Annaliese looked up at the row of nets inside one of the stalls. She didn’t see the harm, so she reared back and thrust the ball into the air, just like she had as a twelve year old girl on the middle-school netball team.
The basketball hit the backboard and bounced away. Eve leant over the shelf and retrieved it from the floor. “Good try,” she said.
Annaliese grinned. Throwing the ball had been fun and she wanted to try again until she at least made a successful basket. “What’s this all about?” she said.
“It’s about fun,” said Nick. “I think we all need a break from supplies and defences and rations. Time to kick back for an afternoon and try to remember what life is all about.”
Mike walked forward and motioned to receive the ball. “I’ve just been saying the exact same thing. How bout we get into teams to make this a bit more interesting?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Nick.
Everyone else agreed.
Annaliese and Mike joined up with Alan and Michelle in a team against Nick, Eve, Cassie, and Pauline. They took turns making baskets, but it wasn’t long before Nick’s team were several points ahead.
“Were you a professional basketball player in your old life?” Annaliese asked Nick. “You never miss a basket.”
“I used to play a lot as a teenager,” he said. “It’s like riding a bike.”
Mike wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. “Well, I think we should remix the teams. You lot are whipping our arses.”
“What is going on here?”
Annaliese looked up to see Dave marching towards them with Jan and Renee right behind him.
“Nothing,” Nick said. “We’re just having a bit of fun.”
“Fun? Fun? We have things to do. We all need to be working?”
Eve picked up the ball and looked at him. “Says who?”
“Says me!”
She rolled her eyes. “And who the hell are you?”
Dave bristled. “Apparently, I am the only one looking out for this group.”
Nick spoke next and was immediately met with a glare from Dave. “Look, you’re not in charge of everyone, Dave, and neither was Shawcross. You had your little coup d’état in the restaurant, but the rest of us are going to do what we want to do, not what you tell us to.”
“We’ll end up dead with that kind of attitude. There is danger all around us and you’re playing…basketball!”
Annaliese sighed. She knew Dave had a point, but Nick was right as well. They all needed to let off steam or they were going to end up having nervous breakdowns. “We’re just taking a break,” she said. “We’ll be back to work soon.”
“Now!” said Dave. “You all need to do the jobs assigned to you now.”
Everyone just stood and stared at Dave. Annaliese couldn’t believe the gall of the man. What made him think he had any right to order them about?
I’m sure he’s just doing what he thinks is right, but jeez, take a chill-pill.
After a while, Dave shook his head and almost spat at the floor with rage. He was bright red. “Nick, are you going to back me up here? You know, that since I picked you all up, I have only had this group’s interests at heart.”
Nick sighed and stared down at the ground. Then he began shaking his head. “You know what? I don’t know what your motivation is, Dave, but I do know that we are all getting pretty sick and tired of you assuming that you have any right over the rest of us.”
“Nick, you need to understand-”
“We’re playing basketball, Dave. Either join us, or go away.”
Dave’s eyes narrowed and he glared at Nick as though he was trying to burn a hole through his forehead. Then he spun around in a huff and marched away.
Annaliese took a deep breath and let it out through her nostrils. “I think you just made an enemy there,” she said to Nick.
Nick grabbed the basketball and began bouncing it. “I’m a big boy,” he said. “I can handle Dave.”
He threw the ball through the air and made another perfect basket. Nobody picked it up again, though. Suddenly, they didn’t feel like playing games anymore.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The evening was tense, particularly between Dave and Nick. Nick had felt the man’s angry gaze fall upon him several times throughout the night, and he was getting quite sick of it.
Guy needs to let it go.
The whole group were now in the restaurant, including Jan and Renee. They were all eating burgers and fries that Pauline and Michelle had prepared in the kitchen. They had done so by lighting a fire in a large pan and using an improvised spit to roast the meat. They boiled water for the fries. The food was horrible, but made everybody’s hunger go away. Seeing how much food they had consumed for just one meal made it dauntingly obvious that their supplies would not last forever. The bleak knowledge seemed to add to the tension already in the air.
Shawcross sat alone in a corner, eating his meal with his head down. He was a broken man, obviously unused to violence, and the ease with which it had stripped him of his self-respect. Nick felt guilty for having been the one to punch the man, but Shawcross had certainly brought it on himself.
He would have killed Dave if I hadn’t done something. The more time that goes by, the closer we become to those things at the bottom of the hill.
After they had finished playing basketball earlier, everyone had got back to work with their various tasks. Nick had returned to the restaurant to clear the air with Shawcross, but the man had been nowhere in sight. He’d only reappeared an hour ago. He told no one where he had been.
Probably just moping about somewhere.
To Nick’s great surprise, Jan and Renee had chosen to sit with Dave while they ate. They even shared a few beers. Perhaps they appreciated his lobbying to get them out of the cellar; although they should have been thanking Cassie more.
Maybe they just want to be with the guy who makes the decisions.
Nick finished the last of his lukewarm burger and stood up from the table. He felt a headache coming on and the growing darkness inside the restaurant was making his mood low.
