Here's chapter five! I'm trying my best to get chapters out every week or two from now on, but no promises. Anyway, enjoy reading this chapter!
CHAPTER FIVE - A NEW THREAT
A singular lit lantern was set on top of a desk.
The room was almost completely in brown.
There was an entire connected radio set-up.
There was a hanged picture. It was painted, and had a cat with a suit on.
The door to the room was wooden and dark.
In front of the wooden wide desk was a chair.
The chair was colored an olive green.
A man sat in the chair. Writing.
It was a log book.
The man sighed.
The man wore a gray camo outfit and had blue hair. His skin was mixed and he had some facial hair.
The man also had a snake tattoo on the right side of his face. He had a tic-tac-toe tattoo on the right side of his forehead.
He had an ear lobe piercing and brown shoes with the word "VIPER" tattooed on his arm.
The radio chimed.
The man turned his head towards the radio.
The man put down his writing utensil and picked up the radio.
He answered.
"Viper." The man said.
Two seconds passed by before a voice responded.
"Hey, Vinny, this is Mavys. I wanted to update you on that mission." Mavys said.
Viper held the radio close to his face.
"Alright, go on, i'm listening." Vinny said.
Vinny kept on listening, waiting for a voice to reply.
Five seconds of silence...
"Mavys?" Vinny asked.
A voice replied.
"The stadium's gone." Mavys said.
Vinny stared.
"It was reported that some of the kids were rescued...but the most important ones got away." Mavys continued.
Vinny took in every word.
"Did you guys find out what happened to the stadium? Was it that group we're after?" Vinny asked.
Mavys answered.
"It was a crank horde. They got passed the walls. I don't know how, but I guess someone missed their shift." Mavys said.
"Did you send out anyone to find them?" Vinny asked.
"We did, but we haven't heard back from them yet. We sent squads to check out that abandoned apartment complex nearby and the abandoned mall. No response yet from them either." Mavys answered.
"I'm on my own mission right now, but if you ever need help, let me know, i'm willing to." Vinny said.
"You know...were close to finding the defectors." Mavys said.
"Well shit, you better. They killed Alex and my best soldier, so when you find them...make sure they get what they fucking deserve." Vinny said.
"It's Jay's call..." Mavys said.
"Is Trev helping?" Vinny asked.
"Not yet, I was actually just about to get on the radio with him. Called you first." Mavys said.
"He gets shit done, he doesn't hesitate in making orders. If anything, Trev should be the leader of this mission." Vinny said.
"You know what the Lion's order was. He trusted Jay for a mission like this, so we respect that." Mavys said.
"This is one of our biggest operations we've ever done and he puts Jay in charge? Fuck up already lost the kids and got the stadium overrun like you said." Vinny replied.
"Yeah, but Trevett would've just killed the kids. He does not care about the mission. He just likes people respecting him, but I can't say that." Mavys said.
"I knew Trev for years, he ain't like that." Vinny said.
"Remember the Harlow Garden altercation? That's why." Mavys said.
"We aren't going to speak about that fucking day." Vinny said, annoyed.
"Exactly." Mavys replied.
Vinny sighed.
"I gotta go and finish my work. You stay safe out there, and kill those fucking defectors." Vinny said.
"You stay safe too. Mavys out." Mavys said.
"Out." Vinny said.
Vinny placed down the radio.
Vinny continued writing...
and writing...
and writing...
The eyes were slowly opening.
Three figures were in the blurry sight.
Mollie opened her eyes slowly.
Mollie gained full vision again as her eyes fully opened.
She saw a bald soldier wearing camo and a dragon tattoo on his head trying to fix something. He was asian and was quite tall.
She saw two more soldiers in camo, one black haired with facial hair and one blonde haired soldier with curly hair talking to each other.
The black haired soldier had a gun in his hand facing down.
Benny looked to his left.
"Mollie!" Benny said quietly.
Mollie looked at where the voice came from and saw Benny.
Mollie sat up and tried to fully grasp what was happening.
"Where are we?" Mollie asked Benny.
"These Unit 8 guys got us." Benny answered.
"I think we're still in the mall." Luan said while she sat up next to Benny.
The three looked at the soldiers.
The black haired soldier looked at the bald soldier.
"Will you hurry the fuck up?" The black haired soldier asked.
"Trying. It's hard to do this without power." The bald soldier replied as he attempted to get the security cameras working.
Luan looked at Benny and Mollie.
"We must be in the security room." Luan said.
Benny nodded and Mollie looked back at the soldiers.
The blonde haired soldier looked at the kids.
"Hey, they're awake." The blonde haired soldier said.
The black haired soldier looked at the kids.
The black haired soldier approached the kids, gun in hand.
"We should radio The Owl, tell him we found them." The blonde haired soldier suggested.
