Outbreak

I groaned and kicked the Pepsi bottle that was discarded on the sidewalk, into the street.

"Can you stop complaining already?" a long-haired Mexican teen asked from behind me. "Socializing won't kill you, so the least you could do is try to have fun!"

"Yeah..or I can keep complaining" I shooed with my hand while looking back at him. "I think I prefer option B."

"Is that so?" The boy questioned raising one of his eyebrows. "You don't have to always be anti-social."

"Yes, it is so." I replied as we made our way into the mall. " And you're anti-social as well, so you can't say anything!" I rolled my eyes.

After about fifteen minutes of walking around in the rather large mall, we found ourselves lost. However in my Ethan's opinion, he'd just say "Nah, we're just taking a detour." I sighed and pulled out my phone, "Do you know where we were supposed to meet up?" I asked him and to my disappointment, he replied with a "no".

"Alright"

I went to messages on my phone and started texting under the contact listed as Bella.

Me: Hey, where are we supposed to meet?

Bella: 1st-floor water fountain...

Came a reply, a couple of seconds after my initial text.

Coincidentally enough, however, we were standing not even twenty feet away from the fountain. I looked back at Ethan and pointed towards it, "They're over there".

Over by the grey coin-filled fountain, were a boy and two girls. Thoughts about all the stores and items in them that would soon be bought filled my mind. Along with some thoughts of annoyance at the screaming children and loud people who were in the mall. I was slowly making my way towards the group when one of the girls walked up and hugged me. She was light-skinned and looked to be about 5'5 with a curly-wavy afro and purple glasses. I gave her a soft hug back while looking at the other two people across from me.

Ethan smiled at the other girl, and she flashed a smile back before walking up to him.

"Hey Ethan, it's been a minute huh?" The dark-skinned girl asked as Ethan came in for a hug.

"Yeah, a while Aliyah!" He replied completing the hug. He then turned towards me and the girl I was hugging.

"Hey, Bella!" Ethan exclaimed in excitement.

"Hey, Sean!" A boy called to me, as Bella went from hugging me to hugging Ethan. I flashed and smiled and gave him the first bump. "Wassup Jamie?" The boy smiled back, "Nun Just been chilling at home bored till now". "Yeah, I feel that" I chuckled.

I, along with Aliyah, Jamie, Ethan, and Bella, began walking around; in search of our first victim of a store. It may not have been what I wanted, but the girls insisted on going to Victoria's Secret first. Although I and the boys did protest at first, we had no choice but to give in.

As we made our way into the store I was hit with a strong and kinda fruity smell. I looked at Aliyah who was holding my hand.

"Why's the perfume so strong?" asked Ethan covering his nose.

I was about to reply when I was cut off by Bella. "Boys perfume are stronger than girls so don't complain," She said both hands on her hips and leaning forward.

Ethan sighed and looked at Jamie who shrugged his shoulders and looked away, avoiding eye contact. "Don't look at me!"

I was then grabbed by my arm and pulled deeper into the store by Aliyah, passing mannequins in lingerie. She dragged me to the nearest one and shrieked. I looked at her and smiled amusingly. Though my poor ears did suffer from the wrath of those sound waves. "Must've found something you liked" I said holding my right ear. "Yeah, I like these!" She shrieked again. Thankfully I'd anticipated that and flicked her in the forehead. Which had calmed her down. At the price of her holding the sore spot on her head and looking up at me with puppy dog eyes.

I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

I honestly believe that if I don't die from natural causes. Her cuteness will do it.

Aliyah pouted as I turned back to face the mannequin, "you want me to buy these for you?" I asked; looking at the black and pink outfit. Her eyes shifted to me then back at the mannequin. "No, I was just showing you how cute this was".

"It is cute but, I think it'll look cuter on you," I said under my breath, loud enough for her to hear...

I adjusted my glasses and grinned, watching Aliyah and Sean over by the lingerie section of the store. It seemed like I wasn't the only one watching too. I looked up and saw Ethan and Jamie watching as well.

My eyes landed on Ethan who stood there with a raised eyebrow and folded arms along with Jamie, who had his right arm resting on one of the perfume stands with an amused expression on his face. "What do you think they're talking about?" Jamie asked with a smirk. "Shouldn't be anything too bad, we are in public after all" Ethan added. After a few minutes of messing with Aliyah, I and her decision to head back to the rest of our friends. Though when I turned around, I was greeted with multiple eyes gazing at me and her. With both boys giving me nods of encouragement. Meanwhile, Bella was giving me a thumbs up. To which I proceeded to flash her a middle finger, as I and Ali started making our way back to them. "So, what was the point of coming in here and not buying anything?" I asked Bella once she was in earshot distance of me.

