Post by Tame on Feb 19, 2011 20:45:28 GMT -5
Here's a fanfiction the first part of which I wrote the other day. I've split it into two roughly equal parts to make two chapters here in case people don't feel like reading the whole thing at once. It's a bit wordy in places, so sorry for that.
GANTZ: LONDON
Chapter One
A yawn escaped the mouth of the bus driver as Billy took his ticket and found a seat. The young man frowned a little at the sight, mentally chastising the man for not being more alert when at the wheel of a vehicle full of people. Sitting towards the back of the bus, he leant against the window and closed his eyes. It was alright for him to be sleepy – his work day was over. And what a dull day it had been. He sometimes wondered if there wasn’t something more exciting to do with his time than an accountancy internship. Brushing back his messy blonde hair from his blue eyes, Billy glanced around at the other occupants of the bus. Rather than being full, in fact, there were only three others – a young couple dressed in the latest Top-Shop, hipster style and a tall guy about his own age who sat opposite Billy. He had short dark hair, sharp features and a look in his face that told everyone around him how superior he felt to them. He was dressed in a suit not unlike Billy’s, but far more expensive.
Having analysed his fellow passenger thus, Billy closed his eyes once again and tried to sleep. He must have succeeded in dozing off, because the next thing he knew he was suddenly awake, a loud crash ringing in his ears. Before he could speak he was hurled from his seat, and all became black. Then, he was sitting once more, this time on the floor, not of the bus, but of an unfurnished apartment. Billy was stunned and confused. He thought at first he must have fallen asleep again, and he tried to sift through his memories to sort dream from reality. Suddenly he realised he was not alone. Beside him were his three fellow passengers, all as equally confused as he was. Not only that, but several other people occupied the room.
‘What’s going on here?’ asked the tall man from the bus authoritatively, getting to his feet quickly.
‘Have you recently died, by any chance?’ a middle-aged man clutching a briefcase politely asked. On either side of him were two more businessmen, one larger, bald, and angry, the other skinny, bespectacled and terrified.
‘Yes, we were in a bus crash,’ came the reply, immediate and concise.
‘We died in a car accident,’ the man told them. He then indicated a greasy-faced teenage boy, around seventeen or eighteen who wore cheap clothes, all in black, leaning against a wall. ‘He was stabbed.’ Pointing to a short-haired man of about thirty who was sitting against another wall and apparently rolling a spliff, he said, ‘Beaten to death by muggers.’ The man looked up at them from what he was doing long enough to nod at them. Finally indicating an unconscious tramp and a sleeping girl, the man said. ‘And “no idea”. We haven’t been able to wake them, but they’re both still breathing.’
‘So what, are we ghosts now?’ asked the hipster boy from the bus, also standing up and helping his girlfriend to her feet.
‘I don’t think so,’ said the tall man coolly walking over to the large panel windows of the flat and indicating the scenery outside which was quite clearly Canary Wharf. ‘But screwed if I can say what is going on. I was fine just a moment ago, then suddenly I’m dead, then suddenly I’m alive, and at Canary Wharf of all places.’
‘Wait, what the fuck?!’ exclaimed Billy, jumping up and holding his hands out in exasperation. ‘Five seconds ago we were alive and well, I mean.... I mean, what the fuck?’ he ended weakly, before falling into bewildered silence as he tried to get his head around the situation.
‘And another thing,’ said the short-haired man with a Scottish twang in his accent. ‘When I was dying, I was battered to shit. Bones broken, teeth smashed, blood everywhere. And yet now I’m fine and dandy, not a hair out of place as you might say. Does that seem right to you?’
The plump businessman seethed visibly. ‘Gerard, go check the door again!’ he shouted at his taller colleague with a wave of his hand toward a corridor that, as Billy looked at it, could see led to a plain door.
‘But sir, I just checked it a moment ago. It was locked.’
‘Listen, you’re still my employee, so when I tell you to do something, you still fucking do it!’ the man roared again. Cowed, the taller man
slunk off to check the door.
Billy pointed at something he had only just noticed, but which clearly needed some explaining. ‘What is that?’ It was a large, black sphere, completely smooth and featureless. He wondered how it stood there so perfectly-balanced without rolling over.
‘Fuck knows,’ said the stoner as he sparked up.
