Day 3: The Girl in the Trunk II

After entering the safe zone, the woman went to the cafeteria. She was very hungry and would accept anything. Upon arrival she was greeted by Asha Love who was also in charge of the kitchen area. Asha sat down across from the woman and greeted her, setting a cheesecake in front of her.

—I don't think we've met —Asha said. —It's nice to have you here. What's your name? I'm Asha Love. I used to work as an instructor at the Fun-Time PlayHouse at Children's Heaven.

The woman accepted the cake and after sighing replied.

—Alive and grateful. When the zombies surrounded me I had my car keys but... I was terrified. They were coming from all directions and I knew... I knew they wouldn't hesitate to grab me as I opened the door of my vehicle. I saw them do the same to the others... I saw whole families die trying to escape and...

The woman put down her cheesecake for a moment and wiped her lips with a napkin.

—Then... I got scared, I didn't know what else to do. I opened the trunk of my car and locked myself in. They started banging, I was sure they would eventually open it... Apparently the sound of gunshots was more important than me, so there was a moment when they calmed down. I knew I would run out of air so I started kicking one of the lights of my vehicle after I started hitting it a few times with a crowbar.

—How long were you locked up? —Asha seemed genuinely worried about her.

—Hours. I was locked in there for hours... I don't know why but eventually I fell asleep and a big bald man found me. I think I passed out, I haven't eaten or drank since yesterday. Oh! I haven't introduced myself. I'm Lori Robinson. Maybe my job as a lawyer is dumb these days?

Lori Robinson—Lawyer? That sounds amazing!

—It's harder than it sounds! In fact a few days ago I had to attend a trial to defend a man who murdered his family by turning on the gas taps. Eventually his three children and wife died from carbon monoxide inhalation... he had not ingested any alcoholic substances and was not under the influence of any drugs... but I guess none of that matters now that...

—But how did you end up at the mall?

—Oh! That's easy to answer. I actually came to the Vallimorth Shopping Mall to buy a package of donuts from Art Can Be Tasted Bakery. I wanted some damn caramel dipped white chocolate donuts... I can't believe eating donuts got me involved in... whatever this is.

—Did you at least enjoy them?

—Of course! My nutritionist told me I should not go overboard with my calories, but now the way things are... maybe I should have eaten the donuts a lot slower and enjoyed them, it's not like I didn't enjoyed them, well, I did, but not the way I would liked to...

—What shouldn't we have enjoyed more before all this? We all seem to have *regret* as a shared feeling.

—Totally! But what about help? What about the cops? The army? No one has come to our rescue... I thought as time went on... for a moment there I thought... someone would come —Lori seemed completely disappointed that no one would come to her rescue.

—The emergency lines are dead, and the city seems to have fallen into despair. We don't know how or why, but we suspect that the dead have wiped out all possible help. The only thing left is to resist.

—My God... but then what will we do when the power goes out? Services such as water... gas... basic hygiene products!

—We'll take advantage of all that while we have it. We think it would be an excellent idea to start growing small things on the roof, make a "greenhouse", one of the workers is drawing up some plans and discussing what materials he will need. We also have plans to take over Grand Mont Plaza, clear the site completely of any zombies.

—It will take a lot of work! It's four floors covered by... dead people.

—We think we're doing a good job of it. We have a lot of weapons and people who know how to defend themselves very well. Eventually we have to abandon this shelter by the time The Blackout comes. We have to prepare for the worst... it's going to be a very difficult time and we don't know how we're going to get out of it —Asha looked very tired. —Every person here eats twice a day, some abstain and eat only once, but eventually food is going to be scarce. We either hunt or farm, and both seem like the only alternatives.

—For what it's worth... all is not so lost. At least we have a group that at least genuinely cares about each other. We are making a lot of progress. They are currently looking for people with whom to form a "hunting" party where they will descend on Grand Mont to take out the zombies on the fourth floor. We want to get everything ready.

—I wish I could help you! Maybe we could organize a meeting between all the members of the group to take the next step. I'd really like to be able to make a proper contribution to the people who saved my life.

—You will do it your way eventually. For the time being you can talk to the other civilians, get to know each other better and time will tell. Okay?

—Thank you very much for your kindness, Asha! You won't regret saving me. Now... it's time to investigate this place. We always have to be on the lookout for possible escape routes and safe places, we never know when tragedy can strike.

Clark was happy to see the fruit of his efforts from afar, because it was nice to see how his actions could contribute to the group to some extent.

In the absence of Nikolai and Jason, Clark returned to the security room.