Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(102)

“You’re right. Whoever is taking the extra food is making a conscious decision to screw the rest of us over.”

Annaliese went and took a seat on one of the park benches. In front of them was the cable car station. Far off, the sun had begun to dip beneath the horizon. Evening would be upon them soon.

Another night in the dark with nothing to do but think.

“You know what’s crazy?” Annaliese said.

Mike sat down beside her, put his hand on her knee. “What?”

“That people scare me more than the undead do.”

“The undead? Are we actually calling them that now?”

“May as well call a spade a spade.”

Mike chuckled. “I suppose so. I know what you mean, though. I can’t believe that Dave was murdered and now someone is stealing. You’d think that with all that’s happened, people would finally want to stick together.”

Annaliese let out a sigh. “Looks like the opposite is happening. Life is still about survival of the fittest – everyone out for themselves.”

“So…who do you think took the supplies?”

Annaliese chewed her lip and thought about it.

Do I really have any idea? The only person I really trust is the man sitting beside me. Until recently I may have included Nick in the list of people I could count on, but…

“Do you really think that Nick killed Dave?” she asked.

Mike shrugged. “Couldn’t have been anybody else. Trust the evidence. Didn’t they use to say that on some TV show?”


Annaliese huffed and tapped her fingers together on her lap. “I don’t know. I’ve forgotten what watching television is like.” She leant back on the bench and felt her spine creak. “So, you think Nick did it, then?”

“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 f*cking 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.”