Day 3: Sadistic Games

Nikolai left the shelter along with Jason. Among those accompanying them was the eloquent Clark Kennedy and also Greg Phillips who seemed very motivated to go out and get the materials needed for paramedic George. On the other hand they were focused on finding what they needed for George and on the other hand the alcohol, Clark knew exactly where to find the latter.

—Where the hell have you been, Clark? I thought you would come with us more often. —Nikolai commented somewhat angrily.

—I was out being the hero, rescuing a woman sleeping in a trunk and two girls who were about to be tortured by a deranged stylist. —Clark answered so happily that he pushed a zombie woman over one of the third floor railings and, he was delighted to hear her hit the ground.

—Didn't I tell you, Nikolai? Clark brought three civilians into the shelter while we were gone. —Jason tried to adjust his mask so it wouldn't fall off.

—As a reward I expected something more... my style, something worthy of me since I risked my life to save complete strangers, and now I risk my life to bring resources to those same strangers. And what about this cop, did the situation go to shit for you officers too? —Clark asked Greg who was focused on looking at other things, such as the music store.

—Yeah... yeah. Sergeant Phillips.

—Sergeant Phillips... nice tu meet you. Since I know this mall like the palm of my hand, I will be your guide. I can take you to the places you need, such as some bars and also fine clothing stores for your fabrics and cotton. We can go to Dark Horse Plaza, to the "Golden Shower", which is a bar, then to the "Big Beear" at Pink Flamingo Plaza and then go to the...

—If you're going to say something about the Spring Plaza bar, forget it. Megan said there were three assholes who locked themselves in the wine bar and one of them raped and killed his buddies... probably the corpses have already made a mess of the place or infected the drinks. —Nikolai interrupted and Clark looked at him in disgust.

—I was just going to say something about that place... Oh well, there's nothing you can do to it. We'll go to the gun stores too, won't we? Well, if so, we could try to hit the Eye-Bull...

—We already went there, Clark...

—Oh, shit. Have you been to the gun store in Spring Plaza yet? Have you checked the Spring Plaza warehouse to start with?

—Not yet, Clark, considering it got dark very early yesterday and we weren't going to risk it at night, I hope you understand. —Nikolai replied in disgust to Clark who laughed at Kalinic's response. He liked to make him frustrated.

—Then we'll go for the alcohol first, right? —Jason asked before opening the gates of Grand Mont Plaza to head to Dark Horse Plaza.

—Are you idiot, Jason? We'll go for the clothes first because these stupid plazas shine because they have so many clothes that can be useful for the paramedic. We'll get the materials for that George guy first and then we'll go get the booze and your stupid suits. —Clark smashed the glass of a sign with a map of the mall. —Let's see, you bunch of morons... right now we're here.

Clark pointed to Dark Horse Plaza and placed his finger near a drawing of a fountain and a black rectangle.

—They symbolize the Fountain of Liberty and the ad where I took the map. What we can do now would be to go to the clothing stores which there are plenty of, we can go to the "Gentlemen's Club", "The Alpha Male", "Man of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" and for finer clothes there are the ladies stores, like the department store "H.E.R.", "American Lady" and, I'm sure the girls at the shelter would love a beautiful dress from some such store, you know, the kids you've brought. These girls... Zoe? Andrea?

—Zoey and Amber, Clark.

—I don't care, Jason! As I was saying...

—Hold up right there. You don't get to talk to me like that. I saved your ass, give me some respect.

As they were chatting about which direction to go, Nikolai's walkie-talkie began to ring. This was unexpected. He answered, surprised to hear Ashley's voice.

—Jason?

—Nikolai. What is it, Ashley? —Asked a dismayed Kalinic who grimaced at Jason showing doubt, this was characteristic of Nikolai in the way one eyebrow arched more than the other.

—Ah... you see... I was watching the cameras and I noticed suspicious activity in one of the Black Card Plaza clubs, it's "Lombardi's Nightclub". I don't know why, but there are a lot of men... scattered around.

—You mean they're mutilated?

—No, no, no, no! Not yet! I mean... I don't know why, but apparently someone has left them in different areas of the club, some of them are... sleeping? Other are... tied? To the tables in the club... they keep shouting at each other trying to find out what's going on. Do you think you could go and investigate?

—How many men are we talking about?

—I don't know... about... ten? Maybe a little more... like... I think there are- well, there are too many! well.. They're all adults as far as I can see. I'm afraid something very bad is going to happen to them...

—Ah fuck... Ladies! We're off to Black Card Plaza, the Lombardi Club. Apparently another crazy fucker has decided to do things to people.

—You go ahead, ladies. I'll get what you ordered for the shelter. —Clark willingly asked to refrain from going to the club. —I can manage on my own.

With one man left behind, Nikolai, Jason and Greg moved to the Black Card Plaza area. Another rather curious thing they noticed was that, in fact, some of these "zombies" had wild behaviors they hadn't seen before, such as some carrying guns and killing a particular dead man and proceeding to devour him.

On the other hand, far away in the park, Jason noticed how a man was masturbating with someone's severed hand, climaxing on some remains in front of him, with which he rubbed himself, before being attacked by another guy who opened his neck by repeatedly passing a saw.

Now the man inserted his erected member into the space where there was a head before.

—This is getting more and more out of control. —Jason looked away, only to find that in front of him the lake that made up the park was littered with corpses floating around, and some of those dead bodies were eating the fish.

—Clearly they are not one of us. —Nikolai noticed the actions of some of the people he labeled as "Savages". —They are savages... they are people like the butchers or the people from the gun store, they are people like Stacy's dad and brother... they are not people like us, not anymore.

—Do you think the virus or whatever we have inside us is the reason they are acting like this? I don't understand... a few moments ago I saw a man enjoying being eaten... I know of people who enjoy fucking anything that is alive, dead or whatever is in between being alive and dead. Why are they acting like savages? —Jason wanted to get to the square soon to get out of the horrible place the park represented.

—Because they're human. —Greg answered. —At the police station we saw... this. Remember when we told you we found a massacre the next day in the cell area? It wasn't just that... it was an orgy, cannibal sex. It didn't matter if there were children inside... t didn't matter if there were remains that once belonged to someone... they were fucking them. Maybe what happened to us is triggering people's aggressive behaviors, maybe getting some chemical up in their heads like a drug.

—I was just thinking the same thing. —Nikolai nodded. —But they're not sane people anymore... We thought these sick people were just taking advantage of their situation, of the world going to shit... But this? This is pure savagery.

The group made their way to Black Card Plaza, having to make their way through Children's Heaven. The place was a pestilent place, there was debris all over the floors and, Nikolai noticed that many of the houses in the fantasy neighborhood had blood coming out of the doors and windows, as if a murder had occurred inside, which it probably did.

—Definitely their situation is worse than ours. —Greg sighed heavily. —I don't want to imagine what these children went through before they were... by their families... or by mere strangers. Can you imagine seeing your son being... people doing things to your child?

Greg commented in disgust when he saw underwear lying on the floor, lacy, pink underwear with a bear in the middle of the garment, it was torn and all bloody.

Trying to ignore the heartbreaking events going on around them, Niikolai led the group with the sole objective of going to Black Card Plaza. So it was that they left the most harrowing place in the mall and were once again preparing for the horrors to come.

In front of them, in the middle of a desolate, lifeless place that was only a reflection of a disturbed society, were the doors of the discotheque.