Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(84)

Annaliese stood and waited while everyone separated. She watched Nick go over to each of the women in turn. He seemed to take responsibility for their welfare. She had a feeling, though, that he was just working hard to mask a deeper concern. Clearly something was eating at him, and he was trying to make it go away by remaining busy.

Maybe he needs to talk to someone.

After a few moments, Nick returned to her. He was holding a pint of coke and took a sip. Then he offered it to her. “Hope you don’t mind, but with all the excitement it feels like I might faint if I don’t take a drink.”

She waved a hand. “Hey, you’re very welcome. We need to be tight with our supplies from now on, but you folks are more than entitled to a drink.”

He lifted his arm in the direction of the window. “Shall we?”

Annaliese nodded and they both headed for the broken window that would take them back outside.

“So,” said Nick. “What’s the deal here? Does all of your group work here?”

“No, actually. Just Shawcross. I’m a vet that was on call here. Everyone else was staying in Ripley Hall for a company function.”

“Really? Wow. Do you think you would be alive if you hadn’t been called out here?”

“I doubt it. Being here is probably the only reason I’m alive, if the news is anything to go by.”

Nick’s eyes went wide. He helped her through the window quickly. “You’ve seen the news? What did it say?”

“Not a lot. It went off soon after, but it was pretty clear that this is happening everywhere, all over the world.”

Nick jumped out of the window after her and let his gaze drop to the floor. “Well, guess that’s that, then. This is the goddamn apocalypse, isn’t it?”


Annaliese shook her head. It was crazy to use that word in a literal sense, but… “Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is the end of the world as we know it. The news did say there was military in some places, but didn’t say where, other than up north. Maybe if we hold out long enough, things will change.”

“Let’s hope so.”

There was a brief silence as they walked along and Annaliese took the opportunity to probe her new companion. “I guess for some of us, it already feels like the world has ended.”

Nick nodded and seemed to stare off into the distance. “Pretty much.”

“You said you had a wife and child?”

Nick looked away from her. “Yeah. Deana and James. They were both infected. I left Deana alive, but James…”

Annaliese put a hand on his back. “It’s okay. I get it. You don’t have to say. I can’t imagine what you went through.

Although, I pretty much can. I know what it’s like to lose a child.

“But,” she continued. “The people in your group seem pretty glad to have you around. Most people are infected or gone, so I guess we should try and count ourselves lucky that we’re still here at all. Least that’s what I keep telling myself. Only thing that’s keeping me from going crazy, to be honest.”

Nick glanced at her. “So, did you lose anybody?”

“Yeah, I lost someone. But not because of all this. Guess I’m lucky that none of this horror has directly affected me like it has other people.”

“I don’t think anybody is lucky anymore. I’m sorry for your loss, whenever it may have been.”

Annaliese smiled glumly. “Thank you.”

They came back to the midway games area and Nick came up with a suggestion. “We could use the plush toy prizes as pillows – some of them are pretty big and they look soft.”

Following the same train of thought, Annaliese had an additional suggestion. “I think they sell wet weather ponchos in the gift shop, too. They could be good for bedding.”

“Looks like we’re on our way, then. Let’s get started.”

Nick vaulted the basketball midway game and begun pulling stuffed dinosaurs down off the shelves. He threw them out so that they landed in a loose pile on the pavement.

Annaliese entered through the back of the Arabian Derby and started grabbing the biggest plush toys she could find. There would be more than enough to use as pillows.

“We’re going to need a bag or something to carry this stuff back,” he shouted over to her. “Any ideas?”

“The gift shop. It might sell tote bags.”

“Let’s go check it out. We can look for the ponchos at the same time.”

Nick vaulted back out of the basketball game and joined Annaliese on the pavement. She led him towards the gift shop and was grateful that she had once visited the park with her husband back when they were courting. It was useful knowing her way around the theme park area of Ripley Heights.

The gift shop was up ahead and themed like a fairytale cottage. Nick picked up a rock from a nearby flowerbed and let fly with it. It smashed out a window of the shop.

“That’s how you guys do this, right?”

Annaliese laughed. “Nowadays we do. Got to tell you, though, I really miss using doors.”

“I miss a lot of things,” said Nick. “I miss crap television and pop music.”

“Huh!”

Nick looked at her. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that those are the things I miss, too. Aren’t you supposed to missing football and the pub?”