Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel (32 page)

“I guess.  Wouldn’t have pegged him as the killing kind
before it happened, but I suppose none of us are in any position to trust one
another.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Annaliese asked, surprised by the fact
she was actually hurt by the comment.

Mike blushed.  His angular cheeks bloomed with
colour.  “Of course I trust
you.
  You’re the exception.”

Annaliese smiled at him.  “Good!  Because one of
the only things keeping me sane is knowing that I have you.”

Mike leant towards her and they kissed.  When they
broke apart a minute later the world had gone dark.  It took a couple of
seconds before Annaliese realised that the shadow was coming from a person
standing behind them.  Before she could look up and see who it was,
something heavy struck her head and things got darker still. 

Chapter Thirty-Six

It was night time when Annaliese
opened her eyes again.  She had a bizarre feeling of being both inside and
outside at the same time.  When she realised she was sitting inside a
greenhouse, the feeling made sense.

Where is this place?

She lifted her head and winced as a lump throbbed at the
back of her skull.  She was tied up, bound to a chair by her wrists. 
Mike was beside her.  He was unconscious.

“Mike,” she whispered.  “Mike, wake up.”

Mike didn’t move.

“I think he may be asleep a little while longer,” said a
voice she knew.   Shawcross emerged from the shadows at the back of
the greenhouse, wearing a wide smile across his face.  “He received quite
the blow to the back of his head.  Might not wake up at all.”

Annaliese spat at him.  Just seeing the man made her
skin crawl.  He was obviously the one behind her current predicament and
it made her furious that he felt he had any right to tie her up. 
“Shawcross, you fucking weasel.  Get me out of this chair now.”

Shawcross grinned even wider.  Moonlight glinted off
his gappy teeth and greasy hair.  “Now, now,” he purred.  “There’s no
need for such hostility.  I’ve let you in on my little secret.  You
should be honoured.”

Annaliese looked at him with disgust.  “What secret?”

Shawcross stretched his arms wide and gestured to his
surroundings.  “What do you think?  I found the greenhouse. 
There are enough plants in here and crops outside to sustain a small group of
us indefinitely.  A
small
group.”

“When did you find it?”

“After you all turned on me and put that brute Dave in
charge.  I was going to leave, try and make it on my own someplace, but on
my trek through the woods I found this place.  Besides, I couldn’t leave
Ripley Hall to you peasants.  I need to be nearby for when it’s reopened
someday.  I am its manager after all.”

Annaliese looked around at the greenhouse interior. 
There were long shelves, three tiers high, which brimmed with tomato plants,
cucumbers, and a whole host of other fruit and vegetables.  She spotted
something else, too.  Stacked up in the corner of the building was all of
the group’s missing supplies.

“You took the supplies?” she said.  “All the shit you
gave me, and it was you!”

Shawcross laughed.  “Not exactly, but close
enough.  Like I said, there’s enough here for a small group to survive
indefinitely.  Our current group, however, is slightly too large.”

Annaliese’s stomach rolled as she absorbed the comment and
thought about what he meant.  “What are you playing at, Shawcross?” she
demanded, rocking back and forth.  “Untie me from this goddamn chair.”

Shawcross gazed at her sadly.  “I’m afraid I cannot do
that, Anna.  I’m sorry that things have ended up like this, because I
always liked you.”

“I always thought you were a stuck-up prick.”

Shawcross growled.  “Well, then I thank you for making
this easier for me.”

“You can’t seriously be planning to kill me?”

Shawcross slapped a palm against his forehead.  “Have
you listened to a word I’ve said?  That’s exactly what I plan on
doing.  The whole group of us won’t make it through with the food we
have.  We’ll eat ourselves to death in a matter of months.  But, with
a few less mouths to feed, we’ll be just fine.  Nick is locked up with
that imbecile, Renee, and you and Mike are here with me, about to be disposed
of.  To my knowledge that is all of the troublemakers dealt with.”

“Troublemakers?”

Shawcross nodded.  “Yes.  You and Mike have been
quite outspoken in your defiance of me.  Today it became unfortunately
clear that neither of you were going to come around to my way of
thinking.  You don’t respect my authority.”

“That’s because you have none.”

Shawcross’s lip turned downwards in a scowl.  “Don’t
I?  Just look at the position you’re in.  Look at what happened to
Nick after he attacked me.  Look what happened to Dave for going up
against me.”  Shawcross seemed to try and stop himself before he finished
the sentence, but it was too late.  His scowl turned into a frown and then
a smirk.  “Oops!  Whatever have I said?”

“You killed Dave!” Annaliese spat.

“Of course I didn’t.  I was with you the whole time.”

“Then how?”

