【31 - Withstanding a Horde at the Mall! A Chosen Faces Her Next Trial?】


The inside of the mall was dark. Three pairs of footsteps echoed across white granite tiles. While they could imagine how magnanimous the megamall would've looked in its heyday, what with its pillars and gleaming glass shop-fronts, now it was smeared with dirt. There were piles of mud, one led to a looping path that'd come from a shopping trolley now crashed through the glass of an old jewelers. They walked past stationary escalators, touch-screen directories that no longer worked, toward a main corridor. There was a small plant enclosure that now had vines snaking out and wrapping around plastic chairs at a café stand. A fountain was in view, no longer flowing and smelt of algae. They looked up to see three levels with glass barriers.

"This place really is like its own habitat…" Heidi commented.

"It makes me uneasy," Amira said.

"We should press on. I know a lot of people gather around by the main food court." Diego led them deeper inside. The girls kept looking behind them to see if that trio of freaks, or anyone else, was following them.

It got significantly darker. The roof had long glass arches built into it but they were smeared with grime. Other indoor plants had grown way tall, up past all the levels and to the roof. They started to see people about, hunkering figures in groups or prowling. They were dressed in the ragged and stitched-up clothing of this city, but here they seemed filthier. The teens took a few turns, the ground dirty with the odd plastic rubbish, and in ten minutes they found the center of drug activity. The girls pursed their lips. All the tables and chairs had been removed from the circular food court, instead there was a sea of sleeping bags and blankets. Here a crowd of people gathered to inject themselves and roll around while sweating and hallucinating for several hours. The more alert ones were sitting upright, twitching or mumbling incessantly. It was a sad sight.

A man with a goatee stepped over, hands in the pockets of an army jacket "Looking to buy a hit, kids?"

"Uh, no thanks" Diego replied.

"You looking for somebody?"

"Trying to avoid people, more like it."

The man didn't seem to hear him, he was fingering his ear "Well whoever you're looking for is likely to pick themselves up and drag themselves home come morning."

Heidi was looking around them when she spotted a fat woman on a motorized scooter. She had an angry look on her face as she whirred over to them.

"Jason, they buying?" the woman snapped.

"Oh hey. This is Doris, she's in charge here."

"You're not with the gangs, are you?"

"No Ma'am." Diego tried raising his hands under her piercing stare. "We're not looking to bother anyone."

She also seemed hard of hearing "we don't take kindly to gang members looking for the people who owe them money here. Bad for business. But we got our own mall security." At the edges of the room were men with baseball bats, now staring over.

"If you'd just let us stay until nightfall, we need a couple hours rest."

"This aint a show-and-tell kid, you pay or you leave." At that Doris wheeled around on her scooter and whirred off. Jason followed her while still working that dirty finger into his ear.

"Those guys look intimidating, we should go" Amira stated.

"I suppose with three of us together we attracted too much attention. If we'd come in one at a time they wouldn't have noticed."

"We can find somewhere else to lay low." Heidi stared at a woman turning herself over, head lolling "Someplace that isn't like… here."

The three left and began wandering the megamall. Diego told them the gangs had very little presence here, this area was a chaos all unto itself. Instead of the triads there were a plethora of mini-gangs identified by where they squatted. The Fresher grocery gang, the department store drop-kicks, the cinema complex sleazes… this indoor world was much more convincing as a post-apocalyptic civilization. They'd started peeking into a long electronics store. All shelves were empty but the faded posters on the walls advertised video-games that were by now retro-old. A shadow stepped out the back and startled Amira, she stepped back and the three of them turned.

"What are you lot doin' in here?" came a mean voice.

"Sorry, we thought it was empty-"

"Empty? Hear that lads? They thought we was empty!" More shadows joined the man. The three teens started backing up.

"We don't want any trouble… we'll just go-"

"Thought you could keep stealing from us, aye? Gotta be from that corner newsagents. You guys spend every waking moment high, used up every magazine and birthday card rolling up smokes. Well this time we caught ya." The figures were now holding up clubbing implements.

