It was about three in the morning when I got home. The sky was still dark and the clouds above were still heavy, another rainfall isn’t unexpected. Tents made out of old tarps, used cardboard, and towels littered the area. The fortunate who had found better materials for shelter used metal sheets of scrap, and for those lucky few that had foreseen the weather stayed inside the mall itself. Leaning up against the walls of the abandoned mall were old bearded drunkies along with expired prostitutes. Their body modifications did them no justice as they jutted out of their body’s like sore thumbs.

I took another look around, hesitating to make my quick jog out in the open toward the mall entrance. Satisfied with the fact that it was clear I held my breath and quickly jogged my way over to the embracing darkness.

“A tad bit too late to be coming home, right Rowan?.”

Caught off guard, I jumped before spinning around towards the source of sound. Hands at the ready. My eyes tried probing my surroundings for a hostile form before locking onto a familiar shadow.

“Oh, It’s you,” I said, relaxing a bit. “Damn It Ben, I was seriously about to hit you.”

An all too familiar chuckle responded as Ben slowly limped out from a dark corner. “You could try, but I already know everything you could possibly throw at me,” Ben smirked before turning serious, “though you do know what I would do too, I did have a hand in teaching you after all,” He concluded, shrugging at the thought.

I tipped my head to the side in thought before responding, “why are you on watch duty when your shift isn’t till tomorrow?” I asked, ignoring his ramble. I watched as Ben bent over to scratch his knee in irritation. A knee that so happens to be the cause for his unceremonious departure from the workforce, and his enormous debt to the hospitals that dealt with his injury.

“Tristan asked me for a favor.”

”A favor for what? To babysit me?” I scoffed.

”To tell her at what time you walked through those doors on your way back,” Ben said, pointing toward the stained double doors that made up the entrance of the mall.

Oh this is not going to be fun

“Yea yea, sure,” I said, making a show of being unconcerned. Turning my back on Ben, I continued my path towards the mall entrance, unbeknownst to me was of another smile slowly creeping its way onto Ben’s face.

As I entered, the foul smell of alcohol and manure met my nose. Forcing me to pull my shirt over my nose and mouth to help keep out the smell. I walked through the lobby, avoiding eyes yearning for a fight as their owners crouched around garbage bins containing fires. Keeping my head down with my bag close to my chest I quickly scampered my way up the stairs, making sure to avoid any puddles of urine on the way. Just when I was about to turn the corner towards the wing where I stayed a voice echoed throughout the lobby.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Hold up! I think you forgot something!”

I froze in place, dread pooling as I slowly turned around.

“Roden please!” I heard someone beg, “My family is starving! There isn’t much I can find, you can't take it!”

Relief flooded my body as I looked below. There stood a malnourished man holding a bag similar to my own, who was dressed in something that could hardly be better than rags. Facing him was a man named Roden, a man that calls himself the warden. Roden keeps everyone in check, taking it upon himself to “own” the mall, forcing everyone who had lived here before and now to pay a tribute. More times than naught it increases depending on how much he dislikes you.

“Well ain’t that too bad! Now hand it over!” Roden mocked.

There was a bit of a struggle as the malnourished man held onto the bag’s straps for dear life. His family more than likely depended on him to bring food or anything that would help them to get out of this hell hole. This bag was truly his lifeline. With a final tug Roden was able to snatch it out of his hands, grinning as the poor man fell to his knees.

“Please I beg you!” He wailed, “for the love of God please give it back! My son he-“

The man’s wails were abruptly cut off as Roden swiftly socked him straight in the throat. The man pitifully crumbled to the floor like a lifeless puppet, unconscious. Standing over him was Roden, a look of disgust twisted on his face as he glared at the ragged heap on the floor. After spitting on the poor man’s body he turned towards the lobby, arms wide in the air with bag in hand.

“Is this what you wanted?” Roden spoke, his voice echoing throughout the lobby. “All you had to do was give me something worthwhile, is my protection over you all not worth the compensation?” Roden grinned, noticing how everyone was slowly creeping backwards towards the shadows of the mall. “So please” he said gently before screaming, “stop being so DIFFICULT!”

Flinching upon his last words I decided to make my exit and head back home, I didn’t have to go that much further until then. It’s a small store, tucked in the far back corner on the second floor, making It one of the more suitable places to live. The store was on the opposite side where there aren’t any large stores that can hold large groups. Giving a more private and peaceful space to those that occupy it.

As I walked down the hallways, old LED lights flickered sporadically, casting eerie shadows on the decaying store fronts. When I turned a corner, hundreds of paper pages littered the ground, crinkling underfoot as I walked the short distance home. I stood for a few seconds before the front entrance, dusting myself off before entering. The comforting combination of grassy notes and vanilla greeted my nose once I passed through the doors. Shelves upon shelves of books stood in an orderly fashion, some books lay askew, others filled half ransacked shelves. It was previously a private collector’s library who sold and bought books, I remember going through what was left to learn what I could. A much more innocent time.

I sneaked my way around the torn pages on the floor, weaving my way through the shelves reaching the door at the back. I gave out a sigh when I finally placed my hand on the doorknob. Finally, all my anxiety vanished and my exhaustion crashed down. Slowly, I opened the door and krept in. The room used to be an old storage space and repair area for books, it was now used as a room. In the darkness I blindly reached for my bed, quietly taking off my bag, jacket, and shoes.

A sudden rustle of bed sheets came out of the darkness causing me to freeze, not soon after a scritch of a fire match followed by a growing light. A hand appeared holding the match as it moved towards a lamp which illuminated the whole room.

Three beds lay inside, one against each wall. At the far end was a single old wooden armua, along the walls were an assortment of posters, pictures, and drawings. Makeshift shelves were set above each bed with an assortment of supplies, trinkets, and clothes, while the floor was covered with four different designs of carpets sewn together to make one larger one.

“Ahem”

On one bed, the only one that lay directly in front of the door sat a young woman with a very irritated expression. Gently placing the lamp on her nightstand along with an open book beside it, she got up from her bed. She more than likely stayed up reading and heard me coming in. The young woman took no time walking towards me, who was still frozen in place mid way taking off my socks.

With a weak smile I sat up straight on my bed as she raised her hand and slapped me dead center on my left cheek.