Chapter 21

Various shops and peoples later, Brooke and Steph were sitting at a table that was situated on a gallery that was overlooking the lower level of the mall, where all inhabitants were having dinner, chatting and laughing while they were enjoying their meal.

"So, what do ya say?" asked the brunette as she was slurping a soft drink through a straw, ogling the Asian girl dreamily. "The people are nice. There's plenty of food. And I could need a badass like you here. So…if you wanna, I'll fight for you so you can stay."

Brooke's sight, however, was fixed somewhere on the table, as she was being in deep thought. Almost as if her hand moved on its own, she reached for the walkie-talkie on her belt and switched it on before pressing the speak-button.

"Hey Frank, do you copy?"

With a short glimpse she gazed into a pair out of shock dilated eyes, feeling a bit ashamed so that she moved her sight back to the table as she waited for a reply. It was merely a few seconds, but for the Asian girl it felt like hours until an answer came.

"Brooke?! Good gosh, I thought we lost your sweet keister."

It was Alyssa, and just hearing her voice send a wave of joy through Brooke's body.

"Hi Aly! Uh, yeah, it's me. Just wanted to let ya guys know that I'm fine. Where's Frank?"

"Takin' a leak…or somethin'. What happened? Why did you go offline for so long?"

"I'll explain later. Still busy gettin' the supplies. You got the truck?"

"Uh, yeah...kinda… Listen, things are gettin' hot out here. Screamers start to roam the place, already had to kill two of those fuckers. We need to hurry!"

"Copy that! I'll call you in thirty."

Without waiting for a response, Brooke deactivated the radio and put it back on her belt.

"You lied to me," chimed Steph's agitated voice, which answered the younger woman with a slight nodding.

"I couldn't trust you."

"But I trusted you!" she kept on chiding, jumping up. "Is there something else I should know? Maybe about your motives?"

"I really just want some supplies," answered Brooke truthfully, making eye contact again. "Sorry that I lied to you, but I feared that it'd make things difficult if I mentioned the others, since your people literally freaked out just by my entrance alone."

"And the people you allegedly lost?"

This question stung in the teenager's heart. Of course, she had lost someone she had held dearest. And as Steph realized the hurt in Brooke's eyes, she immediately calmed down, regretting that she had even asked.

"As you already said," answered Brooke with a heavy voice, "we all lost someone we cared for. My best friend, for example, got shredded into pieces just a few days ago. And a day before that, my girlfriend got killed and turned into a Screamer."

"Screamer?"

"That's what we call those freaks." Slowly, she got up as well, her tone now filled with determination, but also politeness. "Anyway, I'm just glad that I still have a few friends left, who're now in danger. So, with or without supplies, I'm gonna grab my stuff and leave tonight. Thanks for your hospitality! It was actually nice to meet you and I hope that you'll survive this shit."

Flabbergasted and with a bad conscience, Steph watched as Brooke walked away. Society was falling apart and everyone was now thinking about themselves, a condition Steph neither could accept nor wanted to live. Therefore, she decided to take action and make a stand against this selfishness.

"Okay folks, listen up!" she called out as soon as she had reached the still feasting survivors, catching their attention. "Many of you have already seen our guest, and I know that most of you are worried that she might bring trouble. Now, here's the latest news: she's gonna leave us tonight."

Some people cheered. Some clapped with their hands. But most weren't simply interested, because nothing would change for them eventually. Though, the hardest part was yet to come.

"The thing, however, is that she didn't come here without a reason. She's travelling with a group and they're in dire need of some food and I'd love to give 'em some. But of course I can't decide this over your heads. This food belongs to all of us and we all need to decide if we're willing to share a bit or not."

Silence occurred for a moment, which soon was broken by quiet chatter amongst the people. Steph let them discuss this serious matter, knowing that pressure could lead to the opposite wanted result. But to her dismay, Terry was present as well, using the chance to fire against Steph and Brooke.

"We won't give her shit!" he announced, climbing on one of the tables to draw even more attention. "She broke into this mall and threatened us. We can consider ourselves lucky that we responded right in time and took her into custody before she was able to cause more damage."

