The Mall (Evenstad Media Presents Book 2) (8 page)

JOURNAL 04DANA

ENTRY 004

DATE: 1/18/2075

I made it. I made it across, and these are my last words. I
thought I had things figured out. The guards only shoot things in certain
areas, and I thought I’d gotten them mapped out pretty well. I don’t know if I
got them wrong or if I just misstepped, but when I ran, they hit me. And every
time they hit me, I slowed down more, got farther off my path, and they got
more bullets. But damn it, I made it across. Everyone thinks I'm too old, and
I'm too weak. Too weak, I can give them. That’s why I ran in the first place. I
was too weak to carry on by myself. But not too old. In the end, it wasn't my
age that got me. I died in a hail of gunfire.

I'm glad it wasn’t a quick death. I'm glad I'm getting some
time to record my final thoughts, even if they'll never be read by anyone. I'm
not glad for the pain, but I'm glad for everything else. If they'd shot me
straight dead, I'd never have done what I set out to do. It wasn't a big goal,
but it was my last one. I made it. I wanted to make it alive, stay with this
nice man until the end came. So I guess, in a way, I got that, even though it
was far too short. He took me into his shop. He tried to stop the bleeding, but
it's not doing anything at all, so far as I can tell.

I'm determined to take this gracefully. Otherwise I'd be
crying, and I wouldn't be able to write this if I was crying. Although I can
barely see to type as it is. So I guess it's not much longer for me. But the
world will know that I died with my own self intact. And that's impor

This is not the woman who started this journal. Not Dana, as
the tablet says her name is. I tried to save her, but she was too badly injured,
and I was not prepared to tend to her. She couldn't finish her journal, and I
only write this here to let anyone who may, one day, stumble across this, know
that she died. She was strong. She must have been to make it this far and still
insist on leaving her final words. Her death is a tragedy for humanity.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 01MARCUS

ENTRY 005

DATE: 1/18/2075

I made it, but I still ended up shot. The old lady got away
faster than I figured, which gave the guards time to turn around and hit me in
the leg. In the harsh reality of it, though, I won’t complain much. It could
have been a lot worse, and I'm well aware of that. And I picked a good place to
escape into, if I was going to get hurt. The pet shop had a few bottles of
antibacterial kind of stuff. I don't know for sure that I'm supposed to use it,
since it's meant for dogs, but it seemed like risking it was better than
gangrene.

The guy's body was pretty stiff and heavy, but I managed to
get it into one of the empty pens they have in here and covered him up with
wood chips and sawdust. It's the closest thing to a proper burial I could
provide for him. That and a makeshift prayer, although I knew no Bible verses
to recite, or if he was even Christian. I hope it was enough.

I need to give my leg time to heal up a bit before I go back
out and try for that poor woman. Limping like I am, I'll get shot at for sure.
And I don't think it’ll just be my leg, again.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 12IMRAN

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/18/2075

Life is short as it is, and this place shortens it that much
more. Dana was an old woman, yes, but she would very possibly have had several
more years in front of her if she hadn't been gunned down in this mall. It puts
things into perspective for me. There are so many important things in life,
more important than anything. Family comes to mind. My son… things seem so different
to me, now that I face my own imminent death. But I fear that it is too late to
do much of anything in regards to Kadar or our relationship. If by some miracle
I make it out of here as the last survivor, I suppose these revelations will
prove useful. But I don't see that as a likely outcome.

I've done what I could to give Dana some respect. It's not
much, but I closed her eyes, and I draped her over with the kites from the toy
store, and I surrounded her with fake flowers. Gaudy, for a death shroud, but I
try not to see it that way. I try to see it as bright and happy, to see it as a
hope that whatever of her may remain is jubilant, somewhere. In the end, if
there’s something that remains of my own being, I hope for that same sort of
joy.

