Macy's

Monc put out her left foot which resulted in Miles’s fall. We couldn’t help but laugh. The security officer magically appeared in front of us again and gave us his warning look. We kept quiet as we moved around him. His eyes remained on us. At a few feet away from the security officer we continued laughing. Miles punched Monc in the arm and said something to her that didn’t reach me. This caused her to shove Miles into me. I shoved him right back, he just laughed the whole time.

We all calmed down and proceeded to walk around Macy’s. Me, Monica “Monc”, Miles, Daymon, and Eddie “Beats”. We’ve been friends for a good minute and now we’re seniors in high school. We’ve lived in Section 2 all of our lives. It’s pouring outside right now. Monc was just staring out the door of Macy’s I noticed. Miles wanted to know what she was doing but she came back over to us and didn’t answer. Everyone knew that Miles liked Monc but she wasn’t interested because her interest lied elsewhere. A pretty girl with killer heels walked passed us and Monc got the first look. She couldn’t stop staring and excused herself from us and went after the chick. I saw a look of disappointment hit Miles face. Daymon started complaining about how hungry he was. This annoyed Miles and he told Daymon to shut up. Daymon fired back. I looked over a display of shoes and spotted the security officer. I told them to both shut up because I wanted to enjoy myself at the mall, not having to keep getting in trouble. Monc came back over talking about how she got the digits. Miles tried to tell her that the girl wasn’t even that attractive, but we knew he was just trying to get at Monc. Monc payed him no mind. I heard a man going psycho. He was yelling in a raspy voice to the associates and some of the costumers. Quick! Everybody get out of the mall! Evil is upon us! You all will die! Beats said that someone should make that nigga shut up. I laughed and agreed. When I turned around the dude was in my face. Listen, boy, get out quick! His breath stank and some saliva landed on me. I told him to get out of my face; he was making me angry. Evil! Evil! Run! I snapped and punched the motherfucker in his face. The security officer was on me like white on rice. My friends were outraged.

