Chapter 9

Evey, Connar, and Ivan all got out of their trucks. Ford opened the cab to his truck and pulled out the bag full of weapons. He handed a knife to Connar and Ivan. Connar’s eyes went big as he grabbed the knife and inspected the blade. They were each given an empty backpack.

“This is so cool,” Connar said.

“Stay behind us at all times,” Johnson said. “These are just precautions.”

Ford turned to look at Evey.

“Last chance,” he said.

“For what?” she asked.

“To stay behind.”

Evey rolled her eyes. She walked toward the mall without looking behind her at the group.

“Everett!” Johnson called out. “This is not staying behind.”

Ford ran forward and stepped in front of Evey. She crashed into his chest and pushed him away.

“This is not listening to me,” he said.

“I’m not staying behind,” she said.

Ford scowled. Evey straightened her shoulders, not wanting to back down. She was going to kill an Infected with the knife and Ford was going to teach her how to use a gun. She had to learn if she was going to survive this new life.

“Fine,” Ford said. “Don’t die.”

Evey looked over her shoulder as she heard footsteps approaching. Johnson and Gomez were walking up to them with Connar and Ivan behind. Connar was twirling and jabbing his knife as he prepared to kill someone.

They walked to the front of the mall. The glass was shattered and there was the faint sound of a shriek. Evey swallowed past the lump forming in her throat.

“How many do you think are in there?” Gomez asked.

“No clue,” Johnson said. “They probably came in to eat people on the morning shift.”

“Won’t they swarm us?” Ivan asked. “We’ll be dead in minutes.”

“Do they have superhuman hearing or smell?” Connar asked.

Johnson shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “They’re just human.”

“Humans with the taste for flesh,” Gomez said.

Gomez raised his gun like he was prepared to kill anything that came in his way. Johnson put his hand on the barrel to lower the aim to the ground.

“We start shooting and we’ll attract attention,” Johnson said. “We have to outsmart them.”

“We have to sneak around?” Evey tried to understand what he was saying.

“Yes,” he said. “If they don’t notice us, they won’t eat us.”

Gomez swore as everyone nodded their heads.

“There’s no way I’m going in there,” Gomez said. “I’m switching spots with Harrington.”

“No,” Johnson said. “You’re going in.”

Gomez swore again. Johnson placed his finger up to his lips as he stepped toward the mall. The broken glass crunched under his boots. He raised his leg and stepped through the shattered hole in the door. Connar ran to follow Johnson into the mall.

Ford was the next to move. Evey pulled out her knife and was close behind. One by one, they followed into the mall.

The fountain was not running and the escalators were still. There was the sound of growls and Evey tightened her grip on the handle of the knife. She let out a slow deep breath because she does not want anyone, especially Ford, to see her hands tremble.

“There are three floors to this mall,” Johnson said as he looked at the sign displaying the map. “I say we each take a floor.”

“We’re splitting up?” Connar asked. “Someone always dies when the group splits up.”

“Six people trying to sneak around together won’t work either,” Johnson said. “Besides, the rest of them waiting outside are sitting ducks until we get back.”

Evey bit down on her lip. Maybe coming inside was a mistake? She had to be outside in case someone tried to attack the twins. It was too late to turn around now though.

Johnson traced his fingers along with the map as he quietly examined the stores.

“Ford, since you’re with Everett go up to the top level,” he said. “Make sure to hit the pharmacy.”

Ford nodded. Evey’s eyes darted up the escalator.

“Gomez, you go down to level one,” Johnson said. “We’ll take this floor. It looks like a hardware store is at the end.”

Johnson turned his wrist to look at his watch.

“Be outside in twenty minutes,” he said. “If not, I’ll assume you are dead.”

Gomez and Ford both looked at their watches and nodded.

“Trust me,” Gomez said. “I’ll be out of here in way less than twenty minutes.”

He pulled the knife from the sheath and waved for Ivan to follow him as he headed for the still escalator. Evey took a step forward and Ford put his hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at him.

“Listen and stay behind,” he said.

Evey nodded, afraid that her voice would come out in some sort of nervous squeak. Ford curled his fingers into her shoulder before letting go.

