Felix and sprint up the escalators toward the third floor.
"Jaz!" I scream. "Jaz! Where are you?" I nearly trip on the uneven steps at the top of the escalator, but Felix catches my elbow, and we keep running. Rounding a corner near Typo, we nearly collide with Jaz as she hurtles toward us, her face a mask of terror.
"Jaz! What's wrong?" I ask, grabbing her shoulders. My friend just lets out a little whimper. "Jaz, please, say something."
The girl mouths a single word, and my blood goes cold. And yes, another cliché expression, but I realise in that moment how accurately it describes the wash of terror over my senses.
"What?" Felix demands. "What is it?"
"Breakers!" I gasp.
We run.
"How the hell did they get in here?" Felix asks between heavy breaths. We've made it to the next level, knowing from news reports and safety pamphlets that the Breakers aren't very coordinated, and will likely have trouble on the stairs and escalators.
"Fire escape," Jaz squeaks. I note that she is running barefoot, having obviously abandoned her heels somewhere.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." I chant under my breath as we head for another escalator. This is bad. Like, really, really bad. I've never seen a Breaker in person before, but I know it takes at least five or six bullets from a police officer's gun to take one down. Whatever the infection is, it takes away their ability to feel pain. They just keep going until their broken bodies give out.
"Jaz! Come on!" Felix yells. The blonde girl is falling behind, bare feet slapping on the tiles. "Screw this," Felix growls, "get on my back!"
"Oh hell no. You think I'm going to-" Jaz's sharp protests are cut short.
"Get on now! Do you want to get us all killed?" Felix's anger surprises me, but I see the pang of guilt cross his face as Jaz flinches.
"Please," he says a little more gently. Without another word, Jaz places her hands on his shoulders, and he hoists her up effortlessly.
Felix jogs toward the escalators and I keep pace beside him. We glance at each other once, and I see the fear in my mind mirrored in his eyes.
About two or three minutes later, we hear the shuffling of feet and the unmistakable groans and whispers of the Breakers. A chill crawls down my spine. This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not-
"There!" Felix hisses, pointing over the edge of the fourth-floor balcony. I follow the line of his finger and see a cluster of dark shapes ambling around two floors below and across the massive, cylindrical abyss. My breath catches as one of the Breakers freezes, the whites of its eyes glinting in the moonlight as it looks straight at us.
"Not good," I whisper, shifting closer to Felix. Jaz slides off his back, looking like she might throw up. I reach out and squeeze her shoulder with as much comfort as I can muster, although I can feel myself starting to hyperventilate.
"We have to find somewhere to hide," Felix says calmly. I cling to the sound of his voice, trying to push down the panic.
"We could try and barricade ourselves in the office in the back of Freedom," I suggest, pointing to the furniture store on the floor below us.
"How do you know there's an office in there?" Jaz asks quietly.
"My grandfather used to do consultations there before he retired," I whisper. "I know exactly where it is, and the door has a massive security lock on it."
YOU ARE READING
One Way Out
Short Story'It's just the truth of the world that not every story, no matter how wonderful, can have a happy ending.' The shopping mall closed at 9pm, and now Erica, Jaz and Felix are trapped. Morning doesn't seem that far away until they encounter dangers the...