"No, we don't have all of them. We get information first, the more we find out and tell The Owl, the better our chances are of ranking up." The black haired soldier said.
"You're really only in this for yourself, huh?" The blonde soldier said.
"Why wouldn't I be?" The black haired soldier said.
"Goddamnit, Caviel! That doesn't matter. Stick to the mission and put your selfish fucking needs aside." The blonde haired soldier said.
Caviel shook his head.
"Don't radio them yet." Caviel said.
The blonde haired soldier sighed and backed away.
"Ssangquong, you almost done?" Caviel asked.
"Fuck off." Ssangquong said.
Caviel looked at the blonde haired soldier.
"Grandeer, help him out while I ask these little shits the questions." Caviel said.
Grandeer turned and faced Ssangquong.
Caviel turned and faced the kids.
The three looked up at him.
"We should've brought zip ties or something. I don't like how their hands are free like that." Grandeer said.
"What are they gonna do? They're just kids." Caviel said.
"Yeah, kids that survived years in a deadly environment by themselves." Grandeer said.
"Don't care." Caviel said.
Caviel turned towards the kids again.
"Alright, let's just get to the fucking point." Caviel said.
The kids looked at him.
"Where's the rest of your buddy buds? They in the mall?" Caviel asked, gun still facing down.
No one answered.
Mollie stared at him while Benny and Luan kept quiet.
"No answers?" Caviel asked.
No response.
"Just tell him." Grandeer said.
"Where are your friends? Hello?!" Caviel said in annoyance.
No response.
"We know it ain't just you three out here." Caviel said.
No response.
"Fine." Caviel said.
Caviel lifted his gun and pointed it at Luan.
"If this is how it's gotta go, then this is how it's gotta go. Where are you friends?" Caviel asked.
"HEY!" Benny yelled.
Caviel looked at Benny.
Caviel pointed the gun at Benny.
"You talk to me like that or raise your voice one more fucking time and I will kill you right here." Caviel said.
Benny stared at the hole of the gun. He felt nervous at the thought of a bullet striking him any moment...
Mollie started smirking.
Mollie let out a quick chuckle.
Caviel looked at her.
"What's so fucking funny?" Caviel asked.
Caviel approached her.
Mollie didn't reply.
"HUH? WHAT IS SO FUCKING HILARIOUS?" Caviel yelled.
Grandeer looked at him.
"Can you be any more louder you dumb fuck?" Grandeer said.
"Shut the fuck up." Caviel answered back.
Caviel faced Mollie again.
"What...is so fucking funny?" Caviel said while pointing the gun at Mollie's face.
Mollie smiled and answered.
"You're threats are useless and laughably pathetic..." Mollie said while smiling.
Caviel leaned down while pointing the gun at her head.
"Why's that?" Caviel said while smirking in annoyance.
"You aren't going to kill us. You need us...so you can rank up, like you said. I'm sure your boss isn't going to be happy if they find me dead." Mollie said.
"Well, I particularly don't really give a fuck about you, so maybe I just kill you and keep going on with my fucking life." Caviel said.
"I just woke up a minute ago and you're already threatening to kill me, you're a fucking loser." Mollie said while smiling.
"What did you say?" Caviel said.
Mollie looked at him straight in the eyes and leaned forward.
"Fuck. You." Mollie said.
Luan looked at Benny.
"What the heck is she doing?!" Luan asked.
Benny looked at Luan and shook his head.
"No idea." Benny said.
The two looked back at Mollie.
Caviel nodded his head.
"Ok, if that's the game you're gonna play, i'm fine with that you LITTLE BITCH!" Caviel said in anger.
Caviel hit Mollie in the head with his pistol.
Mollie slumped over.
Her right side of her forehead was bleeding with a gash.
"MOLLIE!" Benny yelled.
Luan gasped.
Mollie groaned.
"Don't test me you little shit." Caviel said.
Mollie opened her eyes.
She slowly shifted her head towards Caviel while she was still on the ground.
Mollie looked at Caviel and smiled again.
"Look at you, hitting a fucking child, what a sad way to live your life." Mollie said.
Caviel grabbed Mollie by her hoodie.
Mollie started laughing as blood was slowly dripping down.
"You want some more?" Caviel threatened.
Grandeer looked at Caviel.
"Caviel, that's enough, stop that shit! You're not helping." Grandeer said.
Caviel let go of Mollie and faced Grandeer.
"You wanna be in charge? You wanna get info? Fine, you do it then!" Caviel said as he put the gun in Grandeer's hands.
Grandeer looked at Caviel.
Grandeer looked at gun and looked back at the children.
Grandeer sighed and looked at Ssangquong.
"Ssang, hand me the bag next to you." Grandeer said.
Ssangquong grabbed the bag and handed it to Grandeer.
Grandeer opened the bag and began rummaging through it.
Luan and Benny looked at Mollie.
"Mollie, you okay?" Benny asked.
