12am, only 2 hours after the mall had officially closed its doors. The 4 security guards chosen to work the night shift were held up in the TV and entertainment store. The TV screens they had each displayed a different news station reporting about different violent attacks. CJ watched each broadcast silently, his mind wandering to Vera.
They were friends, or at least it seemed that way, she visited the mall a lot and he, obviously, worked there. After an incident involving some asshole trying to grope her, he'd always kept an eye out, making sure she was okay. But in the year that they'd formed their… whatever the hell it was, CJ had never gotten her phone number, and as he thought about Vera, out there in the darkness, surrounded by those fucking sick people, maybe hurt, he wanted to bash his head through the wall. He had no idea if she okay, if she was safe.
He didn't have anyone else to worry about and Vera had never mentioned any close friends and she wasn't close to her remaining family and there was no boyfriend, at least, he fucking hoped not. He held some hope that she held him in the same regard that he did her, and that perhaps she'd come to the mall, that she'd come to him.
Arguing broke his train of thought. CJ looked over at Bart and Ben. The former was laughing at Ben, who held up his arm, raising his voice.
"It's not funny, you fuck. That bitch fuckin' bit me." Bart laughed harder.
"Hey CJ." He called between giggles. "Ben over here got his ass kicked by some chick in the parking lot."
CJ shook his head, ignoring them both until Ben got to his feet, walking to the door.
"Hey! Where the fuck are you goin'?" He asked.
"I'm going downstairs, see if the bitch that bit me is still outside."
"Don't go down-fuckin'-stairs." CJ warned him but Ben walked out anyway. "Asshole." he muttered, turning back to the TV.
"Nobody else goes fuckin' anywhere, you hear me?" He told Bart and Terry.
It was the screaming that woke her. Vera's eyes forced themselves open and she yawned. She lived in a nice apartment block, but her neighbours next door, a young couple, Debbie and Carlos, they'd been having some issues lately which usually ended in screaming before one of them would storm out to cool off.
There was a loud bang that forced Vera's body into high alert. She stood, shivering slightly despite the morning heat. She looked at her attire, a tank top and some shorts. That would be fine, she wouldn't need to change.
She walked towards her front door, eyes slipping to the clock for a second. 6:07am. She unlocked her front door and peeked out, the threat of the recent, violent attacks stuck with her. The hallway was empty and silent. She stepped out and walked the short distance to Debbie and Carlos' front door.
Vera knocked, not too loud but loud enough. No sound came from inside and she tried to ignore that dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Debbie? Carlos? Everything okay?" she called out, her voice echoing down the corridor.
Receiving no reply, she knocked again. There was no movement from inside.
"Guys, I'm coming in okay?" She called out in warning, that loud noise had startled her and she was wondering if maybe one of them was injured. She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted it slowly.
The audible click of the door opening was loud in the hallway. She pushed open the door and walked slowly inside.
Vera scrunched her nose, the heat was stifling and something smelled… off. She walked further into the apartment and as she approached the living room, she froze.
She saw a pair of shoes, inching out of the living room, the closer she got, the more she realised they were attached to legs, unmoving legs. Then she heard the sound. Something that sounded… wet. There was a tearing sound and slurping. Vera swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up and she turned the corner.
"Oh God." she muttered. There on the floor lay Carlos. His chest had been ripped open, rib cage mostly gone, all his organs were gone and she suspected the chewed up mush that lay near his body were the remains of them. Bite marks littered his face and hands and legs, chucks of flesh were missing from his body and the blood… The blood coated the floor, the walls.
Vera felt the tears run down her cheeks, and her vision became a wet blur. The growl was her only warning before she was knocked to the floor. Her arms pushed against her assailant on pure survival instinct, but her body was still winded from the landing, she looked up into the gruesome face of Debbie.
"Debbie what the fuck are you doing?!" she cried out, arms starting to shake with the force. The only reply from her neighbour was a monstrous growl. She was snapping at Vera with her teeth. Vera's eyes drifted to Carlos for a split second and she knew that Debbie had done that.
'I'm not gonna end up like that.' That thought renewed her strength and with a force she didn't think she had, she pushed Debbie off her, causing her to land somewhere near Carlos, quickly, Vera stood and turned.
The kitchen was opposite the living room and she ran forward, taking hold of the largest knife from the knife block. Before she had the chance to turn around, she was tackled from behind. The force pushed her off balance and she slammed her head against the hard counter.
The blow was so hard her teeth seemed to rattle, she forced herself to turn just before she hit the ground, and despite her blurry vision, thrust the knife into Debbie's face. The blade slid through like butter, and the frantic, aggressive movements of what was once Debbie, ceased their actions. She pushed the dead weight off of her and lay there, panting, crying.
After a few minutes, Vera pulled herself up with her back against the wall and looked at the carnage around her. She swallowed hard and brought a hand up to her head. Her fingertips came back into view, covered in blood, although as she looked at the rest of her body, the blood could either be hers or Debbie's.
She stood and pulled the knife out of Debbie's face, trying not to be affected. She walked quickly to the open apartment door and looked out, far more cautious now. It was clear. She swiftly scampered to her door and walked in, going straight for her keys. Car keys in hand, she turned, ready to grab some clothes and get the hell out of there.
Then she heard the growling.
"Not again." She whispered, moving slowly towards her front door. Car keys in one hand and kitchen knife in the other, she walked into the hallway and stopped. The door at the end of the hallway that led to one of the stairwells gave way. The wood giving out with a sickening crack. Maybe 8 or 9 of the infected climbed over each other in search of fresh meat. They spotted her, screaming and growling, running at full force.
Vera gasped and ran for the door behind her, she shut it, hoping it would hold. As she began to race down the stairwell, the infected started to slam against the door. She ran the 6 floors worth of stairs to the lobby. She knew she couldn't just waltz in there, it could be full of the dead. She opened the door and peeked out. Silent and empty. Opening it further she walked out, eyes targeting the back door that lead to the resident parking lot.
One glance outside and she felt sick. Cars were overturned, there was fire and bodies and the infected. And that was just what she could see outside the apartment block. God knows what the rest of the city looked like. She took a deep breath and then darted for the back door, aware of the thundering steps from the stairwell she'd just left. The dead were coming.
With all of her force, she threw open the door and ran into the lot, she dodged one of the infected and threw her key into the car door twisting quickly. She opened the door and slid it, slamming it just as the infected doorman began to claw at her window, screaming at her. She looked into his yellow, milky dead eyes and then turned the key in the ignition.
She reversed quickly, the dead doorman's grip was forced from the car and as she spun out of there, he ran to follow. She sped through the streets, trying to avoid looking at the carnage that had overtaken the city. She didn't even know where the fuck she was going.
'I'm not going to make it to Canada, besides, what's the point.' she thought about her mother's brother in Ontario. She was an only child and with both of her parents already dead, there wasn't anyone she needed to be with.
'Maybe...' She thought. Vera bit her lip, unsure. She didn't have anyone else and CJ was someone she considered a friend, maybe more.
'Besides, the mall should be safe. It's big, fortifiable.' She turned, heading back off the road to the highway and turning towards the mall. She spotted a car ahead, there was a small struggle and before she knew it, the car ploughed into her, both of them trying to gain control before they hit the crossroad and slammed into the barrier. Vera's car tumbled over, rolling down the hill before coming to an upright stop against a tree.