Chapter 4: Stay Quiet

October 31st 2024; 1 hour before the bombs

The water seeps through Kyles jacket as he waits outside a side door to a local bar. He takes a long drag from the cigarette between his fingers, throwing it to the ground as he reaches up for the door handle. He looks around the bar at several people in costumes, a large banner reading 'Happy Halloween' hangs prominently above the bar. 

 He spots Matt come from behind the bar, he was due to clock out twenty minute ago but still seemed to be working. Kyle walks up to the bar and leans against it, watching Matt collect a few nearby glasses and head back for the bar.

 "I know" Matt says as he passes and circles to the back of the bar, placing the glasses down behind it "Gimme five minutes!"

 Kyle watches as Matt loads the glasses into a dishwasher on the back of the bar and sets it going. He then looks around, usually the bar wasn't this busy but halloween was always a busy one in Westbrook. Matt had requested to not be working late as they had the project to go and do, but he had to wait for some girl to come and take over. 

 He sees Matt rush over to a young red headed girl serving someone at the bar, he was speaking in her ear as she takes money from the guy stood in front of her. Kyle thought she was kind of cute, she would clearly be a freak in the bedroom as well. 

 Matt goes to a door on the far side and disappears from view. Kyle watches as the girl goes over to one of the beer taps with a glass and begins to pour.

 "Be with you in a minute" the girl smiles to Kyle.

 Kyle just smiles back as Matt reappears, rushing over to where Kyle is stood. 

 "I'm ready" Matt says, he turns and waves to the girl as Kyle follows him towards the front doors. 

 "She's hot" Kyle laughs "Is she single?"

 "No" Kyle laughs as they both walk out into the pouring rain "She's the managers daughter, she's seeing some douche from Cleveland Street"

 Kyle sighs, pulling his hood up. Just his luck that any female he finds attractive is already taken, not that it would bother him much he just didn't want the drama. They begin to march up the road, heading towards a church nearby.

 "Thought you were into Jess anyway?" Matt asks "You were sure you'd finally cracked her the other day"

 Kyle smiles, focusing on walking. He had often hit on Jess, they had all met in college and she was adamant to go to film school in London once the course had finished. He'd only agreed to this project because Jess was involved, he knew Chloe from previous projects but didn't really know Leah much, he'd only met her once or twice. 

 They approach a little black car sat outside the church, its lights were on and two women were sat inside waiting for them. Kyle goes for the door facing the road and swings it open and jumps in. Their appearance seems to scare Leah, Kyle laughs a little as she makes a snarky comment. 

 Kyle wasn't paying too much attention, he just wanted to get to the big house they were shooting in. His brief from Leah was to head up the stairs and grab pickups from the bedrooms. He was slightly concerned about the second location though.

 The hotel they would have to break into had been sat derelict since before he could remember. He had heard stories about gruesome murders and the place being haunted, he didn't believe any of it but he didn't want to get arrested if they got caught. 

  Kyle had taken the film course as it seemed like an easy pass, the first year it had been. He'd been screamed at by Jess because he was putting in minimal effort and spend the summer brushing up his skills so he could get back into her good books. He was beginning to enjoy the film making but still hated the paperwork side of things. 

 He was happy Jess had agreed to help him over the weekend with an essay about the film 'Aliens'. It was the only film he could pick from that he had enjoyed, most horror films seemed to be outside of their tutors taste. 

 As the car moves he spots a blonde girl stood openly in the rain looking at the church. He wasn't usually into blondes but found his fantasies didn't seem to have a real type recently, he doesn't really think about the girl once she is out of view. 

 Kyle watches as they leave the town centre, the roads winding out into the countryside. He watches the rain water being forced across the window, shadows from the streetlights outside moving across the car. He spots headlights ahead as they near the site. 

 The car stops and Leah jumps out, Kyle is focused on the other car, he can't see Jess but figures it's her car so she's sat there waiting to go in. Leah comes running back to the car as the gate begins to slide open. Kyle tries to catch a glimpse of Jess as they pull in but its too dark inside the car to really see anything. 

 They seem to drive for a long time to get to the end of the driveway. When they stop Kyle pulls his hood back up and jumps out. He instantly heads to the other car and see's Jess climb out and head for the boot. She opens it and he grabs a camera bag and tripod then smiles at Jess.

 She's not paying any attention to him, she's slowly getting soaked by the rain. Kyle rushes over to the front door as it swings open and heads inside. Once inside Leah starts barking her orders to them all, Kyle already knew what was expected of him.

 "Master bedroom" Leah points up the stairs "Chloe also wants a shot of the stairwell"

 "Sure thing" Kyle responds, he heads for the stairs. He wasn't sure what to make of Leah, she was older and more authoritative than most of the women he knew. He climbs the stairs slowly, they'd be here at least a couple of hours so there was no rush. 

