We didn’t bother fixing the door, or prop it up. We just kept running.

“Did anyone see where Maria went?” Jack asked between ragged breaths.

“She’s with Daniel,” I answered.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did they get out?”

“I think so. But I didn’t see which way they went.”

“Oh great! They could be anywhere! They could be trapped!”

“They’re probably on the golf course already,” I said, trying to calm him down.

“But we don’t know that!” Jack shouted. “And we don’t even really know who this Daniel guy is! He could’ve taken her anywhere. He could’ve put her in danger. What if he’s kidnapped her so he can escape by himself and collect a reward or whatever?”

“No, that’s stupid. He wouldn’t do that.”

But even as I was saying it I remembered what he said about getting paid for this mission, how it was a huge amount that could set him up for life. But he wouldn’t abandon us would he? Not after everything that’s he’s been through. “No way,” I said. “He wouldn’t do that. He’s lost a lot on this mission. He lost his whole squad on this. And he’s smart enough not to get trapped. They’ll be safe,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as anyone. “And besides, apart from Kenji, Daniel’s the best person, the most qualified to protect Maria.”

We were running through the wide aisles of the IKEA, through all the home furniture displays. But we didn’t really know where we were going. We had no idea where the exits were. The whole store was like a maze. Again, my chest tightened and a feeling of claustrophobia returned.

Kenji pointed to a side door. “Over there! That leads to the bedding store. Maybe we can find a way through it and sneak out the rear exit.”

“Do you think they’ll be out there?” I asked fearfully.

“Not sure,” Kenji replied.

“But these buildings back out on to the golf course,” Jack added. “So if we can get out the rear exits, we can make a run for it. We’re better off in the open. There’s less chance of being ambushed or trapped.”

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Even though there was more chance of being spotted, I thought. But we had to pick our poison.

We made our way from the IKEA, through an adjoining walkway into the bedding store. We could see the back exits. Unfortunately they had been barricaded shut with tables and bedding frames and mattresses. The same thing had been done to the front main entrance. The main entrance had a stack of bed mattresses and bed frames stacked up at least ten feet high.

Although there did appeared to be a gap down the side of the barricade. It was a neat gap, wide enough for a person to squeeze through. I guess whoever had made the barricade eventually gave up. Maybe they freaked out and decided to make a run for it. Not that any of that mattered anymore, because through the gap we could see that the doors were wide open. And outside, the horde of infected were streaming past. They didn’t know we were in here yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

At the far end of the bedding store we saw another side entrance that lead directly into the next store. The hardware store.

We paused momentarily, crouching down behind a massive king size bed.

“Do you think we can make it into the hardware store?” Jack asked.

“We have to try,” Kenji answered. “It’ll take too long to move that barricade. We gotta try the hardware store.”

If we couldn’t get out through the back of the hardware store, we’d have to go all the way back into the IKEA and try and find the rear exit or emergency exit. There would have to be one somewhere. But that store was so big and such a maze there was a real risk of getting lost or getting trapped.

And we could not afford to get trapped. Not with so many infected just outside. And that giant spider monster. Who even knew what that thing was capable of doing? I did not want to find out.

We stayed crouched behind the bed for what felt like a long time. Although in reality it was probably only thirty seconds. Eventually my heart rate began to slow. I was able to think a bit more clearly and process what had just happened.

“So what the hell was that big spider thing?” I asked. “Have you guys seen anything like it?”

“No, nothing like it,” Jack answered. “That was crazy.”

I turned to Kenji. “Did you get briefed on any mechanical spider monsters before you came out here? You’re not hiding anything else from us are you?”

“Ah, no,” he said, slightly offended. “They never briefed us on anything like that. The virus, that’s all they warned us about, that it changed people. And even then we didn’t believe it. Not until we saw it with our own eyes at the immigration center. But that? That giant spider thing? You gotta be kidding me. No way. They never mentioned anything even remotely like that.”

“Maybe it was just a robot or machine thing made by whoever made those other sculptures,” Jack suggested sort of half sarcastically. “And maybe it just short circuited or something and it went haywire.”

It sounded ridiculous, but what was the alternative? A giant spider monster, made from spare car parts and scrap metal? None of it made sense. And that scared the hell out of me. Just knowing that there was something else out there, something else to fight and fear, to run and hide from.

“Come on,” Kenji said. “Let’s go. We can talk about it later. But right now we need to get the hell out of here.”

We were about to make a move. But just then something crashed through the barricade of the main entrance.

They had found us.