His safe place
"I think I have an idea but I don't know if it will work or not." She looked at her bag on her lap. "Care to share?" Ezra asked. "Well, You see… They run after sound. So, What if we create a sound outside of the mall and they all get out of here?" Her plan was more like a question. "But how are we going to make a sound that too outside of the mall?" Jose got doubtful and confused about her plan. "I have a plan for that too." Tiara said and they started to discuss what she actually meant then she pulled out her drone from her bag which she bought from the mall a few days ago.
"Are you sure…this?" Vin asked as if he had doubts about her plan. "I hope so." Tiara wished her plan would work. "Does someone know how to connect its camera to our phone?" Tiara asked checking out the drone from every angle. "I know, Give it to me." Ezra stretched his hand toward Tiara. Tiara immediately gave her drone to Ezra like an obedient child.
Ezra started to connect his phone to the drone and once he was done with setting everything, He gave the drone back to Tiara. "Huh?" She couldn't understand what she was supposed to do with it. "Control it." Ezra said. "I-I don't know how to… I never controlled a drone before. I think someone who has controlled a drone before should do it." Tiara accepted her lack of knowledge about it and suggested someone else should do it. "I-I can…" Vin said hesitantly. "Okay." Tiara gave the drone to Vin. "Send it out through this window." Jose pointed to the small window. Vin nodded and started the drone and a strong sound of it echoed in the room. The drone went out through the window and then they started to search for another window to enter the mall because they were going to make most of the zombies inside the mall run after it outside. Ezra held his phone to everyone else, Vin was concentrated on the remote control of the drone and Ezra's phone to know about the drone's location, Tiara stood close to Vin looking at Ezra's phone like everyone else was doing other than the old fellows who were still taking rest on the floor and Joy was recording everything as usual.
They were searching for any window for the drone to go in and then Vin's eyes started to dance between the phone's screen and Tiara after realizing that there wasn't much gap between them as she was still looking beautiful in her messy bun, sweaty face which was half covered by blood. Joy was the only one who noticed his gaze shifting between the phone's screen and Tiara and decided not to record his stupidity. It wasn't long when Jose parted his lips when he noticed something. "It's a window, right? He pointed to somewhere in the phone's scene. "Yes!" KR agreed and got excited. Vin sent the drone inside the mall through that window. Just a few seconds later they heard a scream through Ezra's phone and they noticed that the zombies were following the drone because of its sound indeed. A smile appeared on their face which reached their eyes making it their brightest smile since yesterday.
Vin started to move the drone here and there to gather more zombies to make them follow the drone outside as they planned. After half an hour of roaming the drone around, They decided to take all the zombies out of the mall. The drone came to the ground floor after gathering the zombies from 3 floors., the ground hall in front of the entrance gate was filled with the undeads filling the whole mall space with their roars. "Wait!" Tiara stopped Vin before he could take the drone near the entrance gate. "What happened?" Jose asked her directly looking into her eyes which made her nervous to spell anything.
"I-I… D Don't you think that those zombies may catch the drone while it went through the gate?" Tiara stopped herself from stuttering and told everyone her worry which made everyone else realize it as well. "We can send it out with speed." Nolan suggested. "But the entrance is small that the drone will need it to go a little low for a few minutes." KR doubted his idea. "I can." Vin stopped them before they could say anything making them dumbfounded on the spot. "You mean you can do it quickly?" Tiara asked if what they were thinking he meant is right. "Yes." He replied shortly. "Okay, Trust him. If he says he can then he will." KR supported Vin like a leader and an old friend of his. "It's not like we have any other option." Ezra sighed. "I trust you." Tiara said with a soft voice and nodded to Vin, giving him confidence and allowing him to continue.
Vin seemed tensed this time, afraid to disappoint others who are putting their trust in him. He did his best and the drone's speed was the highest while it goes down to match the gate's frame height, Two hunters stretched their arms to catch the drone but Vin flew the drone up as soon as it was out of the mall. Tiara saw it all and went out of the circle they created around Ezra's phone. "Take them away, at least till our bus is parked." She said while she was searching for some things. Quickly she grabbed two rods one was sharpened and the only rod which wasn't sharp, a gun and a tape probably used by guards, She put the gun and the tape in her pockets and struggled with two rods. "eodi gaseyo?"- "Where are you going?" Mrs. Kim stopped Tiara. "Huh?" Tiara paused at her place. "She asked where are going?" KR asked her.