“Not for you to worry about, Anna.  You know, it really
is such a pity that you couldn’t respect my authority.  If civilisation is
over as we know it, then you and I would have made a great match for a
repopulation effort.”

Annaliese felt revulsion.  “I’d rather fuck a pig.”

Shawcross scowled at her again.  The look on his face
became almost inhuman; so full of hate and malice, twisted insecurities. 
He pointed a finger in her face.  “What?  You think I’m not good
enough for you?  You pick a pathetic dogsbody like Mike – a man with zero
ambition, zero intelligence, zero-”

Mike flew out of his chair, ropes hanging loose around his
wrists.  He tumbled forwards into Shawcross and tackled the man to the
ground.

“I’m intelligent enough to get the drop on you, you greasy-haired
motherfucker,” he said, as he straddled Shawcross and let fly with his fists.

While this was going on, Annaliese began struggling with her
own bonds.  The ropes were strong, but the chair was not.  As she
pulled and wiggled, she felt the joints of the old wooden chair begin to
loosen.  The armrests began to rotate back and forth.

Just a little bit more.

Mike continued pummelling Shawcross on the floor.
 Annaliese shouted for his attention.  “Mike!  Come help me.”

He looked around and saw her struggling to get free of the
chair.  He got up off Shawcross and ran over to help her.

“One sec,” he said, grabbing at the ropes around her
arms.  Annaliese twisted her wrists and started to pull.  It hurt
badly, but she managed to drag her hands out through the knots inch by inch.

Almost there…

The ropes slipped away and she was free.  She held her
hands out in front of her and rubbed at her stinging flesh.  A layer of
skin had been grazed away and had left a red ring around each of her wrists.

“Come on,” said Mike, grabbing her.  “Let’s get out of
here.  We need to tell the others about what this piece of shit has
done.  Then we can all decide what to do with him.  I vote for
lynching.”

That would be too good for him.

Annaliese jumped up from the chair and looked down at
Shawcross on the floor.  He had rolled onto his side and was looking up at
her with hazy eyes that were slowly regaining their focus.

“You son of a bitch.”  She skipped forward and kicked
him in the ribs.  The wind exploded out of him with a pained gasp. 
She kicked him again.

When she was done, she turned back to Mike and the two of
them headed for the exit at the rear end of the greenhouse.  She had no
idea where they were and hoped it would be easy to find their way back to the
park.

I’m too weary to be getting lost in the woods
.

As they hurried, Annaliese had a sudden, random thought.

How did Shawcross have time to drag both me and Mike out
here to the woods?  And how did he kill Dave while he was with us the
whole time?  He couldn’t have done it alone.

“I can’t believe this,” said Mike.  “Was he always this
much of an asshole or was it-”

Mike stopped mid-sentence.  He stumbled back against a
rack of root vegetables and placed his hands on his stomach as if he’d had a
sudden, agonising case of cramp.

Slowly, Mike turned to face her.  A long knife stuck
out of his stomach.

A stranger stepped out of the shadows. 

Before Annaliese had time to act, Mike threw himself at the
stranger, wrapping both his arms around their waist like a dying octopus. 
He managed to turn his head and shout one last thing at her.

“Run!” he screamed.  “Run!”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Annaliese burst through the
greenhouse’s exit and found herself in an open field.  Deep woods
surrounded it on all sides.

Which way do I go?

Behind her, the sound of a struggle as Mike fought to keep
the unknown attacker restrained.  It would not be long before he weakened
and the man became free to chase after her.  There was no choice left but
to just pick a direction and get moving.

God, I hope this is the right way.

She shot off across the field as fast as her legs would
carry her.  Roots and unearthed vegetables tripped her as she fought
desperately to stay upright.  Several times she stumbled onto her hands
and knees, but each time, she clambered back to her feet and kept on moving.

Can’t let him catch me.

She pierced the treeline of the woods at the edge of the
field.  Darkness enveloped her completely.  The moon battled to get
through the leafy canopy and succeeded only with a few thin shafts of
light.  It was like running with her eyes closed.  The only sounds
were that of the snapping twigs beneath her boots.

Am I being followed?  Is Mike dead?

Annaliese panted and gasped as panic took over her. 
She realised that the sounds of her heavy breathing would give her away if she
did not get it under control.  She slowed down to a cautious jog and, as
she took each deep breath, she held it for a few seconds, before letting it out
slowly.

Got to stay calm.  Fear will just lead to bad
decisions
.

“Here pussy, pussy, pussy.”

The voice was far off, but still near enough to stoke her
panic anew.  She didn’t recognise the voice, and she hadn’t recognised the
man back at the greenhouse.