Mollie sighed.
"I'm fine." Mollie said.
Grandeer took his hand out of the bag and pulled out a box of medical bandages.
Grandeer opened the box and grabbed the bandages.
"Oh my god." Caviel said to himself. "Why are you even trying?"
Grandeer opened the medical bandage packaging and approached Mollie.
Grandeer placed the medical bandage onto where Mollie's gash was.
"It's not that big so you should be fine." Grandeer said.
"What, are you a doctor?" Caviel said sarcastically.
Grandeer looked at Mollie.
"Look, just...cooperate. They treated you well at the stadium...we only need a few of you, not all of you, just tell us where they are." Grandeer said.
Caviel shook his head in disbelief.
Mollie looked at Grandeer.
Luan and Benny looked at Mollie.
"It's only us three." Mollie said.
Grandeer shook his head.
"Be honest with me...Mollie was it?" Grandeer said.
Mollie looked at Grandeer.
"It's only us three." Mollie said again.
"You understand how hard I find that to be true?" Grandeer said.
"Goddamnit, Grandeer, you're treating them too soft!" Caviel said.
"Yeah, and you're not beating the fuck out of them?!" Grandeer replied.
"You two aren't fit for this interrogation game are you?" Ssangquong said as he kept trying to fix the cameras.
Caviel grabbed the gun from Grandeer.
"I'm tired of this shit!" Caviel said.
Caviel pointed the gun at Benny.
"Where are your fucking companions? WE KNOW there were more than three!" Caviel said.
Benny started sweating.
"Uhh...I-" Benny was cut off.
"If you don't tell me, i'm going to pull this trigger and start asking your girlfriend over here." Caviel said.
Luan looked at Benny.
Benny didn't want to die, obviously, but also he did not want to give up his friends.
Benny stayed quiet, yet nervous.
"Caviel, you kill one, and The Owl is gonna kill us." Grandeer said.
Caviel ignored him.
"Is this the way you want to die?" Caviel asked.
Benny gulped.
"Caviel! Stop!" Grandeer shouted.
"OR WHAT?!" Caviel yelled back.
Grandeer stayed silent.
"That's what I thought." Caviel said.
Caviel sighed and walked towards the center of the small room.
Caviel stayed silent.
Grandeer looked at him.
Everyone was silent.
"Caviel, what are you doing?" Grandeer asked.
Caviel stopped talking.
...
Luke, Matias and Sage walked back to the meeting spot.
No one else was there yet.
Matias looked at the water inside the store.
"Man, that's got me drooling." Matias said.
"Water?" Luke asked. "You cook all of that and the thing that gets you drooling...is water?"
Matias smiled.
"Well...yeah." Matias said.
Suddenly, Lori and Stella came from behind.
The three looked behind them and saw the two.
"Hey." Luke said.
"Hey." Lori replied.
"Did you guys uh...find anything useful?" Lori asked.
"Yeah. The bag Matias has. Food, weapons, clothing and more." Luke said.
"Good. You guys might wanna take some weapons out, you know, just in case if we run into anything out here." Lori suggested.
"Yeah." Matias said.
Matias unzipped the backpack and grabbed two hunting knives.
"Where did you get those from?" Stella asked.
"In a box." Matias replied.
Matias handed a knife to Luke.
"Thanks." Luke said.
"Wait, I don't get one?" Sage asked.
"Sorry, theres only two in here...well according to Luke." Matias said.
Sage looked at Luke.
"Whatever...just keep it." Sage said.
"No, if you really want it, I'll give it to you." Luke said.
"No, no, just keep it." Sage said.
"Sage, take the knife, it's fine." Luke insisted.
"No, just keep it." Sage said while smiling.
"Sage, you know you want the knife." Luke said.
Sage faced away from him.
"I don't want it, you keep it." Sage said jokingly.
"No! Take the knife Sage!" Luke said while smiling.
"I don't want it!" Sage said while jokingly shoving Luke away.
"Come on! Just take it!" Luke said.
Lori, Matias and Stella stared on smiling.
"You know, I always had the feeling they liked each other." Lori said.
Matias looked at Lori.
He didn't say anything.
"Makes me miss the times I had with Bobby in the first year of the maze. That whole month, it was just us two. You should've seen how miserable he looked when I got to the maze. Trees everywhere and he had leaves on his head." Lori said while grinning.
Stella didn't know who Bobby was, but didn't question it, as she figured he was close to Lori.
"Bobby was a cool guy...I...don't even like to think about what happened that...night." Matias said.
Lori crossed her arms.
"I just wished I said goodbye to him." Lori said.
Matias looked at Lori.
"Bobby would've been proud of you. You saved us from the grievers that night, you lead us to safety." Matias said.
Lori looked at Matias.
"Thanks, that means a lot..." Lori said.
"Now we just gotta wait for the power to turn on..." Matias said.
