Infestation: A Horror Anthology

By Simon Dillon

In the near future, no one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids.

A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.

Alongside the Infestation novella, this volume also features short stories Once in a Lifetime, Influencer, Regression, Spinner, and White Horse. The latter is a standalone prequel to gothic mystery novel The Irresistible Summons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon Dillon
• Release date: Oct 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005126537

Simon Dillon

I was born the year Steven Spielberg made moviegoers everywhere terrified of sharks. I lived the first twenty or so years of my life in Oxford, and am pleased to have spent so much time in the place where some of my favourite writers wrote their greatest works (including JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Philip Pullman). I like to think I can write a diverting tale, and as a result I have penned a few novels and short stories. I currently live in Plymouth in the UK, and am married with two children. I am presently brainwashing them with the same books that I loved growing up.

Book preview

Infestation

A Horror Anthology by Simon Dillon

Copyright 2021 Simon Dillon

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

Table of Contents

Infestation Chapter 1

Infestation Chapter 2

Infestation Chapter 3

Infestation Chapter 4

Infestation Chapter 5

Infestation Epilogue

Once in a Lifetime

Influencer

Regression

Spinner

White Horse

Infestation Chapter 1

‘Do you love your wife, Jonah Seymour?’

Jonah frowned, pondering the horrible tragedy endured by his wealthy, reclusive, wheelchair-bound employer. That William Craig-Anderson had taken his late wife’s surname when they were married perhaps indicated the love he had felt. But his question had been about Jonah’s wife, and its implication was clear. How far would he be prepared to go for her?

‘I love my wife very much.’

William Craig-Anderson nodded. ‘That’s good. I wanted you to look me in the eye and say it, because what I ask, I couldn’t ask of someone who didn’t understand such love. I’m also sure if you had children, as I once did, you would feel that same love for them. You would be prepared to do anything for them.’

‘For me, this is a very simple matter,’ said Jonah. ‘You pay me. I do the job.’

‘You aren’t distressed by what I’m asking?’

‘Not particularly. But even if I were distressed, that would be nothing to the distress I would feel if I were to lose my wife.’

William Craig-Anderson smiled. ‘So what you’re saying is you need the money for your wife, so you’ll go through with it, no matter how unpleasant the task?’

‘Perhaps I should be clear: I wouldn’t do something like this for anything less than what you are offering. It is exceptionally dangerous. There are very few who could pull this off.’

‘And that’s why you insisted on hand-picking your team?’

‘I wouldn’t do the job otherwise. Trust is everything on a mission like this. If you can’t place your life in the hands of the people with you, knowing they have your back, it’s over before it’s begun.’

A ringing telephone in an adjacent room distracted William Craig-Anderson. Irritation flickered across his scarred, wrinkled face. He brushed a lock of silver, comb-over hair back across his scalp and activated his remote-controlled wheelchair.

‘Please excuse me a moment…’

Jonah was left in the large empty conference room, surrounded by various landscapes from famous painters. He stroked the dark leather chair and glanced out across the mahogany table to the windows at the far end, overlooking the extensive grounds and gardens bathed in the July late evening sun. He had been summoned to William Craig-Anderson’s Surrey home earlier in the week, and had prepared extensively for the meeting. He also knew, through his contacts in the mercenary world, that the Craig-Anderson job had been much sought after. There were interviews with many others in his field, but his employer had been exceptionally careful in his selection process. There could be no mistakes, no room for error, and most importantly no unfortunate attacks of conscience when the moment came. William Craig-Anderson required someone that would show no mercy.

A moment later, Jonah’s new employer returned. He positioned himself directly opposite Jonah at the centre of the table, and began activating a virtual reality keypad that brought up holographic CVs of assorted individuals. Jonah stared up at the large transparent files of those he had selected as they were projected around the conference room.

‘My apologies for the interruption,’ said William Craig-Anderson. ‘So… These are the people you have selected for the mission?’

Jonah nodded.

