October 13

1315 Hours

Irene and Link were walking through the mall heading towards the nearest flight of stairs. Before he even placed a foot on the escalator, Irene grabbed his arm and headed west from where they were.

"Where are we going?" He asked her, struggling slightly in her grasp. The black haired girl turned to him, an annoyed expression on her features.

"There is no light in the underground parking lot. We need flashlights. I know where to find them." She answered before continuing to walk down the hall, Link following closely.

"Um… no light at all?" He asked, his voice slightly shaking. Irene didn't turn to him but instead shook her head. The boy gulped and fought to keep in a shiver. "Fuck me, then…"

Preston and Raynold were descending down the escalator, chatting lively as they did so. Once on the couple reached the A1 basement, they strolled their way into the liquor store.

"Heaven!" Red exclaimed as he browsed through the assorted vodkas. Preston eyed the bourbons for a second before turning to Red.

"Yo, dude… What type of bottle should we take?" He asked him as he snatched a beer off the fridge. Red looked around and sweatdropped. He then turned to his friend.

"Uh… he didn't specify." Red looked over to the other brunette and began tapping his lips with his index finger as he looked at the different bottles.

"Why don't we take something of medium proportions?" He suggested, still browsing the stands. Preston nodded as he looked at the beer bottle in his head.

"Hey!" He called over to his friend, who snapped his head towards him."You up for some Corona?"

Paula and Aryll were trotting their way from stall to stand, checking to see which one had what they needed.

"I found something!" Aryll called out as she pointed at a stand. Paula looked down to see what she had seen. They weren't matches, but they would work. The older blonde opened the cabinet in which the Zippo lighters were and snatched a few, storing them into Aryll's backpack.

"Why are you storing so many?" The little girl asked as she saw the first row of lighters was cleared and packed into her bag.

"I'm pretty sure we are going to use them a lot in the future… A gut feeling, you know?" Paula answered, making Aryll giggle. The two blondes were now trotting through the empty mall in search for the rags. They stopped in front a F21. They shared a knowing glance before walking into the store.

"I think those shirt will work." Aryll pointed over to a couple of skimpy shirts to her right. Paula nodded as she walked over to them.

"This store is overrated, anyway." She said as she ripped the first shirt into two pieces.

Tetra and Ness walked towards the pharmacy on the first floor. They sent cold glares at each other all the way until they reached their destination. The raven haired boy made his way to the bottles of alcohol stacked up neatly on the first aisle. Tetra joined him and threw a couple into her bag, slipping another three into his.

"Woah, we are making a Molotov Cocktail, not lighting the entire building on fire." Ness jeered, starting to return the bottles to their place. Tetra grabbed his wrists before he even placed one back.

"You may overlook them now, but months from now, when you have a large cut you're suffering from on the abdomen that is close to bursting with pus due to infection, you are going to remember the day you put back the alcohol back." She snapped at him before releasing his wrists. The raven haired boy was taken aback by this and remained quiet. When she turned around, he hurriedly slipped the bottles back into his backpack.

"Jackass," She called out to him, earning herself a middle finger, "help me out with the medicines back here, will ya?" She said as she jumped over the counter. Ness reluctantly joined her.

After stocking up on flashlights and a convenient hammer for Link, Irene and the blonde boy were heading down into the underground parking lots. Link held his hammer close and tried to steady his ragged breathing. They had also snatched a few rubber bands in order to stopper the mouth of the bottle and a watering can to carry the gasoline

"Grab the bottles and fill them up halfway with gasoline." Link suddenly said, making Irene turn her head towards him. "You then soak the rags in alcohol and introduce them into the bottles." He added in a shaky voice. Irene was about to question him but he continued speaking. "Use the rubber to seal it and make sure it is well plugged." Irene stopped walking and crossed her arms. The blonde stopped right in front of the doors that lead into the parking lot. He turned around and sighed. "After that, all you need to do is light the rag with the matches. I'd suggest going to the rooftop and throwing them as far away from the entrance. This way the creepers are going to be distracted and you'll have a chance to esca-"

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, her voice slightly annoyed and slightly worried. Link turned his head sideways, a grim expression on his face.

"In case I don't make it back." He whispered truthfully. Irene sighed. She walked over to him until she as at an arm's reach of the boy.

"You are making it back." She chided, placing her hands on his shoulders and shaking him gently. He chuckled at the act, before his laugh turned into an airy groan. His handsome features contorted into ones of doubt and insecurity.

"There is no way of knowing that definitely. Plus, I am not made for this world. You on the other hand seem more than built for sur-" He was cut off by her socking his forehead. He yelped softly raised a hand to rub at his forehead.

"Don't say that. Link, you will make it back. I'll make sure of it. You gave those people hope; you can't die on them now. You made Tetra obey you, for hells sake! She doesn't even listen to me and I've been her friend for ages. She saw something in you in which she could relay. I saw it too. We saw something that resembled a guiding light, a leader. You are more than fit for this world, okay? Now let's go, we have fifteen minutes left." Irene said, dropping her hands off his shoulders when she finished. The girl made her way to the barricade in front of the glass doors. Link immediately ran to her aid. Once the way was clear they looked at each other before pushing the double doors open. The darkness began licking at their bodies, engulfing them as they walked deeper into the parking lot. Once they were unable to make out the shadows, Irene turned on the flashlight. The place was mostly empty, almost no cars in the area, only the lonely ones in the edges of the lot. They tiptoed towards a small scar parked near the corner of the parking lot.

"You have the tube, right?" Link whispered over to Irene, who in exchange gave him what he asked for. He began feeling the car, looking for the latch of the gas tank. Once he found it he introduce the narrow edge of the hammer and began pulling on it, trying to get it open. It opened with a pop. The blonde introduced the one end of the tube inside the gas tank and began to suck on the other end.