"Run!" Diego yelled and the three turned tail and left.

Shouts and heavy foot-thuds followed them out. Amira was panting as the adrenaline took over. She raced up a stationary escalator and flung herself over the barrier and around. She ran through a group of people passed out on the walkway. She turned into a public toilets corridor and ran to a baby-changing station but it was already locked. She tugged and then pushed off, continuing around a corner and then sprinting into a shoe shop. Amira ran through tall shelves before disappearing down one of them, hunching over with hands on knees and trying to catch her breath. She couldn't hear anyone pursuing her, just the pounding of her own heartbeat. She'd also been separated from Heidi and Diego. After regaining her stamina and courage, Amira snuck out the empty store on careful feet. 'Happy Steps', it was called. Upon glimpsing a map she jogged over and tried to memorize the building's lay-out. It was faded even beneath its plastic covering.

"This place is enormous…" Amira looked around like she'd been overheard but it still seemed like no one was nearby.

She'd had enough of the running for one day, she was exhausted. After crawling down that laundry chute, losing a duel to Magris and almost getting killed, having bullets and a bazooka shot after her, getting in a car chase and attacked by three deformed freaks… she'd had more than enough drama for one day. Without even thoughts of reuniting with the other two, Amira's only concern was finding a nice hidden spot to get some sleep. She scanned the map and found a big sports store nearby. It'd been a chain retailer in its day, it would have a high-up ceiling and bulky shelves. She could climb up where it'd be safe for her to sleep without being found. After making sure she'd memorized the route, Amira set off. Her black hood was up and she made sure to stick to walls and shadows, looking both ways before darting across the main corridors.

There were some squatters in the store, but they were sitting on the ground in groups without looking up. The place was big so Amira walked in between inoperable theft-detectors. She went straight to the towering shelves, creeping deeper inside before looking around and then testing a shelf with her weight. The metal was thin but sturdy, she started to climb. When she was three-quarters the way to the ceiling and sure nobody could spot her easily, she crawled into a few feet of space. She lay flat for a minute and considered her position. Then she struggled to remove her jumper and once again used it for a pillow. She would've liked a blanket but would have to make do. Amira felt relatively safe and soon enough she went right to sleep.

It was darker when Amira opened her eyes. There was distant murmuring carried to her from the sports store's inhabitants. She had some stiffness but no more than she was used to from sleeping in odd places. Amira wondered about Heidi and Diego, whether they'd been captured or if they were out looking for her. If they were smart they'd left for Mr Barrow's shop on foot after they were certain those three freaks were no longer following them. It was possible that electronics-store mob had beaten them into pulp, but Amira didn't want to think about that.

It wasn't impossible to survive on your own in this city. You can sleep where you want and go where you like, so long as you're smart about it. If you had absolutely no money, food could be stolen, which was a lot easier to do if you had Amira's ability to camouflage in the darkness. She also reckoned she was an expert at climbing and stealth by now. That was a necessity, as this city was even more dangerous since the gangsters were keeping a look out for her. Magris remained ever-hungry for his retribution. Even so Amira had managed. She could find her way back to the shop, even if it took her three days. She preferred to be alone anyway.

Amira craned her neck and peered around. She did some small stretches in the narrow space, as one must always be prepared to suddenly run if necessary. Then she swung herself out and climbed down. She dropped to her feet. She threw her jumper on and pulled up the hood before slinking out in a stoop. On her way out she passed a group of drugged-up unconscious people, sitting and leaning against the wall. A single cold throb from her deck let her know one was dead from an overdose, nobody else had noticed yet.

Amira crossed a walkway that was several meters wide. In its middle were long wooden seats and overflowing trash bins. There was a leather seat further along chewed up and infested with rats, one of them scurried over to the smoothie bar. She decided to look for an exit, tried remembering that map from yesterday and whether she could spot any of the larger clothing stores. Those places were too big to be owned by one group of people, but housed several squatters in corners that used empty shelves to build protective forts. When Amira turned the corner and saw a group of staggering men she quickly slid under the counter of a coffee stand and hid. She was bent awkwardly but waited until their faltering steps got further away. Then she heard someone, her head snapping toward the entry to an atrium.

