-Chapter V-
Let’s Go Shopping!
Today I have a mission, and that mission has but one objective. Find clothes!
I am getting desperate here. I packed light on clothing to have room for other supplies and because I was already planning on finding some better fitting ones. But I’ve been forced into a bit of a predicament.
I only have one set of clothes left, and I’m currently wearing it. If this set get ruined too, I am screwed!
Clenching my fists, I swear to myself, “Today I am finding some clothing, and no one can stop me!”
With my resolve set, I gather up my stuff and head out, checking my map, I just need to head south for a couple miles, just off the highway will be my destination for today.
Typically speaking, I would avoid cities like the plague. The many large buildings, now being retaken by nature, make an excellent nest for dangerous creatures and have far too many hiding spots for ambush predators. I once heard a story from another scavenger that lost a friend to a pack of cats. Before they even knew what was happening, they had a bunch of fluffy terrors assaulting them.
The scavenger was covered in scars from having managed to fight them off, but the last he seen of his friend was of him being dragged into a dark alley screaming at the top of his lungs. The entire time we talked with him, his eyes would dart to dark corners as if checking for movement.
Besides being a bit twitchy he was honestly pretty nice. Dad traded him a bottle of vodka for some supplies and as thanks for his story.
Besides cats, there is the obvious threat of dogs, rats, and other such creatures and monsters that would be more than happy to claim some abandoned buildings as their nest. Potentially worse would be any humans crazy enough to still live in the cities. Those sorts wouldn’t hesitate to take what they want or do what they must in order to survive.
After all, it wouldn’t be the apocalypse if there weren’t roving gangs of bandits after all.
At least we haven’t reached the point where they are going around wearing nothing but leather and spikes and screaming about being shiny in chrome. I don’t think I would be able to handle that. I think to myself.
While I am getting myself lost in my own ADD addled mind, I walk further down the highway, bringing myself to the beginning of what is left of Cincinnati City. Luckily, it is located right on the border of Kentucky and Ohio, so my journey is about halfway through.
The highway I was following skirts around the eastern edge of the city, thankfully the convoy was smart enough to avoid driving straight through the heart of city. If I were to guess, the convoy most likely continued around the edge of the city before then making a straight shot south-west along U.S. 71 towards Louisville.
Finally, after a bit more walking, I find myself at my destination, just off the side of the highway. Its presence utterly dominates the surrounding area like the biggest fish in a pond.
It exterior is covered in creeping and crawling vines, large fissure like cracks that could swallow a man whole litter the parking lot, and of course there are the ever-present overabundance of trees sprouting up and growing where they have no business being; but it is unmistakably my destination.
Throwing up my arms, I give a cheer, “It’s a mall!”
If there is one thing that malls have, it is way too many stores selling clothes. I have to be able to find some stuff here. If I don’t, I swear I’m going to lose my mind and freak out!
With my resolve filled and my mission objective right before my eyes I march up to one of the entrances, this one leading to the food court. I chose to avoid going through any of the other entrances as I wanted one with good visibility into the rest of the mall.
The glass doors leading in have long since been shattered, allowing the elements free passage into the building. Hugging a wall so I don’t get spotted by anything living inside, I peer through the entryway and check for danger.
From what I can see, even just from the food court, the mall is pretty wrecked and has been overtaken by plant life. From the way it looks, it is almost as if the Rainforest Café decided it was no longer satisfied with remaining in a single spot and decide to spread its roots and invade the rest of the mall.
Does this mall have a Rainforest Café? I haven’t been to one since I was a little kid. I shiver as I recall scary childhood memories of Tracy the Tree. I swear if any of the trees start talking to me, I am bolting out of here as fast as I can. Even if I have to go through a wall to do so.
All around inside the walls are covered from floor to ceiling in creeping vines and hanging leaves. The floor is scattered in a layer of dirt and dust as fallen and broken tables and chairs mingle with the roots of growing trees and the odd bush or fern. Through parts of the ceiling, I spy hints of the sun as its light barely manages to find its way through clouds and the broken skylights in its meager attempt to fill the mall’s interior.
How it is that all of these plants can grow here with such little light is simply beyond me, but I’m not a scientist so I’ll just leave it for smarter people to figure out and move on.
Not spotting any signs of creatures or people, I push away from the wall and slide my way in through the broken doors, being extra careful not to step on broken glass and make a bunch of noise.
Inside, many of the shutters covering the food stalls are either half closed or left wide open, completely abandoned and most likely utterly looted many months ago. I could maybe spend some time to see if there is any preserved food left over, but I don’t like my chances and that isn’t what I am here for.
Walking through the abandoned food court and ignoring the small pine tree growing behind a cash register, looking like the world’s slowest employee, I make my way into the mall proper. Even before reaching the main intersection of the mall, I can already tell that this place was dying long before the end of the world.
Gates leading into stores remain long closed, no one bothering to break in as nothing was left after the tenants vacated the space. A rather depressing sight all in all. I had always enjoyed going to malls, be it with friends or family, and seeing my favorite places to shop wither away was not pleasant.
