Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel

by Iain Rob Wright

  As she headed towards the upper car park, which was located behind the park’s Jacobean manor house, Ripley Hall, Annaliese spotted a pair of young lovers amongst the sycamore trees on the lawn. They had obviously spilled out of the manor after some boozy function or wedding party.

  Half the money that the park made was from hiring out the many rooms and facilities of Ripley Hall and its grounds. There was a lot of profit to be made by supplying yuppies with ample amounts of booze and a warm bed for the night. From what Annaliese gathered from members of the house-staff, most of the bosses who hired the property out for their functions were only interested in playing away from home with whatever colleague had been catching their eye most recently. Most of the snooty soirees eventually devolved into the kind of drunken debauchery that would have been right at home in ancient Rome. It made Annaliese feel embarrassed. Embarrassed for those people and their lack of priorities.

  People like these two, snogging each other’s faces off in the freezing cold.

  Annaliese cleared her throat loudly as she neared the two lovers on the lawn. There was no way to avoid them on her way to her car, and she was damned if she was going to be the one who felt uncomfortable. Let them be the ones to feel awkward.

  But the young lovers ignored Annaliese’s approach. The male of the pair was really going for it; nuzzling at the woman’s neck with animalistic passion. She could hear the wet, slopping sounds from several feet away.

  Charming. I’d say go get a room, but you already have one. So maybe you should go use it!

  Annaliese had seen quite enough. She didn’t mind a bit of passion, but she wasn’t about to accept their rudeness of ignoring her presence.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “Perhaps you should take that back inside. The park will be opening up soon. You should probably call it a night.”

  The couple continued necking.

  Annaliese spoke louder. “Hey! Time to wrap it up, you two. Party’s over.”

  Finally, she got a response. The male ceased his fevered nuzzling of the woman’s neck and turned sideways to look at her.

  Annaliese went weak from the knees upwards. The sudden fright sent a shockwave of adrenaline though her veins.

  What the hell?

  The man’s face was smeared with blood. A sliver of what looked like flesh hung from his cracked and splintered teeth. The young woman he was with slumped to the ground as he released her, her neck torn open and gushing fluids.

  Holy shit!

  Annaliese took a step backwards, shaking her head and fighting the urge to vomit. Vet or no vet, she had never seen such a horrific sight in all her life. It was like a scene from a Clive Barker novel.

  “Back the hell away,” she shouted at the approaching man. “Stay back.”

  The man kept coming.

  She was forced backwards as he came at her with outstretched arms. Her heel caught on a root and she went stumbling down onto her rump. Shooting pains ran up her spine, emanating from her coccyx.

  She saw stars.

  The man was on her immediately. He fell down on top of her and started clawing at her shirt. She fought back with her arms and knees, trying to push herself free. But the man was too heavy; all her effort was focused just on keeping his jaws away from her neck. It was crazy, but it seemed like the man was trying to bite her, just like he had the dead woman lying on the ground.

  Annaliese was trapped.

  She let loose a scream, crying out for help. Her arms began to ache and the man on top of her seemed to get heavier and heavier. She pushed with all her might, but it was no use. The man was too strong.

  “Jesus, somebody help me! Help!”

  “Anna?”

  Annaliese craned her neck back and saw Bradley racing towards her.

  “Bradley, help me. Get this psycho off.”

  Bradley tackled the man and threw him to the ground. Annaliese clambered back to her feet, panting and whining with fright. Bradley cradled her in his arms.

  The crazy man rose back to his feet, undeterred by being thrown to the floor. Bloody tears poured from his eyes and coloured his cheeks red.

  Bradley placed himself in front of Annaliese protectively. “What the hell is with this guy?”

  “I don’t know. But that woman over there is dead. He ripped her goddamn throat out with his teeth.”

  “Pissing hell!”

  The man stumbled towards them, quick and determined. Blood continued pouring from his eyes as though a faucet had been turned on in his brain.