‘Would you kindly not smoke that shit in here?!’ shouted the business man, saliva flying from his mouth.
‘Kiss my sweaty balls, ya fat fuck!’ came the response, loud and clear. As the businessman lunged towards the seated man, something arrested all their attentions that made him stop. It was the sound of music. It appeared to be coming from the ball, and was the theme to “This Morning”, blasting through the apartment.
‘What the?,’ breathed Billy before something more surprising happened – as soon as the music ended, three segments of the ball shot out at lightning speed before clanging to a halt. They were shelves, protruded from the object - two at the side, which carried black, futuristic weapons that looked like they could be toys, and one at the back, which held several steel suitcases. Then text began to appear on the ball in neon green letters.
These words were then replaced by more.
A rough picture appeared of a man wearing sunglasses, sporting ludicrously large hair and the curliest moustache ever seen outside of a cartoon. More text appeared beside it;
D1ckhead Al1en
Charact3r15t1c5: 1ronic, pr3tent1ous
L1k35: 5carv3s, 5ynth
D15l1k3s: 5tuff 1t do35n’t und3r5tand
Qu0te5: W3 all play 5ynth!
‘Just what the hell is this?!’ demanded the fat businessman.
‘I don’t know, sir. Perhaps I should investigate,’ Gerard, who had returned to the room when the music had started, suggested.
‘Yes, Gerard, perhaps you should!’ The unfortunate man obediently stepped forward and crouched down, looking inside the ball. To his shock, he saw a naked, hairless man crouched inside, hooked up to some kind of breathing apparatus. He explained what he saw to the others as calmly as he could, managing to keep an amazing cool given the sight. They all crowded round the ball to see.
‘Aw, fucking gross,’ declared the Scotsman.
‘Seems so real,’ the other guy from the bus added, poking it in the face.
Meanwhile, the greasy teen had picked up one of the guns from the shelf and was examining it. ‘I wouldn’t touch any of this stuff if I were you,’ the tall man from the bus warned him. The teen gave him a look of cold disdain, one obviously long-practiced.
‘Hey, look at this guy!’ called the Scotsman, pointing to the sleeping tramp. From top to bottom, the man’s body was disappearing, giving them a cross-section view of his insides as he went. ‘That’s what we all looked like as we came in here,’ he added to the tall man. ‘Like a laser beam was printing us out.’
‘So where’s he going?’
‘Fucked if ah know. Be a relief to get out of this fuckin’ flat, though.’
The tramp was soon completely gone, leaving the fat businessman and his weedy counterpart panicked. Of the three of them, only Gerard appeared calm. When the skinny one realised he was being transferred out next, he looked like he was going to wet himself, whimpering softly. Soon everyone was gone, leaving only Billy, the man from the bus, and the unconscious girl.
‘I’m Billy,’ he blurted out quickly, looking over to the other man.
‘Michael Small,’ the man replied.
‘I don’t know what’s going on either, but we’ll make it through,’ Billy said.
‘See you on the other side,’ was all Michael could think to say as the two of them began to transfer.
Chapter Two
Moments later they found themselves, still side-by-side, standing at the foot of a dismal block of flats, an ugly relic of the sixties. A few dozen metres ahead of them was another identical building with loud music coming from it, and another diagonally to their right. The streetlights pierced the ominous gloom, revealing a large area of scrubland between the three towers. ‘Looks like the East End,’ Billy commented. The two of them began to look around for any sign of the others. The other couple from the bus were nearby. They waved them over, and both Billy and Michael were surprised to find them both beaming.
‘We can go home now, right?’ the girl said.
‘Yeah man, I mean, we’ve beaten death!’ the boy laughed. ‘Come on, Lou, let’s get out of here.’
‘I don’t think it’s that simple,’ Michael said, ‘We can’t just wander off.’ However, his warnings fell on deaf ears.
‘Hey there!’ A voice from behind them called. The four of them looked over to see a group of four young guys, in a very similar style of clothes to the couple from the bus, approaching them. They all smiled, but Billy couldn’t say they looked friendly. Maybe it was the sunglasses they all wore, despite the dim light. ‘You guys want to come to a party?’ one of them asked. ‘It’s on one whole floor of that block of flats over there,’ he explained, pointing to one of the other two towers. ‘It’s gonna be totally wild, call everyone you know and tell them to come down.’
