Read the First Chapter of my Horror/Vampire Novel!

[Caroline Barnard-Smith]

For your viewing pleasure, I present the first chapter of Dunraven Road :)

"In the sleepy backwater of Dunraven Road, a group of hedonistic friends are trapped in a deadly prison of their own making. When Zach, their enigmatic leader, brings his long term plans to fruition and paves the way for a sadistic vampire cult, their fragile world begins to break apart. Fuelled by dangerous passions and an insatiable craving for the substance they call red, the group must decide whether to succumb to the sweet lure of the abyss, or stand and fight for their very survival."

The book is now available to buy from Immanion Press or Amazon.

Dunraven Road - Chapter One

Eric McKinley died on a Tuesday, one clammy evening in the last weeks of summer. He was the first.

An aged alcoholic, it was only the smell of his decomposing body and the accumulation of post in his mail box that alerted Eric's neighbours. He lived alone and had few friends outside of the local drinking establishments, often having to be cajoled into leaving at closing time. It was during one of these nightly staggers home that he met his killer. The police found him sprawled on his bathroom floor, his wrists slashed open, his corpse grey and bloated. At first glance it was a suicide, but his age bothered the police. Eric barely had the strength to cross the road to the pub, how had he stilled his perpetual shaking to cut himself so deeply?

It wasn't long before death spread amongst the rest of Dunraven Road's elderly population. When the police released details of weeping contusions on the victim's throats and strange welts warping their wrists, the press immediately dubbed the killings 'Vamp Attacks', the likely product of a lunatic who had read too many horror novels.

The first Zach knew of the epidemic was the overpowering smell of bleach, permeating the hallway and seeping beneath the door of his flat. The old lady above him had been found naked and prostate on her self-crocheted bed spread, an upended bottle of sleeping pills placed clumsily beside her. She had obviously created quite a mess because the clean-up team had scrubbed her entire flat, stinking out the building with bleach in the process.

That had been a week ago and the smell still lingered, playing off the mouldering aroma of damp that soaked every crumbling wall of Zach's bed-sit.

Zach sat balanced on a pile of cushions. He was hunched over a laptop, dark green eyes fixed and staring at the screen. Flickering candlelight played across his face, highlighting the dark shades beneath his eyes. A tall, slim man, he would have looked thin, all bones and angles, if it wasn't for the fact that he'd worked hard to build muscle on his chest and arms.

His mind kept drifting to images of Kirsty naked, however hard he tried to concentrate on his work. It was by no means a pleasant thought. Sleeping with her was a chore, one he often had to navigate with his eyes closed, but it was necessary. She was integral to the process. She was also one of the girls who worked the checkout at Golden Harvest and it was simple business sense to keep them happy.

Zach heard his pet rat squeaking from his cage and looked up.

"What do you want, Vladdy?"

He put the laptop on the floor and disentangled himself from the nest of cushions, stretching before walking to Vladdy's cage. It was perched on top of a bowing shelving unit, sighing beneath the burden of books stacked three rows deep. The volumes were worn, the pages yellowed. The taller ones had strange, enticing titles: 'Vampyres: A Study' and 'A Treatise on Ritual', printed in gold on brittle spines.

Zach flipped open the door of the cage and stroked the rat's black and white head. Vladdy was standing on his hind legs, nose pressed against the bars.

"Have I been ignoring you, little one? Perhaps you're hungry."

He took a small sewing needle from his wallet before casting about for a lit candle.

"I'm a bad daddy, aren't I? I haven't fed you since last night."

Zach ran the needle's tip through a candle flame and straightened to peer into the cage once more. "This will satisfy you, I trust."

He stabbed the needle into the flesh at the top of his index finger, quick and deep. He didn't flinch. Instead, his eyes lit with a strange, furtive glow. A thick drop of blood swelled from the minute wound and Zach offered this finger to Vladdy. The rat slunk towards Zach's hovering finger, long tail making tracks in the sawdust, and began to lap at the blood. He did this slowly at first, then ravenously. Finally, he bit into the flesh with tiny razor teeth and Zach was forced to shake him off and withdraw his finger.

