They entered the ruinous colosseum of bygones through a shattered window. I watched them between the shadows. They crept on top of broken glass, crinkling it back down into sand. I entered behind them – phasing, stepping. Listening, plotting.
Roof panels rotted inside and out, spilling bundles of old wires like falling intestines. Dead and dusty. The group carefully stepped around the puddles formed from the rainwater. It seeped into everything, everywhere.
Their eyes followed with the beams of their flashlights. Nothing but the bare walls surrounded them. Homer smiled as they spotted the broken opening into the mall itself, a smile that spread to Luke and Andrew like a plague.
Homer led them over more broken glass and into looming hallways. “Another beige ass place.” His voice bounced a sudden life into the darkened stillness. He clicked his tongue as they shined their lights across the surfaces of the place's architecture. Nothing but dark and light browns; concrete, walls, signs, brick, and tile – all brown. Not to mention the general fading abandonment brings. A return to form.
Luke spoke up as he examined a storefront to his right. “Holy shit, barber shop. Looks empty as fuck though.”
“Yeah, no shit, dummy. We need to find the forgotten places,” Andrew replied, tapping his index finger to his head.
“Yeah, places still up when the floods hit,” Homer affirmed.
“Oh, alright then experts, let’s proceed,” He brushed off the slick attitude. I could sense he wasn’t fond of Andrew’s talk but hurt egos gets you trapped in places like these.
“The map’s just ahead,” Homer pointed. They followed. Their steps echoed around them, creating the illusion of a steady march. The darkness was palpable enough to grasp. The dust mixed in with the water created patches of mud in forgotten corners. Scribbles of the past were etched into everything. It brought on wonder one can get lost in. A lost energy that could be harnessed – by those unseen.
“Damn that shits hard to see,” Andrew squinted.
“Get the fucking lights directly off it. There, keep it there. Where we at Luke?”
The newbie craned his head, attempting to read the decaying map.
“Shit, looks we’re around a – Markee’s?”
The other two wanderers laughed at his pronunciation.
Andrew corrected him through his honky noises. “Marcy’s, bud.”
“Yeah, that old world bullshit must look weird huh?” Homer smirked.
“Well, yeah, can’t hardly read this damn thing either.”
“Yeah, well–” CLANG.
Their heads snapped in the direction of the sound. Coming from a giant corridor to their left that held nothing but shadows. Andrew and Homer turned off their flashlights quickly. Homer had to signal Luke to do so as well. They stood as still as their surroundings, attempting to blend into the misshapen shadows.
“Okay,” Homer whispered, “Let’s keep it down. Come on.”
They traversed the darkness for a moment, following in their leaders footsteps to a tee.
Homer smiled to himself. He always had fun doing this.
Like ‘exploring the ruins of long lost civilizations.’ You know it’s just a mall right? ‘It’s still a place that holds the weight of people lost to time. Cultures, shit like that.’ Yeah, sure.
They passed more empty spaces once brimming with voices. Drip. An old hair salon, with torn out walls. Drip, drip. A gym that held nothing but shattered emptiness and mirrors with the stench of mold. Drip, drip, drip.
Homer signaled for their respirator masks. Each member put them on and they finally clicked on their flashlights again. The jitters left their collective minds.
The yellow beams flashed over rainwater spilling in from a dome shaped skylight centering the food court in front of them. Luke spotted the spongy mold caking the tables beneath it.
“Get a pic, Andrew,” Homer commanded his accomplice.
Luke raised an eyebrow as Andrew pulled out a camera from his backpack.
The Canon Powershot – G2. A heavy duty beauty. Snap. Snap. A rarity. He took two pictures, flash on.
“Nice camera.” Luke nodded.
Andrew responded. “Still getting the hang of it.”
“It was a steal,” Homer added.
The two chuckled amongst each other. Andrew did not offer to show Luke the photos.
“Oh shit, Dollar Pickings is just past the food hall!” Luke pointed ahead.
BRANG!
They turned off their flashlights again. The noise came from where they had first entered and echoed through the spacey hallways for a few moments after.
“What the fuck. . .” Andrew whispered.
“You think –”
“Sh.” Homer silenced them. “Just follow.”
They crept along once more. Water licked their soles as they traversed over the slick food court floors. Luke kept looking back, wary of what else this place held. He had heard ruminations of what the floods brought, on top of plunging everything into chaos. He watched his ‘courageous companions’ stalk forward with confidence steadying their steps. Luke shook it off, physically, and kept going, taking one last look back towards the beginning.
“The building must be settling again,” Homer tried to reassure them after they added enough distance from the sound. “Especially with the rains coming again.”
