“You think we’re lost?” Cleo whispered to me.

We’ve been walking for ages. Bobbie was muttering something, though I couldn’t tell what exactly.

“Yeah, maybe…” I whispered back. “Should we maybe say something?”

We rounded a corner. I was about to tap him on the shoulder when we were greeted with a sprawling glass and concrete building.

“There it is,” he said.

Graffiti and moss covered the sides of the mall. The giant LED words that once spelled out the name of the mall were practically destroyed; some words were dangling on from wires while the rest were lying flat on the ground.

As we walked closer, deep claw markets became more apparent. They stretched alongside the concrete - chunks being messily torn off as well. Cleo slid her finger across the streak of claw marks which seemed massive compared to her own hands.

“How many do you think died here?” she asked.

“No clue,” I said. “Thousands, maybe.”

Eventually, we arrived at the revolving doors. I stepped in first, trying to push open the inactive glass doors. It didn’t budge. I tried ramming against it, using my shoulder. Still nothing.

“Hey, I think it’s stuck,” I said.

I looked to my right to see them going through another pair of push doors.

“Oh…” I muttered to myself, walking out and catching up behind them.

We were greeted by a long, winding hallway. What used to be the stores that lined the halls are now barely recognizable. Clutter and faint puddles of blood covered the ground. We navigated the hallway, trying not to step on the dried-up blood. We found our way to the massive, circular food court. In the center were two escalators leading up to the second floor out of five.

“Do you all hear that?” Cleo whispered.

“Wha-” Bobbie was about to ask, but he was quickly hushed. We listened closely. That’s when I heard it: rustling sounds. Not like a breeze that managed to escape into here, but actual movement. I saw Cleo clinch her rifle, tightly holding it to her side.

“I knew I saw someone coming in!”

It was a voice coming from behind us, inside a wrecked store. I quickly did a 180, spotting a scrawny man walking towards us with a machete. I made a grab for my shotgun, aiming it at him.

He waved his finger at me, saying “You might want to rethink your actions.”

I looked to his left and right, spotting more people coming out from their hiding spots.

“Bill. Davis. John. Take away their weapons.”

Two people came up from behind me, knocking Cleo and Bobbie to their knees. One of the men easily squeezed Bobbie’s revolver, snatching it from his hands. Cleo, however, put up more of a fight. She tried aiming at one of the people, but she was instantly kneed in the gut. The rifle dropped from her hands, and she leaned over with a grunt of pain.

“Cleo!” I shouted, running towards her.

But as I made my way towards her, I felt a tight hand squeezing on my shoulder. A sudden yet powerful kick to my back suddenly made me crumple to the ground. Disoriented, I tried getting up, but whoever was latching onto me easily kept me down. Coming around to face me was a man who pretty much looked like a young carbon copy of Jake LaMotta. He forced my gun out of my hands with ease, throwing it to the ground.

“Now,” continued the scrawny man while smiling, “take them to the bathrooms. You know the ones.

“Yes sir,” said the Jake LaMotta-looking man who took my gun away from me.

The three goonies lifted us to our feet, dragging us towards the escalators while the scrawny guy and the five behind him followed close behind. We were dragged up two flights of stairs. We were then brought down the halls.

Each and every store was remodeled into rooms full of things I couldn’t get a good look at. What was laying on the grounds and walls was not the focus of my attention. However, it was the people inside. Men, women, and even kids, all dressed in rags, were staring at us through the windows. Some were pointing at us, some were murmuring to themselves while snickering, some were dragging bats and knives across the glass. One thing was common among them; the hungry looks in their eyes - as if they were expecting a show. A part of me was glad that there was a barrier between us and them.

We were pushed to a bathroom next to a JCPenney. “Now,” said the scrawny man, “I highly suggest none of you move. If you do, I won’t be able to promise your safety.”

He whispered something to his men before walking outside. Four stayed behind, including the LaMotta guy, guarding the doors. The rest followed behind.

***************************

Minutes could have passed. Maybe hours. I rested my head against the cold tiles walls, nodding in and out of consciousness. Every time I neared sleep, my stomach would rumble with hunger. I haven’t eaten actual food in what felt like a lifetime. It’s been weeks, maybe even months, since I had something instead of whatever canned food item or somewhat suspicious bag of chips I could dig up.

