“I beg to differ.”
There was silence for a while. Nick again made eye contact with Annaliese as the two of them tried to figure out what was happening outside.
I don’t like this. We need to see what’s going on.
Eve moved away from her position by the soda fountain and came and joined him at the bar. “Do you smell that?” she said.
Nick could indeed smell it. Petrol had begun pouring through the open window, pooling on the wooden floor of the restaurant.
Pauline and Cassie realised what was happening and looked at Nick with fear in their eyes.
“Come out,” Shawcross demanded. “Or I’ll burn you out.”
“No,” said Nick. “You won’t.”
“Do not test my resolve.”
“You won’t do it,” said Nick. “Because if you do, you’ll be as screwed as we are.”
“And why is that?” Shawcross shouted from outside.
“Because you’ve seen as well as I have that fire attracts them. You set fire to this restaurant and you bring a shitload of death up that hill. The dead and infected would be up here within the hour. Not to mention the fact you could end up incinerating the whole park.”
There was silence outside. Nick knew that, of all things, Shawcross was a careful man. He was a planner above all else. He was not about to set fire to one of his biggest assets.
“I think you need to find a plan b,” said Nick. “And if it involves you coming anywhere near us, I’m going to kill you. Understood?”
“You’ll regret this, Nick.”
“Not before you do.”
There were sounds of discussion coming from outside, heated and irritable. It was obvious that they had been forced to rethink.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Eve asked him.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but we’re sitting ducks in here. Sooner or later they’ll come up with a plan to get us out, or kill us where we stand.”
“What do you suggest?”
Nick thought about it for a moment. “I think we should leave here. But on our terms, not theirs.”
Annaliese headed over and Cassie and Pauline took suit and followed after her. They all huddled behind the bar.
“What do you mean we should leave?” Annaliese said. “Aren’t we safe in here?”
“Yeah, for now. But eventually they’ll come up with something smarter. All we’re doing at the moment is giving them time to think. I say we hit back now when they least expect it.”
“Oh, bloody hell,” said Pauline. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Me either,” said Cassie.
“And you’re right not to like the sound of it. It’s dangerous and could get us killed. But what choice do we have? They put us in this position. Are we going to let them win? After surviving for this long, after all that we’ve been through, are we really going to let an arrogant pig like Shawcross determine out fate?”
“Hell fucking no,” said Eve.
“Maybe we should just surrender,” said Cassie. “They haven’t tried to hurt me or Pauline. Eve might be safe as well.”
Nick shook his head. “You can do whatever you want Cassie. No one is forcing you to do anything. But Dash might do if you join up with them. Remember when Dash tried to force you to do things that you didn’t want to do?”
Cassie’s eyes brimmed with tears in the candlelight. “That’s not fair.”
“No it’s not, and neither is you refusing to pick a side. It’s time for you to shit or get off the pot, Cassie. You have to pick a side, right now: go out and join them or stay here with us. Once you pick, though, that’s it. No more playing it safe. This is about survival – not just about tonight, but for whatever comes next. It’s time to evolve, people.”
Cassie wavered for a moment, turning towards the window and then back towards Nick. Eventually she sighed, her shoulders dropping. “Okay, I’m with you guys.”
“Glad to have you,” said Nick.