"That's right, practice for when you have a boyfriend." Irene teased. Link looked up to meet her gaze and rolled his eyes at her. When the bitter taste of gasoline reached his mouth he placed the tube into watering can. He began retching once he had secured the tube.

"Oh god… Don't ever do that. Ever. Blah." He whispered, making Irene giggle. They remained in total silence as they waited for the gasoline to pour out. Once it did, they moved to the adjacent car and did the same process. After three cars the watering can was full, which meant they had more than enough.

"To be honest, I expected this place to be more scary. You know, by the way you said creepers flooded this place." Link said as they walked back to the inside. Irene shrugged as she gave her bat a squeeze.

"Well, it was a few days ago. You could hear the ugly moans and screams-" Irene stopped dead in her tracks when she locked eyes with a creeper. She raised her bat up and waited for it to charge.

"I-I-Irene…" Link stuttered as he began to step back. She didn't need him to tell her what had him acting like that. When her eyes left the one creeper in front of them she managed to see the other large group, all conveniently standing in front of the doors.

"Shit." She said. The creepers began to yell and charge running at them. The couple froze for a moment before Link pulled her along. Their speed easily surpassed the creepers', yet their numbers overshadowed this fact.

"What… Do?!" Irene asked as they ran deeper into the parking lot. The blonde turned his flashlight on and surveyed the place. He saw two cars parked not long from where they were.

"There. Hide under one of them." Link said as he pulled her along. The cars were a good ten feet from each, he noted. Once Irene was under the nearest one, he charged for the other one. He deftly slid under the car. He then turned the flashlight off. The noise of steps reached them, accompanied by guttural moans and groans. All Link could see of Irene was her outline thanks to the light from the inside. She was laying prostrate with her hands on her nape. Her body shook slightly, he noticed. A pang of worry cursed through his entire body as she saw her shaking become more violent. She is crying. Link began to feel around. All he had was the hammer which he held close to his chest. A million ideas flew through his mind, finding it hard to settle on a solution. His own eyes began to water at the thought of being found by one of the creepers. A single tear ran down his cheek at this. Then, another found its way out his eyes. He raised a hand to muffle a single cry aching to come out. He was going to die. I'm going to die… That's all he thought. I'm going to be discovered and I'm going to die… The sentence repeated itself in his head, almost as a mantra.

I love you. It's okay. Take care of your sister, Link…

His eyes opened at this. A faint voice spoke in the back of his mind, a painful memory pulling at his heartstrings.

Take care of your sister, Link…

Aryll. It was the first thing that crossed his head after that. He then remembered Irene, who was in the same situation because of him. The voice grew louder until his sobs stopped. His face slowly contorted into one of deep thinking, the solution taking form in his head. It then popped into his head. Link slowly rolled and stopped once he was on his stomach. He looked at the outlines of the creepers. Fifteen steps to the right was a pillar. Six creepers were on the path, yet they didn't seem to know of his presence at all. The boy took in a deep breath before crawling out from under the car. He then immediately glued himself to the car. They still didn't notice him. The outlines were still visible, which meant once he left the safety of the car's shadow, his outline would become visible too. He took in a deep breath as he planned a route through the six bodies. Two were facing him, the others were looking either left or right. He looked down towards the floor and saw a plastic bottle laying a few feet to his left. Link sidestepped until he reached it. He picked it up and aimed right. He threw it. The bottle landed far away from the pillar. The noise from its impact successfully lured the creepers away from where he was. The boy scurried quickly until he reached the pillar. He hid behind it and held the hammer in his left hand. The creepers to his right had their backs to him. This is my chance. He took in a sharp breath and left the pillar's shadow. He aimed and threw the hammer. It flew in the air until it plummeted into the car's windshield, shattering it and activating the car's alarm. He quickly hid behind the pillar once again and waited for the creepers to bite the bait. He poked his head out and saw all of them piling around the car. Link ducked slightly and began running towards the car Irene was at. Once he was on the safe side he kneeled beside it.

"L-Link?" She asked fearfully. The blonde boy nodded and extended a hand towards her. She gladly took it, wiggling herself out from under the car. Her own hand reached under the vehicle and snatched the watering can. The couple then sprinted towards the doors. Link pushed the double doors open, allowing Irene to fly past him. He then pushed the barricade back into place. The creepers were now running towards the doors. They took a step back as they saw the entirety of the lower of the inside be surrounded by creepers. Everywhere they looked, there they were. Irene whimpered slightly before running up the stairs, leaving Link alone. He spared the room one last glance before trudging his way back up.

October 13

1400 Hours

The group was now in the middle of the food court, supplies splayed out on the table. They awaited Link and Irene's return.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Preston asked as he eyed his watch. They all shared worried glances before returning their eyes to the items on the table.

"I knew she shouldn't have gone into the parking lot!" Tetra growled as she banged her fist against a chair. Paula stared at her, her eyes slightly red.

"Do you think they were…" Red proposed, earning a glare from Paula.

"No." She hissed out at him. The brunette rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah? How are you so sure?"

"You people really have no faith." A voiced called out from behind. They turned to see Link and Irene walking over to where they were. Tetra and Paula ran to Irene, pulling her into a bear hug as soon as they reached her. Aryll charged towards her brother and wrapped her arms around his waist. She sniffled slightly before chuckling happily to herself.

"What took you so long?" Ness asked as he eyed both of them worriedly. The couple shared a knowing look before they smiled up at him.

"We… We got caught up in something." Irene answered as she placed the gasoline on the table. Link cleared his throat and walked over to the items.

"What were yo-"

"OKAY. Let's get this over with." The blonde bellowed as he smiled at the group.