  Bradley wound up a punch and let fly. His fist connected hard with the man’s jaw and made a sickening thup sound.

  But the man kept coming.

  Annaliese was pretty sure the punch would have floored all but a professional boxer, but the man in front of them was still undeterred. He lurched forward and managed to grab a hold of Bradley’s collar. The two of them collapsed to the floor in a heap.

  “Argh!”

  Bradley yelled out in agony as the psychopathic man clamped his teeth down on his hand, grinding and sawing at his middle and ring fingers.

  “Help me,” he screamed.

  Annaliese had to act fast. She hunted around for something to use. Her eyes fell upon a small picket sign. The rectangle of cardboard read KEEP OFF THE GRASS and was set into the ground by a short metal spike. She yanked it free from the ground and pulled the cardboard away from the spike.

  Bradley continued to yell out as he struggled with his attacker, blood pouring from his trapped and ruined hand.

  She pointed the spike at the crazy man. Her hands were shaking like loose leaves in the wind. “Let go of him right now,” she said, “or I’ll drive this right through your goddamn eyeball! You’ll get one hell of a lobotomy.”

  The man ignored her and continued ripping and tearing at Bradley’s fingers, almost seeming to moan in ecstasy as more and more blood spilled from the wound.

  “I’m warning you!” she said.

  “Just get him off me,” Bradley yelled. “Stab him!”

  Annaliese saw no other option. The man had received his warning and wasn’t going to stop. It was as if some wild fever had taken over him, removing any powers of rationality. The man was a vicious animal.

  I warned you!

  She leapt forward with the metal spike and drove it into the man’s shoulder. It sunk easily into the soft flesh and sinewy muscle between the trapezius muscle and collarbone, causing what should have been agonising pain.

  But the man did not flinch.

  Impossible. No one can ignore that amount of trauma.

  Annaliese could not believe what was happening. She stood there, stunned and disbelieving. Bradley’s screams became a faraway echo in her mind as she thought back to all of the emotional horror she had endured the last few years and how it had all led up to this final surreal nightmare that topped them all in one fell swoop.

  Maybe I finally found my way to Hell.

  Then she was back again, her moment of panic gone as quickly as it had arrived. Fear was just a response. It could be contained, even utilised.

  Make it work for you, Anna.

  She rushed forward and yanked free the spike from the man’s shoulder, releasing a jet of blood into the air as the wound unplugged. At that same moment Bradley’s fingers finally came free, the gristle and cartilage finally giving up their battle to stay connected to his body. Bradley wailed like a clowder of cats as his two fingers disappeared and were devoured by his tormentor.

  Annaliese took her opportunity. The crazy man had lifted his head as he came away with Bradley’s severed digits in his jaws. He was chewing the severed fingers ecstatically, even as she lifted the spike in the air and pointed it at his face.

  I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

  But he’s left me no choice.

  She brought the spike down hard, driving it vertically into the man’s skull. The sharp metal fought against thick skull bone but quickly delved deep into the soft tissue beyond.
/>   I just stabbed a guy in the brain…

  The man’s body went stiff. His chewing stopped. Then he toppled sideways and lay still; a bloody mess on the dew-soaked grass.

  Bradley shuffled away on his back, clambering as quickly as he could from his now-dead attacker. He held his injured hand out in front of him as he stumbled to his feet and went deathly pale at the sight of his missing appendages.

  “Come on,” she said to him. “We need to get you some help.”

  The two of them took off down the lawns towards Ripley Hall. There were several phone lines inside the manor where they could call for help. There was also plenty of comfortable space to get Bradley settled down while they waited. It would also give Annaliese the chance to find out who the hell the man she just killed was and why he had gone so completely berserk.

  The manor house was lit up like a beacon in the grey haze of the early morning. Its numerous leaded windows glinted in the light of dawn and several silhouetted figures danced and shifted behind them.

