Sealed

Part 1 - The Mall and the Threat

Wake up.

Alex groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. It was pounding. Not just that. His entire body was aching. What did he do last night?

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. There were glass cases all around him. Each one held an assortment of jewelry.

As Alex pushed himself up, he realized that he was in a jewelry store. Quickly, he looked around for the store owner. Or an employee. They wouldn't be happy to find someone had been sleepy on their floor.

But the entire store was empty. As Alex looked around, he suddenly became aware of the silence. It was deafening. He looked out the door and saw that the jewelry store was in a mall. He could see a railing, with more stores on the other side.

But there was no sound.

There were no people.

That couldn't be right.

Cautiously, Alex walked out of the store and looked around. Every store was open. They were all full of shirts and books and toys, or whatever else a mall store would have. The lights were on, as if it were open for business. However, a quick look at each of them showed that they were unmanned.

Alex began walking along the railing, looking down at the second floor. As he did, he spotted the escalators, which continued to operate. Beside them, he could see Christmas decorations, all centered around a large red armchair for Santa Clause and a railing made of giant candy canes.

But still, there was no one. No Employees, no customers, No Santa Clause.

"What the fuck?" Alex asked. He stopped moving and listened. The only sound he could hear was the faint hum of electricity.

Wake up.

Alice's eyes fluttered open. Then she closed them again, leaning her head against the floor. Just five more minutes. Please. Make it ten. She didn't want to wake up.

As she laid her head back down, she realized that the floor beneath her was hard. The floor, not the bed.

Her eyes shot wide open and she sat up. She was on a hard, carpeted floor. Looking up, she saw line after line of children's books on shelves that stood to either side of her.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head. She stood up, her legs shaking beneath her. Cautiously, she raised her voice and called out, "Anyone here?"

No response came. She was left alone. Alice hugged herself. She carefully adjusted her snowcap. As she did, she looked down at herself to see she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. No pajamas.

Alice racked her brain. What happened last night? Try as she might, she couldn't remember. Did somebody drug her? Why? Why was she here?

Alice tried to steady her breathing and listen. There was no sound. Cautiously, she started walking down the aisle and out from between the shelves. She found a set of open doors and glass windows at the far end of the room. In front of them, she saw a display case showing off more books and, across from that, a cashier's desk. But there was no one there.

Alice slowly walked up to it and looked it up and down. No notes. No signs. She decided to check the cash register. It was empty. That's when it clicked. Someone robbed the place and they kidnapped her so that they could have her take the fall. It was the only idea that made sense at the moment.

But that couldn't be right. Looking back to the door, Alice saw that she was in a mall. The lights were on and other stores were open, but no one was present. It was completely silent. Did they plan on robbing the whole place?