![\"GGB\"](\"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/GGB-300x192.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was, without a doubt, the worst movie I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Ana exclaimed as the group of friends left the cinema. Given they were the only people remaining at the end of the three and a half hour epic, it was obviously a sentiment shared by a large portion of the population.<\/p>\n
Joey shrugged. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because you slept through it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Joey grinned sheepishly, turning to Willow, Johnny and Mia. \u201cI seem to get severe narcolepsy after nine pm,\u201d she said with a wink.<\/p>\n
Mia yawned. \u201cYou and me both.\u201d She tucked her arm into Johnny\u2019s and batted her eyelashes playfully at him. \u201cWill you carry me to the car?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd me,\u201d Willow said. \u201cI\u2019m too tired to walk another step.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot sure that I can manage 2.5 people,\u201d Johnny said. \u201cBesides, Willow, where\u2019s Bryn tonight? I would\u2019ve thought carrying you to cars was his job these days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking,\u201d Willow said, gently poking Johnny in the ribs.<\/p>\n
The elevator stopped at the lowest level, the doors sliding open. The five of them stepped out into the flickering glow of a fluorescent bulb. Aside from a handful of other cars, the carpark seemed to be completely empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey!\u201d<\/p>\n
The friends turned. Walking towards them was a young man, dirty blonde hair and clothes that looked as though they didn\u2019t see the inside of a washing machine too often. His eyes darted around and he had his hands tucked deep into his jacket. He sniffed loudly and then coughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep going to the car,\u201d Joey said in a low voice. \u201cI\u2019ll deal with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoey, just leave it,\u201d said Ana.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s harmless,\u201d Joey said. \u201cJust wasted.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood her ground as the young guy walked closer. \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d she said, casually.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got a dollar?\u201d His eyes darted from Joey to the elevator to Willow, Johnny, Ana and Mia, who were standing a few feet away.<\/p>\n
Joey dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out a handful of coins. \u201cThis is all I\u2019ve got, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hungrily snatched the coins and licked his lips. \u201cWhat about your friends?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joey shook her head. \u201cThat\u2019s all we\u2019ve got,\u201d she repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoey, come on!\u201d Ana called, her face etched with concern. Something didn\u2019t feel right. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
A slow smile spread across the guy\u2019s face. \u201cJoey, is it?\u201d He reached back into his pocket and removed his hand. In it, he held a small, black gun. \u201cYou want to double check if they\u2019ve got any cash?\u201d he said in a low voice, waving the gun.<\/p>\n
Ana screamed. She didn\u2019t mean to. It just came out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want all your wallets and purses,\u201d the guy said calmly. He was now standing behind Joey, the gun pointed squarely at her head. \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me your bags,\u201d Willow said quietly to the others.<\/p>\n
Silently, they gave their handbags and wallets to Willow. Johnny clutched Mia\u2019s arm, pulling her behind him protectively. Ana looked as though she wanted to run to Joey\u2019s rescue, but Johnny put his other hand on her arm and shook his head. No point. Do what he says. It\u2019ll be over soon.<\/em><\/p>\n Willow walked the three steps to where the man was standing. She could see the desperation in his eyes. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead and his hand was shaky.<\/p>\n \u201cHere,\u201d she said. \u201cTake them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPut them on the ground,\u201d he rasped.<\/p>\n Willow nodded and put the bags slowly onto the ground.<\/p>\n Suddenly, everything started moving. The ground shook violently, as though someone had picked it up and were shaking it like a beach towel. The concrete pillars looked as though they had become fluid columns of liquid as they shifted erratically from side to side. The noise was unbelievable. Shrieking metal, concrete buckling, glass shattering, water rushing from somewhere. Screaming.<\/p>\n Willow and Joey clutched each other as they fell to the ground. Ana, Johnny and Mia flew in separate directions, hitting the floor hard. The man clutched at nothing as the gun went flying out of his hands and fell into a chasm that had opened up in the ground, followed closely by all the bags. Dust swirled and got into their noses and throats. Lumps of stone and metal bombarded them from every side.<\/p>\n It was the longest sixty seconds any of them had ever experienced.<\/p>\n When the earth stopped shaking, their bodies lay scattered on the broken ground. The roof of the carpark had caved in, sealing the entrance. All the power had gone out and they were engulfed in a thick blackness<\/p>\n Gingerly, Ana pushed herself up. She gagged, her throat sticky with dust. \u201cHello?\u201d she croaked. \u201cCan you guys hear me? Are you all OK?\u201d<\/p>\n Joey\u2019s voice appeared from somewhere in the darkness. \u201cI\u2019m here and fine. Willow?\u201d<\/p>\n Willow sat up, resting against a makeshift wall that definitely hadn\u2019t been there earlier. She put her hand to her forehead. It was sticky and warm and had started to throb. \u201cI\u2019ve cut my head.