Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(14)

Nick looked around with no clue what to do next. His car was banged-up, but probably still drivable. Most of the damage was to the bodywork. The problem, though, was that he felt so shaken-up that he didn’t feel safe getting back behind the wheel. At least, not just yet.

Not to mention my sick neighbour in the back seat who was trying to bite me.

He needed to find a place to sit while his nerves calmed down. The hollow feeling in his legs and stomach was most likely the cumulative shock of the morning’s events finally catching up with him, mixed with the most current event of being in a car accident. The urge to vomit and the overwhelming desire to faint fought an ongoing tug-of-war over his existence. If he didn’t do something soon, the likelihood of both happening at once would be a good bet.

The country road was deserted, surrounded on both sides by fields. There was, however, a small garden centre fifty yards ahead. There was a good chance someone might be there – someone who could sit Nick down and help him make sense of everything.

He started to drag his feet forward, the loose gravel of the road crunching with every step he took. To get to where he was going, he would have to pass by the three wrecked vehicles in the centre of the road. It was then that he started to worry about Lara. Would she come at him again as he passed by?

Is she one of them now?

Them? Who are them?

Nick was in a constant state of confusion as to whether people needed help or if they were totally beyond it. Every time he tried to assist someone they ended up attacking him. Even his own wife and child had seemingly wanted him dead. It hurt his head to even think about.

Is their condition reversible, temporary, or what?

Why was Lara okay at first, but then ended up trying to attack me, too?

He stepped carefully as he approached his car. He could see that Lara was still inside and still moving about. She was hanging, partially, out of the driver’s side door. The airbags had deployed and were squashing her torso up against the seat. She was scrabbling at the gravel road and reaching out towards Nick with a hungry expression, but seemed unable to free herself completely from the car.

Once he got closer he could see the reason why. Lara’s legs were tangled up in the seatbelt. The more she tried to crawl away, the tighter the strap became around her ankles. She wasn’t going anywhere. Still, Nick trod carefully, steering clear of her clawed fingernails and bleeding jaws.

She looks like an animal.

Before he was totally away from the wreckage, Nick stopped and examined his injured neighbour closely. He wasn’t sure why he said it, but he asked, “Can you hear me, Lara?” followed by, “Are you okay?” Both were stupid questions, he knew, but he just couldn’t fathom that a woman he was speaking to only half-an-hour before was now completely out of her mind.

But, of course, Lara gave no response to his questions. She just kept trying to get at him like a dog pawing for a morsel of meat lost beneath the fridge.

Nick shook his head, wishing he could understand what was happening; wishing he could do something.

What is making you want to attack me? It makes no sense. I tried to help you.

He decided to leave his concerns behind for the moment. His primary focus was finding somewhere safe to rest up for a while. Lara would have to stay where she was for the time being.

The garden centre up ahead seemed deserted, but there were a couple of cars sat on its pebbled car park. Nick wondered if they belonged to the owners, or perhaps the cleaners. Either way, when they saw the state of him, they would surely take pity and offer assistance. They could try and phone for help, too; 999 might be back up and running by now.

He climbed a nearby embankment and crossed over onto the pebbled parking area. The main entrance was up ahead: a pair of automatic glass doors with pot plants on either side. He was surprised when the doors opened for him. Considering the early hour – 7:15 according to his watch – Nick had assumed the centre would be closed. He wasn’t about to complain, though, so he stepped through the doors gratefully and looked around.

The first part of the garden centre seemed to consist of indoor planting, incense burners, and wind chimes. Nick almost jumped out of his skin when he brushed past a set of aluminium pipes that immediately began tinkling.

Jesus!

The smell inside the building was one of musky perfumes mixed with the assorted earthen scents of soil and plants. In contrast to the many heady odours picked up by his nose, his ears detected nothing except the fading clinks of the aluminium wind chime.

“Hello,” he called out. “Hello, is anybody here?”

Nick considered that someone must be there as the electric doors had allowed him access. It would be crazy to leave a place like this unlocked and unmanned.

Up ahead was an alcove with a banner above that read: AQUARIUM. Nick headed inside and looked around. The space was full of wall-to-wall blue-lit fish tanks, all of them containing either exotic or mundane species. Nick had once kept tropical fish himself and instantly recognised the tiny plecs that inhabited one particular tank. He also knew that they would eventually grow a dozen-times larger in the right environment. There were also brightly-coloured bettas, fat-bellied mollies, and a playful batch of weather loaches mixed with African dwarf frogs. Then he spotted the girl in the corner, peeking out from a storage closet beside a large tank of Discus fish. As soon as he set eyes on her, she fled back into the cupboard, pulling the door closed behind her.

“Hey,” he shouted after her. “I need help. I’ve been in an accident.”