“Where are you going?” Eve asked him, a concerned look on his face.
“I just fancy a walk and some air.”
“You want me to come with?”
Nick shook his head. As much as he enjoyed Eve’s company, right now all he wanted was a bit of solitude. “I won’t be long,” he said. “You just stay here with Pauline.”
Eve seemed a little unsettled that he was leaving on his own, but she didn’t complain and agreed to stay put.
Nick headed out through the restaurant window and entered the shadows of the park. The moon was full and everything seemed to glow with a silvery edge sharp enough to cut flesh. The park’s rollercoaster, The Hood, towered in the distance like a giant stick insect. A Lovecraftian monolith blending with the shadows.
Nick headed for the zoo. The animals had a calming effect on him and he liked seeing them go about their peaceful existence. It was almost enough to make him forget about everything else.
But, as soon as his eyes caught sight of the smouldering fires in distant villages, reality always came crashing back.
Coming up on his left was the empty orang-utan enclosure. It was a serene landscape of shadows and dark angles, so he decided to settle there. He leant up against the enclosure’s barrier and let his head drop. Beneath him were the rotting bodies of the infected that Annaliese said had attacked Lily and her family. It spoiled the peacefulness, somewhat, so he looked around for a more suitable place to enjoy the small circle of enclosed nature.
The bungalow at the edge of the habitat was sloped; low on the side that faced the footpaths and taller on the side that faced the enclosure. A drainage pipe ran up one side of the building.
Nick didn’t know why, but the thought of climbing up on the roof was appealing. Something childish inside of him desired the feeling of being up high where it was safe. Five-hundred fe
et above the ground and he still had the need to go higher.
Maybe the closer I can get to Heaven, the closer I will be to James.
He stepped closer to the bungalow and took a running leap onto the drainpipe. It creaked under his weight and felt as though it might come away from the wall, but then it caught on its brackets and held firm. He shimmied the seven or eight feet up to the roof and then hoisted himself over the edge. He headed to the highest point of the sloped surface and eased himself down, letting his legs dangle free above the enclosure.
From up high, he had a better view of Ripley Heights. Ripley Hall rose in the shadows at the back of the park; its many rooms full of shrieking horrors that could be released at any moment. Nick shuddered as he thought about what would happen if the doors were ever opened. He chose to turn his head and instead look over at the amusement park, but even that had taken on a sinister façade. Its unused carousel, its abandoned pirate ship, and its dormant big wheel had all taken on a ghostly visage as they seemed to shimmer beneath the moon’s penetrating glow. The whole place looked haunted, echoing a past of children giggling and parents kissing. Things the old park would never see again.
Thud!
Something hit the roof right behind Nick and he cried out in fright. He twisted around and almost lost his balance on the roof. He grabbed the edge with both hands and managed to steady himself just when he had been sure he would fall.
“Jesus Christ!” he said when he realised what was behind him. His first instinct was to flee, but as the seconds went by, the orang-utan made no attempt to grab out at him or hurt him in any way.
Lily examined Nick curiously, tilting her head left and right. Slowly, she raised her left arm and inched it towards him. He let one of his own hands come away from the roof’s edge and gradually raised it to meet hers.
This is nuts.
Their hands touched. Lily’s rough fingertips slid over the cold flesh on the back of Nick’s hand. She let out a soft hoot.
“I heard you and me have something in common,” Nick said to her softly. “I lost my family, too. At least your man did his job and protected you, though. I let my family down.”
Lily’s breath was audible as it escaped through her deep nostrils. It was almost like she knew what he was talking about but didn’t like the subject. The smell of her being so close was intoxicating. It was an unpleasant smell yet, in some ways, comforting. It was the smell of a creature uninterested in personal hygiene or any of the numerous other stresses that mankind placed upon itself. It was a reminder of what man really was deep down: just an ape – egotistical and self-involved, but really nothing more than an ape.
Maybe we would all be happier if we just accepted that.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Lily,” he said.
At the sound of her name, Lily hooted again. Then she took off into the night as quickly as she had arrived. Nick missed her already as she leapt into the treeline and disappeared. Now that she was gone, his thoughts would resume their torment of him. He had sought out solitude – needed it, in fact – but now that he had it, he was afraid. His memories had talons and they were poised to rip him apart.
He was almost glad when he heard someone cry out in the night, but quickly realised what it meant. The scream had been short, abrupt, but unmistakable. It was a scream of sudden terror, and it had come from a man.
Who was that? I thought everybody was back at the restaurant.
Nick slid down from the top of the roof, via the drainpipe, and landed back on the pavement. He winced as a shooting pain went from his ankles to his knees, but managed to walk it off within a couple of steps. When the pain went away, he picked up speed and started jogging in the direction he thought he’d heard the scream. He estimated it was about half way between the orang-utan enclosure and the restaurant, near to where the midway games were.
It took him a few minutes to get there, but when he arrived he quickly found out who had been screaming.
What the…?
His first thought was that an infected person had found their way past the fences, but when he saw the knife jutting out of Dave’s chest, he knew that an old-fashioned murder had just been committed.
