The Dimond Mall was nestled near the edge of south Anchorage in a...retail & shopping district? Whatever you called an area where all the buildings were stores or restaurants.

Steven wasn’t a city planner.

It certainly wasn’t a small building, stretching six or seven stories up and as many blocks across. Though past the second floor up was all office space.

Steven had spent plenty of time in it over the years, exploring the stores and hanging out with his friends. When they heard it was still open, curiosity had gotten the better of them.

They pulled to a stop, dodging a massive pothole in the parking lot.

A Walmart was to their left, but while curiosity pushed them forward, Steven wasn’t curious enough to go in there.

“I can’t believe there’s actually cars here,” Del murmured. The parking lot wasn’t full, but it was far from empty.

“It’s been almost two months since this started,” Markus said. “People can get used to anything.”

Steven hesitated as they stepped out. Something about that idea, or maybe the way Markus said it, his voice filled with a quiet melancholy, made Steven sad.

They walked past the posters for H&M and reached the mall's side door.

The entrance was a set of two double doors surrounded by glass and metal.

As soon as you stepped through, you were met with escalators leading to the basement level, the walkway splitting around them.

To their left was Bosco’s, a comic and card shop. Posters of the Avengers and different anime characters lined the wall facing them, and Steven could see some people milling about inside but couldn’t tell if it was staffed.

The walkway’s edge was marked by a glass railing topped with gold metal, giving you a view of the ice rink below.

The rink stretched down to the basement and was open all the way to the ceiling high above.

It was a pretty popular spot, and it was common to see some truly talented skaters practicing down there.

Steven struggled to go in a straight line on ice skates, so he wasn’t the best judge of skill, but anybody who could somehow drop low enough to look like they were lying down while skating was pretty good in his book.

To the left of the rink were an old bowling alley and the food court, and to its right, a YMCA. He used to walk there in the winter. The treadmills were set up so you could see the skaters as you walked and people-watched.

A fair number of people bustled through the mall, and Steven was surprised to find them actually shopping.

He wasn’t sure what the point of spending money was, you didn’t need to buy food, and the power and water stayed on regardless if you could pay the bill or not.

Force of habit, he supposed.

Most shops were unmanned, but people still looked through them.

Whenever he saw someone behind the register, his thoughts returned to the Carrs.

Some people just wanted a sense of normalcy. Even if it was a job they didn’t particularly like, it was something familiar and, in their mind, stable.

Margie rubbed her chin as they walked past the Bosco’s and the Game Stop beside it.

“I used to go here all the time when I was younger. It makes my old heart happy to see people still coming here.”

Steven paused as they passed the little cookie shop tucked into the corner. People were working there.

He’d never actually gone to it.

Well, the end of the world was as good of an excuse as any.

A few minutes later, they moved on, cookies in hand.

Buford and Noodle received their own treats and looked smug as they trotted beside them.

They passed more stores and turned left as they reached the other side of the rink. The mall stretched into a long hall before opening up again.

They passed by the abandoned Starbucks on their right when Steven froze.

A woman was half turned away to his left, so he could only see a bit of her face, but that’s not what caught his eye.

The bulky, extravagant fur coat she was wearing did that.

“Identify.”

Name: Lilly Pak

Thresholds passed: 2

Likes: fashion

Dislikes: fashion

Background: her parents immigrated from Korea and had her shortly after. They were hard workers and instilled that into their daughter. They-”

“Aren’t Korean surnames before someone's personal name?”

“Yes, but she doesn’t put her names like that. Did you assume she would just cause she’s Korean? You racist.”

“Fuck you.”

Steven shook his head and pointed at Lilly.

Micheal stopped first, and his eyes widened. “Oh shit.”

Everyone else stopped. Del and Markus looked between them. “What?” Del started.

The woman turned and saw them. To Steven’s surprise, she laughed and walked over.

“You assholes! How’s it been?” She gave Steven a sharp grin. It reached her eyes, but he wasn’t sure how friendly it was. “You caught me with a good hit at the end there, I’d be pissed, but I suppose it was payback.”

Steven nodded, his body tense. “Yeah, you got us first.”

Where are the others? Is she here alone?

She ran a hand through her hair. “I gotta say, I was surprised to see you kill a Beast.”

Steven winced. He wished that the System hadn’t sent that prompt. Their name showing up after the Contest and now after Bullwinkle put some eyes on them.

“But good for you, I kinda thought you’d all get gutted by someone more ruthless by now. I’m glad to be wrong, though!”

Steven didn’t see any malice or hostility in her words. She was just that blunt.

Well, okay then. There are worse things than knowing what someone’s thinking.

I was half expecting her to attack us on sight.

“We’re not naive, just optimistic,” Margie cut in.

Lilly stared at her for a long second. “Eh, same thing, really.”

“No, it’s-“ Micheal cut himself off. “We are not having this conversation again. It was good seeing you? Maybe? Let’s go.” He started to turn when a prompt filled their vision.

The Corners have used the Warlord Trait to initiate an area claim. Prepare to run like mice or fight for the land. Up to you!

Steven read the name ‘Corners’ again, then sucked in a breath.

“Fuck.”