Eve picked up a fallen pinecone and ran her fingers over its ridges. “I think when we parked 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. Dave is just doing what he thinks is right, in a screwed up way. Maybe Kathryn was dead already. I don’t think Dave is bad. Just fucking annoying.”
Nick leant back against a towering poplar tree and looked up at the sky. Birds fluttered overhead. “Are you doing okay?”
“Who, me? Yeah, why do you ask?”
“Just checking. You’re a young girl. This whole thing must be pretty frightening.”
“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.”
Eve punched him in the arm and giggled loudly. Everyone looked over at them
“Stop,” Nick said. “We shouldn’t chat about people behind their backs. Especially not a nice old lady like Margaret.”
“I agree. We should look after her. She reminds me of my gran. Except my gran didn’t swear as much.”
They said nothing else for the remainder of the break, just made the most of the quiet after so much chaos. Nearby, Dave checked his watch every thirty seconds, keeping exact time, with a constant look of irritation on his face. The three prisoners had stuck close to him since they all got going. Dash was constantly cracking crude jokes and laughing with Dave, while Jan mostly just looked disapproving. The third prisoner, Rene, stood was still to utter a single word, yet his eyes darted constantly, taking in the surroundings.
“Okay,” Dave said five minutes later, checking his watch one last time. “Time to get moving again. 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 we get attacked again?”
“We’ll remain in the treeline and check stuff out before we make any decisions, Pauline. We can send a scout if need be.”
A scout, Nick thought to himself. Dave was beginning to act like a military commander.
There were no arguments, so everyone got moving again. This time, instead of moving on ahead, Nick stayed back amongst the group. This way, he could keep an eye on Margaret. She’d recently witnessed her friend being ripped apart and deserved their compassion, but right now she wasn’t getting any of it from Dave. Nick would have to make sure she was looked after.
***
Another half-hour went by before the trees thinned out. Dave hurried to the front of the group and put his hand up to stop them. “We have to be careful,” he said. “We don’t know what lies ahead. It’s quiet, so I don’t think it’s a motorway or a road, but it could still be dangerous.”
“We should send one person to check it out,” Carl said. “No point risking everybody.”
Dave nodded. “Agreed. Nick, go see what we’re dealing with.”
“Me?”
“Yes, what’s the problem? Just stay low and keep out of sight.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
Dave 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.
Nick headed towards the edge of the clearing. “Fine. Everybody wait here.”
The ground ahead was free of the roots and undergrowth that had made their progress so laborious over the last few hours and the mud was harder, more compact. It did indeed seem like there was something up ahead.
Nick crouched down and concentrated on what he could hear as well as what he could see, but there was total silence. He could only consider that a positive; the last thing he wanted to hear was the bloodthirsty screech of an infected person.
Beyond the treeline was something large and grey – something manmade. Something solid.
Well, I’ll be damned.
The car park 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 backed up against the base of a very steep and wooded hill.
Nick left the woods and stepped cautiously onto the car park. In addition to the single-story building up ahead was something else that looked like some kind of cable car system. Its thick steel cords stretched from the base of the hill all the way to the lofty summit high above. The dozen or so carriage-cars, hanging from the stretched cables at regular intervals, were antiquated, small and rickety, with bright-red, peeling paintwork. They were also intact and seemingly operational.
A ticket office and embarkation platform had been erected at the foot of the hill. A large, suspended sign read: RIPLEY HEIGHTS AMUSEMENT PARK AND ZOO.
Nick scratched his chin and looked around again. The whole area was deserted. Safe.
Nick quickly headed back up the embankment and re-entered the woods. He needed to tell the others.
“What have we got?” Dave asked Nick when he returned.
“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 steep hill. I haven’t seen a single soul and it looks pretty safe. There aren’t even any cars in the car park.”
“Good work!” Dave patted him on the back like an old buddy – or an obedient son. “Okay, people, let’s be cautious and keep our eyes peeled. We may be able to find a phone inside that café. Maybe we can all manage to call home.”
There was a muted cheer from the group.
They all headed out of the woods and stepped carefully down the embankment and onto the cracked pavement of the car park. “Ripley Heights,” Eve said, almost gasping. “I haven’t been here since I was a kid.”
Nick looked at her. “You know this place?”
“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 the building up ahead?” he asked her.
She giggled. “The Rainforest Café. Sit with the monkeys and stay all day; you’re always welcome at the Rainforest Café. Ha! My dad used to make us all sit inside the café while he and Mom had a coffee. We used to moan because we wanted to go straight to the top and ride the rides. My sister and I hated having to sit patiently while my mum and dad drank that coffee. Kind of miss it now, though. My dad passed away a few years later. Heart disease.” She sighed.
