chapter 5; values

Third Point of view'

As we stood in front of the building before us, the sun's rays on our sweaty bodies, only one thought was on our mind.

'Should we? Or should we not?'

It was obvious that without doing it our chances of survival would be much slimmer. The problem now was our values.

"Isn't there any other way?" Officer Dave asked me, as he deliberated mentally on the task ahead.

"I don't think there is. This is the only way." I replied.

"But I'm a cop. I'm supposed to be the embodiment of society's values, the enforcer of law. How could you expect me to do such a thing?"

"Look around you Dave (as I had begun to call him, without the honorifics). Does this look like a society that was based on the same principles as it was based on a few hours ago?" I asked him.

He didn't have an answer to the question, like I expected he would, so I proceeded.

"I know you're a cop, a man with values and all, but if we don't survive what's the use of our values? I prefer to be arrested for what we're about to do than die because we didn't do it. That's if society goes back to normal and we actually get arrested." I told him. I had to wake him up to reality somehow.

He pondered for a while before finally giving you in.

"You're right. For me to uphold the law I have to be alive to do that. Now shall we do what's necessary?" He asked. His gloomy face was gone and what reflected on his face instead was a ray of hope. I was surprised by how quickly I had subdued his values. He seemed like a totally different man now.

With both parties in agreement, we walked towards the main entrance of the building. The door handle wouldn't budge so we broke it. This mall was once my favorite place as a kid. I'd get a lot of toys and research magazines with a percentage discount.

Staring at the number of corpses scattered in it now made me feel nauseous. Compared to Dave who had puked about four times on our way here, I seemed to be handling the guy wrenching sight quite well.

"Only take what's necessary. We don't have the luxury of time and space." I reminded Dave, who looked like he wanted to fit the whole mall in a bag.

I proceeded to the back section of the mall, which I was all too familiar with. Here I picked up some sodium hydroxide pellets and several packs of other chemical salts. These, when added to my scientific knowledge could prove to be a very good weapon.

As I picked products one after another from their shelves, I reminded myself that even though this was stealing (although it technically wasn't cause the shop was almost destroyed and we were just making use of the materials which weren't already destroyed), it was necessary.

In every apocalyptic book I read, most people died because of lack of food, water and basic necessities. I didn't intend to meet the same fate as them. We had to move from place to place, and I wasn't sure if we would see another mall in better shape than this one in a very long time.

I picked up some syringes on my way to the front side of the mall. When I was satisfied with the amount of materials I had gathered to help in my research, I moved on to the food section where I stocked my bag with lots of non perishable food and snacks. My stock would be able to suffice for five days at most.

About half an hour later Dave exited the mall and let up with me. I tried to hide my surprise when I saw him coming out with two large bags, which were definitely filled with food and groceries. I was sure he hadn't thought of the problem of transporting the things he had selected.

"Dave I said to only take things that are necessary." I said after taking deep breaths to call myself down.

"But they are. Food is the most necessary necessity." He said, a wide grin forming in his face from ear to ear.

Maybe he was expecting me to catch on to the joke, but I didn't.

"And how do you expect us to carry those big bags around? You might be a cop and might be physically fit, but carrying those around would definitely strain your body." I tried to reason with him.

The look he gave me was that of disappointment mixed with an element of surprise. It was like he expected me to know something, which I obviously didn't.

"What?" I asked him as my frustration grew.

"I thought you would have realized it by now. We don't have a problem with transportation. Take a look around."

I glanced around and realized that what he said was true. We never had a problem with transportation. I saw different cars, some who had crashed and were unable to be used, and others which were in perfect condition. Their drivers had probably been killed when trying to drive away from the alien.

I gave out a sigh of relief. Today was one of the most tragic days in human history, but still, I was happy to be part of the lucky people that survived, and those who were even luckier to be provided with all I had now.