Ocean County Mall, New Jersey

Friday, March 26, 2010

Day of the Resurgence

So, if you had asked me that a seemingly normal Friday in the first year of the new decade would forever change my life (as well as the lives of everyone in the country), I would've laughed in your face. But even if I hadn't agreed to something insanely stupid, I'd have found out anyway. Just not in an up-close-and-personal manner.

I still don't know which one I would've preferred today. I mean, if I heard about it on the news, I'd be a little nervous. But what I went through back then… I was downright terrified.

And I've got one person to thank for that. Out of all the friends I have, she is the most… how do I say this? Reckless? Independent? Unafraid to break a few- if not many- rules? Well, it was just after the local mall closed when it happened. My heart was pounding, I was starting to sweat, but not because my life was on the line… yet.

"We shouldn't be here," I whispered hurriedly. "If security sees that we didn't leave with everyone else…"

"They won't," my friend replied. "I just gotta check out one little thing…"

"Val, this is crazy! If we get caught, you- WE could get grounded for a month! No, two months!"

She wasn't fazed at that. Then again, she was Valerie Harper. According to some of the kids at school, she was hardly fazed by anything. Fearless, tomboyish, and a true rebel at heart. I even asked about her personality one time, and she just shrugged and disinterestedly replied that it "ran in the family", according to her mom.

And when she set her mind on something, it was nearly impossible to change it.

While she was wandering the empty halls, I was nervously keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of a flashlight beam or the echoing sound of footsteps. Val seemed amazed at the whole thing, looking at the open space around her like a kid in a candy store. I take it she had never seen it empty like this.

"It's like we're the first ones here!" she exclaimed. "Have you ever seen the place when it's not so crowded and swarming?"

I didn't answer. And she didn't seem to like that.

"Come on, Kylie! Live a little! Where's your sense of thrills? Of excitement?"

"Saved for when I need them the most," I mumbled.

Val muttered something under her breath; I think it sounded like "cop-out" or something like that. "Well, have fun missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience!" And then, she was off before I could reply, jogging deeper into the mall.

I sighed, running a hand through my blonde hair. Val had a knack for things like these, and I knew just one of these days she'd land herself in hot water. I was thinking of looking for a way out- because no way would I spend the night in a mall- when my eyes caught something on a monitor. It was one of those screens that showed surveillance footage from different parts of the mall. And I just managed to catch something moving on the screen.

Something long. Something… spiky.

It left just as fast, and I thought I had only imagined it. I dismissed the thought and looked around for anything useful. The front doors would be locked, so I scanned the area for a side door or a window… or something.
I looked for what felt like ten minutes for a possible exit. And I found nothing. With a sigh of defeat, I decided to look for Val and follow whatever crazy idea she had. But I have to admit, seeing the mall empty and abandoned like that… was kinda cool.

The only problem was that it was not empty.

A scream echoed through the vacant halls. Not Val's, but of an adult man. When I first heard it, it immediately set me on edge. For a reason even I wasn't so sure of, I moved towards where the sound had come from to investigate.

It was near one of the grocery stores. When I got there, I saw nothing. Nothing but a dropped flashlight that was still switched on. It was one of those flashlights that security guards usually carry. I saw no unmoving body, and the air didn't carry the scent of blood. But the guard who was just here had seen something that badly spooked him.

I remember asking myself what. And the answer came just as soon as I did.

A shrill, quick sound. A high-pitched squawk, almost like a bird. I thought nothing of it when I heard it. Instead, I felt amused. Amused that a security guard would be startled by a bird, of all things.

And that's when I realized that it sounded like a large bird. An unbelievably big one, maybe bigger than an ostrich. Or maybe… that it wasn't a bird at all.

Another sound came, this one silencing another. The sounds of a nearby television were suddenly silenced by a thunk. What followed were several thumping noises… like something walking away.