Nick knew Eve was wondering whether the rest of her family were alright, so he tried to distract her. “Let’s go take a look around before Dave takes over.”
The wooden sign for the Rainforest Café had become weathered and frayed and the outside bricks were lined with moss and other weeds. It fitted the buildings theme, however, and merely added to its charm.
Nick peered through the grimy windows and saw two-dozen fibreboard tables surrounded by plastic chairs. At one end of the building’s interior was a fast food counter.
“There’s no way for us to get inside,” Eve said, “and no one inside to let us in.”
“We’ll break in,” Dave said, approaching. “Unless Nick has a better idea.”
Nick didn’t find reason to object. With all the damage and destruction they’d witnessed on the road, breaking a window seemed little more than spitting in the ocean.
“What can we use?” Eve asked. “This whole place is pretty barren.”
“Does anybody have anything
hard on them?” Dave asked the group.
Nearby, Dash grabbed his crotch and snickered. “I certainly do, but I don’t think you can break glass with it.”
“That’s gross.” Cassie covered her mouth with her hand.
Dash sucked at his teeth. “Come on, darlin, quit playing coy. A fine piece of ass like you must have had her fair share of crotch rockets. If not, allow me to be the first.”
Jan slammed a meaty palms into Dash’s chest, knocking the smaller man back on his heels. “Take a cold shower or someone will cut it off.”
Dash carried on snickering but kept his mouth shut.
“Okay,” Dave said, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Everybody spread. We’re looking for a brick or anything else that could help us get inside.”
Everybody set off at once. Nick checked over by the cable car station, joined by Pauline, who seemed 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 churning so much.”
Nick hadn’t considered the possibility of food, but he realised now that he, too, was famished. “I guess we could all do with an energy boost. 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 that I feel like somebody might spontaneously combust.”
Her lips cracked a smile for the first time since he’d met her. “I know what you mean. 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.”
Nick pulled a face. “No thank you. I like a big hunk of meat. Nice fat steak or a pork chop. Caveman-style.”
He suddenly thought about the steak he was supposed to have eaten last night and felt his stomach roil. The sight of that bloody hunk of meat between his son’s teeth…
Pauline noticed his discomfort. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Hey, what’s that over there?” He pointed to a pile of debris up ahead. He and Pauline hurried over and started sifting through the mess.
“They do a really bad job of looking after this place,” Pauline said as she kicked aside some mushy cardboard.
“I’d guess this place is making a loss,” Nick said. “Most places are nowadays.”
He moved aside an old wooden pallet, completely rotten underneath. Spiders, woodlice, and other insects scurried from their uncovered hiding places.
Nick found exactly what they needed. He picked up the grubby rock and examined it. It was heavy in his hand, but light enough to throw.
“Perfect,” he said, showing Pauline what he had found.
They headed back around to the front and joined up with Jan and the other two prisoners. Nick held the rock out in front of him.
Jan put his hand out to take it. “Give it here and I’ll get us in.”
Nick handed it over and stepped away. Jan stood in front of the Rainforest Café’s window and wound up like an American baseball pitcher and let the rock fly.
The windowpane shattered instantly, showering the ground with shards of glass and making a noise like rain.
They all cringed as the alarm went off.
Dave came sprinting around from the far side of the building. “You stupid shits!” he shouted. “Who told you to do that? You should have waited until I gave the okay.”
Nick threw his head back and cursed. “Piss off, Dave.”
The bus driver got right in Nick’s face. “Piss off? Who the hell do you think you are? You’d still be on the side of the road if it weren’t for me.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Pauline shouted over the din. “We have to turn that alarm off before it attracts attention. What if there are infected people nearby?”
“She’s right,” Jan said. “In one of the towns we passed through, I saw a bunch of infected people head right for a church when its bell started ringing. Attracted every one of them within a two-mile radius. We need to cut the noise right now or they’ll be here within minutes.”
“Don’t worry. I got this.” Dash leapt over the window ledge and disappeared inside.
Everyone stood around anxiously, eyeing the treeline. The alarm was loud enough to travel for miles.
“This is not good,” Cassie said. “Not good at all.”
Carl put an arm around her. “It’ll be okay, luv.”
Dave stomped back and forth furiously, clenching his fists and clenching his jaw. Jan and Rene were the calmest, waiting patiently and apparently at peace with whatever came.
