Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(5)

Nick patted his son on the leg and gave him the reassuring smile of a worried parent. “Okay,” he said. “You just rest here and I’ll call you when dinner is ready. Anything in particular you’d like?”

“Fish fingers.”

“Anything else?”

“Fish fingers.”

“Okay, fish fingers it is.”

Nick got up from the sofa and headed out into the hallway. Deana was in the kitchen, already starting on dinner.

“His lord requires fish fingers,” he said to her as he approached from behind and squeezed at her hips.

“Right-o,” she said. She was already rummaging around the fridge freezer so it was easy for her to come out with a large cardboard box full of Cod sticks. She set them down on the IKEA breakfast table, next to a basket of laundry, and brushed off a layer of frost. “Did he ask for anything else? Or just fish fingers?”

“Just fish fingers with a side of fish fingers. I suppose you could force him to accept some chips and beans with them.”

“That wouldn’t be because you want chips and beans, would it? You’ve got fillet steak in the fridge, you numpty.”

“I know, I have.” He perched back against the table. “But I’m too tired to eat it tonight. It would just be wasted on me. I’ll just have whatever James is having.”

Deana moved up close to him, tiptoed on the tiles, and gave him a kiss on the mouth. “You’re not coming down with something as well, are you, babe? Because I can’t be doing with nursing you both back to health. I am in no mood for man-flu.”

Nick shook his head. “I’m fine. Just tired. Really, really, really tired. I don’t know how much longer I can take working at that bloody place.”

“Find something else, then. I don’t want you to be miserable all the time.”

“I’m not miserable. Just…unfulfilled. Anyway, don’t worry about it for now. I’m just glad to be home early for a change. Shame we can’t go out, but never mind.”

“James show you his battle wound?” Deana asked him.

“His finger? Yeah. What happened?”

“Another kid bit him about an hour before I picked him up. It wasn’t too bad. Still bleeding a little when he got home, so I put a new plaster on it.”

“And kissed it better?”

“Of course! What kind of mother do you think I am?”

Nick giggled and then checked his watch. It was almost half-five. “I need to get ready for the conference call,” he said, giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll try to get away as quick as I can.”

“Okay, I’ll bring you a coffee up.”


He thanked her and then quickly headed upstairs to use the phone in the bedroom where it would be quieter. The last thing he needed was to be on the conference call and have his son and wife’s voices giving it away that he was at home instead of at the store where he was supposed to be.

He opened the door to the bedroom and lay himself down on the freshly made Queen-size bed, dumping down his keys and wallet on the glass side-table next to the phone. The duvet cover was the blue Egyptian cotton one that he liked so much. The soft thread immediately relaxed him.

The conference call would commence at five-thirty sharp, but the managers of the other stores would usually get on early to check the lay of the land. How did your store do today? What was footfall like? Did you meet your insurance quota? Is the area manager in a good or bad mood today?

He picked up the phone and dialled in the number he knew by heart. Then he tapped in the login pin number. There was a brief silence while the automated service connected him.

When he heard the static of the open line, Nick introduced himself. “Nick Adams, Solihull, Touchwood.”

There were no replies. He must have been the first one there. Great, he thought to himself. Everyone else has had such busy days that they’re struggling to even get away and jump on the call.

I’m so dead.

Nick took a deep breath and released it slowly, letting it echo in the receiver. He rubbed at his forehead with his free hand and closed his eyes while he waited for someone else to arrive. He really hated conference calls. Why there had to be one every single evening he did not know; just like he did not know why he had to be in store for 8AM when it only took twenty minutes to get ready for a 9AM opening. It seemed that Head Office was unaware that Branch Managers had lives outside of work.

There was nothing he could do, though. He wouldn’t get paid as much anywhere else in retail. Most people in the country – the world, in fact – hated their jobs just as much as he did, but for less pay, so in some ways he was lucky. At least his family was secure; even if it did mean he was miserable fifty hours a week.

Nick checked his watch and saw that it was now 5:32. “Hello,” he said into the receiver. “Hello, is anyone else here?”

A second later, the line crackled and another voice appeared on the line.

“Hey,” said Nick. “Who’s that?”

“It’s Paul.”

“Paul, what are you doing on the call?”

“I figured you’d need backup after the day we had.”

Nick smiled. It was good of Paul to go down in flames with him. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. It’s just me and you so far, though.”