Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(106)

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.





Chapter Thirty-Eight

Up ahead, the Big Dog restaurant came into view. The flickering candle light shining through the single un-barricaded window made it clear that somebody was inside.

Thank God.

I hope.

With nobody pursuing her, Annaliese allowed herself to slow down and take it easier on her legs. She felt like she was going to collapse again at any moment. As soon as she knew that she was safe, that was exactly what she was going to do.

She hobbled up the steps to the restaurant and approached the open window. Peering in through the gap, she could see only the glare of a half-dozen candles.

Out of energy, and almost out of fight, she pushed herself up onto the ledge and tumbled through the gap and onto the floor. If those inside were hostile then they would just have to finish her off, there and then. There was nothing else she could do but lie there and give in.

“Anna? What the bloody hell’s happened to you?” It was Eve. She hurried over and helped her up off the floor. “Are you okay?”

Annaliese shoved her away. “Are you with them? Are you with Shawcross?”

Eve looked confused. “What do you mean?

“Shawcross, Alan, and…and some other guy. They killed Mike. They’re trying to kill me. Are you with them?” Eve stood there awkwardly, staring at her like she was mad. But Annaliese was not mad. She lashed out and grabbed Eve by the throat, surprised by her own ferocity. “Are. You. Fucking. With. Them?”

Eve shook her head, frightened. “No! Hell, no. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Let me go. We’ll sort this out.”

Annaliese sighed and let the girl go.

Eve went to rush off, but turned back around and smiled at her reassuringly. “You’re safe now, Anna. Okay?”

Annaliese did not reply. She slumped against the wall and slid to floor, trying to catch her breath as Eve rushed off into the shadows of the restaurant. Moments later, the girl returned with Cassie and Pauline in tow. Cassie held out a drink to Annaliese, which she took gratefully.

She swigged the lemonade down in one gulp and let out a gasp. “T-thanks. I needed that.”

“So, what the flipping hell is going on?” Pauline asked her.

“Shawcross is a f*cking psychopath, that’s what. He kidnapped me and Mike. Now Mike is dead.”

Pauline put a hand to her mouth. “No!”

Annaliese got back to her feet, her body feeling renewed after only a short rest. “Yes, and he’ll be coming after me any minute, so I need to find out who is on his side and who is still f*cking sane.”

“Well, I had nothing to do with it, Anna,” said Eve.

Pauline shook her head. “Me either.”

They all looked at Cassie. “What?” she said. “I didn’t know, either. I swear.”

“Okay,” Annaliese said. “So the only people I don’t know about are Michelle and Jan. Where are they?”

Blank faces.

Eve shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought Michelle was with Alan.”

“I think it’s safe to say that Michelle will be on whichever side Alan is,” Pauline explained. “They’ve been sticking together for weeks. He’s become a bit like a father to her.”

Annaliese sighed. “Great. That makes us outnumbered, then. Especially if Jan is with them.”

“I reckon he is,” said Eve. “He’s been pretty close to Shawcross these last few days – think he sees him as the boss.”


Annaliese slumped back against the wall and felt some of her newfound energy slip away. “Great. Last thing we need is having to go up against a hardened criminal the size of the Hulk.” She scratched the tip of her nose and suddenly thought of something. “That reminds me. This new guy with Shawcross. He was wearing prison clothing.”

Cassie whimpered. “W-was he black?”

Annaliese nodded. “Yeah, so what? Wait, do you know him?”

Cassie nodded and became ghostly white against the shadows.

“No way,” said Eve. “It can’t be Dash…can it?”

“Who the hell is Dash?”

“A degenerate we picked up along with Jan and Renee. We thought…well, we thought he was out of the picture.”

“Well, now he’s back in the picture, and he seems pretty psychotic.”

Cassie whimpered again.

“You okay?” Annaliese asked her.