Day 9(2) - The Mall

Getting to the mall, Cain bypassed the security gates and entered itself.

It was huge. Cain had been there multiple times but he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the structure.

'Ok, the first on my list should be food supplies. Then, a map. I'm pretty sure I can't go back to my apartment. I also need…..'

Cain tore out a slip of blank paper from his book and wrote down his list.

Before he could act on his decision, he heard a sound. Immediately, he grabbed his gun and pointed it towards the location of the sound.

It came from a grocery store in the mall. From his vantage point, he could see a pack of candies sprawled on the ground.

Most likely, that was the origin of the sound he heard, which would mean....

"Who is there?" Cain called out.

It could not be a monster due to its sheer size but that did not mean Cain could lower his guard.

"I'm not dumb. I know you are here," shouted Cain.

He moved closer to the store and searched for the unknown person. As he entered the store, he heard frantic noises but he was too slow.

An arm stretched out and snatched his gun before he could react.

The gun was then pointed back at him ironically.

Behind the gun was a man with a large body. His lips tilted to form a mocking smile, "Not so sharp, heh?!"

After he spoke, people began to appear from all corners of the mall. It seemed like they had hidden themselves the moment they noticed Cain's presence.

Cain mentally smacked his head, 'Damn, I forgot I wouldn't be the only one heading to the mall. Now, what situation is this….?'

He decided the best response to this situation was to put up a tough face, "What do you want?"

The threat of a gun in his face wasn't pleasant at all.

"Hey, chill. I'm Saul. Nice to meet you," greeted the man as he let down the gun.

His brown eyes observed Cain from head to toes, while Cain did the same.

"Cain..." uttered Cain.

It had been long since he had spoken properly for a while. He still found himself rusty.

Cain glanced at the approaching people. They ranged from all types of ages and genders. Each of them had grim expressions. He could tell that their journey here was not flowery.

Cain asked, "When will you give me back my gun?"

"Nice gun. Where did you get it?"

"I bought it."

The increasing amount of questions made him quite uneasy. Saul presented himself in a way that made him think of him as a leader figure.

He was sure that if Saul wanted to withhold his gun, no one would object.

"Oh, are you interested in an exchange?" Saul smiled.

"No."

"I can pay quite some amount. "

"No."

"What about--"

"No."

Nothing could beat the value of a gun, especially in these dark times. He had already used the gun to kill an abomination.

If he wasn't with one at that time, he might have died.

Cain engaged in a stare-down with Saul. He was scared of the huge man, but he was even more scared of being defenceless.

He noticed groups of people had begun piling up at the store. Some of them had the leader's 'halo', not one bit less than Saul.

'I understand. They have begun forming groups that checkmate one another. This will make it better,' realized Cain.

He stretched out his hand to grab his gun and Saul, after much hesitation, released his grip on it.

Before he exited with his group, he said to Cain, "I like your name."

'Have things progressed to this stage,' thought Cain.

A dystopian world.

A world where morals were almost invisible. A world where people could freely unleash their deepest and darkest desires.

For the first time, Cain caught a glimpse of such a world. He knew that if the other groups were not here, his gun might have been stolen from him unjustly.

He gave the other groups a look of appreciation and went on to scavenge whatever he could find in the mall.

First, he changed his clothes into a more comfortable cloth. One that would enable him to move fast.

He switched his kitchen knife with a much longer blade that resembled a katana but wasn't. After all, one does not find a weapon in common malls.

Then, he went on to find food supplies and changed his bag, along with a few other things.

After a while, he was finally done. He sat in a restaurant and placed a large map on the table.

The map of Rerat. He had no idea of what his destination was.

'In emergency situations, the government would prioritize the capital more. It should be safer,' analyzed Cain.

In a normal apocalyptic situation, it would be better to stay together but in this situation, it was the opposite. Humans were an unstable factor.

Maybe, it would be better to pick an isolated location. Then again, concentrated locations would allow fluid information flow and isolated ones wouldn't.

Information was necessary as that was what was needed to repel the monsters.

Cain sighed at this revelation, 'It is a win one-lose one situation.'

Cain was about to fold his map when he heard someone approaching him.

It was a man with dark hair and blue eyes. He recognized the man. He was one of the group leaders.

"What do you want?" asked Cain with an almost hostile voice.

"Don't you know?" responded the man as he took a seat across the table.

Cain squeezed his face and simply replied, "I'm not interested."

So far, no one had approached him with a group invite. He reckoned that despite his gun, he didn't seem quite worthy to any of them.

He didn't blame them though. With his hellish appearance and scrawny body, he wasn't exactly the athletic teammate they were probably hoping for.

So, if this man wanted to invite him then it must not be for something good.

The man held Cain's arm before he could leave, "Wait, just hear me out. I'm sure you will like it."