"I think that's enough, Vladdy." He shut the cage door and wiped the throbbing finger on his shirt.

"Don't wait up," he said, reaching for the leather coat slung across the back of the sofa. "Daddy's got business to attend to tonight."

***

Zach strode through the door of The Witch and Familiar and sat down at a table against the far wall, obediently followed by his ever present entourage; Kirsty, Sapphire and Justin.

"Get the drinks in, Kirsty," he said as the girl began to sit down.

Kirsty smiled widely and pushed back her chair. Her eyes peeked dully from beneath lids heavy with make-up.

"No problem, Zach."

Zach watched Kirsty walk away with a look of distaste on his face. She was always so eager to please him. She reminded him of a puppy, poised to run for every stick he threw. As Kirsty neared the bar she almost tripped over her own high heels, one foot bending awkwardly against the other. Justin laughed beside Zach.

"She's a classy lady, Zach. Why do you let her hang around?"

Zach turned and helped himself to one of Justin's cigarettes. The smoking ban may have come into force in the rest of the country, but here in the forgotten backwater of Dorcombe, nobody paid the new laws much heed. "She might prove to be useful," he said. "Plus, she buys all my drinks."

Justin and Zach laughed together. Sapphire extracted herself from the arm Justin had thrown across her shoulders. "That's so mean," she protested. "She really likes you, Zach."

Zach stopped laughing and looked at Sapphire. "She doesn't even know me."

Sapphire bit her bottom lip and reached for Justin's hand beneath the table. Zach continued to stare. There had been a time, when they were all still at college, when he was infatuated with her. She looked like a beautiful, devilish doll come to life. Zach had pursued Sapphire for weeks before finally seducing her, one drunken night in his bed-sit. He had made love to her on his flimsy, pull-down bed, pleading with her to moan louder as he ground his hips against hers. Sapphire had become frightened and started to cry when Zach's long, clawing fingernails drew blood, but this only served to heighten his excitement. After that night, it wasn't long before he lost interest in her. He often found this was the way with women. He had yet to meet one who could hold his attention.

Zach finally broke eye contact with Sapphire and sat back in his chair, stubbing his cigarette out in an ashtray fashioned to look like a skeletal hand. The Witch and Familiar bristled with such curios and oddities. It was a testament to the eccentric owner, an old-school biker called Rick who smiled behind the bar all night and turned into a sinewy, ferocious bouncer when it came to chucking out time. Seventies rock music rebounded from the black painted walls and gently vibrated the myriad items suspended from the ceiling. Zach looked up to check on the giant stuffed gorilla hanging directly over his head. The group had long ago christened him Horace, King of the Apes. During Zach and Justin's many drunken attempts to smack Horace and make him dance on his wire, he had inevitably suffered some battle wounds. Now the gorilla had a gross burn across his groin area, the result of a careless cigarette.

Towards the back of the pub, the objects hanging from the ceiling became steadily more bizarre. The top half of a naked female mannequin hung in the far corner. She had no arms and her hair had been chipped away to reveal a blackened scalp. Her eyes had been replaced with blinking red lights that gave her an unsettling Satanic stare. On every wall and every surface, there was a new, hideous marvel to behold. Even the tables were shaped like long black coffins, each one dressed with a fat white candle.

Kirsty returned to the table, carrying four pints of watery lager on a silver tray. She set it down and began passing the drinks out.

"You bought beer?" Zach said. His lips were pressed together, making them appear white and bloodless.

"Isn't this what you usually drink?" Kirsty stammered. She sat down quickly, purposely making sure she was out of Zach's reach.

"You know we always begin with whisky," Zach said.

"I'm sorry." Kirsty looked across at Justin and Sapphire and smiled, trying to make light of the mistake.

Justin picked up his glass and took a long swig. "I prefer beer," he said, nodding at Kirsty. "It puts hairs on my chest."

Sapphire laughed. "You should drink more of it," she teased.

Kirsty grinned widely when Zach laughed out loud, flashing the lipstick that had migrated to her teeth.

