Chapter 11
The heavy doors sealing the mall shut seemed to amplify the silence left by those who'd departed.
Arnold climbed onto a sturdy display table near the central fountain, the empty water basin echoing slightly.
His face was drawn, but his voice carried over the hushed murmurs of the remaining survivors – perhaps fifty people huddled together on the cold tile floor, their faces etched with exhaustion and fear.
"Everyone who stayed," Arnold began, his voice rough but clear, "we will be working together to survive until the government makes an announcement or help arrives. Our safety depends on it. So, I wish for everyone's full cooperation."
He scanned the anxious faces looking up at him – families clutching children, elderly couples holding hands, workers still in their aprons. "We need to prepare for nightfall."
His words landed with grim weight. The survivors listened quietly and intently.
No one protested. Survival was the only priority for now.
People scattered quickly, moving with a tense urgency. Arnold issued crisp orders, his voice echoing slightly:
"Block every entrance door – use anything heavy!" People dragged heavy planters filled with dry soil, overturned sturdy metal benches, and piled shattered display cases and stacks of unsold furniture against the chained doors.
"Set up a sleeping area here, in the very center of the mall, away from the walls!" Blankets, coats, and clothing pulled from nearby stores were hastily arranged on the hard floor near the fountain, creating a sparse, communal nest far from the perimeter.
"Guards – two per entrance! Watch from a distance, behind cover! Don't get close. Don't let them see or smell you!" the guards volunteered, positioning themselves behind pillars or kiosks several meters back from each barricaded entrance, peering into the dimness near the doors.
Their knuckles were white when they gripped their weapons.
"Check everything! Block any possible way in – vents, service corridors, delivery hatches!" Small teams moved deeper into the mall's shadows, securing back areas with whatever they could find, the beams of their phone flashlights cutting nervous swathes in the darkness.
"Minimize light at night! Use flashlights only if necessary, and shield them!"
"We need to be quiet after dark! Speak only in whispers if you must. No unnecessary noise!" The instruction hung heavy; the memory of the monsters' reaction to sound was fresh.
"Stay away from the walls! Everyone sleeps in the center zone!" The fear of being sensed through the thick walls was palpable.
Arnold's instructions were followed with efficiency. As the afternoon sun slanted lower, Arnold called everyone back to the center.
"We should eat now," he instructed in a low whisper. "Use what's in the food court fridges – perishables first. Then, the moment it's fully dark, everyone tries to sleep. We must not be noticed by those monsters."
People moved to the shuttered food court, gathering cold sandwiches, fruit, and bottled water, eating quickly and silently.
He turned to the guards positioned near the entrances, their faces pale in the fading light. "Your watch starts now. Watch from your posts. Listen to any noise that might happen tonight. Report any movement, any sound near the doors immediately. But stay hidden. Don't let them know you're there."
They nodded in unison.
True dusk began to seep in through the skylights, the weak sunlight bleeding away into a deep, unnatural twilight.
People finished their meager meals.
They returned to the makeshift sleeping area in the center, lying down on the thin padding, pulling coats over themselves for warmth.
Whispers died away to nothing. Parents held children close, muffling their quiet cries.
The only sounds were the shuffling of bodies settling and the increasingly rapid, shallow breathing of people trying not to imagine what the darkness outside held.
The guards stood like statues in the darkness near the pillars, eyes fixed on the distant, barricaded doors.
They were strangers, workers, families, old, and young. Different lives, different worries, all stripped away.
In the deepening dark, pressed together on the cold floor of a fortress mall, only one thought united them, thrumming like a drumbeat in every fearful heart:
SURVIVE.