Read Online Surviving the Fall: How England Died by Stephen Cross - Free Book Online Page B

bandages, medicines.
    More tins of food lay across the floor, and in the corner was a smashed bottle, its white contents spread across the floor. The fridge door was open.
    Mac gripped his crowbar, holding it with both hands, ready to strike.
    He made his way out into the hallway again and went through the righthand doorway, the lounge. The curtains were closed, but Mac could make out the familiar shape of the fireplace and the furnishings. He had spent many a night in here with Farmer Andy, sharing their love of whiskey and talking drunken nonsense. Good times.
    Mac backed out of the room and checked across the hall, the dining room. Nothing out of place in there either.
    The staircase became an ominous beast, and Mac wondered if the best thing to do was just get back to the pub.
    But he wasn’t going to be a coward. Andy and Caroline might need help.
    He walked up the stairs slowly, wincing as the odd stair creaked loudly, announcing his presence. And as if in answer, a large thump came from one of the top rooms.
    Mac stopped still at the top of the stairs - a short landing with three doors leading off, which he knew to be the bathroom, the office and the bedroom. The hallway curtains were half open and a thin beam of light shone in, particles of dust flitting in and out of the ray.
    There was another thump, from the bedroom.
    Mac eased forward, moving as quietly as he could. Even so, there was another creak under him as a floorboard shifted under his weight. Another bang, this one louder, and with it the bedroom door shook.
    Mac felt sweat forming on his back and across his brow. His breathing seemed louder than the floorboard’s creaking. He swapped the crowbar from hand to hand, wiping his palms against his jeans.
    He reached forward to the door handle and turned it. He pulled it and jumped back with one motion, a motion that saved his life.
    Andy fell through the open doorway, his hands stretched out, letting out a moan as he did so. He fell to the ground by Mac’s feet and immediately started to pull himself towards Mac, managing to grab onto his ankle.
    Mac moved backwards and came to a stop against the bathroom door. Andy pulled himself closer to Mac and raised his head at an unnatural angle, almost right back against his neck. His forehead was covered in gashes and one of his eyes hung out of its socket.
    Mac brought the crowbar down with all his might on Andy’s head. He felt the metal smash the bone and sink into the brain material underneath. Warm black blood squirted out and spread over the wall and Mac.
    There was another moan, this one more high pitched and Mac looked up to see Caroline stumble out of the bedroom, her nightgown covered in blood. Her chin was red and what appeared to be a piece of stringy pink flesh hung from her open mouth. She advanced on Mac.
    He pulled on the crowbar, still in Andy’s head, but it held fast - stuck. Caroline was only a few feet away.
    He pulled again, harder this time, feeling something go in his back, but it did the trick. The crowbar yanked free, taking with it a large part of Andy’s brain, hanging off the end of the metal. Mac swung the crowbar at Caroline and it connected with her head. She lost her balance and fell to the left, down the stairs. She tumbled to the floor and landed on her head, an audible crack signifying a broken neck.
    “Christ on a bike…” said Mac, out of breath, and out of belief.
    He made his way down the stairs and carefully passed Caroline. He went into the kitchen and took the picnic basket and medical bag.
    About to leave, he paused. A phone sat on a small desk by the door. He picked it up, no ringtone. Dead.
    Mac left and got back to the pub as fast as he could move.
     
    Angie sat in her bedroom with Ellie. There was a seat in the corner that Ellie took, and Angie sat on the bed. She flicked the remote control from one channel to another, nothing but the same blackness, or static, depending on the channel.
    “Do you have a