  Have people been partying all night? No wonder that guy was crazy. Twelve hours partying and drinking is enough to drive anybody nuts.

  Annaliese had to almost drag Bradley up the steps to the front doors. He was weak from shock and leaning on her for support. “Come on,” she encouraged him. “We just need to get you inside and then you can sit down.”

  She reached out with her free arm and grasped one of the door’s wrought iron handles. She pushed down on it hard and shouldered open one of the two heavy wooden doors.

  The foyer inside was brightly lit by a crystal chandelier and several wall sconces but, despite all the lights, the reception area was deserted.

  To Annaliese’s immediate right was Ripley Hall’s grand dining room and the kitchens beyond. To her left were the function suites and bar. Straight ahead was the winding staircase that led to the two upper floors and bedrooms.

  She headed for the vacant reception desk. Behind it was the door to the front office. She tried the handle and was disheartened to find it locked.

  Where is everybody?

  Bradley flopped himself down on a nearby swivel chair and closed his eyes as he fought against the pain he was in. His finger stumps dripped slick trails of blood onto the floor and began forming a sticky pool on the tiles.

  Annaliese banged on the office door. “Hello? Is anybody in there?”

  No answer.

  She turned around and put her hand on Bradley’s shoulder. “Just hold in there,” she told him.

  “N-no…problem.”

  She edged around the reception desk until she was back in front of it. The place seemed deserted, but she had seen people from outside through the windows.

  Where the hell is Shawcross?

  Shawcross was the manager of Ripley Hall. He would never allow the front desk to go unattended like this. It was always manned twenty-four hours a day.

  She palmed the service bell on the reception desk and waited as its chime echoed off the walls and high ceilings.

  Nobody came. Even after ringing the bell several more times.

  “This is ridiculous,” she said. “Somebody always mans the front desk. Where the hell is Shawcross?”

  Bradley tried to focus on her, but his eyes were red and irritated, almost like he had a bad case of hay fever. “He must be somewhere. The guy never leaves.”

  “Bit like you,” Annaliese said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. Bradley looked awful and she didn’t want him going into panic.

  There were noises from nearby. The sound of shuffling feet.

  Annaliese peered left and right, looking at both the entrance to the function suites and the doorway leading to the dining room. “Hello?” she shouted. “Hey, we need help here.”

  “I…I don’t like this,” said Bradley in a voice thick with phlegm. Annaliese examined him for a second and worried about his condition. He was losing blood, but he still seemed far worse than he should have.

  The shock must really be getting to him.

  Someone appeared in the arched entrance of the function suites. It was one of the maids. Annaliese could tell by the woman’s green tabard.

  “Finally,” she said, stomping towards the woman. “I need to call an ambulance and get my colleague somewhere comfortable. Do you have a key to the office? I need to perform first aid immediately.”

  The maid said nothing. She just stood in the doorway and stared at Annaliese.

  “Hey,” she shouted. “Can you answer me, please? I’m not kidding around here. Bradley is hurt.”

  Still no reply.

  The maid continued to stand, staring at Annaliese curiously.

  “Look, if you can’t help me, can you at least go and get Shawcross?”

  The woman stepped forward and Annaliese saw the blood in her eyes.

  Just like the man outside that attacked me.

  The maid screeched at Annaliese and raced across the tiles.

  Annaliese was rooted to the spot for a second, not understanding what was happening, but survival instinct quickly took over and she leapt behind the reception desk, placing a barrier between her and the charging woman.

  Bradley screamed out from his chair. “She’s like that guy outside. She’s crazy.”

  Annaliese could make no sense of it, but she knew Bradley was right. The maid leapt over the desk and reached out to grab a hold of her. Without even thinking about it, Annaliese picked up the keyboard from the desk’s computer station and smashed it over the woman’s head. Several keys came loose and a bloody wound opened up on the back of the woman’s skull but, as Annaliese was now getting used to, the blow seemed to have no effect at all.

  It’s like fighting a brick wall.