Andrew chimed in. “Good thing we’re here now. Could be gone next time.”
Luke asked. “Old world infrastructure that bad?”
“Worse,” Homer replied.
“I see,” Luke began to examine his surroundings a little more sharply. Nearly everything was sharpened, broken, and crumbling. Disfigured. Uneasiness moved into his guts, worming around for freedom.
Homer turned his light back on. Everyone followed suit and illuminated the yellow storefront. It still held summer themed stickers plastered on the windows that weren’t already broken. Beach balls, floaters, water, and the proverbial palm tree. Homer laid out a towel over a windowsill and hopped in, signaling for the two others to follow like they weren’t already going to.
They walked into memory. Everything was covered by it. Like a thin layer of frosting. Homer and Andrew already began tracing their way to the back of the store while Luke got hung up on the cash registers. The shuttering of the camera lens reverberated off the half empty shelves.
It kept out the sound of the howling wind picking up just outside. The storm clouds stuck together overhead. Manifestation had arrived.
Luke ran his fingers over the cold corroded metal of the thing that once held value. Probably touched by countless other hands so long ago. He made imprints on the stagnant buttons, some of them didn’t even push in properly. He wiped off the tiny blank screen near the top. Reflecting the light into it and seeing little bits of machinery brighten up like it was still on. A sigh escaped his nose. His eyes found the grins of children posted up above a wall of summer playthings. The light in their eyes waned, the smiles cracked from time and ruination. He wondered how old they would be now – were they even alive?
“Luke.” Andrew grasped his shoulder. The newbie nearly jumped out of his clothes. “There’s some shit we found, come on.” He shot a gap filled grin at Luke, his mask dangling from one of his ears. Luke followed reluctantly.
I could see it in the way his steps wobbled slightly. I could see the unreleased tension in Andrew’s shoulders. Another ‘prank’ perhaps? Mine was only beginning.
‘come on, take a peek for us dude.’ I mean the pictures are nice, but– ‘your pictures are fucking sick, this is once in a lifetime now–’ ‘these things aren’t coming back.’ ‘we will be right behind you.’ Yeah. Sure.
Andrew teased him some more. “Find any cash to make use of?” Luke gave him a halfhearted snort, “Yeah, millions.” Andrew smirked. “Wonderous huh?”
“Kind of – but creepy.”
“Hm,” Andrew finished.
“Back here,” Homer waved them over to the corner of the store, in between rows of refrigerators that no longer hummed with chills. He stood at a double door, open just enough to know it was unlocked. “Could be some good shit. Help us get this open, it’s budged.”
All three of them put their weight against the door. They pushed. Luke grunted in his efforts. It strained and snapped and he fell inward, onto his knees.
His flashlight scattered across the room and highlighted the silhouettes of – people.
“OH SHIT!” He scrambled backwards on all fours. Homer and Andrew snickered. The laughing brought relief and a red pulse of embarrassment. No ghosts or killers – yet. Luke bolted up onto his feet and rubbed his nose.
The commotion was my moment to seize. The laughter quieted the sounds of the ceiling cracking just enough for the rainwater to begin leaking into everything. The wind slammed against the makeshift dam on the other side of the capitalist colosseum, unbeknownst to them that it held back the force of a lake from consuming the rest of this place. From consuming them. The water hissed through the vents and onto the dollar store floors. The dust coloring it all red. Wind from the storm loosened some already deteriorated screws and panes. Sharpened objects shifted inward. I stood amongst the perishing ‘people,’ waiting for my revelation.
“Look at your fucking face man!” Homer chortled and pointed at the camera.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got my ass.”
“Got your ass? PRANKED your ass dude.” Andrew threw his head back to laugh. The blood flushed from Luke’s cheeks. He balled his fists momentarily.
“Oh shit, wait, look.” Homer shined his light past Luke and across the rows of mannequins. “There’s some writing back there.”
“What?” Andrew asked, his joy vanishing from his face at the prospect of less mockery.
“Look at the pic, dumbass. Pick up your torch, Luke.”
Luke took a breath for himself and grabbed his flashlight off the ground. The lights made the white skin of the plastic people turn orange. Homer moved past them and put the beam onto a back wall. It was marked in glossy and bold black paint:
THE VOID GIFTS THE UNSEEN MANIFESTATION THROUGH [PLEA]SE.
“Fucking crazies…” Homer said.
“Could be a sick ass picture.”
“Sure,” Homer agreed.
“Get in scaredy-cat.” Andrew beckoned Luke to move.
Luke bit his cheek and examined the mannequins as he stood next to Homer. They lit up the bold lines in the wall as they kept their backs facing the lens. snap.
“Think I got a knack for this shit?” Andrew took two more photos.