 Kyle reaches the top of the stairs and looks around, the hallways leads to several doors. He opens the first door and it swings open to reveal a bathroom, the room was grand with an incredibly large bath tub but it wasn't what he was looking for. He heads for the next nearest door.

 The next door opens outwards and just contains shelves, he looks at all of the white towels stacked in the cupboard and closes the door again. The next door reveals a small bedroom with one small single bed at the far side and what Kyle assumes is a wardrobe door on the far side. 

 He leaves this smaller bedroom and opens the last door, inside is another small bedroom, almost identical to the one he'd just left. Was he missing something? He then looks back towards the stairs and notices a large white double door across the landing from the stairs. He'd gone the wrong way.

 Kyle marches back towards the stairs, looking down in time to see Tammy and Leah disappear under the landing. He swings open the double doors and is faced with a large poster bed sat in the middle of the room. He reaches around to the light switch as the room is lit up he heads over to place the bags down by the window. 

 He looks around the room, there is what looks like a closet to one side and what could be a bathroom across from him. He slowly pulls the tripod from its wet bag and takes the plate from the top. He reaches over and unfastens the camera bag, grabs a random lens and attaches it then screw the plate onto the camera.

 He'd never been the best for shot composition so walks to the far side of the bed and figures he'd just get a static shot of the bed and the window in the background. He raises the tripod to eye level and switches on the camera. As the screen comes on a warning comes onto the screen 'No SD Card'. 

 Kyle sighs and heads back to the camera bag, he rummages around in the bag, he finally finds a small clear plastic case with the SD card inside and removes it. He heads back to his camera and looks around for the SD card slot. After a few seconds he remembers that Jess had brought the DSLR so the card slot was with the battery on the bottom.

 He removes the camera from the tripod and sighs as he unscrews the plate again. One thing Kyle had absolutely hated was how much messing around sorting cameras had been, it wasn't as simple as point and shoot and it annoyed him greatly. 

 He fumbles around to get the SD card in then once he manages it he closes the compartment, screws the plate back on and reattaches it to the tripod. He turns the camera back on and is met with a black screen, realising he hadn't removed the lens cap, so he reaches around and grabs the cap. His fingers are still wet so it falls to the floor.

 Kyle sighs again as he beds down to pick it up, he knew Matt would probably already have his shots, this was taking forever. He stands back up and adjusts the shot so it isn't just half ceiling half window. He pulls the focus so the window is in sharp focus and hits record. 

 While the camera records he pulls his phone from his pocket. He opens up his messages and types on the second one down for Jess. He begins typing;

'Just getting the bedroom shot hows the kitchen going? X"

 He hits send, looking back at the camera he stops the recording and puts his phone back into his pocket. He turns off the camera and lifts the tripod from the floor. As he walks past he accidentally bumps into a tall bookcase that wobbles, it doesn't seem very secure. 

 His phone makes an odd noise. He pulls it from his pocket and looks down at the alarm going off on his phone. 

'NUCLEAR WARNING - REMAIN CALM AND FIND SHELTER'

 Kyle is incredibly confused, was this some sort of test? He hadn't heard of any tests but very rarely looked at the news. He stares at the alert for a second, the sound of heavy rain against the windows. He hears a noise slowly grow, it was coming from far away but was distinctly an air raid siren. 

 He begins to panic, he forces his phone back into his pocket and looks around. He figures the closet would be the best place to take any form of shelter. He begins to head over as a blinding light engulfs the room. He turns trying to protect his eyes as the light fades revealing an explosion not too far from the house. He see's the mushroom cloud begin to form and rise up as the ground begins to shake violently. 

 Before he can react the tall bookshelf comes crashing to the floor, he feels pain shoot from his ankle as he's knocked to the floor and pinned by the bookshelf by the foot. Another flash of light comes, this one didn't seem so bright but was followed by an even more violent earthquake. 

 A picture hanging next to where the bookshelf used to be falls and hits Kyle on the top of the head. He grabs his head in pain, he couldn't seem to think about anything. Was this the end? Was he just waiting for the ceiling to fall on him? The room plunges into darkness as the lights go out.

 After what felt like forever, the shaking slowly subsides. Kyle tries to pull his foot from under the bookshelf but it's too painful. He looks around for something that could help, but he can't see in the pitch black room, he can only just make out the window because the moon was partially in view behind the giant mushroom cloud. 

 He reaches into his pocket slowly and pulls out his phone, The screen lights up he pushes the button on the screen for his torch, noticing the top of the screen says no service. He shines it across the room. Theres nothing nearby to use as a lever or anything. 

 Kyle starts to wonder if the others were ok, would they come looking for him? He shines his light down to his leg, there was a slight sign of blood but he didn't think it was too bad considering. He just needed the get out from under the bookshelf. 

