Haven: Haven or Hell, #1

By E.B. Lunsford

When the virus breaks out, Dana Flannigan only wants to keep her son safe. She finds this almost impossible to do as people everywhere begin turning into mindless cannibals. There has to be somewhere safe they can go.

 

When Mike Powell starts his day, he ignores the morning news, thinking it's another scam. A virus making people go insane is the least of his concerns. He has more important things to worry about.

 

Hannah doesn't know what to think when her parents suggest they play a game in the attic. She's never been allowed up there before, and the thought of going now freaks her out. The attic is dark and scary, especially at night.

 

These characters and more must fight for their lives, and not everyone can survive. It feels like the end, but the apocalypse has only just begun...

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: E.B. Lunsford
• Release date: Nov 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393141402

E.B. Lunsford

E.B. Lunsford is a writer, a mother, and an animal lover. An avid reader for most of her life, she loves anything horror related. Her biggest influences include Richard Laymon and Steven King. She resides with her family deep in the heart of Texas. You can find more about her on her website: eblunsford.com.

Book preview

Chapter One

HANK FLANNIGAN TOSSED and turned, unable to fall asleep as the day’s events kept replaying in his head. He decided it was a lost cause and sat up but didn’t turn on the lamp, not wanting to wake his wife. In the darkness of the bedroom, he could just make out the shape of her next to him. She was asleep and snoring away, unaware that anything was amiss.

He envied her. After the night he had, Hank would give anything to fall asleep and put it all behind him. The strange incident that occurred as he was leaving work that evening plagued his thoughts, and the bite on his arm was starting to burn like hell. He tried to subdue the almost unbearable urge to scratch as the woman’s face returned to his mind’s eye.

Those blood red eyes and the hungry look on her face when she first approached had been like a slap to the face. He had known something was wrong with her, even before she attacked him. The way she had torn into his arm like it was a slab of roast beef still freaked him out. It was like he was there again as he relived what happened.

Hank had been turning off the lights at the job site and making sure all the equipment was properly stored away, as he did every night before leaving work. It had been a long day and he was looking forward to going home, taking a shower, and having hot food in his belly. His wife was a helluva cook, and he knew dinner would be waiting for him.

He wondered what she had made for dessert. Sometimes she surprised him by making a cake or pie. Hank could picture a homemade pecan pie waiting for him in the middle of the kitchen table. He could almost smell it.

As he made his way across the dark grounds, heading for his truck parked across the street, Hank heard a low growl from somewhere behind him. He turned and squinted his eyes, trying to make out anything in the darkness.

Nothing was there. Maybe he had imagined it. Hank shrugged and continued toward the street, letting out a sigh as his truck came into view only a couple of yards away. He thought he heard the sound again and glanced over his shoulder. It sounded much closer this time.

His phone rang, and he jumped. Its jarring, insistent tone startled him out of his thoughts before he could fully process how much closer the sound had been.

The phone rang again as he struggled to pull it from his pocket. His palms were sweaty as he glanced at the screen. His wife was calling.

Hank answered as the phone started to ring for the third time. Hey, baby.

"Don’t baby me. Do you know what time it is?"

She sounded angry, but he knew she could never really be angry with him. She was probably standing in the kitchen cooking dinner. He could picture the apron he had gotten her last year tied around her waist as she stood there with her hands on her hips, hair disheveled, and a scowl on her lips.

Hank smiled at the thought of how beautiful she was, even when angry and scowling. He knew he was a lucky man and still couldn’t believe she had agreed to marry him, and they had been married now for over fourteen years. Their son was almost a teenager.

I know it’s late, babe. I’m sorry. It took a bit longer than usual to get everything shut down with Jose out sick, but I’m leaving the site now. Be home in a few.

Can you stop at the store on your way? We need milk. I used it all to make gravy.

Mmm. What else did you make? Dana hadn’t even known how to cook when they first met and had only gotten better as time went by. Cooking wasn’t the only thing that had improved over the years. She’d also gotten better in the bedroom, and her mouth was pure magic. He started to get hard thinking about it.

Steak with peppers and onions, mashed potatoes with gravy, and steamed zucchini.

It was music to his ears. Sounds amazing. I’ll stop and pick up some milk. Do we need anything else while I’m at the store?

There was a pause. Not that I can think of.

Okay, babe. I love you, he said as a growl came from right behind him.

Hank whipped his head around, but nothing was there, not that he would be able to see in the dark. It was a moonless night, and fog obscured any stars. The sound had reminded him of a rabid dog or something. His eyes searched the shadows surrounding him to no avail.

Hank turned in a circle. Nothing. Maybe he had scared whatever it was away. It was probably just a damn coyote anyway. He put his phone back to his ear in time to hear Dana asking if he was still on the line.