"As I already said," countered Steph, "she's gonna leave us tonight and won't bother us anymore. All she asks for is a bit of food, nothing more."

"She's right," concurred another man. "Just give her some food, let her go and be done with it."

"And who's gonna promise us that she won't return with some friends and take everything from us? Or worse, take over the mall and kill us all?"

Loud gasps sounded through the building and a lively discussion started again. Things were going south and Steph knew that she had to intervene right away before things would get worse.

"GUYS!" she yelled against the noise. "She and her people are normal people like we are. They just want some food, nothing more. We have enough to spare, so…"

"What if they show up again?" threw a panicky woman in, and she wasn't the only one.

"What if the government needs longer to help us?"

"Yeah, we can't feed everyone!"

"We should just throw her out!"

"Are you insane?! She'll lead her friends here and they'll attack us."

Steph heard it all. All those evil accusations. This mistrust. And Terry was right in the middle of it, enjoying how his planted seed of madness was growing into a giant tree of mistrust and fear, starting to wear fruits. She literally lost her faith in humanity as she was faced with such a high amount of selfishness, so that she simply felt the need to scream "HEEEY!"

Again, all attention was on her and this time she wasn't calm, but looked at the crowd with an agitated glare.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," she spoke furiously. "Are you guys serious?! You all know what's goin' on out there. We're lucky to be in here and to be blessed with all this stuff. Others weren't that lucky and are now fightin' out there for their survival, and you want to deny 'em some help? Shame on you all!"

Suddenly, a woman got up, carrying a little child in her arms. "Do you have a family of your own, Miss Gingrich? Were you ever responsible for a li'l child? No! You're just one of those let's-make-the-world-a-better-place students, who thinks that she can patronize the hard-working people about how we should live. Reality-check: this world isn't a happy-place. It's eat or get eaten, now more than ever. So, if you wanna support your new friend, then how about you take your share of food and leave with her?"

A bunch of various agreements chimed from within the crowd, fueling Steph's anger even more. She didn't want to patronize, neither was she a dreamer who thinks that the world could be a peaceful happy-place. But she had her ideals of people who would help each other in desperate times of need. That good deeds shall be rewarded with good deeds in return. Yet it seemed like humanity didn't work that way.

"Alright," she eventually spoke in defeat, "if this is how you all see things, then I'll rather be out there than in here, livin' a freakin' lie."

Proud upon her beliefs yet sad, the young woman walked away with angry steps, leaving the crowd and a joyfully snickering Terry behind. She had barely made it upstairs as she was already awaited by Brooke who looked sternly at her with crossed arms.

"You don't have to do this. You're safe here. Don't waste that for a bunch of strangers, who you barely know."

"Y'know," answered the brunette calmly, "someone once told me that I've a good sense when it comes to people, and I feel that you're a good person."

"I'm selfish and salty."

"On the outside, yes." A slight smirk rushed over the slight older woman's face as she closed in on Brooke, brushing with one finger over her cheek, which caused her to blush and timidly avert her gaze. "But inside, you care. How you worry about your friends, ready to give up safety. How warmly you spoke to that girl on the radio. You heard what Janice said. I won't find that cohesion here, among those aloof suburb-asshats."

After a shaky sigh, Brooke answered "Then, we should get going!"

"Your stuff should be locked in Terry's office, since this paranoid bastard keeps every weapon and the key to the gun shop for himself," mentioned Steph as they kept going. "He calls it, and I quote it, safety measures, but in truth he just wants to be in control."

"Does this mean we have to nicely ask him?" replied Brooke with a quirked eyebrow, already feeling disgusted upon the thought alone to beg for her personal belongings. But instead, Steph simply answered with an easygoing "Nope!" and brought forth a key from her jeans pocket, which the other woman ogled with awe.

"We have a tool shop here. Though it took me two days, I eventually managed to make a copy of Terry's master key. Safety measures, my ass!"

Snickering, Brooke eventually returned "You're so badass!"