The expanding of online shopping was already hurting shopping malls pretty badly, but when the big C-virus hit, well that was basically a massive kick in the nuts that really brought them down.
Of course, then the apocalypse had to happen just as everyone was getting over the virus. Gods, 2023 really sucked. I muse to myself as I make my way into the center of the mall.
Well, I’ve got three paths I can follow… Straight ahead is the shortest path leading to a department store. None of the shops, at least from what I can tell, look like anything that I would be interested in. Most of their gates are closed shut and nothing really screams out ‘clothing’ to me.
To my right, the second path leads to another department store, a path branches off of it halfway there which according to the mall’s information terminal, leads to a big clearance store.
The path to my left apparently leads to an old Sears.
Wow, I haven’t seen one of those in a long time. Dad used to always like going though there to look at tools. If a mall had one, he would have to park in front of it so we would have to go through it twice during a trip.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Hmmm,” Once I was done reminiscing about spending time with my family, I made my decision. Wasn’t too hard considering that sitting right off of the food court before the left path is a Hot Topic.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a mall that hasn’t had one in or near the food court…
It’s not where I normally would have gone clothes shopping, but occasionally I would find some interesting stuff. Mostly anime stuff.
Walking over, making sure to avoid tree roots and fallen pieces of ceiling, I check the place out. Surprisingly, the gate is still closed. The glass for the display windows is still standing, albeit cracked and dirty, but it doesn’t seem as if anyone has been in there. Maybe I’ll get lucky!?
Stopping myself from getting too excited, I shake my head and force myself to calm down. Don’t want to get my hopes up.
First, I try the gate, but it is locked. Hmm, there could be a back entrance somewhere. But then I would have to waste a bunch of time trying to find it, and it’s probably locked too… The windows? I could break them pretty easily, but that would make a lot of noise.
Looking around, I check to see if I can find anything alive in the mall. Besides some rats (Thankfully normal sized) scurrying about; I don’t see anything dangerous. There are entire areas of the mall that I can’t see from here and I haven’t checked though, so I can’t say without a doubt that I won’t aggro something if I make a bunch of noise.
Pouting, I look back over the locked-up store. Do I risk it? If I’m careful about it… My eyes drift away from the glass back to the locked gate. I keep forgetting but, I’m really strong now. Breaking glass would be loud, but what about breaking a lock?
Walking over to it I kneel down and give it a look. The gate itself locks into a small metal panel bolted to the ground. Giving one last look around to make sure that nothing is around, I reach down and grab the handle of the gate with both hands. Giving it a tug, it obviously doesn’t budge but it does gives me a feel for how heavy the gate is; not very heavy is what I decide on.
Bracing both of my legs I pull up on the gate, slowly increasing how much force I put in as I don’t want to rip the gate out and slam it into the ceiling. With each passing second, I increase the force bit by bit until I can feel the lock struggling to hold under the force of me pulling on it.
I can feel it, If I wanted to, I could just rip this thing out of the ground, it wouldn’t even be that hard…
With just a bit more force, the lock pops and I have to stop myself from throwing the gate up its track. There is a bit of clattering as I try to keep the gate from shaking. Going still I slow my breathing and focus on my hearing. One second. Two seconds. A third and fourth pass but I don’t hear anything. As far as I can tell I should be in the clear.
Gently and slowly, I raise the gate until it is high enough for me to duck under. Going through, I lower the gate behind me and move into the store.
Inside is quite the mess, items are scattered about, and display cases have toppled over after enduring months of earthquakes shaking everything about. Shirts and other articles of clothes form piles where they fell from the walls.
The store is dusty and dirty, yes, but it hasn’t been flooded, infested with insects or retaken by nature. It’s just a dirty abandoned store with most of its stuff intact.
“Yyyyyeessssss! Yes, yes, yes!” Moving excitedly, I go through every bit of clothing I can find. Sorting out anything that’s too big for me, too dirty, or just a bit ‘too much’ anime. This may be the apocalypse but I’m not going to go around wearing a shirt covered in waifu. I may be a weeb, but I at least have some self-control. I think…
Anything that can fit on me, I fold and pile up on the counter after sweeping it clean. A few shirts with memes or cutes cartoon animals or band logos, a cute pink tank-top, a white and pink cat eared hoodie, a couple of pants that aren’t covered in chains and belts or already torn apart, some stockings, panties and socks; Oh wait, the claws on my toes will shred those, never mind; I chuck the socks and stockings.
Beside everything else I find some skirts. I had never been one for wearing skirts, being as tall as I used to be made me feel uncomfortable wearing them. So, I always stuck to wearing jeans or shorts and on rare occasions a long skirt that would go all the way down to my ankles.
Never would I wear a skirt that would go to or above the knees. But now I’m small, and… and cute. I could wear a skirt now. I am sure I can make it work. Besides, I’m a demon now! What’s the point in being an Imp if I’m not willing to be a bit outgoing?