I leaned my head over to Bobbie and Cleo, who were sitting at their own ends of the bathroom. Cleo was staring at the ceiling, nervously twisting the ring on her finger. She’s been pretty much silent since we were thrown in here. Bobbie, somehow, someway, was sleeping - his head was propped up against the hard walls and his back twisted at some odd angle. Cleo met my gaze, looking at me before sighing.

“Any idea of what’s gonna happen?” she whispered to me.

I shook my head.

All of a sudden, I heard the doors bust open, followed by multiple heavy footsteps. The three of us suddenly sat up in unison. Storming in the bathrooms was the same scrawny man from earlier, followed by even more of his men from last time.

“Get them up,” he ordered.

Three of them strolled up, picking us up by our shoulders. They brought us eye to eye with the scrawny dude.

“Now,” he said with an uneasy smile, “we have something in store for the three of you. It’s a little game we like to play with anyone who dares try breaking into our home.”

He turned his attention to the people carrying us. “Bring them.”

The men dragged us behind. When we were brought outside, I realized it was nighttime. I could see the stars that sprinkled the sky through the broken glass roofs. We were forced up another three more flights of stairs. Next to me, I saw Bobbie’s knees knuckle. The moment he stopped, he was shoved forward by the man behind him, causing him to fall to the ground. He was then grabbed and thrust back onto his feet.

We slowly walked, marching past more stores and the oddly excited glances of the people who lived within. Torches were the only things that lit our pathways. Next to them were people carrying knives, bats, and guns. We were then brought to a large pair of metal doors, a sign simply titled “Parking Garage” above it. It was boarded up by three large wooden planks which were hammered into the walls, as well as a metal bar in the handles for good safety. Standing beside the barred doors stood a figure, dressed head to toe in padding. Strapped to his back and around his waist was a makeshift flamethrower, which he aimed steadily towards the door.

The scrawny man turned back to us, still giving us his mocking smirk. “I hope you all are ready for what’s ahead of you, for it will not be pretty. Past these doors is the horde in all its hungry and furious glory. ” He chuckled a little bit before going on. “It’s been a while since these folks saw some proper action, so I’m here to offer you three a challenge. Well, I use the term ‘offer’ lightly, because none of you have the option to say no.”

He drummed on the metallic doors, saying, “The three of you are going to go from here, all the way down the parking lot to the ground floor. The horde, on the other hand, is going to hunt you all down like cattle. And I know they will. If by some small miracle, any of you survive, then you will be free to go far, far away from here. If you don’t… Then may God have mercy on your souls, because they sure won’t.”

He snapped his fingers. A man came up with a crowbar, tearing off the planks of wood.

“Oh,” the man added, “it would be wise to not try going out any other exit. They’re barred and guards will be waiting on the other side.”

The planks of wood were torn off and the metal bar was removed. The doors were opened with a loud squeak. I slowly walked forward, turning around to the others. To my surprise, there were more people. Not more thugs, but actual people. They were watching. Waiting for us to go in. I turned back around to the pitch blackness that was the parking lot. I slowly breathed in and out. Suddenly, I felt a strong shove to my back. I nearly tripped, stumbling into the darkness. Bobbie and Cleo soon followed suit.

The man spoke up one last time: “You may not be able to hear them. You may not be able to see them. But they sure can. And I can’t remember the last time they had human meat.”

The door shut with a loud thud. The only light that emanated from the mall was now completely gone, leaving us in the blinding dark. I shuttered as the cold air hit me smack dead in my face.

“Let’s get moving,” Cleo said with a dead tone of voice. “Stay close to each other.”

I took the first step forward into the shadows. My eyes quickly adjusted, and yet I could barely see a few yards ahead of me. I tried looking to my left and right. Nothing but a large open space filled with cars and the faint outlines of columns going up to the ceiling. I kept slowly marching forward.

Clank. I stopped mid-step as that sound ringed out into the silence. I stood frozen; my eyes shut tight from fear. After the noise stopped, I gradually opened my eyes. Looking down at what I had just kicked, I realized it was a plank of wood. I bent down and picked it up. Sighing, I held it tightly to myself.

“What was that?” Bobbie asked.

“Nothing - just a plank of wood.”

“No. Not that. I heard some movement,” he replied.