"Should we check on them?" Stella asked.
"I don't know...Lori, what do you think?" Matias asked.
"Aazay knows what he is doing, so does Lynn and Lincoln. They got it." Lori said.
Matias nodded his head.
"Imma go and check out some more stores nearby." Matias said.
Lori nodded.
"Stay safe." Lori said.
The four checking out the power were still...checking out the power.
Aazay and Nick were struggling to figure out how to turn it on.
"Guys, come here." Aazay said.
Lincoln and Lynn turned around and walked towards them.
"Yeah?" Lynn asked.
"Bad news. The generator isn't doing anything..." Aazay said.
The four stared at the jumble of wires.
"Let's uhh...shit, I don't even know what the hell this is." Lynn said.
Nick observed it and noticed something.
"Wait...these wires keep going behind this fence...this isn't it." Nick said.
The three looked at where he was looking.
"Shit, you're right." Aazay said.
Aazay stood up and approached the fence.
Aazay went around the fence as the three followed him.
"I'm not useless. See?" Nick said while looking at Lynn.
"I never said that." Lynn said.
Nick stayed silent.
...
The four continued following the wires.
The four stopped.
"Fuck." Aazay said.
"What, what is it?" Nick asked.
"The wires keep going...down here." Aazay said.
The wires lead to another set of escalators that went down into darkness.
"Well, we gotta do it." Lynn said.
"It shouldn't be that hard...just be careful." Lincoln said.
Aazay sighed.
"Alrighty then. Isn't this just fucking delightful." Aazay said.
The four began to walk down the powered off escalator.
With the flashlight, they were able to see.
Just boring concrete walls and dust.
The wires kept going.
"This shit better lead to the power." Aazay said.
The four kept walking deeper into the basements of the mall.
The four then opened a door and entered a large open room.
Lynn looked to her right and saw file cabinets.
Lincoln looked to his left and saw couches and broken glass on the floor.
Aazay looked up and saw wires, and wires, and wires. They kept going forward.
There was generators and other voltage machines.
Aazay looked ahead and saw a chain fence.
There was a sign that said "DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!" on the fence.
"This must be where the power is." Aazay said quietly.
Aazay noticed something strange.
There were stuffed animals and toys in front of the fence and on the fence.
Nick kept walking beside the fence.
He observed the stuffed animals and toys. There was also a pot of flowers and a baby rattle.
Nick saw a blue bunny chained in the fence. There was white stuffing leaving its eyes.
Nick then saw what seemed to be a generator.
Nick leaned down and looked at it.
"This seems promising...worth a try." Nick said to himself.
The other three were distracted.
Nick shrugged and began to flick levers on the generator.
Aazay leaned down and with his flashlight, looked through the fence.
What he saw was a dusty old matress with blankets and a pillow.
Suddenly, a sound was heard from behind.
The three looked over and saw Nick by the generator.
Nick had twisted a switch.
The generator began making noises.
Aazay's eyes widened.
"Nick, wait!" Aazay said.
Nick smiled and looked over next to him.
The lights began to turn on.
The room was given an orange glow with the lights.
...
Matias, Lori, Stella, Luke and Sage looked around as the lights turned on.
Luke smiled.
Luna, Sam, Cyrus, Jordan and Kaitlin looked up and around as the place started to light up.
Noises of the lights turning on echoed throughout the mall.
A TV turned on...static.
A lamp turned on.
Every light connected turned on.
The mall was still darkened, but it had a orange/yellow glow to it now.
...
Aazay, Lincoln and Lynn looked around.
"Wow." Lynn said.
"We did it!" Nick said while smiling.
Aazay looked at Nick with a smile.
Aazay's heart dropped.
Aazay's smile went away.
"NICK! WATCH OUT!" Aazay screamed.
Suddenly, a figure came rushing towards Nick from behind and slammed onto the chain fence behind him.
...
Mollie, Luan and Benny looked around as the lights turned on in the security room.
The security cameras turned on.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Grandeer said.
"Hey! The cameras turned on!" Ssangquong said.
Caviel rushed over towards the cameras.
Caviel and Ssangquong observed them as Grandeer stood by the kids.
Caviel saw a figure.
"Holy shit. THAT'S THEM!" Caviel said.
The kids looked at each other.
"They must've gotten the power on." Luan said quietly.
"What did you say?" Grandeer said.
Luan looked at him.
"Fuck, I knew it wasn't just you three out here." Grandeer said. "Radio him now! We know they're here!"
"Gladly." Caviel said.
Caviel walked towards the kids.
"You will listen to everything we say. Got it?" Caviel said.
Caviel grabbed his radio.
Suddenly, a noise which sounded like metal falling came from the darkened corner of the room.
That side of the room was blocked with shelves and other debris.
The three kids looked over.
"The hell was that...?" Grandeer said.