But Steph stayed serious, which made obvious that this wasn't a game of rebellion for her. "I didn't do it for fun, but out of necessity. Since his boss bit the dust and gave his life for those people here, Terry thought that he could take over. But - as you already experienced - he's an idiot! A freakin' murron. You need to motivate people, not ordering 'em around. And locking away all guns and being the only one having access to it, shows nothing else than mistrust."

"Yeah," concurred the Asian girl as they entered a giant store for furniture. "In School we once had such a bozo as head of security. A giant asshole who wanted to put surveillance cameras everywhere, even the bathrooms."

"What a dickhole," said the brunette, now stopping at one of the beds that once used to be on display, and scraping up all the belongings on and around it, stuffing them into a backpack. "Didn't bring him much in the end, right?"

Shrugging with her shoulders, Brooke simply answered "I dunno, never saw him again after everything went to shit. But he saved my life, though."

"Well, then he achieved more than Terry. Let's get your stuff and bail!"

Shouldering her backpack with a slight groan, Steph led the way to the security office, always avoiding that someone would spot them. As typical for a mall, the security's office was situated somewhere in the backdrop, out of sight from the public.

Taking one last look around, Steph took out the copied key and unlocked the door.

"Okay," she said, "let's get your stuff and get the fuck outta here. We're gonna pick up some food on the way out!"

Quickly, they went through the stuff that was hoarded in the room. Guns, knives, equipment...Terry had really bunkered everything that could render a threat to him. Luckily, all the weaponry was displayed on the office's desks, including Brooke's swords and her silenced gun plus ammunition.

Brooke was just about to reach out for her belongings as the clicking sound of a cocking gun chimed from behind, which let both women freeze on the spot.

"Don't move! Drop the pack!"

It was Terry, who had just caught them.

"Terry, we just wanna get her stuff and leave," spoke Steph calmly over her shoulder, after she had let her backpack slide to the ground.

"Oh, I dunno, dike. It looks to me like you broke into my office and tried to steal our means to defend ourselves."

"If you have a key, it's practically not breakin' in, dumbass. Besides, you stole my stuff from me first, so I've got the right to get it back."

Being offended by Brooke's snarky comment once more, Terry aimed directly at her, hissing "Just keep goin', slut, and I'll teach ya a lesson on how to treat an authority with respect!"

"Terry…" Steph eventually sighed, turning around and facing the security guard with an agitated frown. "Why're you doin' this bullshit? We're as good as gone and then you're finally in charge. Then you can do whateverthefuck you want. Just give Brooke her stuff and…"

"Shut up!" he yelled back, now pointing at Steph. "You really think that I'm gonna take the risk of you, comin' back with your new friends and taking over the joint?"

Though he wasn't the brightest pea in the pot, Terry had an argument of not letting Brooke and Steph go, albeit that they never planned on doing that.

"And what now?" asked Brooke eventually, crossing her arms. "You wanna imprison us forever?"

The Asian girl didn't know what was more eerie, the madness in his eyes or that crazy chuckle that was leaving his mouth, but as the grip around his gun tightened and his finger squeezed the trigger more and more, she knew that things were about to get ugly.

"Well, you two bitches tried to steal, I caught you and then you stupidly tried to attack me. Sadly, I had no other choice but to shoot you."

Having the muzzle still pointed at Steph, the brunette would be the first victim, and the hell Brooke would let another friend die. So, she made the decision to act immediately. Surprisingly, Terry was faster than anticipated and had switched the target before the teenager had even taken one step towards him.

The shot was deafening and simply the reason that this asshole had the atrocity to shoot, let Brooke petrify in shock. Yet, there was no pain or any other sign that someone got hit. And indeed, the bullet had missed the Asian girl by only a few inches, yet not because Terry was a terrible shooter, but because he fainted after someone had struck him with a baseball bat over his head.

"Sean!" Steph suddenly gasped, taking the attacker who had saved them into a tight hug. The boy, probably not older than 14 years, had a Hispanic look and seemed to be pretty sportive. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I, uh...I overheard that you wanna leave and...uh, I-I followed you and…"

"That was just stupid!" exclaimed the brunette woman to everyone's surprise and broke the embrace, only to reinitiate it a moment later. "But thanks anyway."