‘Let’s see who we have… Eric Watson.’

The headshot of a white man in his early thirties came into more prominent focus. He had a shaved head and something of a bulldog face.

‘I’ve worked with him several times. Exceptionally qualified for this kind of mission.’

‘Yes, I’m aware of his black ops background, but of course, this will be very different.’

‘I won’t do the job without him.’

‘Fair enough. Andrew Jones is another good choice. Highly qualified.’

Moving the virtual reality display with his hands, William Craig-Anderson indicated the face of a black man slightly older than Jonah, in his early forties.

‘Again, I’ve worked with him, and all these people.’

‘Teresa Chang, Paul Green, Robin Bridges…’ William Craig-Anderson thumbed through three CVs in rapid succession on the virtual reality display - an Asian woman, another white man, and a white woman; all of whom appeared tough but had a dead-eyed expression. Jonah was familiar with that look. He saw it in his own face whenever he looked in the mirror. People who had seen too much horror, but had learned to disconnect from it.

‘I have no issues with you taking any of these people, as long as you can vouch that they will go through with the mission.’

‘They will do what they are paid to do.’

‘Excellent.’ William Craig-Anderson punched up one further CV on his virtual reality display - a much younger man Jonah didn’t recognise. He stared at his pale, pasty, bespectacled face. He appeared unhealthy; too thin, too gaunt, as though in the throes of a wasting disease.

‘This is Ivan Bruce,’ William Craig-Anderson continued. ‘He’ll be joining your party.’

Jonah frowned. ‘The deal was I pick my people.’

‘This man goes with you. It’s non-negotiable.’

‘I need to know and trust everyone who goes, and I don’t know or trust this man.’

‘You don’t have to. He’s simply present as an observer and won’t get in your way. If he falls behind, or gets injured, or otherwise endangers your group in any way, leave him. He won’t be an impediment, but I do insist he accompanies you.’

‘Why?’

‘Three reasons. First, he is an arachnid expert. What he doesn’t know about spiders isn’t worth knowing. Secondly, he is there to ensure you do what you say you will do.’

Jonah bristled. ‘We have cameras, microphones, and a live video feed for you to watch.’

‘Such feeds can be faked, as well you know. I need a pair of eyes on the ground to verify the task is carried out. Given the nature of what I have asked, I’m concerned even your battle-hardened team might bail at the last minute. Ivan Bruce is my insurance. He will make sure you deliver.’

Jonah stared at Ivan’s pale face. ‘He looks barely out of his teens. What makes you think he has the constitution for something as difficult as this?’

‘There is a third reason he’s coming with you. Ivan Bruce works in a highly secret government research facility. The latest ideas surrounding what caused the appearance of these nests all over the world are being looked into. It sounds like the British government have a theory they want to put to the test. Ivan is coming to make this test which, if successful, could lead to a global solution and the elimination of the infestation.’

‘And in the meantime, the government is willing to turn a blind eye to what you want on this mission?’

‘I think the government will make whatever compromises it needs to, for the greater good.’

Jonah nodded. It hardly took the most cynical mindset to see William Craig-Anderson’s point. Given his power and influence, his support would be coveted by the government.

‘Very well,’ said Jonah. ‘Ivan Bruce comes, but as you say, if he falls behind, or gets injured, it is on him. We are not going to babysit.’

‘If anything he will be babysitting you. How else do you think you’ll survive? You require his expertise.’

‘I’ve been in nests before.’

‘Not like this one. Not like the one in Birmingham…’

Jonah’s eyes widened. ‘You want us to infiltrate the Birmingham nest?’

‘Correct.’

‘Why not use the nest on the M25? It’s nearer.’

William Craig-Anderson laughed. ‘Yes, the notorious M25 nest. A huge inconvenience to London traffic. But no, I want you to go to the Birmingham nest. It’s still the biggest in the world at forty square miles, and who knows how deep? I want you to go as far in as possible.’

‘I see,’ said Jonah. ‘You really want to make sure, don’t you?’