They took all of us into a room. We did nothing wrong and tried to explain the situation to them. They were some dumb, white men. We all sat in chairs while the officers sat in their offices probably talking to my moms right now. Beats was cussing up a storm with his head in his hands. Monc said that this was wack, all of it. I thought I blinked but I couldn’t have; Monc, Miles, Beats, and Daymon all looked at the lights. I asked what just happened. But then it happened again, the fluorescent lights blinked and buzzed. We were almost in the dark. I could barely see them. Beats was looking all around the room. What the hell is going on? Monc asked. Daymon got up and went to the officer’s door and began banging on it. There was a window and earlier we could see through it but now the office was dark. We all stood up. Beats grabbed a chair and threw it at the window. The window shattered on the eighth try. Monc was going for the door that leads to Macy’s telling us not to bother with the officer. Miles followed her out the door. I can’t believe those faggots left us, Beats said. Daymon seemed determined to get to that officer. The lights went up then, out of nowhere. For a second I thought whatever was happening was over. Oh shit! Daymon screamed. The officer that had been bothering us that whole day was now dead. His throat was slit pretty deep that his head was just barely hanging on. His eye balls were poked out and bloodied too. How the hell did he get this way? I asked. Nigga, I don’t know but I’m outta here, Beats said and ran out on us. I just wanted everyone to calm down and stick together. Daymon left and I made sure to stay with him. It wasn’t over. The mall was pitched black. I ran up behind Daymon with his cell phone out to help guide us through the dark. I don’t hear any screams, I said. Yeah, but damn is it dark, don’t no nigga need to be going through this, Daymon said. I stayed on his tail. I can’t believe it was just us. Where did everyone go? Where was Beats? Maybe we should call the others, I suggested. He tried calling Monc and Miles, I called Beats. I didn’t get a signal. I don’t have service, I told Daymon. It was even darker because the phone was to his ear so I held my phone out for some light. I’m getting a signal but Miles ain’t answering, I’ma try Monc, he told me. I waited. Damn it was so fucking creepy, I was getting paranoid now. Monc? Monc, can you hear me? Okay, he said. Then he put her on speaker. She was breaking up a little but still audible. Where are you Monc? Are you still with Miles? Daymon asked. No, I don’t know what happened to Miles, he’s just gone. He was right behind me but he’s not anymore. Monc sounded frantic and shaky. Are you all right, Daymon asked. No, nigga. I don’t even know where the fuck I am, it’s too dark. Daymon asked if she had her cell phone light on so that she could see. She did. We need to meet up somehow, I said. I noticed Daymon study me. He was seeing through me; thinking. I got it, he said. Monc asked, got what? Daymon told her to stay right where she was and not move a muscle that we were going to find her by the light from her cell phone. Him and I were going to try to remember how Macy’s looked with the lights on so we could get ourselves around. That’s going to take forever, she said. So be it, was Daymon’s answer. It was going to take forever but it was a plan. They hung up and my whole focus was on our plan. We tried to picture how Macy’s looked from outside of the officer’s office. I remembered a chair being there and it was. Daymon remembered a mannequin being here and he felt that it was there. We were making good progress. If I’m correct I believe the escalator is to our left, Daymon said and I agreed. That must mean we were on the second floor. It would be nice to know what floor Monc was. He was successful at calling her back and he asked if she went up or down any stairs. Monc said that she and Miles went down the escalators when she lost him. That means that they must have took that left and Daymon was right; the escalators were there and they weren’t running. We were going down the steps when I thought I heard something. I think I heard something, Day,I said. Like what? He asked. Something fell. Just keep moving, I ain’t going back to investigate. I stayed besides him. We made it down the escalator and proceed to remember where things were. I was petrified now, I really wanted to grab onto Daymon so that I wouldn’t lose him, but that sounded like funny behavior. You still behind me, Tay? Yeah, I answered. I’m not trying to lose you Tay, I can’t be by myself, he said. That relieved me and I grabbed onto his arm….. he didn’t reject and that made me a little suspicious, but then again it was dark and we were fighting for our lives whether we knew it or not. Daymon’s breathing was pretty even so that calmed me as well. You remember what that man said? The one you punched? Daymon was asking. Yeah, I think he has something to do with this, I said. Something…, Daymon didn’t finish his complete thought. It was too creepy to be even thinking about that man. We have been searching for a good ten minutes and running into furniture which nearly gave me a heart attack. Somewhere in my brain I was thinking about how I didn’t want to find Monc, I just want to be only near Daymon and continue to holding onto him. This night was making me have strange thoughts. I never thought about Daymon like this. We heard Monc or some girl screaming. Daymon grabbed my hand and ran after the scream. We were holding hands, was all I thought. It was Monc and Daymon was trying to get her to stop screaming and asking what’s wrong. Monc’s arm was shaking as she held up her phone to something. It was a horrifying dead body. The arms were out of socket, the legs twisted and the face was just too scary for words. It was Miles. Oh no they didn’t, son! Daymon yelled. I’ma kill them motherfuckers that did this! He yelled. We don’t even know who’s doing this, I reminded Daymon. We gonna find out, he said. I couldn’t believe Miles was dead. It hadn’t fully hit me yet and I don’t expect it to fully hit until all of this is over.

We were sitting on the sofas near a display of shoes. I sat very close to Daymon while Monc sat in a chair by herself. We didn’t know what to do now. One of us was dead and the other was nowhere to be found so might as well be dead. We’ve been sitting for five minutes or so. It was silent. I still had my arm wrapped around Daymon’s. He had turned the light to his phone off to save battery. Monc didn’t have her’s on either and I never really had mines on because I just followed Daymon’s. Something was growing between us. Maybe that something was always there and this is what is causing it to come out. I lay my head on his shoulder and he didn’t resist or shift away. He didn’t say anything either and I would love to see his facial expression. He did hold my hand. Maybe he doesn’t care or has feelings for—I’m getting way over my head with this. I have never been in a position like this. I always thought I was attracted to girls… so I don’t understand what’s happening now. You still over there, Monc? Daymon’s voice didn’t come at a surprise. I heard a faint ‘yeah’ from her. I was now getting tired. We need to do something guys, I said. Let’s all try calling Beats again, Daymon said. Monc had tried earlier after we found her but didn’t get a signal like me. Only Daymon got a signal again. You got good service, Monc said. But I’m not getting an answer. I sat up. We need to get out of here and get the police or something, I mean we are sounding like the only people up in here, I said. Daymon agreed, so we were back to our walking. We made it outside Macy’s and still didn’t hear anyone. Are we the only ones in here? Monc asked. The only ones alive, Daymon corrected. What was it that was killing everyone? That’s when the lights went up. Oh shit! The light hurt and we all groaned. We were indeed outside Macy’s and all around the mall were dead bodies. Monc screamed again. I covered my eyes. This is a bad dream. This can’t be real. There was blood everywhere. It was pitch black dark again for two seconds and when the lights came back on the mall was spotless. We were so confused. Which reality was true? Were there a pile of bodies or was the mall empty? The lights didn’t go back out and the mall looked perfectly fine. Was I the only one that saw that shit! Monc yelled. No, I saw it too, Daymon answered. What the hell is happening? I asked. I don’t know, but let’s follow through that plan of calling the cops. Daymon tried his phone but all of a sudden he wasn’t getting any service. That was a sign. I was staring at Daymon. Monc was behind us the whole time at a few feet away. This is really fucked up, Daymon said. I looked at Monc to see what she thought but she was no longer there. Uh, Day? Where is Monc? Daymon looked behind him too. She just disappeared. Why the hell would she leave us? Daymon asked. I been questioned if Monc was even with us at all. Maybe our minds were playing a trick on us and we just thought that we found Monc. But that’s impossible. It was just Daymon and me. Daymon was fed up and said screw it. He told me that as long as I was with him then he was fine. That made me happy. We went for the mall’s main enter/exit doors. It was pitch black outside as well. I was just looking outside while Daymon tried the door. The doors are locked, we’re locked in, Daymon said. That’s bullshit, I said. I found a rock in a nearby fountain and threw it at the glass several times. Daymon followed my lead and we were throwing rocks at the glass to no avail. Shit! Daymon screamed. I was beyond confused. Who or what the hell was keeping us here and why us?