"Well, I wanted to look around the store and look at what they were selling!" Aliyah exclaimed excitedly while Bella nodded in agreement. "But you stood here with us" Ethan added, looking at Bella. "She wanted to look around not me", she then replied.

"Eh, well let's go on to the next store then" Jamie motioned at us, as he began walking out of the store. While we followed suit.

"Hey! ya'll wanna check out the second floor?" I asked dragging Ali outside of the store with me, as the others followed suit. By this time we had already been at the mall for about three hours. As I stepped out into the hallway. As I heard screaming coming from somewhere around us, it didn't help that it was echoing down the halls. This was then followed by a ringing from my phone. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sean, are you still at Dover's Mall with your friends?" Asked a familiar feminine voice.

"Oh yeah, mom, what's up? You sound worried!"

"..out ...now!"

"Mom can you repeat that? I couldn't hear you."

Click...

I took my phone from by my ear and looked at it. The T-Mobile that was at the top left was now replaced by a no service with a call failed-screen. I turned to Aliyah then to the rest of my friends that were behind me. " does anyone else have no service?" I questioned. To which, they all started taking out their phones and checking them.

"Yeah, I have no service as well," Ethan muttered, with a confused expression plastered on his face. To which Aliyah, Jamie, and Bella also agreed.

A loud banging sound from to my left caused me to jump out of my skin, across the hallway. From what I could make out, some people were running towards us. I looked behind me at Jamie, Ethan who was now looking.

The sight that greeted me was not what I had expected. A man wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and what seem to be beige timberland-boots covered in appeared to be blood, he was slowly coming around the corner while a relatively large mass of people was running from him. Along with another woman. Her white T-shirt was ripped in the front which showed her black and white spotted bra and a large chunk of skin missing from her collar-bone. She snarled at someone a few feet away from me. Red liquid of whatever she'd been drinking or eating seeping down here more and onto the white tile floor. I took a big step back. I was trying to find something to say but, I was speechless. She then started to break into a sprint and jump on the man in front of me, which I fell back in response from shock.

The man behind the woman sprinted towards me as we locked eyes. His grey eyes and Milky-white pupils met with my dark brown ones. At which the bloodied woman bit into the man below her as he was screaming for help; with tears rolling down his face.

Ethan and Jamie ran up to me, helping me off of the ground. I could see the man, inching closer as I was getting to my feet. The girls behind us started backing up as the terror was now settling in.

"What the hell just happened?" Jamie asked, voice trembling.

"Never mind that, just go!" I shoved them forward and started to sprinting passing the girls; who then started following. As the man who was once screaming, was silent.

It didn't take long for the presumed dead man to get onto his feet and start chasing us. But by that time we were nearing the exit doors, with the other man and bloodied woman in tow.

"'Let's go to the mall", they said. "It will be fun..stop being anti-social," they said, I mocked aloud and glared at my friends.

"Hey we didn't know that we'll be running from the undead today!" JP yelled passing me by.

"How do you know that they're dead?" Ethan asked.

He was always the "reasonable" one, not wanting to jump to conclusions. He was the type of person who'd want to include all details before making a decision; though he could be a hothead at times.

"Well..they are leaking a lot of blood, and they are pale as well!"

"But-the dead can't walk, that is science fiction!"

We made it to the exit door but it seemed like we weren't the only ones who wanted out of this place. There was a whole crowd of people blocking our way out. I took a look behind me and saw the three bloodied people now making their way towards us.

"Let's go another way!" Bella yelled. Trying to be heard over the screams and cries of the crowd of people. We ran to the east-ward side of the mall passing an IHOP and a wing stop in the process.

I looked down at my blue-grey and black nike shoes, which were now cover in crimson red liquid and took a deep breath.

All that running took a toll on my lungs; I could even breathe properly. I placed a hand over my heart, which was beating abnormally fast. To which I proceeded to take slow breaths. Last thing I needed was a heart-attack.

"I'm glad you got your breathing under control but we need to get out of here..like now!" JP paced side to side frantically.

"Panicking won't help anyone, we need to stay calm and get to the emergency exit!"