‘Now do you understand why you need Ivan Bruce? You won’t survive that deep in a nest without him.’

‘Access will be difficult. There are several smaller nests dotted around the main nest, and the entire city has been evacuated.’

‘Well, at least your roads will be clear. Again, this is why you need Ivan Bruce. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Obviously, I appreciate this mission has great risk, hence the size of your payment. Even with Ivan Bruce, there is a good chance you or members of your team will die.’

‘I understand the risks.’

‘And you need the money,’ said William Craig-Anderson. A cruel smile appeared on his face.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ said Jonah.

‘Go ahead.’

‘Where do you think the nests came from?’

William Craig-Anderson frowned. ‘That isn’t what you’re really asking. Where they came from is what the likes of Ivan Bruce have been agonising over. No, what you’re really concerned with is why they appeared.’

‘So why do you think they appeared?’

‘I have no idea, but although their presence is inconvenient and indeed alarming, today I am grateful for the nests. Perhaps God has placed them here to bring cleansing.’

Following the mission briefing, Jonah returned to his flat in Chelsea. The financial rewards of his mercenary activities had allowed him to afford such a place, yet it meant nothing to him without Erica. She was so beautiful, so perfect; the one element of unmitigated joy in his life, and now she was dying.

Jonah wandered through the flat, pausing here and there as he recalled happy memories prior to Erica’s diagnosis. The place remained a shrine to her, with her books, magazines, records, and other clutter clumsily stacked on bookshelves in their bedroom and sitting room. Erica wanted physical objects rather than downloads of all her favourite novels, films, and music, and whilst Jonah had never understood why, he loved this more analogue part of her personality. It meant that even though she now resided in the hospital, a part of her remained behind with him in their flat.

For several minutes, Jonah ran his fingers over dusty book sleeves, closing his eyes and thinking of his beloved wife. They had been married less than a year, and had met less than a year before that, but in the brief time they had known one another, it had become clear one lifetime together would not be enough.

Before the diagnosis, Erica had worked as a doctor. Now she was in the hands of surgeons, but the new, non-invasive, radically effective cancer treatments she so desperately needed were out of the question, unless he went through with the William Craig-Anderson job. Since the privatisation of the UK National Health Service, proper medical care had been hard to come by, and whilst cancer patients could still opt for chemotherapy if they couldn’t afford the new treatment, this had led to bitter resentment.

Such resentments had been a major issue during the last government election, and the current ruling party had claimed during their campaign that they would again refund the National Health Service. However, that was before the appearance of the spiders, and since then the government had been preoccupied with that ongoing crisis.

His mind still going over the mission details, Jonah slouched on the sofa and flicked on the television news. He watched idly for a moment, but the headlines didn’t really change from day to day. Governments across the globe had become increasingly isolationist and inward-looking in dealing with the spiders. Some nations had a far bigger infestation, with nests causing severe problems for local populations. The USA, France, Sweden, and Greece had particularly suffered in this respect, and evacuations in Middle Eastern countries had proved nothing less than a nightmare.

‘I’m standing near what was once Damascus,’ said a female BBC reporter. ‘The entire area is now a no-go zone, and yet setting up safe perimeters is all but impossible. The spiders here have claimed countless victims, dragging men, women, and children down into the depths of these large nests…’

The image cut to shots of the vast nest exterior, with gigantic webs smothering the city and dark, forbidding, spider-woven tunnels leading into the nest.

‘What’s unusual about the activity here is the spiders are far more aggressive and expand their territory all the time. There are also far more of them, and their numbers seem to be increasing, although it has proved impossible to accurately survey and predict spider populations.’

The image cut to a young female newsreader and an older male studio guest.

‘I’m joined now by Dr Lewis Harding, a scientist who has done significant research into the giant spider phenomena. Dr Harding, why are these spiders in the Middle East spreading, breeding, and getting more aggressive, whereas the UK nests remain relatively contained?’