The couple looked at one another. ‘I could do with a drink,’ she said.
‘And a line,’ he agreed. ‘Let’s go.’
‘What about you guys?’ the guy asked Billy and Michael.
‘No thanks,’ Michael replied, frowning. ‘I really don’t think it’s a good idea.’
‘Me neither,’ Billy added.
‘Suit yourselves,’ the guy added, and the six of them walked off across the scrublands, chatting and laughing. When they were out of earshot, another figure appeared gradually before them. It was the sleeping girl from the room, who they saw was no longer sleeping. She had a pretty face, but right now it was smeared with dark mascara. She had blonde hair cut in a bob, and was clearly dressed for a party. Billy estimated her to be about twenty. She looked up at them and giggled stupidly.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘I took a couple of pills and woke up in that room... haha... then I slept for a bit and when I woke that black ball was open... I took a line...’
‘She’s off her fucking face,’ Michael said.
‘Help me get her up,’ Billy said, trying to get her to her feet, and eventually being aided by Michael.
‘What’s your plan?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, take her to a hospital or something. She needs some help.’
‘Fuck her needing help, what about us?’
Meanwhile, the three businessmen were gathered, walking away from the tower blocks and towards somewhere there might be a taxi. ‘Well thank god that’s over!’ exclaimed the boss. Neither of his employees responded. ‘Can’t wait to get this fucking practical joke behind me!’ Reaching a street, he pointed towards a taxi some way off. ‘You, Hennimore!’ he said, pointing to the weedy businessman. ‘Go flag down that cab!’
‘Yes sir, Mr. Plant,’ he squeaked, hurrying away to wave to it. Mr. Plant and Gerard walked on after him, and both noticed a strange beeping in their ears. Irked, but ignoring it, Plant looked on at Hennimore’s attempt to flag down a cab. Despite his efforts, they all drove on past him, as if they didn’t see him. ‘What the hell does that boy think he’s doing?’ he wondered out loud.
‘I really have no idea, sir,’ Gerard responded wearily. As they continued to watch they saw something strange happen. Hennimore dropped his suitcase and ran back towards them, a look of fear in his eyes. He was still some distance away from them when his head exploded, without warning.
‘What the - !’ Instinctively both men turned and ran away from Hennimore’s body, back towards the tower blocks, neither having any idea what they had just witnessed. As they neared the towers, their path was blocked by a young man and woman, both in fashionable clothes and wearing sunglasses.
‘Our friend! His head just exploded!’ exclaimed Gerard, pointing back in the direction of Hennimore’s corpse as he tried to catch his breath.
‘Told ya, they’re hunters,’ the girl said to the man, chuckling as they closed in. ‘We can kill ‘em, right?’
‘It’d be a shame not to,’ her companion replied.
‘Hey kid, you don’t talk much, do ya?’ the Scotsman asked the greasy teen as they walked through the darkened streets, looking out for signs of the others. The teen stayed quiet. ‘Ah always found talking helpful. A nice way to vent feeling, ya know?’ the man went on, taking another drag of his spliff. Over the tops of the houses they saw one of the tower blocks, saw the light coming from it, and heard the music.
‘Maybe the alien’s in there,’ the teen said.
‘What? Ya don’t really believe that shit, do ya?’
‘How else do you explain all of this?’
Unable to answer this question, he man changed the subject. ‘Yeah, but do you really think you’re up to huntin’ down aliens, kid?’
‘What do you suggest? That we go home to our beds and carry on our lives as if nothing ever happened?’ As he tried and failed to think of a response too, the Scotsman noticed two figures up ahead.
‘Hey, you!’ he called out, waving to them.
‘Don’t do that!’ hushed the teen. It was too late, however, and the two figures approached them. It was two young men, both wearing sunglasses.
‘Hey, I’ve tried to call my friends, but my phone isn’t working,’ Lou told her boyfriend as they ascended the stairs of the tower, two of their new acquaintances ahead of them and two behind them.
‘You probably just don’t have any signal,’ he replied. ‘Don’t worry about it, we can have fun without your stupid friends.’ As he finished speaking they stepped out onto the floor where the party was taking place. Every door in the corridor was thrown open, and in every room young people were drinking, smoking or screwing.
‘Wow, this is one crazy shindig,’ Lou said in awe.
