"We should go now." one of the boys urged them.
The guys had assisted the girl as she ascended the route, they each followed after her, making sure that the entrance was closed to avoid letting those undead creatures further in, she took out a screwdriver from her leather jacket's pocket and let the others ahead of her so that she could lock the vent way.
"Where did that screwdriver come from..?" the most talkative guy from their group had wondered, Rissa didn't answer him though since she doesn't feel like it was right to say.
That she would always bring all sorts of tools to meddle with anything she finds difficult to handle barehanded because she is the type that doesn't like getting involved with others' problems and vice versa.
"Stop!" the guy ahead of them halted, there was something dripping from the gap between the vents and it wasn't a good thing, explaining the odor that made Rissa leave the vents earlier that day, it was bad...
Blessy managed to pull the little girl up from being cornered and hid her inside the ceiling layer above, she lightly jumped off before dragging away the attention of the undead to herself by trashing the objects she could find around the area.
While the teenage girl was doing this and that, the person she had saved attempted to sound the fire alarm by lighting up a lighter near the trigger. 'That's it!' Blessy noticed this.
Screams and cries echoed throughout the entire building, and as the power is out, the undead could easily squeeze through anything they could fit in.
'We must go and find a secured place that can hold them out.' Rissa thought as they all crawled in a single line above the ceiling, she heard a couple of whispers yet she ignored the noise to avoid getting distracted as she continuously moved forward. "Keep it down."
One of the boys behind Rissa also noticed that the noise began growing louder, however, not one of them knew who it was that created such mumbling noises.
"I don't think any of us are the cause of that noise..." the eldest of the group had commented, everyone stopped at the same time as the noise eventually burst.
Their eardrums were ringing from the unknown disturbance, the vents were basically vibrating from the loud sound that is traveling all around the city.
No one was capable of moving from their spot as the pain was intolerable, and the other remaining survivors were eventually getting caught by the monsters.
"What is going on with everyone down here?" Blessy checked the basement where a group of men held onto their ears as hard as they could to block the noise.
The girl was so clueless since she wore her headphones, she attempted to take them off until the stairs suddenly gave in and fell into pieces. "Oh gosh!"
The men didn't notice this though, they were occupied as the disturbance was still ongoing. "Seriously..." Blessy was covered in concrete and a number of pipes were hanging above her head, she slightly struggled but managed to get back up on her feet.
She thought that the monstrous creatures would head to where they were because of the noise she unintentionally made and the loud noise happened to end as she fell.
All the people were able to get back on track as the pain started to go away.
Even though their eardrums were still kind of ringing, they could walk around, crawl or resume what they were doing such as hiding. "Well, that was an awful way to get down here." she spoke while dusting off the concrete on herself.
"Are you okay, boss?" a man with a torn blazer asked while approaching the leader of their group or gang... "Oh, yes. I am absolutely fine, that noise wasn't even that audible." he lied, denying the fact that he was shaking in fear when the loud noise occurred.
"Excuse me, have you men seen a teenage girl around here..?"
The group was alarmed when Blessy cheerfully walked closer, looking unaffected by the disturbance earlier, they thought about it for a moment before politely responding, giving the leader a chance to do the honor.
"If you're looking for a twenty-one years old, 5'10 feet tall, jobless college student named Riell Rossa then we'll be needing you to come with us in a private place." the man replied in hopes of finding someone else to use that is related to Rissa in order to get his money back, though Blessy figured out what those men do for a living and decided to lie as well.
'I don't know how they know her but a white lie wouldn't hurt.'
"I have no idea who you're talking about." she answered, Blessy held her left hand above, scratching her head from the confusion to hide the guilty feeling of disowning her own sister.
'I might also get involved if I say that I know her... And so, not a chance.' she thought to herself while observing the situation.
"Oh, I apologize for being quite rude. We didn't see any other ladies with that description." they replied in unison before making a choice, they could either leave without saying anything or... "Mind if we tag along?" the girl was surprised to hear this but didn't care much afterward.
"Sure, if you can keep up with me."
Blessy replied but the last part was barely audible, however, as they were walking.
'You're kidding, right..?' the fire alarm just went off at that second, she stood there in shock, she didn't consider that it would be a huge problem if she didn't wear waterproof clothes.
"Boss, we should head out now." one said.
"Look out!" the little girl from earlier rushed down the staircase while warning them about the falling soil, she successfully followed the older female and was able to get down safely through the half-broken stairs. 'Don't tell me those creatures are headed here.' Blessy whined.