‘There are a number of possible factors,’ said Dr Harding. ‘Climate for instance. It could be that hotter temperatures are causing increased fertility. That in turn means less food to go around in their immediate territory, so they are forced to expand and hunt amid human populations.’

‘I thought it had been established that deprived of all food sources, these spiders simply turn on each other instead?’ the newsreader asked.

‘Yes, well spiders are cannibals and that appears to be the case in the UK at present. The nests are very well contained, although there are still people going missing near the Birmingham exclusion zone. But don’t forget new, smaller nests have also cropped up around there, along with that enormous main nest.’

‘Are the spiders in the UK different to those in the Middle East?’

‘So far we’ve encountered a variety of different species. It could be that some are simply more aggressive than others. Perhaps those in the UK keep themselves to themselves a little more.’

The newsreader smiled. ‘So more introverted, socially awkward spiders?’

Dr Harding frowned. ‘Well of course these spiders are no laughing matter, given how many people have died. For one thing, they exhibit deeply alarming, one might say unnatural behaviour patterns, that do not correspond with the tiny spiders in our normal ecosystems.’

‘Such as?’

‘One common pattern we have observed across the world is the young offspring undertake most of the attacks outside nest boundaries. The largest specimens generally do not show themselves but lurk deep inside their web tunnels.’

‘Like parents sending their children out to war?’

‘Well, they were sending them out to die, in a lot of cases, when the military tried to eradicate them. But that’s another strange thing. No matter how many bombs we dropped, no matter how much artillery fire, machine-gun fire, remote flame throwing units, and so forth… Even when soldiers entered the nests and gunned them all down… We would think they were all destroyed, and the nests were empty, but then more always appeared, seemingly from nowhere.’

‘How can they appear from nowhere?’

‘There are a lot of theories. Some say these creatures tunnelled up from deep within the earth and replaced those we thought were destroyed. Other more outlandish theories suggest they may have entered our universe from a parallel world. Then there are the conspiracy theorists who blame some kind of secret government experiment that went wrong. The latter is nonsense, I assure you.’

‘But Dr Harding, can we really be sure of any of this?’

Dr Harding sighed. ‘Not one hundred percent, no. Most of our observation has been done by sending drones and remote cameras into the nests, but the data is inconclusive. And of course, we still don’t have an answer to the most fundamental questions: where did they come from, and why did they suddenly appear now?’

Jonah turned off the television. He pondered just how shocked everyone had been when the giant spiders appeared. There had been predictions of an impending apocalypse. Religious groups had claimed this was a divine sign of a coming judgement on the Earth, and for a time terror had gripped many nations. But now, in the UK at least, people had more or less got used to the presence of the oversized arachnids. Those situated near the nests were nervous, but the increased military presence in such areas brought some degree of reassurance. Less reassuring were the How to Defend Yourself Against a Giant Spider public information films shown on television, government websites, and in cinemas. Rather than offer genuine help, all these films had done was provide comedians with a new seam of satirical gold. How to Befriend a Giant Spider, How to Date a Giant Spider, and How to Be a Sensitive Listener to a Giant Spider had all gone viral, along with pieces on How to be Culturally Sensitive to Giant Spiders, How to Avoid Giant Spider Cultural Appropriation, and so forth. Some claimed these spoofs were offensive to those who had lost loved ones, but many others with darker senses of humour – including Jonah Seymour – found them hilarious.

After studying and restudying the briefing from William Craig-Anderson, Jonah knew the mission and its stipulations well enough to go to bed. The following evening the mission would begin. He had arranged a rendezvous with the others at what had once been the airfields of RAF Northolt. It had been abandoned following a particularly savage spider attack before they were driven back to their nest on the M25 near Colne Valley and Uxbridge. From there they would drive to Buckinghamshire, to their first port of call, before heading on to Birmingham.

