Taylor and Amy staggered out of the convention center, their clothes torn, faces smudged with ash, and hearts weighed down with loss. The quiet air outside felt surreal, as if the chaos they had endured inside was a different world entirely. They walked a few more paces, the shock and exhaustion settling in, when the rumbling of vehicles and the low drone of helicopters shattered the silence.

A convoy of military personnel arrived, soldiers jumping out of trucks with swift, trained movements, securing the perimeter around the convention center. Helicopters circled above, their searchlights cutting through the early morning mist as medics rushed forward, setting up a makeshift triage area near the entrance.

Two medics approached Taylor and Amy, their expressions quickly shifting from alertness to shock upon seeing the siblings’ battered and exhausted forms.

“Are you two the only ones left?” one of the medics asked, her voice filled with disbelief as she took in their injuries.

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Amy looked up, her face pale and her eyes glassy. She nodded slowly. “There were others…friends… but they… they didn’t make it.”

The medic shared a grave look with her partner as they led Taylor and Amy to sit down, carefully tending to their wounds. The siblings sat in silence, each wrapped in their own thoughts, the weight of the sacrifices made by their friends settling heavily over them. The quiet was interrupted by bursts of static from a nearby radio, the sound drawing their attention.

“Sunridge Galleria Mall is officially in lockdown,” a voice crackled over the radio. “All personnel advised to maintain quarantine protocols. No entry or exit authorized until further notice.”

Taylor and Amy froze, their eyes widening as they processed the words. Sunridge Galleria…Maya.

They turned to each other, a mixture of shock and fear flashing in their eyes. The reality hit them like a punch to the gut: the nightmare they had just escaped was not over. Their sister was trapped, facing horrors of her own in the mall they’d once visited together without a second thought.

They tried calling her but to no avail there was no signal and without saying a word, they shared a look of determination, an unspoken vow to find a way to reach Maya, no matter what it took.

Their goal in finding their big sister from this nightmare.

The end for now.