"Hey, we need to go now." the little girl convinced the group to go with them, holding onto Blessy's hand with force to drag her along without wasting time.
She noticed that the older female was dumbfounded from the sudden burst of water pouring as well as soil from the plants she accidentally nudged. "Quickly, go!" the little girl called the other because they were falling far behind the group of men.
The monsters were basically gathering near the basement floor when the men arrived at the upper stairs, they gnawed each person that came out of the door which Blessy and the little girl unexpectedly avoided.
"Keep your voice down, kid." she noticed a shadow unusually moving above them.
'They can even do that?' Blessy felt that it was unfair, seeing as the living undead creatures had such extraordinary abilities, unlike the weak humans who are still alive yet might not last too long given the situation.
"Help!" a man cried out loud, nonetheless, the two girls couldn't bare risking their safety just to save him. They both knew that once they encounter those monstrous creatures, they will never be safe anymore which is why they chose to depart in a different way.
"Quickly, let's go." the little girl brightly told herself.
The both of them kicked past the barricaded ventilation system and once again, they went up, down, left, and right to get out of that wretched place. "Are you okay, June?" the boy asked his friend, not bothering to look around since it was already dark enough, the two were beside one another, not aware of where the others in the group were located.
"Where is everyone else?" the short leader-like guy asked in return.
"We're perfectly fine." Rissa carefully answered while silently crawling out of the vent, they were stuck in a room filled with boxes, it was most probably another stock room.
"Help me with these boxes." the eldest male walked from one side of the room to the other, stacking the boxes elsewhere to uncover the doorway.
'I wonder where that girl is.' the only female thought to herself before regaining her senses, taking a stack of boxes and placing them on the other side, the boys from the group took a peek through the small gap between the door and the wall.
"Hey!" one of them whispered. "Hey!" he softly called again.
However, the person he was trying to call over wasn't a human, it was a blind old infected living undead that had just turned into those creatures, it wasn't as powerful as those from the southern island yet it is difficult to handle with all the other monsters.
"Oh, shoot!" he closed the door as quietly as possible to keep them from having to run and hide again, they had to be extra careful now that they caused a little noise.
"Sorry, I didn't think that those things would still look just like us!" he shouted in a whisper, trying to tell the others that it would be impossible to differentiate survivors from them.
"We need a plan, gather up." said the female as she directed her flashlight toward the others. "What do you have in mind?" they asked.
"We have to..." Rissa began explaining what she had in mind for them, on the other hand, her sister locked the vent behind the little girl to ensure a safe way for survivors to get in and out. "Where do we go now..?" the little girl questioned while holding Blessy's hand tightly, she was slowly realizing that it was all scary.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." the older girl assisted her on their way up the stairs. "Do you know where my dad is?" she asked again, trying not to let her voice crack but it was pointless... 'Poor kid.'
Blessy thought, she looked at the little girl, wanting to tell her the truth. 'That would be cruel.'
Things were going well until she heard a double echo as they used the vents to find their way out of there. 'We're not alone.' the little girl knew what it was and so, they stopped in their tracks, trying to decipher which way it came from.
"On the count of three, we run." Blessy kneeled down and calmly tied her laces.
She slowly mouthed the words whilst stealthily getting back on her feet... 'One, two, and three!' they ran, changing direction so now, instead of going down-right, the two of them went forward without a doubt. Blessy wanted to go face whoever it was but also remembered that she had someone depending on her.
The group had their covers ready although, they weren't certain about the results and how it will end... "Let's not stop unless we attract their attention. You got that?" the eldest reminded them that time was running out and when the sun settles down, it would be too harder to move.
Each of them wore the box they crafted as a camouflage to look like they were just objects, lying anywhere. Rissa tied her hair before nodding at them, motioning the rest to line up in front of her but instead of doing as the elders said.
The youngest insisted that he should be in the back.
They moved in a line, putting on the boxes over their heads with small holes to see where they were going. "I'll go last." the youngest of them suggested since he didn't really feel much frightened as his friends were.
They managed to leave the merch store and were led by the eldest. "Just a little bit."
'This is a do-or-die battle on my own, I can't fail since someone is depending on me.' they both glanced over the open vent passage, the monsters were hogging the entrance, both weak or strong, and new or old creatures were gathered into groups.
"This will be hard to get past but luckily, we have the vents."