Caviel faced the direction of the sound.
"Hey, did we ever check that side of the room?" Caviel said.
"No." Grandeer said.
Ssangquong picked up his rifle and aimed towards the direction of the noise.
Everyone was silent.
Ssangquong slowly approached that side.
There was a small opening between the debris and blockades.
Ssangquong peeked through and aimed his gun inside.
Caviel held his radio in his hand.
...
Ssangquong looked around.
...
Suddenly, something jumped out.
Its hair was almost completely gone. His skin was gray and his veins were visible. He also had blue eyes and his clothing had holes in it.
It was a crank.
The crank tackled Ssangquong to the floor and started to bite into his throat.
Ssangquong's screams in pain were silenced as the crank pulled flesh out from his throat.
Blood splattered all over Ssangquong's face.
"FUCK! CRANK!" Caviel said.
Caviel dropped the radio and pointed his pistol at the crank.
"SHOOT IT!" Grandeer said.
Caviel fired.
The bullet went straight through the crank's head.
Suddenly, more cranks sprinted out of the dark corner of the room.
"NOW! GO!" Mollie yelled.
Mollie got up and opened the door to the room and sprinted out.
Benny and Luan followed behind.
"HEY!" Caviel yelled.
Caviel turned around and faced the door where the kids left.
Suddeny, a crank bit into Caviel's shoulder and another tackled him and began to dig into his body.
Grandeer stared at the sight in shock.
"HOLY SHIT!" Grandeer said.
Caviel screamed in pain.
Grandeer turned around and sprinted towards the exit of the room.
Suddenly, a crank grabbed him and shoved him towards the wall and began biting into the side of his neck.
Grandeer yelled as the crank tackled him towards the ground.
The rest of the cranks began to run out of the room, following Mollie, Benny and Luan.
Nick swiftly backed away from the chain fence.
The four stared at the crank in shock.
Aazay flashed his light at the crank.
"Holy shit! Her eyes!" Aazay said.
The crank's eyes were missing as she began to pound at the fence.
Suddenly, a barrel fell over as another crank came from behind.
"COME ON! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Lynn yelled.
The four began to run away as three cranks began to chase them.
The four ran as fast as they could.
Aazay opened the door the room.
Lincoln and Lynn exited the room.
Aazay looked.
Nick was still running towards them.
"NICK! HURRY UP! LET'S GO!" Aazay said.
Lincoln and Aazay waited for Nick.
Nick sprinted inside of the room as Aazay and Lincoln shut the doors in the cranks faces.
Lynn pushed a giant file cabinet towards the door.
"MOVE!" Lynn shouted.
The file cabinet was knocked over, blocking the door from opening.
Nick looked ahead.
Another crank came from underneath some debris.
The crank wore a gray hoodie and had black hair. His skin was gray and thin and his eyes were blue.
"GUYS! THERE'S MORE ON THIS SIDE!" Nick yelled.
Aazay, Lincoln and Lynn began to run.
"GO, GO, GO, GO!" Lynn yelled.
Nick joined them.
The four sprinted towards the escalator they came down from.
The cranks screamed and made terrible noises as they continued to chase them.
There was at least fifteen on their tails.
Aazay hopped over a knocked over table.
A crank came rushing at Lynn.
Lynn dodged the crank, causing it to fall.
"LET'S GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!" Aazay yelled.
The four ran towards the escalator.
Lincoln and Lynn began to quickly run up the escalator as Aazay and Nick followed them behind.
The shadows of the cranks got closer.
"OH SHIT!" Nick yelled.
Everyone besides Mollie, Luan and Benny was at the meeting point.
Matias walked back towards the meet up point, holding his backpack in his hands.
Luna and Sam walked by together.
Jordan and Cyrus walked towards them.
The rest looked at each other.
Kaitlin ran over towards Luke.
"What's going on?!" Kaitlin asked.
Luke looked at her.
"I don't know..." Luke said.
Everyone looked around.
Matias looked behind him while he held his backpack and knife.
Matias got nervous as he looked around.
Suddenly, a voice in the distance was heard.
"HEYYYY!" Lincoln yelled.
The group looked down the strip and towards the direction of the voice.
Suddenly, Lincoln and Lynn ran around the corner and kept running towards the group.
"HEY! RUN!" Lynn yelled.
Cyrus opened his mouth and stood back.
Luke stared at them.
Everyone was quiet.
Suddenly, Aazay and Nick ran around the corner, but they weren't alone...
A massive group of cranks followed behind them.
The screams and sounds they made echoed throughout the mall.
Luke backed away.
The group began to back away as well.
The group's hearts dropped as they saw what was coming towards them.
"OH SHIT!" Luke yelled.
"What the fuck..." Kaitlin said.
Matias put on his backpack.
"CRANKS!" Cyrus yelled.
The four continued to run towards the group.