"Pssst!" An older, dark-skinned man was waving her over. Another fellow was with him, he had a stupid haircut and bulbous eyes. Their expressions were fearful.

Amira looked at them, then peered out. When safe she jogged over, cut across the corner of a knick-knack store and slid on her knees to where they were hiding.

"That was close," the old man was saying "they almost saw you."

"Who were they?"

"Zombies." He had a crazy-eyed stare. His left one being lazy didn't help, gazing off over Amira's shoulder.

"I'm sorry?"

"Mall zombies, girl!"

"Zombies aren't real…"

"These ones are," the other guy was sweating profusely, he nodded and his bulbous eyes popped wider.

"Um…"

"It's almost feeding time. Almost time we barricaded for the daily horde. You're lucky we saw you, better come with us." They crawled off and scurried away. Amira took a moment to decide whether she really wanted to accommodate these people but then she followed. They took her to another food court, scampering over to a doughnut stand. Around it all the plastic chairs had been stacked up so their metal legs stuck outward. There were another half-dozen people waving them over and they all looked dirty and crazy. The dark-skinned man stopped and turned, Amira became transfixed by that wandering lazy eye "Welcome… to the second floor food court…" he said in a voice that was completely serious. "We're the doughnut shop gang."

"I see."

"Yerr just a bunch of drugged-up space-heads!" someone called from across the room.

"Yall mind your business, no good hotdog sniffers!" the man yelled back. A pair of men by the rival hotdog stand made some crude gestures. The hobos behind an adjacent salad bar joined in, someone threw a moldy hotdog.

The sweaty guy asked Amira her name and everyone introduced themselves.

"Why is everyone here hiding in the food places?"

"Because the zombie horde will be here any minute!" the dark-skinned man whipped around with a crazy stare.

"Can you please explain what makes them zombies?"

"They come from the main food court downstairs," a scabbed woman touched Amira with a limp wrist "That drug den where everyone gets high on spark rocks and rolls around on the blankets. Well after they wake up… they get hungry…"

"You're kidding."

"Ya see they get reduced to an animal state," their kooky leader had his hands out like he was explaining a conspiracy theory "All they can think of is food… and so they all come here in a horde… but we aint got no food no more! Just canned rations. This is our sanctuary… but every night we got to prepare ourselves for the zombies!"

Amira went to stand when the woman grabbed and pulled her back down "where are you going!?"

"If that place is nearby then I know where I am, I have to get out of the mall." Amira pictured that fat woman on the motorized scooter and the big crowd of drug-takers slowly thrashing about on sleeping bags.

"Leave the mall…? Out…side…?" the woman blinked.

"I'm afraid you can't go now… they've already started their hunt for food… the zombies will be here soon…" As the dark-skinned man remained serious, the woman clutched her mouth in terror and the sweaty guy started dripping. Amira just stared at them. Coming here had been a mistake after all.

Out at the storefronts the hurling of insults had only increased into a grotty crescendo. Seemed like everyone liked to call everyone else no-good drug addicts when in fact everyone here took drugs and were equally poor. To Amira it made no sense whatsoever. She peeked over and saw one guy standing on the counter of a burger shop, pulling his pants down to moon everyone in the atrium. Amira ducked back and cringed.

"That bastard Gerome must've been saving that moldy hotdog until now. Just wait til we get that fat fryer goin' again."

The woman continued to act unnecessarily terrified by whatever was said, like a bad actress only it was genuine. The bulb-eyed guy had sweated a puddle on the floor. Suddenly a lady at the Asian take-away stood up to scream "zombieeees!"

"And so it begins…" their leader murmured.