If he’s coming after me now, then that must mean…

Annaliese prayed to God that Mike was okay.  She prayed
because it was the only thing she could think to do.

I have to get out of these woods.  If I don’t then
it’s only a matter of time until he finds me.

Who the hell is he?

Has there been another survivor amongst us this whole
time?  Someone only Shawcross knew about?

Annaliese headed off in a random direction, hoping it would
lead her towards the park and away from the stranger hunting her.  Her eyes
adjusted to the dark and the oily blackness became a fuzzy grey.  The
shapes of the trees gradually made themselves visible and she could dodge
between them.  But she still had no idea where she was going.  She
was lost in the woods.  

Like Little Red Riding Hood.

“Just stop running, girl.  I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

Annaliese jinked around a bush full of nettles and headed
for a tight cropping of trees.  Her feet collided with several hard
objects on the ground.  She looked down and saw that they were
apples.  She had entered some kind of orchard.

I don’t recognise any of this.

“Bitch, you’re winding me up now.  Just stop
running.  Give it up.”

Fuck you!
  Annaliese almost shouted it out, but
quickly stopped herself.  The last thing she wanted to do was give away
her position.

She ran through a copse of apple tree and headed for a
clearing at the end.  Her pursuer continued shouting and threating behind
her, but that only made it clear that he did not know where she was.

As long as he’s getting frustrated, I still have a
chance.

Annaliese broke out of the orchard and entered an area that
was much more open.  It wasn’t a great place to be and lacked any kind of
cover.  A couple of hundred metres into the clearing, the woods renewed
once more.  She would have to make it over there before her pursuer made
it out into the open and spotted her.

She ran, jumping over ruts and dodging dips.  It looked
like an area that had seen the regular use of vehicles, if the bare patches of
mud and wide divots were anything to go by.  It was an encouraging sign as
it might mean she’d find a path or dirt road leading back to the park.

“Bitch, I gonna find you.  Then I gonna party wid you.”

The voice was getting closer.  She might have only
seconds before he found the clearing and put eyes on her.

Got to make it back into the trees.

He’ll be here any second.

Got to run faster...

Annaliese felt as if her knees were turning to jelly as she
thudded across the hard mud.  The treeline was tantalisingly close, and yet
she just couldn’t seem to make it. 

Seconds went by.  She continued to run.

The treeline got closer and closer.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are?”

Annaliese broke through the treeline, just as she heard her
attacker’s voice echo in the clearing.  She had made it with no seconds to
spare.

Then something moved up ahead of her and she screamed.

Oh no!

Her pursuer heard her cries.

“I hear you, bitch.  Now you in big trouble.”

Shit, shit, shit!

Annaliese looked forward, trying to see what had startled her. 
When she looked up at the trees, she realised it was Lily.  The orang-utan
looked down at her and hooted.  Then she waved a hand.

Bizarrely, Annaliese found herself waving back, but she
quickly got moving again; her life in the balance.  She was running out of
breath.  The stitch in her side was enough to drop an elephant.  She
had to keep going, but she knew she didn’t have much more left in the tank.

I’m going to collapse.

Lily swung from the tree branch on which she was perched and
leapt to the next tree over.  Then she crouched down and stared at
Annaliese.

Annaliese stared back.  “What?”

Lily hooted.

“You want me to follow?”

Lily hooted again and then swung to the next tree.

Annaliese followed.

As soon as she caught up with Lily, the orang-utan swung to
the next tree, and then the next and the next, sometimes altering direction
slightly, but mainly keeping a straight course.  Annaliese used the last
of her reserves to keep running.

I hope you know where you’re going, Lily.

“I see you, bitch,” shouted the stranger behind her. 
“Time to give it up for Daddy.”

“Oh God.”  Annaliese let out a scream.  Lily
continued swinging from tree to tree.  She followed the orang-utan as fast
as she could.

I can’t keep going.  I can’t…

Up ahead, the gap between the trees widened.  The
moonlight there was brighter.

Please, please, please, let this be the park
.

She reached the edge of the woods and leapt out into the
moonlight.  Her legs gave way and she fell, face first, onto the hard,
unforgiving ground.

Pavement?  This is the park.  I made it!

“Now you’re fucked, sweetheart.”

She spun around onto her back, but she didn’t have the
energy to get up.  She was done for.

The stranger exited the woods and stood over her.  It
was too dark to make the man out; to even see his basic details.

Who the hell are you?

She started crawling away on her hands and knees, dragging
herself along.  She screamed out as loud as she could.  Pleaded for
help.  Pleaded for the others to come and rescue her.

There’s nobody here.  They’re not going to hear me.

“Anna, what’s wrong?”

