Chapter Two - Mass Panic
I wanted to laugh at the people running around like it really is the end of the world so badly but instead I look over at Miles and say, “Want to check out the TVs to see what’s really going on?”
“Sure.”
We both get up and empty our trays before making our way to the music store to see why everyone is in such a panic.
“Reports are coming in all around the world about these mysterious holes appearing at random. There have even been accounts where large animals, monsters if you will, have emerged from these portals. The military is on full alert and has advised everyone to remain calm and in their homes. The President will be speaking shortly and we will bring you his speech live as soon as it becomes available.”
My jaw hits the floor as we listen in on the news broadcast. “Miles,” I say, shaking my head, trying to focus, “stay close me. We need to make our way back home.”
“Are you sure this isn’t an April Fool’s joke? Like that radio program?” Miles wonders.
I can hear people screaming now, running around the mall and glass breaking. I pull Miles closer to me as I hear people screaming about the world ending and to confess sins. I turn around to see people either running out of the mall or looting it. I can hear Miles speaking, but it’s not registering.
“Jen!” his voice finally breaks my daze. He’s pointing in the direction of where we had our lunch. From my perspective it looks like I need glasses. My vision seems to be blurry, but it’s only in that one spot.
“What is that?” I stammer out, trying to strain my eyes to focus. “Does it look fuzzy to you over there?”
“Yea,” rubbing his blue eyes, Miles tries to focus on our common target. “I can’t make it out.”
Then a loud pop rings and echoes throughout the entire mall. People scream as they fall to their knees on the brown tile floor. I can barely hear as my ears ring, creating an instant headache. Another loud pop rings, it sounds like a gunshot mixed in with a giant bubble wrap bubble being popped. This occurs five more times, and now it seems my hearing is completely gone. I struggle to open my eyes, tears hindering my vision, I look around for Miles.
“Miles!” I cry, knowing that if I can’t hear, there’s a good chance that he cannot as well. I call out to him again, despite this, before seeing his body, lying curled on the floor. I roll him onto his back, his eyes closed, passed out from the noise, no doubt. My heart is beating out of my chest and ears as I struggle to stand. The blood rushes to my head as I bend down to pick up Miles to carry him on my back. I gulp in a large amount of air, trying to keep myself from passing out. I slowly look over to the area where we were attempting to focus on before. There seems to be a circular pool standing vertically ten feet tall and five feet wide now. The portal, I guess you can call it that ripples but it looks like there’s something on the other side, and it’s not the food court. A bright gold light begins to shine around the outside of the portal as it begins to focus on its own.
Could this just be one of my dreams? I was on the couch next to Miles. For all I know, I could have fallen asleep on that couch and that’s where I really am at this moment.
“Move!!!” I can hear a voice screaming in my head. It takes me out of my train of thought and I look around to find the source. “You need to get out of there now!!!” It feels like my ears are not the ones hearing this voice but something more, like telepathy.
I take a step back, the middle of the portal begins to clear up but before I can figure out what’s on the other side, a large beam of energy escapes the portal and files over our heads and destroys the entire music store.
Glass from the store window shatter behind us and it takes a small shard of glass in my lower leg to wake me up. I dart towards the right and, now with a slight limp and a seven year old on my back, I try my best to run and hide.
“This way!!!” this time the voice isn’t in my head. I look right and left but see nothing. Then I realize that I can hear again and that the popping hasn’t stopped but its faint now and it’s harder for me to focus on it.
Someone grabs my arm and spins me around, “Can you hear me?” Kyle asks, the new kid from my middle school.
“Yes.”
What’s he doing here?
“Good. Follow me. I can get you guys out of here.”
“What the hell is going on?” I cry out, following behind Kyle.
He stops and walks over, taking Miles from my back, “Later, we have no time to talk now.” Kyle makes his way towards one of the game stores in the mall. “We can get to the roof through here.”