“What? Where?” Cleo rapidly asked.

From the darkness, I saw him point upwards.

“Are… Are you sure…?” I whispered.

“I spent four years fighting the Viet Cong hidden in the trees. I’ve learned to pick up movement easily.”

“Let’s walk faster,” I said.

We all sped up our pace. I could feel something watching me. Many things, in fact. From behind me, from my left, my right, and above me. I stayed dead silent, carefully listening out. Eventually, we found ourselves at a slant leading downwards.

“Fifth story done. Four more to go,” I sighed.

I was about to take another step, but then I froze. Movement. Behind us. It was getting closer. “Let’s go, let’s go,” I rapidly said in succession. No one asked any questions. We walked faster and faster, nearly breaking into a jog.

Growling. Deep, haunting growling. It was coming from everywhere. Underneath cars. From the ceilings. Surrounding behind us. And it was getting louder. Our speed walking developed to a full sprint. I lost what control I had over my body - the autopilot part of my brain being switched on and taking complete control of my limbs. Some voice, some small voice in the back of my mind endlessly told me, “If you stop, you die. Do not ever stop.”

One of those things roared from behind us. I dared not look back. I dared not look anywhere but straight ahead of me as all the other monsters roared in quick unison. Even as their booming screams nearly deafened me, I kept sprinting forward.

As we ran and ran and ran for our lives, I noticed away down to the third floor. “Let’s go!” I cried out.

I saw a form from the corner of my eye. It was jumping from support column to support column in rapid successions. Without looking at it, I knew it had its dead, void eyes locked right onto me. In what seemed to be an instant, it launched itself at me. My body reacted before I could; I ducked out of the way the second before it could get its talon-like hands on me. With a booming crash, the thing landed on the hood of the car next to me. The car moved back a solid few inches, only stopping as it rammed into a column behind it.

We made our way down the wide concrete pathway. The moment we reached the third floor, I felt a hand grab my shoulder. A human hand. Cleo’s hand. She dragged me off to the side where she immediately opened a door. Faintly, I could read the sign on the door. It was the electrical closet. Cleo continued to drag me in, Bobbie following right behind. She slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Quick! Find something to keep it shut!” she screamed, her voice coming out shaky yet with strong demanding authority.

I looked behind us in the darkness. Panicked and on the verge of passing out, my eyes strained to get a good look at anything. “Over here!” Bobbie shouted. I heard him grunting, and from behind me, I saw him pushing a large server rack on wheels. I quickly sidestepped, helping him to push. We managed to knock it to its side, rolling it in front of the door.

We all heaved in and out. “Oh God…” I panted. My lungs felt like they were melting in my body. My legs, which were basically mush by now, collapsed. I fell to the ground, defeated. However, instead of the cold hard ground I expected, I felt my head hit something. Something soft. I sat up quickly and turned around. I started at it, attempting to process what I was looking at. That’s when I realized the object I was staring at: a body. A decomposing skeletal body. Puke shot up my throat, but before it could release I shut my mouth tight. I forced myself to swallow the puke.

That’s when the idea hit me. I hated it, but I knew it had to be done. “I’m sorry, sir…” I said to the dead body. I grabbed a hold of his old ripped suit and started tearing away large bits of cloth. In his pocket, I found a lighter. I grabbed it too. Cleo quickly understood what I was doing. She searched the room, eventually finding a roll of duct tape and zip ties.

“I hope that’ll do,” she said quietly.

I took the pieces of cloth and the piece of wood I was carrying. My still shaky hands fumbled with the cloth, but after a few attempts, I managed to tie and fold the pieces around the piece of wood. I then grabbed the duct tape, taping the cloth to the wood.

“Here goes nothing…” I muttered.

I reached for the lighter. One try and a small flame burst from the lighter. I hung my newly made ‘torch’ over the lighter. “Come on, come on…” I hissed.

“Hurry up,” Bobbie said. “I can hear them-”

Before he could finish his sentence, multiple loud bangs hit the door. Those things pounded and rattled against the door. The door stretched, struggling to keep on its hinges. The server rack was fairing no better, either. It rattled against the force it was facing. It was about to roll over backward, but Cleo and Bobbie rushed up, slamming it back against the door. They pushed against the rack, straining to stand in place.

“Hurry up!” they both shouted.