 Kyle sits thinking about possible ways to escape his entrapment, he grabs the foot of the bed and tries to pull. The pain shooting up from his ankle is still too much, it feels like his foot will come completely off if he tries any harder. 

 He shines his torch over to the doorway, listening out for any signs of life from any of the group. His mind must be playing tricks on him as he thinks he can see a hand on the doorframe, it seems to have long claws and black skin.

 Kyle doesn't move, the hand suddenly releases the doorframe and disappears. He remains still, unsure as to what he might have just seen, maybe it was one of the others trying to find him? After a few seconds he can hear muffled voices, they seem to be coming from the main hallway below him. 

 He can't make out what is being said and seriously thinks about shouting to them, but he isn't sure if it is in fact voices he can hear over the rain. Kyle lays and waits for someone to come looking for him, surely if they survived they would come for him. He watches the doorway, listening out for any familiar voices. 

 He can hear footsteps thumping up the stairs near him, he keeps his eyes on the doorway. Nobody appears.

 "Kyle?" Leahs voice emerges from the hallway outside the room "Kyle are you still up here?"

 "I'm here!" Kyle shouts towards the door "I'm trapped!"

 Leah comes running into the room closely followed by Tammy. She shines her phone light around the room landing on Kyle trapped under the bookshelf. Leah and Tammy run over and grab parts of the bookshelf lifting it. Kyle feels the pain rush through his left leg as he is released, he pushes past it and yanks his leg out. Leah and Tammy then drop the bookshelf onto the floor. 

 Kyle clutches his ankle, he doesn't think it's broken but the pain is unbearable. Leah places her arm under his left side and helps him to his feet. Tammy comes to the other side to help support him as they slowly head for the door. 

 "We need to find the others" Kyle says "We need to get out of here as soon as we can"

 "Yeah" Leah agrees "We're working on it. Jess has gone to find Matt then we'll figure it out"

 They get Kyle to the top of the stairs and set him down so he can rest while they wait for Jess to return. Tammy sits by the wall under the window and looks like she is desperately trying not to cry. 

 "Do you think it's everywhere?" Tammy asks softly "The bombs I mean?"

  Before anyone can respond, Jess appears from the living room door, looking shocked. Tammy goes bounding down the stairs towards Jess, Leah slowly following behind her. 

 Kyle slowly lifts his trouser leg and looks at the damage to his ankle. He has a slight cut just above his ankle bone and it is clearly starting to swell, but the pain is the last thing on his mind. He looks over to the windows, he can't see anything outside, no fading sunlight, no mushroom clouds, just darkness. 

 Leah heads off into the house to find Matt. Jess slowly heads up to where Kyle is sat on the top of the stairs. She is clearly in shock, she doesn't say anything she just sits bellow the window. Tammy slowly heads back up the stairs to where Jess is sat, she smiles weakly down at Kyle then sits beside Jess and puts her arm around her.

 "It's ok, Jess" Tammy says softly "Leah wont be long and we can get out of here"

 "I don't think we will" Jess mumbles, she turns to face Tammy, a tear running down her cheek "That...that thing, it ripped Matt apart"

 Tammy removes her arm from her shoulder and slowly gets up and sits beside Kyle at the top of the stairs. Jess looks at them both, sat silently thinking about what could be going on. 

 "I know it's scary" Jess continues "But there is something trapped in this house with us, I don't think the fallout outside is going to be any more dangerous than that creature"

 "Jess!" Kyle interrupts, looking at Tammy beginning to cry "I don't know what you saw, I just think we need to stay calm, get everyone together and get the hell out of here"

 "It's ok" Tammy suddenly says, drying her eyes with her jacket sleeves "what does this thing look like?"

 "It's hard to describe" Jess says, shuffling across the landing so she is sat between the two of them on the stairs "It's skin was jet black, I couldn't see any eyes, just teeth, and it's hands..."

 Jess stops as they hear scuffling coming from above them, like something large was crawling through the attic. All three of them are looking directly at the ceiling above them as it seems to head through the attic above, heading back towards the servant quarters.

 For what felt like a lifetime the three of them sat in silence listening out for any other noises. Kyles phone screen lights up dimly, showing his battery is dying.

 "What is that?" Tammy whispers

 "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about" Jess whispers back, her focus on the ceiling still "It could just be rodents"

 They all keep their focus on the ceiling until Kyle's phone lets out a dull bleep. They all look down at Kyle as he lifts his phone to look at the screen.

"My battery wont last too much longer" Kyle states "Do you think theres any torches here?"

 The two girls decide to head down to the kitchen to find any emergency supplies, leaving Kyle sat alone at the top of the stairs. He listens intently for any sounds from inside the house. 

 The return of rain outside the house was suddenly very noticeable,  Kyle listens for any other sounds, scuffling, voices, anything but can't seem to hear anything over the downpour. The sound of falling water makes him want to pee, he figures he'd probably be ok to get to the bathroom, it was only two doors down from where he was sat. 

