Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Annaliese awoke with an aching
jaw.  It quickly became apparent why, when she realised that she was lying
face down on the ground.  She was shivering because of the cold, but she
was also very cosy beneath a soft woollen blanket.  Despite its softness,
the blanket smelt musky and foul.  She threw it aside and looked
around.  The sun was beginning to rise.

She leapt to her feet in shock.

Oh, wow! I’m in the orang-utan enclosure.  Did that
really happen last night?

She turned a circle on the spot.  A mound in the centre
of the enclosure was covered with a blanket the same as the one that had been
covering her.  She knew that Brick’s body lay underneath it, along with
the infant.

Did Lily cover us all up with the blankets?

Annaliese looked around for the female orang-utan but could
see no sign of her.  The mangrove tree was undisturbed.  Maybe the
ape had gone inside where it was warmer.  It would make sense if everyone
else had her blankets.

Annaliese headed for the enclosure’s bungalow and stooped
down through the hatch.  She re-entered the cage inside and saw that Lily
was still nowhere to be seen. 

The reason was right in front of her.

The wire mesh door to the cage was hanging wide open, its
padlock still unclasped.  She put both of her hands to her face as she
realised she hadn’t relocked it after coming inside.

Shit.  What have I done?

She couldn’t believe that she’d let a wild and potentially
dangerous animal loose from its enclosure.  It was reckless and
irresponsible.  But, the more she actually thought about it, the more she
was glad.  With things the way they were, there was no one left to take
care of Lily.  It was better that she was free than locked up and
neglected.  At least this way, the animal had a chance.

I hope you find somewhere safe, Lily.

She stepped out of the cage and headed for the bungalow’s
exit.  She needed to re-join the others in the office block.  They
could be wondering where she was.

Exiting the bungalow, she rubbed at her shoulders and fought
against the cold.  The park was bathed in a coppery glow as the sun
continued to rise in the sky.  The park was quite beautiful at this time
of day, without the hustle and bustle of people ruining things.

“Anna!”

Up ahead, Shawcross was hurrying towards her.  “For
heaven’s sake,” he said.  “What are you doing out here?”

“I went for a walk last night.  Trying to clear my
head.”

“Well, it was very irresponsible of you.  How do we
have a hope of getting through this if people start doing their own thing?”

“Sorry, I just lost track of time, I guess.”  She
didn’t want to tell him about where she had slept last night.  He wouldn’t
believe her and would more likely just get furious that she had released one of
the park’s animals.

Not that I give two shits about what he thinks.  I
just can’t be doing with the lecture.

Shawcross frowned at her for what seemed like a full
minute-and-a-half before he finally let the issue go.  He turned around
with a huff, speaking with his back turned to her.  “There’s lots to be
done, Anna, so go and join back up with the others.  If Clark is with you
then tell him the same thing.”

“Wait, what?  I haven’t seen Clark.  How long has
he been gone?”

Shawcross turned back around.  “I’m not sure. 
Everyone pretty much fell asleep once things were settled.  I don’t recall
seeing him for quite a while now.”

Annaliese closed the distance between them.  “Well,
didn’t you think to look for him?”

“That’s what I’m doing now, isn’t it?  I found you and
I’ll no doubt find Clark just as easily.”

Annaliese stared over at the office block.  In the
light of day it was grey and depressing.  “How did you get out of the
building?  Did you come through the broken window?”

Shawcross shook his head.  “We were able to unlock the
front entrance from the inside.  It was on a latch.  We can come and
go as we please now, so we’ll probably get that broken window boarded up
today.”

Annaliese had a bad feeling in her tummy.  Something
wasn’t right.  She pushed Shawcross aside and headed for the building.

“What’s wrong?” he shouted after her.  But she didn’t
answer him.  She didn’t want to voice out loud what she was thinking, not
without being sure.

I hope I’m wrong.

She made it over to the building entrance and pulled open
the door.  As she stepped inside she was aware that Shawcross was right
behind her.  Despite her dislike of the man, she was glad for the company
at that moment.  If she found what she expected to then she didn’t want to
be alone.