Now I was getting nervous. And when I arrived at the TV that had gone silent, I found something even more unsettling: spikes lodged in the cracked, static screen. Another squawk, more drawn out in pitch, sounded throughout the vacant halls.

That was it. I had to find Val and warn her.

Thankfully, she wasn't too far away. I found her in the grocery section with a concerned, curious look on her face. She was looking at some dropped food items on the floor… as well as some spikes identical to the ones I found on the TV.

"Val!" I said without even thinking. "We need to-!"

She whipped her head towards me… just as the squawk returned. There was a loud crashing noise, prompting Val to seize me by the collar and yank me down to the floor. She brushed aside some cans on the shelf, peeking through to see what the disturbance was. And when she saw it, her blue eyes lit up like spotlights shining down on a football field.

"Val?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "What is-"

"Shh!" she clamped a hand over my mouth without taking her eyes off of… whatever it was. Then, with her face frozen in a mix of awe and fear, she carefully moved aside and allowed me to lay my eyes on what had caused her to go wide-eyed.

When I saw it, I almost passed out.

Sniffing through the various items in the meat section was an animal. But not one I knew. Not even close. It looked like it had jumped out of a kid's drawing. A poorly-made kid's drawing. The creature stood on two powerful legs, and though it didn't look very big from here, Val and I could each be as tall as its legs.

And spikes. Spikes covered it everywhere; from a short, straight one on its nose, to a crown of them on its head, and a whole bunch of them gathered on its tail. Winged forelimbs folded into its body, and yellow eyes darted around as it sniffed the area around it.

It knocked a piece of chicken to the floor, where it proceeded to examine it. It nibbled and warbled curiously at the plastic surrounding it, searching for a way past. I managed to tear my eyes away from the creature, looking into Val's confused eyes.

"What is that?" I whispered with a stammer in my tone.

Val just shook her head without even blinking. "I don't know."

There was a loud ripping sound as the creature tore the plastic covering away from the meat. It gnawed at the chicken before it stepped back and recoiled with another squawk. It drew back its head, opened its mouth…

...and a bright orange blast flew from its mouth and enveloped the chicken, cooking it in seconds to the point of char-broiled. Wisps of smoke trailed into the air before the creature snatched the meat in its mouth and feasted on it. It wasn't halfway through before water rained down from the roof sprinklers, having detected traces of a fire.

The creature appeared agitated now, raising the spikes on its tail. And with one flick of it, three spikes shot out and struck the sprinklers, disabling them flawlessly. With no further interruptions, it returned to its meal.

Val and shared a silent agreement: we needed to leave the mall now before the creature saw us and decided we would be its next meal. Slowly, Val turned to quietly move out of the store…

...until she suddenly slipped and fell backward with a gasp. Luckily, I caught her in my arms before she could hit the ground with a loud thump. But the can she had stepped on rolled out of the aisle at a quick pace and hit the shelf of the aisle parallel to the one we were in.

Rawk?

The creature jerked its head up from the ground, turning its eyes to where the can now lay. It turned away from the meat section with a curious warble and slowly approached the can, its nostrils flaring up. Neither Val nor I dared to make a sound… so as the animal neared the can and investigated it, we slowly backed away towards the end of the aisle. I felt that if I took my eyes off the strange animal in the slightest, it would see me.

As soon as we neared the end, the creature's stance changed. Now, it had raised its head off the ground while continuing to sniff the air. Its tail swished back and forth. It was like it had caught onto another scent… and I didn't need to remind myself what that scent was. The creature chittered, its throat vibrating as it did so.

It whipped its head down the aisle behind it just as Val and I darted into the next one. We held our breaths and I tried to calm my racing heart… until a noise of confusion left the animal's mouth. I let out a silent breath of relief until Val put a hand on my shoulder. Her gaze was clear: we weren't out of this yet.

I nodded in reply, the worry immediately returning to my face. I crouched down and started to follow her as quietly as I could. With any luck, we would leave without further predicaments.