"HEY! GO!" Lynn yelled.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Lincoln yelled.
The group turned around and began to run.
Cyrus was in the front, Jordan behind, the rest followed.
Matias, Luke and Sage stayed.
"MATIAS! THE KNIVES!" Luke yelled.
Luke looked at Sage.
"GO! WE'LL CATCH UP!" Luke yelled.
Sage nodded and turned around and began running.
"RUN!" Nick yelled.
"LYNN! AAZAY! TAKE THESE!" Luke said.
Luke and Matias threw the knives towards them at the same time.
Aazay and Lynn quickly grabbed the knives.
Matias and Luke turned around and began to run.
Nick, Aazay, Lynn and Lincoln kept running, following them.
The cranks weren't far behind...
The group began to run up an escalator to the second floor.
Cyrus, Jordan, Lori, Stella, Luna and Sam were in the front.
Sage, Kaitlin, Lincoln, Lynn and Aazay were in the back.
Matias and Luke were in the very back of the group.
Everyone was on the escalator.
"I THOUGHT THIS PLACE WAS SAFE!" Luke yelled. "DID SAWYER SET US UP?"
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW, JUST KEEP GOING!" Aazay yelled.
The group kept running up the escalator.
"KEEP UP!" Jordan yelled.
"MOVE! MOVE!" Nick yelled.
The kids in the front got off the escalator and began to run. Cyrus was in the lead.
Cyrus took a left.
"YOU GUYS! DON'T GET BIT OR SCRATCHED!" Cyrus yelled.
"NO SHIT!" Luke yelled.
The rest got off the escalator as the cranks got on the escalator.
"COME ON!" Sam yelled.
Suddenly, a crank jumped out from a corner and was in front of the group.
The group stopped.
Cyrus grabbed his metal bat and rushed at the crank.
"CYRUS!" Stella yelled.
"CAREFUL!" Lori yelled.
Cyrus and the crank rushed at each other.
Cyrus managed to hit the crank in the head with the bat, causing it to fall down.
The group began to run again.
The cranks got off the escalator and began to catch up...
Mollie, Benny and Luan ran out of the security room.
Mollie closed the door and pressed her body against it.
The cranks on the other side attempted to get through.
Mollie used all of her strength to keep the door shut.
Benny looked down the escalator and saw cranks climbing up it.
"THEY'RE COMING UP!" Benny yelled.
Suddenly a crank came rushing towards Luan from the left.
"LUAN! NEXT TO YOU!" Benny yelled.
Luan looked at the floor and grabbed a pole.
Luan rushed at the crank.
Luan stuck the pole through the cranks head.
A crank climbed up the escalator.
Benny faced it and kicked it, sending it down the escalator.
"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" Benny yelled.
Benny and Luan began to run towards the right.
"MOLLIE! LET'S GO!" Benny yelled.
Mollie let go of the door and began to run with the other two as cranks began to spill out of the door.
"LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" Benny yelled, taking lead.
Cyrus opened a door.
Cyrus didn't question it and kept running.
It was a flight of stairs.
"THIS WAY!" Cyrus yelled.
The group followed.
One by one, the group entered inside of the flight of stairs.
A crank's hand popped out between the stair's railings and grabbed Lynn's leg.
Lynn immediately kicked it off and began to run again.
"UP HERE!" Cyrus yelled.
The group kept running, with Cyrus in the front, and Matias in the back.
The group kept going higher and higher.
Floor 3...
Floor 4...
Floor 5...
Floor 6.
Cyrus opened the door to Floor 6 as the stairs ended.
Suddenly, a crank jumped up from the left of the stairs.
Cyrus, Jordan, Lori and Stella ran through the door.
The crank got up and instantly leaped down towards the group.
Nick and Matias were in the back.
The crank tackled Nick, sending him down the stairs, and knocking his hat off.
"NICK! NO!" Luke yelled.
Nick yelled as the crank kept trying to crawl towards him.
Nick swiftly crawled away.
However, the crank caught up and got on top of him.
Nick held the crank away from him with all of his strength.
The two were facing towards the stairs that went back down.
Matias noticed this.
Matias quickly got behind them and kicked the crank, sending it down the stairs, tripping some of the cranks.
Matias helped up Nick.
"LET'S GO!" Matias yelled.
Nick quickly grabbed his hat and put it back on as the two ran up the stairs.
The group began to run again.
Benny, Luan and Mollie were running nonstop away from the cranks.
A door with a handle caught Benny's attention.
Benny opened the door.
It was a very narrow hallway with barely any lights.
"LET'S GO! INSIDE!" Benny shouted.
Benny ran inside. Mollie and Luan followed.
They didn't think to shut the door due to the chaos.
The hallway was rather short and lead to some escalators that went down, however, it wasn't darkness, it was lightened by natural light.
"THIS WAY!" Benny yelled.
