The man's eyes were crazy, and his skin was pale and gray in spots that looked sick. His head jerked to the side as if he were fighting off an unseen force. He twitched in a strange way. Then he lunged with a growl that shook the empty hall.

Lex's heart was beating fast. As soon as she felt the sick man's hands scratching at the air where she had been standing, her body jerked backward. He fell forward, his teeth snapping and his breathing rough and hard.

She flipped over on her heel and ran down the hall, the smooth tile floor making her sneakers squeak. There was a lot of fear and adrenaline in her head, and her feet were moving faster than she could think. Not everyone got this sick; people didn't just turn into this.

She didn't pay attention to her phone when it buzzed again, and she almost crashed into a rack of makeup as she went around a corner. She just kept going. Not yet. The sound of the warning made things even more chaotic. People in the mall were yelling around her. Some were running for the exits, while others were standing still with scared and confused looks on their faces.

"Damien!" "Sofia!" she yelled into her phone as she pressed the speed dial button. Nothing. She cursed under her breath as her hands shook. Where are they?

Meanwhile

Even before the lights went out, Damien could tell that people in the sporting goods shop were not feeling safe. At first it was just a hint, people were moving a little faster and whispering to each other but now it was full-on fear. Teenagers crowded together with wide eyes were scared. A woman dropped her shopping bags and ran for the door.

Maya pulled on his shirt. "Damien, let's go. "Now."

"No kidding." He grabbed a baseball bat from one of the cases and held on tight to the metal. He shouldn't have left without a way to protect himself. "Where's Lex?"

Maya looked at her phone. "She’s not picking up." Her eyes lit up with fear. "We need to find her." It's not... normal."

They tried to leave the store, but the way was stopped. A group of people stood there and yelled at a security guard. As the guard put his radio to his mouth, his hands were shaking.

"Be calm," the guard said in a shaky voice. "The way out is... locked. We're in charge of it, though.

Locked? Damien felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Maya, who was already calling Lex again, and her face turned pale.

Damien looked around the shop. He could only think of one thing: Get to Lex. But before he could move, he heard the clear sound of growls coming from the aisles.

As Maya whispered, "Damien..." she looked quickly at the sound.

A man stumbled into view, his body slouched and shaking. His eyes were... off, and his hands were covered in blood. Shiny, yellowed, and wild.

The man yelled and jumped at a shopper nearby. The shopper barely had time to scream before he was dragged to the ground. Damien got a chill when he heard the bones crack.

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"Go!" Damien yelled and grabbed Maya's arm as they ran out of the store.

Food Court

Lex was out of breath and shaking when he got to the food court. It looked like something from a bad dream in the place that used to be busy. Chairs were on their sides, food trays were all over the floor, and the lights above flashed in a scary way. Sophie and Brandon were crowded together next to a table, their eyes wide with fear.

"Sophie!" Lex called, and as she ran toward them, her voice shook with happiness.

Sophie turned around, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. "Lex, it's happening everywhere. People are... putting out fires. It feels like some kind of sickness."

"I saw it too," Lex said, looking around to try to figure out what was going on. "We need to find Damien and Maya. "Have you heard from them?"

He shook his head and kept his phone close to his ear. "I've been trying to get into the mall's network." There is a problem. There are no responses from any of the devices.

Lex felt sick to his stomach. "There's no way out. "We're stuck."

At the same time, Damien and Maya ran down a side hallway to get away from the rising chaos. More and more people fell down, their bodies shaking and twitching wildly as the infection took over. The further they ran, the worse the scene got. Some got to their feet slowly, with bloodshot eyes and strange moves, while others stood still, their bodies sagging on the cold tile floor.

"This way!" Damien led Maya down a short service tunnel away from the main crowd.

As they slowed down, Maya gasped for air and put her hand on his arm. "What’s happening, Damien?"

He said, "I don't know," even though he wished he knew. He didn't like not being in charge. It felt like the whole world was falling apart right now. "But we can't be seen. We need to visit Lex again.

Even though Maya's face was pale, she nodded.

Lex got down on his knees next to Sophie while Brandon kept fiddling with his phone. There was a lot of stress between the three of them because they had no idea what was going on and felt like they couldn't relax.

Brandon said quietly, "I think I can hack into the mall's security system." He did this by moving his fingers quickly across the screen of his phone. "If I can get the cameras back online, we might be able to see what’s going on."

Lex nodded. He was open to any idea, no matter how crazy it seemed. "Do it. We need to learn how bad this is.

The lights above flickered again, and then there was the sound of something breaking far away. Sophie jumped and looked around the room with wide eyes.

She whispered, "What was that?" Her voice was shaking.

With his hands on the edge of the table, Lex stood up. "I'm not sure." But I think we're about to find out."

There were heavy, dragging footsteps that could be heard all through the empty food court. Lex's stomach got tight, and she slowly turned to look in the direction of the noise.

There was a figure coming out of the darkness. At first view, it looked like a person—tall and dressed in a security uniform—but its movements were jerky and not like a person would. Also, its eyes were red and crazy.

Lex took a step back as she felt her breath get tight. She said to Sophie and Brandon, "Get behind me."

The figure stumbled closer, and its mouth moved in horrifying twitches. It let out a low, deep growl and turned its head sharply toward them, eyes fixed on their group.

This is not going to happen. Lex thought, "This can't be real," but a chill went up her spine and told her it was.

The security guard who was infected let out a quick, loud roar, and then it charged.