Nursery Rhymes (Hoodie x E. Jack)

10

Stepping a foot out of the car Hoodie eyed up the mall in front of him from a distance.

It had seen much better days then these ones. All over the front entranceways there was yellow caution tap wrapped around everything. Behind the tape where the doors and windows should be was plywood that looked old and some of it was rotting.

Easy enough to pull off and put back on Hoodie thought with a hum.

It was a tall building with two stories. The typical title and flashy things that would have been in front to catch attention had long been removed but the shadows on the walls remained.

Glancing to the right and left the mall was surrounded by a thin woods, many entrance and exit roads had been installed when the huge parking lot had been created but only recently had been driven on by police. Besides the tape it appear that nobody had bothered to visit this abandoned place since it was built, but Hoodie knew that was a lie.

Getting back into his car he drove around the huge complex and decided to park next to the building and away from any peering eyes. Taking his gun for emergencies and slipping into his mask for good measure Hoodie locked up his car and went to find an entrance.

It wasn't a difficult task. Passing by a few back doors he walked up to the most rotten away and weakest plywood covering and easily tore it down. Behind it the glass door was scratched up and looked like it had accumulated dust over some years. Eyeing it up some Hoodie wondered if he was going to have to smash the glass or pick the lock. Shrugging, he decided to see if it could open first. Sure enough, it opened without the slightest of sound.

Setting the decaying plywood to the side he stepped in and placed a thick looking, thrown away water bottle between the door and the door frame, keeping it ajar, so it could not accidentally lock with him inside.

A long black hallway lay before him, the light from the door behind him only reached out so far. Snorting at the black shadows Hoodie pulled out a tiny handheld flashlight he always carried around. Shining it in front of him he began to trudge forward, careful of his step.

All along the walls were poorly done graffiti and all along the floors sidings was trash of all sorts. Placing his feet wisely he kept on going. Sometimes a door or skinny hallway would be to his right or left but Hoodie decided to stay on the main path. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes through his mask Hoodie stepped out into the actual open walkway.

Glancing around he discovered many things in a short amount of time.

There was many sky lights that glowed above and gave the huge area an eerie feeling. The deserted stores were wide and black the deeper you looked into them. Some ceiling tiles were stewed about the dusty floor, leaving charcoal spaces in the ceiling. Dirt and random garbage and things littered here and there but didn't look like much of a mess compared to the size of the walkway. Everywhere there had been any sort of glass now lay piles of shattered remains. To the right and the left there was two areas that looked to have once been benches or a place people could stop and rest, but have no longer been needed and have accumulated grime and nonsense that trespassers have dragged in.

Stepping out of the long hallway Hoodie had just passed through he stayed close to the side as he walked down the vast walkway which was entirely empty of life besides himself. His footfalls sounded much louder then they truly were, and the glass would crunch under his shoes like floorboards in a horror movie.

Every vacant shop he passed Hoodie would eye up the darkness with hidden suspicion of what might be luring in its shadows.

Walking a ways in silence Hoodie could find himself believing that it was just another abandoned mall, deprived of people and life. But he knew better, and knew he would find Jack sooner or later within.