Ford climbed the escalator stairs slowly. Evey stayed close behind. She looked down to see Johnson and Connar crouched near the wall as they went down the hall.

When they got to the top of the escalator, an Infected woman was at the end of the hall. Ford froze and Evey bumped into him. Her eyes fell on the woman and she tried not to gasp. The woman’s back was to them and she was walking away. An Infected man walked out of a store at the end of the hall. He screeched and charged at the woman. She struggled to stay on their feet as they fought.

Ford grabbed Evey’s arm and they sprinted across the hall. Evey struggled to keep up as they ran into a gift card store. Ford threw Evey against the wall. There was a loud howl from the Infected woman.

“They attack each other,” Ford mumbled as if he was talking to himself.

Evey looked down to realize that Ford was still holding onto her arm. His warm breath fanned across her face. Ford followed her gaze to his hand. He let go and wiped his palm on his T-shirt. He could no longer look at Evey and glanced around the store.

“This place is useless,” he said. “Pharmacy. Now.”

“Where is it?” Evey asked.

Ford stepped forward and poked his head into the hall. Evey peered past Ford. The Infected man knocked the Infected woman to the floor. Evey knew that they had the perfect opportunity to run while the Infected were distracted. They glanced to see the pharmacy across the hall on the left.

“Slow and quiet,” Ford said in a whisper.

Evey held her breath as they stepped into the hall. She stayed close behind Ford. She snuck glances back at the Infected fighting each other. They did not notice Evey and Ford as they snuck across the hallway. Her heart pounded as her mouth went dry. Her knuckles ached from how tightly she was clutching the handle of her knife.

Ford reached back and put his arm over Evey to keep her behind when they got to the front of the pharmacy. She craned her neck to see an Infected man wandering around the store. Ford moved his arm and pulled his knife out of the sheath.

The Infected man looked up when he heard Ford’s footsteps. The man bared his teeth and growled at Ford. Before he could charge forward, Ford ran. The Infected man’s screech was cut off when Ford buried the blade into the man’s skull. The man, who had blood dripping from his eyes, went limp and fell to the floor. Ford waved Evey forward.

When she was close, he grabbed her arm. She gasped as he yanked her close. His mouth was just inches away from her ear.

“Be quiet,” he whispered.

She nodded before heading down an aisle. She pulled the backpack off and unzipped it. She plucked a variety of medications off of the shelf and threw them into the bag.

She stayed on alert for any Infected. Her goal was to kill one before they left the mall. She watched Ford do it and it looked easy. In one swift motion, she would just have to stab one in the skull. After, Ford would have to show her how to use a gun.

Evey walked by the aisles looking for an Infected. She could see Ford guarding the entrance. She could not hear the growl of an Infected, so she gave up searching the aisles. She knew that all of the good medications would be behind the pharmacy counter.

She stepped behind the counter and continued to fill the bag. Once it was full, she zipped it up and threw it over her shoulders. She took a step back and turned to look at the shelves to try and think if there was anything else useful she could grab.

Evey let out a scream as she was pulled backward. An Infected woman grabbed her backpack from the other side of the counter. Evey was pulled so that she was lying across the counter. An Infected woman was leaning over her. Evey’s hands went for the knife strapped to her thigh, but the woman tried to grab Evey’s face. She grabbed the woman’s wrists and struggled to stop the woman from clawing her face.

Evey’s heart was hammering in her chest. She needed to push this woman back, so not only could she kill the woman, but she could save her life. She gritted her teeth while using all of her strength to keep the woman off. The Infected woman was biting at the air, just inches away from Evey’s face. The saliva was frothing at her mouth and dripping onto Evey’s forehead.

The woman let out a cry before blood poured onto Evey’s face. Ford grabbed a fistful of the woman’s hair when he pulled the knife out of the back of her head so that she did not collapse on Evey. He tossed the body onto the floor.

Evey got back onto her feet. She wiped the blood off her face with the back of her hand, causing it to smear on her skin. Ford wiped his bloody blade on his pants.

“Good to go?” he asked.

Evey nodded and then they could hear bullets being fired.