doors down as strange as it seemed
.“
Bill
?”
Lisa called
,“
tell them to stop banging the front doors, the
y’
ll crack the glass or something
.
”

“
Or shatter it more like
.”
said Mandy
,“
the glas
s’
ll be brittle with the cold
.
”

Lisa looked back up at Bill still waving the shovel and calling out. She was just about to call out again when Bill beat her to it.

“
Finally
!”
he said
,“
some of them are coming over
.
”

He yelled out of the window
,“
Over here, over here. Take the shovel
.
”

He turned and looked back in to the hall at every one
.“
The
y’
re coming over, it wo
n’
t be long now
.”
The children buzzed with excitement, all of them trying desperately to see their parents through the murk. Some pressed their little faces up against the cold glass for as long as they could bear the chill, straining hard searching the figures for a familiar face.

As Mandy watched trying to keep her emotions in check she noticed something strange!

“
What are they doing over there Bill
?”
she asked.

Without paying her much attention Bill said
,“
The
y’
re coming over for the shov...
.
”

Mandy cut him off
,“
No! Over there
,”
she blurted and pointed
.“
The
y’
re up ending one of the picnic benches
!
”

“What!”
Lisa gasped. She could feel the situation turning sour, the banging intensified at the front doors and none of them had seen a single one of their faces!

“
Maybe the
y’
re planning using it like a ladder to climb through the window
,”
said Bill.

“
What window
?”
said Lisa
,“
the
y’
re higher than us out there anyway, because of the depth of the snow
.
”

Bill knew she was right; the depth of the snow and ash outside put the figures two and a half to three feet higher up than them. The
y’
d actually have to reach down to Bill for the shovel, whereas he was on his tip-toes trying to push it up through the window.

Lisa saw four silhouettes, maybe more approaching Bill
.“
Bill
I’
m not sure about this
,”
she said.

“
Me neither
,”
added Mandy.

A cluster of innocent little faces looked up at the women worried. The children could feel their uncertainty.

“
Stop it you two
,”
Bill snapped
,“
yo
u’
ll scare the children
.
”

Lightning arced across the dense sky bathing the playground with its faint blue light. Lisa did
n’
t like what she saw. There was something wrong with the picture and the children saw it too.

Every one of the fourteen children went silent!

“
The bench
,”
said Mandy
,“
the
y’
re trying to run with it
.
LOOK!”

Bill tried to glance back at Mandy frowning but someone was approaching him, he did
n’
t have time to confront her right now.

“
Stupid woman
!”
he said under his breath
,“
sh
e’
ll just scare the children
.”
He looked back to the person coming for the shovel squinting his eyes against the bitter cold pouring in through the open window.

“
Here
,”
he said
,“
use this...
.”
then he gasped!

“
Mrs Clark? Mrs Clark? Is that you? My God Gail what happened to you
?
”

On hearing Bill say Gai
l’
s name Lisa heard Gai
l’
s voice whiz around and around in her head.

People are attacking each other like animals! Like animals!

Lisa and Mandy and the children watched as the figure closest to Bill reached out to him!

They watched as the hazy hand stretched down towards the shovel in Bil
l’
s hands. It passed by the wooden handle not interested in it.

Within an instant the hazy looking figure grabbed a hold of Bil
l’
s arm, gripping firmly around his wrist. The hand looked black from what Lisa could see of it.

“
Oh, no
!”
said Bill, with a forced chuckle
.“
Here, uh, yo
u’
ve got me instead of the handle
.
”

And in that instant he was hauled up off the floor as the figure hauled him up, trying to pull him through the window!

Mandy and the children screamed. The combined squeal was so loud that it hurt Lis
a’
s ears.

Then before sh
e’
d taken another breath Lisa leapt towards Bill to try and help but before sh
e’
d even taken three paces the other figures that had been approaching reached him!

They dropped to their knees beside the first one and each grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled!

Together they hauled him up off the ground and pulled his head and shoulders right through the narrowly open window popping the hinges as his shoulders were forced through the narrow gap.

Bil
l’
s grunts and gasps turned in to gut-wrenching screams!

Lisa saw the silhouettes through the dirty glass pulling at and tearing his clothes. They were ripping them off him. Exposing his body!

The children lost control; they knew something was desperately wrong. They screamed like never before, louder than any child should ever have to!

Mandy started trying to herd the scattered children, trying to lead them across to the other side of the hall away from the windows. It was hard work, they all ran in different directions screaming and crying for their mummies and daddies. Some even screamed for their mummies and daddies to stop hurting Mr Harkness.

The sound of shattering glass exploded from down the hallway making Lisa jump. Fearing the worst she started running towards the hall doors, she needed to close them and fast.

The words,
like wild animals,
screamed at her inside her head.

She shot a glance at Bill as she re-diverted and ran for the doors feeling like she was running in totally the wrong direction. Feeling like she should be running to help Bill.

But no! Her first instinct was to secure the hall and protect the children. She had to protect the little ones first.

She saw Bill wriggling and jerking. Now he was half in and half out of the window and his feet were several inches of the floor. Then she saw blood. Lots of blood!

The sticky red life giving fluid ran down the middle of his back staining his shirt. It ran all the way down to the waistband of his corduroys that absorbed his liquid; becoming saturated.

Even as she glimpsed at him the darkening stain grew, working its way down his trousers giving the impression that h
e’
d wet himself.

Maybe he has
,
she thought.

Then with that thought her foot caught in the strap of an abandoned school bag.

She tripped on it and flew through the air carried by her own momentum in to a pile of stacked up dining chairs. They toppled over falling on top of her and one falling stack caught another like dominoes and they smothered her completely as she landed, banging her head on the hard wooden floor. Between the tumbling grey plastic chairs Lisa saw with fuzzy vision the first outlines appear in the doorway.

She was too late!

They were in!

The people who entered the dining hall looked like shadows. They were dark in colour, covered from head to toe with black and dark grey blotches. Some shuffled and limped along hunched over and others stood tall and were quick and nimble on their feet.

Lisa watched helplessly as two small children broke away from the group Mandy had managed to herd together. Mandy screamed after them but it made no difference. A brother and sister ran hand in hand towards the figures. Lisa tried to shout but could
n’
t, the falling chairs had winded her.

The children ran towards the figures wanting desperately to find their parents and to be swept up by them. Two of the quicker figures broke away from the pack of shadows and darted towards the children with outstretched arms.

Wild animals! Wild animals! WILD ANIMALS
!
Lis
a’
s mind screamed at her as they pulled the siblings apart from each other, breaking their bond for ever.

ANIMALS! WILD ANIMALS
!
cried Lis
a’
s mind.

Simultaneously the childre
n’
s captors dropped to their knees in front of the hysterical siblings. Their little heads were yanked violently over to one side exposing their necks and the figures leaned in fast and bit down hard on the soft and innocent flesh.

Blood spurted from their necks leading a long red arc through the hall. When it was
n’
t gushing straight in to either of the figures faces it rose up high like a fountain as their youth left them.

The little bodies went limp and buckled under their own small weight. They fell to the ground, and the dark figures dropped down with them and started opening up the little bodies, tearing them open from their neck wounds.