Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel (30 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Annaliese knew things were going to
get tense.  When she’d entered the restaurant and found Shawcross
half-conscious on the floor and the two prisoners holding knives, she had known
the best reaction would be to stay calm and not take sides.  If she’d
taken a hostile attitude then things might have become volatile.

As it stood, she had decided to trust Nick’s judgement, for
now.  She knew that his inclination was towards peace rather than
confrontation.  He wouldn’t have used violence unless it had been
necessary.  Loud mouthed Dave, on the other hand, was a different kind of
man altogether.  He was a small man with large ambitions, just like
Shawcross.  In Annaliese’s experience, men like Dave and Shawcross were
trouble; like bullies who became police officers or politicians, abusers of
power.

I just hope he doesn’t become a problem.

Mike caught up with Annaliese just as she was entering the
zoo.  The animals were due their feeding and she wanted something to do.

“I heard Shawcross went at Dave with a knife,” Mike said.

“Apparently.  I wasn’t there.  I wouldn’t put it
past him, though.  He’s a petty man with a bad temper.”

“You’re not a fan then?”

Annaliese shrugged.  “Not a fan of most people, but
I’ve seen Shawcross treat his staff like dirt in the past, enough times to know
that he views other people as commodities.  He won’t like not being in
charge.”

“You think there’ll be more trouble?”

“I’d almost bet on it.  The only thing more dangerous
than the infected people down the bottom of this hill are the people still
alive on top of it.  It takes a lot to survive.  People will do
anything.”

“You included?”

Annaliese nodded.  “If it comes to it, yeah, of
course.” 

“Well, I’m glad I came prepared then.”  Mike lifted up
his shirt and showed her a crude vest of armour.  “Made it out of some
binders from the offices,” he said.  “I don’t want to be the next one to
get stabbed.”

She laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

Annaliese shrugged her shoulders.  “It’s just that
before all this happened, I hated my life.  I spent every night trying to
drink myself to death.  I suppose I was committing slow suicide, not brave
enough to do it the hard way.  It took the end of the world to make me
realise how much I actually want to live and how much people could still make
me smile.”

Mike stopped and stared at her.  “You wanted to die?”

She nodded.  It felt good to admit such weakness to
him.  It was like unloading a burden from her soul.  “I was just done
with things.  Tired, you know?”

“Why?”

“Because one day I was pregnant and married, living in a
three bed semi, and the next I was giving birth to a stillborn baby, divorced,
and alone in a cramped flat.”

Mike was silent.  His shoulders seemed to rise up and
scrunch together like somebody had pinched his neck.

“Sorry,” she said, sensing his discomfort.  “I doubt
you’re very interested in my life story.  Especially when it’s so depressing.”

Mike remained silent.  He reached behind his back and
plucked something from his back pocket.  It was the wallet she had
retrieved for him weeks ago in the hotel room.  He opened it up and showed
her what was inside.  Amongst the useless money and credit cards was a
photograph.  Annaliese studied the picture with interest.  It was
obvious that the girl in the frame had Down’s syndrome. 

“Who is she?” Annaliese asked.

“My six year old daughter, Lucy.  Dead now, I suppose.”

“That’s why you wanted your wallet?”

Mike put the wallet back in his pocket and lowered his head
so that his chin was against his chest.  “I guess I sensed early on that
things were pretty bad.  I didn’t want to not ever see her face
again.  This is the only picture I had.”

Annaliese looked at Mike and realised, for the first time,
how much sadness the man carried with him.  He seemed to wear it around
his neck like a lead-weight.  “You’ve been so brave,” she said.  “I
never would have guessed you had a daughter.”

Mike cleared his throat and looked away.  “Not talking
about her doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about her.  It’s just the way I
deal with things, I guess.  I had to be brave from the moment she was
born.  The best way to cope with her condition was to be positive all the
time.  I guess it’s a habit that stayed with me.”

Annaliese grabbed Mike’s hand.  It was clammy. 
“It’s a good habit to have.  You’re very courageous.”

“So are you, Anna.  What you went through…”  He
let out a sigh.  “At least I got to know my child, if only for a little
while.”