Clutching the fabric in my hands, I work up my courage. Grabbing a shirt that will show off some belly button, I head into the changing room and strip off my clothes. Dressed in nothing but some fresh underwear, I stand in front of the mirror and look at myself.
Reflected in the mirror isn’t 6ft of old boring Lain, but instead a cute little Imp staring right back at me through golden halos resting atop black sclera. Her shoulder length hair is a mess of a lions-mane, but her features are small and round and cute with horns spouting from her crown and a nervous tail moving back and forth from behind.
“I’m cute now. I can pull off more daring looks if I want to…” I tell myself. “And who’s going to stop me? If someone laughs at me, I can just rip their arms off and beat them with them like a Wookie! I can do this!”
My resolve set, I get myself dressed. Pulling the skirt up, zipping it up, tightening the belt, and slipping on the shirt. With a blush making my face feel like it’s on fire I look at myself in the mirror again.
With my voice shaking, I say, “I. I, look so cute. I, I…” I run out of words as I turn around and examine myself from different angles, the skirt and my tail flowing with the motion as I move from side to side. The red skirt goes down to my knees and with every motion the fabric would flow and reveal a bit of perfectly smooth and rounded thigh. Moving up I see my navel on full display, my new shirt is resting just above it, bearing a cover from one of my favorite bands.
Feeling equal measures embarrassed and excited, I strike a couple of poses like an idol. Doing that makes the embarrassment grow and my face lights up like a tomato full of firecrackers.
Looking away from the mirror I play with my hair as I try to get myself to relax; being brave is exhausting.
Once I’ve calmed down a bit, I look back at the mirror and focus on my hair. It really is a mess; I did a shit job at cutting it. Some areas are longer than others or cut haphazardly. I was in a rush to cut my hair back in that bookstore, not wanting to have several feet of hair hanging down my back, so I did a rather poor job at it.
Deciding that now is a good a time as any, I get to work on cleaning up my hair cut. Evening out rough areas and trimming down parts that are too long. I’m not a barber or a hair stylist by any stretch of the imagination, especially while working on myself, but I can at least clean up the mess sitting on top my head.
After several minutes of trimming and combing my hair with my fingers looking for missed strands, I leave the changing room and fetch my hairbrush from my bag. Going back in, I give my hair a good brushing and try to bring some order to the chaos rampaging on my head.
With everything a bit more cleaned up, I give myself one last look in the mirror and smile. I really do look cute now… With a blush rising on my cheeks, I turn away and head back before I let myself get embarrassed again.
Going up to the counter piled up with folded clothes I run into a fresh problem. The original reason that I had packed so lightly on clothes was to have more room for supplies. While I have eaten through some of my food, I still have about two weeks’ worth packed away if I ration it. I have several water bottles, tools and supplies for starting fires and camping, medical supplies (maybe useless for me but could be useful at some point), and some self-care items like toothpastes and deodorant and other essentials for not degrading from a cute little Imp into a filth covered goblin.
Not counting my bed roll, which is strapped to my bag, I just don’t have the space to carry lots of clothes. I’m not a videogame character that can carry three houses worth of junk in their pocket or a wizard with extremely convenient space magic. I just have a backpack.
Looking around the store I do find some purses and other backpacks, but I don’t want to be wearing two backpacks while I hike over ruined highway for a hundred miles. If I can find a gym bag or something like that, I could strap it to my backpack and fill it with clothes. It’s not every day that I can find a spot as untouched as this and the chances of doing so in future is just going to become even worse as time passes. I'm not leaving any of these clothes behind.
With my mind made up I carefully make my way out of the store, checking around to make sure that it is all clear before leaving. Gently I lower the gate behind me and head out.
If I want to get a travel bag or something similar, the fastest place I would most like to find one in would be one of the department stores or the clearance store attached to the mall.
Excluding the Sears that is probably just an abandoned shell, I head for the one that is directly opposite of the food court so I can have line of sight back towards the entrance and be able to head straight back for my new clothes.
Walking towards my target in clothing that actually fits and isn’t a baggy loose mess, I happily hop and climb over obstacles. Skipping over a crack that could swallow a boot and navigating around a stray bush, I make my way past store after store. Each one either looted, wrecked, or having been long since vacated and emptied.
The doors to the department store lay wide open, the glass of some of them having been shattered and now litters the ground. The inside of the department store isn’t looking so promising. The inside is much like that of the rest of the mall, having transformed into a veritable forest of twisting and crawling vines, trees, and other hardy plant life. Several sections of the ceiling had collapsed inwards allowing the elements unfettered access to the inside.
“Ya, this is more like it. Doubt that I’ll find much of anything in here…” I tell myself as I walk in. Even if this one ends up being a bust, I still have the other stores I can hit so I’m not too terribly worried. Even if it comes down to it, if I have to, I’ll wear a second backpack on my front. I don’t want to, as it would be really uncomfortable and awkward, but I’m serious when I say that I’m not leaving any of that clothing behind.
I’ve already come to close to being reduced to nothing. I shudder. Never again!