"Out." She said and moved to the gate. "Close the door behind me. Someone needs to close the entrance." She answered them shortly and opened the gate while KR ran to close the door but stopped. "Are you sure you want to go alone?" KR asked her worriedly. "I don't know." She answered him and ran away. She ran toward the entrance as fast as she could and silently before closing the entrance gate she scanned the zombies outside with her eyes while taking a deep breath of relief. Meanwhile, in the guard's room, JJ turned on the lights which made everything clear inside the room. They noticed a separate small room in the corner. JJ, Joy, Ian, and KR decided to check what was inside the other small room. They opened the door and got stunned by all the computer screens on the table. It was live CCTV footage from all over the mall.
Near the entrance gate, She closed the door without having any problems after she dropped the rods on the ground inside because her small hands couldn't close the gate while carrying them. Meanwhile, in the CCTV room, They were looking at the screen and found live footage of the entrance gate. They started to look at what Tiara was doing, She took out the tape from her pocket and started to roll it around the gate's handle to lock it properly, They were relieved that she was safe and was out there to make the mall safer for them but then they noticed a zombie coming near Tiara after hearing tape's sound. Their eyes widened and started to panic. "Zombie!" Joy screamed as if Tiara would be able to hear him. The hunter slowly moved to Tiara and she couldn't feel its presence as well because it was silent making it different from other zombies who scream before the attack. JJ started to jump before running to her, KR tried to stop him but he shoved him away and rushed outside of the room to reach Tiara before the hunter do.
In the entrance area, Tiara was still busy wrapping the tape around the handle properly but she stopped when she heard quiet footsteps and a groan. She quickly pick the sharpened rod from the ground and turned back. The hunter ran to her but she pierced the rod right through its chest but it didn't stop coming near her to eat her alive. "Just die already! Why don't you!" She mumbled to herself but that hunter wasn't obedient to listen to her. It was just inches away making all the rod go through its chest when Tiara noticed another hurried footstep. She tilted her head a little left to see if it was another zombie but to her luck it was JJ then she noticed something else presence behind JJ as well then she noticed that JJ came without any protection to protect himself. She took out the gun from her pocket and shot her hunter right into its head. "Stubborn zombie!" She mumbled again. She pointed the gun toward JJ who was coming to her but froze after seeing the gun pointed in his direction and She shot the bullet.
The bullet went from near JJ's neck and shot someone who was behind him. Another hunter, who was after him. He was all shocked and turned back to look at whom she just shot at. He gulped after looking at the dead body of his hunter but his attention was grabbed by a scream which came from his right side. A hunter was running toward Tiara while she pushed away her first hunter body to get it out from her rod to make space for her new hunter and without any delay she pierced yet again another chest. She pulled the rod out after she made sure it was dead.
Tiara shifted her gaze to JJ who was still traumatized by the incident that took place just a minute ago. "Why did you come here?" Tiara questioned him while his back was facing her, He turned to look at her with his puppy eyes. "To save you." He answered her innocently with his soft voice and she chuckled and turned to wrap the tape again. "To save me how? You didn't even take a rod with you to even protect yourself. Were you going to have a boxing match with them?" Tiara said with a sarcastic voice while she blushed and a smile appeared on her face without her knowledge even though she knew she liked how he came to save her but then it hit her. 'Wait, How did he know I was in danger?' She ignored it and decided to ask later. She cut the tap with her sharp vampire teeth and then took the other unsharpened rod to put under the handle to make it more secure.
She turned again to face JJ and found him flustered on the exact spot, She knew he was nervous and awkward because she kind of made fun of him. "Thank you for coming to protect me." She assured him trying not to make him feel awkward. "But I-" He was about to say something but Tiara stopped him. "At least you tried and came to protect me. That's what matters." She said with a delicate voice and came near him. "Let's go back." She gave him a reassuring smile that everything is okay and he did the same. He didn't know what happened to him but it felt nice, Nice that she smiled at him, Nice that she was with him, Nice that she was safe and they were safe with her, She was his safe place from now on. He followed her silently to the guard's room where everyone was waiting for him. "But I will appreciate it if you take anything to protect yourself next time." Tiara said with concern in her eyes and voice. She smirked and looked at him while he bite his lips stopping himself to blush in front of her.
They reached in front of the guard's room and Tiara approached the door's lock to open but someone else opened the door before her from inside. It was Sam who opened the door and then he gestured to come inside. They both went in and JJ locked the door again behind him. She was amazed by the things kept in the guard's room that she couldn't see before because of the darkness and then her gaze fell on Vin and Ezra who were still controlling the drone outside. "What should we do with the drone now?" Ezra asked after he noticed that they got her attention now. "Uhm… Don't take it back here or else they might follow it till here as well. Send it high where they can't get it. Any big building." She answered him and they did what she said. Ezra put his phone back in his pocket and Vin put the remote of the drone on one of the wall shelves.