Annaliese didn’t know which was worst.  Her having
never known her child, or what Mike had gone through, losing a child after
raising her for six years. 

“What about Lucy’s mother?” she asked.  “Do you know
what happened to her?”

Mike shook his head.  “We were separated, long time
ago.  All I know is that they would have been together at the end.  I
hold on to that.”  It seemed, for a moment, that he might cry, but he
didn’t.  Instead, he said, “Thank you for giving her back to me.  The
photo, I mean.”

She patted him on the back.  “My pleasure.  She
was a beautiful girl.”

He leant down and kissed her. 

To her surprise, she let him.

They broke away after several seconds and Annaliese felt her
cheeks growing red.  She cleared her throat and tried to speak. 
“Wh-what was that for?”

Mike stroked her face with the back of his hand.  “Life
has become very short; no point spending all of it just trying to
survive.  There’s got to be a little time, here and there, for actually
living our lives.”

Annaliese felt her cheeks burning, but she couldn’t help but
laugh.  “I’m sure there was a big philosophical point there somewhere.”

Mike smiled and kissed her again.  Annaliese’s stomach
fluttered as though it were full of leaves and wind.  She held on tightly
as they continued to embrace for what felt like an eternity and, yet, as short
as the briefest heartbeat at the same time.

I feel like I’m lost, but I never want to be found.

When they finally broke away there was the sound of
laughter.  It wasn’t coming from either of them.

Mike glanced around.  “Do you hear that?”

Annaliese nodded.  “Sounds like people having
fun.  Almost forgot what that sounded like.”

“Let’s go check it out.”

“Okay, but then I need to go feed the animals.”  She
found herself blushing as she asked, “Would you like to come along?”

Mike gave her a squeeze around the waist.  “Where you
go, I go.”

Annaliese wrapped her arm around him and the two of them
headed towards the laughter.  It was strange how much a single kiss could
change a relationship, but it had.  She hadn’t been thinking of Mike in a
romantic capacity, not at all, but now she held onto him with a deep
familiarity that actually managed to bring her comfort amongst all the darkness
of the new and frightening world.

She realised how much his existence made hers better and
felt embarrassed that she hadn’t seen him for what he was earlier.  He was
the only good thing in her life, and she had been oblivious of him.

I’m such an idiot.

After walking hand in hand for a few minutes, they
discovered Nick and Eve up ahead.  Pauline, Cassie, Alan, and Michelle
were also there.  It was quite the gathering.  Earlier events had
apparently been forgotten as all of them wore smiles on their faces and laughed
amongst themselves gleefully.

“What are you all up to?”  Annaliese asked as she
walked between them.

Nick was holding a basketball and tossed it to her. 
She flinched and caught it, then held it in her hands feeling confused.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” he said.  “Throw it
in.”

Annaliese looked up at the row of nets inside one of the
stalls.  She didn’t see the harm, so she reared back and thrust the ball
into the air, just like she had as a twelve year old girl on the middle-school
netball team.

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced away.  Eve
leant over the shelf and retrieved it from the floor.  “Good try,” she
said.

Annaliese grinned.  Throwing the ball had been fun and
she wanted to try again until she at least made a successful basket. 
“What’s this all about?” she said.

“It’s about fun,” said Nick.  “I think we all need a
break from supplies and defences and rations.  Time to kick back for an
afternoon and try to remember what life is all about.”

Mike walked forward and motioned to receive the ball. 
“I’ve just been saying the exact same thing.  How bout we get into teams
to make this a bit more interesting?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Nick.

Everyone else agreed.

Annaliese and Mike joined up with Alan and Michelle in a
team against Nick, Eve, Cassie, and Pauline.  They took turns making
baskets, but it wasn’t long before Nick’s team were several points ahead.

“Were you a professional basketball player in your old
life?” Annaliese asked Nick.  “You never miss a basket.”

“I used to play a lot as a teenager,” he said.  “It’s
like riding a bike.”

Mike wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his
arm.  “Well, I think we should remix the teams.  You lot are whipping
our arses.”