Knowing this time tomorrow he would be committed to the extremely dangerous task for which he had been hired, Jonah’s thoughts turned to Erica. But he didn’t think of in her present hospital misery. He thought of when they had first met, of films they went to see, of restaurants where they went on dates, bars they visited, nights in, snuggled up on the sofa… Lying in bed together… Kissing… Making love… He buried his head in the pillow, longing for the warmth of her body, the scent of her perfume, and the sparkling eyes that seemed to shut out all the hurt, pain, and horror of what he had seen throughout his life, especially in his chosen profession. The money he would earn for the William Craig-Anderson job would not only mean a cure for Erica but a way he would never have to work again.

Following a restless night, Jonah got up early. He stood in the shower for some time, wondering if this might be the last shower he ever took. Entering the spider nest in Birmingham was insanity on the face of it, especially as their orders wouldn’t just take them to the outskirts of the nest but deep into its very core.

After showering he stared into the mirror, wondering if his facial features would remain unscarred by what he was about to do. Despite his tough persona, there had always been a slightly vain side to Jonah Seymour. As a teenager he had taken secret pride in his good looks, and had been quietly pleased at the many girls who chased after him. He had ignored most of them, only settling once he himself fell in love when he met Erica.

Jonah dressed, left his flat, and drove to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. Erica was still asleep when he arrived at her ward so for a while he just sat and watched her as she snoozed. Seeing her linked up to drip feeds, with tubes up her nose, felt like a dagger in his heart. But after today it would be over. They would be able to afford the cure and avoid an almost certainly doomed attempt at chemotherapy.

Staring around at the white walls and inwardly reeling at the horrible bleach smell that always permeated hospitals, Jonah’s mind turned again to what was ahead. He knew Watkins, Jones, Green, Bridges, and Chang would all have the nerve to carry out the operation, but his concern was Ivan Bruce. He didn’t like surprises, unknown quantities, wild cards... Ivan Bruce would be there to protect William Craig-Anderson’s investment, but despite his spider expertise, would he be able to stand by coldly, letting them do their job? A task as unpleasant as this would not be for the faint of heart. Despite his reasons for taking the mission, a small but definite part of Jonah even objected to his own involvement.

‘What are you thinking about?’ said a familiar voice.

Jonah turned back to Erica. ‘Oh, nothing... It’s just… Well, I’ve got to tell you something.’

Erica frowned. ‘What is it?’

Jonah stared at Erica. The various tubes attached to her, the pale, gaunt skin, and other cruel ravages of the terminal disease she battled seemed to disappear, and all he saw was the sparkle of her eyes. All he felt were her waves of love. He would do anything to save her, no matter what. Even if it killed him it didn’t matter. Without her, what was the point of anything?

‘I’ve going away tonight,’ said Jonah. ‘Another mission.’

Erica looked worried. ‘Will you be gone long?’

Jonah shook his head. ‘I should be back tomorrow.’

‘Is the mission abroad?’

‘No, but I can’t discuss it with you.’

Erica sighed. ‘I hate this. Every time you go away on a mission it eats me up inside, knowing I might not see you again.’

‘You shouldn’t think that. I’m very good at what I do.’

‘I wish you would stop.’

‘Erica, this job is going to have a very big payday. Once I’m done, I can quit this business forever. This is the last time, I promise.’

‘You’ve promised that before, and you always seem to get sucked back in.’

‘Not this time. After this job, it’s all over. I will devote myself to you completely, and we’ll have the money to get you properly healed.’

Erica’s eyes widened. ‘You mean…?’

‘You won’t need chemotherapy. You’ll get the cure.’

‘Jonah… Money like that is dead man’s pay. Surely you can’t risk it?’

‘Trust me, I know what I’m doing. This guy I’m working for is very, very rich, and he wants things done a very, very specific way. He’s prepared to pay through the nose, and with that money you will be made better. Then things can go back to the way they were. We can be happy.’

Tears filled Erica’s eyes. ‘Jonah, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking in this place, about us, and about the world and what’s happening to it. Everyone is growing colder. No one cares about each other anymore. I think about the love between us, and sometimes I think that’s the only thing