Hannah, a twelve-year-old girl navigates through the outbreak between nightmarish flashbacks and reality, while trying to stay alive. Throughout her journey, she meets many people who soon become family, but the lingering fear of losing it all... ag...
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"This is such a horrible idea, you know. If they were giving out awards for horrible ideas, you'd be top of that list." Hannah muttered as the two stood by the mall's entrance, its glass doors shattered across the pavement.
"Will you stop being such a baby? I told you it's going to be fine, now come on." Riley urged, grabbing onto the skeptical girl's hand and rushing inside before Hannah could turn back to the van.
The mall, a labyrinthine structure of steel and concrete, stood as a testament to happier times. Once alive with the laughter of children, the chatter of shoppers, and the scent of fresh food, it was now a desolate shell of what it used to be. Dust-covered windows lined the empty storefronts, giving off an air of abandonment.
The escalators were the first thing Hannah noticed; what once ferried people between each floor in the mall, was not still, frozen in time.
"Come on, there's gotta still be some stuff we can take from these stores," Riley ordered as she took off into one of them, eagerly scavenging through the mess.
"So much for sticking together," Hannah grumbled watching the girl disappear further into the store without a care in the world.
Hannah stood in the middle of the hall, glancing between the stores at every sound she heard and cursing under her breath at being abandoned by her friend, especially in a place like this. John was always telling them they needed to stick together, yet Riley had practically ditched her the moment they walked into the abandoned mall.
Hannah contemplated her next move, looking around the area at every small noise she heard, when suddenly the sound of glass shattering caught her attention, the noise originating from one of the stores on the opposite side to where Riley had run off to.
Hannah debated on checking, but ultimately decided to go see for herself; The fear of whatever was making that noise potentially catching up to them seemed worse than actually walking over to investigate it for herself. She needed to be sure there weren't any surprises waiting for them.
Letting out an uneasy breath, Hannah dug through her bag, grabbing ahold of her flashlight before walking over to the store where she'd heard the noise. Its glass windows were shattered across the floor, mannequins were scattered in front of the entrance, and a small display announcing a sale had been vandalized with spray paint.
Cautiously she stepped into the store, picking her way through the strewn debris and broken glass that crumbled with each step she took.
The place reeked of abandonment, with shattered mannequins and overturned shelves scattered across the floor. The place was dark; her flashlight being the only source of light guiding her through the mess of debris.
Shining her flashlight through the darkness, Hannah carefully approached the source of the disturbance, fear evident in her eyes. But as she neared, a sense of relief washed over her. It was only a rat scurrying across the broken glass.
