Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(42)

If the infected don’t get me, asbestos poisoning will.

He eventually stopped where he imagined the restaurant floor to be and carefully positioned himself astride two parallel rails. He pushed on them to test their strength. They groaned a little but kept their shape. Above him, Jan’s muffled shouting continued to keep the infected herded together in one place.

Nick took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Here goes nothing.

He smashed his fist into one of the flimsy ceiling tiles and sent it plummeting to the floor. A couple of infected people directly below stared up at him and instantly let out one of their high-pitched screeches. Nick held his breath, terrified, but was glad to see that his plan was going as expected. He hung his head out of the hole, making sure he was easily visible to the rest of the infected below.

“Hey! Come and get it, silly bollocks!”

The screech of the infected brought others near. They funnelled in from the corridors and kitchen areas, and even more started pouring in from outside, dragging themselves in through the broken windows.

It wasn’t long before the restaurant floor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with infected. There was even one or two of the slower ones amongst them.

The ones that might be dead.

Now’s not the time to think about that.

“Come on,” Nick shouted down at them. “Let’s have you!”

Infected people continued to pile in and fill the floor of the restaurant. They reached up at him futilely, like worshippers praising God. Eventually he was satisfied that nearly all of them were gathered inside the building. Their collective screeching was so loud now that it was hard to hear the alarm siren.

Time to get out of here.

Nick pulled himself back up from the hole in the ceiling and swivelled around on the railings.

Suddenly he fell.

The rail had bent and lowered by about six inches. Nick froze, closing his eyes and praying that the rail did not give any more. The sounds of the infected below him seemed to get even more ravenous as he hung perilously above them.

After a few seconds had gone by, he slowly lifted his hand and grabbed the rail further along. Then he moved his knee.

The railing groaned.

Nick kept moving.

He headed back the way he had come, being mindful to make as little noise as possible. His intention was for the infected to remain in the restaurant, looking up at the hole in the ceiling where they had last set eyes on him. He would escape the building through the staffroom window without being spotted. He just had to be quick, and quiet.

And that’s just what he did. He travelled back through the crawlspace and dropped down onto the staffroom’s sofa. He wasted no time in hopping back through the open window and heading outside. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he turned around and shouted up to Jan on the roof.

“Hey! The back of the building is clear. Can you get down?”

After a few seconds Jan appeared at the edge of the roof. “What’s happening?” he asked. “They all went inside the restaurant.”

“I know. I lured them in. Get down from there quick and we can make a break for the trees and try to find the others.”

Jan was visibly relieved, his chest losing a full inch as he let out a whistling breath. He crouched down and lowered himself onto the lip of the roof, before letting himself go. He hit the ground with a thud and Nick had to steady the man as he landed.

“Come on,” he said, yanking Jan towards the woods. “Margaret is waiting for us.”

The two of them raced into the trees, fighting to keep their speed as the headed up the growing incline of the hill.

“Do you think the others will have waited?” Jan asked as they huffed and puffed.

“I doubt it. In fact, Dave pretty much said that they wouldn’t.”

“What’s the smart thing to do, then? They could have gone in a hundred different directions.”

Nick stopped running and stamped his foot. “Damn it!”

Jan looked worried. “What is it?”

“Margaret. I told her to wait for me. She was right here in this spot, I’m sure.”

“Calm down. I’m sure she’s here somewhere.”

Nick turned a circle, scanning the trees that surrounded them on all sides, but there was no sign of Margaret. His heart beat rapidly in his chest.

Crack!

A far off snapping of twigs.

“Do you hear that?” Nick set off towards the sound. Jan was right behind him. After passing through several yards of thick trees and thorny shrubs, a figure became visible in the distance. Nick spotted the coloured-flash of their clothing.

He and Jan picked up speed, aiming for the stranger up ahead. Nick almost tripped over a half-buried tangle of roots at one point, but Jan managed to reach out and keep him on his feet. Less than a minute later they had caught up with the unidentified person.

“Eve!” he said, doubling over and wheezing once he knew it was her. “What…are you doing…out here on your own?”

“I came to find you. The others are going to move on if you’re not back in ten minutes.”

“That was dumb of you,” Nick admonished her. He straightened back up and tried to control his breathing. “Where’s the group now? Do they have…Margaret?”

“Dave took everyone down to the bottom of the hill, by where we first found this place. And, yes, Margaret found us. She’s with them.”