Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel(92)

“So what do you want to do?” Nick asked her. “Can we let Jan and Renee out?”

“Looks like the decision’s already been made. I don’t trust either of them, I’m not going to lie, but I trust you, Nick. If you think they should be free, then so be it. Just don’t make me regret it.”

“You won’t,” said Jan. “I promise.”

Annaliese looked at Jan and rolled her eyes. Then, without saying anything else, she exited the building through the window she came in by.

Shawcross stirred on the floor, moaning.

“What should we do with him?” Nick asked.

“Lock him in the cellar,” said Dave.

“No,” Jan objected. “Nobody else is being locked up. I think it’s time for a fresh start. An equal one. No more prisoners.”

“But he tried to stab me,” Dave cried out.

“And he got his clock cleaned for it,” said Jan. “He might have learned his lesson. If not, then he only gets this one chance.”


Dave huffed. “Fine, you just keep him the hell away from me.”

“I’ll personally guarantee it,” said Jan. “I appreciate you going to bat for me, brother.”

Dave nodded. “You’re welcome. Just be sure to make yourself useful.”

Eve climbed in through the window at that point. She headed over to Nick and placed a hand on his arm. “Anna just told me things were all sorted in here now.”

Nick sniffed. “Yeah, kind of…sort of…mostly. My hand is swollen from punching Shawcross, who tried to murder Dave, but other than that, everything is hunky dory.”

Shawcross continued moaning on the floor. He started to drag himself up.

Eve looked down at Nick’s injured hand and winced. “Wow, you must really have hit him hard.”

“Yeah, I suppose so. It’s fine, I’m sure; just bruised. Hopefully Shawcross will be okay, too.”

Eve grinned at him as though he was a misbehaving, yet amusing child. “Come on, let’s go back to the kitchen and bath it in some cold water.”

Nick felt the fuss was unnecessary, but it seemed important to Eve so he went with her. They headed behind the bar and went into the kitchen. The room was now filled with pots and pans full of water, intended to sustain them once the water stopped coming from the taps. Even now, it came only in tiny trickles. There had been a lot of discussion recently about using some of the water to wash with, but Shawcross and Dave had not been able to agree on the issue. Perhaps, now that Shawcross had been brought down a peg or two, Dave would start making decisions for the group unopposed. The thought sent a shiver down Nick’s spine.

Not sure I can figure the guy out. Having him as dictator may not be such a good idea.

“Over here,” Eve said. She stopped next to one of the kitchen sinks. “It’s not ice-cold, but it should be cool enough to stop some of the swelling.”

“You’re quite the nurse,” he said.

“I used to look after my little brother sometimes. He was always getting into scrapes.”

Nick saw a glint of sadness that appeared briefly in Eve’s eyes. He hadn’t known she’d had a little brother. In fact, he’d never really asked her much at all about who she was or what she had lost. There were certain questions that everybody in the group seemed to avoid asking each other. The less they all thought about their old lives, the better.

He dipped his swollen fist beneath the water and used his other hand to pull Eve into a hug. He gave her a quick squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I haven’t checked in with you much the last few days. Are you doing okay?”

Eve hugged him back. Then she broke away so that she could look him in the eyes. “I think we’re all doing about the same. Personally, I’m just feeling a little shell-shocked, like this is all just a dream or something. I mean, I can’t really be stuck up on a hill with a bunch of strangers, while monsters devour the earth, can I? That’s not real, is it?”

Nick looked down at his hand in the water and moved it around, creating soft swirls on the surface. “I guess the difference between nightmares and reality has become pretty thin recently.”

“You’re telling me. I keep expecting to wake up.”

“Me too. Every morning I wake up wishing that my wife is beside me. Then I remember everything that’s happened and I realise that I’ll never see her again. It takes everything I have just to face another day.”

“I know what you mean. I don’t know if I can keep doing it anymore. Not sure how much longer I can keep it up.”

“By getting up every morning and just getting on with it,” Nick said to her. He clenched his fist in the water and winced at the ensuing pain. “All of us left here are survivors. We’re all strong in our own ways. We just have to concentrate on doing what we can with whatever the day brings us. You stuck by me at the beginning. I don’t know if I would ever have made it this far without you. For that I’m grateful. I should have told you sooner. If you ever find that things are getting too much, then you come find me, because I owe you my life. I’m here for you, so just ask.”

Eve moved closer to him and looked up into his eyes. “Things are getting too much for me,” she whispered. “I need you to be here for me now.” She went to place her lips against his.