Brooke watched them both, already feeling a bit grumpy that, once more, her life had to be saved. Was she nothing more than a damsel in distress? A burden to everyone?

'Yeah, Brooke. Just give in and die!' it echoed in her mind, followed by a sting in her head. "Shut up!" she hissed quietly through her gritted teeth, feeling the need to freak out. But that didn't happen as she realized that Terry was starting to squirm and groan as he was about to regain consciousness. And one thing was for sure: he would not be pleased.

"Uh, guys," she eventually said, "we should hurry and get the fuck outta here. 'Cause I don't wanna be around this fuckhead when he wakes up."

Quickly, they grabbed what they needed and hurried back through the corridor, as far from Terry away as possible and hopefully out of the mall without another incident. But this was just wishful thinking, evident as another shot echoed through the building, and this time, Brooke felt the burning pain. With a loud groan she stumbled over her limp right leg and hit the floor hard.

Not wasting a second, Steph grabbed the injured girl by the collar of her top and dragged her out of the corridor and right around the corner, where Sean had also taken cover.

"Come here, you fucking bitches!" yelled Terry, shooting another bunch of rounds, which flew past their destined targets into the mall, where people were already screaming and running around in panic like headless chicken. But one slight detail drove the chaos into perfection: the countless loud screams of Screamers from outside.

"Shit!" hissed Steph. "This idiot is luring them right to us."

Then the loud banging against the metal shutters chimed into the unnerving mix as well.

"You need to leave...now!" said Brooke, drawing her pistol. "I'll keep him busy."

But that wasn't okay with Steph as she pulled her friend on her feet, causing the Asian girl some intense pain. "The hell I'll leave you behind!"

Just seeing this adamant glare in Steph's eyes, Brooke eventually nodded in agreement. Nonetheless she sent some shots down the corridor in order to keep Terry at bay and then made a run for the next possible exit, Steph leading the way, giving her support. In addition, the radio came to life and Frank's voice sounded.

"Frank to Brooke. What the hell is goin' on in there?! We heard shots and now the freaks are going crazy."

Another barrage of shots got fired, impacting into a close-by shop window and letting it burst. Suddenly, Brooke slipped from Steph's hold and fell to the ground, but this time it was planned as the raven-haired girl turned on the slippery floor, aimed and released three silenced shots. Two bullets missed, but the third eventually penetrated its target's hip.

Terry fell with a loud cry. And like it had been a signal, the shutters busted open and countless Screamers flooded into the mall. Under normal circumstances, the gates wouldn't have given in, if it hadn't been for a giant Screamer, which was twice as high and broad like a normal human being.

People cried and ran away in panic as the monstrous creatures closed in on them. Steph had known most of them and now she had to witness how they would get hunted and eventually killed. With watery eyes she picked up Brooke again and helped her fleeing towards the backroom of a candy shop, where they hid and paused for a moment.

"Brooke?! You still there?" it chimed from the walkie-talkie and this time, Brooke took the call.

"Yeah, I'm still here. The mall got overrun. We're hiding in the back of a candy shop."

"Then get the freakin' fuck out! It's getting pretty crowded out here. Is there an exit or something else?"

Out of nowhere, Brooke's sight began to blur. She heard distant voices in the darkness. Voices that wanted to lure her away from life, promising eternal peace. They called her name over and over again.

'Brooke! Come to us! Brooke...Brooke...Brooke!'

"Brooke!"

A hard smack hit her face, clearing the young girl's gaze. Over her was Steph, looking at her with concern.

"You're bleeding like hell and already fainted. I bandaged your leg as best as I could, but you need help."

"Kate…" she returned, her eyes getting heavy once more. "She...she can help."

"Brooke, come in!"

This time, Steph took the radio.

"This is Steph Gingrich, I'm a friend. Listen, Brooke got shot and needs help."

After a while, her call got answered, but this time by a soft, female voice.

"How bad is it? Where did she get hit?"

"Are you a doctor?"

"Did some social hours in a hospital. It's the closest we have to a doctor."

"Her right leg. It's bleeding badly though I already bandaged it. Her trousers are totally soaked."