“Make sure you get the mannequins in there.” Homer put up a finger to signify his demand.
“Already did. Yeah, I definitely have a knack for this shit.” One more photo. Cheese.
“No, I don’t think so.” Luke fired back. “Unless you let me see your handiwork.” His grin shifted his mask.
“Ha-ha. See for yourself then pussy-cat.”
Luke paid the comment no mind as he snatched the camera up.
“No, no, let me see too.” Homer side-eyed his accomplice as Andrew stepped towards the words.
Luke waited until they were side by side to thumb through.
The first photo was me amongst the mannequins.
Homer only needed to look for half a second before he recognized it. Luke’s eyes found it after he saw Homer’s skin lose its blood.
They each saw the face. The manifestation of retribution brought on by the matron of the void itself. A ghost amongst the melting plastic. Their ghosts.
“Turn it off.” Homer quickly snatched it from Luke’s hands. “Woah, what the fuck–” Luke began. “Turn it the fuck off!”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
They all froze and silence took over
Everything revealed itself at once. The trickle of water turned into a roar. Wind screamed into the open gaps that folded under the pressure of the storm. Fear bubbled up into their throats as they realized the rain water had been pouring over them.
“We need to get out of here, now.” Homer turned without an answer.
‘What the fuck happened?” Andrew’s question took up the most space as it bounced everywhere.
Luke answered. “It was the face–”
“I said WE NEED TO–” BOOM!
The dam finally split. Perfect timing. The force of the water on the other side of the mall released like a giant gasp of air. A wave of relief.
“Come on!” Homer broke into a sprint. Bad move.
The abandoned floors were soaked. Homer’s foot shifted under his suddenly lopsided weight and he slammed down onto his side, spraining his ankle and shattering his floating rib. He cried out in agony as Luke stopped Andrew from sprinting out too. “Wait! We need to be careful.”
Homer whimpered, “Just get me up, hurry!”
Too late. The water shattered the rest of the glass in the storefront as it wooshed inside. It rushed towards them in the shape of black lips, and consumed Homer’s visage. Andrew and Luke made a last ditch attempt at escape. Too late. Too much thought given to someone undeserving of even one. It kissed them too. It body slammed them into the mannequins, and they mixed into everything the water already carried; moist cardboard, drywall, wood palettes, tables, chairs, plastic – bricks and iron. The tidal wave’s momentum finally hit a stop and the water settled after a few moments of rippling. Quiet. Dark.
The water level lowered, it left everything in slime, filling in the smaller gaps of the mall. The stillness of death replaced the newfound vigor the water created. None of the company reemerged from the murky surface. It ran back into the earth.
Andrew was the first to die. When the water pushed him forward into his escape, it slammed his head against the wall containing the lettering. The force split his brain apart and he blacked out instantly. Less than what he deserved I guess, but dead nonetheless.
Luke was next. He hugged a mannequin as it shoved them through the glass of the refrigerator doors. His neck wedged between the shelving and cracked as the current twisted his frail frame further.
Homer… Homer was washed away to the front. He got caught on the rim of the windows, amongst the spikes of the ruins itself. The leader coughed up water and blood, coloring it pink. A table leg poked out from his liver. Lodged in deep when the water shoved him into it.
The light went out of his eyes as I looked down at the camera. Blackened and dented. I would pick it back up, but I can’t. At least it was here.
It was here with me, with us, for eternity.
Now they can explore the wreckage of their own deaths forever.
The sound of the rain hitting the remains of this place lulled me back into death. The void’s job was done.
Thank you for reading! This is my submission to ’s June Prompt Challenge! Approximately 2438 words. You can find more on the prompt in the post below.
(Special thanks to & & for going above and beyond with their support in making sure this piece worked. YOU GUYS ARE TOO DOPE!!!)
Your descriptions are consistently dark and vivid, and the suspense of simply knowing that someone is watching the three men already adds a layer of depth to this story. Really loved this!
Too many great examples to reference but without spoiling story stuff, I would like to draw attention to this level of detail:
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Luke ran his fingers over the cold corroded metal of the thing that once held value. Probably touched by countless other hands so long ago. He made imprints on the stagnant buttons, some of them didn’t even push in properly. He wiped off the tiny blank screen near the top. Reflecting the light into it and seeing little bits of machinery brighten up like it was still on. A sigh escaped his nose. His eyes found the grins of children posted up above a wall of summer playthings. The light in their eyes waned, the smiles cracked from time and ruination. He wondered how old they would be now – were they even alive?
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So rich, but not over-executed. This is a skill that takes time and focus to implement and you did multiple times during this piece. Great job, I loved it!