Nick wished he could be so unflappable. They were all sitting ducks.
The alarm stopped.
Dash appeared at the broken window, holding what looked like a frying pan. He used it to knock loose the remaining shards of glass from the window frame and made it safe to climb through. “Come on in, people,” he said with a proud grin.
“Something tells me you’ve done this before,” Nick commented.
“I don’t know what you mean, blud. I’m just a man that knows a few things.”
“You did good,” Dave said. “Is there any way you can get the doors open as well?”
Dash shook his head. “No can do. Any keys would be in the safe and I’m not hot enough to break the locks.”
“Then pass us one of those plastic chairs to help us climb over.”
Dash got a chair and passed it out to Dave, who set it on the pavement outside. “Okay,” he said. “Ladies first.”
They sent Margaret over to start. Nick helped her up and Dash helped her back down from inside. Then everybody else followed.
The Rainforest Café’s interior was unlit, but not completely dark. The chairs and tables were all neatly stacked and the floors were clean. The place was still operational by the looks of things, although not open for business today.
“Wonder why there’s no one here,” Pauline said.
Nick answered. “Makes sense when you think about the time this all started. My wife and son were sick before dawn. I’d imagine some people probably took longer, but it’s safe to assume that the situation was pretty bad most places by 8AM. The café probably doesn’t open until nine or ten, so the staff wouldn’t have even started their commute by the time the shit hit the fan.”
“I think we can all count ourselves pretty lucky,” Dave said. “All of us managed to escape before it got real bad.”
“We owe you big time, Dave,” Carl said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t picked me up.”
Dave puffed out his chest proudly. “Don’t mention it.”
“Do you think the power is still on?” Cassie asked.
Nick shrugged. “No reason it shouldn’t be.” He headed for the door that read STAFF ONLY. Beside it was a little incision in the wall. He sighed. “The lights are operated by one of those little fish key thingies.”
“Anybody got a hair clip?” Jan asked.
Pauline pulled one from her ponytail and handed it over. Jan jammed it into the small slit and fiddled about. Eventually came an audible click!
The lights flicked on. Everybody cheered.
Dave grinned. “Excellent. Now, let’s hunt down a phone.”
“There’s one through that door,” Dash said. “It leads to an office and a staffroom. I saw it when I broke in.”
“Excellent,” Dave said again. “I’ll see if I can reach somebody.”
Nick was interested in Dave’s plan, so he plonked himself down at one of the tables and slouched forward onto it with his elbows. His left arm throbbed from multiple bruises and his face stung constantly, but it felt good to sit down indoors. He had been beginning to feel like a nomad, trekking through the land without a destination. It was good to finally stop.
Pauline took a seat next to him. “Hope that alarm
didn’t bring any attention. I don’t think I can face being attacked again.”
Nick looked across at the empty car park outside. “I think we got away with it. We might even be able to stay here until the authorities get a handle of things.”
“You think they will?”
Nick wanted to be optimistic, but couldn’t find the energy to kid himself. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what there is for them to get a handle on. If those sick people can’t be helped…well, let’s just say there will be a lot of funerals to arrange. I have some of my own to organise as soon as this is over.”
Pauline looked like she was trying to hold back tears. “Oh, how could something like this happen, Nick? It makes no sense.”
“Aliens,” Carl muttered from the next table over.
Nick frowned. “What?”
“Maybe it was aliens. As good a theory as any. I read once on the Internet that they have this big hole someplace in America called the Spiral that’s filled with all sorts of things we don’t know about. I bet it was aliens.”
Nick groaned. “Come up with something else.”
Carl shrugged. “Terrorists, laboratory accident, evil corporations, Mother Nature fighting back. Meteor. God punishing us. What about that cruise ship that went down last month?”
“What about it?”
“Well, something sent that ship down. Maybe terrorists were testing out the virus before they used it on land.”
“How do you even think up so many conspiracies?” Pauline asked.
“I watch a lot of films. My point is that something this big doesn’t just happen. It’s an insane scenario, so it would only make sense that there’s an insane cause for it all.”
“I guess you’re right,” Nick said, “but I’d rather keep my feet on the ground and my mind focused for now. No more talk of Aliens. It will just upset people.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Carl said, tapping his nose sagely. He looked at Pauline. “You fancy helping me get the grills on, luv? I think everyone could do with some grub. Power’s on so there should be no reason we can’t get some chow on the go.”
Pauline shot up from her seat. “Sounds good to me. I’m bleedin’ starving.”
The BIG Horror Pack 2 Page 9