ENTRY END

TO: Niels Evenstad

FROM: Frederick Evenstad

SUBJECT: The Mall Security

SENT 1/19/2075 AT 1:06 p.m. EST

Brother,

You won't have to worry about me pestering you for the truth
about what's happening, anymore. You don't want to share it and that's your
decision, as much as I don't agree with it. As much as you claim to be about
the family, yet stand there and hide your secrets. That's fine. I'm dropping
it, because I can't expend the energy anymore.

The guards could be used more efficiently than they are at
current. Having those units on the roof are stretching the numbers very thin.
We don't need nearly as many as are currently up there. The door to the roof
was welded shut. A few units on the edges, in case of a breakout, yes, but the
center of the roof doesn't need to be guarded. They would be much better used
in the back room, I think. It’s unlikely, but a contestant could still get
there, and that would be far more power than any one of them should have.

I hope you'll at least consider what I've said. If this
carries on long enough, someone will figure out how to fight against the
guards, and we run the risk of running short when they do. Then someone is
bound to breach security. If they escape, this endeavor would be entirely
fruitless.

Frederick Evenstad,

Chief Operating Officer, Evenstad Technologies

—

TO: Frederick Evenstad

FROM: Niels Evenstad

SUBJECT: The Mall Security

SENT: 1/19/2075 AT 1:08 p.m. EST

I very specifically wanted to leave the back open for
infiltration. If a contestant is skilled and brave, why should I not reward
them? In the future, don’t question my intelligence in such a manner.

Niels Evenstad,

Chief Operating Officer, Evenstad Media

JOURNAL 08QUINN

ENTRY 005

DATE: 1/20/2075

For the time 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 thinking I might have to make that twist. And soon.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 03BILL

ENTRY 004

DATE: 1/22/2075

I think Kim wants to do the same thing I do. He's trying to
manipulate me with sex. But he's really shitty at it. We did the deed, which I
guess means that footage is out on the internet and everything, now. Or it will
be soon, so any presidential aspirations either of us had are over. But
afterward, he started asking me for things. To help keep him safe, and to go
get food. I played into it a little bit, just to string him along. I was going
to track down some food anyway, so it worked out.

But it's funny, him thinking he can really do that. Maybe if
I wasn't onto him, it would work a little better. But I am, and it won't. I
guess it's going to make it harder for me to convince him to do what I want,
too.

I feel bad for him, I really do. It was a good plan, and
could have worked on someone else. But I don't get that attached from sex.
Never have. Doesn't mean I won't stick around to get my rocks off for a while.
And I could still play him. It just means a bit more work than I intended. Not
sure how worth it that is, now, though. I’ll have to wait and see.

ENTRY END

TO: Niels Evenstad

FROM: Edward Andel

SUBJECT: URGENT: Live and Breathe Down

SENT 1/21/2075 AT 6:58 a.m. EST

Niels, this is bad. All the servers have been taken down for
Live and Breathe. All of them. And when anyone tries to get into the game,
either from our end or from the player end, the screen just shows the same
message: END THE KILLING NOW AND REPENT. There's no way off the screen other
than a complete reboot.

I hate to say it, but I think the servers were hacked, and
hacked down deep, if they did this kind of damage. The only other explanation
would be someone on the inside, like one of the tech guys working on the
update. I don't want to think that's what happened, and I don't think anyone
else does, either. I do think you need to get someone you personally trust to fix
everything so we can regain control and take care of this. Hopefully, they can
try to track it back to where it came from. I don't know if that's possible,
but I hope so.

I'm sorry about this. It happened on my watch. I'll keep a
much more vigilant eye on everything, if you give me the chance to stay on
after this.

Dear Valued Evenstad Media Customer

It has been brought to our attention that The Park: Live and
Breathe recently suffered some technical difficulties. In the spirit of full
disclosure, we do believe that the servers we use to house the game were
hacked. However, upon thorough examination, there is no proof that any personal
information was compromised. For the sake of safety, you may wish to change the
password associated with your account, as well as the password of the connected
email account.

We are sorry for this inconvenience, and are working on
getting the game back up and running. It should be secure and available for
gameplay again by the end of the week. As a token of our deepest apologies, all
players will be credited with a free month's subscription.

Evenstad Media