Day 2: Children of the Grave

Jason was getting ready to leave. He went to the room where he had left the rest of the clothes he had stolen from the mall and put on some good armor he found, which consisted of pads and sports field hockey gear.

—Are you going out so fast, Jason? —Nikolai looked angry, he didn't even bother to get up from the mattress as he was lying down.

—Duty calls.

—Your duty... What did the other assholes say?

—Your behavior must change, Nikolai. George is doing us the favor of treating the wounded, he gave us all his equipment and medicines. You should be more grateful to him.

—Thank him because I almost got killed? Fuck him... well, that asshole might take it as a reward, you know... since he's a faggot and stuff.

—At least do it for me, please. By the way, Michael and Bryan will be in charge of asking all the men in the group to position themselves around the roof and on top of the shoe store. They will start practicing shooting with the rifles. We're going to start cleaning up the square to make it habitable.

—Habitable? So... we're staying here?

—It will be temporary. We're in no hurry to see how the outside looks, are we?

—You know Vidan's out there, Jason... My fucking brother must be looking for me. And I told him I was going on a trip with some friends...

—I'm so sorry I brought you here....

Nikolai got up from the bed and caressed Jason's face, trying to comfort him.

—Don't say that. I agreed to come... I'm just quite worried about the state of my brother and his wife. Hell... Why I'm even worrying about it? He's strong... Would you like me to come with you?

—I'd love to. You know how to drive, besides...

—Then so be it. Let me finish getting dressed, yesterday I brought one of those camouflage uniforms that will look great on me. Let's go kick some zombie ass, shall we?

Jason nodded. Soon he and Nikolai were out of the room, in a better mood and more in the mood to get things done.

—So where are we going?

—To the worst part of the mall. Children's Heaven. Survivors were spotted in the Toy Houses and we should go investigate.

—Toy houses... people are really desperate to find a safe place. It looks to me like we're going to have to use guns. Am I right?

—You're right, Nikolai. So... let's get some from our new armory.

So it was that after getting ready with what they needed, the duo went out to the rooftop. Before going down to Grand Mont Plaza they were stopped by Megan.

—You two! You should know that I won't be able to help you activate the alarms of other Children's Heaven stores to attract the zombies, besides... because I've cut some of the electricity, some cameras no longer allow me access to other places in the mall, so I won't be able to support you properly.

—I was afraid something like that would happen. Don't worry, Megan, we'll find a way to make it happen.

—Also, Jason should have told you by now that special keys will be used to enter through the gates of Grand Mont Plaza. Also... you will no longer be able to break into the plazas using a car —Megan seemed concerned that she had somehow limited her colleagues.

—Never mind. Thank you very much for making the place safer... Now what will you do while we are gone? —Nikolai wanted to ask, as he still had doubts about what Jason told him earlier.

—We will clean the square with the guns and ammunition you brought from the gun store. It serves everyone to practice shooting when necessary.

—I like that initiative. So... Shall we go, Jason?

—Glad to go with you.

The duo went down to the roof of the shoe store and, it didn't take long to see someone on the rooftop shoot a zombie that was near the duo. From a distance they could identify Harry, who seemed to have excellent accuracy.

—We'll cover you from here, guys! —Mia spoke to the leaders of the group as she stood next to Harry, encouraging him and telling him which zombie to shoot.

Nikolai and Jason walked among the zombies while hitting them with the makeshift baseball bats they had in their hands. What was once a wooden bat used to hit balls was now a huge stick with shards of glass and screws embedded in it.

Jason already had the keys in hand as they approached the door leading to Dark Horse Plaza. It was strange for Nikolai to see how some of those dead people already had black skin, and the smell they were emanating was simply unpleasant.

—We're going to have to get mouth covers and gloves, because that shit is sure to get more infectious —Nikolai was dizzy with the stinky stench of death. It didn't take long for him to become nauseous.

Jason opened the gate and, soon they reached Dark Horse. Slater opted to leave it locked with just the latch, just in case. He proceeded to do the same with the gate leading into the park, as there was also a gate covering the entrance, both windows and the very doors leading into Saint Michael's Park.

—Don't you think some of them look sick? I don't mean because... well... they're zombies... but... look at them... some of them have black spots on their skin and it looks like their blood is the same color.

—Whatever it is, Jason... I want to stay as far away as possible. Let's go to the parking lot, before we left Holly gave me the keys to her vehicle, she said we can use it whenever we want. It's just a matter of looking... Talking about... shit... my keys. I fucking forgot the keys of the car I stole to bring them here precisely... you know... in any case we needed two cars...

Nikolai noticed that the atmosphere had become strange, because now even though it was daytime, the clouds were gray and it looked like it was going to rain. He didn't like this very much, as the weather felt cold and if there was rain, it would probably complicate things quite a bit.

Entering the vehicle, Jason made sure nothing was inside the vehicle. Nikolai proceeded to start it up and drove to where Pink Flamingo Plaza was supposed to be.

—We're near the restaurant and bar area... we could grab as much food as needed before it spoils —Nikolai thought, as he saw from the other end of the park a large pin-up of two waitresses dressed as bunnies who had a sign holding a sign that read "Bars and Restaurants".

—We could come and do that. Although we'd have to bring more people with us... in any case, that will become part of our main plans.

—Do as you please, Jason. Let's just go get this riffraff and get it over with.

The duo entered Pink Flamingo, and since they had nothing to do there, they headed straight for Children's Heaven. Being an area mostly inhabited by children, it was not surprising to find zombies that were not exactly adults. Nikolai observed the same unusual behavior he noticed when he went to the square... and that was that the dead had a fascination with approaching these little zombies and proceeding to eat them.

It reminded him of the scene they saw when they entered Black Card Plaza, when the zombified members of The Raiders were eating the bald guy. It was so weird the same cannibalistic behavior, only it was taking place among zombies.

—I don't know if you've noticed, but usually the rotten kids have a lot of zombies around them, eating them. I noticed this when I came to rescue Holly and Molly... also, there is a strange green cloud around them. Could it be a smell that the dead themselves identify? —Asked a confused Nikolai, as the behavior of these dead seemed strange to him.

—That must explain the absence of zombie children in other squares... there are none because they were eaten. Although here in Children's Heaven it's different... Surely when it all started, there weren't that many adults. Wow, this plaza seemed to be designated solely for children... It's not that difficult to think that parents left their kids here while they did the shopping.

—Do you think that's it, Jay? Fuck...

—Maybe the zombie adults are mall workers designated to this plaza. If you notice, some of them are wearing an orange shirt and white pants, others have a cap on their head... I sense that they were the ones in charge of the games, attractions...

And as he studied them after getting on a stuffed animal shop, Jason pointed to something. Nikolai turned around and, he saw that one of those zombie kids, missing both eyes and with his intestines hanging out, started screaming. This sent the zombies around him, including other dead children, into a kind of "rage" and they began to surround him and proceeded to bite him. Finally they all "calmed down" when he was decapitated and, a zombie cut his head open, removing his brain.

—The dead don't like the noise they make... if you notice, they killed him to shut him up.

—We have walking alarms...

—If so... I think we know how to save them.

Nikolai pointed to a single playhouse that was being surrounded by the dead.