He put a hand to his forehead as the realisation struck. “Jesus. He’s using the furniture as a shield to keep the creatures away. Come on, we’ve got to head towards the fire.”
Bruce bent down and carefully lifted Shazam. The dog’s head lolled over his arm and he carried her across the road. The heat from the flames washed over Bruce as he drew near and he went as close as he could. The heat prickled his face; made the hairs on his arms tingle as he laid Shazam as close as he dared. The rest of the group joined him, standing around the fire. It was hard to look at Zander. The flesh on his body had blistered and popped, and his eyeballs had literally exploded in their sockets. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air. The aroma made Bruce gag.
The sound of breaking glass rang out. “Here, put this on the fire.”
Bruce looked up to see Brad hanging out of the bedroom window of the house across the road. Next minute he disappeared and when he returned, he squeezed a mattress through the gap, letting it fall to the road. Next he threw out clothes and books.
“Come on, help me carry them,” Bruce said.
He ran across the road, and Jack helped him carry the mattress back to the fire. They tossed it into the flames, dislodging Zander’s now blackened corpse and causing the burnt skin to flake from his body. Sparks flew into the air, twinkling like stars as they sailed into the night sky.
The other teenagers gathered the clothes and books and threw them into the fire. Bruce couldn’t help but be reminded of Fahrenheit 451 as he watched the books burn.
Windows and doors started to open along the seafront and terrified people peeked out.
“The fire keeps them away,” Bruce shouted as he threw a pair of trousers into the inferno. “You’ll be safe here. Gather anything you can that will burn, and bring it with you.”
Moments later, items started dropping from windows. More books. Newspapers. Bookcases. Cushions. Plastic bowls. Anything that would burn poured down in a rain of bric-a-brac.
People started running from their houses, trailing clothes and blankets in their mad dash to reach the safety of the fire.
A number of Fangtooth hovered on the periphery, kept back by the flames. They scurried around, snapping at each other in their fury and hunger.
As the fire grew bigger, Bruce moved Shazam further from the heat. The dog’s chest rose and fell at a steady pace.
Flashing lights appeared at the end of the road, and Bruce looked up to see a police car arrive. The man and woman in the car stared at the scene with their mouths open, as though unable to believe their eyes.
During the night, they raided every house, threw every available piece of furniture onto the bonfire, and then sat out the night in a huddle, sitting close to the flames. The searing heat turned people’s skin a rosy red colour. Those who were armed took pot-shots at any creatures that braved the flames and came too close.
Soon after sun up, the first army convoy arrived, followed by a fleet of ambulances. Bruce watched the soldiers disperse throughout the village, and the sound of automatic gunfire rang out.
Erin had her head on Bruce’s lap, where she had lain for most of the night. He stroked her hair and stared at the faces of those huddled around the fire. Despite the rosy skin, their faces reflected the horror they had endured. Their haunted eyes gave them a vacant, lost expression. Even though they hadn’t seen a Fangtooth for a while, none of them seemed in any hurry to leave the protective circle of the fire.
Helicopters buzzed overhead, and the odd jet plane screamed across the sky.
“I don’t suppose the army ever imagined their enemy would originate from the sea,” Erin said as she turned to face Bruce.
“I don’t think I did either.”
“Dad, me and Jen are going to check if her parents are okay,” Jack said. “She’s looked around the fire for them, but they aren’t here.”
“Well, you’re not going on your own. I’ll come with you.”
“And me,” Erin said.
Jen nodded. “I’m sorry about my gran. If I had known…” She wiped tears from her eyes.
Bruce put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re not responsible for what she did.”
“Yeah, but—”
“There are no buts. Right, come on, we’ll take the car.” Bruce crouched down and picked up Shazam. He carried the dog to the car and placed her on the backseat between Jack and Jen. Then he jumped in the driving seat, Erin beside him. He glanced at the lucky horseshoe pendant hanging from the rear-view mirror and stroked it between his fingers before starting the engine and driving through the streets.
Houses along the way bore the brunt of the carnage, and with the gruesome bodies littering the road, the once quaint seaside village now resembled a war torn domain from the bowels of hell.
Trigger-happy soldiers fired at any straggling Fangtooth. “Do you think that will be the end of it?” Bruce asked Erin.
“I would like to think so, but the sea’s a big place. Who knows how many of them are out there.”
A horn sounded out at sea, and Bruce turned to see a destroyer sailing past the harbour.
Jen gave directions from the backseat, and when they reached her house, the door stood ajar.
“I’d better go first,” Bruce said as he exited the vehicle. He walked up to the door and carefully pushed it open, shocked to see someone he assumed was Jen’s dad hanging from a noose tied to the stair banister. Her mother lay slumped at the foot of the stairs, her neck broken.
He tried to close the door on the scene, but Jen had already seen. She screamed and ran into the house where she collapsed onto the ground, her head in her hands. Jack ran in and tried to comfort her.
Bruce recalled something Lillian had said, a hint that her parents already knew about the sacrifices. He didn’t know whether that was true, would probably never know. They might have taken their own lives rather than face the Fangtooth. It certainly seemed an easier option than being eaten alive.
“Jen, you can’t stay here,” Bruce said. “Jack, come on, bring her out.”
Jack looked up at his dad and nodded. “Jen. Jen, come on. There’s nothing you can do for them. We’ve got to go.”
“I can’t just leave them here like this,” she said between sniffles.
Jack looked back at his dad, his expression torn between confusion and concern.
“Jack, give me a hand,” Bruce said as he entered the hallway.
With his son’s help, he cut Jen’s dad down, then they carried the two bodies into the living room where they laid them down and covered them with blankets.
“That’s all we can do for now,” Bruce said.
“Thank you,” Jen sobbed.
Bruce nodded. “We’d better go now. It’s not safe here.”
Once back in the car, they made their way back towards the harbour. Once they reached the seafront, Bruce spotted Brad and Jim.
Bruce lowered the window. “Hey,” he called. Brad waved and ran across the road.
“Glad to see you both made it,” Bruce said.
Brad looked back at Jim. “That remains to be seen. This has affected him badly.”
“How about you?”
“I’ll manage. Probably have to get a job with my brother now that the boat’s wrecked, but at least I came through in one piece, which is more than can be said for some people.” He indicated the couple across the road stepping into an ambulance, who Bruce recognised as Albert and Doris.
“Did you see what happened to Zander?” Bruce asked.
Brad nodded. “However you look at it, the Skipper went down with his boat.” He shook his head and sighed. “So what are you going to do now?”
Bruce glanced at Jen in the rear-view mirror and then looked at Erin.