All sound escaped me as we attempted to leave the area, going down the long but dead escalator as I noticed a peculiar shadow approaching us, it was then when I noticed that she saw it too, a shadow that didn't look human cast in darkness, this wasn't like the monsters I had encountered before either, no, it was bounding towards us. "Come on!" I yelled as we both made it down the escalator, sprinting to the entrance of the mall as she was obviously confused about what was going on.

In the direction we were running, one had managed to fall through the floor, landing right in front of us. A long tendril shot at the both of us - pushing Naomi away, it had missed. It collided against the ground behind us, causing debris to fly into the air. "What the hell!?" Naomi screamed... this was a first for me too. The ones I have encountered so far have never been outwardly hostile like this, nor have had the potential to interact with any objects surrounding it, so frankly, I couldn't fucking believe it. The one following us before fell down the escalator steps, quickly gaining its composure and sprinting at us once again.

I grabbed Naomi's arm, running around the one chasing us while going in the opposite direction of the nearest entrance due to the weird asshole with a tendril that could annihilate someone within an instant. I watched as one of the monsters skidded against the ground in an attempt to turn in our direction, struggling due to its paw-like appendages.

I didn't get to have a good look at the tendril-monster, but the one chasing us, well... I did. Its paws were like a dog but it had the face of a man, mouth and nose stitched shut while it's eyes were hollow, the rest of it's body being more of an abhorrent transition from crocodile to its dog-like legs. It should be faster than the both of us, but because of the ground, it's more skidding than running. "You can let go... of my wrist..." She said panting and of course, I let go. "What the fuck was that!?"

"You think I know?"

"It was more of a question for my-"

Quickly, our conversation was cut short. I didn't know what hit me, but I was sent sliding across the floor with a broken arm, and the instant I stopped, I couldn't help but hold as tightly as I could as I screamed in pain. It stung like none other before it, it felt like all the muscles in my arm with being torn to shreds along with the terrifying numbness that had followed. The pain slowly went across my entire body as my feet scratched against marble flooring as my breath had begun running ragged.

Naomi back faced my direction as she fell to the floor, the dog-like monster examining her like a piece of meat as it visible salivated through sealed lips. I figured, fight fire with fire, with the pain of a broken arm fading away due to adrenaline, I got up from that spot where all I could do was wriggle like a worm. I didn't know what the fuck is going on, but if someone was dying, I for sure wasn't going to let Naomi be the one. "Get the fuck out of here, Naomi!" I grabbed her with my one good arm, throwing her across the floor, the dog-like monster's attention being brought to me.

"Wait!"

"What the fuck did I say!? I'm a stranger to you! Fucking leave!" Thank the gods that she actually listened to, maybe if it weren't for these two laughing as they began to surround me, I'd feel proud even, but all that was left was regret. 'I don't want to die...' I thought to myself, soon steeling myself with gritted teeth. I don't know why, but I could remember all of this vividly, something that should've been a faded memory due to... I don't know.

The tendril-monster broke my other arm, tossing me into a wall, I think I also broke my ribs as well, but I'm not quite sure since the pain I felt seemed to all blend together at this point, then slowly progressed into a sensation that could only be described as "thudding", no real feeling of pain, just the sense of vibrations and sounds traveling throughout your entire body. At this point, I could barely see anything as my eyes were half-closed until finally, I had lost all consciousness.

To be honest, I had fully expected to die here, and when I thought that to myself, for some reason I felt this strange sense of gratification. I had wondered what my family would think, how they would react - I would imagine that if they reacted as a normal family would that I would feel happy in some sense, either it is due to the fact that they actually cared about me and the grim satisfaction of them regretting that they didn't spend enough time with me, or that they had ignored me when I needed it most... I don't know... maybe even the disappointment felt if they never really cared like I always had expected them to feel. They have to care right? I'm family...

The biggest problem is the fact that... it's really made me realize how much I distrust my own family. It makes me realize how much I really hate them.

Then, I awoke to a new day, in the same place I was before. No injures, nothing, just torn clothes within a dimly lit mall due to sunrise. My body felt weak, I was confused, not sure why everything was where it should be. It was very clear that what happened actually happened due to turned-over tiles, some blood, and my ripped clothes.

I staggered my way out the mall, half-conscious. Not a ghost, but a person, which made less sense due to what happened, what would make this worse is due to the fact that I know for a fact that Naomi had abandoned me entirely, not even bothering to call someone, what a shitty life.