***

By the time last orders were called, Sapphire was predictably intoxicated. She hung behind the group as they made their way up the street.

"Come on," Justin said, pulling her towards him. "You want to stay at my place?"

Sapphire shook her head. "I need to buy cigarettes." She pushed him away. "You go on, I can get home by myself."

Justin's coaxing smile disappeared. "It's late, Sapphire. I should make sure you're okay."

"Don't worry about me," she argued. "You've got work in the morning. Go and get some sleep."

Justin shrugged. He stepped back, plainly irritated. "Fine. Just text me when you get in, okay?"

"Of course I will." She faked a bright smile and leaned forward to kiss him goodnight.

Once Justin had rounded a corner and disappeared into the shadows, Sapphire quickly turned in the direction Zach had taken. She found him perched on the wall bordering the local graveyard, a sad and dilapidated collection of headstones secreted away at the top of the street. Zach looked up and caught her staring at him.

"I thought you were going home with Justin."
Sapphire shuffled towards him, suddenly unsure of what she wanted to say. "Kirsty not with you?" she asked.

Zach lit a cigarette, striking a long pale match against the wall. "I sent her on," he said. "I couldn't face it tonight."

He laughed and Sapphire smiled uneasily. "She's not right for you, Zach," she said, stopping in front of him.

Zach regarded her with an amused expression. "I know," he said. "She's as thick as shit. But a man has needs, you know?"

"That's not very nice," Sapphire said. She was surprised at how shocked she was. "Did you used to say things like that about me?"

The amusement left Zach's face and his eyes darkened. "No. Never about you."

"Then why don't you like me anymore?" she suddenly blurted, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.

Zach shrugged in reply.

"Justin would understand if we got back together," Sapphire insisted.

"I feel certain he wouldn't."

Zach's nonchalance maddened her. It also filled her with fiery panic. She continued to stare at him, blue eyes wide and full of tears, desperately trying to find the right words, the perfect sentence to make him understand how he made her feel.

"We're soul mates," she said, knowing he would think she was being melodramatic. "That sounds stupid. But I know you love me, Zach. You're just too sensitive to deal with your emotions."

Zach visibly winced at her words. He threw his cigarette to the ground and extended a hand towards her. "Come on," he said. "Home time."

Sapphire fought to control the sobs building in her chest. "Don't do this, Zach," she said, her voice verging on a wail. "I'm really scared."

"What?" Zach stood and pulled his coat firmly around himself. It was too cold and too late for this shit.

Sapphire's face was a white, stricken mask in the darkness. "I could go through my whole life and never meet someone I love as much as you. What if I never find someone who lives up to you? I could spend my whole life wanting you. I don't think I can do that." She slipped her hands inside Zach's coat and pressed her face against his chest.

Zach moved to push her away, but something stopped him. Sapphire felt warm and soft against him. Her hair smelt sweet, like fragrant coconut. He smiled into the dark as a memory surfaced, unbidden and tantalizing: a memory of returning from work to find Sapphire waiting in his bed-sit, wearing nothing but a powder blue bra and matching pants. Her frail body was propped up on his pillows and she was grinning at him, inviting him to her side.

"Do you want to continue this conversation at my place?" Zach suggested. He looked down but all he could see was the top of Sapphire's head, pressed so hard against his chest he could feel the pulse fluttering in her right temple. He took her muffled reply for consent and led her away from the graveyard, one arm held tightly around her shoulders.

Behind them, a large red and white sign shone stark against the grey church brick: For Sale.

***

When Sapphire awoke the next morning she was alone, wrapped in Zach's sheets and staring into the glinting eyes of Vladdy from his cage across the room. She sat up and groaned aloud when her body resisted. Every part of her was sore. Her joints felt stiff, as if the skin there was stretched too tight.

"Zach?"

There was no reply, just the sound of Vladdy scratching around in his sawdust. Zach had vanished, probably in the direction of Golden Harvest, leaving only bruises and livid scratch marks in his wake.

Dunraven Road is now available to buy from Immanion Press or Amazon.