[45] Selborne Square (1/3)

There were times when courage was nothing more than ignorance wearing a brave face.

People liked to think courage meant not being afraid. It was easier that way. It was easier to believe that the people who stepped into danger simply did not understand what they were getting themselves into. But sometimes you knew exactly what waited ahead of you, and you went anyway because turning back would leave you with nothing.

Nadia had seen something like this before. Or, at least, she thought she had.

A movie. She could not remember when she had watched it, or who she had watched it with, but the image came to her with strange clarity: a group of people standing outside a dark building, knowing perfectly well that something inside wanted them dead, and still deciding that going in was their best option. The Mist. The title surfaced almost immediately. Then another came to her: Alien; people walking into somewhere they knew nothing about, hearing warnings, noticing things that did not make sense. Yet, convinced that whatever waited ahead could not possibly be as bad as they feared, they ventured forward into the unknown.

How apt, then, that the same scene was playing out in front of her. She could almost imagine the audience watching them from the other side of a screen, shouting at every bad decision they made. Nadia could understand the feeling now.

She really had watched a lot of horror movies, hadn't she?

Maybe, in the past, she had really enjoyed watching these types of shows. But unlike the people in those movies, Nadia did not have the luxury of sitting safely on the other side of a screen.

Whatever was waiting inside the mall was real. They hadn't taken Ramesh's words as a lie. Simply, too lightly. 

People took greater risks when they felt protected by something.

The Thai cave rescue. Nutty Putty Cave.

She remembered reading about these horrifying tragedies, though she could not remember when.

Risk compensation. The term came to Nadia almost instinctively. The idea that perhaps, their titles as the Awakened had broken something in them. They weren't necessarily being careless. They were perhaps too used to the safety that came with their powers, too unfamiliar with the cold weapons that they now held in place of them.

Nadia swept her gaze across the others.

There was tension in all of them. Tension was good, it kept them alert and ready. But somehow, Nadia could not shake the feeling that, if things went just a little too far south...

"Nadia?" Alan caught her gaze, and managed a reassuring smile. At least, the best that he could muster.

"Don't worry. We're still strong as a team. Normal zombies are a cakewalk. And if we made a mistake somewhere, you could heal us, right?"

...their instincts would take over. They would reach for the same powers that had saved them countless times before, underestimating just how badly the rebound could hurt them afterwards.

In truth, her ability, Healing Touch, wasn't that easy to use. 

"...Yeah. You're right. We'll be fine. We'll get through this, just like before!" 

A small heal would be fine. Something minor, something she could patch up without too much trouble. But if any one of them suffered a serious injury, the pain she would have to endure while treating them would be... unimaginable.

Yet Nadia kept her concerns to herself, as always. Their morale was already fragile enough without her adding to it.

Because, without an adult who understood their weaknesses and could adapt to them, they were a group of four again. She knew what would happen if she voiced her troubles. Alan and Teucer would argue again. Maki would try to keep them from tearing into each other, and they would end up right back where they had started, standing still while the danger ahead of them continued to grow.

They had to make this trip. For the sake of everyone.

So Nadia chose to believe in Alan, who had shared his vision with them. To believe in Maki and Teucer, who had fought alongside them and protected one another when it mattered.

Even if some part of her knew that it might be a decision that would come back to bite them...

Nadia wanted to be selfish here. For once, she wanted to believe that everything would be fine.

The four teenagers continued along the road for a while, moving with the cautious, practised steps of people who had learned not to take an empty street for granted. Their footsteps were soft against the pavement, occasionally accompanied by the scrape of a shoe against loose gravel or the rustle of clothing whenever one of them shifted their weapon.

They were passing through a completely destroyed neighbourhood in Selborne. The morning air was cool enough to be comfortable, though the stale smell of the ruined city lingered everywhere. Buildings stood empty on either side of the road, their windows dark and their facades stained by months of neglect.

"Just so we're clear," Teucer said, breaking the silence as they moved, "this is a terrible idea."

Alan glanced over his shoulder, but said nothing.

Before long, Teucer asked again.

"You sure this is the right way?"

"Shut up and walk."

"It's far as fuck."

Selborne Square was somewhere beyond the next few streets.

The road opened up after a few more minutes of walking, the humid late-February air already clinging to their skin despite the early hour.

The entrance to Selborne Square came into view.

Just like Ramesh had said, it had once been a busy, thriving commercial complex in the heart of the city, the sort of place where people could spend an entire afternoon without ever needing to leave. Now its broad entrance stood beneath a weathered sign bearing its name, several of its letters either cracked or hanging loosely from their mounts.

