Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(101)

Shawcross’s eyes narrowed and his lips went thin. “Get everyone together,” he ordered. Now!”

***

It took less than ten minutes to get everybody together; not including Renee and Nick who had been locked in the cellar for the last several days.

“We have one very serious problem here, people,” Shawcross said, standing in front of the basketball midway game that was now being used to store firewood for the approaching months of winter.

The group stared at one another blankly, some of them wondering what was going on; some of them, like Eve and Mike, already knowing.

“There is a thief amongst us,” Shawcross almost shouted the word thief. “A dirty scoundrel.”


The group were silent, concerned.

“Who is it?” Shawcross demanded.

More silence.

“Own up now, or so help me God.”

“Well, don’t look at me,” said Alan.

Michelle folded her arms. “Me, either.”

“Well, somebody is responsible.”

“Maybe it’s the monkey,” Cassie said.

Shawcross looked at the girl and cocked his head. “What?”

“The monkey,” she repeated. “Maybe it’s been raiding our supplies at night, trying to survive.”

“Makes sense,” Jan said, rubbing at his beard.

Annaliese objected. “Lily isn’t taking our supplies.”

“How can you be so sure?” Shawcross asked.

“Well, firstly because an orang-utan would have no need for the weapons and medicines that we stashed along with the food and blankets. She could potentially take things she could eat, but I don’t see her taking the lengths of pipe and rope we put in the bins. But that’s not the main reason I know it’s not her.”

Shawcross raised an eyebrow.

“I know, because I have been leaving food out for her at night and by morning it’s all been gone. She’s living somewhere in the woods nearby.”

Shawcross went bright red. “You’ve been giving our supplies away to a goddamn monkey?”

“No,” Annaliese said calmly. “I’ve been giving a few supplies to an intelligent primate; a Sumatran Orang-utan to be precise. One of very few left alive – even before the world went to shit. She has as much right to survive as the rest of us.”

“Nonsense! You’re a thief.”

“Hey!” Mike shouted. “Let’s take it down a notch with the witch hunt, yeah? Annaliese is a vet and took an oath to help animals in need”

“Actually, vets don’t take an oath,” Annaliese whispered to him. “But thanks.”

“Furthermore,” Mike continued. “Annaliese is pretty much the only person who can help any of us if we get sick or injured, so I’d say that we best be nice to her, or else we’re all screwed.”

Shawcross folded his arms. “So we should just let her do whatever the hell she likes, regardless of the rest of us?”

“Hell yes, because, may I remind you, we were all stuck in a kitchen when she found us. Without her we might still be stuck there or, most likely, dead. She risked her life for us on more than one occasion, so how dare you attack her like this.”

“I don’t mind feeding the monkey,” said Cassie.

Mike shrugged. “Me either. I couldn’t watch it suffer and starve.”

“She’s an ape,” Annaliese corrected. “But I’m glad you don’t mind feeding her because I would carry on doing it anyway.”

“I mind,” said Michelle. “What if we end up starving? It’s just an animal. We’re people.”

“Exactly,” said Shawcross. “We’ll be using animals for meat soon enough, so what’s the point in feeding them?”

Annaliese shook her head. This was pointless. If they were happy letting a rare species die then why even bother wasting the breath to argue. If that was how they felt then the world would eventually become a bleak and meaningless landscape, devoid of any beauty. Annaliese would rather die than live in a world like that. She turned around to leave the group, not wanting to discuss it further.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Shawcross shouted after her.

“To find your thief,” she said. “Then maybe you’ll stop blaming an innocent animal.”

“If I find out that you’re behind this, Anna…”

“You’ll what?” Mike finished for him. Then he turned around and followed after her. The feeling of having someone on her side, ready to fight for her, was unfamiliar. It warmed her belly. It’d been a long time since somebody had supported her like that. She just hoped that Mike wouldn’t go down in flames by trying to protect her. She would rather him save his own life than risk it by trying to save hers.

Why am I worrying about life and death? I should listen to Mike and concentrate on living.

“So, you’re really sure that Lily didn’t take the supplies?” Mike asked as he caught up with her by the Magic Carpet carousel.

“Yes. She’s been taking the scraps I’ve been leaving her and can probably live off some of the local vegetation, too. There’s no way she could have carried off all the supplies we left, anyway; not in a single night. No, whoever is responsible for the missing supplies is much more calculating than an orang-utan.”