As the Light Dies (36 page)

“ARRRGH, SHIT!”
he screamed. He leapt back forcing himself back with all his strength and started kicking with both legs frantically trying to push himself away from it.

“
GAVIN
?
HEY GAVIN, YOU OK? WHATS WRONG?”
Eddy started yelling but Gavin could
n’
t answer, he opened his mouth to speak but he could
n’
t even breathe.

He stared at the motionless hulk on the ground trying to breathe, sucking tiny amounts of air in to his lungs before it was forced back out again. He could feel that his knees were wet.

I’ve been kneeling in it
,
he thought. He rolled away pulled back his mask and puked.

“
Jesus Gavin. Are you alright
?”
asked Eddy who was now crouching over him with his hands on his knees and panting.

“
Wha
t’
s happened
?”
he said, offering Gavin a hand to help him back up. Gavin pointed towards the lump on the ground still lost for words and gasping for breath.

“
You fall over or something
?”
Eddy asked.

Gavin nodded lost for words and they moved in closer.

“Holly shit!”
said Eddy seeing it.

On the ground in front of them was a dead cow, a half eaten dead cow!

It looked like it had been attacked by something.

“
Looks like a fuckin
g
wolf’
s
been at it do
n’
t it
,”
said Eddy.

Gavin only nodded once and then he puked again.

Eddy looked closer
.“
What the fuc
k’
s happened to its head
?”
he said.

The cow stared blankly in to the ash with lifeless bulging black eyes, a flap of skin pulled back from its scalp lay between them, its forehead had been bashed in, there was a jagged hole punctured right through the bone and Eddy could clearly see the skull where skin and flesh had been torn away, pulled back from the wound.

“
Oh my God! What the fuck was that guy doing! Holy shit
!
”
He said as he laid eyes on the empty skull!

Eddy looked it over from a distance and walked around the dead animal. The underside of its thick neck had huge gouges out of it and its bloated gut had been torn open all the way from stem to stern and its insides were now strewn across the ground gradually being buried with the ash.

“
You did
n’
t see this when you were walking
?”
said Eddy.

Gavin shook his head
.“
Not until I fucking fell over it
!
”

Eddy nodded thinking for a moment, and after a few seconds he looked up at Gavin and said
,“
They ran off
!
”

“What!”
said Gavin not understanding.

“
Just as you were fucking about playing with dead things and yelling out I caught a glimpse of someone. They were looking in through one of the side windows, and Christ did it scare me, I nearly shit myself! Then they were gone. Just took off in to this weird fucking snow
.”
He gestured at their surroundings
.“
I tried calling them but they did
n’
t come back. You were yelling out, falling over at the same time so I do
n’
t know if they heard me properly or not, but they knew I was there, and they still took off. Hopefully that means they aint too bad eh. I tell you something though, even though I only caught a glimpse of them whoever they were, man or woman I could
n’
t tell because they were filthy. Covered from head to toe! Kinda mixed up between black and grey! Looked like the
y’
d just spent a month underground shovelling coal you know. But I think I musta hit em hard coz there was blood all over them. Looked black coz of the ash you know, but i
t
wa
s
blood
!
”

Eddy went quiet again thinking about what had just happened, going over what h
e’
d just told Gavin, then said
,“
Anyway they could
n’
t be that bad eh, not if they could run off like that. I even think that they kinda smiled at me before they took off for some fucked up reason. But whatever,
I’
m a happy camper, if they can run off they aint too bad eh. Hit by a bus and able to run off, probably already home fixing themselves up in the kitchen eh, musta just brushe
d‘
em huh
.
”

“
Yea, must have done
,”
agreed Gavin still staring at the dead cow.

“
Fuck knows what they were doing with this though
,”
said Eddy seeing the faint prints through the co
w’
s guts.

“
Yea
,”
said Gavin nodding
,“
what the hell do you think they were doing? The damn thin
g’
s been torn to shreds
!
”

They both looked at the prints in the snow, the shin and knee prints were clear and they were surrounded by the mangled cow guts and its blood
.“
Jesus Christ, they were right in there
,”
said Eddy. Gavin just stared shaking his head, this was just too weird, especially after his earlier encounter with the bull.

“
They almost look like human bites
,”
said Eddy pointing to the gouges in the neck and then at the ones along the side of its belly. Gavin had to admit that they did, even from where he was standing
.“
And look
,”
he said
,“
the brai
n’
s...
.
”

“
Yea I know, I know
,”
said Gavin cutting in. He did
n’
t need to hear anymore.