Outside the staggering crowd began to make their way into the atrium. They were pale, partially-high and groaning. For all intents and purposes… they looked like a horde of zombies from a cheesy movie. The "zombies" began heading to counters, drawn in by the colorful menus on display and started pawing at empty glass-fronts. A group in a fast-food chain were getting particularly swarmed, they poked zombies back with the end of a broom. Someone from a competitor shop laughed at them but started screaming when a few broke off from the attack and crawled into his shop. Across the room one of the mall zombies tripped and fell over. The stacked chairs surrounding them started to jostle.

The woman had her hands clasped "This is terrifying!"

Amira stood up again "This is ridiculous. I'm going."

"Don't be a hero!" someone yelled.

"I-if you're really going out there… take this." The woman gave a teary smile and pulled a moldy doughnut from a corner cupboard.

"Terese!" the others called in shock and disbelief.

"Take it!" the woman insisted with tears running down her face.

"I don't want your fucking moldy doughnut," Amira snapped back. She could see the vacant 'zombies' groaning as they tried to get through the stack of chairs.

"It's your only hope… use it as a distraction, they'll go for the food and you might get out unharmed…"

Amira stared at the sad bunch before jumping up onto the counter. When a zombie reached for her she kicked him in the face and he fell over. Amira hopped down and picked up a chair from the stack, aiming the legs away from her. She started wading between the zombies and into the atrium's centre. They all staggered slowly in different directions. Mostly they ignored her, but if one came close she could poke it back with the chair until they fell over and took another with them. Amira side-stepped around people with the defensive chair, carefully making her way through the zombie horde until finally getting back to the corridor. She threw the chair in disgust and started walking.

After spying the escalators she began running her home-stretch. She needed to get out of this crummy place. But after stepping down she heard a noise and turned. It was one of the freaks. The bald one with the hoop piercings, flipping down from the third level, running down the escalator railing with perfect balance, jumping into a flip where he landed a few metres in front of her. The freaks followed us inside and were hunting us down the entire time?

"Found you," the contortionist spoke with his blank stare.

"What are you guys, circus performers?" Amira yelled to hide her fear.

"That's exactly what we are. Members of lieutenant Genjin's Cirque of Freaks…" he gave a low bow with this twisty body.

"You work for a lieutenant… that means…"

As he straightened his hand ignited with green energy "yes, we are also Kaijudo duelists."

"Then there's no getting around it… Kettou da!" Amira's hand was engulfed in cloudy purple.

The man accepted and their tables appeared. He was wearing a black top under suspenders. After they both set mana Amira summoned on her second turn.

"Vorg, Ogre Puppet!" The slayer toy swung its electric mace and giggled.

Her opponent set nature mana and passed the turn once more.

"Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness!" The multi-hued chest opened, shadowy wings and arms clawing out. "You're not going to defeat this darkness rush! Vorg, ike!" Glass flew and the impact echoed, her purple toy jumped back to her zone afterwards.

The contortionist drew and showed her a nature spell "Dance of the Sproutlings. I choose a race and add them to my mana. I pick Earth Dragon and add three cards to my mana. Then I cast Siren Concerto to swap an Earth Dragon with a different card in my hand." Blue light from the water spell accommodated his green. Woodland creatures held hands and moved in circles while floating amphibians played instruments. After arranging his cards he ended his turn.

Amira charged and got right to it "Vorg, attack again!" That electric mace swung and splintered glass, the acrobatic man dodged several pieces that flung his way.

"No trigger."

"Now Zamaru, take out his third shield!" Amira pointed. Her caramel hair fluttered as her creature took flight, the treasure chest released a volley of lightning that reduced another shield into tiny crystals.

"I activate Emergency Typhoon!" A water cyclone whipped up and he drew two before discarding one. From surrounding shopfronts curious bystanders peered out from gloomy interiors. They watched, some of them were high and slow-blinked at the action. "I summon Titanium Cluster and Scout Cluster!" Two mechanical blockers on 4000 entered play. "I believe this will stall your rush…"

"Titanium Cluster can't be attacked…" Amira murmured in frustration, eyes on the gleaming silver one. She drew and started "I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and sacrifice her so you randomly discard!" the white-haired doll appeared, giggling as she held her scalpel blade. However something odd happened – a card in the contortionist's hand flashed purple before a green glow overtook it.