“What is going on here?” 

Annaliese looked up to see Dave marching towards them with
Jan and Renee right behind him.

“Nothing,” Nick said.  “We’re just having a bit of
fun.”

“Fun?  Fun?  We have things to do.  We all
need to be working?”

Eve picked up the ball and looked at him.  “Says who?”

“Says me!”

She rolled her eyes.  “And who the hell are you?”

Dave bristled.  “Apparently, I am the only one looking
out for this group.”

Nick spoke next and was immediately met with a glare from
Dave.  “Look, you’re not in charge of everyone, Dave, and neither was
Shawcross.  You had your little coup d’état in the restaurant, but the
rest of us are going to do what we want to do, not what you tell us to.”

“We’ll end up dead with that kind of attitude.  There
is danger all around us and you’re playing…
basketball!
”

Annaliese sighed.  She knew Dave had a point, but Nick
was right as well.  They all needed to let off steam or they were going to
end up having nervous breakdowns.  “We’re just taking a break,” she
said.  “We’ll be back to work soon.”

“Now!” said Dave.  “You all need to do the jobs
assigned to you now.”

Everyone just stood and stared at Dave.  Annaliese
couldn’t believe the gall of the man.  What made him think he had any
right to order them about?

I’m sure he’s just doing what he thinks is right, but
jeez, take a chill-pill.

After a while, Dave shook his head and almost spat at the
floor with rage.  He was bright red.  “Nick, are you going to back me
up here?  You know, that since I picked you all up, I have only had this
group’s interests at heart.”

Nick sighed and stared down at the ground.  Then he
began shaking his head.  “You know what?  I don’t know what your
motivation is, Dave, but I do know that we are all getting pretty sick and
tired of you assuming that you have any right over the rest of us.”

“Nick, you need to understand-”

“We’re playing basketball, Dave.  Either join us, or go
away.”

Dave’s eyes narrowed and he glared at Nick as though he was
trying to burn a hole through his forehead.  Then he spun around in a huff
and marched away.

Annaliese took a deep breath and let it out through her
nostrils.  “I think you just made an enemy there,” she said to Nick.

Nick grabbed the basketball and began bouncing it. 
“I’m a big boy,” he said.  “I can handle Dave.”

He threw the ball through the air and made another perfect
basket.  Nobody picked it up again, though.  Suddenly, they didn’t
feel like playing games anymore.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The evening was tense, particularly
between Dave and Nick.  Nick had felt the man’s angry gaze fall upon him
several times throughout the night, and he was getting quite sick of it.

Guy needs to let it go.

The whole group were now in the restaurant, including Jan
and Renee.  They were all eating burgers and fries that Pauline and
Michelle had prepared in the kitchen.  They had done so by lighting a fire
in a large pan and using an improvised spit to roast the meat.  They
boiled water for the fries.  The food was horrible, but made everybody’s
hunger go away.  Seeing how much food they had consumed for just one meal
made it dauntingly obvious that their supplies would not last forever. 
The bleak knowledge seemed to add to the tension already in the air.

Shawcross sat alone in a corner, eating his meal with his
head down.  He was a broken man, obviously unused to violence, and the
ease with which it had stripped him of his self-respect.  Nick felt guilty
for having been the one to punch the man, but Shawcross had certainly brought
it on
himself.

He would have killed Dave if I hadn’t done
something.  The more time that goes by, the closer we become to those
things at the bottom of the hill.

After they had finished playing basketball earlier, everyone
had got back to work with their various tasks.  Nick had returned to the
restaurant to clear the air with Shawcross, but the man had been nowhere in
sight.  He’d only reappeared an hour ago.  He told no one where he
had been.

Probably just moping about somewhere.

To Nick’s great surprise, Jan and Renee had chosen to sit
with Dave while they ate.  They even shared a few beers.  Perhaps
they appreciated his lobbying to get them out of the cellar; although they
should have been thanking Cassie more.

Maybe they just want to be with the guy who makes the
decisions.

Nick finished the last of his lukewarm burger and stood up
from the table.  He felt a headache coming on and the growing darkness
inside the restaurant was making his mood low.

