The Devil's Mark (Book 1)

Chapter Forty Six: Smoke & Mirrors

Jason

I don't remember the explosion, but I remember the fall. My foot twitched as my body slowly came back to life, while my brain worked overtime on my nervous system to see if anything was broken. Once the all clear was given, I slowly opened my eyes to a harsh white light that turned out to be a huge gaping hole in the ceiling and the cause of my rapid descent. The touch of mangled aluminium brushed against my fingertips as I slowly sat myself up and looked around in hopes that I might be able to get my bearings straight. Busted out lights, cracked cement, and numerous damaged cars could only mean one thing: underground parking.

Except for the light that shined down upon me like a spotlight, darkness was to be my only friend once I stepped outside the rimmed circle. A dense haze of smoke and debris littered the air making it almost impossible for me to breathe in a place like this. As I looked around a flash of light caught attention from across the way. I waited a beat before the light flashed again as it appeared in the shape of a male stick figure walking towards a flight of stairs. My heart soared with relief as I carefully made my way through the maze of broken down columns and dead bodies. Poor bastards. I could only pray now that their death was quick and painless.

When I reached the stairs, there was still no light to be found anywhere. Luckily though just before the blast I managed to save my phone by sticking it in the front pocket of my jeans. I fumbled around in the dark for a bit until I felt the indentation that resembled my phone as I pulled it out and brought up the home screen. I slid my finger up and a panel appeared as I selected the circle that pictured a lightbulb. And just like that, there was light. I climbed the stairs carefully and stopped when I needed to catch my breath. Five flights of stairs later, I made it to level five, and the place I had been just before the blast.

I tried calling Lucifer again but got no response. It was here in the kids department that the emergency lights had kicked on so there was no more use for my phone anymore. I put it away and headed further into the chaos. More bodies lay around me like a scene straight out of a horror film. And it didn't help the fact that my hormones were all over the place because all I wanted to do now was cry. Nevertheless, I had to keep moving. I had to find my way out of here somehow. As I made it the center of the store, I caught the faint sound of radio chatter coming from nearby. I searched the area further and learned that it was a hand radio from a fallen security guard.

Though the chatter was faint, I wondered if it was still operational. I reached for the radio and unclipped it from the dead guy's shoulder as I held down the button and listened for the familiar squawk. "Hello? Can anybody hear me?" Damnit. No response. But connected to the radio was a cord and connected to the other end of that cord was a small walkie-talkie. In all my years of watching bad cops shows and cool spy-thrillers, the victim, or in this case the smart victim, would've searched through the appropriate channels until they found the right one. So that's what I did. Channel six had definitely become my new favorite number.

"Attention, Detective Chief Inspector.
Attention Detective Chief Inspector."

"Okay, whoever you are, this is a reserved channel. You need to..."

"I'm inside the mall."

"Identify yourself."

"That's not important. Listen to me, I'm currently on level five and I'm heading for the nearest exit if possible. But I don't know the way, and I fear that some of the areas might be inaccessible. Do you think you could be my eyes?"

"Alright, I'll help you in anyway that I can. What's in it for me though?"

"You're gonna save the day, big guy."

"Fair enough. Stay in a radio contact for right now while I try and plot out the best route. I'll be in touch."

Sounds like a plan Detective. Sounds like a plan. I exchanged the bulky radio for an ear piece as I clipped the walkie-talkie onto the side of my hip and set off for parts unknown. With the cause of the explosion still unknown at this point, I suddenly got a birds eye view of the huge hole in the floor. Burn marks lined the outer edges in the shape of mysterious symbols, not C4 or dynomite. I knelt down and lightly touched one of the symbols as a cold chill ran down my spine. Who could've done this? What was their primary target? Was it me? A squawk in my ear told me that my knight in shining armor had returned with an update.