The lights stayed on and Daymon and I found a store that sold beds and we stayed lying in one of the beds. This is starting to feel like Dawn of the Dead, no fucking zombies better be out there, Daymon said and I laughed. It was beginning to feel like that. I didn’t want to die. How you feeling? I asked. I had to address this situation. About this haunted mall? Not so great, he said. I laughed. No, about us? He was hesitant and I could finally see his face. It looked indifferent. He shifted a few times. I don’t know, he said. Maybe I was wrong about these feelings. I’m tired now, was all I said and I proceeded to lie all the way down and get comfortable. Daymon softly spoke my name. I turned over to face him. He just stared at me. He slid down the bed, coming down at my eye level, now lying down in the bed. I didn’t know what he was going to do because then the lights went out. Not this shit again, Daymon said. The shit made me mad as well. Who ever you are you better come the fuck out now! I yelled. I’m done playing this game! I continued. Daymon made sure to grab onto me. If he was going to disappear on me then I would be disappearing with him. I heard Daymon gasp and then groan then he was swearing up a storm. The lights came on and the first thing I saw was this person standing over us with a bloddy knife above his head. I don’t know whether this person was a person or not. It was a tall skinny man with a bob hair cut that is usually seen on women. His hair was the only thing feminine, it was brown with lighter brown streaks in it. He was wearing a button down white shirt tucked into dress black pants with a tie on. The face is what was questionable, it was freaky looking and abnormal. His face was so long and thin, which looked unnatural and his eyes were wide and white, no eye color. I know damn well I didn’t just enter into a scifi movie cause that’s how he’s looking right now. And the blood on the knife was Daymon’s. This son of a bitch just stabbed Daymon in his thigh. He was about to do it again but I tackled him. He made noises out of his mouth, nonhuman noises. He was really strong but I held him down. I found a lamp on a side table and took it. I slammed it into his face repeatedly. Over and over and over and over……

I felt a shove and heard a faint voice. I jumped up. What the hell? I was back outside the officer’s office with Daymon, Eddie, Monc, and Miles. My mom was over my shoulder and had been tapping me. I questioned what was happening. They said that we weren’t allowed back in Macy’s for three months and that we could go home. My mom had come down. I must have fell asleep when the lights started blinking. I looked up at the lights and they were fine. What’s wrong, had a bad dream? my mom asked. I rubbed my eyes and replied, Something like that. They got up slowly and began to exit. I can’t believe that that was a dream. It couldn’t have been it felt so real. And why would I dream about something like that? I just wanted to get out of the mall. I looked over at Daymon and he was studying me. I went to stand by him. You sure you okay? He asked. I don’t look okay? I asked. He shook his head no. We made it to one of the exit doors of Macy’s, the same door Monc was looking out earlier. It was still raining. It was always raining. Eddie and Miles were out the door when I noticed the lights flicker. I wasn’t the only one that noticed. Let’s go, I said. I was the last one out and when I turned back to face the glass door it was pitch black inside of Macy’s.