Sunnydale Mills

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They each turn on their phone flashlights, and exchange glances when the lights don't immediately shut off on them. "This must be a good sign they're not near us," Preston states, "because they stopped working when we got close to one of those things."

Everyone nods in agreement and proceeds towards the service hallway. Craig has his arm looped around Preston and Rosie's shoulders as Lena leads the group with the crowbar. They approach the service door, and they wait for any noticeable glitches in their phones or noises that might be coming from the hallway.

Just as Lena is about to give them a nod and thumbs up in approval, they hear something metallic bang further down the hall. As if on cue, Preston and Rosie's phone flashlights start to flicker.

"F҉͢u̵҉͠҉c̡͟k̷̵̀, how're we supposed to get down there now?" Preston asks with a frustrated sigh.

"We need to lure them out," Craig suggests while letting go of Rosie and Preston's shoulders to grab a long thick piece of wood off of the floor. He tests his weight against it, hoping to use it as a type of cane for his leg. "We might need to split up, make noise, and shine light in other places of the mall - trap them, and then come back here."

"Have you ever seen a horror movie?" Rosie says, "that's how people die. We should stay together instead of splitting up and making ourselves vulnerable to the monsters!"

"Rosie's gotta good point, there," Preston notes with a slight nod.

"Craig's onto something, too," Lena adds while crossing her arms. "We do need to lure these things out somehow to get down there, otherwise we're doomed."

"So how do we do that without splitting up?" Craig asks with furrowed brows.

"We set traps and stay apart, but within the same area so if someone is in danger, we can swoop in and help," Rosie suggests.

"What, like one person could be the bait, and the rest of us hide somewhere around them to keep them safe?" Lena asks.

"Sure, that works," Rosie states sarcastically with a shrug.

Preston pinches the bridge between his nose in frustration, but then suddenly brightens up with an idea. "Hey, the office!" Everyone stares at Preston with confused features. "There was a shotgun under the desk in the office. I knocked it over when I was unplugging the power cords."

"Your point?" Rosie challenges.

"There might be bullets in there, and we can shoot those f҉͢u̵҉͠҉c̡͟k̷̵̀ers," Preston declares triumphantly.

"Well, are you gonna go in there and get it yourself, genius?" Rosie deadpans.

"No, I'm saying that if you guys lead those things out, I can go in and grab the gun and we can fight back with more than just a goddamned crowbar," Preston exclaims whilst gesturing wildly towards the crowbar in Lena's grip.

"We need to go there anyways, you moron. Have you not been paying attention?" Rosie hisses. "We need to get them out, and you remembering that there's a shotgun in the office doesn't help us at all."

"If only we can bring the natural light around with us, then we could easily go in there and scare them away long enough to grab the gun so that we can just shoot them on our way to the basement," Lena wonders aloud.

"Say that again," Preston says slowly, looking off to the side in thought.

"What part," Lena inquires, "shooting them to get in, or the natural light part?"

"Natural light..." Preston hums in thought before lighting up with another idea, "lighters! Does anyone here have a lighter?"

Everyone looks at one another until Rosie sighs, shoving her hand in her apron pocket and pulling out a neon-pink lighter. She flicks it on, and loud shrieking immediately echoes from the service hallway. Rosie reflexively flicks it off, and the shrieking comes to a painful halt. Her lips purse and she lifts an eyebrow, looking over at her co-workers with a bewildered expression.

"I think it's safe to say that fire counts as a weakness," Rosie states with a small playful smirk tugging at her glossy-red lips.

"We can use this," Preston says excitedly, "we can win. We can get out."