CHAPTER 9
"So, what's the plan?", Johnny asked.
"It's pretty simple. You and me go in, and clear out the area of any infected. They can stay here, and if something happens, the kids can call over and we'll come in a second", Jeff replied.
"Leave them here alone?! You can't be serious!", Johnny was shocked.
"Oh come on, they are tough kids. That girl with the bat looks like she can kick some ass, right?"
"Uh, yeah, definitely", Lynn blushed while tightly holding her baseball bat.
"I don't know...", Johnny whispered.
"It's ok Johnny, we can stay here for a while. There are no nearby zombies, and if anyone comes near, I'll take care of them", Lynn said while swinging the bat around her.
"All right, but we'll do this as fast as we can. I still don't like the idea of leaving you here alone but whatever", Johnny sighed and entered the Mall along with Jeff.
The great hall of the Mall was surprisingly quiet considering its size.
"I''m pretty sure that I heard some noises from the outside but there is nothing here", Johnny said.
"Hmm, there are probably infected around the various stores and that is gonna be the hardest part. They could be hidden in corners or in tight spots, which is why we need to watch each other's back. Where should we start, what do you think?", Jeff asked.
"I think the food court would be the best choice now as it's the most important. I can imagine that we are all hungry and thirsty after everything that had happened today."
"Yeah, I agree, we should start there. Come on", Jeff started to walk to the right side where the food department was located.
"Wait, what about the weapons?", Johnny asked.
"What do you mean?", Jeff stopped walking and turned aound.
"I mean, we won't use our guns, right? They're too loud and we're low on ammunition, if we use our knives...", Johnny said.
"I think I have something even better", Jeff smirked as he walked towards the wall. There were two fire axes on the ground and a lot of broken glass scattered around. Jeff picked them up and gave one to Johnny.
"Damn, this is sweet. Seems like someone broke through the glass to take them but forgot about it", Johnny said.
"Luckily for us, they did. Now, let's start, to the food store."
The weather outside was cloudy with a small hint of sun behind the wall of the gray clouds.
"I still can't believe that all this had happened in such a short time. This morning started so peaceful and now most of the people who were at the school are dead and the ones who survived are scattered around", Bobby said to the group members outside.
"We all let out guard down but we can't let it happen again. Not anymore", Lynn said as she was sitting by Francisco's side on the ground.
Clyde and Lincoln were sitting on the other side. Both of them were silent the entire time, even more than Lucy, which was a rare occurrence. They were staring at their own problems now, with Clyde was slowly eating himself inside as he crush was meters away from him with her boyfriend, while Lincoln was still staring at Chandler and Jordan but was careful not to have eye contact with any of them to prevent any suspicion.
"Agh...ouch...where am I...", Luna whispered as she started to slowly get up.
"Oh, Luna is up. Careful now with her", Lori said to the rest of the group while keeping her voice down.
"Hey Luna, how are you? You slept well?", Lynn asked her older sister, trying to sound as cheerful as possible in this type of situation.
"I'm okay, I guess, my head hurts a little though, like a truck run over it", Luna said as she rubbed her head.
"You, uh, slipped and fell, hitting your head quite a bit, but it's good", Lori nervously said.
"But the last thing that I remember, it was like from the worst nightmare, there were those monsters all around us, people were dying, it was horrible. But the most horrible thing was seeing Sam...oh God I can't even say, I just want to forget it. So, where is she now?", Luna asked the entire group as she slowly got up.
"Oh no, the cop's strike must have given her short-time amnesia, the poor girl doesn't even know that Sam's dead", Francisco whispered to his girlfriend.
"Yeah, this is gonna suck", Lynn replied.
"Uh, Luna you might want to sit down again, just, uh, just in case, you know...", Lori said as she started to walk towards her younger sister.
"Wait a second, where the fuck is Sam?! And why is everyone staring at me like that, what the hell is going on here?!", Luna was now starting to get nervous.
Everyone was looking at Luna, with a pitying and sad expression, even Lincoln managed to get his eyes of Chandler and was now looking at his older sister.
"Luna...that 'dream' that you had, it wasn't a dream, that was reality, it happened in the real world. I'm sorry but Sam is...", Lori put her hands on Luna's shoulders but couldn't finish the sentence.
"No, just no, fuck no, that's a mistake, right? It must be a mistake, it can't be possible!", Luna fell on her knees and started to yell and weep. But before she could continue her grieving, Lynn rushed to her side and put her hand on Luna's mouth.
"Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but you have to be quiet, we're in the open here. Johnny and that soldier guy are clearing the inside of the Mall so that we can settle in and until they have done it we have to stay here. Please, you have to understand", Lynn whispered to her older sister and then hugged her tightly.
"We were just...", Luna wanted to say something but just gave up and continued to cry on Lynn's shoulder.
"So, have many have we cleared so far?", Johnny asked.
"Uh, I think only the boutique remains unchecked", Jeff replied.
"Only hated those types of places, and now I have a valid reason", Johnny smirked.
"Yeah, no shit", Jeff chuckled.
After some time had passed, Luna was sitting against the wall, and was staring blankly in front of her. She didn't say a word since she let go of Lynn's embrace. The rest of the group didn't speak with her as to let her cool her head a bit.
"I'm really worried for Luna, will she be okay?", Lola whispered to Lucy.
"She'll overcome it, eventually. For now, we have to let her be alone for a while", Lucy coldly said.
"Don't say a word about Lana to Luna, it could finish her off completely", Lori said to the group while keeping her voice down.
"Wait, what is that?", Leni asked.
Everyone turned around. It was an infected man and he was slowly dragging himself over the parking lot. He was coming closer and closer to them.
"With all this happening around Luna we didn't even see this one coming. Shall we go inside?", Lori asked the group.
"No, it's just a single one, nothing to worry about. I can take him on my own", Lynn said as she grabbed her baseball bat and started to walk towards it.
"Lynn, what the hell, come back here, it's too dangerous!", Lori yelled on her younger sister.
"I'll go and get her", Francisco said as he rushed to his girlfriend's side.
"Lynn do you really think that you can take him on your own? Do you need help?", he asked her.
"I can do it, just watch."
She stopped walking just several meters away from the infected.
Lynn took a deep breath.
"Okay, just Johnny told me, first the knee then the head."
The thirteen-year-old girl quickly stepped behind the zombie, and hit him in the knee, causing him to fall down. The infected swinged his hands at her and started to growl as he tried to get up.
"Now, finish him off!", Francisco yelled.
"With pleasure", Lynn smirked.
She swinged her bat downwards and hit the zombies' head, the cracking of his skull could be heard. She swinged it again and again, until he finally stopped moving.
"Nice but I would have done it faster", Francisco laughed.
"I'm still the one with the bat, don't forget", Lynn teased him as she started to swipe the bloody remains from her bat off the zombies' clothes.
"Woah, you got me there", her boyfriend chuckled.
The rest of the group watched in astonishment.
"Remind me not to get on Lynn's bad side", Bobby jokingly said.
"Yeah, that's one of the things that you should never do", Lucy said in her usual monotone voice.
"Get over here you two, now!", Lori yelled.
"Come on Lynn, your sister is calling us", Francisco signaled towards the rest of the group.
"Okay, let's...oh my God, this can't be happening...", Lynn said in horror as she turned her head behind her.
"And? Have you found anything here? I can't even smell them since there are still perfumes and other shit scattered around and it kills any smell here", Jeff said.
"This has to be the cleanest room so far. Not a single zombie here, sure the place is a mess like any other, most of the stuff has been stolen, but at least there aren-", however Johnny was cut off mid-sentence when Jeff grabbed his shoulder.
"There, behind that stall, I can see someone's head and it's slightly shaking", Jeff whispered.
They slowly started to sneak towards the stall but suddenly a girl with brown hair and a mole on her cheek jumped in front of them with a pocket knife, holding it in front of her.
"Get the fuck away from me, you won't take me too!", she yelled at them.
"Woah kid, calm down, we're not gonna hurt you. See, I'm a cop and he's a soldier, you're safe with us, now please put that knife down before you get hurt", Johnny said as he slowly started to walk towards the scared girl.
"No, I'm not...I'm not falling for this shit again, we already had soldiers here and they kidnapped everyone or killed them. I'm the last who remains and you won't take me", said the girl as she took a step backwards while still holding the pocket knife towards the two men.
"We don't have time for this shit, Johnny. I'm gonna disarm her", Jeff said, visibly irritated.
"No, wait, that won't be necessary, nobody needs to get hurt here. Listen, girl, I trust you, there are some bad soldiers, I saw it with my own eyes, but this guy over here, he's a good man. Plus, we are not alone, in fact, most our group's members are younger than you, with one or two your age. So you can come with us and, who knows, maybe you'll recognize someone of them as your friend", Johnny said as he lowered the gun. Jeff sighed and did the same.