Benny, Luan and Mollie ran down the escalators and approached a door.
Benny opened the door.
Benny stopped running as Mollie and Luan ran out the door.
The three stopped and stared at what looked like an indoor parking lot.
Benny turned around as the scream of a crank came from the room they came from.
Benny shut the door and pressed his body against it.
Mollie noticed a fire axe on a wall.
Mollie opened the protective glass and grabbed the axe...
Sage was in the front of the group.
There was a fence in front of them with a sliding part.
Sage opened the sliding door to the chain fence and let the others through.
She signaled with her hand for the others to go.
Matias shouted at Sage.
"GO! I'LL CLOSE IT!"
Sage nodded and began to run.
Matias ran to the other side of the fence.
The kids in front began to run up another escalator.
The group was on the sixth floor.
Matias closed the fence.
Suddenly, a crank came from the right and tackled Luna, causing her the fall.
Matias saw this as he held the fence shut.
"LUNA!" Sam yelled.
"GET IT OFF!" Luna yelled.
Sage waited for everyone else.
Luke came from behind and grabbed the crank.
Luke, with all of his strength, pulled away the crank from Luna.
"KEEP GOING!" Luke yelled as she pulled the crank towards the edge.
Luna, Sam and Sage began to run up the escalator.
The cranks clashed into the chain fence Matias was holding shut.
"SHIT! I CAN'T HOLD IT ANYMORE! LUKE! RUN!" Matias yelled as he let go and began to run.
Luke used his strength to throw the crank over the edge, sending it six floors down to its death.
Luke looked towards the fence and his heart skipped a beat.
The crank with the gray hoodie and black hair rushed at Luke.
It happened so fast that Luke couldn't do anything as the crank bit into his arm.
"FUCK! FUCK!" Luke yelled as the crank's teeth was in Luke's skin.
Sage saw this from the escalator.
Sage didn't say anything due to shock.
Matias looked to his right and saw more cranks coming towards them.
Matias quickly grabbed a fence and dragged it towards the incoming cranks.
Luke shoved the crank away with his force, sending it falling to the floor.
Luke looked at his arm and saw the bite.
"No, no, no!" Luke said to himself.
Sage saw this.
"COME ON, LUKE!" Sage yelled as she began to run up the escalator.
Matias ran towards the escalator and looked at Luke.
Matias began to signal with his arm for him to go.
"LET'S GO! LET'S GO! COME ON!" Matias yelled.
Luke turned around and began to run towards the escalator.
"LET'S GO!" Matias yelled.
Luke got on the escalator as Matias let him go first.
Matias joined behind.
Suddenly, a crank jumped from the side and grabbed Luke on the escalator.
Matias flinched.
"SHIT! GET IT OFF!" Luke yelled.
Matias grabbed the crank and threw it off of Luke, sending it falling down.
Luke kept running up the escalator.
"GO!" Matias said.
Suddenly, a crank grabbed Matias from behind and began to drag him away from the escalator.
Matias yelped and shouted as the crank kept dragging him.
Luke looked behind and began to run down towards him.
Another crank clashed into the two.
The crank that clashed into them fell down while the first crank that grabbed him held onto him as Matias went through the safety rails from the force, smashing the glass.
Matias held onto the escalator bar while the crank was still on his back.
Matias was holding on for life as his body was hanging over the edge.
"LUKE!" Matias called out.
Luke sprinted down the escalators and grabbed Matias by his arms.
"NO!" Luke yelled.
Matias began to try and push the crank off of him.
"GET IT OFF ME!" Matias yelled in fear.
Suddenly, the crank began to bite into the right hand of Matias.
Matias yelled in pain.
"NO! I GOT YOU! I'LL PULL YOU UP!" Luke yelled.
Luke began to use his strength to try and pull Matias up.
The crank with the gray hoodie that bit Luke got up and saw what was happening.
The crank rushed over and climbed onto the safety rail in front.
Luke noticed this and saw what the crank was about to do.
"NO! NO!" Luke yelled.
Matias looked at Luke in fear.
The crank aimed towards Matias and leaped.
The crank grabbed Matias.
The force of the body gripping on Matias caused him to lose his grip.
Matias screamed as the cranks and himself began to fall down six floors.
"NO! MATIAS!" Luke yelled in shock.
"No!"
This was the last thing that Luke heard from Matias before a loud thump echoed the mall.
Luke stood back from the railing.
Matias hit the floor...he was dead.
Luke's heart stopped as he couldn't processed what had just happened.
"No...no..." Luke said to himself in disbelief.
The screech of a crank caught his attention.
The fence Matias used to block the second group of cranks fell down, letting them through.
"HEY! LET'S GO!" Sage yelled from the top of the escalators.
She saw everything.
Luke looked up and saw Sage and then looked back and saw the incoming cranks.
