Chapter Seven
The Guardian was right; the mall was only about twenty minutes away. And he wasn't kidding when he said it was massive. If Dimitri is here, I've got my work cut out for me.
I enter through the east side in Macy's. It's a Tuesday so it's not that crowded. As soon as I walk through the women's section my feminine instincts kick in, and they're saying "Spend, spend, spend!" But that's not what I'm here for; well I might need a pair of shades or something because of the whole Queen's-out-to-get-me thing. Oh, and a hat… and maybe a cute jacket, with a matching tank underneath?
No, maybe I'll shop after I look for something out-of-the-ordinary in this mall. And after three hours of going through the stores, I'm left with no choice but to let those instincts prevail. I feel bad for spending some of the money like this, but I've got plenty, and it's not like Adrian's going to miss it. Adrian… those thoughts will have to wait until later.
I give myself a completely different look. I don't think it's very likely the guardians will immediately recognize me now. I'm about ready to leave when I walk by a Super Cuts. The last piece of the puzzle: my hair.
Its long now, and if it were short… no, Dimitri liked… Dimitr's dead. I walk into the salon looking like I'm in pain.
"Can I help you?" A short and perky blond that looks like she's never had a single problem in her life says.
"I-I want my hair cut."
Her face brightens and she replies, "Certainly, Clair will be cutting your hair."
She leads me over to a black leather chair facing a mirror. A short moment later, a tall and gangly brunette comes over.
"I hate Tuesdays," she mutters.
I decide instantly that I like her.
"So what are you going for?" she asks examining my hair.
"Get rid of it," I manage to say somewhat confidently.
"Well, you have intense facial features, yeah; you'd look fierce with your hair right to… here," she puts her finger by my chin.
"Just do whatever," I say because honestly, I don't care.
She pulls out a pair of scissors and starts cutting as soon as she dampens my hair. "You want to talk about it?" she asks. I guess it's obvious I'm having a crisis.
"Complicated," I reply.
"It always is," she mutters.
I sit in silence as strands of my beauty fall to the floor. After fifteen minutes or so, she says "You like it?"
I look into the mirror, and gasp. She was right, I look… well amazing. "You really pull it off," she says admiring her work.
"Thanks," I say as I get out of the chair.
And right as I'm opening the door to leave the mall, Yuri appears, and this time he speaks. "He's here," Yuri warns. After getting over the fact that Yuri is talking to me, I manage to say, "No, that can't be. I searched all over the mall." Yuri walks over to a big map of the mall and points to a restroom.
"There is a maintenance door near this restroom that leads to a lower level of the mall."
"But-"
Yuri does not mean to stick around. He starts to disappear before me.
Dimitri is here, this is it. I run out to my car to devise a plan. Half an hour later, I go back into the mall. As soon as I walk through that maintenance door, I pull out my stake.
There is a staircase. It is completely silent except for the ongoing buzz of the dim lights in the ceiling. I reach the bottom of the stairs and see… nothing. There's absolutely nothing here.
I head back up the stairs, but I don't want to leave. Have you ever felt complete failure? It's overpowering, and eventually it will push you over the edge.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I scream, and it feels good.
I decide not to quit there. I swing my fist at the drywall, denting it all over. I slide down the wall and bang my head against it. Surprise surprise, I see something that I didn't before. There's a vent in the ceiling.
I grab a bucket from a near closet and step onto it. After calmly taking the vent off, not, I use my upper body strength to lift myself into it. It's much chillier in there than in the room but I'll survive.
After five minutes of nothing but crawling, I drop down into a room that has yet another staircase. This time, it has an eerie feeling. It screams danger! Stake in hand, I descend down the staircase.
There's snoring. They're sleeping only to awake tonight and prey on innocent yet ignorant humans. At the bottom of the stairs is a hallway, and Dimitri's standing right in the middle of it.