Someone’s stabbed him.
Shawcross! That bastard.
It had to be Shawcross. He had tried to stab Dave earlier, unsuccessfully. He obviously decided to have another go.
He’ll pay for this, that rat.
Annaliese came running out of the darkness. “We heard screaming,” she said and skidded to a stop when she saw what had happened.
“Shawcross did it,” Nick said, shaking his head and clenching his fists in anger.
How could he kill Dave over such a minor disagreement?
Annaliese was shaking her head. The rest of the group appeared behind her, Shawcross included. “Shawcross is with us,” she said.
Nick shook his head. “That’s impossible. Dave was just this minute killed. I heard him scream. The blood is still coming out of him.”
“He was on his way to see you,” said Jan. “He said he didn’t want to hold grudges and that we all needed to work together even in spite of personality differences.”
Beside Jan, Renee nodded in confirmation.
“It’s true,” Eve said. “Dave asked me if I knew where you’d gone. Said he wanted to apologise for being so overbearing. He said it was just his way of dealing with how scared he was, but that he was realising it wasn’t helping anybody.”
Nick shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like Dave.”
“No shit,” said Eve. “Surprised me, too. But I guess we don’t know each other well enough to predict how we’re going to react to things. He seemed pretty genuine.”
“He was glaring at me all night. Didn’t seem regretful at all.”
Eve shrugged.
“It’s a tragedy that you took his approach as a threat rather than the apology it was meant to be,” said Shawcross. The man almost sounded smug. “Seems as though you may have gotten the wrong end of the stick.”
Nick lowered his eyebrows. “What? I didn’t do this.”
“Nobody else could have,” Annaliese said. “Every one of us was together in the restaurant. You left, and then five minutes later Dave went right after you. We all came when we heard the screams.”
Nick looked at Eve for help, but she just looked back at him, confused.
“I didn’t do this,” he shouted at them all.
“We need to lock him up,” said Shawcross. “Until we decide what to do with him.”
To his utter disbelief, Jan and Alan came forward to grab a hold of him. He shoved them away, swinging his fists and kicking his legs. “Get the fuck away from me. I didn’t do this.”
He managed to land a punch on Alan’s cheek, but became aware of Shawcross approaching from his side. It was too late to react when the man took a swing at him, clubbing him under the chin in the exact reverse of what had happened earlier in the day.
The force of the blow made it obvious that Shawcross had hit with something harder than just his fist. The blow was so fierce that, by the time Nick fell to the ground, he was already unconscious.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Nick couldn’t open his eyes immediately. He had to flutter them for a few seconds before he could see properly. His head hurt badly, specifically his jaw. He tried to open his mouth but found the pain too much.
“I’d try not to speak if I were you,” Jan said. He was sitting in a wooden chair against the wall. Renee was right beside him. Candles lit the corners of the room.
Nick looked around and saw that he was in the cellar of the restaurant. The prison. It was musky and damp and a chill crept in through a steel hatchway at the back of the room, up a small flight of stairs.
“What am I…?” Nick winced as the pain exploded in his jaw, but fought past it. “What am I doing here?”
“I think you know,” said Jan. “You did a stupid thing, brother.”
Nick rubbed at his
jaw and cleared a wad of phlegm from his throat. He had to think for a second before he was fully caught up on the situation he had just woken up into. “Dave…? I had nothing to do with that.”
Jan huffed. “Really? How much chance do you think there is of that plea being accepted? We were all together in the restaurant; everyone except for Dave and you.”
Nick sighed and let his head drop. “I can’t explain it, but it’s true.
“Look,” said Jan. “I hope there is another explanation. You seemed like an alright guy up until this point but, if you did kill Dave, then you deserve everything you get.”
Nick spat on the floor and began laughing. He was already tired of being accused of something he didn’t do. “Am I really being judged by a bank robber?”
Jan smiled. “Attempted bank robber. I never was any good at it. It’s a whole lot different than murder, anyway. I may have been guilty of a lot of things, but you’ve committed a mortal sin.”
Nick hissed. “Just fuck off, Jan. I can do without your bullshit. I’m innocent.”
Jan stood up, his tall frame stretching almost to the low ceilings of the dim cellar. “Like I said, I hope that’s true, brother. Perhaps time will tell.”
“I’ll be ready and waiting for your apology,” said Nick. I was big enough to give you one when I judged you wrong.”
Jan nodded, but didn’t say anything. At the stairs leading upwards he turned back and looked at Renee. “You coming, brother?”
Renee shook his head.
Jan shrugged. “Fair enough. Come find me when you’re done. Wouldn’t feel right without you following me around everywhere.”
Renee nodded to Jan and then let his gaze fall on Nick.
Jan left the room.
“So, what the hell do you want?” Nick demanded of Renee. “It’s not like you’re here for the conversation. You don’t even talk.”
“Don’t talk is not the same as can’t talk, Nick.”
Nick almost fell off his chair. “Jeez! You can speak. What…why?”
“People take speech for granted, Nick. It is what separates us from the animals, and yet we treat our words with disinterest. We ignore their power.”
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