[46] Selborne Square (2/3)

⌈Maki⌋

The sound travelled far. Way too far.

Even from the side of the car park, the alarms were almost unbearable. One car screamed, then another, then another, until the entire parking lot seemed to vibrate beneath the combined noise. The sound bounced between the buildings and rolled through the streets beyond the mall, drowning out everything else.

I kept my hands over my ears as I crouched behind a concrete pillar near the side entrance.

"How many cars did Alan hit?" I shouted, barely getting my voice across to the other two.

"Fuck if I know!" Teucer shouted back.

I was getting restless. This wasn't a good idea after all. Perhaps we had to leave... now.

Just then, I felt a hand grab hold of my left. It was Nadia, who was glancing towards the parking lot with a determined look. Her hands were trembling too... and in spite of that, she believed in the plan. She believed in Alan.

I began to calm down myself.

"Teucer, how many do you see over there?" I asked, trying to focus on something else.

"It's impossible to tell! They're coming from everywhere! Alan that bastard..."

The parking lot was already packed with them, their bodies stumbling over one another as they chased the alarms. Some crashed into abandoned vehicles. Others climbed over bonnets and squeezed between the narrow spaces between cars. But the longer the alarms continued, the more figures began appearing beyond the parking lot.

I spotted several shambling along the road. Then another group emerged from behind a row of delivery trucks. There were even some coming from the buildings surrounding Selborne Square.

My stomach tightened.

"Guys..."

Teucer looked over.

"What?"

I pointed.

He followed my finger.

His expression changed.

"...That's a lot."

Nadia's face had gone pale.

I had never seen so many zombies gathered in one place before. We had always been careful to avoid large groups. Now, we were standing at the edge of what looked like an entire horde.

"Where the hell is Alan?!" Teucer shouted, glancing anxiously towards the car park.

I looked towards the car park again.

I couldn't see him anymore.

"Maybe he's already inside."

"Then why hasn't he called?"

Nobody answered.

I checked my walkie-talkie. Only static.

I bit my lip.

"Let's move. We can't wait around here."

The three of us agreed and hurried towards the side entrance, keeping low as we crossed the short stretch of pavement. The main entrance was completely out of the question. Zombies had practically covered the area by now, and more were still being drawn towards it.

The side entrance looked clear. Unlike the main entrance, these glass doors seemed undamaged.

I reached the glass doors and grabbed the handle.

"Thank god it's unlocked."

"Wait."

Nadia's voice stopped me.

I froze.

She wasn't looking at the parking lot. She was looking at something beside us.

I turned my head, and a zombie stood between two abandoned cars.

It wasn't looking towards the alarms. It was looking directly at us.

Head tilted slightly.

—Then it took a step.

My heart dropped.

More emerged behind it.

"Shit! There are stragglers here!"

Teucer immediately grabbed the door.

"Inside!"

No one argued. We had wanted to wait for Alan, but that plan had already fallen apart. Surviving meant being flexible, especially when things suddenly went wrong. We'd grown used to plans turning awry.

We shoved our way through, with Teucer leading the charge. Nadia went next, then me. I barely had time to look back before the first zombie came stumbling around the corner.

"Close it!"

Teucer spun around and yanked the door shut. The first zombie slammed against the glass a second later. The entire door rattled in its frame.

"Ahh!" I stumbled forward, nearly falling as I hurried into the darkness beyond the entrance. Teucer dragged Nadia further inside before putting his weight against the door.

Another zombie crashed into the glass.

"Keep moving!" Teucer shouted.

He looked around, spotted a metal rubbish bin beside the entrance, and grabbed it. With a grunt, he shoved it against the door, wedging it beneath the handle and forcing it firmly into place.

He let go and immediately ran after us. We ran our hearts out, putting as much distance between ourselves and the side entrance as we could.

The banging and scraping of the zombies followed us as we hurried deeper into the mall. I didn't dare look back. The light from outside quickly faded behind us as we entered a sheltered passage that led deeper into the mall. There were no windows here, only walls, closed shopfronts and the occasional darkened doorway. The deeper we went, the dimmer it became.

"Torchlights."

The three of us turned on our torchlights that we'd prepared beforehand.

Using the lights as our guide, we walked slowly, carefully, our footsteps echoed lightly through the empty corridor.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. No. I may have the most sensitive nose in the group, but I'm definitely not alone in this.

"What's this shit smell?" Teucer frowned as he pinched his nose.

It was heavy. The air felt thick against my skin, almost suffocating.

"Maybe it's because the air-conditioning isn't running anymore." Nadia tried to explain. "Without proper ventilation, the air is probably really bad in here..."

"Ergh..."

A stale atmosphere that had been trapped inside the mall for months. Dust clung to everything. There was a faint metallic smell beneath it, like old machinery and rust left to sit in a sealed room.

I covered my nose.

"What the hell..."

The smell changed as we moved further in.

Damp. Earthy, like wet cardboard, it was something sharply musty.

A strange thought crossed my mind. If nobody came back here for long enough, would this place eventually become a forest? Starting with fungi, next, vines would creep through the cracks, roots would push through the floors. Trees might grow well, reaching towards the sunlight. 

Surely not. I quickly pushed the thought aside.

Nadia looked towards the walls, and I followed. Dark patches spread across the drywall and ceiling tiles. Some had swollen and warped from moisture, while others were covered in fuzzy black and green mould.