But it seems the universe has a sense of humor.

I heard a loud thump, followed by a shrill SKRRAAAAW! Val and I jerked our heads upward… to see the creature perched atop the highest shelf with a snarling expression. Its talons clenched metal like a bird on a branch, and its wings were extended. Its roar made my bones rattle and petrified me to the core.

I snapped out of it when Val grabbed me by the arm and yanked hard. "Go, go, go, go, GO!" The creature landed on the aisle floor with another snarl, drawing back its mouth. We skidded out of the aisle as a bright blast shot out from behind us; so dangerously close I felt a warm feeling on my back.

When it gave chase, the animal accidentally bumped its head against another shelf, making it topple over and smash into another, which hit another. Soon enough, the aisles were falling like dominoes as we ran as fast as we could, items falling to the floor.

Loud footsteps thundered over our own. It was gaining, and fast. Val and I knew it would be on us in seconds… but I certainly didn't expect her to shove me to the side and dive in the other direction.

The animal skidded to a halt just in front of the door; its tail was dangling right in front of my horrified face. I slowly backed away from it with a racing heart. On the other side of the dragon, I could see Val trying to stay as still as she could, not daring to make a move or a sound.

And the creature seemed… completely confused. It let out a curious squawk and sniffed in front of it. Val looked confused as well, with one eyebrow raised in curiosity. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I think Val managed to find out something that I didn't. Every time the animal would move its head, Val would carefully step in the same direction without making a sound.

I didn't even realize I was backing away until my back hit something metallic. I spun around to find something red and cylindrical in shape: a fire extinguisher. Acting on sheer instinct, I took it out from its rack and got it ready. And just in time, too, for the animal had just made another sound and snapped its jaws.

Val rolled out of the way just in time, scrambling to her feet and making a break for the door. The animal spun with a snarl, opening its mouth again and lunging for her. I knew Val wouldn't make it out of the store before she ended up in that thing's mouth, so I did the only stupid thing I could.

"HEY!"

The animal snapped its head towards me… where it got a faceful of white spray right in the face. It squawked and screeched in alarm, backing away from the extinguisher's spray and thrashing its head around. As I continued to spray the fire extinguisher at the creature, I bolted for the door and ran after Val into the open halls of the mall.

I threw the extinguisher to the floor with a loud clang, as holding onto it any longer would slow me down. For a moment as we ran, I felt relief that we had lost it.

Oh, how I wish that was true.

A loud smashing sound slammed our hearts back into overdrive. I whipped my head to look over my shoulders. The creature had physically forced its way out of the grocery section, breaking apart the entire entryway while doing so. It locked its amber eyes on us and roared again, the sound shaking in our bones.

"Run! RUN!"

Val didn't need to tell me twice.

The animal bounded after us surprisingly fast, snapping its jaws at us. I zigzagged to the right to avoid getting chomped, but it kept its eyes on me like a true hunter. It lunged at me again, and I sprinted to my left. The creature unanticipated this move and squawked in a startled manner before collapsing to the floor.

"Which way's the exit?!" I yelled.

"Just follow me!"

The animal scrambled back to its feet and shook its head, taking off after us again. We had gained some distance, but I knew we had no way of outrunning that thing. It would be on us like a dive-bombing hawk.

Val seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Slow it down!"

That sounded completely insane. "With what?!"

"Anything!"

I desperately darted my eyes around the mall, looking for something useful. But doing that while your lungs are on fire from running is not recommended at all. By one store, a rotating sunglasses stand rested near a door. I dug my heels into the ground and skidded to a slowing pace before bolting to the stand.

Once I reached it, I took a moment to catch my breath, steady myself… and grasp the stand with both hands. I squeezed my eyes closed and gritted my teeth, pushing the stand with all my might. I heard the thudding footsteps of the animal drawing closer and closer at an equal pace to that of my current heartbeat. It snarled again, seemingly resilient to catch us.