To the right, at the end of the corridor, was a door she
assumed led to the office they were using to store Tom and Charlotte’s bodies.
 It turned out that she was right.  The door led to the room where
they had first broken in.

The stench of dead bodies descended upon Annaliese, scraping
at the inside of her nostrils.  Tom and Charlotte had already started to
decay. 

And so had Clark.

“Oh no,” said Shawcross from behind her.  “What did
that silly boy do?”

Annaliese stepped into the room.  Clark hung from the
light fixtures by several electrical flex cords tied together.  He must
have pulled them from the room’s computers and made a rudimentary noose. 
He’d probably hanged himself shortly after she’d left him alone.  He’d
been there a while.

Damn it!  I should have known.  I knew he was
unstable.  This should never have been able to happen. 

“I could have prevented this,” she said.  “I’m the one
that left him alone.  It was my mistake.”

Shawcross let out a long sigh that whistled in his
nose.  “Suicide is a selfish act.  There’s no one to blame but
Clark.  We can’t let it distract us from what needs to be done.”

Annaliese turned and stared at him.  “Are you really
this much of an asshole or do you have to try?”

“I’m just not willing to waste time worrying about things
that can’t be changed.  I suggest you do the same and give yourself a
break.  This wasn’t you fault.”

With that he left the room.  Annaliese didn’t know if
she wanted to thump the man or thank him.  He had a way of dividing her
opinion like that.

He’s definitely a total douchebag, but sometimes I don’t
know if he’s just trying to do his best; trying to make the tough
decisions.  Maybe if I acted more like Shawcross, Clark would still be
alive.

Mike entered the room then and placed a hand on her
back.  She flinched at first but then settled down and enjoyed the warmth
of his contact.

“I just passed Shawcross in the hall,” he said, staring up
at Clark’s swinging body.  “I can’t believe it.”

She looked up at the lad’s dead, bulging face and
sighed.  “I know.  It’s not right.”

“Should we cut him down?”

“What’s the point?  There’s death everywhere.  It
would just be a waste of time for us to try and clean up after it.”

Mike rubbed at her back again and pulled her a little
closer.  “Don’t give up.  You’re the only one of us with their head
on straight.  We’d all be lost without you.”

Annaliese huffed.  “Bullshit!  All I’ve done since
this whole thing started is get people killed.  Bradley, Kimberly,
Charlotte, Clark.  You’d all have been better off in the kitchen where I
found you.”

Mike fixed his dark brown eyes on her and gave her a look
that sat halfway between pity and sympathy.  “Hey, if we were still in
that kitchen, we’d all just be waiting to die.  I’d rather earn my death
than just let it happen.”

“Wouldn’t you rather just give up?”

He scratched at his chin thoughtfully, but kept his gaze on
her.  “You’re a vet, right?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“You know a lot about animals, so answer me this: what do
animals do when humans invade their habitats?”

“They die out.  Or end up in zoos like this one.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that
some
do.  But what
about all the other animals that don’t die out or end up in zoos?”

“I’m not following,” she said.  Mike’s constant gaze
was beginning to make her feel hot.  She felt her cheeks throbbing and
wondered when he was going to look away.

As if sensing her discomfort, he broke his stare momentarily
before continuing with the point he was trying to make.  “I mean animals
like rats, birds, cats, rabbits, even bears.  They are all around us,
aren’t they?  You can’t go anywhere in the city without a pigeon eyeing
you up for food.  In America, bears and racoons come right out into the
streets and raid people’s bins; so do foxes in this country.”

Annaliese cleared her throat irritably.  “What’s your
point?”

“My point is that animals adapt.  When things change
for them, they don’t feel sorry for themselves, they just deal with it.”

“So you’re saying that we need to, what, just
deal with
it
?  Like rabbits?”