"It's possible that the artery got injured. We need to treat her as soon as possible."

"I know a way out through the loading bay, but to get there, we need to walk to the other end of the mall. If we could climb through the vents it wouldn't be a problem, but Brooke's in no condition to do that. Not without getting her killed."

"Can you move her?"

"We have to."

Once more, the voice on the radio switched. It was Frank again.

"Listen, we'll launch a distraction. Just wait for the signal and then wait until the path is clear. Just get to the loading bay, we'll be there."

"What's the signal?" Steph asked with a frown and not a second later a vast explosion shook the ground, which painted a weak smile on Brooke's face.

"There's the signal."

What followed was a cacophony of screams and stomping sounds, like a stampede was passing through the mall. Sean listened at the door while Steph stayed with Brooke. Several minutes passed until it was quiet again and the Hispanic boy whispered "I think we're clear."

"Alright," replied Steph, petting softly the injured girl's shoulder. "Brooke, we need to go."

Confirming it with a nod, the Asian teenager took a few deep inhales, before she got pulled up on her feet with a groan.

"Here, take this. Just in case," she said, handing Steph her pistol, who took it in her unoccupied hand.

After she signed Sean with a nod that they were ready, the young boy slowly opened the door. The mall was a mess. Furniture, glass, decorations, dead people or their body parts and blood were scattered around everywhere. Luckily, there seemed to be no Screamers.

Reaching Sean the Wakizashi as a weapon, the young boy took point while the two women followed.

"Loading Bay 7, going silent now," spoke Steph one last time into the walkie-talkie before switching it off and clipping it onto the hem of her jeans before drawing the pistol again.

Cautiously, the three survivors made their way through the entirely devastated shopping center, heading straight for the supermarket. So far, nobody could be seen. Neither Screamers nor survivors. And it was all Terry's fault, which made Steph furious again and let her hope that this motherfucker had finally got what he deserved!

They finally had reached the market, walking along the endless-seeming rows of foods and merchs. With a sting in her heart, Steph remembered that Brooke's group still needed food, and here they had so much that it would last for years.

"Sean!" she eventually whispered loudly as she had made a decision. "Grab one of those carts over there and fill it with some cans."

Not disagreeing, he took one of the shopping carts and headed towards the section with the canned food while Steph took an empty cart as well and loaded it with water and anything else she found useful while Brooke used it to hold herself on her feet. Eventually, it was filled to the brim and they wanted to continue their way, but somehow Sean hadn't returned.

"Sean?" whisper-yelled the brunette, pistol ready. But she received no answer which induced her to walk along the shelves. "Sean, where the fuck are you? We need to go."

"You're not going anywhere, bitch!" chimed Terry's voice through the store surprisingly, capturing Steph off guard.

"Shit!" she hissed panicky, taking a few steps back towards her cart's direction. "Sean!" she screamed again, once more without an answer. "Fuck, Sean, we need to go!"

An eerie chuckle sounded and a second later, Terry emerged from between the shelves, gun pointed at Sean, who he was holding hostage by using him as a human shield.

"Are you lookin' for this li'l shit?"

Sean hung pretty much limp in his arms, his face showing some signs that he had been beaten. Yet, Terry looked even worse. Pale and sweaty, his hands shaking, yet the even stronger madness in his eyes showed that he was still dangerous and far away from giving up. So, the only thing that came into Steph's mind was to play on time and hope that at a certain point he would just faint.

"C'mon Terry, let him go! He's just a kid."

"This li'l Latino-rat beat me with a fucking bat!"

"He was scared and just acted out of desperation."

"Pah, bullshit!" Terry blurted back, tightening his grip. "You wanna know what I think? I think he just hoped that if he'd saved you, he could score. But tell ya what…" He then leaned closer, hissing in Sean's ear. "...she's a dike. She doesn't like dicks."

"I already knew that, culo!" groaned the young boy, desperately trying to free himself, but to no avail.

"Then you're just an idiot."

"Why are you doing this, Terry?" Steph eventually threw in, wanting to regain the mad man's attention back. "The mall has been overrun, there's nothing to fight for anymore."

