Sunnydale Mills

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Craig enters the store with a crowbar from his car. Lena, Preston, and Rosie are waiting by the boarded-up entrance to the mall with their coats on. All three of them have their phone flashlights ready as Craig approaches the far end of the boarded-up entrance. He jams the crowbar into the opening in-between the wood and begins to wiggle it apart. The wood cracks and dust smokes out as it crumbles to the floor. Craig repeats this until the opening is big enough for him to enter. Craig nods firmly at everyone and begins to slide into the opening with the crowbar still in hand.

Rosie eagerly slides through next, and then Preston looks over at Lena with a raised eyebrow. "Ladies first?" Preston asks with a shrug, and Lena just glares at him in response. Preston sighs before squeezing himself through the opening, and Lena is left alone in the store.

She stares at the small opening, feeling her blood run cold and prickle into her fingertips. Lena shivers while phantom sweat ghosts her back, feeling like a bucket of ice has just been dumped down her spine.

"You comin' or what?" Preston's aggravating voice causes Lena to roll her eyes.

"That's what she said," Lena replies with a smirk. Rosie and Craig laugh, and Preston just rolls his eyes. Lena looks over her shoulder and says, "I'm gonna double check to make sure the doors are locked so nobody walks in while we're gone."

"I already did all of that, Lena. Remember? You saw me lock the door on my͘ ̲̼͔͚͍w̙̭̫a̰͇̼y҉ ̸̜͈̳̣͍̳͈in̦̦͔͞-n-" Ç͙̱̠r̶̘͙͙͍͕a̠̥͙͔͕̟i̡͚̜g͠ ̤̰͈͎̝͉ͅe̪̗̭ͅn͈̣͎t̥̠̰̮͜e҉͚̦̹͖r̗s̵̪the store with a crowbar from his car. Lena, Preston, and Rosie are waiting by the boarded-up entrance to the mall with their coats on. Craig locks the doors behind him and flips the OPEN sign to CLOSED so no wanderers can come in while t͕̮̪̗̹̕ͅḩ̙e͉̦͚͎̩̪̼y͍͜'̛r̥̀e̥̺͝ ͔̥̘̳g̴͎o҉͙̗̜̮̳n̰̭è-̥̰̹ͅg͈͢o̼̤̝̤̞n̷̗̰̼͔̫e̻̠̪͘

"Oh, right," Lena laughs nervously, "I almost forgot-"

"Stop stalling and get your ass in here. It's freezing!" Preston growls with chattering teeth.

Lena gets a chill, and it wasn't from the draft. "Wait, no, you didn't Craig. You didn't lock the doors at all."

"Yes, he-"

"No," Lena breathes heavily, "something's wrong! Something doesn̩͚͉'͔ț̢̤̣̣ͅͅ ̲̹̘͎͚̖f̷͔̹̲͓̙e͏͕͚̘͓̘el͇̕ ̦̞̟̳̀r̨͖i̶̳̯͇̠̥g̴͈̹h̶̘̭̗̠̩t̤̘͈̺̰̰͡--"

Lena rolls her eyes at Preston and shakes off the nerves, deciding to squeeze through the opening horizontally; her phone's in her hand with a titanium grip.

The hallway is wide, and the walls appear to be covered in a layer of grime. Lena lifts her foot and shines her light on the ground to realize the ground has a few millimetres of water coating it. The mall is immediately colder than the warm store, and the desolate feeling is enhanced by the overall darkness of the mall.

"It smells like a sewer in here," Rosie notes with a scrunched up nose. They all hum or nod in agreement while following the hallway into the main hall of the mall. As they make it to the mall intersection, they all look over at Craig as he examines the hall with a puzzled look.

"Well, we're following your lead, Craig. Where's the office?" Preston asks with a raised eyebrow. The music sounds worse in the mall's intercom. It feels as if the eerie tune is etching into their spines as they all follow Craig to the left.

Lena starts to shiver uncontrollably as her shoes start to squish with each step; they're becoming moist from the rancid grey water that's coating the slimy and cracked flooring. Preston abruptly slips, grabbing onto Lena's right arm with a titanium grip, causing her to holler in pain as his nails dig into her skin. He almost pulls her down with him, but Craig swiftly grabs Preston's other arm and holds him steady.