"The card that was chosen is Terradragon Arque Delacerna. If it would be discarded it gets summoned instead." A plant-dragon on 6000 reared up, towering past the second level while its vines coiled like tentacles.

"Shit…" Good for Amira to see her bad luck was still going, not. She continued "Vorg ike!"

"Scout Cluster blocks." Ripples of light joined the leaping creatures. Vorg had its socket-limbs pulled out but smashed the glass dome of the cluster. Both died.

"Zamaru ike!"

"Titanium Cluster blocks." That steel contraption gunned down her treasure chest, it fell into its target and both exploded. "This time you're the one without any creatures and it's time for my counter-attack." The contortionist drew while Amira stared anxiously at his dragon. "I summon Terradragon Dakma Balgarow," The second huge dragon was a deep jade green with tusks, joining the huge one beside it "It gets 2000 power for each shield in play, so as of now it's a 15,000 triple-breaker."

Amira's eyes widened, her neck craned to the roof. Stronger than Pluto, she wasn't ready for this.

"But the show must go on," the contortionist sighed "Arque Delacerna break two shields!" Vines whipped into a frenzy and a leafy claw shattered two of her panels. Amira grunted and crouched down by her table. No triggers, once the monster backed off she added them to her hand and straightened.

"I summon Sealed Devil Ronovel. I graveyard-evolution Death March, Reaper Puppeteer." Her crab monster and blue-hooded swordsmen entered the zone. Both were blockers. "Death March weakens the creatures it battles by 4000… but his terradragons are just too strong…" She raised her voice to announce "turn end."

"I summon Terradragon Cusdalf. It has 13,000 power while attacking." It was a yellow serpent-dragon with no wings. The contortionist kept summoning beat-stick after beat-stick and Amira felt herself cowering back. If she was to be strong enough to stop the people pursuing her she needed to step up now… but this was overwhelming her. "Dakma Balgarow ike!" The jade dragon on the left was on 11,000. Its swishing tail shattered a shop-front before its jaws dived for Amira's table.

"Ronovel blocks!" Purple light lit up and her trusty crustacean took the brunt of an attack once more.

"Arque Delacerna ike!"

"Death March blocks!" Even when reduced to 2000 power the plant-dragon still won, whipping vines that flung the blue puppet-master high into the air. Another two cards landed in Amira's graveyard and she was without creatures once more.

"Turn end… and next turn I'll have three earth dragons to attack you. Three double-breakers!"

Amira had two cards in her hand, she decided to play them both instead of adding mana "Sealed Devil Samijal." The purple-lumped blocker emerged. "I graveyard-evolution Dorgedos, the Reaper Drake!" Her white lizard trudged forth, fanning those purple blades. Amira breathlessly ordered "I break your fourth shield, ike!" Purple laser-points fired into a panel that reformed into another trigger.

"Roar of the Earth lets me bring yet another Earth Dragon from my mana zone to my hand. I take another Dakma Balgarow. It's over, chosen duelist." He started his turn, those ferocious dragons un-tapping and ready for the next onslaught. "Cusdalf attacks Dorgedos, ike!" Amira watched her Reaper Drake get flattened by Cusdalf's yellow underside. "Dakma Balgarow double-break, ike!"

"Samijal block!" Another loyal creature heroically took the hit in her stead, the grand devil was reduced to shreds against those tusks and jaws.

"Arque Delacerna double-break, ike!" Nothing could stop that leafy claw swiping another two shields clear and knocking Amira to her knees. Fortunately this time she had a trigger.