“Where are you going?” Eve asked him, a concerned look on
his face.

“I just fancy a walk and some air.”

“You want me to come with?”

Nick shook his head.  As much as he enjoyed Eve’s
company, right now all he wanted was a bit of solitude.  “I won’t be
long,” he said.  “You just stay here with Pauline.”

Eve seemed a little unsettled that he was leaving on his
own, but she didn’t complain and agreed to stay put.

Nick headed out through the restaurant window and entered
the shadows of the park.  The moon was full and everything seemed to glow
with a silvery edge sharp enough to cut flesh.  The park’s rollercoaster,
The
Hood
, towered in the distance like a giant stick insect.  A
Lovecraftian monolith blending with the shadows.

Nick headed for the zoo.  The animals had a calming
effect on him and he liked seeing them go about their peaceful existence. 
It was almost enough to make him forget about everything else.

But, as soon as his eyes caught sight of the smouldering
fires in distant villages, reality always came crashing back.

Coming up on his left was the empty orang-utan
enclosure.  It was a serene landscape of shadows and dark angles, so he
decided to settle there.  He leant up against the enclosure’s barrier and
let his head drop.  Beneath him were the rotting bodies of the infected
that Annaliese said had attacked Lily and her family.  It spoiled the
peacefulness, somewhat, so he looked around for a more suitable place to enjoy
the small circle of enclosed nature.

The bungalow at the edge of the habitat was sloped; low on
the side that faced the footpaths and taller on the side that faced the enclosure. 
A drainage pipe ran up one side of the building.

Nick didn’t know why, but the thought of climbing up on the
roof was appealing.  Something childish inside of him desired the feeling
of being up high where it was safe.  Five-hundred feet above the ground
and he still had the need to go higher.

Maybe the closer I can get to Heaven, the closer I will
be to James.

He stepped closer to the bungalow and took a running leap
onto the drainpipe.  It creaked under his weight and felt as though it
might come away from the wall, but then it caught on its brackets and held
firm.  He shimmied the seven or eight feet up to the roof and then hoisted
himself over the edge.  He headed to the highest point of the sloped
surface and eased himself down, letting his legs dangle free above the
enclosure.

From up high, he had a better view of Ripley Heights. 
Ripley Hall rose in the shadows at the back of the park; its many rooms full of
shrieking horrors that could be released at any moment.  Nick shuddered as
he thought about what would happen if the doors were ever opened.  He
chose to turn his head and instead look over at the amusement park, but even
that had taken on a sinister façade.  Its unused carousel, its abandoned
pirate ship, and its dormant big wheel had all taken on a ghostly visage as
they seemed to shimmer beneath the moon’s penetrating glow.  The whole
place looked haunted, echoing a past of children giggling and parents
kissing.  Things the old park would never see again.

Thud!

Something hit the roof right behind Nick and he cried out in
fright.  He twisted around and almost lost his balance on the roof. 
He grabbed the edge with both hands and managed to steady himself just when he
had been sure he would fall.

“Jesus Christ!” he said when he realised what was behind
him.  His first instinct was to flee, but as the seconds went by, the
orang-utan made no attempt to grab out at him or hurt him in any way.

Lily examined Nick curiously, tilting her head left and
right.  Slowly, she raised her left arm and inched it towards him. 
He let one of his own hands come away from the roof’s edge and gradually raised
it to meet hers.

This is nuts.

Their hands touched.  Lily’s rough fingertips slid over
the cold flesh on the back of Nick’s hand.  She let out a soft hoot.

“I heard you and me have something in common,” Nick said to
her softly.  “I lost my family, too.  At least your man did his job
and protected you, though.  I let my family down.”

Lily’s breath was audible as it escaped through her deep
nostrils.  It was almost like she knew what he was talking about but
didn’t like the subject.  The smell of her being so close was
intoxicating.  It was an unpleasant smell yet, in some ways,
comforting.  It was the smell of a creature uninterested in personal
hygiene or any of the numerous other stresses that mankind placed upon
itself.  It was a reminder of what man really was deep down: just an ape –
egotistical and self-involved, but really nothing more than an ape.