‘And you two are the guests of honour,’ one of the men said, turning to them and smiling.
‘H-how come?’ Lou felt something pierce her chest as the words escape her mouth. She looked down to see a knife stuck hilt-deep into her. Next to her, her boyfriend was in the same condition. The man had stabbed them both as he smiled at them. He now began to laugh as he pulled the blades from his victims and they fell to the floor, the life draining out of them.
‘There’s more where they came from!' he screamed, 'Let's get the fun started!’
‘Hey, snap out of, come on.’ Billy slapped the girl’s face, trying to get some coherent sense out of her. He and Michael had carried her over to a wall of one of the buildings and had leaned her up against it. She was still giggling like a maniac. Then she seemed to try to focus her vision on Billy for a moment.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she said, and proceeded to be, but she had enough presence of mind to lean over and be it on the floor, and not on herself.
‘That’s just great,’ Michael fumed, getting to his feet and beginning to pace around. As Billy continued to try to get some sense from the girl, he looked out across the scrubland for any sign of help. Sure enough, six figures could be seen approaching. ‘Hey, over here!’ he called out to them. It already looked like they’d seen him though, because they were heading right towards him. As they got close enough for Michael to see their faces, he saw that they were all wearing the same sunglasses as the others. Four of them were guys, the other two, girls. ‘Hey, our friend is sick. Could one of you call an ambulance, both our phones are out,’ he said hurriedly.
‘Don’t think I will,’ one of the men said in a sinister tone as all six of them slowed their pace and began edging towards Michael. ‘Maybe I’ll just fucking kill you all and then get to the party. I’m late, you see.’
‘What the fuck are you talking about, you twat, she’s sick?!’ argued Michael, thinking this was some kind of inappropriate joke.
‘Careful Derek, they might be armed,’ one of the girls warned.
‘Nah,’ Derek replied. ‘These guys are fucking green. This won’t take a minute.‘ Stepping menacingly forward, he removed his sunglasses to reveal two completely white eyes. ‘Or maybe on second thought, I’ll take my time...’
GANTZ: LONDON
Chapter One
A yawn escaped the mouth of the bus driver as Billy took his ticket and found a seat. The young man frowned a little at the sight, mentally chastising the man for not being more alert when at the wheel of a vehicle full of people. Sitting towards the back of the bus, he leant against the window and closed his eyes. It was alright for him to be sleepy – his work day was over. And what a dull day it had been. He sometimes wondered if there wasn’t something more exciting to do with his time than an accountancy internship. Brushing back his messy blonde hair from his blue eyes, Billy glanced around at the other occupants of the bus. Rather than being full, in fact, there were only three others – a young couple dressed in the latest Top-Shop, hipster style and a tall guy about his own age who sat opposite Billy. He had short dark hair, sharp features and a look in his face that told everyone around him how superior he felt to them. He was dressed in a suit not unlike Billy’s, but far more expensive.
Having analysed his fellow passenger thus, Billy closed his eyes once again and tried to sleep. He must have succeeded in dozing off, because the next thing he knew he was suddenly awake, a loud crash ringing in his ears. Before he could speak he was hurled from his seat, and all became black. Then, he was sitting once more, this time on the floor, not of the bus, but of an unfurnished apartment. Billy was stunned and confused. He thought at first he must have fallen asleep again, and he tried to sift through his memories to sort dream from reality. Suddenly he realised he was not alone. Beside him were his three fellow passengers, all as equally confused as he was. Not only that, but several other people occupied the room.
‘What’s going on here?’ asked the tall man from the bus authoritatively, getting to his feet quickly.
‘Have you recently died, by any chance?’ a middle-aged man clutching a briefcase politely asked. On either side of him were two more businessmen, one larger, bald, and angry, the other skinny, bespectacled and terrified.
‘Yes, we were in a bus crash,’ came the reply, immediate and concise.
‘We died in a car accident,’ the man told them. He then indicated a greasy-faced teenage boy, around seventeen or eighteen who wore cheap clothes, all in black, leaning against a wall. ‘He was stabbed.’ Pointing to a short-haired man of about thirty who was sitting against another wall and apparently rolling a spliff, he said, ‘Beaten to death by muggers.’ The man looked up at them from what he was doing long enough to nod at them. Finally indicating an unconscious tramp and a sleeping girl, the man said. ‘And “no idea”. We haven’t been able to wake them, but they’re both still breathing.’
