Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(103)

“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 f*ck 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 motherf*cker,” 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 * 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.