Singing of the dead (Novel one)

CHAPTER EIGHT: BURGER AND SLUSH

There it was. Stood upon an open overgrown field with an almost empty carpark in front of it. Burger and Slush. The only restaurant outside of the town with a singular road being the only means of getting to it from Wheelback unless you take the long scenic walk like Isabelle and Jessica had completed. The carpark in front of the restaurant was barren apart from three cars covered in dents and the concrete floor stained in blood. The restaurant wasn't that big but the way it stood with its desolate and overgrown surroundings made it seem almost as four times as big as it actually was, towering over the two girls as they approached. The building felt the only thing alive surrounded by its dead surroundings and its presence seemingly staring into the souls of anyone who approached it.

Isabelle felt its ominous presence overcome her and could feel her bones individually twist as if they all had their own stomach.

"You okay there Iz?"

Isabelle stood still for a few seconds in silence feeling her hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

"Iz? You good?"

"Yeh, It's just. I don't think this is a good idea. We don't have any weapons on us, it's just us two and we are fucked up."

"It's your call Iz. We've come all this way though; don't you want to know what big Jim was talking about? If he was even talking about anything at all?"

Isabelle knew it was a bad idea to enter the building, but the overwhelming urge of curiosity just edged itself over her burning desire to turn around.

"Jess. You should stay out here, just in case. I'll scout the area inside first then come and get you."

"You sure?"

"Yeh, I want to make sure you are safe."

Isabelle walked up with Jessica to the now broken automatic doors and the two pried the doors open with their fingers and Isabelle pulled out her flashlight and walked through and past the front desk into the restaurant area leaving Jessica outside.

Death was layered throughout the interior, the smell of decay traveling violently through Isabelle's nostrils, the white light from her torch turning a dark red as she pointed it at the blood coated floor. She shone the light around the broken chairs and tables and into a booth in the corner and remembered the first time Her, Chole, big Jim, Atlas, Jessica and her parents had a joint outing meal together.

Jim Junior raised his glass of white wine upwards, and the others followed.

"Here is to Chole on her win, Isabelle make sure to never piss this girl off or she will fuck you up."

Mary turned and lightly punched her husband:

"Language Jim! But congratulations Chole."

And in unison the family toasted Chole on her victory.

Isabelle smiled at her memories and continued walking through the restaurant towards the kitchen, walking past the fallen chairs.

"Hey dad where have you been? Shall we pay the bill?"

"Don't worry about it darling it's mine and your mums treat."

"No don't be silly I'll pay for me and Chole at least."

"Honestly don't worry. It's on us, Chole did amazingly tonight. You've picked a good one there. Atlas has as well."

Isabelle opened the swinging doors, its hinges crying out in pain. *Why did grandad talk about this place with Jessica, there is nothing here* Isabelle heard a clatter and sung around the beam of light struggling to keep up with her until in landed on two bodies facing away from her and they slowly jolted there heads up and a quite humming began to sprout from their mouths. Isabelle was stood frozen in terror, and it took every fibre of her being to muster up the strength to open her lungs to scream out to Jessica:

"JESSICA. SINGERS. RUN."

Isabelle spun around the disorientation from the drugs boxing her brain and began to run as the singing got louder and she could feel the stench on the back of her neck. Cold rough sharp fingers wrapped around her arm and pulled her downwards causing her to twist in the air and land on her back the air realising from her lungs as she hit the hard floor. The singer had jumped on top of her its jaw open wider and longer than possible and its flesh falling from its face, But Isabelle saw through this infection, and she saw her dad.

Jessica had burst through the kitchen doors screaming to try and distract the Singers and she also recognised what used to be Jim Junior snapping his teeth together. Trying to get to Isabelle as she held him off. The second singer then let out a blood curdling deep screech as it grabbed the Singer from Isabelle and through it off her twisting it's head around which would break a normal human's neck and shook its head towards Singer Jim and then back around to Isabelle and grabbed the necklace around her neck and looked at it, its eyes turning human again for less than a second. It was her mother. Mary sniffed at Isabelle and it's singing stopped and it was as if it was fighting its primal urge to rip her daughters throat out and from the depths of its soul let out a deep struggling word:

"Run."