Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(110)

Nick got a good grip on the replica rifle with the nail in the end and took a deep breath. “Let’s do this, then.”

Renee handed Nick the bundle of keys he had found days ago beneath the bar. Nick was counting on one of the keys unlocking the hatch in the cellar. The rear of the building led out into a fenced-off yard that had not been barricaded or even paid much mind. It had been secure when the group arrived so there had been no need to alter it; which was why Nick was sure that it would offer a clear route out of the building without Shawcross seeing.

He bid the others goodbye and headed back down into the cellar. Draped over a two-wheeled keg trolley was his black woollen jacket. He tugged it on and pulled it over his shoulders. It would help him blend in with the night. Heart beating fast, he climbed up the rear stairs and came up against the horizontal hatch. He examined the steel lock that fixed the door to the frame and then looked at the keys in his hand. There was a medium-length key that seemed to be made of a similar tarnished-grey metal as the hatch. He singled it out and inserted it into the lock. It was a relief when it turned easily.

Let’s hope the rest of the plan goes as easily.

Nick moved his hands about the hatch, trying to figure out it’s workings without making too much noise. He discovered that it slid upwards on railings and he gently eased it back on its moorings.

The hatch was open. He climbed through.

The night seemed to flood over Nick like a living creature, a cold black mollusc clinging to his skin.

Glad I remembered my jacket, he thought as he climbed out into the fenced-off yard of the restaurant. He searched around and located a large, industrial wheelie bin. It was the perfect height for helping him over the fence. He quickly climbed on top of it, then eased himself up and over the top of the nearest fence. He dropped down on the other side and winced as his feet struck the unforgiving pavement.

I’m going to need a new pair of ankles after all this.

He was at the side of the restaurant towards the rear. He could hear Shawcross and his cronies conspiring nearby, but they were out of sight, which hopefully meant that so was he.

Got to keep it down.

He crept away from the voices and headed around the back of the building. If his plan was going to work then he needed to put some distance between him and Shawcross before things played out.

Coming up on his left was the park’s rollercoaster, the Hood. Its walled-off surroundings would provide good cover for what he was about to do. There was a heavy bin nearby and Nick ran towards it. He hefted his foot in the air and knocked it clean over. The lid came loose and spun across the pavement. It made an almighty clatter.

“Shit!” Nick shouted. “Come on, they’ll hear us. Run!”

He quickly hopped over the waist high fence that surrounded the queuing area for the Hood and then crouched down beneath the elevated steel tracks.

“They’ve escaped,” Shawcross shouted in the distance. “Come on, I hear them over there.”

Nick hid behind a support pillar and listened to the footfalls of his pursuers get nearer.

“You’re a dead man,” Dash shouted. It really was him. Somehow he had survived being pushed out of a cable car hundreds of feet above the ground.

“You’re supposed to be the dead man,” Nick shouted back. “I watched you die, blud.”

“Can’t kill me, gangster. I took that fall like it was nothing. Hit a dozen branches on the way down, but I walked that shit off. I lost my eye, though, and somebody needs to pay for that. You tell Jan he’s got it coming, too.”

Jan isn’t with them? Then where the hell is he?

“He’s inside the rollercoaster enclosure,” Shawcross said. “The others must be with him somewhere.”

Nick grinned. That’s right, you arrogant fool. That’s what I want you to think. Keep looking forward while a speeding truck comes up behind you.

He had to keep them distracted.

“Hey, Dash. When I’m through with you this time, you’ll stay dead.”

Dash sucked his teeth, the sound cutting through the air. “Come on down, then, hard man. Let’s see what you got?”

Nick laughed. “While I’m outnumbered? Don’t think so. When I take you down, it’s going to be just you and me.”

“What do you mean…outnumbered?” Shawcross asked.

Nick bit on his fist. Shit! I think I just blew it.

There was a moment of silence and then Shawcross started shouting. “He’s not with the others. He’s just distracting us. Come on, back to the restaurant.”

Nick had to do something; had to make up for his mistake. He shot out from behind the support pillar and scrambled back towards the queue barricade. He hopped over it mid-run and made a beeline for Shawcross. Dash was standing right beside him and so was Alan. The mystery of whether or not Michelle was with them was also solved. She most certainly was.

Stupid cow.

Michelle saw Nick running at them and shouted out a warning to her cohorts. Alan leapt out to block him, but Nick was having none of it. He swung his rifle like a bat and clubbed Alan around the top of his head. The older man staggered backwards and hit the ground in a daze.

One down!

Before Nick had time to prepare his next swing, Dash smacked him around the head with a shovel. Everything went black for a moment and then he found himself on the floor, staring up at the stars.