But, before he had chance to deliver the final blow, Nick tackled the man to the ground and batted the bloody rock aside.
“What the hell are you doing, Nick? We have to do this. Get off me. GET OFF ME!”
Kathryn crawled away on her hands and knees, weeping and moaning as bruising swelled her bleeding face like a balloon.
Nick held Dave down by his wrists and shouted after the woman. “Run, Kathryn. Get out of here now and find some place safe.”
She looked at him like a rabbit in the headlights, her face a crimson mask of blood and gore. She managed to scramble to her feet and, a moment later, she was sprinting through the trees and disappearing into the distance.
Once she was gone, Nick finally let go of Dave.
The bus driver hopped up, brushing twigs and dry leaves from of his knees. “You fool! I was doing what needed to be done. I wasn’t going to let her take a bite out of me or anyone else. Now she’s running around in the wilderness, ready to become a monster. The people she kills will be on your hands.”
“You’re out of your freaking mind,” Eve shouted at him.
Pauline was shaking her head. She looked disgusted. “This isn’t how people behave. We don’t murder people just because they show signs of a cold.”
“We do now,” said Dave, spitting at the ground furiously. “If we want to stay alive.”
There was silence as that last sentence seemed to hang in the air between them all. It was quite possibly true; but that didn’t mean it was a truth any of them wanted to accept.
Eventually, Jan shrugged his shoulders and gave Nick a look which suggested they all just get over it. “Can’t change it now, brother. For better or worse, we should just get going.”
“What? And just leave her out here alone?” said Pauline.
“We’ll alert the authorities when we can,” Dave said. “You can even tell them what I did. I’ll stand by it, don’t you worry.”
There was more silence. You could almost bump into the atmosphere, it was so thick. Nick was utterly shocked by Dave’s actions and by the rage that had suddenly taken over the man. He had read him all wrong. He thought Dave was a rescuer, but he wasn’t. The man was something else entirely.
Nick crossed his arms and started walking. “Fine, let’s just get moving, then. Quicker we find help, the quicker we can contact Kathryn’s family and tell them you just tried to smash her brains in.”
“It was more like he was trying to bash them out to be honest,” said Dash, giggling.
Nick ignored the bad joke and picked up speed, leaving the rest of the group several yards behind. After a couple dozen paces Eve appeared beside him and kept pace. He wasn’t about to admit it, but he was glad she was with him.
chapter nine
“So what do you think we’re going to find?” Eve asked Nick as they trudged through the woods together. The rest of the group were trailing a few steps behind them. They all seemed to be following Dave’s lead for the most part, sticking close to him. Regardless of whether or not they condoned the man’s actions, his willingness to take charge had seemingly cemented his place of authority. Nick didn’t care about that; he just didn’t want to see anybody else get hurt. He hated to think of poor Kathryn out there in the woods, alone, injured, and afraid.
“I don’t know what we’re going to find,” he said honestly. “I hope we can find somewhere with a nice big gate and a police sniper on the roof, but I’m not sure we’ll get it.”
Eve laughed. “I’m just wishing for some place with a shower.”
Nick looked at her. “You’re not still bothered about being mucky, are you? Not after what happened to Kath-”
“Hey,” Eve cut him off. “Don’t give me grief. I’m just trying to focus my mind on the small things. Creature comforts, you know?”
“Sorry. I’m just angry about what happened back there.”
“Me too. But none of us know each other, at the end of the day. We should just give each other a wide berth until we get through this. We have no power over the actions of other. Nobody here is boss.”
Nick huffed. “I’m not sure Dave would agree with you, there. I would have stopped him if I knew what he was going to do.”
“I know you would have. But you didn’t and you can’t, so forgive yourself. At least Kathryn’s still alive. She wouldn’t be if you hadn’t stepped in.”
Nick remained silent, but he took what Eve said on board. There was no point ruminating on things he couldn’t change. It would just distract him. And, right now, a lapse in concentration could mean a death sentence.
***
“We’ve been walking through these woods for more than two hours,” Margaret moaned. “I need to rest my plates.”
Nick was still a little further in front of the others, but he stopped when he heard the old lady begging for a rest. He didn’t know how long they’d been trudging through the woods, but two hours sounded about right.
“We keep moving,” said Dave. “We can’t afford to stop.”
“Why not?” Eve asked. “What’s the harm?”
Dave’s eyes narrowed. “We need to find help. Or have you forgotten that? The longer we stay in these woods, the bigger the risk we get attacked again.”
Eve turned a slow circle, taking in their surroundings, and then shrugged. “I think we’ll be okay to take a fifteen minute break,” she said. “We’re totally alone.”
Dave shook his head. “We’re not stopping.”
“Who the hell put you in charge, anyway?” Nick intervened. “Margaret needs to rest, so we let her. There’s no argument to be had. She’s an old lady. Show some compassion.”
Margaret looked at Dave pleadingly. She seemed embarrassed that her age and weakness was causing a spat.
“Fine!” He huffed. “She can have ten minutes, but then we’re not stopping again until we find help. We can’t afford to be stuck in these woods once it gets dark.”