The further we went, the worse the smell became.

And I thought the mould was the worst of it. I was so wrong. The passage eventually opened into a wider section of the mall, and the smell changed again. This time, there was something sour mixed into it. I caught the scent of spoiled milk before something much heavier followed.

Rotting meat. I gagged and covered my mouth.

"What the hell happened here?" Nadia muttered, covering hers as well, her face twisted in a grimace.

We slowed down. The smell was coming from somewhere ahead. As we approached, I realised it was coming from one of the abandoned shops nearby. Most of the storefronts were still recognisable beneath the grime, but their shutters were half-open or completely smashed apart. Plastic crates and rubbish were scattered across the floor, with some containers overturned and their contents long since reduced to blackened, mouldy messes.

"Alan still hasn't called."

Nadia's voice pulled me back.

I checked my walkie-talkie.

"Alan?"

Static answered. I pressed the button again.

"Alan, do you copy?"

For several seconds, there was nothing.

Then— Crackle.

"Yeah."

"Alan!"

"Calm down," his voice came through. "I'm fine."

"Where are you?"

"Still outside."

I exchanged a look with Teucer and Nadia.

"You're still outside?!" Teucer shouted.

"I had to move further away from the entrance. There were too many of them."

There was a brief pause, then Alan continued.

"I'll meet you inside. Don't go too far."

"How far is too far?" I asked.

"Just stay on the ground floor. A landmark... look for a water fountain."

Teucer groaned.

"Vague as shit. Would it hurt you if you a little clearer?"

"Uhm, Alan," Nadia cut in. "We had to block the side entrance because a few stragglers noticed us. If you're coming in, we'll move them when you get here."

"Got it."

There was a brief pause.

"It'll take me a few minutes. I'll deal with the ones outside first, then I'll come in. You three take it easy for now. Don't wander too far."

"Alright, you be careful too, leader." Nadia replied.

"...Thanks. Then, I'll call again in a bit."

The walkie-talkie went silent again.

"I hope Alan's alright... there weren't too many just now, but... he's also not in the best condition."

"Let's trust in him." Nadia reassured me again.

"...Mm."

I lowered the walkie-talkie, my eyes lingering on the channel number on the panel.

Yeah. It was exhausting worrying about something out of my control. For the first time since we'd entered Selborne Square, I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders.

Alan was coming. We just had to wait. So we explored a little in the meantime, without straying too far from each other.

The diversion was doing its job. There really weren't any zombies around us, at least none that we could see or hear. The alarms outside had drawn most of them towards the car park, leaving the interior of the mall relatively quiet. We still kept our voices low and remained alert, listening for any movement from the surrounding corridors and checking every darkened doorway before passing it. Just because the diversion had worked didn't mean we could afford to become careless.

The ground floor had clearly seen a fight at some point. Several shopfronts had been smashed open, and there were long streaks of dried blood across the tiles. Some of the glass railings had shattered, leaving jagged pieces scattered across the floor. There were barricades too, although most had collapsed long ago.

We searched whatever we could.

Bags. Drawers. Storage rooms. Vending machines. Even the abandoned convenience stores.

Most of what we found was useless. Expired food, dead electronics, empty batteries and things that required electricity we didn't have. The lack of power was actually a relief in one way. We didn't have to worry about accidentally triggering some security alarm or setting off an automated system while rummaging through the place.

Then again, it was obvious we weren't the first people to search the mall. Most of the shopfronts had already been smashed open. Shattered glass covered parts of the floor, so we carefully stepped around the larger pieces, making sure not to kick anything that might make a noise. The shelves behind them had been stripped almost completely bare. Anything valuable or useful had probably been taken months ago.

Still, we took whatever looked remotely useful.

Then we reached the centre of the ground floor.

I stopped.

"What is this?"

The others looked towards where I was pointing.

An entire stage had been set up in the middle of the atrium. It looked like some sort of gaming event.

Two rows of professional gaming computers sat behind long desks, complete with gaming chairs, keyboards and monitors. A massive screen stood behind the stage, still displaying a frozen promotional image beneath a thick layer of dust.

Even the banners were still hanging.

Teucer walked closer.

"People actually came here to play games?"

I stepped onto the edge of the stage.

There were cables everywhere. Some had been torn apart, while others still connected the computers to power strips beneath the desks. I picked up a lanyard lying beside one of the chairs. The plastic card attached to it had a picture of a smiling woman.

Underneath it were the words: MOBILE LEAGUE: CLASH! | Creator Pass

An influencer, perhaps. Or a streamer.

Streamer... The word tugged at something in my head. I could almost picture it: someone sitting in front of a camera, talking while people watched from the other side of a screen. They'd build a following, make money from advertisements and sponsorships, and sometimes show up at events like this to promote whatever game or company had paid them.

I couldn't remember the names of anyone I'd watched, or even whether I'd been one of those people who followed them.

Still, I knew what a streamer was.

I looked around the empty atrium. The thought was difficult to process. Hundreds of people might have stood here once. Cheering. Playing games. Taking photos. There must have been queues everywhere, judging from the stanchions still arranged around the booths. 

...How depressing.

I placed the lanyard back down.

Seeing an abandoned mall made me miss a life that I couldn't remember. I'm sure the rest must've been the same, in various ways.

I looked towards the stage again.

If the world ever returned to normal, I really hoped we could see something like this again.