“
Maybe it was some homeless guy or something
,”
said Eddy
,“
whatcha think
?
”

“What
!
A homeless guy eating a dead cow! No way!

“
Could be, you never know, he might have even killed it!
I’
ve heard of some strange things in my time Gavin I tell ya...
.
”

“
And done what with the brai...
.”
Gavin was forced to stop there as he started puking again.

Eddy screwed his face up at the noised Gavin was making and said
,“
Who knows? Whatever happened, it looks fucked up eh, like the yanks say i
t’s
FUBAR
!
C’
mon, le
t’
s head back to the bus
.”
Rigidly Eddy started heading back, he groaned with every step as his knees burst in to stabbing pains with every footfall. Gavin joined him and sure enough beside the bus they found an area of mis-shaped snow starting to fill in with new snow, but they could still see vague foot prints that came out of the darkness and stopped up against the side of the bus!

“
Tha
t’
s where they stood Gavin
,”
said Eddy
.“
Have a quick look at them will ya, see where they come from, or where they go. My knees are likely to kill me if I try. Literally
.
”

Gavin nodded and walked around the prints the
y’
d found trying not to disturb them and followed them as best he could but they were already faint and nearly impossible to see if it was even someon
e’
s tracks at all. They seemed to curve around and start coming back towards the bus from where Eddy saw them. They curved around to the other side of the bus. Gavin followed them until they just disappeared, the wind was stronger around the other side of the bus and it had smoothed out the tracks but not before Gavin was absolutely certain that the person had doubled back for a second look at Eddy!

*****

Back on the bus Gavin told Eddy about the prints
.“
Must be my good looks
,”
said Eddy laughing as Gavin struggled with the door again
.“
Never mind it Gavin
,”
he said
,“
just leave it. The worst of the wind is on the other side of the bus,
c’
mon, just get in
.
”

Gavin climbed in leaving the door an inch short from closing.

“
Fuck knows what were gonna do now that the bus has stalled
!”
Eddy told him as he rubbed his knees vigorously. Gavin could see the pain in his face, it reminded him of his dad who suffered with arthritis. Eddy tried the ignition just in case the
y’
d be lucky, but their luck was out as far as the engine was concerned, nothing happened the key just clicked in the ignition.

“
Yep, were definitely stranded
,”
said Eddy and he slammed the steering wheel with both hands, before trying the ignition another couple of times out of desperation. Still with no joy.

“
You never know
,”
he said.

Gavin felt awkward all of a sudden, the realisation that they were actually properly stuck was dawning on him fast.

A few minutes passed and Eddy sat back in the drive
r’
s seat
.“
Oh boy
,”
he said calming back down
.“
Tha
t’
s it
I’
m afraid Gavin boy, w
e’
re not driving any further in this tub
.
”

“
We ca
n’
t be too far from Inverness now
?”
said Gavin.

Eddy sighed rubbing his knees
.“
No, I suppose not, but ther
e’
s no way
I’
ll be walking anywhere. My knees are in fucking bits
.”
He finished the last word through gritted teeth.

“
Maybe I can walk ahead and get some hel
p”
, said Gavi
n“
try and use someon
e’
s phone you know, if the landlines are still working that is
!
”

“Ha
!
Do
n’
t hold your breath for the depot to send someone out. Not anytime soon anyway. You know I had to wait six hours once last winter for someone to come out and pick me up. Crazy huh! I was frozen solid by the time they got to me, I ended up with the flu and two weeks off. God only knows how long w
e’
ll be stuck out here in these weird conditions. Mind you, maybe because the conditions are so weird the
y
wil
l
send someone out pretty quick. If the
y’
ve got a running motor that is. Who knows
?
”

Gavin was nodding
,“
I fucking hope so
,”
he said.

“
Huh yea but do
n’
t hold your breath
,”
said Eddy
,“
the phone lines probably are
n’
t working
.
”

“
How close are we to town then
?”
asked Gavin
.“
Maybe I could walk back to the depot
.
”

“
W
e’
re probably just short of six miles
,”
said Eddy
.“
Were on the main westerly route so all yo
u’
d have to do is stay on this road and keep going and yo
u’
ll come to Inverness. There are houses scattered about the place if you wanna try and find a phone you know. There are big places, all set back from the road so yo
u’
ll have to look for their driveways you know, fancy gate posts and that
.
”