"We should be careful, 'kay?" the little girl expressed a big concern to the older one, she only has her now... Dangerous was the very word fit to describe their situation, everything they did and said would be risky, and every step they took would echo throughout the entire place as the monsters kept silent.
The sight was barely visible to them, every corner of the mall was dim, the air was thin and cold for them, their hands became sweaty as hell, and the expressions plastered on their faces filled with fear and pity, nothing would be able to make them feel safe...
Unless they stick together and survive as one.
Blessy slowly slid down the vent while carrying the little girl on her lap, approaching near the ground to head to the other side where the exit would be located. 'I wonder where that girl is.' she was frustrated by the absence of Rissa but it was mainly her fault, she knew what would happen and yet she stayed quiet.
"Blaming other people is pointless. That's the only thing we're all good at." she mumbled under her breath, dragging the little girl along with her as they started crawling through the ventilation system, she felt hot for some reason though, it bothered the two of them whatever it is that caused the temperature to rise.
============
Camouflaging as a box was a success for Rissa and the guys, they were able to reach the exit in no time, however, the difficulty in getting out was still nowhere near possible.
Rissa fixed herself before checking the only options that they were left with.
'We have to make a choice as soon as possible...' the short leader-like guy had concluded, June narrowed down the final two options they could choose from, knowing that even if there were multiple choices, none of them would get out alive by picking those.
'The other ones are too simple but will put us to an end.'
The eldest trusted him the most, he was aware of the fact that his younger friend had a solution for them and it was satisfyingly the best decision they made throughout their whole life.
"What's wrong with mine?" the black-haired boy complained, noticing that the two of them had already agreed on one thing at once.
"We all know what to expect from you." the guy with silver hair commented, reassuring the others that he understood what they were discussing using the hand-sign language.
On the other hand, someone was left muted because of the confusion she discerned upon watching them argue and all. 'Uh-huh...'
They were only a few meters away from the outside, it took them some time to plan out what exactly to do when they regained enough strength to start running and hiding again.
They needed a foolproof plan. "What if we... Never mind, it wouldn't work." she joined in their conversation, trying to suggest something.
All six of them didn't bother talking since they were drained, Rissa started looking around, using the only energy she still had in her to find a different route outside, she's got all the knowledge required to escape from the mall but couldn't tell them freely about how she knows everything there. 'I can't reveal anything.'
The girl rummaged all the stuff she could find, stealthily walking here and there, softly taking things in or out of their places in order to use the time they had left to leave safely.
"You can take a break, you know?" the youngest blonde-haired boy spoke to her, showing even a tad bit of affection towards the others.
He wasn't the type who would usually show how much he cares, he would often rudely boss them around but based on their country's state, he thought about showing them how he truly felt, and that he actually worries about his friends so badly.
Even the strangers surrounding them. "I'm fine, I have to find her." the girl could hardly reply to him, she was shaking from heavily worrying about her only sibling.
Rissa didn't listen but properly rejected the idea, the female was on the verge of getting emotional as she remembered her younger sister once again, the longer they were apart, the more they missed each other.
'I'm aware but I won't speak up about it since it must be personal.' he understood how it feels.
"Hold on!" the group stood up in surprise, they didn't know where the source of those words came from, they all heard the sound of someone telling them to wait, Rissa, to be specific, knew that someone's voice spoke aloud and that she wasn't hallucinating from thirst and hunger.
"Are you okay?" another said.
June tapped the other to look at him, his eyes were wide open as he mouthed the words. 'Who was that?' the eldest had questioned, the short leader-like boy, however, didn't know what to say, he couldn't tell if it was someone speaking to them or not...
"Rissa!" a little girl's head appeared from a corner.
There was a vent passage leading outside the mall but it was blocked by the vent cover, and Blessy didn't have anything on her that would be useful in opening the thing.
"Over here!" she whispered again.
The silver-haired boy found her peeking through the small hole between the desk and the vent entrance. "Do I know you?" Rissa asked out of suspicion when she realized that it wasn't her sister. "I don't think so." the little girl responded as they helped her open the passage.
She motioned them to come with her but the other female contemplated whether or not to do as the kid asked. "The little girl might need our help."
The group slowly left the premises upon hearing about their friend, they told the girl to follow them just in case anything happens to make sure that none of them are left behind.
"She's over there." the girl pointed at a ladder towards the right, leading them toward Blessy at the very end of the path.