‘So what, are we ghosts now?’ asked the hipster boy from the bus, also standing up and helping his girlfriend to her feet.
‘I don’t think so,’ said the tall man coolly walking over to the large panel windows of the flat and indicating the scenery outside which was quite clearly Canary Wharf. ‘But screwed if I can say what is going on. I was fine just a moment ago, then suddenly I’m dead, then suddenly I’m alive, and at Canary Wharf of all places.’
‘Wait, what the fuck?!’ exclaimed Billy, jumping up and holding his hands out in exasperation. ‘Five seconds ago we were alive and well, I mean.... I mean, what the fuck?’ he ended weakly, before falling into bewildered silence as he tried to get his head around the situation.
‘And another thing,’ said the short-haired man with a Scottish twang in his accent. ‘When I was dying, I was battered to shit. Bones broken, teeth smashed, blood everywhere. And yet now I’m fine and dandy, not a hair out of place as you might say. Does that seem right to you?’
The plump businessman seethed visibly. ‘Gerard, go check the door again!’ he shouted at his taller colleague with a wave of his hand toward a corridor that, as Billy looked at it, could see led to a plain door.
‘But sir, I just checked it a moment ago. It was locked.’
‘Listen, you’re still my employee, so when I tell you to do something, you still fucking do it!’ the man roared again. Cowed, the taller man
slunk off to check the door.
Billy pointed at something he had only just noticed, but which clearly needed some explaining. ‘What is that?’ It was a large, black sphere, completely smooth and featureless. He wondered how it stood there so perfectly-balanced without rolling over.
‘Fuck knows,’ said the stoner as he sparked up.
‘Would you kindly not smoke that shit in here?!’ shouted the business man, saliva flying from his mouth.
‘Kiss my sweaty balls, ya fat fuck!’ came the response, loud and clear. As the businessman lunged towards the seated man, something arrested all their attentions that made him stop. It was the sound of music. It appeared to be coming from the ball, and was the theme to “This Morning”, blasting through the apartment.
‘What the?,’ breathed Billy before something more surprising happened – as soon as the music ended, three segments of the ball shot out at lightning speed before clanging to a halt. They were shelves, protruded from the object - two at the side, which carried black, futuristic weapons that looked like they could be toys, and one at the back, which held several steel suitcases. Then text began to appear on the ball in neon green letters.
Y0R L1v35 R 0vR N0W
N0W 1’M TH3 B055, G0T 1T?
N0W 1’M TH3 B055, G0T 1T?
These words were then replaced by more.
G0 K1LL TH15 GUY, G0T 1T?
A rough picture appeared of a man wearing sunglasses, sporting ludicrously large hair and the curliest moustache ever seen outside of a cartoon. More text appeared beside it;
D1ckhead Al1en
Charact3r15t1c5: 1ronic, pr3tent1ous
L1k35: 5carv3s, 5ynth
D15l1k3s: 5tuff 1t do35n’t und3r5tand
Qu0te5: W3 all play 5ynth!
‘Just what the hell is this?!’ demanded the fat businessman.
‘I don’t know, sir. Perhaps I should investigate,’ Gerard, who had returned to the room when the music had started, suggested.
‘Yes, Gerard, perhaps you should!’ The unfortunate man obediently stepped forward and crouched down, looking inside the ball. To his shock, he saw a naked, hairless man crouched inside, hooked up to some kind of breathing apparatus. He explained what he saw to the others as calmly as he could, managing to keep an amazing cool given the sight. They all crowded round the ball to see.
‘Aw, fucking gross,’ declared the Scotsman.
‘Seems so real,’ the other guy from the bus added, poking it in the face.
Meanwhile, the greasy teen had picked up one of the guns from the shelf and was examining it. ‘I wouldn’t touch any of this stuff if I were you,’ the tall man from the bus warned him. The teen gave him a look of cold disdain, one obviously long-practiced.
‘Hey, look at this guy!’ called the Scotsman, pointing to the sleeping tramp. From top to bottom, the man’s body was disappearing, giving them a cross-section view of his insides as he went. ‘That’s what we all looked like as we came in here,’ he added to the tall man. ‘Like a laser beam was printing us out.’
