The Fright Train

The Glow Part 10

Laszlow spun around to look behind herself. Her neck cricked painfully and her hand flew to it instinctively.

"She's... Here." Ally said, slowly advancing. Laszlow turned back to her and continued to stumble away from the cold, blue, glowing eyes.

"She needs... I need..." Ally repeated. Laszlow heard shuffling behind her and turned again. Her neck was painful, and it grated every time she swivelled her head. What the hell is wrong with me? She asked herself.

Any thought of pain quickly rushed from her head as she looked at the army of glowing eyed zombies herding her, and fear shivered through her body in a wicked orgy of sadistic glee.

Coleman and Sharp walked towards her wearing evil grins, with more sets of eyes appearing behind them. Laszlow's adrenaline kicked in as she raised her pistol.

It was getting dark, and the light from the people's eyes shone out in front of them like the headlights of a truck just before it hits a deer. "We all... Need." Coleman gurgled through his shredded throat. "We need." They continued to chant sporadically until Laszlow's ears pulsed with the harrowing phrase. She pulled the trigger.

A deafening BANG shook the fragile night. Coleman fell, a bullet in his head, while the others continued to chant and marched over his body. Laszlow started to panic and pulled the trigger again. A hollow click.

She had seen this coming. She had deliberately filled the clip with bullets to make sure that this scenario didn't play out. But, as she pulled it out, she saw that the clip was completely empty. But how?

Ally was approaching from behind, which, in her panic, Laszlow had forgotten. It wasn't until a firm hand grasped Laszlow's back that she remembered.

"No!" Laszlow screamed, pulling her jacket off in the hope that the disease wouldn't reach her. She kicked Ally in the head with a solid boot, before remembering to rip the shoe off and run past Ally's dazed form.

She ran into the house, looking for something to use as a weapon. She fumbled in a kitchen drawer full of knives, covering her fingers with cuts and dripping blood everywhere. She finally pulled out the biggest knife she could find and turned to look at the door, where the "Glowers" were ambling casually into the house. Leading them was Ally, who, upon seeing the knife in Laszlow's hand, reached to her side and slowly drew out the knife that was lodged there.

Laszlow heard the faint splashing sound of feet in blood behind her. Jesus, these things were everywhere! She turned to see Ally's parents walking towards her.

"We... Need." They said. Laszlow lunged at them, slashing at the father's head. She stumbled back, leaving the father clutching his face.

Turning and looking in all directions, she decided to barge past the parents, careful not to lay a hand of their bare skin, but ended up dropping the gun in all the commotion.

She exploded through the door and ran to the car she had arrived in. She wrenched open the driver's side and slammed it shut as the Glowers ran out to meet her. They crashed against the glass, screaming, as Laszlow fumbled for her radio to phone the police station.

"Hello? It's Laszlow, I need backup. Over."

"Laszlow! Good to hear from you! The whole town's gone haywire, how many units do you need? Over."

"Just send anyone near. I need backup as fast as y -" Laszlow was cut off by a brick hitting the car window. She opened the opposite door and spilled out onto the tarmac as the Glowers piled in.

"She's here!" A Glower screeched like a wild animal.

Who was she? And if was truly 'here', why wasn't she showing herself? What did she want? What if, when "she" was killed, the Glowers recovered from their undead state? 

It was a desperate thought, but it was the only chance she had. Either way, it was no longer safe for her here, she had to regroup, find as much support as she could. If she didn't move fast, she would have to face the reality of becoming one of them herself.

She clambered to her feet, sprinting away from the Glowers, until she tripped and fell, finding herself back flat on the pavement. She had no energy left, her hands were covered in blood, she felt faint. Just as she felt that all was lost she heard a ghostly whistle, like the wind blowing through the crack in a door. 

The Glowers circled around her, their hands raised to the air, like a brainwashed cult. Their fingertips shone blue, brighter than their eyes, as the whistler grew more and more piercing.

Laszlow, clamped her hands around her ears, feeling as if her drums would burst at any second, before she was thrown back by the brightest blue light she had ever seen. Her eyeballs were ablaze with the burning blue, as if they had been replaced by those of a Glower.

Two strong hands looped underneath her armpits, effortlessly hoisting her into the air.

"I'm here."