Alan was standing over her and giving her a quizzical
look.  Seeing him gave her the tiny boost needed to scramble to her
feet. 

“Alan!” she said.  “Thank God.  You have to help
me.”  She spun around to face her attacker, and saw now that it was a
young black man.  His left eye was bloody, completely gouged out, but
looked to be healing.  His clothing was torn and muddy; a grey tracksuit,
like the ones Jan and Renee wore, covered in dry blood.

Another prisoner?

Annaliese threw herself into Alan’s arms and squeezed him
desperately.  “He’s trying to kill me, Alan.  He killed Mike. 
Shawcross…”

“Where is Shawcross?” Alan asked her calmly.

“He’s in the greenhouse.  He found the zoo’s
agriculture plot.”

“Yes,” I know,” he said.

Annaliese pushed him away.  “You know?”

Alan nodded.  “Yes.  Shawcross showed a handful of
us yesterday.  Explained the food situation.”

“What situation?”

“That too many greedy mouths to feed is going to mean big problems,”
said the unknown black man.  He had moved to the edge of the treeline and
was standing there without any kind of urgency.

Annaliese stared at Alan and realised, then, that the two
men already knew each other.  “Alan,” she said, swallowing deeply as she
asked the question.  “Who is this man?”

Alan shrugged.  “Calls himself Dash.  Shawcross
bumped into him a few days back.  He’s been staying at the greenhouse this
whole time.”

She shook her head and started backing away.  “He’s a
murderer.  He killed Mike.”

Alan sighed.  “I liked Mike, but there’s not enough
food for all of us.  Tough decisions had to be made.”

“Decisions made by who?”

“By me?” said Shawcross, emerging from the treeline. 
His face was matted with blood and one of his eyes was swollen shut.  Mike
had really done a number on him.

Good.  I just wish Mike had had the chance to finish
you off.

“You’re a psychopath,” she spat at Shawcross.  “What
gives you the right?”

“Taking it, gives me the right.  Some of us recognise
what the world has become.  If the human race is going to survive, some of
us need to be pragmatic.  Until things are more stable, we can support
only the core group.”

Annaliese took a step backwards as he approached her. 
She shook her head at him.  “Core group?  What are you talking
about?”

“Well,” Shawcross grinned, “you could say the people that
respect my forward thinking are the core group and the rest of you are…
disposable.
”

Annaliese went to make a break for it, but Alan grabbed a
hold of her.  “I’m sorry, Anna,” he said.  “I really am.”

He seemed sorry as well.  
The jerk
.  There
was no pleasure in Alan’s eyes at all.  It was obvious that the only
reason he was even going along with Shawcross at all was weakness.  The
guy just wanted to live, and would hitch his wagon to whichever was the
strongest horse.

“Let me go, Alan.”

“I can’t do that.”

She shrugged and tried to escape his grasp.  When she
couldn’t, she opted to knee him between the legs.

Take that, you spineless piece of shit. 

Alan doubled over in pain, but manage to keep hold of her as
he went down.  She still couldn’t get away.

Dash lunged forward and planted a right hook on her
cheek.  Her vision spun and the floor came up to meet her.

“You right, Shawcross.  She is a feisty bitch.”

The next thing Annaliese knew, something descended from the
trees and clubbed Dash in the back.  He went sprawling forward and landed
on his face, unconscious.

What’s happening?

Alan screamed and rushed off out of view.  Shawcross
backed away slowly.  Someone had come to her rescue. 

Lily stood over Annaliese protectively and let out a low,
guttural huffing sound.  A clear warning.

Annaliese lay on her side in shock, unable to move.
 One of Lily’s hands grasped at her shirt and tugged it. 
Get up
,
she was communicating. 
Get up now.

Annaliese pushed herself up onto her feet and started
backing away.  Shawcross made a move to grab her, but Lily rose up and
hooted aggressively.  He backed away.

Annaliese took a few unsteady steps, before realising that no
one was going to risk following her.  Dash was still dazed on the ground
and Alan was nowhere to be seen.  She looked around and got her
bearings.  She was in the zoo, not far from the cable car station. 
From there, she could make it to the
Big Dog
restaurant and find the
others.

Can I even trust them?  How many of them were in on
Shawcross’s plan?  I might still be done for.

But not yet.

Annaliese had no options but to find the others and hope
that they would help her.  She took off in the direction of the amusement
park.  She had to make it to the restaurant.

“You’ll regret this,” Shawcross shouted after her. 
“You and your goddamn monkey.”

Annaliese gritted her teeth as she made her getaway. 
She’s
an ape, you idiot
. 
For the last time, she’s an ape!

And she just saved my life.