Nick checked his watch. It was just after two. It wouldn’t get dark till about 7PM, but Dave did have a point: they didn’t want to be wondering through the woods in the dark.
Margaret crouched down and eased herself onto a fallen log. Pauline sat down beside the old lady and rubbed her back. Dave, Cassie, Carl, and the three prisoners huddled together between the trees and began chatting.
“That Dave is starting to get on my tits,” said Eve in a whisper to Nick. “Talk about a power trip. He thinks he’s head boy scout or something.”
“I know,” Nick said. “I can’t believe how quickly his attitude has changed. To think he was driving around, picking people up and rescuing them, and then to just attack Kathryn the way he did.”
Eve knelt down and picked up a fallen pinecone. She ran her fingers over it for a couple of seconds, before placing it beneath her nostrils and taking in its scent. “I think that when we parked up the bus, the reality of the situation finally dawned on everybody. It was a bit like being in a cocoon when we were driving around; just watching all the chaos but not really being a part of it. Now that we’re on foot, I think we’ve all realised just how vulnerable we are, and how much the normal rules don’t apply anymore. Dave is just doing what he thinks is right, in a screwed up way.”
She tossed the pinecone into the distance.
Nick backed up against a towering poplar tree and looked up at the sky through its leaves. Birds fluttered overhead. “Are you doing okay?” he asked her.
“Who? Me? Yeah, why do you ask?”
“Just checking. You’re a young girl. This whole thing must be pretty frightening.”
“Yeah, to everybody, though, not just me. I’m an adult, same as the rest of you. Twenty-two doesn’t make me a child. It just makes me better looking than the rest of you.”
Nick laughed. “You think so?”
“Absolutely. Me and Margaret are the hottest people here.”
Nick laughed harder. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but the old dear does have something about her.”<
br />
Margaret peered over at them then and seemed confused by their stifled giggling. Perhaps she knew they were talking about her.
“Stop,” he said. “We shouldn’t chat about people behind their backs. Especially not a nice old lady like her.”
“I agree. We should look after her; she reminds me of my gran. Except my gran didn’t swear as much.”
They said no more as they enjoyed their ten minute rest. Nearby, Dave checked his watch every thirty seconds, keeping exact time of how long the group had left. He wore a constant look of irritation on his jowly face. The three prisoners stuck close to him; the trio of men seeming to move as one. Dash was constantly cracking crude jokes and laughing, while Jan wore an endless expression of disapproval. The third prisoner, Renee, stood completely still, watching all around him with a look of quiet interest.
That guy’s a mystery.
“Okay,” Dave said, checking his watch one last time. “Time to get moving. I think if we carry on in this direction it’ll only be a matter of time before we come out somewhere.”
“And then what?” Pauline asked. “What if there are more of those things?”
“We’ll remain in the treeline and check stuff out before we make any decisions. We can send a scout if need be.”
A scout, Nick thought to himself. Guy thinks he’s a field general or something.
There were no arguments, so everyone got moving. This time, however, instead of moving on ahead, Nick stayed back amongst the group; mainly so he could keep an eye on Margaret. The old lady had recently witnessed her friend being ripped apart and deserved their compassion, but right now she wasn’t getting it from the likes of Dave. Nick would have to make sure she was looked after.
***
Another half-hour went by before the woods thinned out. The dim sunlight started to slash the horizon, instead of just coming down through the tree canopy. The group slowed down as it became clear that the woods were coming to an end.
Dave hurried to the front of the group and put his hand up to stop them all. “We have to be careful,” he said. “We don’t know what lies up ahead. It’s quiet, so I don’t think it’s a motorway or anything, but it could still be dangerous.”
“We should send one person up ahead to check it out,” Jan suggested.
“Good idea,” said Dave. “Nick! Go see what we’re dealing with.”
Nick was surprised to hear his name. “Me?”
“Yeah, what’s the problem? Just stay low and keep out of sight.”
“And why don’t you do it?”
Dave huffed and pinched a roll of fat on his belly. “Because I’m not as light on my feet as you are.”
Nick sighed. He didn’t have a problem with going – it made sense. What he had a problem with was Dave thinking he had any right to give him orders.
Still, someone needs to do it. It might as well be me.
“Fine,” he said, already moving towards the clearing. “Everyone wait here.”
The ground ahead was free of the roots and undergrowth that had made their progress so laborious over the last few hours. It was a relief not having to step so carefully. He crouched down low as he headed towards the clearing, squinting to make out what was lurking beyond the distant treeline. As he crept, he concentrated on what he could hear as well as well as what he could see, but, aside from the various bird calls and wind-rustling bushes, there was total silence. He could only consider that as being positive; the last thing he wanted to hear was the bloodthirsty screech of an infected person.
It’s almost like an alarm they have. They see prey and go off like a siren.
Beyond the treeline was something large and grey – something manmade. As Nick crept closer, it became clear what he was looking at.
Well, I’ll be damned.
The car park on the edge of the woods was vast and empty. Its several hundred white-lined parking spaces were vacant; the whole area a barren field of weathered concrete. At the near end was a long, single-story building backing up against the base of a steep hill.
