Is this actually happening? she asked herself. Amidst all the horror and bloodshed, there was still joy to found in life. There were still connections to be made between kindred spirits. Nature was still beautiful, even if man had become so terribly ugly. In that moment, she remembered why she had become a vet.
To help amazing creatures like this.
Lily’s hand moved further up Annaliese’s shirt, rough fingers probing at her face and fondling her hair. The gentleness of the gesture made her close her eyes. It wasn’t long before she felt sleepy in Lily’s protective arms.
Before Annaliese passed out, she thought she could hear an alarm going off somewhere in the distance. But she felt too safe to worry.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Annaliese awoke with an aching jaw. It quickly became apparent why, when she realised that she was lying face down on the ground. She was shivering because of the cold, but she was also very cosy beneath a soft woollen blanket. Despite its softness, the blanket smelt musky and foul. She threw it aside and looked around. The sun was beginning to rise.
She leapt to her feet in shock.
Oh, wow! I’m in the orang-utan enclosure. Did that really happen last night?
She turned a circle on the spot. A mound in the centre of the enclosure was covered with a blanket the same as the one that had been covering her. She knew that Brick’s body lay underneath it, along with the infant.
Did Lily cover us all up with the blankets?
Annaliese looked around for the female orang-utan but could see no sign of her. The mangrove tree was undisturbed. Maybe the ape had gone inside where it was warmer. It would make sense if everyone else had her blankets.
Annaliese headed for the enclosure’s bungalow and stooped down through the hatch. She re-entered the cage inside and saw that Lily was still nowhere to be seen.
The reason was right in front of her.
The wire mesh door to the cage was hanging wide open, its padlock still unclasped. She put both of her hands to her face as she realised she hadn’t relocked it after coming inside.
Shit. What have I done?
She couldn’t believe that she’d let a wild and potentially dangerous animal loose from its enclosure. It was reckless and irresponsible. But, the more she actually thought about it, the more she was glad. With things the way they were, there was no one left to take care of Lily. It was better that she was free than locked up and neglected. At least this way, the animal had a chance.
I hope you find somewhere safe, Lily.
She stepped out of the cage and headed for the bungalow’s exit. She needed to re-join the others in the office block. They could be wondering where she was.
Exiting the bungalow, she rubbed at her shoulders and fought against the cold. The park was bathed in a coppery glow as the sun continued to rise in the sky. The park was quite beautiful at this time of day, without the hustle and bustle of people ruining things.
“Anna!”
Up ahead, Shawcross was hurrying towards her. “For heaven’s sake,” he said. “What are you doing out here?”
“I went for a walk last night. Trying to clear my head.”
“Well, it was very irresponsible of you. How do we have a hope of getting through this if people start doing their own thing?”
“Sorry, I just lost track of time, I guess.” She didn’t want to tell him about where she had slept last night. He wouldn’t believe her and would more likely just get furious that she had released one of the park’s animals.
Not that I give two shits about what he thinks. I just can’t be doing with the lecture.
Shawcross frowned at her for what seemed like a full minute-and-a-half before he finally let the issue go. He turned around with a huff, speaking with his back turned to her. “There’s lots to be done, Anna, so go and join back up with the others. If Clark is with you then tell him the same thing.”
“Wait, what? I haven’t seen Clark. How long has he been gone?”
Shawcross turned back around. “I’m not sure. Everyone pretty much fell asleep once things were settled. I don’t recall seeing him for quite a while now.”
Annaliese closed the distance between them. “Well, didn’t you think to look for him?”
“That’s what I’m doing now, isn’t it? I found you and I’ll no doubt find Clark just as easily.”
Annaliese stared over at the office block. In the light of day it was grey and depressing. “How did you get out of the building? Did you come through the broken window?”
Shawcross shook his head. “We were able to unlock the front entrance from the inside. It was on a latch. We can come and go as we please now, so we’ll probably get that broken window boarded up today.”
Annaliese had a bad feeling in her tummy. Something wasn’t right. She pushed Shawcross aside and headed for the building.
“What’s wrong?” he shouted after her. But she didn’t answer him. She didn’t want to voice out loud what she was thinking, not without being sure.
I hope I’m wrong.
She made it over to the building entrance and pulled open the door. As she stepped inside she was aware that Shawcross was right behind her. Despite her dislike of the man, she was glad for the company at that moment. If she found what she expected to then she didn’t want to be alone.
To the right, at the end of the corridor, was a door she assumed led to the office they were using to store Tom and Charlotte’s bodies. It turned out that she was right. The door led to the room where they had first broken in.
The stench of dead bodies descended upon Annaliese, scraping at the inside of her nostrils. Tom and Charlotte had already started to decay.
And so had Clark.
“Oh no,” said Shawcross from behind her. “What did that silly boy do?”
Annaliese stepped into the room. Clark hung from the light fixtures by several electrical flex cords tied together. He must have pulled them from the room’s computers and made a rudimentary noose. He’d probably hanged himself shortly after she’d left him alone. He’d been there a while.