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBadly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n A groan echoed from somewhere, followed by an angry cry. \u201cMy leg\u2019s trapped.\u201d It was the young man who, only minutes ago was brandishing a gun at them.<\/p>\n \u201cServes you right,\u201d Joey said under her breath. She sighed. \u201cDon\u2019t move,\u201d she said loud enough for him to hear. \u201cYou might do more damage. I\u2019m sure someone will come and help us soon.\u201d<\/p>\n He mumbled something under his breath.<\/p>\n Ana tried to make out the shapes of the others. \u201cJohnny? Mia? You both OK?\u201d<\/p>\n Mia\u2019s voice was panicked. \u201cI don\u2019t know where Johnny is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was here. And now I can\u2019t find him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeep talking,\u201d Ana said. \u201cI\u2019m going to come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n She hadn\u2019t been thrown more than a few feet away, but it took five minutes to navigate her way over the uneven terrain to where Mia was.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not hurt? The baby\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re fine,\u201d Mia said in a rush. \u201cJust help me find Johnny.\u201d<\/p>\n They sifted through rocks, crawling on all fours. Willow and Joey slowly made their way over and helped. Even though their eyes became accustomed to the darkness, there wasn\u2019t enough light to make out more than faint shapes as they searched.<\/p>\n Willow\u2019s hand touched something. Fabric. Denim. Johnny\u2019s jacket. \u201cHe\u2019s here!\u201d She shook his shoulder gently. \u201cJohnny?\u201d<\/p>\n No response.<\/p>\n Mia crawled over, letting out a gasp as she felt his stationary body lying on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cI can feel a pulse,\u201d Willow said. \u201cBut\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s unconscious. I think he hit his head pretty badly.\u201d<\/p>\n Mia pursed her lips together to stop the sobs from coming out. That wasn\u2019t going to help anybody.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s move the rocks and dirt off him,\u201d Joey said. \u201cAnd we can use our jackets as blankets. At least it\u2019ll keep him warm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow are we going to get out of here?\u201d Mia asked in a small voice. “We need to get him to a doctor.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need to sit tight,\u201d Willow said, wrapping her arms around Mia. \u201cSomeone will come and find us. Very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n It was probably no more than six hours, but it felt like days had passed by the time a shaft of light pierced the blackness.\u00a0It was came from outside and penetrated the gaps in the concrete. Ana scrambled up.<\/p>\n She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. \u201cHelp! We\u2019re trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n A faint voice replied. \u201cIs anyone hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Ana yelled. \u201cWe need a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m coming down,\u201d the voice called back.<\/p>\n Willow\u2019s heart skipped a beat. That voice. It was so familiar. \u201cBryn?\u201d she whispered. She jumped up, trying to peer through the concrete carnage. \u201cBryn!\u201d she shouted. \u201cIs that you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWillow! Thank goodness! Are you OK?\u201d<\/p>\n Willow was giddy with laughter. \u201cWe\u2019re fine. Well, sort of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to every bloody movie theatre in this city,\u201d Bryn said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou came to find us?\u201d Willow said, tears streaming down her cheeks.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Bryn said. A hand appeared through a crack of the concrete. Willow grabbed it, smothering the dirty fingers with kisses.<\/p>\n \u201cI sure hope that\u2019s you, Willow,\u201d Bryn said. She could hear the smile in his voice. \u201cHow was the movie?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTerrible,\u201d Willow said, half sobbing, half laughing. \u201cWorst movie ever.\u201d She wiped her face with her free hand, taking a deep, shaky breath. \u201cBryn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill you be able to get us out of here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHelp is on it\u2019s way,\u201d Bryn said.<\/p>\n Willow turned to the others. “Not long now,” she said. “We’re all going to be fine.” She squeezed Mia’s shoulder reassuringly.<\/p>\n Mia put her fingers back to Johnny’s throat. His pulse fluttered weakly. He felt cold. Clammy. She leaned down and kissed his bloodied, dirty cheek.\u00a0 “Hold on,” she whispered in his ear. “Please hold on.”<\/p>\n \n***<\/p>\n \nIt is with sadness I announce that this is the final episode of Ravenous: Tales of Food, Sex and Friendship. I can\u2019t thank you enough for your continued support and encouragement over the last few years as we have journeyed through the loves and lives of Ana, Mia, Willow, Johnny and others. <\/em><\/p>\n If you have enjoyed the series, please spread the word (the website will still be running for people to read all eight seasons) and make sure to keep in touch! You never know, the gang may get a renaissance at some point in the distant future\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n For now, au revoir. <\/em><\/p>\n Roxy-Rose Walker\u00a0 XXX<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThat was, without a doubt, the worst movie I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Ana exclaimed as the group of friends left the cinema. Given they were the only people remaining at the end of the three and a half hour epic, it was obviously a sentiment shared by a large portion of the population. Joey shrugged. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1139"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}