Zombie Flash Fiction - The Dead Mall Crowd

The National Guard wasn't mobilized.  They were at home doing their regular day jobs.  The police were overwhelmed; either running home to protect their families, or stationed around government buildings.  That left me.  With a handful of my fellow security guards, I had to protect over 100 stores and over 800,000 square feet of retail space at one of the finest malls in Atlanta.  I also had a golf cart, pepper spray, and a walkie-talkie.

Photo by Donald Trung Quoc Don (Chữ Hán: 徵國單) - Wikimedia Commons - © CC BY-SA 4.0 International.
(Want to use this image?)Original publication 📤: --Donald Trung 『徵國單』 (No Fake News 💬)
(WikiProject Numismatics 💴) (Articles 📚) 17:35, 25 March 2020 (UTC) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Of course, we had heard about zombies on the news.  But, the situation was portrayed as handled.  Since isolated zombies were rumored to be around, I had a firearm stashed in my truck.  But, I wasn't allowed to carry one in the course of my duties.  Besides, I could just press a button on my walkie-talkie and summon police help.  Right.  Sure.

Due to frightening news reports of zombies around the city, the mall closed at 6 p.m.  and the shopkeepers and workers left soon after the closure.  As I let small groups of worker out of the locked doors, I sensed their fear and worry.  One older shopkeeper even gave me a big hug on the way out.  She told me to take good care of myself and I assured her I would.  With everyone gone and the steel gates down over the glass entry doors, I felt we would be perfectly safe.  Most of us guards would be all  alone on the inside and the zombies would all be outside.  Of course, my friend, Pete, was driving the roving guard vehicle around the parking lot.

Around 9 p.m. I took the cart out for rounds on the main floor.  I simply drove the cart up to each entrance and tapped my baton to a sensor near the door that recorded my visit.  Through the front door, I could see a commotion and a crowd up on the main drag, but they were obscured by hedges, signs, and bus stop shelters.  I wasn't sure what was going on outside.  I was just glad to be inside.  Still, I had a nagging feeling.

On the way to the front door, I thought I heard voices.  Perhaps murmurings or whispers?  But, when I stopped the cart, the mall was eerily silent.  As I made my way back from the front door, I heard the unmistakable sound of tennis shoes coming to a quick stop.  I knew we weren't alone.  

I radioed control and sped over to the service corridor that led to the restrooms.  As I hopped off the cart and started down the service corridor, control radioed back to let me know that a few dozen vehicles had just entered the parking lots from different directions. Just then, a hoodied figure burst from the restroom area and ran towards the emergency exit.

"Hey!" I yelled.  "Stop right there."

Of course, the running suspect didn't stop.  Instead, he burst right through the emergency exit.  The alarm bell rang loudly and I continued to jog down the long hallway in hopes that I could secure the door.  But, more than a dozen male subjects came running through the open door and right towards me.  I should be able to describe each of them in great detail.  But, the lead figure pointed a huge Desert Eagle .44 Magnum right at me and that dominated every corner of my memory.  I turned, ran right back to my cart, and chirped the tires getting out of there.  I zoomed right by all the high end jewelry, handbag, and watch stores.  

"We have armed intruders!" I hollered into the radio.  "We're going to need the police!"

I stopped around the corner of the main mall corridor, caught my breath, and peeked back at the high end stores.  Mobs were smashing windows with sledge hammers and chisels.  Store alarms were wailing, bells were ringing, and lights were flashing.  I saw people running into the stores and later emerging with pillow cases and bags filled with Gucci, Fendi, and all other sorts of high end merchandise.

My radio cackled with bad news.  Control reported that the police estimated it would be two hours before they could respond.  The tinkle of broken glass above me, let me know that shop windows on the second level were breaking.   Moments later Control reported that additional intruders had come in through another entrance and were attacking the big cell phone and electronics stores.  Looters were calling more looters.  The promise of unlimited Apple and Android devices was irresistable.  Pete radioed in and said more and more cars were coming to the mall.  

"Get back to the office," Control commanded.  "We'll shelter in place."

I looked back at the looting one more time and then came the gunshots and screams; the endless blood curdling screams.  People were emerging from the emergency exit corridors covered in blood and there was practically a stampede coming my way.  I saw the dead among them, grabbing looters, and biting into them deeply.  It still makes me shudder. 

"Help! Help!" a lady screamed with arms full of high-end handbags.

I just shook my head and floored it.  I had to dodge a few shoppers, but I  made it down the side corridor to the mall security office.  Our boss, Bernice, opened the door for me.

"It's time for us to leave," she told me and the other two guards on duty.  A glance at the monitors revealed that truth.  Panicked people were running everywhere and a large crowd of the recently dead was shuffling along behind them at a surprisingly fast pace.

"We're going to run and pile into the patrol vehicle," she said calmly.  "Then Pete is going to take us to our cars and then everyone do their best to be safe, stay out of trouble, and go home."

I took a look out the tiny window of our exit door and saw that Pete was waiting for us in the little SUV that patrolled the parking lots.  We gathered out things, huddled by our door to the parking lot, and made a run for it.  I haven't been back.  It's a dead mall now.

Ford Escape Security Guard Vehicle - photo by Bull-Doser / Public domain