Yes, baby. Sorry about that. I thought I heard something behind me. I’m almost to the truck now. See you soon. He hung up.

Hank turned and looked again for a final time but still didn’t see anything. He shrugged and headed for his truck again. It had been a stressful day. Hell, it was no wonder he was hearing things. When he was only steps away from the truck, he froze. Something didn’t feel right.

He started to feel cold all over and just knew something was right behind him. Chill bumps broke out across his arms as Hank looked over his shoulder.

A woman was standing only inches away from him.

Hank jumped back and cursed, dropping his cellphone to the pavement. It made a loud thud on impact. Shit! He hoped the screen hadn’t cracked. They couldn’t afford another phone right now, not when he was still paying on the last loan he had gotten the month before.

Hank tried to catch his breath and then turned to the woman. Can I help you ma’am? he asked before noticing her appearance.

The woman’s clothes were torn, bloody, and covered in grime. Her dirty hair was matted to her face and neck, and her eyes looked as if every vein in them had burst at the same time. All he saw was blood in her eyes. It was like they were nothing but bloody sockets.

It freaked Hank out. She seemed to be staring right through him as if he wasn’t even there. She was kind of scary, though she couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet.

As Hank waited for her to respond, he remembered his dropped cell phone. He glanced down but didn’t see it. Keeping one eye on the woman, he reached down with one hand and felt around. The pavement was slightly damp and cool to the touch.

Hank felt around with his hand, but he couldn’t find his phone. He looked away from the woman and finally spotted it a couple of inches away from his outstretched hand. As his fingers closed around it, the screen lit up.

Before he knew what was happening, the woman slammed into him. Even though Hank outweighed her by over a hundred pounds, she was still somehow able to knock him flat on his back. Hank pushed her away and tried to sit up, but she jumped on top of him, straddling him.

Ma’am, what are you doing? Get off me. I’m married, he protested, mistaking her intentions as her face neared his own.

Hank thought she was trying to kiss him, so he tried to push her away. Her teeth sank into his arm, and searing pain shot through it. He howled and tried to pull his arm away, but the woman refused to let go. She bit down even harder and then jerked her face away, taking a chunk of meaty flesh from his arm. It hung from between her lips for only a second before disappearing into her mouth. It looked like it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

Bile shot up his throat as he looked down at the hole in his arm. Hank responded the only way he knew how. His fist connected with the side of her face, and he threw her off.

He stood and brushed the dirt from the back of his pants. Even though he felt guilty about hitting a woman, Hank also felt oddly satisfied with himself. She had taken a chunk out of his arm, and it felt good to pay her back.

He stood there trying to decide whether he should just leave her and head home, or if he should call the police and wait for them to show up. That’s when he noticed the woman was no longer lying unconscious on the ground. Any normal woman would still be out cold after a blow like that, but there she was, back on her feet already.

She was standing about a foot away from him, staring Hank down with those creepy red eyes. She had to be high or drunk to be able to get back up again so fast. It was the only explanation he could think of.

Hank stared right back. She was standing with her head cocked to one side, wearing a look on her face that could only be described as predatory. It reminded him of the way a cat regards a mouse right before it pounces.

The woman let out a shriek that seemed loud enough to burst his eardrums and charged at him, but he was ready for her this time.

Hank raised his boot and kicked her hard in the stomach. She went flying, landing on her back. Before she could get up, he leaned down and punched her again. Her head slammed into the pavement with a loud crack, and blood gushed from her nose.

He watched in disbelief as the woman started to get up again. Why wouldn’t she just stay down? Not knowing what else to do, Hank raised his foot and smashed it into her face. Her nose cracked under the weight of it. He knew it had to be broken. He felt sick that he had to resort to such violence to get her to back off. What was wrong with her?

Hank noticed his phone lying on the pavement beside her. He wouldn’t give her a chance to get back up and attack him again. He leaned down and scooped his phone up before running to his truck. It only took a few seconds for him to unlock it, climb inside, and start the engine.

Glancing in his rearview mirror, he noticed the woman was climbing back to her feet. Hank put his truck into gear. Fuck you. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.

The woman screamed behind him and tried to chase the truck, but he soon lost sight of her. Crazy bitch, he thought as he turned the truck onto the main road.

Hank knew he should probably call the police and get the woman the help she needed as she was clearly deranged, but he didn’t. Instead, he drove straight home. The last thing he needed was the cops questioning why he had hit a woman, and not just once but repeatedly. He shook his head as he pulled into his driveway.

He remembered his earlier conversation with his wife as he was walking in the front door. After the scuffle with the crazy woman, he had forgotten the damn milk, and his wife knew exactly how far the job site was from the house. Hank couldn’t think of any acceptable excuse as to why he was even later getting home or why he looked like he had been in a street fight, not to mention the forgotten milk. The truth was far too crazy to even try and explain.