Damn it! I should have known. I knew he was unstable. This should never have been able to happen.
“I could have prevented this,” she said. “I’m the one that left him alone. It was my mistake.”
Shawcross let out a long sigh that whistled in his nose. “Suicide is a selfish act. There’s no one to blame but Clark. We can’t let it distract us from what needs to be done.”
Annaliese turned and stared at him. “Are you really this much of an asshole or do you have to try?”
“I’m just not willing to waste time worrying about things that can’t be changed. I suggest you do the same and give yourself a break. This wasn’t you fault.”
With that he left the room. Annaliese didn’t know if she wanted to thump the man or thank him. He had a way of dividing her opinion like that.
He’s definitely a total douchebag, but sometimes I don’t know if he’s just trying to do his best; trying to make the tough decisions. Maybe if I acted more like Shawcross, Clark would still be alive.
Mike entered the room then and placed a hand on her back. She flinched at first but then settled down and enjoyed the warmth of his contact.
“I just passed Shawcross in the hall,” he said, staring up at Clark’s swinging body. “I can’t believe it.”
She looked up at the lad’s dead, bulging face and sighed. “I know. It’s not right.”
“Should we cut him down?”
“What’s the point? There’s death everywhere. It would just be a waste of time for us to try and clean up after it.”
Mike rubbed at her back again and pulled her a little closer. “Don’t give up. You’re the only one of us with their head on straight. We’d all be lost without you.”
Annaliese huffed. “Bullshit! All I’ve done since this whole thing started is get people killed. Bradley, Kimberly, Charlotte, Clark. You’d all have been better off in the kitchen where I found you.”
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Mike fixed his dark brown eyes on her and gave her a look that sat halfway between pity and sympathy. “Hey, if we were still in that kitchen, we’d all just be waiting to die. I’d rather earn my death than just let it happen.”
“Wouldn’t you rather just give up?”
He scratched at his chin thoughtfully, but kept his gaze on her. “You’re a vet, right?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“You know a lot about animals, so answer me this: what do animals do when humans invade their habitats?”
“They die out. Or end up in zoos like this one.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that some do. But what about all the other animals that don’t die out or end up in zoos?”
“I’m not following,” she said. Mike’s constant gaze was beginning to make her feel hot. She felt her cheeks throbbing and wondered when he was going to look away.
As if sensing her discomfort, he broke his stare momentarily before continuing with the point he was trying to make. “I mean animals like rats, birds, cats, rabbits, even bears. They are all around us, aren’t they? You can’t go anywhere in the city without a pigeon eyeing you up for food. In America, bears and racoons come right out into the streets and raid people’s bins; so do foxes in this country.”
Annaliese cleared her throat irritably. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that animals adapt. When things change for them, they don’t feel sorry for themselves, they just deal with it.”
“So you’re saying that we need to, what, just deal with it? Like rabbits?”
“Exactly. Are we so arrogant that when our cushy way of life is threatened we’d rather just give up then have to adapt and survive. Every other species on earth has had to do it, because of us, so why can’t we.” Mike cleared his throat and rubbed at his face. “Look, I don’t know what lies ahead of us. I’m guessing it’s not going to be nice, or easy in any way, but I’m not about to lie down and take it without a fight. Whatever has happened is bad – really bad – but it’s only the end of the world if we let it be. People have died, yes, but as long as there’s a few of us left then we owe it to the human race to survive. If we don’t, then there is no more human race.”
Annaliese frowned at him. “You’re not going to shout FREEDOM at me, are you?”
Mike laughed. “I haven’t gone all Braveheart yet, but that’s the mentality we need. And that film just proves my point that when people are up against it, they fight. Maybe this thing isn’t as big as we fear, but we need to prepare ourselves in case it is.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Can we just get out of here for now, though? I don’t want to look at a dead body again for at least the rest of the day.”
“Fair enough. Come on, everyone is still in the staffroom. We were going to start planning what to do next.”
In the staffroom, everyone was gathered around the pool table. Shawcross was starting a meeting. From the way he was gesticulating, the man thought he was Winston Churchill.
Or Hitler.
“The phones are still not working,” he said. “All of the computers in this office are security protected and nobody knows the passwords. Ripley Hall is off limits and we have no idea what the situation is in nearby towns. To say the situation is perilous is an understatement. Our only hope at this point is to secure rescue.”
“How?” Greg asked.
“By following my suggestion of starting a signal fire.”
“Bad idea,” said Annaliese. “I already told you that. What if the fire attracts the infected? Or people that want to take what we have?”
“You may be correct,” Shawcross admitted. “But what other choice do we have, really? We have no food beyond what lies on this table and I’m sure it is only a matter of time until we lose power and perhaps even water. If you don’t agree with a signal fire, then we could head for the staff car park behind the manor house, or even head down the hill via the cable cars. We can cut through the woods right into the nearest town.”