What is this place?
He knelt down in the grass and kept low as he headed down the embankment. He stepped cautiously onto the car park. In addition to the single-story building was something else; it looked like a cable car system. Its thick steel cords stretched up from the base of the hill all the way to the lofty summit. The cables seemed old, yet functional. The dozen or so carriage-cars were antiquated, small and rickety, with bright-red, peeling paintwork. But they were also intact and seemingly operational.
A ticket office and embarkation platform had been erected at the foot of the hill, backing up against one end of the single-story building. A large, suspended sign read: RIPLEY HEIGHTS AMUSEMENT PARK AND ZOO.
It’s some kind of tourist trap.
Nick scratched his chin and took another scan of the landscape. The whole area was deserted. Safe.
This could be interesting, he told himself, before heading back up the embankment and re-entering the woods. He needed to go and get the others.
Maybe one of them will know what this place is.
The group was waiting patiently when Nick returned to them in the woods. He immediately motioned for them to join him. Cautiously, they did so.
“What have we got?” Dave asked him.
“Not exactly sure. There’s a car park and a building. Looks like a café or a fast food place. There’s an amusement park nearby, I think. Up a massive hill. I haven’t seen a single soul and it looks pretty safe. There’s not even any cars in the car park.”
“Good work,” said Dave, patting him on the back like an old buddy. “Okay, people, let’s be cautious and keep our eyes peeled. We may be able to find a phone inside this café, so we might finally be able to get a call through to our loved ones and the authorities.”
There was a muted cheer from the group.
“Let’s move,” he said, leading the group in a slow moving charge, heading through the same gap in the trees that Nick had.
They all stepped carefully down the embankment and onto the cracked pavement of the car park. Then they took in their surroundings.
“Ripley Heights,” said Eve with an element of surprise in her voice. “I haven’t been here since I was a kid.”
“You know this place?” Nick asked her.
“Yeah, it’s a kiddie park. You take the cable car up to the top and there’s a petting zoo and some rides. It’s all pretty lame, but as a kid I loved it. Surprised the place is still going. It was falling apart ten years ago.”
“What’s this building up ahead?”
She let out a giggle. “It’s the Rainforest Café. I remember it like it was yesterday. My dad used to drag us out the car and then we’d all have go to the toilet while he paid for our tickets. Then he would make us all wait inside the café while he and mom had a coffee before we could ride to the top. Me and my sister hated that part. Kind of miss it now, though. My dad passed away a few years later; heart disease.” She let out a wistful sigh and Nick could tell she was thinking about her family and whether or not they were okay.
“Come on,” he told her, trying to keep her mind from exploring dark alleyways. “Let’s go and take a look around, before Dave takes over.”
She nodded and the two of them got going.
Up ahead, the long, single-story building was indeed called the Rainforest Café. The wooden sign had become weathered and frayed, but it only made it more befitting to its jungle theme. Through the grimy glass windows, Nick could see two dozen fibreboard tables surrounded by plastic chairs. At one end was a fast food counter with pictures of burgers and hot dogs above it.
“There’s no way for us to get inside,” he said. “And there’s no one in there to let us in.”
“We’ll break in,” said Dave.
It felt wrong to suggest such an act, but Nick couldn’t find a reason to object. With all the damage and destruction they had witnessed on the road, adding a little more seemed like spitting in
the ocean.
“What can we use?” asked Jan as he looked around. “The whole place is pretty barren.”
“Does anybody have anything hard on them?” Dave asked the group.
Dash grabbed at his crotch. “I do, but I don’t think you can break glass with it.”
“That’s gross,” said Cassie, holding a hand to her mouth.
Dash sucked at his teeth. “Oh, come on, girl, quit playing coy. A fine piece of ass like you must have had her fair share of crotch rockets. If not, then allow me to be the first.”
Jan put one of his meaty palms against his fellow-prisoner’s chest. “Take a cold shower,” he said. “Or someone will cut it off.”
Dash just snickered.
“Okay,” said Dave, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s full attention. “Everybody, spread out and check the sides of the building. We’re looking for a brick or anything else that could help us get inside.”
Everybody set off at once. Nick went to check over by the cable car station with Pauline, who seemed like she could use the company. She looked exhausted.
“How you holding up?” he asked her.
“Well, the only thing keeping me going is the chance that there might be food inside this building. I’m hoping something to eat might stop my stomach from churning so much.”
Nick hadn’t considered the possibility of food, but he realised that he, too, was famished. “I guess we could all do with an energy boost,” he said. “What’s your favourite food?”
Pauline looked at him. “Really?”
“Yeah, why not? Just making conversation. I can’t stand silence. It’s so tense between us all that I feel like somebody might spontaneously combust.”
Her lips cracked a smile for the first time since he had met her. It made her look younger. “I know what you mean,” she said. “Well, I don’t really have a favourite meal, but if I did, I could guarantee you that I wouldn’t find it inside that little burger bar. I like French food; cheese and red wine. Delicious.”
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