Crash II: Highrise Hell Read Free Page B

come to this, boy?"
    Shaking his head, Ravi stared ahead. "Dean's off the fucking hook, man. He's fucking mental. His behavior was extreme when he was attacking the rich, but who feels sorry for the wealthy, right?"  
    Turning the heaters down, George then opened his window a crack. The frigid breeze cut through the stuffy air.
    "But kids?" Ravi said. "Innocent kids. The only crime they've committed was to be sad when someone they loved was run over."
    The comment took the air from George's lungs.  
    Slapping his hand over his mouth, Ravi looked across at him. "Sorry." His eyes were wide. "I wasn't suggesting—"
    "It's fine. You're right. All of this happened because I wasn't looking where I was fucking going!"  
    Ravi didn't reply.  
    George's mind slipped into a loop. Bang! Wing mirror. Spinning woman. Children crying. Dead kids. Fire. Bang! Wing mirror ...
    When Ravi spoke, George broke out of it. "I thought everything would return to normal after the initial panic. An economic crash was bound to send ripples through society, but I thought we'd be okay after that died down. They were an elected government. You have to put your faith in that, don't you?"
    "Do you? I had zero faith in our government. They did whatever the fuck they wanted to." Lifting his bloody fingers one at a time, George counted, "A war against the Muslim faith. Helping bankers destroy the economy. Making sure their mates were always kept rich regardless of the economic climate. Devastating the welfare state. Don't get me wrong, the welfare budget was too fucking big, but cutting the money from people dying of cancer and the disabled ..." Looking out of the truck, George tried to see into the dark windows of what appeared to be empty houses on either side of the street. "They were cold bastards no matter which fucking color you voted for. It's a shame that Dean's never had a chance to pay them a visit."
    Ravi laughed.
    "What's funny, boy?"
    "Politics! It still gets people's backs up. Even after all of the politicians have gone."
    "Nuts, isn't it?" Returning his attention to the deserted streets, George barely recognized his city now. The mass exodus of London had taken less than a month. It was now an empty town full of whispers, haunted by reprobates and murderers.  
    The seat creaked as Ravi sat upright. "What I mean about having faith in the government is more to do with control though, bruv. They employed a police force and army. They kept order on the streets, or at least an illusion of order. That used to be enough to make people compliant. I didn't expect that to go so easily."
    Looking forwards again, the broken faces in front staring back, her broken face staring back, George shrugged. "Well, they proved that citizen safety was yet another one of their shallow promises. Gutless fucks." Fire stirred in George's bowels. "Although it is crazy that it's only taken six months for everything to collapse. Do you remember the news reports?"
    "Of course," Ravi said. "We were all looking for that smarmy cunt to come out of Downing Street with an answer to our problems. He promised to deliver his new plan for how we'd cope."
    "How he'd cope more like."  
    "That horrible bastard certainly made the most of electricity being cut. With no twenty-four-hour news cycle, he had the chance he needed to get the fuck out. He was gone for at least two days before anyone knew he'd deserted his post."
    "He wasn't the only one." Slowly grinding his teeth, George snarled. "Fucking politicians! Rats! The lot of them."
    When Ravi didn't speak, George looked across and saw he was looking at a pub on their left that was crawling in flames. They ate into the building like it was made from paper.  
    The boy finally found his words. "I'll never get used to seeing buildings on fire with no one making any effort to put them out. It's amazing that the entire city isn't ablaze by now."  
    "That won't happen!"  
    Flinching, his usual childish confidence abandoning him, Ravi