Day 9 - The Plan

Cain panted as he dashed down the staircase. He could have taken the elevator but it was too risky.

Just the sound the elevator made each time it crossed a floor deterred Cain from using it.

After a while, he finally reached the ground floor and stealthily walked to the building entrance.

He glanced back at the complex to see a hole on the third floor.

"Could it be a monster was in the building?" immediately thought Cain.

However, he quit his thoughts as it couldn't be true. If otherwise, then the monster would have made a loud commotion.

Nonetheless, the hole was enough proof that a monster had come out of the complex. It should be roaming around in the streets right now.

Cain sighed in a low tone, "I cannot just walk on the street. I have to do something."

Still, in the complex's environment, he hid in the small security building and plotted his next course of action. 

The security building was empty as expected so he saw no disturbance.

'The street is linear. It goes straight before joining a street that goes from west to south. My first obstacle is the group of monsters that guard the street. My next challenge will be the other streets leading to the mall.'

It was starting to look more like a suicide mission. Moreover, it will be over if Cain mistakenly led them to the mall.

He was only going to that particular mall because it had closed a week ago. So, no monster would be there. He wasn't hoping to be the one to jeopardize that.

Deep in thoughts, Cain realized that he needed a distraction.

The monsters were attracted to noises. The moment they heard a sound, they would earnestly chase after it. This would give him the advantage he needed.

However, it wouldn't be as smooth as he pictured. He remembered the couple from yesterday.

They also had a distraction, albeit unplanned. Yet, they couldn't escape the street.

"Does that mean I need a lot of distractions?" joked Cain.

He began to plan.

The buildings by the street were all closed. He won't be able to hide in there if the situation called for it.

He could blow up nearby cars, but he had to use his matchbox and open the fuel channel. This would take too long and the monsters would probably notice him before he was done.

"Hmmm....that is it," Cain snapped his fingers in joy.

The security building was equipped with speakers for emergency purposes. Since the electrical power was still on, could he perhaps use the speaker?

He could link up a spare mp3 player with the speaker and activate it after he was a sizable distance away from the speaker.

Since they were built for emergency purposes, they should be loud enough to attract the monster's attention.

The whole scenario formed in his head as he eliminated the unstable elements. The distance, the method of activation, his hiding location.

"I'm no tech wizard but the average range for a Bluetooth connection should be within forty to seventy feet(40-70ft). Hmmmmm, this is right," remarked Cain.

He immediately connected his spare mp3 to the speaker. After testing it out, he walked out of the security post and left the environment.

With his right hand holding his pistol, Cain observed the street. There was currently no monster there but he bet the moment he made a careless mistake, they would all come rushing.

'...25..28..29,' he counted in his mind.

His position was accurately twenty-nine feet away from the speaker. It was better to be safe so he stopped moving forward.

He spotted a car to his left and his eyes glinted with an idea. He had found his hiding spot.

When he got closer to the car, Cain dragged his body underneath the car and took out his spare mp3.

He looked at the texts displayed on it, "Good, it is still connected."

Like a devil, he manipulated the volume of the speaker to the highest and played the rockiest song he had ever heard in his life.

In this little part of the world, in this hidden street, everywhere was quiet but when a thundering sound echoed like the bell of judgements, multiple snarls could be heard.

Judging by the sounds, they were getting closer to Cain's location…... or to be exact, the speaker's location.

Cain held his breaths as he heard loud footsteps.  He could even see the gigantic feet of the monsters but he didn't dare stare too much.

He buried his head in the granite ground as tears streamed down his eyes. He realized that he was probably playing with death.

A minute passed instantly.

Amidst the intense pressure, Cain forced himself to roll away from the car. He slid the spare mp3 there. He needed it to be connected to the speaker for eternity.

He didn't look back but he estimated that all the monsters had gathered behind him.

He ran with the tip of his toes trying not to make too much noise.

Suddenly, the song was done and a period of silence ensued.

Cain hurriedly jumped beneath the closest car. He bruised his body in his process and was about to release a painful yelp. 

Not being able to use his arms to cover his mouth, Cain forced himself to bite his lips and concentrated on that pain.

Blood dripped from his mouth but the way he saw it, it was better than being found out by the large congregation of monsters.

He reckoned they were searching for him as he had made quite a few loud noises in his attempt to hide.

He heard the approaching footsteps of one of the monsters.

They were akin to the looming hands of death that could never leave humans.

Cain held his breath as deep as he could for a few seconds. He was reaching his limits. His lungs were burning from lack of air.

'Hold it. Hold it. Hold it...'

The overarching footsteps were enough to force him beyond his limits.

Suddenly, the next song on the speaker roll took over and the monsters were fixated back on the speaker.

They rushed to it ferociously.

Cain opened his eyes and panted fiercely. His eyes were almost shit. His body vibrated intensely without stop.

He could barely grip his gun.

After calming himself a bit, he continued his journey to the mall….