The girl kept holding the knife for a few more seconds and then finally put it back in her pocket.
"Okay, I guess, I'm outgunned here anyway. I'll come with you but the knife stays with me, just in case I get attacked by those infected freaks, nothing to do with you", the girl said.
"That makes sense, we can agree to that, right Jeff?", Johnny asked.
"Whatever, let's just get the kids inside, this place is clear", the soldier said as he started to walk towards the hall. Johnny and the girl soon followed him.
"Lynn! Come on, it's not safe here!", Francisco yelled. But, his girlfriend was still staring behind her, and didn't seem to react to him at all.
"Hey Lynn, what the matter?", he asked her as he grabbed her arm. She winced, and turned her head towards him.
"Look at that...", Lynn said as she pointed towards the intersection that was around a hundred meters away from the Mall and the parking lot.
"Oh shit...no way...", Francisco whispered with a horrified expression on his face.
A large herd of the infected was approaching them, step by step. Their growling at first was distant but as they were getting closer, it slowly got louder.
"How-how many do-do you think there are?", Lynn asked with a shaky voice.
"A hundred, at least, probably more. We have to go inside, now", Francisco grabbed her hand and started to run towards the rest of the group altough it looked more like he was dragging her with him.
"What took you two so long?!", Lori was angry.
"No time to explain, we have to get inside the Mall, there is a large herd coming!", Francisco yelled.
"A herd of what...oh no...", Lori was confused but soon realised what was happening.
"Quickly, inside!", Bobby commanded them as the whole group got into the Mall and Bobby and Francisco close the door and locked them.
"Will this hold?", Bobby asked.
"I hope so, if it can hold off the stampede of Black Friday then it won't have any problems with these guys", Francisco and Bobby chuckled.
"What the hell is going on here?!", Jeff yelled as he, Johnny and the girl arrived.
"There's a massive herd coming towards us, we had to lock the doors", Bobby said.
"But why now all of a sudden, how couldn't we see it?", Johnny was confused.
"Well, the herd moved on the opposite side of the street that we passed by when we moved here. Plus we weren't paying any attention so it was kinda hard to hear them. I'm sorry", Lynn said, as she recuperated from the slight shock of seeing such a massive herd.
"Leni? And those two guys", the girl that Johnny and Jeff found said as she pointed at Lincoln and Clyde.
"Huh?", Lincoln and Clyde almost simultaneously said.
"Fiona! You are totes alive and well!", Leni cheefully exclaimed and jumped to hug her friend.
"Oh, Leni, it's good to see you", Fiona said as she returned the hug.
"Let's go to the second floor, we'll have a better view from above", Jeff said.
The group made their way to the second floor by the moving staircase, which wasn't working so they had to climb on on their own.
"There are...a lot of them but we can't see that much from here. Maybe if we go to the roof?", Lori suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Me and Jeff are going to the roof to take a better look, the rest of you can stay here, we cleared the the interior, you'll be safe", Johnny said.
"Can I come too, please?", Lynn asked, with her puppy eyes.
"Fine", Johnny sighed.
"There are the stairs, come on", Jeff signaled them as they climbed up to the roof.
"Wow, what a great view", Lynn watched in astonishment.
"It was great once, now it's something else...", Johnny said.
"Perfect, fucking perfect. Just look at this, they are everywhere", Jeff furrowed his brow.
Johnny, Jeff and Lynn could only look in horror as the infected slowly encircled the entire Mall, as more and more of them poured from all sides. It seemed like the their location was a magnet for the dead to invade.
"So, I guess we're gonna have to crash here for a while, eh", Lynn scratched her head while nervously laughing.
"Yeah, it seems so. At least we should be safe here for a while and have something to eat", Johnny said.
"So, what about Lana, when will we go and look for her? And Ronnie Anne too? I don't think that Bobby has even realized that his sister is also missing. Poor guy", Lynn said while looking at the police officer.
"I don't think that we're going anywhere with this massive herd outside anytime soon though. I'll try and find a way out of here, somehow, so that I can go personally search for her. But I still think that the best thing has happened: that she and the other girl have been saved by the other bus", Johnny replied.
"Why do you think so?", Jeff asked.
"I don't know, I guess hope never dies", Johnny said as the stared into the waves and waves of the undead that made a circle around the Mall and it seemed like their numbers weren't going to go down, not anytime soon anyway.