“Exactly.  Are we so arrogant that when our cushy way
of life is threatened we’d rather just give up then have to adapt and
survive.  Every other species on earth has had to do it, because of
us
,
so why can’t we.”  Mike cleared his throat and rubbed at his face. 
“Look, I don’t know what lies ahead of us.  I’m guessing it’s not going to
be nice, or easy in any way, but I’m not about to lie down and take it without
a fight.  Whatever has happened is bad –
really
bad – but it’s
only the end of the world if we let it be.  People have died, yes, but as
long as there’s a few of us left then we owe it to the human race to
survive.  If we don’t, then there is no more human race.”

Annaliese frowned at him.  “You’re not going to shout
FREEDOM at me, are you?”

Mike laughed.  “I haven’t gone all Braveheart yet, but
that’s the mentality we need.  And that film just proves my point that
when people are up against it, they fight.  Maybe this thing isn’t as big
as we fear, but we need to prepare ourselves in case it is.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said.  “Can we just get out
of here for now, though?  I don’t want to look at a dead body again for at
least the rest of the day.”

“Fair enough.  Come on, everyone is still in the
staffroom.  We were going to start planning what to do next.”

In the staffroom, everyone was gathered around the pool
table.  Shawcross was starting a meeting.  From the way he was
gesticulating, the man thought he was Winston Churchill.

Or Hitler.

“The phones are still not working,” he said.  “All of
the computers in this office are security protected and nobody knows the
passwords.  Ripley Hall is off limits and we have no idea what the
situation is in nearby towns.  To say the situation is perilous is an
understatement.  Our only hope at this point is to secure rescue.”

“How?” Greg asked.

“By following my suggestion of starting a signal fire.”

“Bad idea,” said Annaliese.  “I already told you
that.  What if the fire attracts the infected?  Or people that want
to take what we have?”

“You may be correct,” Shawcross admitted.  “But what
other choice do we have, really?  We have no food beyond what lies on this
table and I’m sure it is only a matter of time until we lose power and perhaps
even water.  If you don’t agree with a signal fire, then we could head for
the staff car park behind the manor house, or even head down the hill via the
cable cars.  We can cut through the woods right into the nearest town.”

“The towns won’t be safe,” she said.

“Neither is here.  We have to leave.”

“Wait a minute,” said Mike.  “Isn’t this a theme park?”

“What?”

“This place is a theme park and zoo, right?”

Shawcross shrugged.  “What’s your point?”

“My point is that there must be a burger bar or restaurant
with supplies to last us a little while longer.”

Annaliese nodded.  “He’s right.  In fact, I think
there’s a couple of them.  There’s a burger place in the zoo and a pub and
eatery in the theme park.  We should explore what we have before we start
looking elsewhere.”

“Now, now,” said Shawcross, raising a hand. 
“Regardless of how many supplies we can find, we will, at some point, run
out.  We need rescue.”

“What if we don’t run out?” said Annaliese.

Mike folded his arms and looked curious.  “What do you
mean?”

“I mean that the zoo is partly self-sustaining. 
Bradley was telling me about how the produce much of the animal’s feed in a
greenhouse in the woods and that they also have a small plot of vegetable
gardens.  If we find where those are then we might be able to grow our own
food.”

“And we can eat the animals,” said Alan.

Annaliese didn’t like the thought of that, but she knew it
made sense.  “If things get that desperate then, yes, I suppose so. 
But even better, the petting zoo has chickens and a pair of cows.  We can
get eggs and milk.”

“This is absurd,” said Shawcross.  “We need rescue, not
a bloody community project.”

“Yes, we
do
need rescue,” Annaliese admitted. 
“But we won’t get it by throwing our lives away.  We can keep a look out
for help – we’re five hundred feet in the air – but if help is a far ways off
then we need to make preparations now rather than later.  We need to
prepare for the worst.”

Shawcross shook his head.  “You’re wrong.  I
think-”

Annaliese cut him off.  “Maybe I
am
wrong. 
But maybe so are you.  You’re not in charge here, Shawcross.  Not
anymore.  These people can make their own decisions.”

“Of course they can.  We’re just talking here,
Anna.  No need to get upset.  I’m sure we’ll come up with the best
decision available.”

Annaliese rolled her eyes at his patronising tone. 
“I’m not upset, so don’t worry yourself.  As for coming up with a plan, I
think the best option would be to vote.”