Wind knocked out of him, Nick looked up to see Deana coming at him like a hungry vulture. She let out another one of those high-pitched screeches and leapt into the porch. Nick kicked out with both legs, catching her in the stomach and forcing her back into the hallway.
Before Deana had chance to regain her balance and come at him again, he leapt up and slammed the porch’s interior door shut. Just like before, Deana crashed into the other side and shoved her face up against the glass, snarling like a demon. Nick stared back at her in horror, gasping for breath, and barely recognising the woman he had married. No longer was she his beautiful, exotic wife of seven years. She was a flesh-craving ghoul.
“I’m sorry, my love,” he said to her through the blood-smeared glass. “I’m going to find help right now. I’ll sort this all out, I promise. I love you.”
Nick’s world was falling apart, his nightmares becoming real. He unlocked the front door to his house and stepped out into the cold, grey, approaching dawn.
Chapter four
The first thing Nick noticed when he stepped out of his front door was the orange glow on the horizon. The sun was beginning its journey past the horizon and the darkened houses of the street were slowly being coloured-in by the muted pastels of dawn.
The start of another autumn morning on the worst day of my life.
The second thing he noticed was that the quiet cul-de-sac in which he lived was unusually active for so early in the morning. Several of his neighbour’s houses were lit up bright, their windows glowing. Silhouetted figures flitted back and forth inside, moving in and out of sight.
There was also a lot of noise.
Nick wasted no time in heading past his wife’s compact, blue Peugeot parked on the driveway and making for his own car parked on the curb. He pressed the fob on his keychain and the lights flashed, the locks disengaged. He was just about to head around to the driver’s side when he heard a commotion across the road.
“Help me! Somebody, please!”
Nick glanced across the road to see a woman racing across one of the lawns. He recognised her as the middle-aged blonde that lived opposite. He’d rarely spoken to her, but he was pretty certain her name was Lara.
Now she was running towards him with the looming spectre of a man – possibly her husband – close behind her.
Nick stood still and watched in confusion. “What’s wrong, Lara?” he asked her once she got close enough. “Are you okay?”
But it was clear the woman was not okay. Her eyes were wide and bloated with fear. A ragged gash ruined the left side of her face. It looked like a bite mark.
“My…my husband. He’s trying to kill me. Please, you have to help m-”
Lara’s husband barrelled into the back of her, crushing her up against Nick’s car. From across the roof of the vehicle, Nick watched in stunned silence as a domestic disturbance commenced right in front of him.
He’s going to bloody well kill her if he’s not careful.
Nick had seen enough and raced around the car, ready to intervene. Lara’s husband had pinned her to the floor and was clawing at her neck and face. She screamed and writhed, batting away the attacks as best she could. But it was a battle she was losing. He husband was twice the size.
Nick thrust out both his arms and managed to shove Lara’s husband off of her. “What the hell are you playing at?” he demanded of the man. “You ought to be bleedin’ locked up.”
The man came at Nick without a word, squashing him against his car. The bodywork crumpled under the impact. Nick shook his head and tried to get to grips with the situation. The man was bigger than him by about half a foot and the extra leverage was all it took for his arms to give way. With each passing second, the crazed man managed to bring his snarling face a little bit closer.
The nutter’s trying to bite me.
Just like Deana.
Nick thought about the bite mark on Lara’s face and realised that her husband had obviously been the one to bite her. He looked down at her now and saw that she was scurrying away on her rump. He shouted for her to help, but she shook her head and continued backing away.