Fallen Raine {Completed}

Chapter Nineteen - If He Hadn't Have Been So Handsy....

We walked along the main strip of the mall, packed close-together, but for a second it seemed almost peaceful, like we weren’t trapped with a vicious killer and a plethora or dead bodies.

Maybe it was a stupid move, but we decided to go walking around for a while as we were all going a bit stir-crazy at the close confines of the food court. I needed to just walk around and get some air, a change of scenery, and collect my thoughts after what had happened with Steve.

We were all afraid of running into Steve here, but we didn’t think it would be likely. What person in their right mind would be walking around the mall with a ruthless killer around? He’d probably be buckled down hiding by now, hidden out of sight so that nobody could see him. I had no desire to run into him now. I never wanted to see him ever again.

Maybe we’d made ourselves easy targets by staying in the one place as our kind of headquarters, but we were better off in larger numbers, even if we stayed in the one place. It was five people against one.

Like a normal girl, I had always been a big fan of the mall. I didn’t have the best fashion sense, but I did enjoy shopping. I loved the bargains, and pretty clothes, and walking around for hours with friends, drinking milkshakes and talking and catching up and making each other try on ridiculous clothing. I hoped I’d get to do that again one day.

For a second I let myself imagine what it would be like to actually be stuck in here alone, without any killers or distracting bad boys or forty-something year-old perverts. To just be able to run wildly through the stores, maybe nab a pair of ballet flats and a couple of books. Have a little fun and really enjoy the experience of being almost alone in a deserted shopping mall stocked with everything a girl would need to stay overnight. Great food from supermarkets, clothes, a shower—that wasn’t covered in blood—and a million products to try.

Of course, life was messed up, and decided that things couldn’t be that simple, and that they had to throw in some murders and romances and heartbreak and scares. Because nothing could ever be easy or uncomplicated. No way, Jose.

I found myself walking closely in between River and Jason, with Drella and Brad just up ahead, walking side-by-side. We all stayed close and kept a wary lookout for each other.

So far we had lost Travis, Donovan and Jessica, and Jason, Brad and I were all injured. That left only Drella and River completely well, the only ones capable of putting up a good fight if push came to shove. The thought was daunting—that we’d be left down to so many people—but I imagined even the injured ones would be able to fight if we had to. If our lives depended on it, we could pretty much do anything.

My whole body ached, and I could feel every scratch and bruise and sore muscle. It was really taking its toll on me—as it would on any person being chased by a cold-blooded killer.

“Guys!” Brad called, his voice a few octaves higher than usual.

Immediately I tensed. I had grown used to that growing sound of hysteria, and I knew with dead certainty already what we were in for. It was obvious in Brad’s horror-struck voice, and the matching gasps and silence that accompanied him as everyone saw what he was desperately looking at.