‘So where’s he going?’
‘Fucked if ah know. Be a relief to get out of this fuckin’ flat, though.’
1’M 51CK 0F TH3 51GHT 0F Y0U ALL
G0 K1LL M3 S0M3 FUCK1NG AL1EN5
G0 K1LL M3 S0M3 FUCK1NG AL1EN5
The tramp was soon completely gone, leaving the fat businessman and his weedy counterpart panicked. Of the three of them, only Gerard appeared calm. When the skinny one realised he was being transferred out next, he looked like he was going to wet himself, whimpering softly. Soon everyone was gone, leaving only Billy, the man from the bus, and the unconscious girl.
‘I’m Billy,’ he blurted out quickly, looking over to the other man.
‘Michael Small,’ the man replied.
‘I don’t know what’s going on either, but we’ll make it through,’ Billy said.
‘See you on the other side,’ was all Michael could think to say as the two of them began to transfer.
Chapter Two
Moments later they found themselves, still side-by-side, standing at the foot of a dismal block of flats, an ugly relic of the sixties. A few dozen metres ahead of them was another identical building with loud music coming from it, and another diagonally to their right. The streetlights pierced the ominous gloom, revealing a large area of scrubland between the three towers. ‘Looks like the East End,’ Billy commented. The two of them began to look around for any sign of the others. The other couple from the bus were nearby. They waved them over, and both Billy and Michael were surprised to find them both beaming.
‘We can go home now, right?’ the girl said.
‘Yeah man, I mean, we’ve beaten death!’ the boy laughed. ‘Come on, Lou, let’s get out of here.’
‘I don’t think it’s that simple,’ Michael said, ‘We can’t just wander off.’ However, his warnings fell on deaf ears.
‘Hey there!’ A voice from behind them called. The four of them looked over to see a group of four young guys, in a very similar style of clothes to the couple from the bus, approaching them. They all smiled, but Billy couldn’t say they looked friendly. Maybe it was the sunglasses they all wore, despite the dim light. ‘You guys want to come to a party?’ one of them asked. ‘It’s on one whole floor of that block of flats over there,’ he explained, pointing to one of the other two towers. ‘It’s gonna be totally wild, call everyone you know and tell them to come down.’
The couple looked at one another. ‘I could do with a drink,’ she said.
‘And a line,’ he agreed. ‘Let’s go.’
‘What about you guys?’ the guy asked Billy and Michael.
‘No thanks,’ Michael replied, frowning. ‘I really don’t think it’s a good idea.’
‘Me neither,’ Billy added.
‘Suit yourselves,’ the guy added, and the six of them walked off across the scrublands, chatting and laughing. When they were out of earshot, another figure appeared gradually before them. It was the sleeping girl from the room, who they saw was no longer sleeping. She had a pretty face, but right now it was smeared with dark mascara. She had blonde hair cut in a bob, and was clearly dressed for a party. Billy estimated her to be about twenty. She looked up at them and giggled stupidly.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘I took a couple of pills and woke up in that room... haha... then I slept for a bit and when I woke that black ball was open... I took a line...’
‘She’s off her fucking face,’ Michael said.
‘Help me get her up,’ Billy said, trying to get her to her feet, and eventually being aided by Michael.
‘What’s your plan?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, take her to a hospital or something. She needs some help.’
‘Fuck her needing help, what about us?’
Meanwhile, the three businessmen were gathered, walking away from the tower blocks and towards somewhere there might be a taxi. ‘Well thank god that’s over!’ exclaimed the boss. Neither of his employees responded. ‘Can’t wait to get this fucking practical joke behind me!’ Reaching a street, he pointed towards a taxi some way off. ‘You, Hennimore!’ he said, pointing to the weedy businessman. ‘Go flag down that cab!’
‘Yes sir, Mr. Plant,’ he squeaked, hurrying away to wave to it. Mr. Plant and Gerard walked on after him, and both noticed a strange beeping in their ears. Irked, but ignoring it, Plant looked on at Hennimore’s attempt to flag down a cab. Despite his efforts, they all drove on past him, as if they didn’t see him. ‘What the hell does that boy think he’s doing?’ he wondered out loud.
