Where could she be now?
Why do I feel a little bit odd about this?
Why do I feel like crying, right now?
I asked Lenore if either Riley or that Aaliyah is chatting with her, but the answer is no. She’s as worried as me. And she’s already crying. Ysa and Katy are comforting her, giving her some water to drink. She’s sobbing right now. She must be thinking what I don’t want to think of.
No. She’s… She’s still alive.
I shouldn’t think that either. It’s positive-negative. It may be positive but it only brings negativity in my mind. I can’t say she’s… with the D word. I can’t say it. I can’t say either of those.
I should stop walking around. I must think of a plan. I must save her. Why the heck would she risk her life for those people who are obviously gone by now? It’s disappointing. Especially that she never told me about this. She made up this plan to go with the goal of getting here.
Good thing, the mall is closed.
As we headed here, I saw a large sign displayed in the middle of the driveways. The mall is temporarily closed until April twenty four. But I bet it will be closed forever now. The entrances were shut off by storefront gates and we all thought we’d be stuck outside of it forever.
Jay came up with an idea of getting to the backdoors as some mall management staff would never leave the mall empty at all. And as we got to the backdoors, we broke in and the staff were already zombies. We fought them out of the building, and locked ourselves in. We made sure there’s no one else in the place, so we could call it clear. The mall is wide and big, and there was one big entrance that was open the entire time. We only locked the glass doors  because we couldn’t go out to drop those shutters down. And we could use that way as our backup exit in case the back door is breached.
We are still in our uniforms, and we all smell like sweat now. We go to the department store to get some clothes. Some of us even dared to choose the ones from famous brands like Penshoppe and Adidas. At least, we all get to have the things we’ve never had before. And they’re all for free. Such a great advantage.
Riley was right about getting here. We all wander off in different ways, going to the grocery store, the pharmacy, and even to the cosmetics department. We all feel safe at the moment. 
Until I found a little girl who is definitely out of the group. She’s a complete stranger, and she looks weird. Nathalie was with me as we were heading to Handyman where it was located on the third floor. The little girl’s back is facing toward us, and we can’t tell if she’s a zombie. She’s wearing a pink blouse and a blue skirt right for her size.
Nathalie speaks. “Hey, kiddo. Are you okay?”
The kid doesn’t respond. She starts sobbing. She turns to us, showing her arm with a missing hand.
I don’t feel good about this. I pull Nathalie away, and the kid’s body deforms, distorting, cracking, and twisting. She’s more of a possessed ghost than a zombie. She squeals so loud, Nathalie and I cover our ears.
The zombie kid runs towards us as we back away. We head downstairs where everyone else is. Mark has a rope with him, and he catches the kid with it in bare hands. He ties it on its neck and pushes it onto the ground, breaking its spinal chords as he steps on its back while pulling its head towards him. The rope is very tight and somehow sharp as it cuts the skin of the zombie kid’s neck. Not for long, the head flies off from its body.
The people around start screaming at the blood-curdling image. The head falls splat on the floor. The body isn’t moving anymore.
Mark killed the zombie kid by cutting its head off.
Everyone’s face tells how much gore the scene was. As the head is cut off, black blood comes out from its body, making a puddle of it. And then the rancid, rotting smell follows. We cover our nose and some of us almost gag from the strong, poison-like stench it produces. The black blood is mostly jelly, which means it's dead blood. This is probably what the zombie virus does to the body. It kills every single cell in your system and by that, the host becomes sick and turns into a man-eating monster.
And by sick… does that mean it’s a disease?
We put the body and the head in an empty duffle bag. And then, we locked it inside an empty store. I suggested the plan because I have a bad feeling about it. I don’t know. I think it’s better to keep it locked in the bag, and then in a closed room. Since, we can’t just go outside and throw it out. After that, we become relaxed and calm again. Ivan is cooking along with Patrick. Nathalie browses through the fitness department with Stephen and Finn. Gwen gives bottles of water for everyone, and Lenore is helping her while taking quick glances at Stephen. Does she like him?
Lenore is a tall one. I’d say 5’6” more or less. She has a wide forehead, and strong long eyebrows. She also has a long nose and her mouth is filled with rosebud, plump lips. She looks younger than an average senior student. She’s taller than Gwen, making her look like one of those brand models I usually saw in a magazine. Right, I think I’ve seen her before. Brahm has a cutout photo of her on his walls. 
Naughty guy.
Well, speaking of the nerd, he’s at the bookstore, reading a book of chemistry. Even at hard times, all he has in his mind is still science and numbers. Science and numbers! In a zombie apocalypse. How would math even help us survive this?