Maybe we would all be happier if we just accepted that.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Lily,” he said.

At the sound of her name, Lily hooted again.  Then she
took off into the night as quickly as she had arrived.  Nick missed her
already as she leapt into the treeline and disappeared.  Now that she was
gone, his thoughts would resume their torment of him.  He had sought out
solitude – needed it, in fact – but now that he had it, he was afraid. 
His memories had talons and they were poised to rip him apart.

He was almost glad when he heard someone cry out in the
night, but quickly realised what it meant.  The scream had been short,
abrupt, but unmistakable.  It was a scream of sudden terror, and it had
come from a man.

Who was that?  I thought everybody was back at the
restaurant.

Nick slid down from the top of the roof, via the drainpipe,
and landed back on the pavement.  He winced as a shooting pain went from
his ankles to his knees, but managed to walk it off within a couple of
steps.  When the pain went away, he picked up speed and started jogging in
the direction he thought he’d heard the scream.  He estimated it was about
half way between the orang-utan enclosure and the restaurant, near to where the
midway games were.

It took him a few minutes to get there, but when he arrived
he quickly found out who had been screaming.

What the…?

His first thought was that an infected person had found
their way past the fences, but when he saw the knife jutting out of Dave’s
chest, he knew that an old-fashioned murder had just been committed.

Someone’s stabbed him.

Shawcross!  That bastard.

It had to be Shawcross.  He had tried to stab Dave
earlier, unsuccessfully.  He obviously decided to have another go.

He’ll pay for this, that rat.

Annaliese came running out of the darkness.  “We heard
screaming,” she said and skidded to a stop when she saw what had happened.

“Shawcross did it,” Nick said, shaking his head and
clenching his fists in anger. 

How could he kill Dave over such a minor disagreement?

Annaliese was shaking her head.  The rest of the group
appeared behind her, Shawcross included.  “Shawcross is with us,” she
said.

Nick shook his head.  “That’s impossible.  Dave
was just this minute killed.  I heard him scream.  The blood is still
coming out of him.”

“He was on his way to see you,” said Jan.  “He said he
didn’t want to hold grudges and that we all needed to work together even in
spite of personality differences.”

Beside Jan, Renee nodded in confirmation.

“It’s true,” Eve said.  “Dave asked me if I knew where
you’d gone.  Said he wanted to apologise for being so overbearing. 
He said it was just his way of dealing with how scared he was, but that he was
realising it wasn’t helping anybody.”

Nick shook his head.  “That doesn’t sound like Dave.”

“No shit,” said Eve.  “Surprised me, too.  But I
guess we don’t know each other well enough to predict how we’re going to react
to things.  He seemed pretty genuine.”

“He was glaring at me all night.  Didn’t seem regretful
at all.”

Eve shrugged.

“It’s a tragedy that you took his approach as a threat
rather than the apology it was meant to be,” said Shawcross.  The man
almost sounded smug.  “Seems as though you may have gotten the wrong end
of the stick.”

Nick lowered his eyebrows.  “What?  I didn’t do
this.”

“Nobody else could have,” Annaliese said.  “Every one
of us was together in the restaurant.  You left, and then five minutes
later Dave went right after you.  We all came when we heard the screams.”

Nick looked at Eve for help, but she just looked back at
him, confused. 

“I didn’t do this,” he shouted at them all.

“We need to lock him up,” said Shawcross.  “Until we
decide what to do with him.”

To his utter disbelief, Jan and Alan came forward to grab a
hold of him.  He shoved them away, swinging his fists and kicking his
legs.  “Get the fuck away from me.  I didn’t do this.”

He managed to land a punch on Alan’s cheek, but became aware
of Shawcross approaching from his side.  It was too late to react when the
man took a swing at him, clubbing him under the chin in the exact reverse of
what had happened earlier in the day.

The force of the blow made it obvious that Shawcross had hit
with something harder than just his fist.  The blow was so fierce that, by
the time Nick fell to the ground, he was already unconscious.