"Death Hands Misfortune Emperor insta-kills Dakma Balgarow!" Her red-caped dark lord had to jump high and run up its body, but that scythe cleaved the dragon's neck. "My turn, and here's the comeback!" Amira was still kneeling by her table as she drew "I evolve Death Hands into Killer the Kill, Demon Dragon King! I insta-kill Arque Delacerna and then attack Cusdalf! That's all three of your terradragons gone!" As Amira yelled she watched her opponent's blank eyes widen. Her jagged darkness dragon leapt to its nature dragon foes. Razor-claws tore through blood and plant-matter. The battle was so intense that glass barriers smashed overhead, pieces of walkway tumbled down. Three dragons battled inside the mall but when the clash was done Amira's 12,000 demon dragon remained. It skulked back to her side and she stood.

The contortionist drew "I cast Vine Charger to send Killer the Kill to your mana zone. Turn end."

Amira looked up as thin vines whipped out and snagged her dragon. It roared as it was pulled down, finally vanishing into green light and becoming mana. Both players had no creatures and one shield each, and the game continued…

"I summon Sealed Devil Beelzebub and end." The mutant fly deity descended into play, wings buzzing.

"I summon Terradragon Dakma Balgarow," his jade green dragon reappeared but now it was only on 5000.

"I summon another Sealed Devil Ronovel. I evolve it with Beelzebub into Asteroid Gellum, Dark Comet!" Her crustacean fused with the fly-mutant under the light of evolution, revealing her second phoenix. It swiveled its pointed head, aiming those skull-cannon arms leaking green light. On 9000 it was the strongest creature in play, but more importantly "I insta-kill Dakma Balgarow with its effect and now attack your final shield, ike!" The contortionist bent right back after the assault, propping himself up with an arm as glass flew over. He didn't get a trigger and Amira's confidence began to return.

"I cast Cloned Spiral to return your phoenix to your hand!" he revealed the water spell. "Then I summon Scout Cluster and end." Water beings latched onto Gellum, a flurry of bubbles bounced it out of play. Amira caught three cards and saw that 4000 blocker scuttle forth once more.

"Alright, I re-summon Sealed Devil Beelzebub and graveyard-evolution Death March, Reaper Puppeteer. Ike todomeda!"

"Block!"

"My puppeteer wins the battle by giving Scout Cluster -4000 power!" A sword-slash split the dome-head of his defender and Amira's creature walked back unharmed. "Your move."

"I'm not out yet, chosen! I cast a second Cloned Spiral meaning this time I bounce both those creatures to your hand!" A bigger flurry of bubbles swarmed this time, popping comically against Amira's arms and face. "I summon Battery Cluster and end!" A mechanical eel slithered forth and hissed, its mouth was a fiery missile-launcher.

"Your blockers mean nothing. I re-evolve Death March, summon Sealed Devil Ravaal the Reaper, and with one cost reduced I can bring out Asteroid Gellum once more, insta-killing Battery Cluster and meaning you now have nothing to save you from your fate!" Her creatures swarmed and fused, everything played out as Amira said. Green acid burnt away his robotic eel and then the contortionist stood against Amira's 9000 phoenix once more.

"I see… the future cards are troublesome after all… my terradragons came close but it wasn't enough" those blank eyes narrowed "Tell me, chosen, if you had any idea what my bosses have planned for this miserable city would you actually think any of us were getting out of here alive?"

"Dodge this you bendy fuck, todomeda."

Green lasers charged up in those twin skulls. Gellum's expression remained pensive even as it fired, acid pelted the contortionist and his torso was separated from his legs. Blood splattered the tiles and his empty face looked up as half of it melted down.

Amira sighed in relief then quickly packed her cards. His comrades could've overheard the duel and she wanted to find her way out of here before anyone else tried to stop her.


AN: Zombies? Dayam! *insert Scary Movie Four reference* For those of you who don't know I dabble in artistry. I mean to say I have a DeviantArt account where I draw my characters and the characters of other writers in the fandom. I use Paint XP program on the computer and my username is the same, Zoicite23. Give my stuff a look, desu ne? Thanks to Azure and Shuriken for reviewing, and alas could it be that Acuma has not yet read my arc mid-point chapter? You're slipping, buddy! Nah it's all g though.