“The towns won’t be safe,” she said.
“Neither is here. We have to leave.”
“Wait a minute,” said Mike. “Isn’t this a theme park?”
“What?”
“This place is a theme park and zoo, right?”
Shawcross shrugged. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that there must be a burger bar or restaurant with supplies to last us a little while longer.”
Annaliese nodded. “He’s right. In fact, I think there’s a couple of them. There’s a burger place in the zoo and a pub and eatery in the theme park. We should explore what we have before we start looking elsewhere.”
“Now, now,” said Shawcross, raising a hand. “Regardless of how many supplies we can find, we will, at some point, run out. We need rescue.”
“What if we don’t run out?” said Annaliese.
Mike folded his arms and looked curious. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that the zoo is partly self-sustaining. Bradley was telling me about how the produce much of the animal’s feed in a greenhouse in the woods and that they also have a small plot of vegetable gardens. If we find where those are then we might be able to grow our own food.”
“And we can eat the animals,” said Alan.
Annaliese didn’t like the thought of that, but she knew it made sense. “If things get that desperate then, yes, I suppose so. But even better, the petting zoo has chickens and a pair of cows. We can get eggs and milk.”
“This is absurd,” said Shawcross. “We need rescue, not a bloody community project.”
“Yes, we do need rescue,” Annaliese admitted. “But we won’t get it by throwing our lives away. We can keep a look out for help – we’re five hundred feet in the air – but if help is a far ways off then we need to make preparations now rather than later. We need to prepare for the worst.”
Shawcross shook his head. “You’re wrong. I think-”
Annaliese cut him off. “Maybe I am wrong. But maybe so are you. You’re not in charge here, Shawcross. Not anymore. These people can make their own decisions.”
“Of course they can. We’re just talking here, Anna. No need to get upset. I’m sure we’ll come up with the best decision available.”
Annaliese rolled her eyes at his patronising tone. “I’m not upset, so don’t worry yourself. As for coming up with a plan, I think the best option would be to vote.”
“Well, I’m not sure that-”
“I’m happy to vote,” said Mike.
“Me too,” said Alan.
Greg and Michelle also both agreed.
“There we have it,” Annaliese said. “Our first vote is to vote. The second is whether or not we light a signal fire, or whether we dig in and make sure we’re set up to survive here.”
“I vote we stay and prepare,” said Mike.
“All those in favour?” Annaliese asked.
“Everyone’s hands went up, except for Shawcross’s.”
Annaliese grinned. “Motion carried.”
“Fine,” said Shawcross, stomping across the room. “You all just made a very bad decision, but it was yours to make. Just remember that I was against it.” Then he slammed the door and was gone.
“He going to be alright, you think?” Mike asked her.
Annaliese shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sure he will. He just needs to get used to the fact that he’s not the manager of anything anymore. Like you said, we all need to adapt.”
Mike put his fist in the air. “FREEDOM!”
She laughed and punched him on the arm.
Then they all heard something that made their blood freeze. The frenzied screeching of the infected. It sounded like hundreds of them.
And they were close.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Annaliese and the others funnelled out through the building’s entrance and spread out into the courtyard. The screeching of the infected was not coming from the park, that much was clear, but it w
as nearby.
“Come on,” she said, rushing off towards the edge of the park, to the area near the cable car station that led to the Rainforest Café below. “I think it’s coming from over there.”
“Then we should probably run the opposite way,” said Greg. His sleeves were rolled up, showing how skinny his arms were.
“We need to know if we’re in danger,” said Mike. “We need to check it out.”
Nobody seemed to like the idea, but nor did anybody argue. If they had to make a run for it, their chances would be better knowing what they were running from.
Annaliese started making her way through the zoo. Everybody else followed. It became clearer and clearer that the infected were nearby, but it was also recognisable that they were not within the grounds of the park.
“It’s coming from down the hill,” said Shawcross.
Annaliese nodded in agreement. She altered her course slightly so that she was heading for the cable car station directly. From there she would be able to look down at the guest parking area and the Rainforest Café.
Sure enough, when she reached the station and looked down the hill, she saw hundreds upon hundreds of infected people. But, amidst them all, she saw something else that she could barely believe.
No way!
“There’re uninfected people down there. Look, there’s a man standing on top of the café…and there, look, another!”
Annaliese watched as a man in a long black coat crept around the building below with an old lady in tow. The man on the roof seemed to be running some kind of distraction for them by screaming, shouting, and waving his arms like a maniac.
“They’re screwed,” said Greg. “There’s no way they’ll be able to escape all of those infected. They’re going to get totally surrounded and torn apart.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Just wait,” she said. “They’re running some kind of plan. The man on the roof has them all corralled at the front of the building, while the other two are running around the back into the woods.”
“Well, how are they going to get the man down off the roof?” Greg asked. “There’s no way.”
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