With a loud grunt, I managed to push the stand over onto the floor (at the cost of some cool-looking shades). I staggered a bit, placing my hands on my knees… but my recovery was short-lived.

There was a crashing noise as the animal smashed into the stand horn-first, sending it flying… and me along with it. I screamed as I was sent through the air like I had been thrown off an angry bull. The stand smashed into the floor and sunglasses flew loose while I hit the floor with a weakened gasp.

My blurry eyes caught the sight of two reptilian feet coming into contact with the tiled surface of the mall floor. A low growling noise drew my attention to the animal's face, where many sharp teeth glinted and glowing amber eyes focused on my form.

I was completely frozen with fear. I thought this was it. I was about to die; be eaten by this… whatever this was as a consequence of trespassing in its supposed territory. It growled again, raising its deadly spike-covered tail.

Squeak!

A rubber ducky bounced off its face, momentarily confusing it. In that flash of a second, I was back on my feet and running for my life. I heard my own panicked breaths before I saw a bright orange blast saw between me and Val. It completely destroyed a magazine kiosk, reducing paper and wood to burning smithereens.

The spikes on its tail shot out next, prompting me to jump before they impaled my ankles. The spikes stuck themselves into the floor, and I could hear the creature snarl in frustration. It was right behind us in no time, so close I could feel its breath on the back of my neck. It opened its mouth, ready to close it around me…

Val grabbed my wrist and yanked me to the side, both of us now running down a right turn. The animal squawked in alarm again, crashing through the side of another store with shattered glass in its wake. I quickly turned my eyes to Val, thanking her with a silent nod.

When we looked back ahead, our eyes went wide and we slid to a halt. We immediately bent over and gasped for breath, our pulses still racing from that intense pursuit. I looked ahead of us while my chest heaved in and out repeatedly. We had reached the front door.

I felt a smile grow at the thought of salvation. My hand darted to the handle and I pulled… but felt nothing. "Huh?" I pulled again. And again. But still nothing. That was when my smile fell and my sudden relief reverted to fear.

"No, no, no, no! It's locked!"

"Of course it's locked! The place is clo-"

RAAAWK!

Two thumping sounds caused my blood to turn cold.

Don't look behind you. Don't look behind you. Don't look behind you.

I looked behind me. Stupid instinct.

There it was, standing in the middle of the hallway and shaking itself of dust and debris. The sight of the creature made the sense of dread and terror flood through my being again. The animal adjusted its stance, crushing a splintered piece of wood under its foot.

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and tried to keep my breathing from rising to frantic levels. I kept my calm as best as I could, mentally begging for the animal to leave us alone.

FWEEEEET!

The creature flared up at the whistle and my heart instantly slammed into full panic. With a small yelp I didn't even know I was holding in, I whirled my head towards Val… who had two fingers in her mouth and blowing hard, whistling as loudly as she could. She waved her other arm over her head back and forth, trying- and succeeding!- in getting the animal's attention.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs while the animal roared in agitation. "You're gonna get us KILLED!"

"I have a plan!" she called back. "When I say, run to the side!"

"WHAT?!"

She shot me a glare. "Trust me, Kylie! I know what I'm doing!"

"I-" The creature snarled again and started to move forward, its thumping footsteps cutting off my voice. It started to move slowly at first, huffing out air from its nostrils. Val kept whistling at a high pitch and continued to wave at the animal.

"Uh… Val?"

"Wait…" came her patient reply.

The animal began to pick up speed as its feet hit the floor in a repeated pattern. It snarled at us again, its eyes never budging from our position.

I backed myself up against the glass of the door and pressed against it like it would vanish at any moment and give me a chance to escape this beast. "Val?!"

"Wait!" She let out one last whistle before cupping her hands over her mouth. "COME AND GET US, YOU BIG, STUPID TURKEY!"