I can see Miles moving on Kyle back, “Let me down, I’m alright.”
Then we hear it, a loud boom, unlike before. It sounds more like giant footsteps. Steps that can shake the ground that we’re running on, “Do I even want to know what that is?”
“No,” Kyle leans down to safely let Miles hop off. He opens the back door to the store as we follow.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Miles?” I ask, while looking back out towards the mall. “I can carry you if you want.”
“Don’t worry, I’m good.”
Grabbing a wooden ladder, Kyle places it directly under a gap in the ceiling. “We’ll have to climb to the very top of the ladder, so be careful. I’ll stay here to make sure no one follows you.”
Miles begins to climb the ladder first.
“Are you nuts, you can’t stay here,” I say to Kyle.
“Just do it, I’ll be fine,” he answers.
“The mall is falling apart, and there’s crap that’s happening that’s not possible and you’re telling me not to worry?”
“Miles needs you, now get up on the roof before I have to force you,” he says, ignoring me.
Without saying a word, I begin to climb the ladder. No matter what was going on, Kyle was right about Miles. The ladder begins to shake as I near the top, a combination of me freaking out and the rumble from the footsteps. I pull myself up into the ceiling and look down at Kyle, “Come on.”
Instead, Kyle knocks down the ladder and walks out of the back room of the store.
“Jen, lets head up, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”
“Yea, I’m pretty sure this is one of my crazy dreams,” I sat more to myself as we head to the roof of the mall.
Meanwhile, Kyle has some unfinished business to take care of. While people are still rushing to steal and escape the mall, Kyle walks in the opposite direction of everyone else.
“Alright, you want to do this already!” Kyle yells out as he walks. The footsteps stop and twenty feet from Kyle stands three robots. “It’s been a while since I had a nice workout like this, this should be good.” He cracks his knuckles.
The robots all share the same high tech medieval armor look, grey in color and their mouths and eyes are just slits on their face. Empty, soulless creatures made for one purpose.
Kyle breaks into a run, heading towards the three robots. They begin to fire off beams of energy and instead of ducking; Kyle takes flight, weaving in and out of three separate beams. He files past them, turns around and shoots electricity from his finger tips while hovering. Pushing off the air with his foot, he headstowards them again, this time, when he reaches range, he kicks one in the chin, a kick to the side of the face of the second one and then he places his feet on the ground and delivers several punches in the mid section of the third, before finally high kicking it in the face.
“Hmmm, you guys have gotten a bit tougher, a nice change. Too bad I can’t stick around,” A bright yellow light begins to form around his hands as he places them together. He hovers slightly above the ground, flying backwards now, his eyes never leaving the three large robots. The light shines brighter as a ball of energy begins to grow larger and larger until it’s powerful enough to be thrown towards the robots, causing a massive explosion.
The ground shakes as we push open a grate to get onto the roof. After helping Miles, I rush towards the edge of the roof. I had to see what was going on with my own eyes. It looks the same as it always did, save for the noise of honking cars trying to get away from the area. There are no monsters, robots, nothing out of the ordinary outside; just people panicking.
Miles walks to my side, “What’s wrong?” Then rethinking his words “besides the obvious, I mean.”
“Why did all that stuff happen in a mall? I know what the new report said, but why here? Why not DC or New York? Of all the places to attack why—,” but I’m cut off. The ground shakes again. We look at each other before turning fully around. Standing a few feet from our location is a giant robot, standing at least eight feet tall. “Please tell me this is just one freakish dream.” It begins to walk towards us; each step is a loud boom. I step back, but touch nothing. I lose my balance and as a normal reaction, I reach out, but instead of grabbing a ledge, I grab onto Miles’ shirt, pulling him down with me. I then hear glass shatter and as we top over the edge, I can see Kyle, flying towards us. He quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small bottle. He throws it onto the ground below us and before we hit the concrete, a loud pop rings through the area as Kyle catches us and everything goes black.
