Page 2

The clanging was getting louder. The father’s eyes widened as he recognised the sound.

At the end of the street, walking around a corner, a lone figure appeared. "Quick David, get my binoculars," the father whispered. The young boy dashed to a nearby bag and handed a pair of binoculars to his father. Opening the window a bit wider he put the binoculars to his eyes and focused on the new figure walking towards them down the middle of the street. He could just make out the young man, a bag on his back and a large bell in his right hand which he swung gently backwards and forwards. Apart from making so much noise and walking openly in the street, something else wasn’t right. It took a few seconds of staring through the binoculars for the man to realise that the stranger didn’t seem to be armed: No rifle slung over his shoulder, no pistol around his waist. Maybe he’s lost it... finally cracked after being stuck in some dark basement for months and just wants to end it all... just want’s to let those things get him and be done with it.

He watched intently as the young man steadily got closer and closer. As he walked by an abandoned car he stopped ringing the bell. One of the two shambling monsters the father had spotted earlier re-appeared slowly from behind an abandoned van less than a dozen yards to the right of the man, probably out of his field of view, and started staggering towards the stranger.

The young man put the bell on the roof of the car next to him and reached behind him to release his backpack, all the time the monster getting closer. Placing the pack along side the bell he reached in. With almost a sigh of relief the father watched as the man felt around inside the bag: Thank God, he’s looking for a weapon... He’s seen that approaching monstrosity after all...

The young mans hand re-appeared out of his bag. "No," the father whispered under his breath. In the man’s hand was a bottle, which he began to drink from. The monster was almost upon him now and the father could not bring himself to move a muscle as he watched the unfolding travesty.

The monster walked behind the drinking man, and without hesitation... continued on by. "Jeeessssuuus Chrrriiiiiist !" the father whispered slowly. It was almost as if the thing hadn’t seen him.

The stranger finished his drink and returned the bottle to his bag. He gave the passing zombie a quick glance and began to put his backpack on. He picked up the bell and started ringing it again as he continued on down the street. The zombie stopped and turned to face the clanging sound, but apparently seeing nothing of interest it groaned and turned around again to continue on its way.

The father swung the binoculars back where he had seen the second of the two monsters a few minutes earlier. He spotted it still wandered aimlessly, taking no notice of the new potential food source ringing a bell. "You’ve got to be kidding!"

"What’s happening?" his wife demanded, not able to get a clear view with her husband in the way.

"I don’t know..." her husband replied pulling the binoculars from his eyes.

The stranger was directly below them now, the bell ringing very loudly.

The wife jostled for a clearer view and her husband’s hands faltered. The binoculars dropped through the open window. He clambered to grab them but missed, his outstretched arms waving crazily out of the bottom of the window. On the street below they hit the pavement and smashed loudly. The bell fell silent and the young man looked for the source of the crash. Seeing the debris of the binoculars still bouncing he looked up. In a window far above him he could see the arms of the father still hanging out of the window. Realising now he was being watched he quickly put his hand in front of his mouth and gestured up to be quiet, but the damage had already been done. The two monsters on the street had heard the crash and were groaning as they looked up towards the figure hanging out of the open window.

Gesturing again as if in some primitive sign language the stranger pointed to himself a couple of times and then up towards the window. He then turned to face the two monsters converging on the main door of the building next to him. From somewhere in his bag behind him he produced a large hammer. He walked to the nearer of the two ghouls and as it passed him he raised the hammer high above his head and swung it down hard onto the monster’s temple. The flesh below the hammer gave way with a muffled cracking sound and the monster went ridged as if standing to attention. The hammer rose and fell again punching even deeper into the same wound. The creature dropped to the pavement.

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