‘I really have no idea, sir,’ Gerard responded wearily. As they continued to watch they saw something strange happen. Hennimore dropped his suitcase and ran back towards them, a look of fear in his eyes. He was still some distance away from them when his head exploded, without warning.
‘What the - !’ Instinctively both men turned and ran away from Hennimore’s body, back towards the tower blocks, neither having any idea what they had just witnessed. As they neared the towers, their path was blocked by a young man and woman, both in fashionable clothes and wearing sunglasses.
‘Our friend! His head just exploded!’ exclaimed Gerard, pointing back in the direction of Hennimore’s corpse as he tried to catch his breath.
‘Told ya, they’re hunters,’ the girl said to the man, chuckling as they closed in. ‘We can kill ‘em, right?’
‘It’d be a shame not to,’ her companion replied.
‘Hey kid, you don’t talk much, do ya?’ the Scotsman asked the greasy teen as they walked through the darkened streets, looking out for signs of the others. The teen stayed quiet. ‘Ah always found talking helpful. A nice way to vent feeling, ya know?’ the man went on, taking another drag of his spliff. Over the tops of the houses they saw one of the tower blocks, saw the light coming from it, and heard the music.
‘Maybe the alien’s in there,’ the teen said.
‘What? Ya don’t really believe that shit, do ya?’
‘How else do you explain all of this?’
Unable to answer this question, he man changed the subject. ‘Yeah, but do you really think you’re up to huntin’ down aliens, kid?’
‘What do you suggest? That we go home to our beds and carry on our lives as if nothing ever happened?’ As he tried and failed to think of a response too, the Scotsman noticed two figures up ahead.
‘Hey, you!’ he called out, waving to them.
‘Don’t do that!’ hushed the teen. It was too late, however, and the two figures approached them. It was two young men, both wearing sunglasses.
‘Hey, I’ve tried to call my friends, but my phone isn’t working,’ Lou told her boyfriend as they ascended the stairs of the tower, two of their new acquaintances ahead of them and two behind them.
‘You probably just don’t have any signal,’ he replied. ‘Don’t worry about it, we can have fun without your stupid friends.’ As he finished speaking they stepped out onto the floor where the party was taking place. Every door in the corridor was thrown open, and in every room young people were drinking, smoking or screwing.
‘Wow, this is one crazy shindig,’ Lou said in awe.
‘And you two are the guests of honour,’ one of the men said, turning to them and smiling.
‘H-how come?’ Lou felt something pierce her chest as the words escape her mouth. She looked down to see a knife stuck hilt-deep into her. Next to her, her boyfriend was in the same condition. The man had stabbed them both as he smiled at them. He now began to laugh as he pulled the blades from his victims and they fell to the floor, the life draining out of them.
‘There’s more where they came from!' he screamed, 'Let's get the fun started!’
‘Hey, snap out of, come on.’ Billy slapped the girl’s face, trying to get some coherent sense out of her. He and Michael had carried her over to a wall of one of the buildings and had leaned her up against it. She was still giggling like a maniac. Then she seemed to try to focus her vision on Billy for a moment.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she said, and proceeded to be, but she had enough presence of mind to lean over and be it on the floor, and not on herself.
‘That’s just great,’ Michael fumed, getting to his feet and beginning to pace around. As Billy continued to try to get some sense from the girl, he looked out across the scrubland for any sign of help. Sure enough, six figures could be seen approaching. ‘Hey, over here!’ he called out to them. It already looked like they’d seen him though, because they were heading right towards him. As they got close enough for Michael to see their faces, he saw that they were all wearing the same sunglasses as the others. Four of them were guys, the other two, girls. ‘Hey, our friend is sick. Could one of you call an ambulance, both our phones are out,’ he said hurriedly.
‘Don’t think I will,’ one of the men said in a sinister tone as all six of them slowed their pace and began edging towards Michael. ‘Maybe I’ll just fucking kill you all and then get to the party. I’m late, you see.’
‘What the fuck are you talking about, you twat, she’s sick?!’ argued Michael, thinking this was some kind of inappropriate joke.
‘Careful Derek, they might be armed,’ one of the girls warned.
‘Nah,’ Derek replied. ‘These guys are fucking green. This won’t take a minute.‘ Stepping menacingly forward, he removed his sunglasses to reveal two completely white eyes. ‘Or maybe on second thought, I’ll take my time...’