  Time to try a different tactic.

  She grabbed a handful of the maid’s tabard and pulled her across the desk, beaching the woman on her belly. Then she yanked the keyboard on its cord, releasing some slack. She quickly wound it around the woman’s neck and pulled the wire as tight as she could. Then she stepped away.

  The maid tumbled from the desk and tried to straighten up, but she was held back by the tangled wire around her throat. The more she pulled, the tighter the bonds became, and she was unable to move more than a foot from the desk.

  Annaliese grabbed the back of Bradley’s chair and started rolling him across the foyer. “What the hell is going on here?” she said. “Where the hell is everyone? And why are people acting like maniacs?”

  Several more bodies appeared in the entrance of the function suites. Annaliese could tell right away that the strangers were all dangerous – all like the man outside on the lawn. They snarled and hissed like cobras ready to strike.

  Guess that answers my question about where everybody is.

  The mob was a mixture of both staff and guests. A waiter was amongst them, his crisp white shirt stained dark with blood and other fluids. Most of the rest of the group were young revellers, no doubt having come to Ripley Hall for a good time at their company’s expense. Somehow they had gotten more than they had bargained for. They were all now covered in blood and hanging chunks of their own flesh, and the flesh of others.

  All at once, like a demonic choir, the mob screeched at the top of their lungs. Annaliese became immediately aware of more people behind her, at the top of the stairs. She peeked over her shoulder and saw that they, too, were covered in blood and snarling.

  Bradley was weeping and cradling his head in his hands. “We are so screwed.”

  They were rushed from both sides; one mob of crazy people coming from the function suites; another from atop the staircase. Annaliese grabbed Bradley’s chair and raced him across the tiles towards the only place she had left to run – the grand dining room. She hurried through the archway on her left.

  The cavernous dining room was empty. Its huge mahogany tables and ornate chairs lay crooked and disturbed as if some great battle had been waged there. Blood coated everything. Annaliese almost slipped in a puddle of it as she sprinted
across the room. If not for Bradley’s chair offering a handhold, she may have gone down on her face.

  The mob was coming up fast behind her. They screeched and wailed inhumanely as they leapt over chairs in their pursuit of her. If not for their wild lack of coordination, Annaliese would already have been captured.

  And that’s still exactly what will happen if I don’t find somewhere fast.

  Ripley Hall’s kitchens were up ahead, accessed via a pair of swinging oak doors. Annaliese raced towards them desperately, but the effort of pushing Bradley in his chair was gradually slowing her down. The mad rush of bodies behind her was gaining.

  They’re going to eat me alive. I’m going to die without ever having a clue why.

  Suddenly the doors ahead of her opened.

  A face popped out from the gap, leaning out from inside the kitchen.

  “Come on,” said the stranger; a woman. “Quickly! They’re right behind you.”

  Annaliese summoned a final burst of strength and leant forward against Bradley’s chair. She managed to pick up speed, but her attackers gained distance on her with every step.

  I’m not going to make it. These psychopaths are going to kill me.

  I’m not going to make it.

  Annaliese hit the kitchen doors at speed, using Bradley as an unwilling battering ram. The doors spilled open and the chair she was pushing tipped over onto the floor. Bradley went sprawling onto the tiles and let out a moan. Annaliese’s legs gave out and she went tumbling to her knees right beside him. The next thing she was aware of was people scurrying around behind her, shouting at one another and pushing around heavy objects.

  “Come on,” said one of the strangers. “Get the table back up against the doors.”

  “I’m doing it, I’m doing it,” said another.

  “Damn, they’re at the door. They’re going to get in.”

  “No, no. We’re fine. Just keep pushing.”

  Together, the group of strangers managed to get the kitchen doors reclosed and barricaded them with a heavy wooden table and one of the room’s industrial fridges. The bloodthirsty mob outside beat their fists against the oak doors, but the ancient wood held firm, designed to stand the test of time.