In the end, he hadn’t needed to explain anything. He walked straight through the house and into the safety of the bedroom before his wife even noticed he was home.

Hank showered and cleaned himself up as best as he could. He put a bandage on his arm and covered it with a long-sleeved shirt. By the time he was finished dressing, dinner was ready.

While in the shower, Hank had decided to just tell his wife the truth. It would be easier than trying to think of a good lie. He told her about the incident while they were eating dinner but downplayed it as best as he could. She had been shocked but sympathetic, and now she was sleeping like a baby, and here he was, still thinking about it.

The bite on his arm started twitching. It felt like it was suddenly on fire. Hank half expected to see flames shooting from it, but there weren’t any. The fire spread through the rest of his body like wildfire. The pain was excruciating and unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was like every bone in his body was breaking all at once.

Before his mind could fully grasp the agony he was experiencing, Hank felt his consciousness starting to drift away. He fought with everything he had to stay awake and focused, but it was like fighting the ocean’s waves. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

Hank started to feel hot and cold at the same time. Chills ran up and down his spine. His stomach started churning, and he felt like he was about to vomit. A change was happening inside of him. He could feel it threatening to take control at any moment. Even though he had no real sense of what was happening to him, he somehow knew he was losing control of his own body.

Out of nowhere, a fierce hunger hit him hard. It took his breath away. All he felt was hunger and a need to feed. Unable to control himself any longer, Hank turned to the limp form lying next to him under the sheets. His mouth started to water as the tantalizing smell of her flesh filled his nostrils. He recoiled in disgust as he realized he wanted to taste her. He wanted to sink his teeth into her delicate flesh.

Knowing he wanted to taste her more than he had ever wanted anything in his entire life, Hank revolted against whatever was beginning to take control of his body. His last human thought was to protect the only person on Earth he had ever truly loved. It took every bit of his strength to turn away from her.

He jumped from the bed and landed on all fours on the hardwood floor next to it. He vomited blood, but Hank didn’t feel any pain. He no longer felt anything at all because he no longer existed. In his place was a primal version of his previous self, a creature that felt no pain and had no fear. All it felt was never-ending hunger.

It moaned as its stomach started to rumble. It needed to feed. The creature raised its nostrils into the air and sniffed. It sensed another presence in the room, lying on the bed. It shuffled closer. The smell was amazing. Blood and flesh. Time to feed. The creature that was once Hank Flannigan pounced.

Chapter Two

DANA FLANNIGAN SAT up. A sound had woken her from a deep sleep. She thought it sounded like a yelp of pain. She didn’t know why, but that yelp sent her into panic mode. Goosebumps broke out on her arms as chills racked her body. Something was wrong. Her heart started racing, and she tried to catch her breath as she looked around the room.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. All Dana could make out were shadows and odd shapes. One of them in particular caught her interest, probably because it was moving. It looked like someone was standing at the foot of the bed. She couldn’t tell what they were doing.

As her eyes adjusted, Dana’s ears picked up a chewing sound coming from the moving shape. Now that she thought about it, it didn’t really sound like chewing at all, more like slurping and smacking. The sound disturbed her, but she wasn’t sure why. An odd, coppery smell hung in the air that was familiar, but she didn’t know what it was.

Dana reached behind herself and felt for Hank, but her hand found only empty bedsheets. She turned to look and found his side of the bed empty. How odd. Where is he? Hank had always been a heavy sleeper and almost never left the bed once he climbed into it.

She turned again to the shape at the foot of the bed. Logic told her that it must be Hank, but her mind was screaming at her that it wasn’t him and she needed to run. Hank wouldn’t be making a sound like that.

Dana shook her head to clear it. Why would she run? It was only Hank; it had to be. Why was her mind telling her that she was in danger? As her eyes struggled to make out what she was seeing, the hall light came on.

Dana couldn’t believe it. Standing directly in front of her was Hank or what used to be Hank. It was now a morbid, twisted version of him. Hank would never do anything even remotely like what the thing at the foot of the bed was doing. It couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t.

She fought to tear her gaze from his red eyes. It was as if every vein in them had burst. His skin was even paler than usual making him appear more dead than alive. It reminded her of the horror movies her son begged her to watch with him.

Dana looked down at the bed. At her feet was a bloody heap, a pile of skin, fur, and bone. The beautiful, golden fur was the same color as their golden retriever. Hank was using his hands to scoop and pull innards from the dog’s stomach to his gaping mouth. He was eating their family pet right before her very eyes.

Before Dana could finish processing everything she was seeing, her son came barreling into the room, throwing open the door that had been partially open and flicking on the overhead light. Every gory detail in front of her came