"Let's go now." Tiara said, standing in the exact spot with the rod in her hands. "Where?" Almost everyone asked in unity. "Washroom? Didn't you want to go? I need to use the washroom as well." Tiara answered them, looking straightly at Nolan. She turned to the exit of the room while everyone else started to stand up to go outside as well. "Don't forget to take the rods as there are still some zombies here and there." Tiara explained the situation outside to everyone. They all left the room and started to make their way to the washroom after locking the door behind them. They found the washroom within 6 minutes without any obstacles. "Hey, Stop!" Sam stopped Tiara to open the lady's washroom and Jose to open the men's washroom. "What?" Jose asked him the reason he stopped them to open the washroom's door. "There zombies!" Sam pointed to the washroom. "He wanted to say that there can be zombies inside. We should be on guards." KR explained the reason behind Sam's doing.
"Ahh, Right…" Tiara agreed with them and pulled her hand away from the door's handle. "One will need to open the door and hide behind it while other people attack the zombie that comes out of the washroom, okay?" Tiara gave her plan and everyone nodded. Mrs. Kang slowly opened the door and hid behind it while Tiara and other young fellows stood on their guards. Only two female hunters came outside to attack them but turned into their prey instead. After getting rid of them Tiara went in to check if there were any other zombies or not, She bent down to look through the gap below the gates to see any feet. Luckily, the First 2 rooms were empty but then she check the third one. She sighed and pulled out the gun from her pocket again, open the gate and shoot at the undead before it could attack her. "Wow, It feels like I am in a movie. I am a pro at it!" She started to jump, feeling proud of herself then she check the other spaces which were empty.
She happily went outside to let them know it was safe now but then she saw they were just standing like how she left them. "Why didn't you open the men's washroom gate yet?" She asked innocently and pointed to the gate. "We… were waiting for you." Ezra said being shy as if they can't do anything without her, She pressed her lips into a thin line and made her eyes small to give them an irritated yet funny look. "Ugh, Okay! Open it and get ready!" Tiara said and positioned herself to attack their hunters that can come out of the men's washroom anytime. Jose opened the door and 7 hunters ran toward them and they started to fight them when Tiara noticed that one of them ran to Joy who was recording everything as usual. She killed her hunter first and then pulled the gun out of her pockets and shoot directly at Joy's attacker's head from behind while he just froze at his place, shaking and holding his phone straight, Tiara sighed heavily after seeing his actions. "I told you to do something for your own good. You seriously want to die, don't you?" She scolded him after making sure that others killed the rest of the undeads.
"I-" Joy wanted to say something but it made Tiara clench her jaw even more and then she looked in another direction to control her anger while Vin went to Joy to help him calm down. "We should drag these bodies to the main hall where the other bodies are because we surely don't want to see this mess every time we come here." Ian said with disgust. "Right, Then drag them till there." Tiara said and slid the gun inside her pocket again. "Why us?" Nolan quickly asked. "Dude? When will you use those strong muscles of yours, huh?" Tiara said sarcastically. "But why are you denying to drag these bodies as well?" Ian started to doubt. "Just look at my size. Do you think I can drag these heavy bodies? Plus, I have done enough. Now, It's your turn." She told them that she was weak to do so but she knew she can't touch those dead bodies. She was afraid, she was strong enough to drag those fleshes physically but not mentally. They all agreed to drag the bodies out of there and were about to touch the bodies.
"maenson-eulo manjimyeon andoebnida. jang-gab-eul sayonghasibsio." Mr. Min stopped them before they could touch. "What?" Jose asked with confusion. "He said, we shouldn't touch the bodies with our bare hands, We should use gloves." KR told them what he meant. "But from where we will get the gloves now." Nolan impatiently said. "I saw some in the guard's room. I will go and get them." Tiara said before running to the guard's room.
Meanwhile, KR got a phone call and he picked it up immediately after looking at the caller Id, It was Korea's president and they started to talk in Korean. "Hello, Kang Nam-Gil." The president said from the other side of the phone, his voice filled with worries. "Yes?" KR got nervous after hearing his voice. "Actually, I called you to inform you that there's a change to when they will come for your protection." He told KR the reason behind his call and KR's eyes filled with terror, his heart beats fastened, and breathed heavily. He knew they were safe here now but he wanted to get out of this messy place and go back to his normal life. He was scared that they postponed their escape time.