B.L.O.O.D (BlackRose)

Seventy one

Arnold led the way out of the toy store's upper-floor exit, into the hall upstairs. The evangelists who were still slightly fixed in their respective places, no one went anywhere, they just exchanged panicked expressions.

"What did I just hear that gun sound?” a woman asked him as he was passing by in a hurry.

“Ya.” Answer Arnold.

“Yes lord.” The woman panicked while holding tightly to her child who may be only four years old.

"Come with me, you'll be safe."

They had just passed through the front door when a dozen more shots rang out from downstairs and blazed across the mall.

“Yes lord.”

“Ya Lord.” Shouted someone, "This is ********!!”

The word '******' spreads like a ripple in a quiet pool, making things even more chaotic than before. The people who were sculpting now started running around looking for a way out.

Many gaping mouths form the letter "O”. The music of the mall stopped and a voice announced from the loudspeaker that a state of emergency was underway and it was expected that all visitors and should rush to the nearest emergency exit.

Undoubtedly someone chanted the word "Shoppers" the frozen tableau of confusion turned into a sea of shop staff exiting the front door of each store and gathered in the upper hall. Suddenly the deserted mall turned out to be unusually busy.

Ricard kept running before deciding to join the crowd towards the escalator at the end which would take them down to the back door of the mall and out to the parking lot.

Arnold, unable to leave the mother and child, finds a different way to get out of the toy store downstairs, an EMPLOYEE-SPECIFIC-written door that leads to a warehouse with cardboard and bubble plastic stacked high. From there they found a door in the back that gave access to a back corridor in the form of a wall of ash brick.

"What street is it now?" ask the woman who is holding the child.

"I don't know." Arnold's guess is to the left. He thought to the left would lead them towards the exit of the employee-only parking lot. Arnold led in that direction, some people who saw them followed from behind. Muffled by the two closed doors, they heard faint gunfire erupting behind them.

"It's crazy" The woman gasped.

"Who in the name of God so desires the death of innocents?" Said another Visitor.

"Come!” whispered Arnold. "If I knew."

For the women and some other visitors, it felt like they were fleeing endlessly for weeks. Even though they were halfway through, Arnold felt sorry to see the woman running while carrying her child. So, he took the initiative to hold the little girl.

“Discover, let's hurry!! We'll be back soon.”

At the emergency exit, Louis was alone down the stairs. Bloodstains littered his clothes, his fishy smell made Louis want to shower and change clothes immediately.

When he got out of the building.

"Yes! Hey!"

From the back, there is a dark-skinned mall guard, “Stop there.” He put his gun on them. "Lift your hands!!! Jeez you're covered in blood.”

"I'm just trying----“

"SILENCE!" His hands were looking for the radio in his belt, his eyes were fixed on Louis . "It's Kent. I caught one of them here. Rear Access 5b."

The radio was static and there was an indistinct sound.

The mall security guard replied, "Asia. women, late teens. Someone we saw on the CCTV."

Static and voice no longer clear.

"Uh. yeah, he's covered in blood. Looks like he ran away from the shot.”

Static and sound.

"Understand!" He hung his radio back to his belt. "You ******** savage, cheap women's policy.”

The security guard looked at Louis in disgust.

"You're gonna rot in jail."

"I'm not a *******!" said Louis.

"Bastardo!!” Louis condemned "I am not a *******"

"SILENCE!" He jerked his gun at Louis's head.

“Now fast facing the wall!!”

Louis shook his head while pointing behind his shoulder. "The bad guy is there. They got guns and.”

“Put your fucking hand on the wall, Miss, or I together will put a bullet inside your body now.”

Louis could see his knuckle coiled around the protruding trigger, his paler hand drawn in muscles and bones. There's been a few pounds of pressure on that trigger

“O-okay.” Louis placed his palms on the rough wall and then as he spread out his legs and the hand that was attached to the wall the security guard began to search for Louis.

"Listen, please I'm really not ******.”

“I lost a cousin to what you did. He's a good guy. Working at the restaurant at the top of the North Tower, looking after his parents, working very hard."

The security guard pushed Louis' head firmly against the wall. “I'm sure you're from the Desert area or your origin is the same as ******* who attacked hotels in Mumbai?”

Louis just remembered, he was disguised as one of the teenagers from India. It is only natural that the security guard misjudged him.

“You are wrong, My father is a native European.”

“Gosh! You guys are so long!" The mall guard shouted, relieved to see five policemen running towards him.

"This is the perpetrator you reported?" ask one of them. A police sergeant. He and the others were carrying handguns. "Yes. Here it is."

"He does not fit the description our friend reported.” Said the police sergeant cocked his rifle.

"Men and women are armed. both adults, one is black and the other is white." He looked at Louis. "He's definitely not one of them."

"But"

"Tom, take this girl out!"

"Okay, sir," replied one of the police

“You give him a statement" the police sergeant told Louis.

"We'll need eyewitness accounts from you later, and please ask your parents to pick you up soon."

"Good." answered Louis. “Thank you."

The sergeant rubbed his chin, thinking hard, the radio rang. There's more cops heading this way. An armed response unit was among them.

"There's some cops who got shot in here, sir."

"I know it!" snarled the police sergeant. "I know that. Let think. Let me think."

It was then that they heard the echoes of the door being forcefully opened, and footsteps. Louis could see nothing. The voice came down the stairs.

"Who is that?" one of the police whispered. The footsteps echoed, and the sound of a pistol was heard.

"Maybe, it's one of them!" exclaim Louis.

"They? Who?" Sergeant cocked his rifle. "One of the shooters?"

Louis nodded.

"POLICE!" quickly shouted. "WE'RE ARMED POLICE." His voice echoed with footsteps up the stairs and was eventually not heard.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs suddenly stopped.

"POLICE!" shouted again. "YOU SHOULD APPROACH WITH YOUR HANDS RAISED!" There's no answer. There was only the sound of bullet magazines being ejected and flashing on the floor. Then click on the new magazine put into place.

"That sounds bad" said the mall security guard.