Luke backed away from the edge and began to run up the escalators.
...
Sage and Luke got off the escalators and began to run towards the group, who was running through a door Aazay was holding open.
"I GOT HIM!" Sage yelled.
Aazay looked at the two.
"COME ON! COME ON!" Aazay yelled.
The two ran inside of the narrow and dark hallway.
Aazay attempted to shut the door...but it wouldn't budge.
"SHIT!" Aazay said.
Aazay began to run into the hallway.
The group kept running through the narrow hallway.
Nobody had noticed Mollie, Luan and Benny weren't with them due to all of the adrenaline.
Sage and Luke were the only two to know Matias was gone.
"GUYS, WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Sam said.
"KEEP IT UP!" Someone yelled.
"MOVE! MOVE!" Nick shouted.
The group reached the end of the hallway.
There was a door.
Lincoln attempted to open it. It wouldn't budge.
The group looked down the hall as the cranks kept getting closer. There was nowhere to go.
Lynn and Lincoln began to start kicking the door.
...
Mollie noticed the door was banging and voices were coming from the other side.
Mollie ran towards the door.
"WE CAN'T GET THIS DOOR OPEN!" A voice yelled.
"GUYS, IS THAT YOU?" Mollie yelled.
"MOLLIE!" Jordan yelled.
Mollie noticed the door wouldn't open due to nailed wood planks on the door.
Sage was in the back of the group.
She looked at the floor and grabbed a galvanized steel punched bar from the floor.
"I'LL HOLD THEM BACK!" Sage said.
Luke and the rest looked at her.
"SAGE NO!" Luke yelled.
"SAGE!" Nick yelled.
"IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" Kaitlin yelled.
Sage rushed at a crank, impaling it straight through the head.
Sage pulled out the bar and struck another crank in the head, causing it to fall down.
Another crank fell to the ground as she struck that one too.
"GET THAT DOOR OPEN!" Sage yelled as she impaled one of the cranks on the floor.
Mollie began to use the axe to break the wood planks.
"HURRY UP!" Lori yelled.
Mollie broke the wood from the door.
Mollie grabbed the handle of the door and opened it.
She saw her friends rush out of the hall.
"COME ON, IT'S OPEN!" Sam yelled.
Sage threw the bar like a spear at a crank, which struck it in the head.
Sage turned around and began to run towards the door.
A crank was only inches away.
Sage attempted to go through the door.
Suddenly, the crank grabbed Sage's back.
Sage fell as the crank began to grab her legs and pull them towards the hall.
Sage held on to the door to prevent her from being pulled in.
Everyone turned around.
"SAGE!" Luke yelled.
Luke wasted no time and ran over to Sage and began to grab her arms.
Kaitlin grabbed her other arm as Sam, Luna, Nick, Aazay and Lincoln pressed themselves against the door, trying to close it.
Benny was still holding the other door shut.
Sage yelled in pain as the crank began to scratch at her stomach.
Sam lost her grip on the door and placed her hand on the edge of the door.
Suddenly, a crank saw this and bit Sam's hand.
Sam pulled away and yelped.
"Sam!" Luna yelled.
Mollie rushed at the crank pulling Sage and struck it in the head with her axe.
Due to the angle, she couldn't retrieve the axe and backed away.
Kaitlin and Luke were able to pull Sage away from the door as she yelled in pain.
Aazay, Lincoln and Nick were able to shut the door, but the only thing keeping it shut was the strength of their bodies.
Luke and Kaitlin put Sage's arm's around them and began to run.
Sam and Luna joined them.
Aazay, Lincoln and Nick looked at each other.
Benny looked at them.
Nick looked at the rest of the group, who kept running towards the natural light of the night sky in the parking lot.
Nick looked at Aazay.
"3, 2-" Nick said.
"NO, NO, NO, NOT YET!" Aazay yelled.
"1!" Nick said.
"FUUUUCCKK!" Aazay yelled as the three and Benny let go of the door, causing the cranks to spill out from both sides.
The four kept running...and running...and running...
...
The night sky was the only source of light outside the mall.
Cranks began to spill out the mall as their screeches echoed.
The cranks looked around, but couldn't find their target.
The group was hiding under some concrete.
Everyone was there, quiet...and silent...
"Turn off your lights.." Aazay said quietly.
Everyone did.
The group stayed quiet...hoping the cranks wouldn't find them as the echoes of the cranks sent chills down everyones spines...
...
Wow...what a fucking chapter. We met The Viper, we got some bits of character development, our group encountered the cranks for the very first time...the scorch isn't a joke, and neither are the cranks. In ONE NIGHT, in FIVE MINUTES, we lost a member of our group and three of them are infected...yikes. Things aren't looking to good for our friends. Stay tuned for Chapter Six of the story titled...uhh..."The Scorch" (yeah boring title sorry, not sorry). See ya next time!