"Well," he answered with an insane chuckle, aiming his gun right at his opponent while his finger squeezed the trigger, "you're right. But honestly, all I want is to fuck you. To fuck your dike cunt until you cry my name. And then, I'll fuck this fucking piece of China shit-"

A shadow moved behind him and not a second later a blade pierced right through his neck, silencing him, though it was doubtful that his shock would've allowed him to scream anyway.

"I'm Japanese, fuckhead!" whispered Brooke into his ear, before removing the sword and letting Terry's blood flow out of the wounds. He went down, holding his neck and gurgling as his life-juice flowed into his lungs, letting him slowly suffocate.

Sean stumbled forward, right into Steph's arms while Brooke watched mercilessly on shaky legs, how Terry squirmed on the ground, fighting desperately for his life. Then, something caught her attention. Something that let the blood in her veins freeze. The young girl wanted to ram the Katana into the dying man's skull, but before she could do so, he screamed inhumanly and flailed out, swiping Brooke off her feet. She hit one of the shelves with her head, which knocked her out cold.

A bite. A simple bite on his leg was everything that had accelerated the former security guard's death and was turning him into a Screamer. Right away, more of its kind answered the call. But before the creature could become a threat, Steph emptied the entire magazine of the silenced pistol into its head, killing it for good. Yet, the danger wasn't over. They got merely minutes before more would appear.

"Forget the second cart. Take the food, I'll carry her!" said Steph to Sean and then picked up the unconscious girl and balanced her on her shoulders by mustering all her strength. And right after Sean had picked up the weapons and put them into the cart, he followed Steph towards the loading area.

"Gate 7," she spoke into the radio and a moment later it knocked at the gate. Luckily, there was still power, so that they could use the opener. Right away, she was greeted by two persons, who aimed with two silenced AR-15 at her, but lowered them right away as they realized that she was unarmed and Brooke was hanging limp in her arms.

One of those persons was a slight chubby girl with partially dyed hair, the other one was a petite girl with long blond hair, bound into a bun. She was also the one, who immediately dashed forward and did a first check on her already very pale friend.

"Are you Kate?" asked Steph, getting just a nod in response, since she was busier assessing Brooke's condition.

"We need to get her outta here and treat her wounds as soon as possible!" she said and helped to carry her to an at the bay parked Pick-up truck, while Alyssa helped Sean with the cart.

"C'mon, let's move your asses! We're about to have some uncomfortable company," yelled a man from the driver's seat, and as soon as everyone was aboard, he punched the gas.

"Incoming!" yelled Alyssa and released a few single shots at the pursuing Screamers. Seeing that Kate was already busy treating Brooke, Steph took her rifle and joined in defending the vehicle.

One Screamer jumped from a building right on the truck's roof, but Steph gave him two quick headshots before he could do any damage. Another one sank its claws into the side of the chassis, but got its hand chopped off by Sean with the Wakizashi.

But their problems got even bigger...literally, as the ground began to shake and a giant creature stormed right at them. It was a Behemoth of a Screamer, like the one that had destroyed the mall's gates. And it was ramming everything aside like a juggernaut.

"What the freakin' fuck is that?" asked Alyssa with wide open eyes at no one in particular, and Steph answered.

"I didn't know that there were variations, but as sure as hell we should kill it before it kills us."

"Preach it, sista!" answered the chubby girl and emptied the rest of her magazine into this giant as well as Steph, though it didn't stop it in the slightest.

"Hold on!" yelled Frank and made a fast ninety-degree turn at a crossroad. As anticipated, the juggernaut's velocity was way too high to change its direction that fast, so that it kept on going until it crashed into a building, bringing the entire wall to collapse.

Now hoping that they got rid of their pursuers, Steph lowered her nonetheless empty gun and shifted her sight to Brooke, who already had some new bandages around her head and leg.

"How's she doing?" she asked, only receiving a head shake and an answer that she didn't like at all.

"Not good. Her pulse is weak and she lost and still loses a lot of blood. I don't even know if I can even help. Let's just pray to the Lord that she's strong enough."

No, this wasn't a satisfying answer at all and in the end everything Steph could do right now was to pray.