Without warning, a claw burst through the door. It clawed Bobbie in the face. He howled of pain, leaning backward before it could properly take hold of him.

I closed my eyes, pleading for the torch to set fire. I opened my eyes, and to my surprise was a small spark. And then another one. And another. The cloth set fire! The fire began to grow. I quickly stood up, yelling “It’s on fire!”

Bobbie and Cleo jumped back, unable to withstand the weight. The server slid back on the ground, the door bursting open with a loud smash. Instantly, one of the things jumped. Bobbie and Cleo ducked out of the way, leaving me the only one in its sights. My arm instinctively swung at it. The torch whacked it against its face, causing it to fly to the ground. It screeched in pain, trying to cover its burn mark. I swung the torch back towards the other monsters crowding the doorway.

“Back! Get back!” I shrieked at the beasts in front of us. They hissed, crawling back from the fire. I steadily stepped forward, keeping my torch in front of me.

“Let’s go!” I yelled to the others. Without any other word, they bolted up behind me. The moment we stepped out, we started bolting as if we didn’t have the marathon of a lifetime. My legs, somehow now rejuvenated, felt like they were floating on air. We dashed across the parking lot, past the cars and the horde of monsters that surrounded us.

Third floor. Second floor. Finally, the first floor. I could see the entrance and the faint glimmer of moonlight that peeked through. Just a hundred more yards. My eyesight narrowed. I could faintly feel the cold outside air brushing against my face.

“Almost there!” I breathlessly shouted.

One step after the other, I stumbled outside. Cleo caught up next to me. We sprinted our way to the edge of the sidewalk where I crumpled down to my knees, heaving in and out.

“We made it,” she sighed, “I can’t believe we -” she stopped mid-sentence, looking to her left and right. “Where’s Bobbie?”

My blood ran cold. I quickly stood back up and turned back around. “Bobbie!” I shouted out, lunging towards the parking garage. With the help of the torch, I was able to see his outline still running. He was covering his face. I didn’t need to be up close to him to realize the amount of blood he was losing. That claw mark was deep, I knew, and if it was anything like my leg, blood must have been pouring out quickly.

“We gotta help him,” Cleo ordered.

I didn’t react to anything she said. I only stood unreactive. “What are you doing?” I thought to myself. “He needs your help, and you’re standing still?” Yet, my legs still stayed unreactive, as if it was physically forcing me not to go back inside.

Realizing I didn’t listen to a word she said, she murmured, “Screw it.” She snatched the torch from my hand, running inside. The moment she stepped in, I regained control of my body. I ran past her, trying my best to keep up. In front of me, I could see ourselves getting closer. But, we weren’t the only ones. In the faint darkness, a claw sprung up, quickly. It took Bobbie by the leg, squeezing tightly. He screamed out in pain but caught himself before falling. He tried kicking but to no avail.

He looked over to us, his eyes widening. “Run! Get out of here!” he demanded while shouting at the top of his lungs. The growling of those beasts grew louder. They were getting closer. Despite his demands, Cleo still ran towards him and so did I.

“What are you doing?” he yelled. “Go-”

A monster pounced from the darkness. I didn’t have time to properly react to what was going on before me as his voice was instantly cut off. The thing sank its razor-like teeth into Bobbie’s neck as it tackled him to the ground.

“No!” Cleo shrieked. Before she could run any further, I grabbed onto her, holding her back.

“We have to go,” I croaked in a weak voice. “It’s too late - we can’t…”

She tried breaking free, but I kept holding on. “We have to go,” I repeated. “Now!”

Cleo stopped struggling. “He’s gone,” I heard her whisper.

I didn’t look at the monster that took Bobby. I didn’t want to see what it was doing. No more screams or other sounds came from him, but I could hear the sickening sounds of crunching and gnawing. My thoughts went to the beast that was tearing the poor man to pieces. “No,” I thought to myself. I shook my head, remembering that there were still more after us.

“Let’s go!” I shouted, finding whatever spare strength I had left to say those words. Cleo nodded, and as the rest of that horde charged, we both ran.

Our legs moved mechanically, charing back down the road we came from. I could hear Cleo’s labored breathing next to me. “Is this it?” I thought to myself. “Not even five days on the road and you’re about to die.”

“Over here!” Cleo shouted, spotting something in the distance.