Free The Mall (Evenstad Media Presents Book 2) by Voss Foster

being, I've decided to stay here in the shop.
At least until shit cools down, or until an opportunity presents itself that I
can't pass up. There's way too much activity right now. People running around, gunfire
everywhere. I don't know if they're stupid or just desperate. They both lead to
the same results.
    The only time I ever leave is after the lights go off. If I keep
to the spots I know are safe, I don’t get shot at. Simple as that. Probably
some part of the game. It would be pretty uninteresting if we all got killed
for trying to move and actually play. And then the ratings would most likely
drop way too low. I'm not complaining. I have things I need to do. And things I
want to do.
    I have to leave tonight. I want to leave another care
package by the clothes shop downstairs. I don't know who they are, but they
obviously don't want anything to do with this crap. Not that I do, but I know I
can handle it, since I have to. I don't want anyone else to suffer
unnecessarily. Not anymore than we already have to, being locked up in this
place. Plus helping out like that makes me feel a little better. I know I have
to do some bad things in here, and probably some worse things I haven't even
thought of yet. Helping out like this… it doesn't counteract the bad things,
really. But it certainly makes me feel like I'm not completely heartless. It
keeps me in mind of my basic humanity. Which is good, since I don't want to
lose that just to survive. But it also makes it harder and harder to do the
things I really need to do, too. Killing people isn't something good people do.
It's kind of a fact we all accept. It's part of why I haven't attacked the
guards by that one door, yet.
    That and I keep waiting for them to change out. I'm sure
there's a shift change of some kind, somewhere along the way. That would be the
time to try for it. But I've watched at all hours and I haven’t seen a thing.
It's not possible at all, but it seems like the same guards are there no matter
what. It's insane, because people need sleep. I don’t know. Maybe I somehow
keep missing it. But… there's something very strange, there. I just can't put
my finger on it, yet.
     
    ENTRY END

JOURNAL 09YESENIA
    ENTRY 004
    DATE: 1/21/2075
     
    I'm here. It's empty, which means it's safe. The guys that
come in here looking for people aren't looking very hard. They don't even peek
behind the counter. Otherwise, I'd have been shot by now, I would assume. They
probably don't get paid enough to do their jobs properly. Or maybe they'd just
rather not kill. I'd like to believe that, that they don't want any part of
this but a paycheck to feed themselves and their families. But if that was
really true, they wouldn't have taken this job in the first place, in my
opinion. They could have cashiered or flipped burgers and gotten a paycheck,
too.
    It doesn't matter. For now, I'm safe. I don't have much in
the way of food. Everything in this place is high sodium, high fat, and high
sugar. It'll keep me going, but I'll start feeling the sluggishness and
dehydration pretty soon. I’m surprised I’ve kept it off this long, to be honest.
The stuff at the food court probably isn't much healthier, but really
anything’s better than living on candy bars and beef jerky from the impulse
buys.
    Not that I regret leaving the housewares shop. There wasn't
any food there, so I was forced to go into the food court a couple times to
resupply. Too close to getting killed for my tastes and that hall is so
cramped. Everyone can very clearly see you moving. Mitchell's is open, at least.
This is a good place to be, a good place to wait out the rest of this game, if
necessary. And if, for whatever reason, the guys with the guns start working
harder and trying to weed people out, I know how to kill someone. I have no
desire to do it, but it’s part of the bargain when you learn about nursing. You
can save people, but the same knowledge is just a twist away from lessons on
how to murder. I'm