The main doors were made of glass. From a distance, most of them appeared half-shattered. They hadn't been the first to think of coming here. The dark interior beyond them was impossible to make out from the road. Dust coated the glass, while old posters and advertisements had been pasted across portions of the entrance. Some had peeled away entirely, leaving behind pale rectangles where the sun had failed to reach the glass.

The four stopped.

Alan stared at the entrance.

"So this is it."

Teucer looked up at the building.

"Where, again?"

"It's on the highest floor. A clinic close to the cinema."

"Then let's get inside quickly. I need some air-con to blow the sweat off me."

"Hah, you idiot. The air-conditioning won't be running after all this time." Maki chimed in with a scoff.

"Then you'll just have to endure my BO. Come here. Come here."

"Gah, you're disgusting! Go away!" Maki swatted at Teucer as he chased after her, flapping his shirt to waft the smell in her direction.

As the two bickered, Alan took another step towards the mall.

Then he stopped.

The parking lot stretched out in front of Selborne Square.

"Alan?" Nadia moved closer, trying to see what had caught his attention.

The two of them fell silent.

It was not empty. Not even close.

Dozens of figures were scattered between the abandoned vehicles.

Some stood motionless. Others wandered aimlessly between cars. A few were clustered together near the entrance, their bodies occasionally twitching or jerking as though responding to sounds only they could hear.

A fucking lot of them. Too many to count at a glance.

The morning sunlight fell across the parking lot, illuminating their decaying bodies and casting long shadows across the cracked asphalt.

"What in the actual fuck." Teucer, who had joined in to see, cursed at the horde in the distance.

Alan's eyes remained fixed on the parking lot.

"We're not fighting them, are we?" Maki asked, her fingers instinctively touching one side of her face.

"...I have an idea."

Alan pointed towards the far end of the car park.

"There."

Everyone followed his finger. A row of abandoned cars sat between them and the entrance. Beyond them was a covered walkway leading towards the side of the building.

"You crazy fucker... You don't mean..."

Alan nodded, a nervous smile hanging on his face.

"We set off the alarms."

"...Finally something that I vibe with." Teucer punched one fist into his open palm.

Nadia felt it then. This trip was going to be the most explosive one they'd ever had. They were going to start it with a literal bang.

Alan scanned the parking lot. The zombies were scattered everywhere, but most of them were clustered around the main entrance.

"We slip around the back while they're distracted. You guys have your walkie-talkies with you, yeah?"

Everyone checked their equipment.

"Okay good."

"And how exactly are we triggering the alarms?" Teucer frowned.

He looked towards the mass of zombies.

"...Who's going to be the distraction?"

"Me." Alan declared, "Let's go quickly, you three move towards the side entrance, follow the signal."

Teucer's grin disappeared, as he caught Alan by the shoulder.

"Wait. You're serious?"

"Stay low and don't stop moving. Once you guys reach the walkway... Maki, call me. Right. Put the sound on silent."

Maki immediately fumbled for her walkie-talkie.

"...Got it."

Alan pointed towards a car several rows away from the entrance.

"I'll set off the first one there. Once they move, I'll trigger another closer to the opposite side. Keep them moving away from you."

Nadia stared at him, but said nothing else.

"Be careful."

"...Yeah."

He gave them another nervous smile.

"It's the role of a leader."

Alan took a breath.

"On my signal."

The three of them crouched lower.

"Channel three."

"Channel three."

Maki nodded.

Nadia tightened her grip around her bag straps.

Having tied his shoelaces, Alan looked towards the parking lot one final time.

"Go."

Then he ran.

The first car alarm screamed.

Alan had already prepared for it. A handful of loose rocks sat in his pocket, picked up from the cracked asphalt before they had even reached the parking lot. He pulled one out, took aim at the nearest car and hurled it.

The rock struck the side window with a sharp crack.

The alarm immediately erupted. The sound tore through the morning.

For half a second, nothing happened. Then every zombie in the parking lot turned. Dozens of heads snapped towards the noise. Alan didn't wait. He grabbed another rock and threw it at a car further ahead. It struck the bonnet with a dull clang.

The second alarm erupted. Then the third. One after another, rocks flew from Alan's hand, each one followed by another shrieking alarm. He didn't need to get close. He simply picked his targets, threw, and kept moving between the abandoned vehicles.

Soon, the entire parking lot was filled with noise.

Car alarms screamed from every direction, overlapping into one deafening wall of sound.

The zombies surged.

From the parking lot. From inside the mall. From the surrounding streets and buildings.

They came pouring from every direction, drawn towards the screaming alarms until the entire area around Selborne Square was moving.

It was the loudest sound Selborne district had heard in months.