Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(90)

Nobody said anything for a while. The tense silence made it clear what they were all thinking.

Up ahead was the office building. Annaliese had explained that there were bodies inside one of the rooms. It was the unofficial morgue, and not somewhere to visit otherwise. Beside the offices was an open warehouse with a large truck parked outside. Alan and Michelle were both milling about inside.

“Hey,” Nick said to them as he entered the warehouse. He looked around at the various things piled up. Like Mike had said, there was a large stockpile of crated-up fireworks. There were also several cans of petrol, which seemed a little unsafe to be stored next to commercial explosives.

Alan noticed Nick staring at the fireworks and grinned. His greying moustache pointed up at the corners. “Quite the collection, isn’t it? And with all this petrol we might be able to get the generator juiced back up if we need it.”

“What were all these fireworks meant for?” Eve asked, picking up a blue and orange rocket and reading the label.

“I don’t know,” Alan said. “Shawcross said the park used to hold firework displays at Halloween, and New Year, et cetera. I guess they brought in bulk.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” said Nick. “I hear there’s been talk of using them as a signal if rescue arrives?”

Alan nodded. “That’s what I’m doing now. Michelle and I are going to set up a crate of rockets at the edge of the hill so we can set them off if we spot anyone in the villages. We’ll cover them up with some tarps I found to keep them dry.”

“Sounds good,” Nick said, then suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “Hey, have you two seen Cassie anywhere? Nobody has seen her for a while.”

A look of concern crossed Michelle’s face. “No, I haven’t seen her. She’s okay, isn’t she?”

“I’m sure she is,” said Nick. “Just need to check in with her, that’s all.”

“Wish I could help you,” said Alan. “But I can’t say that I’ve seen her all day.”

“Okay, then we’ll leave you to it.”

That’s not good. Nobody has seen her since this morning. Where would she have gone for so long?

On their way back out of the warehouse, Pauline made a suggestion. “Maybe, we’re overreacting. She might just need some alone time.”

Nick thought about the possibility. Cassie had been fragile from the beginning, and even more so after what Dash had tried to do to her at The Rainforest Café. He didn’t see her as the type of person that would willingly seek solitude. She would be far too nervous to be alone.

“I don’t think she would wonder off without telling anybody,” said Eve, echoing what Nick was thinking. “But I’m not sure she’d try to hurt herself, either.”

Nick stopped walking and looked at Eve. “Really? What makes you so sure?”

Eve shrugged. “I don’t know. The way she’s been talking the last few days, I suppose. She told me how glad she was that we were all safe and that she hoped rescue would arrive eventually. She was looking forwards, you know?”

“Then where is she?” Pauline asked.

“That’s what we need to find out,” said Nick.

They carried on walking and explored the zoo area of Ripley Heights. The various animals all went about their enclosures in the same way they no doubt had before things went bad. For them life was still the same. The rabbits were still just rabbits and the chickens were still just chickens. Life was no more complicated for them than it ever had been. Nick envied them.

Oh but to be a lowly badger.

Up ahead, they were coming back around to the orang-utan enclosure. Nick looked up at the treeline and was disappointed to see that Lily was no longer there. He hoped it wasn’t the last he’d see of her.

“This is where the orang-utan was,” Nick said.

“Where is she now?” Eve asked excitedly.

“Looks like she’s gone. Sorry.”

“That sucks.”

Pauline sighed. “Isn’t Cassie our main concern right now?”

Nick nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Suddenly, Mike came speeding around the corner, right towards them.

Instantly, Nick assumed the worst. “You’ve found Cassie, haven’t you?”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, she’s at the restaurant. I came to come and get you.”

“At the restaurant?” Pauline frowned. “But we just came from there.”

“She was in the cellar,” Mike explained.

Nick sighed. He suddenly felt very weak. “How did she kill herself?”

Mike frowned in confusion. “Kill herself? She’s not dead.”

“Then why have you come to get us?”

“Because she’s broken Jan and Renee out. Your prisoner friends have escaped.”





Chapter Thirty-One

“Cassie, what are you doing?” Nick had climbed through the window back into the restaurant and was surprised to find Cassie with Renee and Jan. All three of them were brandishing knives. Standing opposite, and also armed, were Dave and Shawcross. Mike, Eve, and Pauline decided to stay outside, not wanting to make a tense situation even worse.

Cassie stared at Nick. She was shaking like a leaf, but seemed firm in her actions. “We can’t keep Jan and Renee locked up like animals anymore. They deserve better. Jan saved me. He saved you, too, Nick. I’d feel safer with them both free.”