 Kyle painfully rises to his feet, the pain surging through his ankle as he tries to put weight onto it. He begins to head down the hallway slowly, one hand against the wall trying to keep as much weight off of his leg as he could. He could hear his hand sliding across the wall over the rain and tried to be as quiet as he could, just incase whatever was in the house heard him. 

 He swings open the door to the bathroom and finds himself having to quickly hop over to the toilet in the opposite corner. He places his phone on top of the toilet cistern, the light pointing downwards. As he unzips his jeans he hears a dull thud from the hallway. 

 Kyle freezes, his breathing heavy as he stands as still as he can. There are small thuds slowly heading towards him as he slowly turns. He can't see much of the doorway, but can hear something clicking. He slowly turns back to pick up his phone and shines the light towards the doorway. 

 He waits several seconds, nothing seems to happen. Kyle thinks about trying to get out of the bathroom but he hears the dull thuds again, this time they're above him. He shines his torch up at the ceiling and listens as the thuds stop directly above him.

 Kyle holds his breath, trying to listen out for any signs of further movement. A moment passes before the dull thuds start to head away, again heading towards the servant quarters side of the building. 

 Kyle slowly turns back to the toilet, he is now more desperate than ever to pee, so he aims for the side of the bowl and tried to be as quiet as possible. Once he was done, he listened out for any other sounds before quickly hopping back over to the doorway. 

 He pauses and listens out, just incase the creature had heard him, once he was sure there was no thuds or scuffling sounds around him he slowly heads back for the top of the stairs. He reaches the top of the stairs where the three girls were shining torches up at him and looking terrified. One of them lets out a scream.

  "What?" Kyle laughs "I needed to pee"

 He lowers himself back onto the top step as Jess starts to walk up the stairs towards him, Leah and Tammy remain at the bottom shinning their torches around to make sure nothing is sneaking up on them.

 Jess heads over to the back window and looks down towards the ground. Kyle watches as she just stares down, trying to figure out how far the drop would be. Jess then heads back to Kyle and lowers herself to his level.

 "Hows the ankle?" Jess asks softly

 "Hurts like hell" Kyle responds, laughing slightly "How bad is the drop going to be?"

 Jess looks down, clearly not wanting to worry Kyle. 

 "Great" Kyle sighs, Jess lifts her head as he continues "Look if it comes to it, just get out. Don't worry about me"

 "Not an option" Jess responds sternly "We are all getting out of here"

 "No...But..." Kyle lifts his trouser leg slightly to show how bad his ankle actually is "I will slow you down" 

 Before Jess can respond, an odd, clear viscous liquid lands on Kyles shoulder from above. They both look up at the ceiling, the hatch is wide open and inside just seems to be darkness. Another drop of fluid comes down and lands next to Kyle. 

 Kyle slowly raises his phone light as Jess slowly stands up and instinctively takes a few steps back from Kyle. His light catches what looks like teeth, in a menacing smile. Then his phone bleeps loudly as the light goes off, signalling it was now dead.

 As the phone bleeps the creature swiftly lunges through the attic hatch and sinks its teeth into Kyle's wrist. An incredible and sharp pain rushes through Kyle as he hand is torn from the rest of his arm.

 Kyle screams out in pain as the others look on in shock, unable to move, unable to make a sound. The creature turns its head quickly and wraps its jaws around Kyles head and pulls sharply. 

 Kyle only feels the pain from the teeth for a second before his entire body shuts down. He is lifted into the air and through the hatch into the attic, disappearing from view from the three girls. 

 Jess looks on in horror as she tries to process her two friends being killed in front of her. She hears a whimper from Tammy at the bottom of the stairs and instantly looks down to her and puts a finger over her mouth to signal her to be quiet. 

 From the attic they can head thuds, scratching against the ceiling and the sounds of limbs being ripped from the torso above them. Jess slowly takes a few steps towards the top of the stairs, her eyes fixed on the open hatch above her. She reaches the top of the stairs and as quietly as possible takes the first step down.

 The step creaks as she puts her weight onto it, causing her to freeze. She looks up at the hatch as the sound from the attic continue. After a second she continues to slowly head down the stairs as silently as she can. 

 Jess pauses at the foot of the stairs, feeling Leah place her hand on her shoulder. All three women are looking up at the now silent ceiling hatch. They suddenly hear the dull thud of it crawling through the attic, it seems to be heading back towards the servant quarters.

 "Where's it going?" Tammy whispers "Surely it saw us"

 "I think it's blind" Jess whispers back, turning to the two others "It seems to follow sound"

 "So where's it rushed off to?" Leah adds, they are all looking at the ceiling hoping to hear it moving around but the only sound is rain falling outside the house.