Suddenly, seven of the awakened folks huddled up in the dark, with Kai kicking off the pow-wow. "Look, I say we don't blab this to the company. We gotta handle this mess ourselves and get our stuff back," he declared firmly.
"Uh-huh."
The rest nodded, all serious-like, knowing full well the heat they'd catch from the bigwigs if word got out.
But then, one of the younger guys piped up, "Kai, we're kinda shooting in the dark here. How are we supposed to track them down?"
Kai scratched his head, "There's gotta be some clues left behind. No way they pulled this off without a trace. Plus, that freaky 'monster' might still be lurking around here. We can rally the survivors to join the hunt. I can't believe we won't sniff it out."
"Survivors? Man, they're scared stiff; they ain't gonna wanna chase down no monsters," Easton chimed in.
Kai scowled. "They better get on board! We ain't running a charity here. We saved them so they could help haul stuff. In this apocalypse, you gotta earn your keep or you're out!"
The room went dead quiet after Kai laid down the law.
The six awakened got the message loud and clear. Even if it meant using the survivors as bait, they needed to find that monster. Those supplies were worth a fortune, way more than a few lives, even on a good day.
...
Back with the survivors, Kai stepped up. "Listen up, everyone! We've been talking, and here's the deal: our supplies are gone, and sitting around isn't an option. We gotta band together and hunt down what's ours."
"What?"
The murmurs stopped dead.
Go after the supplies?
"You gotta be kidding!"
"It's pitch black out there, and there might still be monsters lurking!"
"I'm not going! Whoever wants to can go ahead!"
"Right, five awakened got taken out, we're just regular folks. If we bump into that monster, we're goners."
"Handling monsters is your job, not ours. I haven't even awakened..."
"....."
Kai's face turned thunderous as he listened to the crowd, his voice icy, "You're going, like it or not. I'm not here to babysit. If you're just gonna sit around and mooch, I'll kick you out myself."
"Ah? This..."
The crowd was stunned, realizing Kai wasn't messing around.
His aura was intense, nobody dared to backtalk.
Some folks were nodding.
"We've been living off the warehouse supplies till now. It's only fair we help out."
"Yeah, there's a bunch of us, what's there to be scared of?"
"What if that monster's just a one-trick pony with no real fight?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. It's gotta have a weak spot. It can't be all-powerful."
"...."
Folks were buzzing quietly among themselves when Kai, spotting a bit of pep in their step, decided to crank up their spirits a notch. "Yo, listen up! I, Kai, promise that anyone who digs up our supplies or drops some hot tips will get a year's worth of grub from Quantum Leap Innovations!"
"Whoa, a whole year??"
The crowd was all wide-eyed. In this apocalypse, even though they were the warehouse watchdogs, they were always pinching pennies.
They got just enough daily rations to keep their bellies from rumbling.
Scoring food for a year was like hitting the jackpot.
A couple of the beefier dudes suddenly looked like they'd downed a double shot of espresso.
"Let's roll! I wanna catch that freaky monster!"
"Yeah, let's track it down."
"They think they're slick with their sneak attacks!"
"..."
Armed with flashlights and phones, their lights crisscrossed, slicing through the dark.
They split up into small squads and started their search.
Meanwhile, Zane, lurking in the shadows, kept his eyes on the seven awakened, plotting the perfect moment to strike.
He faded into the darker corners.
The mall was massive, built to handle a flood of shoppers.
The two hundred survivors felt like a drop in the bucket, spreading out thin, some even ducking out to hide.
But Zane wasn't interested in them—they weren't appetizing!
The seven awakened were on high alert, sticking close together.
"Kai, do you ever get the feeling... like we're being watched?"
One of the ladies in the group glanced nervously behind.
Kai tried to soothe her worries.
"Don't freak yourself out, you're just jittery."
"Yeah, Kai's got a point."
Easton agreed, "I used to get creeped out walking home at night. The more you think about it, the spookier it gets. Try to shake it off."
"Really?"
She wasn't totally convinced.
As they combed through the building from the ground floor up to the sixth, they came up empty.
"This is weird!"
Kai's brow was all kinds of furrowed, wondering if they were chasing ghosts.
Easton speculated, "Maybe that monster bailed. After snagging our stuff and knocking off five of our crew, why stick around?"
"Yeah, that's a headache."
Kai leaned over the sixth-floor railing, surveying the scene below.
The view was killer, giving him a clear shot of the lobby and each floor.
Most of the survivors were still on the move with their flashlights. No casualties yet.
"Maybe it really took off..."
With a sigh, the tension eased from the female Awakened. "We've been at this for half an hour, and I've been holding it. I was too scared to go before, but I gotta hit the restroom now."
"Go for it," Kai nodded, then thought twice, "Emily, tag along with Sarah, just to be safe. Better together, right?"
"Uh... sure," Emily shrugged, a bit baffled. Did they really need a buddy for a bathroom break?
But instead of hunting for an actual restroom—hey, it's the apocalypse—they looked for a quiet corner.
In the dim corridor, their enhanced Awakened eyesight was enough.
"Hurry up!" Emily turned away—nobody wants to watch that.
"Okay," Sarah replied, heading for a wall. Just as she was about to squat, a chill of danger ran down her spine—an Awakened's sixth sense flaring up!
"Filthy thing..."
A whisper cut through the darkness. Then, a pale young man with icy eyes slowly appeared, his look almost scolding her for her lack of decorum.
"You..."
Sarah's heart hammered as she reached for her power, but a dagger was already speeding towards her temple...