Going to the mall could be a hit or miss, you realize. Maybe your family is still there, maybe the place got overrun and they left. Finding this official guy, however, could be a good idea. At least when you find your family, you'll have information to tell them.

"Do you know where we can start looking for your dad?" You ask.

Artie nods. "His office. I been there a few times. I'll show you where. It' beside that park with the big, big slide."

You happen to know exactly which park with the big, big slide he's talking about. You loved that slide as a kid, but you had no idea there was any kind of official office building in that area.

The roads are hard to maneuver with all the wrecks and damage. Every time you pass a group of undead, they start to chase you until they lose interest. Turns out fast food is a lot less desirable when you're dead. The trip that should have taken you twenty minutes, ends up taking you forty. Sure enough, when you get there, you don't see any office buildings.

Not wanting to admit you made the wrong decision, you decide it could possibly be hidden. More important things come to your attention. . . .

This area may not have office buildings, but it does have people and undead. There were a few immobile corpses laying about, but there were even more walking around, and a group of humans fighting them.

On the Merry-go-round a little blonde girl dodged a slimy, slashed up undead. If it weren't for the obvious living dead situation of the thing, it might've looked like an innocent game of chase on the playground. That, and the older girl--whom looked as though she could possibly be the girl's sister--hitting the thing with a stick.

An athletically built woman is swinging around a golf club at some other undeads. Near her, two boys fight some off with standard hunting knives.

Gunshots ring out. A man stood on top of the big slide with a rifle in his hand, shooting every undead he could get a clear shot on. That man....he's a bloody mess, but even this far away, he looks so familiar-

And then it clicks. "Dad! Daddy!" you say, taking off in his direction.

He stops shooting and sees you. He calls your name, purely elated. Your sister pokes her head out from around the slide. She's halfway up, but she starts climbing down and your dad follows. You're so happy to see them, that you jump into your dads arms and then you grab your sister up into a hug as well.

"Where's mom?" you ask, excited to see her as well.

Their faces fall.

"No," you say, hoping it's not what you think. "She didn't...but-but she's okay, right?"

"She was bit," your dad says, sadly. "She was saving your sister."

For a moment, your world crumbles. You'll never see her again. Never have her hugs or her pancakes or smell her perfume as she walks by you again.

"Hey, hey," your dad says, bringing you back. "She died brave. She sacrificed herself for your sister and she'd have done the same for you. The best thing you can do right now, is focus on getting out of this in one piece."

You know he's right. Your eyes fall to the ground. Nearby, there's a rock big enough to just fit in your hand. You palm it. In a fit of rage and despair, you slam the rock into the nearest undead's skull. Then again. And again. The undead loses mobility and falls, but you hit it again for good measure. Darkened blood splatters you, with every hit, but it doesn't matter. This violent rage helps absorb the pain you feel at the loss you've suffered. So you hit another undead until it stops moving. And another. Everything else fades except this need to kill these things...until finally, there are no more near you.

Your knees buckle, and you hit the ground. Messy and spent. Then you hear Artie scream. Without even thinking, you're back up, rushing to the sound of his cries.

He's under the vehicle and a couple undeads are clawing at him. You bash one while your dad shoots the other. Only then does Artie come out. Checking him over, you find that he's a little scuffed, but okay otherwise.

Everyone has crowded near you, waiting, as though you're some kind of leader. You stare at their faces. It's plain to see that your outburst has impressed them. They're ready to follow you. But where?

"Take us there, Artie," you say, and you take his small hand in yours.

Beside you, Artie is shivering and trying to stare straight ahead at his destination....which appears to be an old brick apartment building. It had a condemned sign slapped across the door, and as long as you can remember, it's been that way.word had always been the place was haunted. The thought of being afraid of a place because of a haunting seems silly to you now. Nothing is more terrifying than those things laying all over the ground behind you.

Artie walks right up and opens the boarded-up door. Clearly the boards are nothing more than a prop.

"I used to come here with my dad sometimes," Artie explains as he presses a button on the elevator. "It works," he assures you after you give him a look.

Everyone squeezes in, but they don't press against you much. They seem to want to give you room. It's the blood. The others are a little splattered, but you're covered in it. Artie presses a button marked B, and the elevator goes down.

When it dings, you come out into a small hallway with a metal door at the end. Artie presses buttons on a keypad at the side and it slides open.

You expected people and chatter. A hectic scene. Something. What you get is nothing, no-one, and silence. The place, though abandoned, was neat. Desks all over the large room look untouched. Artie runs to one of them and touches the screen of the computer. He clicks some things and then a blue screen is up and it's ringing like a phone. A man's face comes into view. He's in his mid thirties with brown hair and kind eyes.

"Artemis, thank God!" he says. "I sent men to the house, but you were gone."

"Where are you?" Artie asks.

"I had to evacuate immediately," he says. "They were supposed to get you."

"I'm sorry, dad. Gwen took me to the church..."

"Oh, she did? We'll have to have a talk when we get this sorted out-"

"She's dead, dad," Artie blurted.

"Good Lord! Then who has been looking after you?"

Artie calls you over. As soon as you come into view of the camera, Artie's dad winces. You don't blame him. It looks as though you've come out of a filming of Carrie. You're ghastly.

"Hello, sir," you say.

"You kept my boy alive, and for that I owe you gratitude," he says.

"It was just the right thing to do, sir," you say.

"Do you have others?"

"Yes, there's a group of us here."

"About how many?"

"Ten, fifteen," you estimate.

"Good, good. Stay put. We have men coming in to eradicate the hostiles. She'll be cleaned out in a matter of a week or so. There's enough supplies and accommodations in the building to last you all for that time and more if you need it. Artemis will show you around. You should all be safe."

You all thank him, and he hangs up to call his superiors.

It takes a moment to really sink in. You're safe. Your dad and sister are safe. Everything is going to be okay.

"Come on," Artie says, and you follow him to learn where you'll be spending the next week.