If it wasn't mad before, it was really mad now. It must have been running as fast as an Olympic sprinter now, head hung low and front horn ready to skewer my friend from chest to back. And maybe get me impaled somehow as well.

"VAL?!"

The creature was getting dangerously close. If Val told me to wait anymore, I would've lost it. But she turned to look me in the eye and screamed one word.

"NOW!"

She dove to the left and I jumped to the right simultaneously. The creature ran right into the front door, shattering it to bits with a loud crashing noise. I flung my hands over my head as small glass shards rained down to the floor. There was a loud thump from outside followed by a pained squawk as if the animal had hit something hard.

"C'mon, get up! Let's move!" Val was by my side in seconds and lifted me to my feet. We both ran out the front door, hoping to dash down the street and lose the animal in the city. Hopefully, it would give up and retreat inside, thinking we had learned our lesson. My thoughts immediately turned to how the animal would be captured and taken out of the mall.

But those thoughts were gone just as they came, as Val came to a hard stop just outside the doors. The spiked animal was shaking its head in a dazed and stunned manner… and the thing it had bumped into was moving as well. Something huge and rock-shaped.

And as Val and I discovered the hard way, it was not a rock. It was… another one. Another creature. The world really hated me today!

Unlike the spiked one that looked completely confused, this one had small wings that started to flap like a hummingbird, lifting the creature into the air. It was round and fat with bumps all over its body. It narrowed its eyes at the first animal and growled gutturally, none too happy at being woken up from its nap.

With a roar of its own, the spiked creature lunged at the fat one and thrashed at it with tooth and claw. The fat one belched out a fireball that smacked against the spiked one's wing and flew towards it, using its body as a living ram to batter the other animal.

I didn't want to watch longer than necessary. While the two animals roared, bit, and clawed at each other, Val and I ran towards the streets. The snarls and roars drowned out soon, and I wanted nothing more than to erase them from my memory.

Val and I came to a stop near an intersection, where we caught our breaths and sighed in sweet, sweet relief. When we finally got the strength to speak again, I was the one to break the silence first.

"What in God's name were those things?"

I saw only one thing on Val's face when she replied. Something no one else would expect to see. Genuine fear. Fear of what we didn't know. "I don't know," she said frantically. "Let's… let's just go home and put all of this-"

A new sound cut her off. Not the sound of a roar or a growl, but of a siren. A siren that would usually go off as a tornado warning. A sound that would be tested the first Saturday of every month. But tonight, it was warning us and the whole city of a different kind of storm.

A storm of wings. A storm of fire. One that descended by the dozens. Winged animals perched themselves on top of buildings. Other creatures snapped at people and pushed aside cars. A big one resembling a giant pterodactyl with teeth clambered atop a garbage truck and roared into the sky.

That was when I knew we had entered a completely different world.

Val and I, along with our families and everyone else in Ocean County, had to be evacuated with a military escort. We both moved to New York a few years later, but one thing stuck with me: that single night where everything changed.

That night gave me nightmares. Some became real, others have yet to become real. Or, if I'm really lucky, they won't be real at all. Now, I've been hearing talk that these creatures… these dragons are starting to leave us alone. And I have no idea why. Did they think we were too much of a threat? Are they afraid of us as we are of them? Are they waiting for us to be vulnerable?

No matter the case, the world saw something inevitable when they came. Or came back? Whatever. I'm no historian. We all knew what needed to be done when the dragons came, and after all these years we haven't even come close to pulling it off. But it's not wiping them off the face of the planet while risking human lives. It's not hiding away and allowing them to take over as prime species.

It's coexistence. Some of us still aren't willing to accept that we need to do that, and those that do have no clue of how to do it. After all, we hardly know anything about the dragons, aside from avoiding them.

But who knows? Maybe one day, we'll figure out how we can live with them. If that day doesn't come, though, we're all screwed. But if it does… well, my money's on the future where I don't die from fire or claws or teeth.